BJ started his job today at EB Games. So far, he has seen some impressively nerdy videogame junkies.
Occasionally, I find that the things I love the most about BJ are really random. Like today when he was explaining to me what he was going to write in a letter about his philosophy of education for a job application with Cisco Junior College. The way he says the word education made me believe in those vowels. He says it like the e and the u and the a are valuable and to be cherished. If he gets a job interview with this place, all he will have to do is say "education", and his prospective employees will believe more passionately in their own mission as an educational institution than they ever did before.
I realize this seems like I may be over zealous, but it is a well known fact among people who know BJ that he is a schmooz. He can talk his way through almost anything. If we were a slightly less moral couple, BJ could make us a killer living as a televangelist. But for now, he is just going to wait on boys with bad hygiene and long hair for nine bucks an hour.
P.S. Forgive me for the randomness of this post. I hope I haven't wasted too many precious moments of your life.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Monday, August 28, 2006
I’ve moved up, and I’m confused
For twenty-one years, I’ve been able to comfortably set through the first few minutes of roll call. P is a ways down in the alphabet, and I like it that way. So today, the first day of school, I did as always: daydreamed while the teacher’s voice danced in a blur in the background of my mind for the first part of class. The problem with this is that I had forgotten that I’ve recently been promoted in the alphabet. I was totally unprepared for the G’s. So when the teacher called out “Kalyn Gensic” (mispronouncing my last name in a way that only furthered confusion), I set dreamily in my seat slowly registering the name only to wake up after entirely too many seconds to realize that the person being called was in fact myself. So I looked like an idiot who didn’t know my own name. Great first impression. Hopefully, tomorrow I will have better luck remembering who I am.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
One big happy family, or something
My brother snapped some family photos the day we got home from our honeymoon, and I just had them developed. I think that these Kodak moments pretty much tell all.
Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, this one perfectly describes our little Gensic clan. Notice how one half of the picture is in chaos, while the other half is calmly observing. And you might also notice that it is Tony and myself occupying the chaotic side. It is moments such as these that I wonder where it was that I went wrong.
Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, this one perfectly describes our little Gensic clan. Notice how one half of the picture is in chaos, while the other half is calmly observing. And you might also notice that it is Tony and myself occupying the chaotic side. It is moments such as these that I wonder where it was that I went wrong.
Then there is this little gem I call Tony in Mid-Air. I like how BJ is smiling for the camera while Sienna observes in wonder at her knew sibling, and I just try to keep some semblance of composure while my cat has all claws out and is jumping out of my lap in a desperate attempt at escape.
We did manage to get one decent family photo, although I am quite sure that Tony is staring at Sienna’s tail and planning an attack.
And lastly, I have this picture Allie just sent me of Tony. Now that is one dang cute cat.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Did I mention he's musical
Well, I’ve been waiting for Tony to cross “that” line with BJ, the invisible one that would put him forever on BJ’s bad side. He made it through a month with out crossing boundaries, but yesterday morning I woke up to find my cat on the other side.
And it wasn’t how I expected. Before living with BJ, Tony had a vast number of habits that I figured would eventually cost him his life with BJ, such as tearing up a roll of tissue paper ever two days, attacking my feet every morning at about five, and just generally attacking any body part you accidentally move. I became adept in those months at sitting completely still and not breathing. But he has given up all of these habits in what I am guessing is fear of his step-father. No, how he got himself in trouble was far less violent. You see, what he did was meow. That’s right. Every morning at 5 o’clock, Tony sits on the window sill by our bed and meows as loudly has he possibly can. None stop. With passion.
I’d like to think that Tony is getting in touch with his more sensitive side, but BJ seems unimpressed. He woke up grouchy yesterday morning and declared that Tony will for now on be shut out from our bedroom at night. Somehow, I don’t think this will keep fluffy, musical genius out of mischief. I’ve taught him better than that.
And it wasn’t how I expected. Before living with BJ, Tony had a vast number of habits that I figured would eventually cost him his life with BJ, such as tearing up a roll of tissue paper ever two days, attacking my feet every morning at about five, and just generally attacking any body part you accidentally move. I became adept in those months at sitting completely still and not breathing. But he has given up all of these habits in what I am guessing is fear of his step-father. No, how he got himself in trouble was far less violent. You see, what he did was meow. That’s right. Every morning at 5 o’clock, Tony sits on the window sill by our bed and meows as loudly has he possibly can. None stop. With passion.
I’d like to think that Tony is getting in touch with his more sensitive side, but BJ seems unimpressed. He woke up grouchy yesterday morning and declared that Tony will for now on be shut out from our bedroom at night. Somehow, I don’t think this will keep fluffy, musical genius out of mischief. I’ve taught him better than that.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Poor Tony
This past weekend at Garner State Park, my mom, who is normally irrationally terrified of dogs, absolutely fell head over heals in love with Sienna. The two of them walked around the park like grandmothers and grandchildren should. By the end of the weekend, Mom had decided that although Abby (her sweet, well-behaved cat) was still the best animal in the world, Sienna is certainly the next best animal in the world.
Notice, there was no third on this list. My pet didn’t even appear on her radar. When I inquired on this, she just said that Tony scares her.
To make matters worst, Tony keeps getting stuck in BJ’s aquarium. I’m not sure how. I’d call this talent, but BJ calls this a good reason to kill Tony.
Notice, there was no third on this list. My pet didn’t even appear on her radar. When I inquired on this, she just said that Tony scares her.
To make matters worst, Tony keeps getting stuck in BJ’s aquarium. I’m not sure how. I’d call this talent, but BJ calls this a good reason to kill Tony.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Two-steppin' with Dad
This weekend, my family went camping at Garner State Park. This was the first time it was the “five of us”, so it was fairly momentous.
The weekend was great, and there are a lot of memories I could write about right now, but there is one that just keeps popping into the forefront of my mind. Today, I’m going to take a break from being a sappy wife and, instead, be a sappy daughter.
Throughout the weekend, Dad had told us stories about when he was younger and would come to the park. They are stories of a man I hardly feel I know, like the time he got so drunk he woke up with a rock in the center of his back. Granted, the stories are funny, but my dad is a gentle person who cried on my shoulder before we walked me down the aisle a month ago. On Saturday night, Dad and I decided to go to the little dance Garner hosts every Saturday. My mom, brother, and BJ all hate to dance, so we left them and their six left feet behind. We danced to nearly every song, and we worked up quite a sweat doing it. But then a slow song came on, and the words hit a little too close to home: “When tough little boys grow up to be dads, they turn into big babies again.” I hid my face a bit so Dad wouldn’t see me fighting back tears. I’ve laughed countless times at the cheesiness of country music, but sometimes life just hits you in all of its glorious cheesiness, and you can’t help but be glad that there is some country song out there saying exactly what you’d been thinking.
The weekend was great, and there are a lot of memories I could write about right now, but there is one that just keeps popping into the forefront of my mind. Today, I’m going to take a break from being a sappy wife and, instead, be a sappy daughter.
Throughout the weekend, Dad had told us stories about when he was younger and would come to the park. They are stories of a man I hardly feel I know, like the time he got so drunk he woke up with a rock in the center of his back. Granted, the stories are funny, but my dad is a gentle person who cried on my shoulder before we walked me down the aisle a month ago. On Saturday night, Dad and I decided to go to the little dance Garner hosts every Saturday. My mom, brother, and BJ all hate to dance, so we left them and their six left feet behind. We danced to nearly every song, and we worked up quite a sweat doing it. But then a slow song came on, and the words hit a little too close to home: “When tough little boys grow up to be dads, they turn into big babies again.” I hid my face a bit so Dad wouldn’t see me fighting back tears. I’ve laughed countless times at the cheesiness of country music, but sometimes life just hits you in all of its glorious cheesiness, and you can’t help but be glad that there is some country song out there saying exactly what you’d been thinking.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Finally!
I am happy to announce that BJ was offered a really good job yesterday. He is going to be the assistant manager at a game store here in Abilene. He was supposed to be applying for the third-key position, but the assistant manager position opened up randomly due to some drama going on, and he was offered it. This means full time, some benefits, and more than the $6.50 an hour he is making right now. This means we're going to be okay.
In Father of the Bride, there is a great moment where Steve Martin talks about how you work and work all the time waiting for those rare moments where everything feels okay. And then those moments happen, and its amazing. I feel like that today.
In Father of the Bride, there is a great moment where Steve Martin talks about how you work and work all the time waiting for those rare moments where everything feels okay. And then those moments happen, and its amazing. I feel like that today.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
And, then, he went to work again...
...and it was bad.
I still maintain that my husband holds the worst job of all time. Today, when BJ came home, his exact words were, "I drank too much water from the hose and nearly threw up." It just can't be a good day when your husband says that upon returning home from his job. Apparently, he nearly got dehydrated, and over did it with the hose. Poor guy.
P.S. I apologize for the unusually number of references to puking in my blog the past few days.
I still maintain that my husband holds the worst job of all time. Today, when BJ came home, his exact words were, "I drank too much water from the hose and nearly threw up." It just can't be a good day when your husband says that upon returning home from his job. Apparently, he nearly got dehydrated, and over did it with the hose. Poor guy.
P.S. I apologize for the unusually number of references to puking in my blog the past few days.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
A crappy anniversary, literally
Today is our one month anniversary. Last night, I read my journal entries from before the wedding and on the wedding day, I got all sappy and nostalgic, and I let myself submerge into the happiness of the past month.
Then, I woke up this morning to an empty bed. I heard something next to me, peered down to the floor, and saw my husband bent over something with a sickly look on his face. He was cleaning.
Back up a few days: I cleaned Tony’s kitty litter box a few days ago and was amazed at how little was in there since it had been a while since I had scooped. My fears were that A) my cat was severely constipated or B) he had found another place in the house to relieve himself.
But no, this time it wasn’t Tony’s fault. Instead, it seems Sienna has acquired a habit of eating Tony’s crap. So it was Sienna who was keeping the kitty litter box empty, and it was Sienna who had made the mess BJ was cleaning. She threw up three times this morning before we woke up: in the hallway, the living room, and, finally, our bedroom. So BJ cleaned up a lovely mixture of his dog’s puke, my cat’s crap, and kitty litter gravel.
Happy Anniversary to us!
Then, I woke up this morning to an empty bed. I heard something next to me, peered down to the floor, and saw my husband bent over something with a sickly look on his face. He was cleaning.
Back up a few days: I cleaned Tony’s kitty litter box a few days ago and was amazed at how little was in there since it had been a while since I had scooped. My fears were that A) my cat was severely constipated or B) he had found another place in the house to relieve himself.
But no, this time it wasn’t Tony’s fault. Instead, it seems Sienna has acquired a habit of eating Tony’s crap. So it was Sienna who was keeping the kitty litter box empty, and it was Sienna who had made the mess BJ was cleaning. She threw up three times this morning before we woke up: in the hallway, the living room, and, finally, our bedroom. So BJ cleaned up a lovely mixture of his dog’s puke, my cat’s crap, and kitty litter gravel.
Happy Anniversary to us!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
Another venture into preacher’s-wifehood
Today, not only was I a preacher’s wife, but I was the wife of Reverend Genuset, with a soft g.
BJ preached today in a really small town north of Abilene called Haskell. The congregation was about twenty people, all of which were eligible for senior citizen discounts at IHOP. Of course, they had the oldest and most senile of them all heading the service. He was a cute old man with a huge gut and an oxygen tank. Although there was a printed out order of worship, he accidentally skipped BJ’s sermon until three items or so down. When the purple-haired lady at the piano pointed this out to the man right before the Lord’s Supper, he burst out laughing and proclaimed to God that He was supposed to be watching out for him. The congregation then discussed whether they should continue with communion or skip back to the sermon. After making their decision to proceed with the Lord’s Supper we had already had “contemplation time” for, we had communions. And then it was time for the old man to announce BJ:
“Now let’s hear a few words from Reverend Ginuset.”
My brother, who had come along to laugh at me being a preacher's wife, and I had to work unusually hard to keep from absolutely bursting into laughter. But we didn’t, and BJ delivered a stellar sermon. It was a fun Sunday to by Mrs. Genuset.
BJ preached today in a really small town north of Abilene called Haskell. The congregation was about twenty people, all of which were eligible for senior citizen discounts at IHOP. Of course, they had the oldest and most senile of them all heading the service. He was a cute old man with a huge gut and an oxygen tank. Although there was a printed out order of worship, he accidentally skipped BJ’s sermon until three items or so down. When the purple-haired lady at the piano pointed this out to the man right before the Lord’s Supper, he burst out laughing and proclaimed to God that He was supposed to be watching out for him. The congregation then discussed whether they should continue with communion or skip back to the sermon. After making their decision to proceed with the Lord’s Supper we had already had “contemplation time” for, we had communions. And then it was time for the old man to announce BJ:
“Now let’s hear a few words from Reverend Ginuset.”
My brother, who had come along to laugh at me being a preacher's wife, and I had to work unusually hard to keep from absolutely bursting into laughter. But we didn’t, and BJ delivered a stellar sermon. It was a fun Sunday to by Mrs. Genuset.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Learning to live with a man and his toys
The other day, I asked BJ if he wanted to take Sienna for a walk. His response was “Yah, just let me finish with my gummy ship.”
Reader, meet the incredibly geeky, boyish side of my twenty-seven year old husband.
BJ has been glued to the futon the past few days riveted by a video game he is playing on the Play Station 2 our friends, Josh and Allie, gave us as our wedding gift. It is the same video game that has gummy ships and a wide array of Disney characters. BJ was trying to explain an “interesting” facet to this game, and I was really trying to act interested, but I knew it was going down hill when he said “Oh, you haven’t seen Star Trek. Well they have ships that…” He concluded this video game tale laughing and saying “It was hilarious”. He then stared at my confused expression, and declared that he can tell I don’t care. Should I try harder to fake caring, or just accept that we are truly in different zones at times?
Reader, meet the incredibly geeky, boyish side of my twenty-seven year old husband.
BJ has been glued to the futon the past few days riveted by a video game he is playing on the Play Station 2 our friends, Josh and Allie, gave us as our wedding gift. It is the same video game that has gummy ships and a wide array of Disney characters. BJ was trying to explain an “interesting” facet to this game, and I was really trying to act interested, but I knew it was going down hill when he said “Oh, you haven’t seen Star Trek. Well they have ships that…” He concluded this video game tale laughing and saying “It was hilarious”. He then stared at my confused expression, and declared that he can tell I don’t care. Should I try harder to fake caring, or just accept that we are truly in different zones at times?
Sunday, August 06, 2006
How we paid our electricity bill this month
Today was an adventure into a life I never really expected for myself. Today, I was a preacher's wife.
In order to pick up a little extra money to pay the electricity bill, BJ and I travels to Oplin were BJ received fifty dollars to lead singing and a hundred dollars to preach. BJ was a little nervous about the whole affair because it had been a few years since he had done either. However, we got what we didn't expect: one of the most fulfilling Sundays in recent memory.
To begin with, BJ's sermon was amazing. And, no, I am not just saying that because I'm his wife. To proove this, I'm going to tell a brief summary of the sermon. He started by reading Jer. 18 about the potter and the clay. He then went on to talk about the harsh process that clay must endure in the hands of the potter in order to be formed into the final vessal. He then moved to the Beatitudes and talked about how God's version of blessedness is far different from our Americanized version. In the end, BJ tied this all together by basically saying that we come to the potter expecting gentleness and love and blessing. And we do indeed get all of these things. But it is not how we expect it. The process is disorienting at times, and at the end, we aren't necessarily what we planned to be formed into.
So there you have it. I pretty decent sermon. But I haven't told you my favorite part. It happens to also be my favorite part of my husband. The sermon was personal, just like BJ always is. What others might keep secret, he confesses openly, often in ways I don't know what to do with. So my favorite part of the sermon was this:
"If we’re going to take the Beatitudes seriously, and I think we should, than God may very well be shaping us into a people we would not have chosen to be. Kalyn and I have been having a rough time lately when it comes to finances. I recently graduated with my master’s degree, and accumulated $40k debt in the process. Neither Kalyn nor I have been able to find good jobs. Our bills and loan payments far exceed our monthly income (As an aside, Kalyn and I wanted to thank you for paying our electric bill). I’ve been looking for good jobs since January, only to be turned down for every job I’ve applied for. I don’t like it, and many times I have wondered if God is punishing me for something.
"But when I read, 'Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,' I have to wonder if God is trying to show me what it’s like to be a part of his reality, what it’s really like to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul tells us to carry our cross, as painful as that might be, but that implies choice, and I have very little choice in being practically unemployed. No, maybe what I’m experiencing is not the weight of the cross, but the life of one who is kneeling in the shadow of the cross. Maybe I’m experiencing the pain of being shaped by God."
When BJ said this, he teared up a bit. And at the end of the service, the people were touched. They prayed for us, and thanked BJ for a wonderful sermon.
After church we went out to eat with a couple in their eighties. This couple had stories of all sorts of trials in their lives. Each one's first spouse had left them for others. The man, Doug, was bi-polar and has endured periods of depression I can not begin to fathom. His wife, Ruth, lost her son when he was twenty-five years old, and her ex-husband tried to kill her once. And yet, through all of this, they have kept faith. And they have kept love. At the end of a two hour conversation, they gave BJ and I a check for two hundred dollars asking only that we do the same for someone down the road. I am left speachless and humbled.
In order to pick up a little extra money to pay the electricity bill, BJ and I travels to Oplin were BJ received fifty dollars to lead singing and a hundred dollars to preach. BJ was a little nervous about the whole affair because it had been a few years since he had done either. However, we got what we didn't expect: one of the most fulfilling Sundays in recent memory.
To begin with, BJ's sermon was amazing. And, no, I am not just saying that because I'm his wife. To proove this, I'm going to tell a brief summary of the sermon. He started by reading Jer. 18 about the potter and the clay. He then went on to talk about the harsh process that clay must endure in the hands of the potter in order to be formed into the final vessal. He then moved to the Beatitudes and talked about how God's version of blessedness is far different from our Americanized version. In the end, BJ tied this all together by basically saying that we come to the potter expecting gentleness and love and blessing. And we do indeed get all of these things. But it is not how we expect it. The process is disorienting at times, and at the end, we aren't necessarily what we planned to be formed into.
So there you have it. I pretty decent sermon. But I haven't told you my favorite part. It happens to also be my favorite part of my husband. The sermon was personal, just like BJ always is. What others might keep secret, he confesses openly, often in ways I don't know what to do with. So my favorite part of the sermon was this:
"If we’re going to take the Beatitudes seriously, and I think we should, than God may very well be shaping us into a people we would not have chosen to be. Kalyn and I have been having a rough time lately when it comes to finances. I recently graduated with my master’s degree, and accumulated $40k debt in the process. Neither Kalyn nor I have been able to find good jobs. Our bills and loan payments far exceed our monthly income (As an aside, Kalyn and I wanted to thank you for paying our electric bill). I’ve been looking for good jobs since January, only to be turned down for every job I’ve applied for. I don’t like it, and many times I have wondered if God is punishing me for something.
"But when I read, 'Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,' I have to wonder if God is trying to show me what it’s like to be a part of his reality, what it’s really like to live in the Kingdom of Heaven. Paul tells us to carry our cross, as painful as that might be, but that implies choice, and I have very little choice in being practically unemployed. No, maybe what I’m experiencing is not the weight of the cross, but the life of one who is kneeling in the shadow of the cross. Maybe I’m experiencing the pain of being shaped by God."
When BJ said this, he teared up a bit. And at the end of the service, the people were touched. They prayed for us, and thanked BJ for a wonderful sermon.
After church we went out to eat with a couple in their eighties. This couple had stories of all sorts of trials in their lives. Each one's first spouse had left them for others. The man, Doug, was bi-polar and has endured periods of depression I can not begin to fathom. His wife, Ruth, lost her son when he was twenty-five years old, and her ex-husband tried to kill her once. And yet, through all of this, they have kept faith. And they have kept love. At the end of a two hour conversation, they gave BJ and I a check for two hundred dollars asking only that we do the same for someone down the road. I am left speachless and humbled.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Am I like Tony, or is Tony like me?
My question tonight is did I raise Tony to be evil, or is Tony rubbing off on me and making me evil? Because I'm pretty sure we have both occupied this catagory today.
Tony was evil today in the same way an alarm clock is evil. Literally. At five o'clock this morning, BJ and I were awoken by the insesent mewing of Tony on our window sill. I could not find any apparent reason for this mewing. But then again, when has Tony ever acted on reason?
I, too, have been incredibly irritating tonight. With all of my friend and brother going home for a little while before summer ends, it occured to me that for the first time ever, I won't be spending an extended period of time at home to end my summer. And on top of this, my Dad is having some heart problems. So in order to cope with homesickness, I have resorted to just being annoying. It seems I have interesting ways of coping with the changes that come with married life. I finally started feeling so sorry for my exhausted husband that I came in here to blog.
On a positive note, BJ was telling me about the sermon he is doing for a guest preaching position this weekend, and it sounds really good. It is a life-sucks-but-it's-okay sermon. And it occured to me that despite the fact that we are living as BJ put it "not from paycheck to paycheck but from bill to bill", I don't think any amount of money could actually improve my state of contentment right now. I am liking where I'm at and who I am with while I am here. So, I guess I am going further into the territory my friend Allie referred to as "sappy wifedom". That's okay.
Tony was evil today in the same way an alarm clock is evil. Literally. At five o'clock this morning, BJ and I were awoken by the insesent mewing of Tony on our window sill. I could not find any apparent reason for this mewing. But then again, when has Tony ever acted on reason?
I, too, have been incredibly irritating tonight. With all of my friend and brother going home for a little while before summer ends, it occured to me that for the first time ever, I won't be spending an extended period of time at home to end my summer. And on top of this, my Dad is having some heart problems. So in order to cope with homesickness, I have resorted to just being annoying. It seems I have interesting ways of coping with the changes that come with married life. I finally started feeling so sorry for my exhausted husband that I came in here to blog.
On a positive note, BJ was telling me about the sermon he is doing for a guest preaching position this weekend, and it sounds really good. It is a life-sucks-but-it's-okay sermon. And it occured to me that despite the fact that we are living as BJ put it "not from paycheck to paycheck but from bill to bill", I don't think any amount of money could actually improve my state of contentment right now. I am liking where I'm at and who I am with while I am here. So, I guess I am going further into the territory my friend Allie referred to as "sappy wifedom". That's okay.
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