The Office

This poster was on the wall when I moved in.
It now lives on the door that separates my office
from the church office. Typically that door is
open and the timeline of the Reformation disappears.
Each time I shut the door to reveal the poster I
feel a little like I should be in school again.

I moved into my office at St. Stephen sometime around November. Early in January I was told that my walls needed to be repainted and that I could pick any color of paint my little heart desired. For someone who is notoriously terrible at making decisions I quickly, but thoughtfully, settled on Three Olive Martini Green (yes, I am a sucker for creative names). Shortly after my room was finished I rearranged the furniture and "officially" moved myself in. At the time I was very excited about my new space. I was also much better about blogging. I took pictures from every angle with the best of intentions to include them in a witty blog post detailing the odd and interesting atmosphere in which I work.
Almost a year later, I'm just now getting around to posting them. Aside from a few piles of paperwork, 8 photo collages of my kids and a new collection of confirmation files and folders my office hasn't changed a whole lot. So here's a peak into the four walls that surround me four days out of the week.

This is my "working" face. Behind me is my bookshelf.
My favorite shelf is the one that houses the Nooma DVDs
that I bought as soon as I learned I had a budget to spend.

I spend a LOT of time on my laptop. When I started I had a desktop, with a pretty nice screen and a good set of speakers. Then Pastor Joe got a new laptop and I got his old one. Initially I really liked my hand-me-down technology. I also liked being able to take work home with me. I've since changed my mind. I've also upgraded my own personal laptop. Consequently, I try to leave the work laptop at the church as often as possible.
I confess that I, a poor, miserable sinner, had mixed feelings about working in an LCMS congregation. Having spent my childhood and teenage years in Lutheran schools and churches I consider myself to have a pretty good understanding of the history and beliefs of the synod. I'm pretty sure that factored rather heavily into the hiring committee's decision to offer me the job in the first place. However, in the years following high school graduation, I didn't exactly embrace my Lutheran heritage. At the time that I interviewed with St. Stephen I was attending an church that was born out of the emerging church movement less than a decade ago. We use words like "posture" and "co-journey" and advocate for social justice and the blessing of sharing presence in community. I worshipped alongside vegans and artists and hipsters and charity workers who live in community houses (I still do, actually, I just keep that on the DL when I'm with the Lutherans). Anyway, in the time that I've been back, I think I've adjusted well. It turns out that reading the catechism is a lot like riding a bike or returning to a foreign language - it all comes back to you.

My personal catechism (which I may or may not
still own) is blue. The "new" addition is burgundy.
I can still rattle off the explanation to almost all of
the 6 chief parts. My grandparents would be so proud.

I keep my Christmas lights up all year round.
I found them at a thrift store down the street.
Best purchase ever.

The chair that was in my office when I moved in was treacherous. Each time I sat down I feared falling backward, never to make it back up. I commented on this and the next morning I found the chair pictured below. It is excellent, and probably nicer than any chair that I will own any time soon. In conjunction with the fleece blankets I found at Big Lots, it's no wonder I spend so much of my day sitting. When I had my office painted I also acquired a new desk and two blue sitting chairs. The furniture came from an congregation member whose office was relocating or redecorating and getting rid of their old furniture. My old desk was pale teal and made of metal. I favor this one. We put it next to the window so that I could watch the woodpecker who lives outside the youth trailer. Once a saw three of the eight deer that live in the woods just beside us.

Yes, this is my library. Some of these books I swore I would
never look at, much less use, again. Some of them are there
for show (or because no one wanted them on ebay). Others
(like Henri Nouwen) I actually value. I've used something like
three in the year that I've been there. Lack of priorities I think.

I drink tea, lots of tea, at work. One of the first things I acquired
for myself in terms of "office supplies" was a hot pot, a tea mug,
and a sampler of Twinings teas. I thought I would have people
frequently in my office sharing cups of tea or hot chocolate with
me, but as it turns out I just end up drinking alone, all the time.

The door in my office is cold and white and made of something that is definitely not wood. When I moved in I had these great hopes of decorating in a nature-inspired sort of hipster-trendy fashion. Like this. But what I ended up with, after a great many hours of work, is what you see on the left. I found a picture of some vines online. I copy-pasted it into a word document and printed it off, along with my name in whatever font that happens to be. Then I traced it onto a transparency and projected it onto a large sheet of green butcher paper (which I borrowed from the preschool supply closet). In the middle of my project the light burned out on the overhead (yes, overhead) projector. So we got a new one, and I finished tracing. Then I went over everything with a Sharpe. Then I cut it just enough to fit through the laminator (bottom right-hand corner of the photo). After laminating I cut it out again, each and every curve of it. It is now taped to my door, where it will stay until I leave St. Stephen. I will probably take it with me.

Just outside the door of my office is a bulletin board. A week after I started someone asked me if I would mind "taking charge" of the board. The teacher and amateur crafter within me were delighted. A few days later I tore down the sad looking construction paper pumpkins and laminated paper-bag hay bails in order to create the "Meet Amanda" board. What I intended to be a way to make myself more accessible and familiar to the congregation turned into a shrine to myself. It stayed up for a good two months before I decided to put up the January calendar.

There was also a "Meet You" section that invited the kids or congregation members to share a little about themselves. Mostly I learned how many dogs and cats they had, but it was a start to getting to know my kids. In the past year that has probably been my favorite part of this position. People make a lot of things worthwhile that you otherwise wouldn't dream of doing - like color-coding and sorting quizzes on the third article of the Apostles Creed or reading through five different children's programs in an attempt to find one that you can actually pull off.