One of Matt's unspoken goals for the summer is to give me experiences similar to those he remembers fondly from his own assisting days in New York. One of his favorite stories is about working on out-of-state shows and having to FedEx materials to the theatres. He and fellow assistants would work until the last possible second and then run full-tilt down the sidewalks to get the model or drafting or paint elevation to FedEx before the shipping cut-off time. Good times, good times.

Enter me. The Williamsburg FedEx cutoff time is 5:30pm. Last week I rushed a slew of paint elevations for Spelling Bee over at 5pm and made it out with a couple minutes to spare, very proud of myself. Today I completed the last paint elevation for the show. I worked all day, and late in the afternoon Matt suggested a few relatively-major changes to what I had done. Which I implemented. While the clock ticked. Matt came in and labeled everything. The clock ticked more. I covered the elevation with acetate to keep the painter in PA from destroying it. The clocked continued to tick. I dashed out the door at 5:20pm, power-walked to my car and drove as fast as I dared to FedEx. Entered the building at approximately 5:25. There was a couple in line in front of me paying for their box. I could see the FedEx man scanning boxes and loading them onto his truck. The couple decided to pay in cash with exact change and started fishing coins out of their pockets and exchanging nickels and pennies. I forced myself to relax and remember that no one would die if the elevation arrived a day late. Finally they finished and the woman at the counter boxed the elevation, taped it within an inch of its life, and then kindly rung me out and gave it to the FedEx man. 5:33. Success. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

I met my friend Jin for coffee at Aromas this evening and we had a good chat. I drank a beer and ate a chocolate croissant (both good, but not the best combination ever--I don't recommend it). I told her about some of my ponderings from the weekend, which have crystallized a little. I've realized that I've never had to trust God to the extreme that He's making me trust him now. I never been concerned that I won't have food or housing or work; there's always been a baseline level of comfort and security that I haven't had to trust God for. But now He's making me actively trust Him to provide the basic necessities of my life: my job, a place to live, and food to eat. Not something I'm used to, but I think it will be very good for me.

I went running tonight and it was glorious. I really enjoy running after the sun is down; I like the cool and the lack of brightness. I also find that I'm better hydrated if I go at night as opposed to early morning and therefore can go longer. One thing that I discovered while walking the other night is how beautiful asphalt can be. It sounds weird I know, but when a streetlamp shines in the night and you walk up to it the asphalt in front of you glitters. Each facet catches the light and sparkles and it's really quite beautiful.