I HATE Moving

Dear Avid Reader,

I HATE Moving.

I hate putting everything into boxes. I hate carrying those boxes. I hate driving all of those boxes to my new place. I hate making a special trip to my in-laws' to get my three year old wedding gifts that have been taking up my in-laws' space. I hate taking up my in-laws' space.

I HATE Moving.

I hate setting up new utilities. I hate telling people my new phone number. I hate telling people my new address. I hate unpacking boxes. I hate installing shelves. I hate fixing the plumbing when it gets stopped up because no one has lived there for five years so no one has had to use the bathroom because it has sat vacant for a shade under a decade.

I HATE Moving.

I hate getting a new drivers license. I hate getting new plates for the truck. I hate hooking up my electronics back up. I hate playing phone tag with the internet people while they are trying to get my DSL going. I hate finding out that there is no line connecting my house to the telephone pole.

I HATE Moving.

I hate switching insurance agents. I hate having to visit a bunch of churches in order to find a good one. I hate having to look for a job. I hate having to shop for a second car. I hate the realization that I have to mow.

But...I love that my wife likes the place and that she lives there with me. I love the fact that she has "decorating ideas". I love the fact that she has, for the first time, the ability to truly nest and make this house her own home.

But I still HATE moving.

The Next Post Promises To Be Better,

James

But Yesterday Came Suddenly

Dear Avid Reader,

There are two hours and fifty-five minutes left in my life as a Harding University employee/student/et cetera, and I have mixed feelings to say the least.

Cue "Breakaway" performed by Kelly Clarkson

You see, I have not had the typical relationship with my university as the average work-a-day joe. Most people are able to go to their respective undergraduate college for four years, taking summers and Christmases off, and then they leave. They may complain about rules, teachers, or have other typical groans that go with college life, but they will look back on those complaints as misunderstandings that come with youth. I would love to be able to look back on my college career and dismiss my bad times as arrogant childishness. But I'm not sure that I can.

I have stayed at my college for eight years, taking only one summer away, and working in some capacity for the entire duration at the university. My life has been the ebb and flow of a Harding academic year for little under a decade. I have lived in Searcy, AR for that entire time. My memory of my college days will be different that what most might have.

See, working at Harding has changed my undergrad memories retroactively. Teachers that are brilliant in the classroom end up being the worst administrators. And some teachers that were a chore to learn from end up being the most helpful peers. And when you add the new information, it changes the old information and soon your entire past ends up being revised.

Cue "End of the Road" performed by Boyz II Men

But the biggest difference is that I have seen the warts. Here's a parable to help you understand. I was Crew chief for Spring Sing in 2002. That year, we had a guy working backstage volunteering, Mike. He was an adult and had been living in Searcy for a while and he had probably seen dozens of Spring Sings. But after one or two days of working backstage, he looked to one of the other stage hands and said, "I had no idea all of this happened backstage."

Mike had only seen the show from one side, as an audience member. The whole show had happened for him. And what's more, everything that wasn't intended for him (i.e. the set changes and the like) was completely shielded from him. That's what it's like to be a student. You don't see the fund raising, the accreditation process, or how office supplies are bought. But those things are going on all the time, and when you witness them, it changes how the university is viewed. Because the magic is gone.

Harding to me is not a glistening palace of knowledge anymore. To me it's more ordinary. I cannot think of Harding in the ethereal, it has become too human. In essence, I've seen all of the people scurrying backstage.

Cue "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" performed by Green Day

But like I said, I have mixed feelings. So I do have good ones too. Working here has intensified what I already know: Harding rises and falls based on the character of the people on campus. There are times when the people will break your heart, and you can't believe some of the things that can happen on Harding's campus. But then, you see some of the strongest spiritual people you'll ever meet. And it is the people that I will miss.

Going back to Spring Sing 2002, I had a great crew backstage that year and they did some of the strongest backstage work I've ever seen. And I had those same feelings during several of my other jobs. There were just some good people to be around. There were a lot more good times than bad, and right now, the bad times are already seem like the typical misunderstandings of youth, childish arrogance.

Cue "I Hope You Dance" performed by Lee Ann Womack

So good-bye Harding. Farewell. We leave on good terms. I can never have the Harding that most people have, but I wouldn't trade the one I have anyway.

The Next Post Promises To Be Better,

James