Take My Hand

Ah, the bureaucracy...

The United Methodist powers that be require several things of a person who wants to be officially admitted to the candidacy process for ordained ministry.  One of the things required is a credit check.

All you have to do is go to Equifax.com, pay $15.00, forward the report to the district office, and then you're done. Simple, right?

Wrong.

Here's the problem:
I have no credit.
I don't have a credit card, and I don't have any loans.
I also have no plans to get either of these any time in the next, oh, six years.

But, I still need a credit check, as well as a FICO score. Or at least some sort of certification that neither exist for me. Oh yeah, and it can't be any company other than Equifax.

My morning was spent on the phone with Equifax's customer service representatives trying to explain that I needed a credit check even though I have no credit.

It's still not resolved.

Want to know the district office's solution? Their advice was to: "Get in debt and then pay it off really fast."  Um, no.

Oy.

If only I had a quarter for every time I heard, "We've never had this problem before..."  I'd be rich.

Snoring Dogs, the Price of Cheese, and Summer

I've been trying to come up with something interesting to blog about.  And, trust me, there are plenty of interesting things to blog about -- things like my thoughts on General Conference, the presidential election, or the fact that I think short-term mission trips are often nothing more than noblesse oblige.

But, even with all these topics staring me in the face, I don't feel like putting my thoughts on these things out there. At least, I don't feel like putting my thoughts out there right now.

Instead, I'm blogging about a dog named Edgar. I'm housesitting for some friends who are out at the Festival of Homiletics.  These friends have a beagle. The beagle snores. Loudly.

Because I'm house-sitting, I had to go the grocery to pick stuff up (grapes, milk, eggs, ice cream, cheese, soup, soup and more soup) to eat for the next week or so. Let me tell you -- I never realized how expensive cheese is.  However, I was aware enough to realize that if you buy a block of cheese and shred it yourself, it's much cheaper.

Just in case you're wondering, my summer will consist of working in the Dean of Students office at Agnes Scott College, developing the curriculum that will be used to help the incoming First-Year students adjust to college life. In addition to that, I'll be learning Latin as well as doing some reading on popular religion in Early Modern Europe.  Oh, and attending Annual Conference (it'll be my 7th straight year as a voting delegate!).

So there you have it. A non-substantive post. But a post nonetheless!

Ok, Ok, Ok...

I'm finally posting. Following several threats to "come back, or else" I've decided to say:

"Hello great big Blogging World! I'm back!"

School's out, and summer's here.

Get happy; more substantial posts are on the way.