Seatbelt Blue

What exactly would that entail?

I'm told you don't get an interview unless you're a strong candidate. BC invited me for a skype interview last week, and told me it would be about 20 minutes long and mostly about what I wanted out of grad school and what I wanted to do with my education. That's exactly what it was. Are interviews usually more intensive? I was expecting a bit more of a grilling, if you will. It felt pretty pro forma and I thought it went very well. And at the end, I was told I'd have a decision in a couple of weeks. Is it possible to tease out if this was a formality or what?

Awesome! We should all keep in touch as we move forward in our educations. This might be a bit of a burgeoning network.

I am confused.

Thanks. He told me what you've been telling me all along -- that my GRE and seminary grads far outweigh my poor undergrad performance. The entire thing took about 20 minutes, and felt a little pro forma. All we did was discuss what I wanted out of graduate school, why I wanted to attend BC specifically and study for the MTS specifically, and what I want to do with my degree in a ministerial sense, considering their emphasis on real-world practical application. I asked a few practical questions about research possibilities, publishing by students, and accommodation for my autism, which he seemed to think would be pretty easy to work out.

Everything is theology

I'm so sorry, Eager. Do you have any other academic prospects?

I think my interview went very well.

Most definitely my first choice.

Yeah, that's more or less my plan. I think people need to be able to own their faith instead of just winging it. I'm not expecting everyone to be a scholar, but there has to be more than a basic understanding in this day and age. I'm looking at this from a Catholic perspective, where our catechesis is pisspoor and most of my fellow Catholics couldn't begin to tell you what we believe or why we believe it. But I'm looking for something beyond just "fix our catechesis;" I want to be able to make understanding the faith part of the patrimony of the regular believer. It shouldn't be locked away in a tower.

Excellent, if too brief. I discovered a couple of new heroes for myself in it. It's probably a little too hard on Paul VI, though.

I want to be a research professor, but I have this zany idea to start an ecumenical people's seminary. Basically, we'd offer ultra-low-cost courses at multiple levels for people who can't afford or aren't interested in full time schooling in Christian scripture and theology. It would also include free childcare during classes and free tutoring for kids, so it's a ministry on a few different levels.

What's everyone out there planning on doing with their terrible life decision to study theology?

My fiancee has been invaluable in helping me stay positive and on-task. I'm a real natural worrier, and she has worked wonders.

My Skype interview with BC STM is tomorrow morning. Anybody have any advice on how to prep?

My Skype interview is tomorrow morning. What should I do to prepare? They're telling me it'll only be about 20 minutes long, but I suspect that's not entirely accurate.

I read nothing but good books. This year so far, I've read Truman, The Emperor of All Maladies, 11/22/63, 43*, Devil in the White City, What Happened at Vatican II, and I'm working on Empire of the Summer Moon.

baby bottle

My interview at Boston College is Thursday morning. If you're the prayin' sort of folk, pray for me.

I had a dream that Bill Murray hired me to work at a hospital he ran. Anyway, I need all the good omens I can get. My interview is thursday morning.

cherry coke

teenage dream

Yeah, Benedict never had a whole lot of experience as a pastor, and was always much more the academic theologian. He's always been in positions where his job has been the articulation of ideas, and once he became pope, much more was asked of him. He did his best, and I think he's going to go down as, say, a Lyndon Johnson of the papacy. Grand ambitions beyond his reach, a good man who made questionable decisions, but who always sought after the good.

I doubt it's Alzheimer's, but it could be. I deeply suspect it's because it's a job he never wanted which he didn't expect to hold for so long; he picked his name in large part because he expected a relatively brief papacy, and has no interest in being pope until he's 93. At this point, he'll have been pope just under eight years, which is about the length of the last Pope Benedict's papacy. This is a guy who tried to resign from active life when John Paul II was still kickin', and wanted to retire in 2005 and go write books for the rest of his life. And then they went and made him pope. And God dammit, he gave it his all, and now he's 85, tired, using a wheelchair on occasion, missing major liturgies now and then, and I think he just wants to go home.

I'm not expecting to hear from my top choice until March, either.