Water World

These pictures were taken at Collegium with the help of some of my fellow attendees. They all involve water shots of one sort or another. The champaigne brunch on the Portland River was a nice trip, although really windy on the way back. They had a typical paddlewheel riverboat, just like on the Mississippi. The Pacific is another story of course. It was a very cloudy day, but it was still great to get out to the ocean and walk around.

University of Portland

While at Collegium, we stayed at the University of Portland. It is a small university situated on the river with great views of the area. It is a cozy little campus, beautiful to walk around with a mix of new and older buildings. We were well fed during the stay. I especially enjoyed someone having food ready everyday and just getting what you want. It was good food for a college type situation. The university is building a new soccer stadium even though the old one looks fine. Apparently, considering the success of their women's soccer team, the old one isn't big enough. The townhouse we stayed in are certainly far superior to anything on the UDM campus (although I was glad to see the process of dorm window replacement starting at UDM today). I was impressed with Portland light rail system that transports folks from the airport to the downtown area. It was clean, efficient and informative. It would be great to see more places with something like that.

Trip to the Pacific

On the day of retreats, some of our group in the meditation retreat advanced to the shores of the Pacific at the end of the day. Led by our leader Dennis who rented a van, this motley crew headed for the beach. Fortunately, I brought my camera along to record this auspicious event. We walked around the beach for a while, taking pictures and taking in the sights. We then made our way to a Thai restaurant nearby and then back to the beach for a final look-see. It was a great side trip, as we chatted about the big and the small. Although the water was cold, it wasn't intolerable to walk in (though no swinwuits for this crowd). It was wonderful to look out onto the great expanse of the ocean for while, a more tangible way to ponder infinity and to fill the senses.

Collegium

I just returned from the 2007 Collegium. Collegium sponsors annual summer colloquies for faculty from its member institutions and for advanced graduate students from universities throughout the United States and Canada. The colloquies provide a collegial environment in which participants from diverse backgrounds, faiths, and disciplines can discuss the sources and implications of a Christian academic vocation. There was small and large group discussions, presentations, a retreat day, as well as many opportunities for socializing with faculty, graduate students and administrators from across the country.

It was a very interesting time, and I was happy to meet and interact with such a diverse group of colleagues. Being together in a relatively smallish group for a week provides the opportunity to forge bonds of various kinds. I still have a lot of thinking to do based upon these discussions. I'll make some posts over the coming days, as I took a lot of pictures while I was there. Above you can see the main building in which we held the majority of our small and large group discussions, as well as a view of the river from the University of Portland campus. The campus is quite lovely and had a truly collegiate feel to it. There will be more to come.

Getting away on some form of retreat, be it religious or otherwise, is a great experience that more people should avail themselves of. I was able to slow down a bit from the go-go pace I had been working at before.

Well that was a close one...

As I was driving to work, this guy in a van ran a red light and plowed into me as I was crossing an intersection. I bring in the car tomorrow. I was shaken up a bit but not hurt. As I saw him about to hit me, I felt I was going to be very hurt indeed, as he was not moving slowly. He clearly breaked enough to avoid catastrophe. I'll see how it goes. I don't think this will total the car, and if it did, I wouldn't get a lot for it and would then be looking at car payments. I hope it can be fixed for a reasonable amount. I can't get out of the driver's door, so it was a pain getting around. But it could have been a lot worse.

RIP Moselle

One of Jerry and Karen's cats, Moselle, succombed to cancer recently. She was a delightful little cat. She chose her friends with some caution, but I was fortunate to be among them. She'll be missed, even by Cosmo.

IFPE in Toronto

I attended my first board meeting for IFPE (International Federation for Psychoanalytic Education) as chair of the research committee. Getting across the border to Canada was a "trip". Never have I been asked so many intrusive questions (Who is paying for your room?). After a few days of board meetings, one's brain is swimming. But the meals were great. Here's a nice picture of the modernity of Toronto, a nice city to visit, although getting there was an Inquisition. I also visited with a friend, Titaina. We chatted at a nice restaurant, Pure Spirits, in the Distellery District.