Huang Family Newsletter, May 2012

 The kids are finishing up their school years and will spend most of their summer at the Y.  Jada is excited to be in 2nd grade in the fall.  Aaron starts kindergarten, but we don’t know where yet, because we’re wait-listed at our neighborhood school (you may have heard about the long lines) and the district hasn’t assigned him to a school yet. 

Amy’s slogging through a hard job admirably and holding down many chores on the home front.  Lee started teaching his consulting class at Fels, had a final presentation at work in North Carolina, and is juggling many projects. 

For fun, we went to Longwood Gardens, took a peek at the new Barnes Foundation museum and Sister Cities Park downtown, and attended a Memorial Day parade with Amy’s parents in New Jersey.  Jada finished her ballet class and performed fantastically at her recital.  Aaron is getting the hang of baseball and enjoys his teammates and the games.

Smartphone Bleg

My smartphone is dying.  Every other time the touchscreen doesn't recognize my finger when I'm trying to answer a call, the app store is broken, my browser has slowed to 14.4 kbps dial-up speed, and the cursor goes haywire most of the time I try to type something in.  I got it for free, refurbished, 22 1/2 months ago, so I'm trying to hold out for 1 1/2 more months so I have more selection (i.e. no longer tethered to my current provider, AT&T, for fear of early termination fees).  Since I'm not very savvy about these things, this means I am now actively shopping, as it will take about that long for me to pull the trigger.

I'm not sure if my smartphone's limitations have influenced me or not, but I find I don't actually use it for as much as I thought I would.  Again, maybe this is because I can't or because it's slow.  But also I think it's because I've compartmentalized my life fairly rigorously, so the portability that is required of people who like to do thing in an untethered manner is not nearly as important to me.  If I want to watch a video or bang out a blog post or coordinate my schedule, I don't feel a need to do so on demand.  Also, I don't play games, I don't scoreboard-watch, and I'm not a consumer of the latest songs and shows, so not having all of those things as readily available in my pocket hasn't fundamentally changed my daily routine.

That said, I would like a phone that actually works.  So I welcome your suggestions.  Amy's also with AT&T, but in 1 1/2 months we'll be free agents.  She likes her iPhone but needs a new one, and I'd like to stay with Android and pay as little as possible.  Any thoughts?  Any deals?  Any smartphones to avoid? 

INTJ Traits I Need to Rein In

I had my annual performance evaluation earlier this month, so this self-contemplating person has been considering his strengths and weaknesses even more than usual of late.  It occurs to me that my many weaknesses are common to the INTJ in Myers-Briggs parlance.  My fellow INTJs may manifest their INTJ-ness in different ways, but here's where I am predilected negatively and need to learn to rein it in (in no particular order):

1. I tend to prefer to work things out internally, which can be bad for a team member when other team members would like to be involved or at least know what I'm thinking.

2. To me, no idea is sacred, and outlandish ideas are especially useful to put out there, for they challenge assumptions and move you towards a better outcome.  But some things, when stated, are discomforting and offensive, so even though I mean nothing by them, they're probably not worth saying out loud.

3. On a related note, the way I express that I like an idea is that I pick at it, unpack it, beat it up, and turn it on its head.  Needless to say, normal people don't associate those reactions as being favorable.

4. I expect a lot out of myself and others, and assume a high threshold for pain, to the point that I can come off as cruel, never satisfied, and haughty.

5. When I'm on, I'm not much for chit-chat, so others can see me as aloof and detached.

6. I tend to think in grand narratives, so while I'm not close-minded (i.e. I'm not wedded to those narratives, but will adjust them based on new information), I may be slow to let go of something I believe and I may over-simplify matters unnecessarily.

7. I neither automatically respect nor easily discern the established social and political hierarchies, so can rub people the wrong way if I've said or done something contrary to those unwritten rules.

For you non-INTJs out there, I hope that was a helpful window into our curious type.  And for you INTJs out there, I'd love to hear from you about where you struggle and how you overcome.

And, as for the positives?  Well, we INTJs aren't so good at dwelling on those.  But maybe I'll muse on that in a future post.

Leaves Something to Be Desired

This vignette is interesting to me on so many levels.  After my post earlier this month about needing more leaves for my compost pile, a friend of mine commented on my Facebook page that she was aware, through a West Philadelphia list-serv, that there were many locals offering their leaves for just this purpose.  Sure enough, she forwarded me a few such posts, and I was able to make arrangement to pick up a big bag off of someone's front porch, which I will do later this weekend. 

Think about all that went in to this transaction.  Facebook, a local list-serv, an online conversation about extra leaves, and a friend taking the time to do a good deed by making a connection between my demand and someone else's supply.  And all of this over something that falls from the sky, and can either end up in a landfill or become my nutrient-rich soil for beautiful flowers and plants.  One man's trash, another man's treasure.  Now that's being green and being a good neighbor!

Bully Pulpit

Bullying has been in the news a lot lately, between a critically acclaimed film, the Rutgers webcam court case, and Mitt Romney's high school cruelty.  Many of us have experienced being bullied, and while it is scary and hurtful, it is not hard to understand and accept the power of God's love in those moments.  One friend of mine who was constantly harassed in his childhood told me he clung to Psalm 18 during those incidents - especially verses 6-7 ("In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came into His ears. Then the earth shook and quaked; and the foundations of the mountains were trembling and were shaken, because He was angry.") - and it comforted him that God was not distant but was rather riled up by the thought of one of His beloved children being harmed.  


But what's the word for the bullier?  It's hard to admit when we've been on the bullying side, but I must confess I have had more such episodes that I can count.  I'm not even talking about times when I was mean for the sake of my own self-interest, or mean because I was ignorant and didn't know any better.  I'm talking about times when I was mean simply for the sake being mean, mean for the sake of cruelly and sadistically wielding power over another.  When I think of those times, I cringe with the cringe of one who has done unforgivably bad, from which the stain does not easily dissipate.  


God has a word for the bullier, as well.  Two words, actually.  When we are repentant, He forgives.  And, sometimes, even before we have repented, He chases us down with His love, and His love breaks us down.  In the first case, God gets the glory because we are acknowledging that His is the standard, and we have fallen short; and, He gets the glory because cleansing and reconciliation is by His mercy and not by any penance we do.  In the second, God gets the glory as well, because it demonstrates that His love is not boxed in by what we have or have not done, but freely roams the earth to overcome us bad people with goodness we soon realize we don't deserve.


I don't know how much bullying or being bullied you've gone through in your life, but I suspect it's at least a little of one, if not a lot of both like me.  For you, for me, for all of us, God has a word, and it is a cleansing, relieving, and wonderful word.  May we hear it, receive it, and speak it to so many others around us who have bullied or been bullied.  

Compost Compare Contrast

Memorial Day weekend will bring many things for the Huang household: a much-needed break from teaching and baseball, a third weekend day, maybe multiple naps for once.  It will also mark the debut of the first of two compost bins I've been making for about six months.  This first bin hasn't been added to in about six weeks, during which time I've been stirring and turning and hoping and praying. 

Believe it or not, despite breaking many iron-clad compost rules, it's looking pretty good.  My gardener wife will be the ultimate judge, but in my mind at least it's a success: six months of scraps turned into nutrient-rich soil for our front yard garden.

My second bin will now be the one that is not added to but that rather is just stirred and turned and hoped for and prayed over.  But I am largely out of dry leaves from last fall, and my wife is none too happy about the prospect of me continuing to pour food scraps into a garbage can just feet from our kitchen door in the heat of summer, not with fruit flies running ragged all over our kitchen.  So rather that start a new batch, I may have to call it quits until the fall.  This is painful to me, as composting has become a cherished part of my post-meal routine.  And the thought of turning trash into treasure is really, really pleasurable to me.

My saving grace is that, according to my friend from the Philadelphia Water Department, dumping food scraps down the drain is actually not that bad, and in some cases is more green than composting.  That's because those scraps end up being treated and reused, so they are not unlike compost in having a second life. 

I may yet convince Amy to let me keep on composting throughout the summer, especially if I can find some leaves to serve as my base.  (I knew I should have stashed more of those last fall!)  But if there's no composting for a few months, I can take solace that flushing scraps down the garbage disposal is good for the environment as well.

Built-in Accountability Mechanisms

Another good reason to have kids: they call you on stuff you should be called on, even without knowing what they're doing. 

I know that talking bad behind people's backs is not right, but sometimes I act like there's a spousal loophole: never talk bad behind someone's back, but doing so to your spouse doesn't count.  Of course, it's still bad, but I still do it.

Well, the other day I was lamenting to Amy about someone I don't particularly like, feeling the guilty pleasure of unloading on this person for their transgressions against me.  As fate would have it, later that day the kids and I happened to pass by this person, and I gave a superficially friendly hello, to which Jada, puzzled, asked me, "Isn't that the person you were talking bad about to mommy?" 

Thankfully, she said it out of this person's earshot.  But her statement still had its effect.  I was mortified by my behavior and immediately felt awful about what I had done.

I wish I could say that I instantly came clean, repented before God, and used the situation to instruct my kids.  But instead I just mumbled something to Jada and shooed us away. 

I think most parents realize that we'll sin in front of our kids. But we still don't like getting caught in the act, and we usually don't respond the way we ought.  Good thing we've got these little people whose hearts aren't as tainted as ours, to ask the plain questions and make the plain statements that sear our consciences.

Whole Foods

Sending some link love to the good people at The Enterprise Center for their many food-related initiatives, especially their involvement in a new Community Supported Agriculture opportunity in West Philadelphia called Neighborhood Foods CSA.  I can't say that in all my ten years of being employed there that we would ever have farmers on our payroll, but the concept is actually prototypical TEC: entrepreneurial, innovative, profit-seeking, socially good, involving the youth, and staffed with great people.  What more can I say than get involved, join, and eat your (their) veggies!

All the Mom Angles

I'm a little late on this, but wanted to share a profoundly wise "open letter to pastors" about Mother's Day.  There's more at the link, but here's the part I really liked:

 Acknowledge the wide continuum of mothering. 

1. To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
2. To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
3. To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
4. To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
5. To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
6. To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
7. To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
8. To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
9. To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
10. To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
11. To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
12. To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
13. And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you
14. This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

At the risk of offending, well pretty much everyone, here's what I think.  It seems to me that Father's Day seems less fraught.  We intuitively get that the concept of fatherhood may be tricky ground for some, so we tread lightly.  And as for honoring the dads, sure there's the sentimental and meaningful stuff, but there's also the light-hearted lampooning (e.g., the proverbial loud tie).  Whereas motherhood is so close to sainthood that we feel we have to pull out all the stops to honor the moms, and many moms expect (however explicitly or implicitly) some affirmation for all their hard work, which exacerbates the dissonance between all the glowing hosannas and the real dysfunction that characterizes many of our intersections with the concept of motherhood. 

Which is why I liked this post, and the part I pasted above, so very much.  Because motherhood is so precious, and because there are so many possible positive and negative feelings we can have about it, it is so very affirming to be told that you are not alone in whatever you are feeling on that day.  It is inclusive and confirming, rather than demeaning and exclusionary, to be reminded that there are so many ways to join in with those who rejoice and to join in with those who mourn.  I hope I will be more mindful of this 360 days from now, and throughout the year, as the topic of motherhood comes up.

Now Trending (or Not)

Great article in this month's Wired Magazine about "How to Spot the Future."  Not sure I have futurist skills, since my annual predictions post has been laughably off every single year (bonus points for consistently being wrong?).  But nevertheless it's a fun thing to dabble in.  And what's a blog for if you can't riff on something off the top of your head and see if it goes somewhere?  (Now that's an uncharacteristic statement coming from an introvert.)  To wit, some random musings on what's trending out there in the tiny piece of the world I touch:

(1) Shorter news cycle + more choices + slow death of the print publishing industry = mainstream mags will do anything for attention, like label Barack Obama "the first gay president" or feature a woman breastfeeding her three-year-old = it's going to get even more shocking and sensational from here on out.

(2) Influence is everything + everything needs to be measured = Klout picking up momentum as the "it" site for boiling everyone down to one score for social media power.  (I've had 10 friends join it in the last 60 days.  For me, this qualifies as a deluge.)

(3) Five years from now, no one will be speaking of Instagram, and yet the $1 billion Facebook paid for it will seem ridiculously cheap; photos are "the" mobile app, to the point that there will be no such thing as a distinct photo app, and young'uns will look quizzically when we tell them there used to be such a thing.

(4) Since we love our mash-ups so much (for example, I may be the only person in America who didn't see The Avengers earlier this month), why aren't there reality shows, computer sims, or college courses that catalyze new ones?  I predict these are going to start sprouting up. 

(5) If the 2022 equivalents of Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III (i.e. uber-studs with the whole package: brawn, athleticism, and smarts) are being dissuaded by their parents from playing football because of the risk of head injury, where will they end up?  There's no analog to the alpha dog status of the varsity quarterback, whether in the high school pecking order or in professional sports.  Whatever is closest in both worlds is about to become much more prominent in the years and decades to come. 

Lazy Linking, 70th in an Occasional Series

Stuff I liked lately on the Internets:

70.1. Some leadership lessons from Mark Zuckerberg - (1) focus, (2) get the right people, (3) fire well, (4) move fast and break things. [Hat tip: kottke.org.]

70.2. Chairs suck. [Hat tip: Marginal Revolution.]

70.3. Man apprehended and charged in the armed robbery of a number of local eateries, including the coffee shop right across the street from our house.  Whew!

70.4. An important clarification to Gladwell's point about putting 10,000 hours into something making you a master at it.

70.5. Speaking of Gladwell, he and Buzz Bissinger think college football should be banned.  

Class Blog

The first class of my Quantitative Tools for Consulting is in the books, and I am very happy with my students.  I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them, reveled in the diversity of their experiences and interests, and am very much looking forward to learning from and with them this summer.  Did I mention my class is 3 1/2 hours on a Saturday morning?  And yet the conversation was engaging, their questions were sharp, and their answers were even sharper.  I am impressed.

I thought it would be fun for us to blog through the course, and thankfully one of my students graciously volunteered to set up a blog on Wordpress.  You can find it here if you want to follow along on our riffs.  We're going to be all over the map, which I'm looking forward to, because there's so much more that I'm interested in than that I'm good at, so I'm definitely going to be reading and reacting with great interest to all the great posts that will emerge from this fantastic group, and will try to post there myself on occasion.

Off the Hook

Has a rap song ever made you cry?  It has for me.  I'm speaking of Cross Movement's "Off the Hook" (video with lyrics below), which tells the gospel story through the analogy of a young thug brought to court for his sins, standing before God the Judge and being prosecuted by "Mr. Law."



The young thug goes from thinking he will get off easy (verse 1) to admitting he's guilty, assuming his sentence will be light, and being stunned that he's receiving the death penalty (verse 2) to realizing he's deserving of such a sentence (verse 3).  What really gets the tears welling up in my eyes is what climaxes the song, as well as the gospel message, which is that it is the judge himself who takes off his robe and takes the punishment upon himself due the young thug. The young thug is crushed by this substitution - he was guilty, but another, more righteous bore the consequence - and trudges home to weep in his room . . . only to find a love letter from the one who substituted for him.  And then, a knock on the door - it is the one who substituted for him, now resurrected.

The song makes me cry because the gospel makes me cry.  If you start with the premise that you are OK, then there is no power or emotion to the gospel message; for you, it is simply history or religion or myth or allegory.  But if you are brought to the same realization as the young thug in the song - I am indeed guilty, and deserving of death, and one more righteous than I has bore the punishment due me - then there is no other message more powerful or persuasive. 

Which is it for you?

Economists and Engineers

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Professionals annual conference at Shawnee Inn and Golf Resort in the Delaware Water Gap.  It was a lovely setting and a great group.  I think I particularly had fun because this group of engineers, biologists, planners, and architects share my analytical approach to things and my respect for trade-offs.

The notion of trade-offs is very important to an economist, and girds my general desire to approach things in as impartial and balanced a way as possible.  Sometimes I feel I have to apologize for this, such as when I am speaking to a group of advocates, who are necessarily predisposed about a topic, hoping others will be similarly inclined, and often less attuned to the notion of trade-offs.

(Example: how many times have you heard a group lobby for more funding for their issue in the following manner: A is a good thing, we need money to do A, therefore we should fund A.  In the real world, funding A often takes money away from other things.  And, funding A may lead to unintended consequences that counteract the benefits of A.  But in a world in which trade-offs aren't accounted for, one needn't worry about such nuisances.)

I quickly surmised there was no need to apologize to this crowd.  They too valued that life was about trade-offs.  For example, I attended a fascinating seminar on green streets, and was impressed with the thoughtfulness with which the presenters wrestled with trade-offs associated with implementing green elements at the street level.  They inherently understood that there was a balancing act on issues of costs, aesthetics, functionality, safety, and ease of implementation, and they talked through with us how they arrived at satisfactory solutions that weighed those things appropriately.

Many of my fellow attendees were respectful of the role of us economists, which I appreciated, and the feeling is mutual from my end.  We may be wired different, and have different parts to play on these issues, but it was neat to find some broad points of agreement among this group.

Rest for the Weary

I was able to take the morning off yesterday, and in the days leading up to this half-day vacation my mind raced with possibilities.  What could I do that I could not otherwise do in my hectic life?  What would be most pleasurable?  What would be most restful?

Since I was weary, the last question dominated my thinking, as did one answer: absolutely nothing.  Rather than being more aggressive or creative, I opted simply to return home after dropping the kids off from school, pop in a Bach CD (Brandenburg Concertos and Orchestral Suites), and read a book cover to cover (Steven Johnson's absolutely delicious "Everything Bad is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter).  


Being able to sink into a good book, a good classical CD, and no other noise or movement in the house, was simply decadent.  I dozed off for a spell in there, and spent the last 30 to 40 minutes of my morning in silence before God, not so much praying or even listening so much as being quiet.  (Can't say I gained any thunderbolts of insights from this, but I was definitely happier for it.)  


Alas, it was time to put my suit on and get downtown for a lunch meeting, followed by a crazy schedule of meetings and of checking in with staffers on impending deadlines.  But even through the hustle and bustle, the calm of the morning put me in a good mood throughout.  I definitely made note to deploy my vacation days like this more often.

Let's Keep An Open Mind

In the midst of my busy life, a small guilty pleasure I indulge in on a regular basis is to scroll through the news feed on my Facebook page.  There I will find articles, videos, and status updates from all of my favorite people, which is to say my "friends" from all the different parts of my life.  There I can quickly get caught up on someone's kids, the latest news, and the funniest jokes. 

Almost all of my Facebook friends are grown adults, and as a result are pretty set in their beliefs and worldviews.  It seems to me, and though I try to be conscious about this I am guilty as well at times, that there is a lot of bashing of others' points of view.  Democrats bash Republicans, Republicans bash Democrats,  Christians get bashed, Muslims get bashed, and everyone bashes gay bashers and Kim Kardashian. Where is the love? 

For as open-minded as we all would like to think we are, I don't actually see much of that on display.  Rather, people post as if the other side is not only wrong but devoid of reason, and if devoid of reason then clearly morally bankrupt.  Which is why I am so intrigued by Jonathan Haidt's new book, "The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Religion and Politics," which was reviewed by the New York Times a couple of months ago.  Haidt, a self-professed "partisan liberal," argues that reason is subordinate to morals, and that Republicans have actually been more broad-minded than Democrats because their beliefs are based on a plurality of moral themes (care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority and sanctity for the R's, vs. just care and fighting oppression for the D's).

More broadly, he urges the kind of open-mindedness that I hope for on Facebook, in my in-person conversations, and in my own internal musings.  I'm not asking for people to not believe strongly in things, or to not think that there are any absolutes in life, or to blindly accept new propositions without testing them.  But I do think that we would all do better, individually and as a society, if we didn't presume to know it all and not have anything to learn from "the other side."  Think about how much better we could do on things like the Trayvon Martin murder, gay rights, how to fix health care, and the future of the American economy if we didn't assume that those who think differently than us were intellectually ignorant and morally defective. 

I hope I have not communicated close-mindedness or ridicule in my words, although if I have, I would not be surprised, and I would like to have it pointed out so I can apologize, examine myself, and get better.  Rather, I hope I have helped cultivate a mood of approachability, in which it is OK to ask tough questions and pose uncomfortable propositions.  Isn't that how we stretch from what we think we know now, and grow into a more informed and respectful perspective? 

Gain from Loss

I'm at an age at which many of my friends have had children or are having children.  It is a time marked by the sharing of cherished moments.  What greater joy is there in announcing that you are expecting, or in reveling in something cute that has been done by the apple of your eye?



The thing about joy is that it is never quite complete until you share it with others and invite them into your happiness.  It is one of life's great treasures, to rejoice in others' rejoicing, and to have others rejoice in your rejoicing.  I do my share of both sharing my joys and rejoicing in others'.



But I must admit that these joys are tinged with bittersweetness.  Adoption brings its own share of joys, from marveling at God's intricate plan in connecting you to someone so special to seeing that someone special blossom right before your eyes.  I would not trade our path to parenthood, or our two kids, for anything in the world.



But that does not mean there is not real loss and real mourning in what we have not and cannot experience.  If you have had a child biologically, consider all of these treasured things that you have experienced that adoptive parents have not:

1. The intimacy of the pregnancy stage
2. The blessed moment of the baby's arrival  
3. The closeness of breastfeeding
4. Seeing yourself and/or your spouse in your child's physical features
5. Seeing yourself and/or your spouse in your child's mannerisms and temperament
6. Seeing yourself and/or your spouse in your child's interests and abilities

Not to mention, in our case, not getting to meet our kids until age 7 1/2 months and age 4 1/2 months, respectively.  How many memories, photos, and Facebook shares are contained in these experiences and in those time frames, which we have not had access to, and never will.



Though our lives are full, that does not mean they are not without some emptiness.  This too is a blessing from God, for blessing from God is not always about abundance and provision, but sometimes about emptiness and loss.  We may question and even rage, but we are stilled by the fact that, were we to somehow be able to rewrite our life story, we could not make it better than what God Himself has willed for our lives.  That is a precious, precious truth.

Lazy Linking, 69th in an Occasional Series

Stuff I liked on the Internets lately:


69.1. We're close to medicine that can selectively blot out bad memories. All sorts of implications. Discuss.

69.2. Warren Buffett's ability to pick out hidden gems applies to 11-year-old Taiwanese-American ping pong players.

69.3. In light of Junior Seau's recent suicide, I link you to a relatively old article, but nonetheless still a freshly relevant one, on how football might become a fringe sport by the time my kids are my age.


69.4. "Talking back is good," "peer pressure is good," "lying is good," and other things you were never told about good parenting.

69.5. I'm not artistic at all, so artists really impress me to the point of incredulity on a regular basis.  But sometimes the stuff I see on thisiscolossal.com is really mind-blowing.  Like these portraits made out of shards of photographs on insect pins.

Working at Resting

My company has a "use it or lose it" policy when it comes to vacation: you can't carry your days into the next year, because the point of vacation is to take it and not to bank it.  With my work anniversary coming up, I have a day or two unused so have to use it or else I will lose it.  Looking ahead at this a few weeks back, I had feared I wouldn't be able to extricate myself from meetings and deadlines, but that doesn't seem to be the problem now.  My problem now seems to be that I have forgotten how to rest.

You know you're busy when, if given the opportunity to rest, you don't know what to do with yourself.  Meaning that you've run yourself so ragged that you no longer remember how to rest.  This is bad for someone who believes in the importance of and mandate to rest, as deemed by my God, who Himself rested on the seventh day after creating the whole world.  He invites us into that rest, as a way of being like Him, recharging (unlike Him, we grow weary and need to take breaks), and trusting in His provision (that work that looms over our heads, we'll just have to believe it can wait for a moment). 

Between deadlines at work, getting ready for the class I'm teaching starting next week, and responsibilities on the kid and home front, I've been spinning my plates frantically, with hardly a moment to catch my breath.  So it would seem that a day or so to be still would be welcomed.  And yet here I am treating this blessing in the same way I have treated the rest of my life: with an eye to efficiently maximizing the time.  As in, how can I best rest?

It seems absurd to think this way, and it is.  Perhaps this is part of the discipline of resting: to be confronted with our inability to be still and trust our God in the stillness.  Absent actually doing it, we can lose touch with how to do it; but having the regular practice of doing it reminds us of this important spiritual barometer.  I am failing in this area, but thankful for the opportunity to measure myself and realize this.  Let's hope I rest well, whatever that means.

Say Yes to Alcohol

Apologies to those who are not my immediate neighbors, but today's post is hyper-local in nature.  The community association that I am on the board of has an online petition in support of the state liquor store application at 43rd and Chestnut Streets.  You may wonder why a tee-totaler like me is lobbying for more alcohol.  I'll give you four reasons:

1) The store would knock out a huge porn shop that currently anchors the shopping plaza.

2) It would catalyze physical and store mix improvements to the plaza.

3) It would lead to some nice BYOB's in the area.

4) It would be high-end in nature, so would draw in sophisticated shoppers and not winos.

Click here if you want to sign the petition, or else go to Spruce Hill Community Association's website.

Next is New

Been meaning to do this for a few weeks now, so belatedly I give some link love to the good people over at Next American City for the fantastic stuff they're putting on their revamped website.  (It doesn't hurt that Philadelphia, where they are headquartered, is in heavy rotation.)  Diana Lind and gang are generating some serious quantity and quality of urban goings-on, and I encourage you to bookmark/subscribe/follow or whatever it is that you young kids are doing these days.

Huang Family Newsletter, April 2012

Aaron started baseball, so now has one weekday evening practice and one or two weekend games.  His appetite has become ravenous, so we are expecting another growth spurt.  We had a minor scare when he stuck a bead up his nose, but Amy was able to get it out. 



Jada is still doing ballet; her rehearsal is next month.  She read the assurance of pardon at our church's Youth Sunday.  She also lost one of her front teeth at her friend's party.



We enjoyed Easter dinner at Amy's parents' house.  Amy and Lee had two dates - one in, and one out - to celebrate their 12th anniversary.

Amy attended a work conference in town and learned a lot, but being out of the office meant she had to scramble to keep up with her meetings and paperwork.  Lee juggled work projects and getting ready to teach a class this summer at Penn.