Our stuff is here...sort of

It's in the country, at least. We heard from the shipping company that our stuff arrived in port on Tuesday. However, we also found out that it'll be another 3-5 weeks before it clears customs and gets delivered to us. Aaaarrgghh!

Drawing Studio

On Saturday afternoon, Andi and I walked next door to Arlington House. They were hosting an open drawing studio. Professional artists joined homeless residents of Arlington house and members of the community in creating a room full of drawings. Tables, walls, and even the floor were covered in paper. Markers, pencils, charcoal, and paints were scattered around the room. Andi had a great time doing butterflies (where you fold a sheet of paper in half to creat mirror images of the paint). We learned from one of the guys that you can then use the 'butterfly' to create multiple prints on the wall if you use enough paint. Really cool. Andi had no problem getting right in there and drawing. But I found it very difficult. I couldn't think of what to do, and I kind of froze up. It was like I wanted to put something down, but every idea I had just seemed stupid. I like the freedom children have to express themselves.

MySpace

So I finally did it. I didn't really want to. Maybe it's 'cuz I'm getting older and stuck in my ways, and I feel overwhelmed every time I go to it. But I have resisted joining MySpace. But now I have friends in the states as well as friends here who use it to keep in touch.
So today I joined MySpace. I promptly discovered that although Tim and I have known each other for 20 years, I am not his friend. At least not according to MySpace. I also learned that I only have one friend, and his name is Tom. I visited Tom's page to learn about my only friend. My only friend Tom has 122 million other friends. Now I'm really jealous of my only friend Tom. I think I don't want to be Tom's friend anymore as he makes me feel inadequate with his 122 million friends. So even though I've known him for 20 years, I'm going to invite Tim to be my friend. If he wants to be my friend, maybe he'll replace Tom as my only friend. Tim only has 46 friends...I'm not too jealous of him.

Meditation

Last Thursday I went to a "Silent Meditation" at a church in the area. I don't know why, but I expected the meditation would somehow revolve around a piece of scripture or some Christian theme, or something. To my surprise, it was more of a Zen Buddhist mediation, complete with brass gong on the altar and instructions to empty our minds. I stayed on even though it wasn't what I had expected because I had already made a scene once when I came in (I was...ahem...late). So I focused my thoughts on Jesus and sat silently for 20 minutes while all the muscles in my back tightened up and I got a searing pain in my right shoulder. At one point, I opened my eyes because I wanted to look at a cross...but I couldn't even find one in the church building. I should mention that it was a really good exercise for me, I haven't sat that still or been that silent, focussing only on Jesus, for quite a while. The experience highlited for me the hunger for spiritual experience in Camden, along with the void of Christ-centered spirituality.

Finished Table

Some of you had asked about the table now that it has glass on it, so here it is. I thought about clearing it off, but the glory of the glass is that it allows us to USE the table, so I thought I'd show it in use. The wooden chairs are the old pub chairs we were given last weekend.

Gallery

As yet Unknown art gallery in Camden's Stables Market is a great little place, tucked away in the catacombs of the market. I met the owner Ryan last week while helping a friend unload new furniture stock for his shop. Today I stuck my head in to check out the gallery. He's got an impressive collection of pieces on display at the moment, mostly paintings and photographs - some from artists I've seen before, but most from people I'd never heard of. The thing I love the most is Ryan's desire to help new artists get established. When I stopped in, he was working on a painting representing the takeover of religion by pop-culture. Hopefully he'll put it up on his site when it's finished.

Weekend Update

This has been a lazy weekend. After family movie night on friday evening, I met up with some friends again at the Spread Eagle. Saturday Andi and I walked up to the park to meet a friend, and while there we also saw a family from her weekly football training. Saturday afternoon Johnny and Becky had us over for ribeye on the grill! OH BABY.
Today was laying back and watching a really tight Ravens game - week three against the Browns. Thanks Andrew for recording it for us. You don't know how much we look forward to getting your packages.
Oh, and we now have a dinning room table and CHAIRS! The glass top arrived for the table on Friday so we could start using the table, and today my friend Mark dropped off some old chairs that were left over from when his church used to be a pub. Thanks bud!

Arlington House

On Friday I stopped by Arlington House, the men's hostel right next door to our building. They have a room set up for the public to come in and learn about the history of the building...and it's fascinating. At one time it was the largest hostel for men in the UK, providing housing for over 1000 people. Over time the number of beds have been reduced and the rooms enlarged. Read about the history of Arlington House and its connection to Irish immigrants here. Novas Group currently runs the hostel, and you can read about their plans to redevelop the building and reconnect to the community here.

Ravens Game

Oli stopped by today on his way home from Camden Market. He was buying this:
Hope you're ok with me posting this bro, it's too cool a pic to leave it to rot on my hard drive. The girls convinced him to stay for dinner (and play Go Fish).
Tomorrow we're watching the Ravens game (week 2 - no spoilers, please) and I'm inviting a guy from our building to join us. It's nice to have this little Sunday afternoon American ritual to make us feel a little bit like we're at home.

Bring Back the Bomb

Went to see a new friend of mine play at a pub last night. The show was called Bring Back the Bomb, and you can read more about it here. It was basically a memorial concert in honor of several members of a band who were killed in a car crash a few years ago. The bands that played were all somehow connected to the band that died. My friend Jon plays bass in two of the bands that played last night. They were both really good - a little heavier and more frantic than I normally like - but quality stuff. I don't know the right musical terms (help me out here, Tim) but I liked the way the bass drove the rythm of their songs, and was at times a stronger element than the lead guitar.
And I'm not just saying that so Jon won't be mad at me for this next statement: My favorite band of the evening (Jon, if you read this: sorry mate) was The Bicycle Thieves. I met them before they played and discovered two members of the band are Americans (or at least decended from Americans) and we chatted for a while about life in London. Their style was a little more chilled out than the other bands, which is why I liked it so much. Had a hint of Arcade Fire, if you know those guys. Their myspace is here.

Tour of Camden

Last week I met a Canadian actor who's been living in Camden for the past couple of years. He knows lots of people in the area, and has a good sense of what's happening. Today we met up for a couple hours and he took me around and showed me some of his favorite places. He introduced me to a friend of his who runs an internet cafe with a gaming room. Not only can you rent a computer for internet use, for £1/hr you can also rent time on an Xbox! How great is that? He said it hasn't really taken off yet...hmmm...maybe I'll have to give him some business.
Yesterday, my friend was an extra in a scene for the sequal to 28 Days Later - and they liked him so much they gave him a minor speaking part. Click here for Google's satelite hybrid map of Camden Town. Mostly we walked south down Camden High Street, which was great, because I've spent most of my time exploring the area north of there.

Mouse

So last year at our house in Ilford (affectionately termed "The Rock House" by the girls) we caught a total of 8 mice. Today we caught our first mouse in our new home. Thanks to Adam for showing me how to remove the floor board under the cabinets and for setting the trap - I couldn't get it positioned without setting it off. I thought about posting a picture, but then realized that it's just gross, so I thought I'd spare you.

The Spread Eagle

Met some really cool people at the Spread Eagle last night. There was a debate about whether Manchester United or Arsenal are a better footbal club (since I haven't decided which Premiership team to support, I listened with interest), and I was asked to explain why American football teams change cities and names so frequently. Hoping to go see one of the guys from there in concert next week. There was a camera there (not mine), I'll see if I can track down a picture or two.

Door

Met a guy in the Camden Market who sells old doors from Mumbai, India. He said they're about 200 years old, and they literally yank them out of the plaster walls that surround them. Then they age them in the desert before selling them off. The doors are beautiful, but they were selling for something like £1,000. Then I saw that he had some pieces of the doors just kind of lying around. One of the doors had broken during shipment, and he wanted to get rid of the remaining pieces cheap. We agreed to a price, and a few days later he brought the door pieces to our apartment. Now, you might be thinking, "What does Dan need with a door?"
Well, after several hours and a good bit of aggrevation, we now have a dining table. I still need to get a sheet of glass to cover the top, but my friend in the market has someone that can get me one.

Welcome to the Jungle, Baby

We received a note in our mailbox on Friday from one of our neighbors. It had a cryptic message about rock stars and a party on Saturday night. From what I gathered, the building was invited to a "fancy dress" party (that's a costume party) with a "dress like a rock star" theme.

Well, in one of those moments that we look back on and wonder what we were thinking, I decided to go as Slash from Guns-n-Roses. [update: my friend Oli said I had to put this second image up...thanks man]

I'm not saying I pulled it off well, but it was fun just the same. There were several Ozzy Osbournes and a Gene Simmons. I had a great time, especially when people asked me what I do and I told them I am helping start Jesus-centered communities. I guess I don't look like a typical vicar. I wonder what kind of church Slash would feel welcome in.

First week highlights

The people who helped us: Jeremy, who picked us up at the airport and drove us around the next day to get all our luggage and boxes we had left in storage here in London; and David, who heard we didn't have anything to sit on in the apartment, and brought us a few chairs to borrow.

The new experiences: The girls starting school and loving it so much, they were disappointed on Saturday that they had to wait until Monday to go again. Watching three different European football matches simultaneously in a jam-packed pub down the street from our place. Going shopping each day for food for meals, because our refrigerator (believe it or not) is smaller than the one we had last year when we were here.

The hard stuff: missing family and friends, eating cereal with a fork (spoons are coming, but it'll be a while), and sleeping through the noise of traffic and late night revellers.

Update: Somer's Birthday

Thanks for the ideas on making Somer's birthday special. In the end, I couldn't do much elaborate. I liked the idea of getting her lots of little presents or writing notes or things, but I had about 15 minutes of spare time in which to plan and execute her gift, so in the end, we only got her one present. But we did keep it as a surprise and gave it to her mid-flight. It was a sort of memoir written by a food critic. She loved it, and was left wanting more when she finished it. The book was Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise

Welcome to the real world

It feels like we've been living a disconnected life these last two weeks. We finally got broadband internet on Friday (only to have it go down Friday night and all day Saturday). But we're connected now. Feels good - like I can breathe again.

Saying Goodbye

We left Philadelphia for Baltimore on Wednesday - it was sad to say goodbye to our friends we've been living with since we returned to the States in January. Monday we leave for the UK, so this weekend we're seeing family and saying goodbye. I don't think I'm very good at saying goodbye. It's kind of how I feel about saying "thank you" - I want what I say to be genuine, and not the sappy cliches you get in movies. Problem is that in the moment, I can only think of the cliches, you know? I guess there's more to leaving well than words, though.
Monday is also Somer's birthday, and since we'll be spending the day traveling I'm working on a creative way to make her birthday special. Well, I'm actually not working on it yet, 'cuz I don't have any ideas. Any help out there?

Prayed Into a Home

We've been in London for the past week, hanging with a group of young people from Texas and Philly. They came to pray for Camden Town. We came to be with them, and to look for a house while they prayed.
And did they pray! Or more accurately: Did God respond!
Both Somer and I and our team leaders John and Kathy signed leases on apartments this week. We found places that are about 4 blocks from each other (a mere 8 min, 15 sec walk at a leisurely pace - thanks Jason for timing that!). Our flat has an interesting layout - only one 'normal' bedroom with a door - the other bedroom is a studio style - with a dividing wall separating it from the rest of the living area. But it has tons of windows that face southwest for that all-important winter sunshine, and a decent kitchen. Plus, as soon as I saw the living space, I envisioned it filled with friends having a good time and experiencing the welcome of Jesus. It's very close to the Camden markets, and on the same street as a primary school (don't know yet, but it's possible that it could be Andi's school - we'll find out in September). May manage to get up a few pics when we return home.