Durham Itself

Here are the promised pics of Durham. We had a nice snow back in January, and I'm just now getting around to posting.

Here's where we attend church, St Oswald's.

Here's the Market Square. Here you can see St Nic's and the old mayor's hall.

Looking South towards the Cathedral, with the Market at my back.
Looking towards the Market from the West.
Elvet bridge, on the East side of town.
East end of the Cathedral.
Castle gate. The castle is essentially a giant dorm for lucky undergrads.
Here's where I study, in the little white cottage with the green shutters. The large building on the right is a private house. The cathedral is just to the left, casting its shadow on the other buildings. the building on the far left is the Theology Dept.
Here's the old castle keep. The gate you saw above is just to the left. Going past the building to the right leads down to the Market.
Here's the Theology Dept, in the shadow of the cathedral.
Looking down the Bailey, just south of the cathedral. The snow has covered over all the cobbles.
Looking up the street, opposite end as the picture above.
My view walking into town every morning. That would be the castle, just North of the cathedral.
Across the river from the cathedral, looking South towards the old mill.

Here's a nice one of the Cathedral:

I've not included any pictures of the building where we live because, quite simply, it's very boring and modern. On the bright side, we've recently been granted a 3-bedroom flat. Hooray! We'll move in sometime this summer, most likely.

Things are still going well, just awaiting Baby boy #2! He was due a week ago today, and will hopefully come sooner than later. I'm sure the next post will be pics of him (her?).

Thanks for reading!

And... we're back.

I haven't been posting on this blog mainly because Facebook has satisfied my desire to connect with the outside world. This return to blogging is due to several factors... a distrust of Facebook's stability (almost crashed last week due to a hacker attack), several family members and friends aren't on Facebook, and frankly, Facebook's novelty is wearing off a bit, a friend from high school has a nice little family blog that motivates me to keep it up. Also, a blog allows longer explanations and updates than social networking sites.

So, here we go again!

Here's a pic of our cathedral I took myself a couple months ago:

It's been well over a year since the last update, and we've been in Durham now for ten relatively happy months. Nathanael is now attempting to communicate with words, sometimes actually succeeding. I've managed to turn in a fairly large piece of research earlier this spring, which was very well received, and hope to turn in another large piece by the end of Sept, just in time for my twelve-month review. That should put me at just under half-way through my PhD thesis by the end of my first year... not bad! Even though the material I've finished is fairly rough at this point, it's very important just to get it down and work on all the finer touches in the future. Working through the ideas and getting them on paper is, at least for me, a very important (and sometimes delicate) process. Jackie has done very well staying at home with Nathanael, and she and a few of the other ladies in our building keep themselves very occupied playing with toddlers, going to the gym, etc. Life in England is good.

We've manged to visit quite a bit of historic/scenic locations around us... this area is the historic borderland between Scotland and England, and there are tons of castles around from when these two countries didn't get along very well! Hadrian's wall is ancient testimony to the conflict between Scotland and the civilized world (ha!) and border forts have abounded ever since. Here are a couple pics of the two best local castles.

Bamburgh (pronounced BAM-burra)

Bamburgh is the historic seat of the old kingdom of Northumbria. Owned today by a certain Lord Armstrong, it's a beautiful sight, perched on top of a rock at the seaside. Very dramatic.

Alnwick (pronounced ANN-ick)

Alnwick is the second-largest castle in England, just behind Windsor Castle. Apparently it was used for some Harry Potter shots, and is the current residence of the Duke of Northumberland. We've yet to fork over the money to go inside, but apparently it's very nice. And though not as dramatic as Bamburgh, it has a simply wonderful pastoral beauty.

Much less populated than the South of England, the Northeast is far more noteworthy for its countryside and historic sites. And lucky for us, it's generally a more affordable place to live! I personally very much appreciate this area's roots as a key birthplace of English Christianity, when St Aidan, an Irish bishop, was invited by the Northumbrian King St Oswald in the 7th Century. Apparently Oswald, who knew Irish far better than Aidan knew the local dialect of Old English (the Angle part of Anglo-Saxon), translated for the missionary bishop as they toured around the kingdom together evangelizing people all over the North of modern-day England. It's a great story, and very interesting to see the Celtic-Irish-Angle roots of Christianity in this region.

And here are a few more shots of us at random places:

The crazy awesome gardens at Belsay Hall:

Nathanael playing in the churchyard of Durham Cathedral:

Having a picnic at Durham Cathedral:

Jackie snagged this pic of me and Nathanael on the beach at Bamburgh, I think she did a great job, love this pic:

This is a favorite of mine, taken at Lindisfarne Priory (torn down by Henry VIII), one of the real historic hearts of English Christianity:

Playing at Tynemouth Priory, another dramatic spot on the coast (and another victim of Henry):

In the Lake District, right near Keswick:

In Edinburgh, Scotland:

Just outside Durham at Broom House Farm, one of the highest places in County Durham; if I wasn't in the way, you could probably see Durham Cathedral in the distance:

To my shame, I've realised I don't have that many pictures of Durham City itself. On the first sunny day I promise to spend some time out and about with the camera. It'll be a good excuse to post again.

That about wraps up this post... and having uploaded all these pictures, I'm reminded again of why I don't blog that often... it takes forever.

Thanks for reading!

Update on Nathanael (and future plans)

Nathanael gets older as you scroll down. This first pic is from 6 months, ending with a couple pictures from last week, at 8 months old.
That's a birthmark on his stomach... when he developed it as a little baby, I thought I had pinched him in his carseat or something! It's bright red and raised a little, made up of lots of blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. The pediatrician said these things are rather common, and typically disappear at about 24 months, leaving almost no mark at all. Sometimes certain varieties of this "birthmark" can grow rather large and tender, and pose a great danger that if punctured, the child could bleed to death. Fortunately, his is pretty harmless, and not on his face. One of my buddies here at school with me said he had one just like this on his shoulder, and all he has to show for it is a little sunken spot in his skin, and no discoloration. Strange stuff! On a different note, isn't he skinny?!? He hates eating, so we cram as much into him as we can. He's just got better things to do than eat, I suppose. He's still big for his age, so whatever.

All was well...happy babies playing together...until Trent made a cute baby noise that Nathanael couldn't tolerate. We have no idea why he's so sensitive, but little babies his own age freak him out if they make the slightest little peep. Older kids, 2 and up, can scream their heads off, and our baby will laugh. But if a peer of his says "goo-goo" it's all over for our baby.
Rubber duckies are the best.
Showing off his walking abilities, Greco-Roman style.


Ok, enough baby stuff. For those of you who only care about Nathanael, you can stop reading here.

Update on what's next for us:

Turns out, none of the American schools gave me an offer. I think it was a combination of how I presented myself in my statement (I could have been more clear, said a few things differently, etc) and my overall interests. And of course, the low writing score I got on the stupid GRE didn't help, either. Turns out, Notre Dame was also turned off by my undergraduate GPA from 10 years and two degrees ago. I guess a 3.0 in Political Science means a bit more than a 4.0 in theology at a well-respected graduate program. Oh well, what can you do? I think I was up against a bunch of guys who had perfect numbers, and wanted to work on things they found more interesting. I was told that I was definitely an interesting candidate, but ultimately didn't make the final cuts, or didn't get enough support from the dept's whole faculty. Such is life.

So, I started to clue in to this about halfway through receiving my rejection notices. I said to myself sometime mid-February, "I don't think this is going to work out." So, faced with the prospect of imminent rejection, what's a guy to do? Plan for the future, that's what.

So, I began to develop plans of gainful employment for a couple years, and to apply again to PhD programs, armed with my new-found knowledge of what schools are looking for and how to present myself more effectively.

Putting out feelers, at the beginning of March I emailed a couple professors in the UK, just to get an idea of how interesting they would find me and my interests, hoping to apply in a year or two. Turns out, the found me quite interesting. One guy at St Andrews in Scotland said, "send in your stuff, real quick." I said, "What, for this coming year?" "Yes." You see, the deadline for PhD applications was January 15th, and here I was emailing them in March. I had not even dared to think there might be time to apply for this year. I asked the woman at Durham (in Northern England) if there was still time, she said, sure, send me your stuff, I'd love for you to apply. Now, I've been thinking about going to study at Durham for years, but then got it into my head that I would study here in the US, where I could get paid to go to school. Turns out, all the schools with money have already told me no, so if I had to pay for my education out of pocket, I might as well go to a school I really like, with a good name. And in all likelihood, the style of theology done in most places in England will be more conducive to what I want to do anyway, with the exception of Notre Dame, which I think would be comparable.

Turns out, the current theology dept ratings in the UK go something like this:

1. Cambridge
2. Durham
3. St Andrews/Oxford

And wouldn't you know it, less than three weeks later I got offers from both St Andrews and Durham, two of the top four theology programs in the UK. I heard "yes" from them before I heard "no" from Notre Dame, even though ND got my app in November. I guess when you're giving away lots of money, you can take as much time as you like. Oh well.

The applications to the UK schools were were so much more simple and straightforward than those for the US schools. I filled out some basic information, and also sent them my transcripts, a writing sample, and a two page research proposal. So much more simple, the process was so much more streamlined and efficient. Either they really liked me, or they're just really flexible and laid-back compared to US schools. I'd like to think both are true.

So, that means we're moving to England this fall for PhD studies in theology, a lifelong dream of mine ever since I heard of CS Lewis when I was a kid. We'll most likely be there three years.

I've accepted the offer to study at Durham University.

Check out the theology department here, and take a look at Durham's 1,000 year old Norman cathedral here.The castle and cathedral are a World Heritage site, along with such structures as the Great Wall in China and the Pyramids in Egypt. It's really a beautiful, historic place! You can learn about North East England here.

I'm still getting over the disappointment of having read the US schools wrong... and the rejection stings a little bit, even two weeks later. It was difficult to have done so much research on what schools I liked, and what schools I had a shot at attending, only to find out there were factors in play of which I knew nothing. Live and learn, live and learn. And it's so ironic that I'm still letting that disappointment mitigate my enthusiasm to study in one of the best programs in the UK. A couple years ago, I had eyes only for Durham, now I'm letting something get in the way of having realized that dream. I'll snap out of it soon, I believe, but this has brought out a competitive spirit in me that I've never felt before... I'm now determined to out-publish and out-"theologize" all those guys who went to these hyper-competitive US programs. As my friend's 3-year old told her mom the other day, "Mommy, get over yourself." Perhaps I need little Irene to say, "Mr Jeremy, get over yourself."

Needless to say, the past 3 months have been a real roller coaster for us. However, it's nice finally to know where we're going, and a relief to be able to make definite plans and move towards a concrete goal. No more Limbo for us! Our destination is set.

Thanks for all your support, and thanks for checking the blog even though I go 3 months between updates.

Thanks for reading!

Good stuff

Here are a few baby pics from the last month, Thanksgiving to Christmas.

Here he is eating his first bites of baby cereal right before his 4 month birthday, on Thanksgiving Day (Nov 22):
He opened right up, like he'd always known what spoons were for.

Here he is with his Great-Grandpa Rog right after Thanksgiving:
Flirting with our neighbor girl, Sophia. She's 3 weeks younger than him. "C'mere, mama! Daddy's gonna give you a kish."
Santa Baby opening a present on Christmas with Jackie's family in Florida. He loves to rip the paper--not to open the present, of course, but to eat the wrapping.
Baby got the "haul," as we say in my family. And doesn't he know it!
Santa Baby taking a walk in the park, looking for gators from the safety of his new stroller. You wouldn't know it, but he's smiling under all that junk we smother him in. It was like 80F that day... the little guy was a bit sweaty under that cap. And no, no gators. Just a couple lizards.
One of the benefits to Christmas in Florida is swimming. Here he is, in the pool for the first time! Yeah, we're a little protective of his porcelain skin. Maybe I should follow suit.
Christmas was nice, though I'm still getting used to wearing shorts and flip-flops in Dec.

Re: my PhD applications, they're all submitted. It's out of my hands now! (as if I ever had much control to begin with). We'll see what happens sometime by early to mid March.

I thought about taking a poll to see where people think I should go to school, presuming offers from all 4, but then I realized you people would vote selfishly based on how close we were to you (or how far). And that's NOT very helpful. So, I'll just list the schools/locations and let you pine away for us.

Here they are, in order of my preference:
1. Notre Dame (in South Bend, IN)
2. Duke (in Durham, NC)
3. Emory (in Atlanta, GA)
4. U of Chicago (you know where)

The program at ND is quite competitive--and though I think I'm a strong candidate, there are a number of competitive applications vying for the same two or three available spots. So it's anybody's guess at this point.

While Chicago is probably the most prestigious of the remaining three for theology (and very competitive), I feel that Duke or Emory might (?) be a better fit for me over-all. They're all excellent schools for what I want to do--all are exciting prospects--so an offer from any of the four will most certainly be a step in the right direction, and an excellent start to a quality academic career as a historical theologian.

These applications are arguably the most risky thing I've ever done in my whole life... I feel like I've really put myself "out there" by applying to such highly-ranked institutions. Since I have no back-up plans for "lesser schools" to assure entrance into a program somewhere, I feel as if I've put all my eggs into one basket, the Basket of Elite Institutions. For some crazy reason, I would rather spend a year off and reapply again if I don't get an offer from any of the four, waiting until the second round for the "safe" applications. But I would still bust my butt to get into the same four.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement and support. Here's to a very Blessed Christmas (still nine days of Christmas left!) and a Happy New Year!

Thanks for reading!

Sorry 'Bout That

School has been sucking all my energy away... that, and PhD applications. Using up my remaining vigor to help a little with baby now and then, and I'm afraid blogging gets a big shrug and an "oh well." But, we've had some good pictures taken lately. Jackie's friend (since 5th grade) Jenny comes to visit us every year or so, and she's turned into quite the photographer over the last few years, even able to score a few professional gigs now and then. She brought up her equipment and made us do a photo shoot with the baby. Over a week, she was able to get quite a few good shots. Here are a few:

My absolute favorite, taken on the tram at the Botanical Garden in the Bronx.Did we mention his massive head dwarfs the rest of his body?We take the best naps.So, you gonna finish that burrito?
Brrr, it's cold... gimme a sweater.
That's enough for now. I ought to save some for later! You people are like a pack of ravenous dogs... I have to keep you at bay by throwing out scraps of meat now and then.

BTW, some of you were kind enough to ask how the GRE went. The answer is, it went both well and I don't know yet. My first test in August was pretty good, 95th percentile in Verbal, 42nd percentile in Math, and 73rd percentile in Analytical Writing. Not too bad, but in definite need of improvement for my purposes. A good first effort, after not very much prep. The second test, taken at the beginning of October, was quite a bit better, after more prep. 99th percentile in Verbal, 63rd percentile in Math. That's more like it. Note, I don't need a strong math score for studying theology. They don't care, as long as I don't get too low a combined score. But get this... I know I knocked the two essays out of the park. I mean, that's what I do... I'm a writer. Literary analysis is my name, argumentation is my game. They gave me a 54th percentile on my essays. I absolutely couldn't believe it. Absolutely, perfectly average. Which hardly gets it done when one is looking to impress. Looking at the examples of essays receiving that score level, they look like they're written by sophomore's in high school. How on earth I got a 4.5 out of 6.0 is beyond me. There's absolutely no way. How can I get a 99th percentile in Verbal (730/800) and a 54th in writing?

Fortunately, there is a review process. For the meager fee of $55, test takers can request a review of their essays, effectively re-submitting them for a new score. I'm expecting to hear back any day now on my new scores... If I don't get at least a 5.0 out of 6.0, I don't know what I'll do. I don't want to take the test again, because a) it'll look ridiculous to take the same test 3 times (scores are automatically submitted to the applicant's schools), b) I don't have the time or energy to prepare again, and c) it's getting awfully close to the due date for these PhD applications, and I dare not cut it too close. December 15th is the latest. And I'm ready to submit my applications by this weekend. It truly is crunch time. I'm just waiting for the new score to come in before I click "submit" on my online applications. What a nail-biter!

Thanks for all your support, and thanks for clamoring for news and pictures. It shows your love.

Thanks for reading!