[If you haven’t read Harry Potter, don’t read this post. Exit out of it and buy the first book here]. This week was the anniversary of when Harry Potter and his friends entered the department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic (in Order of the Phoenix). It is by far my favorite scene in the whole series (Order of the Phoenix, however, is not my favorite book!). For those who need a brief reminder: Harry thinks...
This past week has been tough. Orlando, Paris, Tel Aviv, and many others have been a constant source of tears, heartache and mourning for the global community I know for me, death has hit home in a different way. Last week, my Grandma passed away at 89 years old. She was an amazing woman who was first and foremost, a Christian. She loved Jesus in so many ways, and in every way she embodied a older...
Every year, millions of families flock to the Happiest Place on Earth for its infamously well-rounded, old-fashioned entertainment and rides. So many of these individuals will visit Disneyland a mere handful of times in their lives, some even only once. I have the unique privilege of visiting the park at least 3 times a week… and getting paid for it. Just kidding, I work there, but it’s easy to view an hourly job in a...
At long last the edited volume from the Harry Potter conference held at the University of St Andrews in 2012 is now in print and you can get your copy of Ravenclaw Reader here! The conference was a complete success, being one of the most enjoyable and stimulating academic settings I’ve ever been in. It was the first ever academic conference on Harry Potter held in the UK and I was so thrilled to be...
I recently admitted to my coworkers that unlike many girls who seem to have many of their wedding details planned since childhood, I actually have more details of my funeral planned than my wedding. This is probably strangely morbid to most people, but I guess for me, it has become quite normalized to think about my funeral, after going to many more funerals than weddings growing up. At least, it’s what I remember more of...
Sufjan Stevens’ new album, Carrie & Lowell, has been out for over a month now, but I’ve only had the chance to listen to it for the past week. I had pre-ordered it a while back and mistakenly assumed that it would automatically download to my account and so I spent a few weeks wondering when it would do so. Once I finally did the google I realized that I had to take action myself. Nay...
I write this blog tonight next to two cell phones – one is mine, and one belongs to the hospital I work for. I am the social worker on-call tonight. You might be wondering what we could get called in for late at night, or you may have guessed it already… death. As a hospital social worker I work with death a lot. Most of the time it is the “death” of something that patient...
A few weeks ago my wife alerted me to the plight of Brittany Maynard. As a millennial who has a fairly strong disdain for technology and news media, I was proud that it took so long to discover the cultural flashpoint that this woman’s life had become. My wife further pointed me to a blog written by a Christian woman named Kara Tippetts. It was posted to the blog A Holy Experience. My wife was...
Just a few weeks ago I was running up Bancroft and Telegraph in my cap and gown to claim my masters degree in social work from UC Berkeley’s school of social welfare. I stood in awe of the journey I had been on to find myself in that place. This is a bit of that story… A few months after my sweet sixteen, I landed a job in a hospital. I worked part-time and on...
Sometimes I like to read a popular book, a book that everyone is reading—so that I can know what everybody is talking about and, maybe, join in the conversation. So a couple weeks ago I read The Fault in Our Stars—the latest young adult novel from author John Green. The book—about two teenagers who meet at a cancer support group—is instantly gripping, and continues on to tell–in quick-witted, excellently crafted prose—a heart-wrenching, beautiful, soul-searching story...
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