headboard project

several months ago, my place of work went through a BIG move. on the last day of the move, several of us were breaking down a couple cubicles, taking piece by piece out to the dumpster. as i carried a cubicle wall to the dumpster, i had a thought: could i turn this into a huge canvas for a painting above my sofa? i asked my boss what she thought. she thought maybe that could work, but also brought up the idea of using it as a headboard. genius! i somehow fit the wall into my little civic sedan and the wheels started turning.

i stopped at target on the way home for the following items:

1. twin size foam mattress pad (less expensive and softer than foam from hardware store)
2. glue that will work with a variety of materials (metal, foam, fabric)
3. fabric table cloth (less expensive than bolt upholstery fabric)

later i returned for a few more items, because this was definitely a trial and error, learn as you go kind of project:

1. pre-cut batting for full size quilt (less expensive and easier than purchasing from bolt)
2. quilting safety pins (they are strong and curved)
3. fabric-specific glue
4. bike wall hangers (no clue what they're really called, so we'll go with this!)

so...here is the "before" picture of my guest room: (i know, it's quite sad looking...college bedding, no curtains, a chair for a nightstand...quite sad indeed.)

how did it work? let's go step by step through the process:

1. remove all outer hardware from the cubicle wall
2. glue foam mattress topper to front of wall with multi-purpose glue
3. cover foam with batting, wrapping around all edges and corners
4. fasten batting with fabric glue and quilting safety pins
5. cover batting with fabric tablecoth, wrapping around all edges and corners
6. fasten tablecloth with fabric clue and quilting safety pins

okay, that was the easy part.

i had purchased button kits and made buttons covered with extra fabric pieces cut from the tableloth, but decided not to add them. this decision was made partly because of visual reasons, but mostly because of the inside structure of the cubicle wall. the wall was framed in metal bars including one metal bar connecting the two long sides of the wall. this extra metal bar is located about one third of the way in the middle of the wall. not only was this a hazard in tufting the headboard, but the metal framing would also prove to be an issue when thinking of ways to fasten the headboard to the wall.

here is my genius solution: bike rack screws! they are designed to hold enough weight, and if i put holes in the back of the headboard, then the metal framing can rest on the rack, just like a bike.

1. find studs
2. measure desired height, based on headboard ended one inch above the mattress top
3. measure twice
4. do it a third time, just for good measure
5. screw in red rubber ended bike racks
6. now, center headboard on the wall, simply resting it on the floor (remember, the studs may not be centered on the wall, thus not be centered on the headboard)
7. determine where the bike racks will go through the back of the headboard
8. measure for the 4 holes (2 for each 2-pronged rack)
9. measure and mark again
10. cut at the 4 marked points through the fabric, the batting, the foam and cubicle fabric and foam just below the metal framing
11. line the cut areas with fabric glue (this will keep the fabric from fraying)
12. hang the headboard by lining up the holes with the 2-pronged racks and pushing until the metal frame rests on the racks

it was a lot of work. doing one of the pinterest plywood, hardware store foam, fabric projects would have been MUCH easier, but i ended up with a great headboard and i only spent $55 on EVERYTHING i used.

here is the after photo of the guest room: (pete loves the new look! ...even if the photo isn't good quality)

response: why i hate religion video

when i left full time professional ministry and jumped into higher education, some people turned their heads. when i left the university and made the move to Fraternity, people really began to question me. how could someone who was once a youth pastor work for social organizations that are known to be killing our college children?

the same reason that i started out in life with a mission to work for a religion that is most publicly known for being insensitive, hypocritical, overly political and homophobic, just to name a few.

a little while back i wrote about the need for fraternities and sororities to fully claim their values, their rituals, the reasons for their founding. to quit complaining about all of the bad press because until the press has nothing bad to say about us we have no right to ask them to stop calling attention to it.

being a follower of Christ is no different.

here's what one man has to say about it:

some are calling it a viral sensation. i call it embarrassing.

unchristian and when bad christians happen to good people are two of my favorite books. i'm used to talking about the failure of the church. i agree with nearly everything this man in the video has to say.

nearly everything.

i don't hate religion.
i refuse to hate it. 
i'm disappointed with it.

sure, we've got our problems. there are those who use God's name in vain. like when they say they'll pray for you, but don't. like when they say "bless her soul" in the most condescending way. like when they picket military funerals with signs misquoting God. like when they wear WWJD bracelets or metal ichthus signs on their cars, but treat others like trash. like when they create cults and lead others astray. like when they only attend church or say "God bless America" as a political ploy.

yes, we have our issues. the church has lost its sight. heck, i don't know that it ever really had it to begin with. remember paul's letters from back in the day? those churches were screwed up too. when the fathers of the church pulled together the books of the bible, i wonder if they included those letters to show us that it's normal to mess up. it's human.

maybe that's why the Creator not only became human, but became spirit as well. maybe that's why the Holy Spirit was given to us when the Son was taken away. to give us a direct line. no church needed.

but we are commanded to live in community with one another. that's why we need the church.

but we have to change it. and you can't change something from the outside. you've got to get inside to shake things up. and as a believer in the Way, the Truth and the Life i continue to work for change. for leading the way in making all peoples truly equal. for diligent work for world peace (and not just the miss america kind). for truly mirroring Christ's work in feeding the poor, clothing the hungry, sheltering the homeless and freeing the imprisoned. this is the business i believe my Maker meant for the church to be about and i hope that one day the church will be known for these things, instead of the characteristics the barna group found.

i also think that it's important to say that we aren't all getting it wrong. some are getting it right. but just like fraternities and sororities, the negative perception won't cease until the negative stories do. all of them. until we change who we are, we will never be seen as the church we were intended to be.

armed and dangerous

there's been a lot germinating in my head these past couple of weeks but there hasn't been time to write. hopefully soon i'll be able to sit down and work through all of these thoughts. for now, i'm just going to tell you about my night...

i came home from work today to find a letter from the apartment management. i skim through the letter, as if it's like any of the others. a car break in here. an apartment robbery there. nothing big.

but then i see it. two men with guns approached a resident and robbed them between the hours of 10:30 and 11:00pm on MY STREET. if you've ever been to my apartment complex, then you know that my street is not very long. there are only a few buildings. meaning, this happened practically in my front yard.

i start to go through the files of my memory... i was out a lot last night. i was back and forth with pete to and from the dumpster to throw out what i was sure were flea ridden items from my home. (more on the flea infestation later...) i usually go to bed around 11pm, so i'm almost always outside with pete during that time so he can get in his last pee of the night.

did i see these men? did i walk past the car where they were waiting to choose their victim?

which then makes me think... why didn't they choose me? that's easy. 1) i have a pit bull to protect me. 2) i didn't have a purse or anything for them to profit from.

i breathe easy for a little while, but then i take pete with me on a trip to the dumpster to throw away tonight's vacuum bag and other assorted items. pete's poop place is in the grass behind the dumpster. (if you have a dog, then you know - they pick a spot and they always poop there.) as we approach the back side of the dumpster, i notice a man walking along the front side.

i don't think much of it. he's probably just throwing something away, right? no. he walks on by.

eh, he's probably just walking down the street. no big deal.

but he's wearing a dark hoodie with the hood covering half of his face. and his hands are in his pockets as he walks. as he passes the dumpster, he turns to look at me. pete's pooping, but i don't let my fingers stray from the trigger on the pepper spray in my pocket to unfold the poop bag. the man keeps on walking.

am i being paranoid? is this really happening? i tell myself to calm down.

the man walks toward my building. clearly i was being paranoid. he's just one of my new neighbors.

i keep one eye on him while i bag pete's poop and round the dumpster to throw it away.

the man keeps turning to look at me as he approaches the building. he walks inside, but stands right inside the glass door with his back to me.

now i'm confused. either he's fumbling for his keys (although i can't see his arms or hands moving) or he's just waiting there.

i decide that even if i'm being paranoid, i'm not messing around with this. i guide pete back to the sidewalk and we keep walking, away from the apartment.

the man sees me walking away. he leaves the building and walks back to the cars parked in the street. i wait a little bit, not wanting to have to interact with him at all. eventually though, i make my way back to my apartment, locking both locks and propping up my steel safety bar.

my right hand never let go of the pepper spray. my finger never left the trigger.

i pick up my phone. if i were still in the village i would have called the police right away. i knew them. they knew me. we knew everyone who lived around there. they would have been there in less than a minute to check out the situation.

...i don't live in the village anymore.

for reasons i can't explain, i put down the phone. there's no one to call. the police will think i'm paranoid. friends and family are too far away to do anything. what would they do anyway?

instead, i lock myself indoors and instigate pete's energy making him bark. whoever is out there, i want them to know that i've got a fierce protector.

it doesn't take long for the paranoia to fade and normalcy is regained. before i know it, i'm back to the mounds of laundry and the daily de-fleaing projects.

i climb into bed, start writing this blog and the phone rings. a friend, driving home from work. just calling to say hello. about halfway through the conversation, i notice something: my muscles relaxing.

i have been tense all night. shaking my feet and clenching my fists.

when something happens, whether to us or around us, sometimes it causes us to tense up. maybe it's emotional. maybe it's physical. maybe it's spiritual. we close off a part of ourselves. we build up walls. we let paranoia sweep over us. we keep our finger on the trigger of the pepper spray hidden in our pocket.

it's our body or our heart's natural defense. survival mode, some call it. and it keeps us alive. we become the ones who are armed and dangerous. armed with fear and dangerous mostly to ourselves.

there comes a time when we need to let go and get back to life. it doesn't have to happen in a matter of hours, days, weeks, months or even years. we all have our own pace. but we need to learn to live again.

what are your defenses? what caused them to build up around you? what will it take to allow yourself to break them down and live again?

sometimes we just need to hear that everything is alright. that we're okay. that we're safe.

i don't know if it was simply having a friend on the other end of the line, the completely natural conversation or his matter-of-fact statement that i have nothing to worry about that calmed me down, and i don't even think i knew i needed calming, but i'm thankful for that phone call. i'm thankful for that friend.

the obligatory new year post

sure, i write in here from time to time, but i wouldn't call my self a blogger. it's not like i'm on a deadline or anything. so why do i feel pressue to write a new years post? i guess it's just expected. but by whom? i have eight official followers. and while they are a lovely bunch (shout out, yo!), they aren't banging down the proverbial door wondering where this post has been hiding.

while i'm on the subject of my readers...i'm amazed at how many hits this blog gets. seriously. i'm just another person pondering life. nothing special here... but while i have your attention, i'd like to say a big "hello!" to my readers in canada, brazil, australia, germany, the uk, india, ireland, kenya, latvia, argentina, brunei, colombia, moldova, russia and thailand. i don't know who you are, but truly appreciate that you are joining me on this journey!

anyway, back to the topic in the title. in my first blog, on the good ol' myspace many years ago, i wrote about resolving to give up resolutions for the new year. i was certain that people never really achieved their new year's resolutions, so why bother? my goal was to simply be more me - to be authentic to who i wanted to become. (random factoid: traces of that post from seven years ago found its way into a new year blog posting i wrote for another blog this year.)

i was so tired of everyone asking me what my resolutions were that i rebelled against the entire notion. this year though...well, i can't think of a single person who has asked me about any new year's resolutions.

have we given up on them completely? have we given up on the idea that we can change?

that makes me pretty disappointed because i guess you could say i've had a change of heart over the past seven years...

now, i still don't believe in making resolutions that are downright unachievable (i.e. "i'm going to get that 0.7 gpa up to a 3.0 this semester!"), and it still frustrates me that so many resolutions have always been rooted in superficial social commentary (i.e. "i'm going to lose 50 pounds and get a boob job!"), but i have to believe that there's something powerful in making a decision to effect change within your life.

as i've often said: every moment is a choice. every day, a chance to change your life.

so maybe we don't need a new year to make that change, but it does serve as a convenient reminder that time continues to pass by and unless we jump on board and do the work to become that person we always said we'd be, then we'll be stuck in the past with only regrets to keep us company.

what's that you say? what is my new year's resolution, you ask?

i'm glad you asked. (no, really. i am.)

be it resolved, that in the year 2012 i, havaleh havelka, will embrace my life as my own, knowing that i am in control of who i become and that in every moment i have the choice to either take a step toward becoming that person, remain stagnant or, sadly, take a step back. my prayer is that i have the strength to move forward and the wisdom to hold my Maker's hand every step of the way.

so, what's your resolution?

the happy new year text

"happy new year" was all it said. a simple text. no capitalization. no punctuation. no hint of emotional context.

i knew it was him.
though i had deleted him from my phone a long time ago.
("deleted him" ...so much more than just deleting his number.)

i replied with a coy "sorry... who is this?"

he gave me a one word answer: his name.

he was one of the first guys i dated post-college. we worked together at my part-time gig at the mall. he asked me out a couple of times. i said no a couple of times (i have a long history of this throughout the years.). then randomly one day i invited him to a cook out my roommate and i were hosting. that was the beginning of our strange little story.

we were inseparable for about a month, then i went off on a mission trip. i came back a week later and he had moved on to someone else. luckily, i left that job only a few weeks later. i figured that i would never have to encounter him again. easy, right?

no. like clockwork, every few months i would receive a text. something lame, of course, but it always drew me back in just enough to grab my attention. we tried dating more times over my 6 years in north carolina than i'd like to admit.

loyalty. it is one of my top strengths.

it also gets me into trouble. i stay at jobs because i feel loyal to my boss or to the company. i give third and fourth and fifth and sixth chances in relationships and friendships because i have faith that things will be better the next time around.

there comes a time, though, when i need to walk away. because the job isn't challenging anymore. because the friendship is based on history, but not the present. because the guy just isn't right for me.

i wish i could tell you all that i ignored the text, but i didn't. i wrote back a simple, "oh hi. happy new year to you too." no capitalization. little punctuation. no hint of emotional context.

had i actually said what was on my mind....here's what the text would have said:
"well hello, [name]. still working that job that you despise? still dreaming of futures you will never have the courage to actually take ANY steps toward making a reality? you must be between girlfriends and bored out of your mind. is it because i'm so damn awesome that you keep returning to me? or is it simply because you know i'll always be here and that i'll always respond? because even though you have no interesting experiences, can't speak intelligently about anything, aren't passionate about life at all and quite frankly bore the hell out of me, you think that i'll appease you by entertaining you over a meal at some stupid super-chain restaurant who rely on frozen shipments rather than actual chefs. and well, unfortunately you would be right because normally i would use you to get a free meal (no matter how mundane) and pass the time with someone who tells me how wonderful i am. however, i've moved. again. and even further than just an hour outside of the city. i live in another state. so no, thank you. i will participate in this charade only so far as to respond cordially but i would much rather you forget i ever existed. signed: yours no longer, havaleh."

maybe that is what 2012 will hold for me: a year of remaining loyal only to the relationships, friendships, situations and technologies which continue to strengthen me as a person and to say goodbye to those which no longer (or never did) contribute to my being in positive, healthy ways.