7 Quick Takes, Vol. 11

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I just discovered the amazingly useful blog Pray More Novenas. It emails you the novena prayers every morning - idiotproof prayer. If you are like me and can never remember to keep up all 9 days, you should give this a try.

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I blame these cute but sappy books. 

The novena I've been praying is for St. Therese's feast day tomorrow. To be honest, I have never been a big fan of hers. Usually she's portrayed as a saccharine ingenue, ringlets bouncing as she skips through life scattering rose petals. She charmed her parents, her sisters, even the Pope! Gag me with a spoon.

Honestly, her life wasn't really like that, so I should give her a break. This novena has been a surprisingly profound experience. I feel more at peace about life, more aware of God's presence. There are signs of the same thing happening for some of my novena intentions, too.

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The accounting department at my office moved to a bigger room, which means I get my own desk! No longer am I perched on a 2.3' segment at the end of my boss' desk. I even have my own stapler and tape dispenser now. Feels like I am moving up in the world. 

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Awesome - getting a pretty silver silk blouse as a swanky "hand me down" from my aunt. Awkward - tearing a seam in the slightly snug sleeve, and repairing it with said tape dispenser in a corporate restroom.

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Yesterday I think I put 100 miles on my car driving to the chiropractor, work, and then a cocktail reception at an historic house in Georgetown. Even though the traffic here is ridonkulous, I still love driving toward DC. It feels like all of us commuters are headed somewhere exciting and important. Also, once I have crossed the Potomac I can start drooling over historic architecture.If I could hug an Italianate townhouse, I would.

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If you've ever tried to look up Mass times online, you probably discovered that most parish websites are even more insufficient than the church's restroom facilities. For every visually appealing, user friendly site, there are ten thousand Web 1.0 monstrosities with tiny print, weird scrolling messages and the confession schedule buried deep in the menu under "community" or "about us."

You know what can be even worse? Catholic bookstores. This week I consulted one that described the store inventory as "appropriate gifts." Another had online purchasing, but no mentions of store hours. They received the wrath I normally reserve for job applications that require me to physically mail in a copy of an unsavable PDF form.

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The liturgical calendar for October always makes me happy - woah, how did all these awesome saints get scheduled in the same week? In my own calendar there are tons of birthdays, too. Happy birthday to my BFF K.D. tomorrow, and to my Mom on Sunday!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!