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My Humble Opinion: A “Biblical” Response to the Haiti Quake January 23, 2010

Posted by Margaret Hebron in old testament, social responsibility, theology.
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I’ve heard it said, and I’m guessing you have too, that the recent earthquake in Haiti was God’s judgment on the nation for some sort of pact with the devil. I am inclined to disagree, but who am I to comment on the mind of God? However, I would like to put forth that maybe, just maybe, it is we who are being judged in this incident, not the people of Haiti.

I was contemplating a few days ago on God’s command to Adam and Eve to subdue the earth in Genesis 1:28. Now, this verse is not about animal husbandry or environmental consciousness, and it has nothing to do with your carbon footprint. Interestingly, this word “subdue” is the same word that is used in Esther 7:8 as a euphemism for rape.

Now don’t go thinking you can use Genesis 1:28 to justify any kind of “rape” of the planet; that is certainly not what I’m proposing, nor is it defensible theologically or exegetically. What’s essential to understand about Genesis 1 is that other ancient Near Eastern creation stories were about a god or gods battling chaos and then creating the world. In Genesis, it is Yahweh who defeats chaos and commands Adam and Eve (and by extension, humanity) to keep chaos at bay.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel like I interact with chaos much on a daily basis. Most things are pretty predictable. Occasionally in Seattle we’ll get hit by a windstorm or small earthquake, and that’s about as close as I usually come. Fortunately for me, we have done a pretty good job in Seattle of dealing with chaos. There may be some downed powerlines or cracked buildings, but usually the people who fare worst are those sitting in the cold for a week or two. Not a death toll in the thousands or tens of thousands.

So, who is it who failed to adequately prepare for the chaos that hit Haiti? I’m sure there are many people, both on an individual and societal level. That’s not a call I’m qualified to make, and I’m certainly not going to start passing the blame. But surely all of us who have the means to influence poorer nations for the good must feel some degree of responsibility both to do what we can now to help those in need and to ensure that future catastrophes are attenuated. We cannot control chaos outright, but we can prepare.

Let us remember that Yahweh, who has commanded us to fight chaos, is the same Yahweh who made countless provisions for the poor in the Hebrew laws. We are called to do our part in both.

Dharbucks January 22, 2010

Posted by Margaret Hebron in humor, random.
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Complements of my friend’s coworker. I have no words.

Old Favorites Club January 16, 2010

Posted by Margaret Hebron in literature, travel.
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I’ve decided that for my upcoming cruise I am going to reread a favorite book rather than bringing the book I’m reading now. While I am enjoying the book I’m currently reading (Proust’s In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower), it’s definitely not a page-turner, and my patience for boring literature goes down considerably when I’m traveling (Side note: don’t you think we should spell this word the British way, ‘travelling’?).

Now the tough part, which one to bring? It’s like choosing a favorite child.

I’ve narrowed it down to the following: The Odyssey, Watership Down, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Grapes of Wrath, and A Severe Mercy, with an honorable mention to Pride and Prejudice.

The Odyssey would definitely be the most ‘useful.’ It has actually come up a number of times in my thesis research, and I’ve been meaning to revisit it for a while. A Severe Mercy has a special allure because I first read it while in Australia. I’m drawn to the elegance of revisiting it when in the southern hemisphere again.

The Grapes of Wrath is simply my favorite book and the work of literature I find myself applying to daily life most often. Thus it would be ‘useful’ in a wholly different way (or as Winnie the Pooh would say, Useful). The other two are just favorites I’ve been meaning to reread for a while.

Decisions, decisions. At least I’ve still got a week to make up my mind. At this point I am leaning towards The Odyssey and/or A Severe Mercy.

Facebook thinks I’m fat January 11, 2010

Posted by Margaret Hebron in health, love, technology.
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*Sigh.*

Incompetence is underrated December 31, 2009

Posted by Margaret Hebron in the grindstone.
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Last month I complained about temping because you’re always the “new guy” who feels somewhat inept. But really, temping has its upside too. The superfluous amount of really incompetent temps out there sets the bar so low that they can’t help but love me.

So even though I always know I’ve made a million mistakes, I usually get tons of accolades by the end of my time at a given company. How’s that for an ego boost!

Stop the Cavalry December 30, 2009

Posted by Margaret Hebron in food, music.
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It all started with a song. An 80’s Christmas tune asking Winston Churchill to stop the cavalry so the troops can be home for Christmas. But this is not your average Christmas ballad: it’s sung by a men’s chorus to polka-style music, which is I think what makes it so endearing.

My radio station claims to be the first to have discovered the song way-back-when and plays it every year as a kind of holiday tradition. This year they decided to make it into a contest: Be the 10th caller when the song is played and win a holiday ham!

To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have called in had I not liked the song so much. I’m such a pessimist about contests and I never want them to put my voice on the radio. But something about the thought of winning a holiday ham to this great song lured me in, and what do you know, I won!

So on Christmas day my parents and I enjoyed this massive ham and had leftovers to boot. Thanks for the ham, The Mountain!

“Wish I could be dancing now, in the arms of the girl I love.”

Writer’s Block December 14, 2009

Posted by Margaret Hebron in blogging.
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So I haven’t blogged in almost a month. I keep thinking of things to blog about, and then not writing the posts. For some reason I’ve got writer’s block, and it’s affecting Edna too. Alas.

In other news, I finally figured out why my post about dark chocolate gets so many hits. It had been a mystery almost since I wrote it, but I finally discovered that if you Google image search ‘dark chocolate’ my blog comes up in the number 2 spot! Thanks Google!

And, in still other news, my blog snow is back. Happiness!

Please excuse my complete incompetence November 18, 2009

Posted by Margaret Hebron in the grindstone.
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There’s nothing that makes you feel like a total idiot than starting a new job, where you don’t know anyone’s name, don’t know how to do anything, and can’t answer a single question. Therein lies the beauty of temping. You get all the embarrassment of being the ‘new guy’ without any of the lasting benefits.

Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things I like about temping. I work for a great temp agency here in Seattle and have enjoyed most of the assignments I’ve been on. But even when the people are over-the-top welcoming and don’t mind at all if you ask a million questions (and occasionally transfer a call to the wrong person… oops), that first day will always be awkward and a bit humiliating.

I do have to say, working with a multi-line phone system does keep things interesting. I have probably doubled the pathways in my brain just from trying to figure the thing out. The problem with learning phones is that there’s really not a lot of room for error. Nor is there a lot of time to figure out what you’re supposed to do. It all happens so fast, and before you know it you’ve hung up on the person who may or may not have a lot of patience and forgiveness in their heart.

Let’s just say I play the ‘It’s my first day’ card as much as I possibly can.

Who is Megan Hebron? November 11, 2009

Posted by Margaret Hebron in rants, technology.
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Five years ago I signed up for an email account that started with ‘meg’ instead of ‘margaret.’ Crazy, I know, but I didn’t want any unnecessary punctuation in my email address and margarethebron kind of looks like ‘margaret the bron.’ Definitely not what I’m going for. Besides, Meg is a legitimate nickname for Margaret. Just look in any baby name book, because I know you all have one of those on your bedside table.

Well, everything was going swimmingly until about, oh, a year or so ago when I started getting emails addressed to Megan. This has escalated to the point that it is becoming increasingly common for people to think my name is Megan. Not that I have anything against Megan, it is a very nice name and I’m sure all the Megans out there are happy with it. But, well, I am kind of attached to Margaret, what do you know.

A few weeks ago I took a practice GRE offered by a Kaplan center in the U District. After the test, the instructor was handing everyone back their scores, and when he finished handing them all back I still hadn’t gotten mine. He asked if anyone hadn’t received theirs back, so I raised my hand. He looked at me and said, “Megan?” “No, Margaret.” “Oh… Hebron?” “Yep….”

What’s especially weird about the Kaplan thing is that when I signed up for the test I clearly entered my name as Margaret in whatever little online form they had. So I really have no idea how it got switched to Megan.

So what do you think is the path of least resistance? Name change? New email? Just accept it? I think for now I will allow people to continue thinking I’m Megan. Occasionally I’ll send a polite email letting the person know my name is actually Margaret. But sometimes it’s more amusing to just let them think I’m Megan. So for now I guess I’ll just enjoy having an alter ego. If I say anything that offends you, blame Megan.

What is strength? October 26, 2009

Posted by Margaret Hebron in love, musings.
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Everyone knows that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger, and I have definitely found this to be true in my own life. Today I was thinking about the hard times in my life and I had another thought. Perhaps the hard times are also what teach you to love deeply. I have never thought of it this way, but I think it’s true. If I think about the dark times in life, when I have been lonely or fearful or mourning the loss of something precious, those are the times that made me a deeper person. And what does becoming a deeper person do but allow you to love others in a more profound way?

So that begs the question… is strength the ability to love deeply?

Boulder