Holy moly. Where did the first two and a half months of 2010 go? I know we say this sort of thing all the time–– about every year/ month/ day–– but this is unbelievable.

[Happy belated daylight savings time, by the way. That is, except for you, Arizona. Sorry you missed the fun. Maybe next year? Probably not. But you can email Senator McCain anyway–– I hear he's been talking about "change" a lot lately. Save daylight? Yes. We. Can.]

Where did my March Part A go?

Here’s how my 359 hours (15 days x 24 hours= 360 hours – 1 hour daylight savings= 359 hours) divvy up:

1. Sleep= approx. 101 hours
2. Quality time with friends + fiancé= approx. 41 hours
3. Freelance work search= approx. 35 hours
4. Wedding/ honeymoon planning= approx. 33 hours
5. Apartment/loft/ house hunting= approx. 26 hours
6. Writing= approx. 24 hours
7. Prayer room + Church= approx. 22 hours
8. Personal (reading, praying, etc.)= approx. 18 hours
9. Driving (my car + IHOP shuttles)= approx. 16 hours
10. Eating= approx. 9 hours
11. Stuffing, sealing, stamping wedding invitations= 5 hours 23 mins
12. Shopping (grocery, wedding-related, etc.)= 4 hours 33 mins
13. Talking on the phone= 4 hours 29 mins
14. Meetings= approx. 4 hours
15. Filling out NCAA Tourney brackets= approx. 1 hour
* Who knows?= 16 hours 35 mins

Stuffing, sealing, and stamping wedding invitations took a total of 5 hours and 23 minutes of my time this March.

There you have it. Honestly, I’m not particularly proud of my time usage so far this month. But real life, not the niche fantasy I’ve been living in for the last few years of my life here at IHOP, requires such time. And, so far, I’m not particularly acclimated to non-fantasy life.

This is about the time of year when we realize how poorly we’ve done on our New Year’s resolutions. Though I didn’t have any this year (perhaps to my disadvantage), I’m beginning to feel slight regret and disappointment concerning my year to date. And, my tendency at this point is to think like a daylight-wasting Arizonan (you know, the old ‘maybe next year’ attitude). I’m such an all-or-nothing individual. One stumble–– one accident–– and I’m ready to call it quits. I do this with Bible-reading, praying, and fasting along with writing, exercising, and bedtimes. Is this God’s will?

Absolutely not–– that’s my answer. If I’ve learned anything in my years of tottering after Jesus, I’ve come to understand that He is longsuffering. He is slow to anger. He doesn’t leave me in the dust, as He triumphs on to righteousness, but He is always with me–– never forsaking me.

Thankfully, Jesus is unlike any man I’ve met. His patience is unprecedented.

So, as I continue to lose my faith in my abilities, I’m thinking I’ll give way, more and more, to grace.

One day, in the seemingly distant future, I’ll be like Him. If I love Him, and don’t quit, I win. End of story.

Well, that was a smorgasbord. Take what you’d like from it.

-a time-wasting, daylight-saving, resilient recipient of grace

Postscript I: If you’re a resident of Arizona, I may have gotten a little carried away. Please don’t do anything you’ll regret later–– like forcing me to waste daylight with you, etc.

Postscript II: This post was way (way, way) overdue. My bad. (I didn’t have any time).

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Pre-wedding life is chock-full with tasks. Today, as I sit at my desk, staring at my chalkboard, a hideous yellow sticky note stares back at me.

“Get Pants Altered,” it reads. Such a task sounds simple: 1. Drive down the road. 2. Enter Diane’s Alterations. 3. Change into your wedding pants. 4. Let Diane measure you. 5. Change back into your Friday pants.
6. Establish a pickup time. 7. Peace out.

Yet, for some reason, it’s little tasks like getting my pants altered that are the most dreadful to me. Oil changes, closet tidy-ups, and bill paying sessions exasperate me like no other. Thus, I disdain to-do lists. (Bad news for a soon-to-be-married guy).

Everything preceding the “I do” of a wedding can be summed up by the words “to do.” I don’t like the “to do”–– even though a lot of the “to do” is “she do.” I’m just ready for “I do” after all of this “to do.” (Just get me on my honeymoon, riding a “Sea Doo”).

Here’s a sampling of the to-do list that my fiancé Bethany and I need to fulfill:

1. Get wedding bands
2. Find caterer
3. Book hotel for April 18
4. Getaway car?
5. Reception music
6. Decide order of ceremony
7. Write vows
8. Make reservation for rehearsal dinner
9. Find [cool] envelopes for invitations
10. Find [cool] stamps for invitations
11. Send invitations
12. Get info on marriage license
13. Get pants altered
14. Coordinate groomsmen accommodation
15. Purchase groomsmen favors
16. Follow-up with florist girl
17. Get flower girl (any of you attendees have a cute daughter we don’t know about?)
18. Land health insurance policy
19. Buy LadyComp (Didn’t feel like giving a link. Maybe the Google can help you out.)
20. Create budget

I timed myself as I made that list. It took approximately 2 minutes and 20 seconds–– all off the top of my head. Without doubt, there are many, many more tasks to be filled outside of the above list. And I don’t like that.

Anyway, I should run out and get my pants altered before Bethany finds out I’ve yet to do so.

For the “I do,”

Jules

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