October 31, 1999.

Another afternoon at work. Unlike most Sunday afternoons, I'm not dead on my feet from a long night followed by an early commute. See, I had four sets of plans last night, but not being able to find the first party (literally), I was forced to punk out on all of them. I was upset for awhile, especially since the Boy had spent hours commuting to his mom's house to get the car for the night, but the irritation soon passed when I realized that I could lie about the whole night if I wanted to! Which I did.

And let me tell you, it was fantastic. Today is my 20^th day on in a row. 20 days without a single morning to sleep in has taken its toll on my disposition, let me tell you. And that made going to bed early & sleeping in late an incredibly fun experience.

I suppose that means I'm getting old.

As for today, I don't have that much on the agenda: a little homework, a little email, maybe some work on the teacher's college applications. And then there's the Simpsons Hallowe'en episode & giving out candy to little dinosaurs & princesses & teletubbies.

It all feels so luxurious.

Lost trains of thought from Wednesday's history class:

The lecture was on Calvin & Luther & Zwingli et al. First we discussed indulgence selling, and the practical reason why this became a church activity (the building of St. Paul's etc). What's really interesting is the theological justification some of those bright-haired boys dreamed up to explain the practice. See, when the Saints died, they of course went immediately to Heaven. But the Saints were so good that they didn't really need all of their goodness to get into Heaven. And the surplus goodness became property of the Pope, who proceeded to sell it to the laity as time off of Purgatory.

Now, the year 2000 is a Jubilee Year. This means that, once again, the Pope will be selling off the surplus goodness to those wishing a quicker trip to heaven. And as Dav & I are just about to enter the world of credit card owners, we can think of no better First Purchase than an Indulgence. I mean, what's cooler than that? And practical to boot...

The second thought comes straight from the professor's witty mouth to you. He was discussing Calvin's formation of the idea that since God is necessarily omniscient, He must know who will be saved & who will be damned. What's more, he must have known this since the beginning of time. So that what we should do is live a life pleasing to God, although our behaviour will have no effect on our ultimate salvation.

"This being said, have you ever met a Calvinist who didn't believe that they were one of the Elect? 'Oh, you know, I go to Church & lead a good life, but I'm going to Hell anyway.'"