Items

• 
  2021-07-11

  Wild Ride at the Safari Park

  Over the past few years, the COVID pandemic has become a pretty lonely time for me living in Missouri, where I am originally from. I moved out to Arizona over five years ago and have not left. When the pandemic hit, my job moved to be online for a while, and therefore I made the trip to go back home and be with my family. We realized that we became increasingly stir-crazy through the pandemic by staying in the house all of the time. There was no more travel to the restaurants, shopping, and entertainment places. The past summer, with the pandemic on a decline, my family and extended members traveled to the Wild Animal Safari park. There was my Aunt Pat, my Niece, Morgan, my mother Robyn, and myself in the car as we traveled an hour away to enjoy the safari animals. The great thing about the excursion is that we did not have to get out of the car to remain safe during the pandemic. We received our animal food at the entrance and then proceeded through the park. It was one of the best times of the year because I am not sure I have laughed so hard in my life. I had no idea animals had that long tongues that they would stick in the car windows to get the food pellets. It was delightful seeing my niece squirm around in the car as she tried to get away from the animals. It was one of the best times during the pandemic, and I cannot recommend this excursion or something similar.
• 
  2020-04-23

  A Succulent Story

  This is a succulent that I received as a gift during September of 2019. I didn’t pay that much attention to it, though, because I was always busy with school, sports, and work. Then, when school shut down, I started taking better care of it, and it grew this interesting little sprout with yellow flowers on it. I took this picture to send to my grandpa, who loves plants, and asked him what it was. I think this succulent really illustrates life for me personally during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, I filled every single day up with activities from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed. And that was ok, I did well with that schedule, and I was able to grow in that environment. This succulent received little care and attention from me, and was still able to grow in that environment. Then, the pandemic came. It was an adjustment to not have to do anything, with the exception of online school. It was definitely not a schedule I was used to. But with time, I found the positive in spending time alone and doing things that I didn’t normally have time to do. I was still growing, but in a different way than what I was used to. I had to learn to spend time alone, and to occupy myself without school or work or sports. This succulent received more attention from me after the pandemic, and was able to grow with this new environment, but it resulted in a different kind of growth. Plus, it allowed me to have an opportunity to talk to my grandpa. We weren’t allowed to see them during quarantine, and I knew he would appreciate talking about something that he loved so sending him this picture allowed me to still keep in touch with him and talk about something that we both enjoyed.
• 
  2021-05-21

  Quarantine Enjoyment

  During the first few months of the pandemic, I got to relax and sleep in with basically little homework. After school ended, I got to spend more time with my sisters inside and I found new hobbies. Hobbies that I picked up during quarantine are embroidery, volleyball, and badminton. When we had to return back to school, I didn’t have to go to in-person school and got to wake up a little later than usual. During quarantine, I spent most of my time with my family, so we went over to my cousin’s house weekly. My cousin got two new Yorkie puppies named Mochi and Matcha. Since we went there often, I got to spend more time with the puppies. Quarantine was also a great time for me to binge animes and read manga. Even though some of the new and ongoing animes were delayed, I was able to finish animes I was currently watching quickly without distractions. I usually watched animes and TV shows with my sisters whenever we were all available, which was most of the time.
• 
  2020-10-29

  Video Games to Pass Time

  2020 was a good time for video games, particularly those that I am interested in. Releasing in the middle of the year, games such as the highly anticipated Mount and Blade: Bannerlord and Crusader Kings III managed to provide time-wasting opportunities to many people. The latter, abbreviated CK3, is pictured here. CK3 is essentially a feudalism-simulator with role playing game mechanics, famous in the PC gaming sphere for both its complexity but also its ability to organically allow stories to form in the most Game of Thrones way possible. This was one of my earlier games, after I was more familiar with how the game differed from CK2. Starting as the Raja of the real-life Northern Indian dynasty of the Imperial Gurjara-Pratihara in 867 CE, through many generations of rulers I managed to consolidate the entire subcontinent through diplomacy, intrigue, and warfare. Around 1000 CE one of my rulers who had a more intellectual education rather than the usual military one, consolidated all imperially sanctioned Hindu beliefs into the Charvaka school, a real-life ancient Hindu belief based on materialism and empiricism. As this new consolidated Hinduism united the subcontinent at a more local level, regional governors along the Indus River took advantage of political fragmentation around the Indian Ocean and pushed west, taking over not just Persia and Central Asia but also establishing Hindu-Somali outposts in Africa and Yemen. By the 1300s the empire spread from Burma in the east all the way to modern day Libya and Greece, with Rome itself falling to a Pratihara expedition. Peace was maintained within the empire's vassals by a robust series of alliances, as well as the use of the "dread" mechanic to scare any more unruly subjects into submission via planned executions and threats. The most serious threats the Pratihara Empire faced was a series of crusades launched from Western Europe, and the Mongol Conquests which were ended by assassinating a few generations of Mongol Khans leading to political infighting and collapse. Beyond the fake history being made in game, this single play through gave me enjoyment for dozens of hours. While psychical entertainment was shut down, travel impossible, and the shadow of the pandemic hung over everything, games like CK3 allow people like me to immerse ourselves in what begins as real history and ends with an alternate history that we ourselves designed. Many people who don't usually play video games became engrossed in them, particularly early on in the likewise open-ended game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The need to develop new hobbies as a way to cope with isolation was a boon for the video game industry, which despite its massive market was seen by many people as quaint at best, or worthless at worst. There is value in video games, especially during the pandemic.
• 
  2021-02-11

  Mini Oral History with Dianna Sundell, 02/11/2021

  This is an oral history of my mom, Dianna Sundell, sharing that being able to spend a lot more time with her grandkids (my kids) and having time to bake and make crafts have been positives of the pandemic. The picture is of cinnamon rolls she made based off a copycat Disneyland recipe.
• 2021-01-07

  What was Christmas like this year? How was it different?

  Christmas this year was definitely different. For the most part, it didn't even feel like winter, and I was surprised that it has almost already been a year since everything became different from Covid. This year for Christmas it almost felt like there was no excitement for it or no build up to get us excited. We didn't get to spend Christmas with my grandparents and cousins as we usually do, but I still got to be with my family. We were able to have a good meal and still enjoy Christmas ourselves, but it definitely didn't feel real.
• 
  2020-06-29

  Doing crafts

  During the pandemic, I've been doing lots more art and crafts to past the time. I love doing art and I wanted to branch out my artistic skills that didn't involve drawing.
• 
  2020-06-27

  Holy Nights

  Since May one of my biggest outlets from the stress of the pandemic has been watching MIYAVI perform live from Tokyo, Japan. I stumbled across his music on YouTube in 2008 and he's been one of my favorite artists since. After my dad passed in 2016 I made a promise to not let life slip by and last year I kept up with that promise by going to see some of my favorite musicians live, including MIYAVI. I was hoping to see him in concert again this year since he tends to tour worldwide often but when the pandemic hit I knew that wasn't going to happen. Instead, he has been holding virtual concerts from his home in Tokyo or an empty studio with drummer, Bobo, a GoPro, and a couple of drones. Even though for me seeing his performances means waking up at 7 am, it's so worth it. A lot has changed because of the pandemic but with technology, we can still connect and have fun with people from all over the world. Something MIYAVI mentions often during his virtual performances is that music won't stop, musicians won't stop playing, and that we are connected through music. I think it's very important to remember that more than what divides us, connects us and music is a large part of that. For an hour people from Japan, China, Europe, Africa, South America, and North America join into one virtual space because of music and because MIYAVI continues to remind us we are connected.
• 
  2020-04-25

  Nature Prevails

  This is a picture of me in the Central Park Conservancy Tori Gardens. Even in the mist of a pandemic the tulips in the garden are in their full glory. This was one of the first nice days and everyone was out seeking a piece of nature.
• 
  2020-04-30

  A quiet time

  A personal account
• 
  2020-04-12

  Easter Sunday on Zoom

  Danielle Gonzalez celebrated Easter with her family through a Zoom call. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she was unable to see her family for this holiday. Even though they couldn't be there physically, they still saw each other virtually and that was enough. The Zoom call was full of laughter and love!
• 
  2020-04-12

  Windy City Records’ Curbside Pickup

  In the midst of this shelter in place, many businesses are struggling to survive. Stores that rely on small, niche markets are especially impacted. The new record store in Downers Grove, Illinois is no different. After opening their doors just under a year ago, Windy City Records has relied on a dedicated, but small customer base. This notice that curbside pickup is available is just one attempt at survival. Posted during the Illinois Shelter In Place Order#DePaulHST391
• 
  2020-03-27

  The Covid Diaries Entry #4

  My experiences of this pandemic.Entry 4. enjoying two plus hot showers a day. March 27, 2020.
• 
  2020-04-17

  Pastoring through a Pandemic

  It’s Saturday night, March 21, and my son and I have spent pretty much all day creating an iMovie Sunday morning worship service for my two congregations. Now we can’t figure out how to upload it from Aidan’s school-issued computer onto YouTube. This is the first time I’ve had to do this all online. I call Allysen, a teacher in the school district and a member of one of my churches. She suggests I try putting it on a flash drive. It’s 11:55 p.m. My son’s computer is set to turn off at midnight and won’t open up again until 6 a.m. I frantically run downstairs and search for a flash drive in an attempt to transfer the iMovie of the worship service from his computer to mine. My kitchen drawers are a mess. I can’t find a flash drive. I can never find anything when I need it in my disaster of a house. On Facebook Messenger Allysen says, “Just sleep for now and do it in the morning. Your church goers should be a forgiving lot even if it isn’t ready right at 8:30 a.m.” I can’t go to sleep. In a world where nothing is going right, where everything has changed, where this is the first opportunity to prove that I can adapt and lead and be of help to the congregations I love as we navigate these unchartered waters, I need this to happen. I realize my iPhone has iMovie on it. It’s 12:10 a.m. when I open a new “project” and begin to import all the pieces I originally worked with on Aidan’s computer. The video clips of Mom and Jill singing the hymns; the video of Allysen reading scripture (the video that had taken hours to download via Google drive); the short little clip of the Smorstad family sharing the peace, sweet twin boys—age 9 months—giggling and drooling. God, I miss them all. Aidan had told me it would be too difficult to add the words of the hymns to the screen, but I do it. At 1 a.m. I figure out how to add photos of the hymns as cutaways to the movie. I discover this by mistake. I’m pressing buttons without knowing what I’m doing. I swear it feels like the Spirit has given me the button I need. I forget to give thanks. I’m too busy making a movie that is somehow also a worship service for two congregations that can no longer meet in person. Seminary has not prepared me for this. I have a YouTube channel only because I had used it to share videos of my sister’s senior trombone recital years before. I had never made an iMovie. Now I’ve made one between the hours of midnight and 3 a.m. It’s done and I’m proud of it. I’ve gone from waking up at 7 a.m. on Friday morning with the idea of including multiple parishioners in the making of the movie—to being ready to upload it to YouTube at 3 a.m. on Sunday morning. In the future, I’ll allow more time. But it won’t make it any easier. For each piece that becomes routine and knowable, another piece becomes a challenge. How to convert files that aren’t allowed by iMovie? Google it. Pay $6 for an app that will do the conversion. Problem solved. How to create hymn files when your mom refuses to keep singing for these worship services? Sister to the rescue. She discovers openhymnal.org. I play the midi file of the hymn through old, donated speakers attached to my work computer, place my iPhone at the perfect distance from the speakers (too close and it’s fuzzy; too far away and it’s too soft—this I learned through much trial and error), hit the voice memo record button on my phone and try my best to have some sort of decent breath support as I sing the public domain hymns that I can include without worrying about copyright infringement. It would help if I could breathe. It would help if I could sleep. It would help if I wasn’t trying to do this, basically, all alone. It would help if I could turn over the movie production to some high school student who loves such things and who could do it all easily and maybe even enjoy it. But now I feel like it’s my job. I think I should be spending more time calling my people, but I can’t seem to manage much calling. Each conversation leaves me absolutely spent. I sob after each goodbye. I miss these people. I don’t want to make phone calls or iMovies. I want to give hugs. I want to talk face to face, leaning in to listen well, holding hands as we pray for hope and healing. The night before Easter I can’t sleep. Awake at 2 a.m., I watch the worship service created by my good friend, a volunteer music director in a neighboring town. The service is beautiful. I love my friend. And I miss her. At 3 a.m. I watch another worship service created by another dear friend, a pastor in my corner of Iowa, skipping ahead to get to her sermon. I’ve already read it, as she asked me two days before for input, but now I get to hear it. Receive it. It’s beautiful. Needed. At 4 a.m. I click on YouTube news and lay in bed listening to death counts. It’s Easter morning. At 5 a.m. I get out of bed and go to church. I’m supposed to join an invitation-only zoom gathering by 5:40 a.m. My computer is sluggish and won’t load the meeting. I hate technology. I hate being so damn dependent on it. Christ can rise from the dead but can’t make this computer do what it’s supposed to do. I finally use my iPhone to connect to the meeting. It’s a gathering of women from around the world, an informal worship service of sorts that grew out of a single Tweet. “How to faithfully celebrate Easter this year: Only women on the Zoom call. Call is scheduled before dawn. We speak only of impossible things that would topple the empire.” It turns out to be the most meaningful Easter worship service I’ve ever experienced. As each woman is called by name—just as Jesus called Mary Magdalene by name in the garden outside the empty tomb—we give our testimony. We talk about where we’ve seen the Lord. I think I’m going to say something about the church in which I grew up. How they used the Bible to tell me women couldn’t pastor—I couldn’t preach—but God said yes! But instead, a song I’ve written comes to mind. And my testimony is this: I know that death is real but it will never be the end. I know the song goes on and dancing feet are powerful. I worship later with my family, watching myself lead worship on the television screen in our living room. I smile at my on-screen self. I can’t help it. I want to dance.
• 
  2020-04-21

  Notice on front of bottle shop showing that alcohol can still be purchased in bulk quantities.

  Notice shows restriction on how much alcohol can be bought in Australia from liquor outlets. The amount had been reduced from previous week.
• 
  2020-03-21

  Enjoying the little things

  During times like these, it is important to go out and enjoy the little things.