I'm Free!

[the lords sheep]

I'm not very experienced in these matters, but I think with the Visa you're covered? (as far as the one way ticket goes?) The problem is, I don't know that you'd get money back if you bought a round trip.... You'll probably want to ask someone who really knows, though...
Good luck to you!!!

You'll be in my prayers!
Lauren

[Starets]

I decided to go with the 2-way ticket after all. Here is my [url="http://dboyko.com/protomonk/?p=63"]blog post about it[/url].

[b]122 more sleeps[/b]

[Starets]

[b]100 MORE SLEEPS!![/b]



I leave in 100 days and a few hours.
I have "bequeathed" my [url="http://dboyko.com/loh.html"]Liturgy of the Hours Resource Page[/url] to a friend in Scotland who is going to develop it further. I havent touched the code in months. I was hoping to put in some print resources for its history in the Latin West, much as I have done with the Orthodox practice. I was also hoping to put an online quiz together for it. I never did get around to either project, and I won't have time for that before I leave.
I have also "bequeathed" my [url="http://dboyko.com/holyrule/"]Holy Rule Reflections Pages[/url] to a friend of mine in Montana USA. I want to at least get the menu redone. Somehow in transferring to a new hosting provider I lost the DHTML menu. I hope that doesn't happen when It gets moved to its new home.
I've ordered a pair of [url="http://www.russellmoccasin.com/boots_mountainhunting/mt_highcountry.html"]High Country Hunters[/url] from a place in Wisconsin that custom makes shoes and boots. They will make good work boots and hiking boots once I am there. One of the things I like about Christ in the Desert is that its very easy to be a couple miles from the nearest human. Given how much snow there is on the ground here, I should have ordered the boots a long time ago!
Fr. Abbot thinks that US Customs will be understanding about the plane tickets. I'll ask for a 3-year stay on the relevant form.
I have completed my collection of the Philokalia and also of the Navarre Bible. They will stand me in great stead in my monastic profession.
Soon I will have to decide what to do with my belongings. But that will come in time.

[puellapaschalis]

Exciting You're able to take some books with you?

[abiding-soul]

May God bless you and keep you in these coming days of preparation. Be assured that you are in my prayers daily.

Jaimie

[Starets]

[b]75 MORE SLEEPS![/b]



Not much has happened. I have everything I need, and have started culling what I don't need. I have a couple old computers to get rid of. I have to figure out what to do with my furniture and kitchen stuff. After all, its not like I will be needing them much past Easter.

My prayer life is fairly healthy, although there's always room for improvement. The same can be said for Lectio.

No one at my place of employment knows where I am going. All they know is that I am going to New Mexico to do some long-term volunteer work. Some of them even know that it is in a canyon and a dozen miles down a dirt road from the highway. That's all they are going to know.

This is turning into the longest countdown thread in the history of the VS

[linnie]

[quote name='Staretz' post='1443979' date='Jan 10 2008, 05:16 AM'][b]75 MORE SLEEPS![/b]



Not much has happened. I have everything I need, and have started culling what I don't need. I have a couple old computers to get rid of. I have to figure out what to do with my furniture and kitchen stuff. After all, its not like I will be needing them much past Easter.

My prayer life is fairly healthy, although there's always room for improvement. The same can be said for Lectio.

No one at my place of employment knows where I am going. All they know is that I am going to New Mexico to do some long-term volunteer work. Some of them even know that it is in a canyon and a dozen miles down a dirt road from the highway. That's all they are going to know.

This is turning into the longest countdown thread in the history of the VS [/quote]

this is probably a dumb question but...............why don't you want your co-workers to be aware of your plans? I'm just wondering if it wouldn't be a nice opportunity to share your faith and your journey. of course, I've never seriously been in a discernment process for a religious vocation so there are probably many aspects to this that I'm not aware of. so I'm just curious

blessings to you and thank you (all of you) for listening so carefully to God's whisper
linnie

[Thomist-in-Training]

I'm not at the same stage you are, Staretz, so I don't know what I would/will do, but linnie's idea doesn't seem bad... I'm remembering "In this House of Brede" where the businesswoman who's becoming a Benedictine nun tells her coworkers on the last day. They're all rather astonished. One of them later comes to her for prayers.

[Starets]

I guess it has simply been the "Day Job" for so many years. I hardly talk to anyone there. It's just call center / helpdesk work. In a place that has a 75% annual turnover, I have been there for almost 8 years on 4 different contracts. I usually just show up, do my bit, then go home. I don't talk much to the others.

[Guest 4Godalone]

[quote name='Staretz' post='1444270' date='Jan 10 2008, 07:34 PM']I guess it has simply been the "Day Job" for so many years. I hardly talk to anyone there. It's just call center / helpdesk work. In a place that has a 75% annual turnover, I have been there for almost 8 years on 4 different contracts. I usually just show up, do my bit, then go home. I don't talk much to the others.[/quote]

+JMJ
I am glad that you suggested that I read your "I'm free!" thread. It has sort of answered my wonderment about your adjustment difficulties. Also, you (and others who have posted) have given me much insight into handling debt. And, being really new to this web-site I am amazed at all the encouragement! Would you all be so kind as to pray that I hear and heed God's call this time around. Though I am a "senior citizen" by the standards of many religious orders, hope was instilled when I found myself speaking to several Franciscan Sisters Minor. One of the novices said something like, If God is calling you to religious life, you are not too old. That "word" has given me hope! Pray for me! And, may one and all be assured of my prayers! All for Jesus through Mary and Joseph, miss ronnie

[Starets]

A couple days late:

50 more sleeps

I am sure that this is the longest countdown in VS history by now, but there are still 50 more sleeps to go. I have bequeathed my "virtual assets" now, and have started the process of disposing my belongings. I don't have all that much that is sale-able. I might be able to clear a couple hundred dollars from some of the junk in here. There are some classified ad sites that I can sell them on.

4GodAlone had a couple questions about what I meant by "difficult transition". Part of it is certainly the distance involved. After all, it isn't just another city/state, it's a whole other country and climate. But I love the states and love the mountains. I lost the vast majority of my belongings when I had to sell them at auction when I moved to Ottawa from Calgary in early 2000. So I don't have much in the way of belongings.

I have been there for a total of 11 weeks over 4 years. I am familiar with the community and its members. I have been doing a lot of "formation" on my own, through reading the Rule of St. Benedict and other books about monastic history and theology.

The biggest adjustment is going to be going from the work world to living and working with the same people 24/7. That is the hardest thing about monastic life. Not the austerities and restrictions, not the hours of prayer and lectio, but the fact that you live and work with the same people all the time. There is no "calling in sick": If you miss an Hour, someone goes looking for you! There's no way of escaping into an alcoholic or recreational pharmaceutical fog. Not only that, there is no avoiding Br. Sanctimoniousgit, OSB, especially in a small contemplative monastery such as Christ in the Desert. To make matters potentially worse, you have to have the humility to realize that you might be his Br. Slacker, OSB.

Still, I am cautiously optimistic about my upcoming entrance. I have to figure out a few things yet. Details details details. But I will be fine. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, here goes!

[Starets]

25 sleeps left. This has been a very long countdown. But, I have a lot to do. I don't have any relatives within a thousand miles and I have not made much effort to make friends locally over the last few years. Those are the consequenses of choices I made that were fine in other areas. So once I leave, I have to realise that there is no coming back. There will be no "back" to come back to. A friend of mine in England said I could come live with her if things don't work out.

I have sold a few of my belongings, and I have a whole bunch more stuff lined up for donation. Less is more. I will be working on the Holy Website, so I'll be bringing my own computer down. That'll cut down on my use of community resources. I have permission to bring some objects of personal devotion as well as some of my books and software CD's.

I have given notice at my place of employment. Its been well known for weeks that I am leaving to do some long term volunteer work out of the country. Some of them know it's in New Mexico. A few of them even know that it is near Santa Fe.

My last two weeks will involve chat support rather than phone support. This means that I have finally taken my last support call. In 9 years of doing call center tech support, I have probably taken close to 70,000 phone calls. I have talked to a whole one person with my first name.

I remember the uberwackiest of wacky calls. Some guy calls in saying that he has no internet connectivity. So, I ask him what lights he has on on his Cable Modem. He says that he is not going to help me troubleshoot the issue. He wants me to call him when I have figured out the problem. That was 5 years ago. I still have not called him back. I still haven't figured out the problem.

The enormity of the change has dawned on me. I am certainly looking forward to it, but there's some "first night jitters" as well. I'm quite sure I'll be fine. there have been all kinds of positive indications over the months. There have been a couple curve balls lately but I weathered them.

My last update will be a valedictory the day before I leave.

[puellapaschalis]

You will do marvellously
And if you don't feel like emigrating to the UK should the unthinkable happen, come and live here!

[stbensgirl]

[quote name='Staretz' post='1456925' date='Feb 7 2008, 04:59 AM']<<snip>> The biggest adjustment is going to be going from the work world to living and working with the same people 24/7. <<snip>> Not only that, there is no avoiding Br. Sanctimoniousgit, OSB, especially in a small contemplative monastery such as Christ in the Desert. To make matters potentially worse, you have to have the humility to realize that you might be his Br. Slacker, OSB.[/quote]

Golly, I really had to laugh at that one! Good point! I live in the desert alone on 2 1/2 acres, and have done for almost 12 years. One of my biggest concerns is exactly what you are saying about not being able to get away from THESE PEOPLE, even though you actually want to be with them. I'm afraid this is what would make me rebel. I am vastly encouraged by the comment passed on by 4GodAlone, about how if you're really called, age is not an impediment. Praise God, as I'm 50 and counting.

I'm so pleased at your grace-filled journey and that you've decided to share it with the phorum, and that I phound it!
laura leigh

[PrayerSupporter]

Hello, Staretz,

I wanted to drop you a note before you leave on your great adventure, to let you know that I have been and will continue praying for you as you start your life at Christ in the Desert. I just went to their web page and read the Abbot’s Notebook entries -- he sounds like a very wise and spiritual leader. I will pray that you will find your home, more holiness, and more of our great and good God at the monastery.

Blessings!