Job,Screwtape, and the iPod January 15, 2008
Posted by carpebanana in : Ramblings , add a commentHaving read the title, you could dictate the entry.
I tend to forget and think Job and his interaction with Satan is merely an exception to how the universe usually works. But probably it is the norm, that pretty near every day Satan says, “Does Carpe Banana fear God for no reason?” and God gives permission for some sort of test.
And from reading The Screwtape Letters, I know these tests do not have to involve seven sons, three daughters, 7,000 sheep, 3,000 cattle, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and very many servants. Sometimes they involve prodigal children. Sometimes they involve children who cannot understand expanded notation even after working many problems day after day. Sometimes they involve malfunctioning plumbing. Sometimes they even involve a certain UPS truck failing to come and make delivery of a certain piece of electronics. Can I continue to fear God and turn away from evil in the face of that sort of thing?
Job summed it up with “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” No earbuds.
This Just In January 15, 2008
Posted by carpebanana in : Bananalets , add a commentNewsflash: Apparently Miss Language has hit some sort of saturation point. Hope you are sitting down so the shock does not kill you. Here it is: Today at the library Miss Language did not sign out the Introduction to Tagalog book I showed her. She only brought home books in Spanish, Chinese, Hebrew, and a few in English. Go figure.
Here is a site of useful phrases and greetings in Tagalog in case you have a need to know. Walang anuman.
It seems there are some great idioms. How do you like mahapdi ang bituka — a hungry person (literally, sore intestine)? (Just lost my appetite here. Call it the Tagalog 101 Diet.)
And I see this book is available to those who read only Tagalog:
Interesting, because I was thinking about it tonight in my bath which resembled Brigadoon. Our weather has gone cold so I took a candle and had a hot hot bath. I could see the steam rising and my breath by candlelight and was thinking how good God is to give us bodies which sense pleasure in things like hot baths and lavender cream. And then I got thinking about chapter 23 ofThe Little Prince:
“Good morning,” said the little prince.
“Good morning,” said the merchant.
This was a merchant who sold pills that had been invented to quench thirst. You need only swallow one pill a week, and you would feel no need of anything to drink.
“Why are you selling those?” asked the little prince.
“Because they save a tremendous amount of time,” said the merchant. “Computations have been made by experts. With these pills, you save fifty-three minutes in every week.”
“And what do I do with those fifty-three minutes?”
“Anything you like . . .”
“As for me,” said the little prince to himself, “if I had fifty-three minutes to spend as I liked, I should walk at my leisure toward a spring of fresh water.”
Magandang gabi.