theo|digital

I just finished reading today’s Newsweek article “The Facebook Effect” (cover dated 27Aug07), and it feels like they got it right. Facebook’s goal is to serve a profile for every internet user (really). 23-year-old Mark Zuckerburg keeps saying “it’s not just for students anymore.”

While I love his “social graph” theory – online networks should clearly and in-detail model pre-existing relationships in real life – the article shares my lament that the older generation newcomers might be undoing it. It’s not natural to add your mom as a facebook friend. Like the social equivalent of inviting your parents over for a beer with friends, and spending the time chatting up The National, “shoes” on YouTube, and Jon Stewart.

Having turned down a one billion dollar offer from Yahoo, Facebook is betting it’s going to make it (IPO in less than two years?). We’ll see if does without watering down the safe-boundaries feel that made it win in the first place (come on – there’s a graveyard of similar sites that didn’t make it).

Meanwhile, I’d love to know if anyone is doing studies on online social networking in church/religious communities. (an explicit example: MyChurch.org)

My counter is doing six days now.

They have a big I-Life going away party planned for me tonight at the haus. My roommates have been cleaning, and I’ve been largely left out of the plans, which is really odd – usually I’m the center of it. But I’m excited – I’m gonna need some good closure this way.

And at the same time, my friend Ty’s wife Laura has gotten unexpectedly very sick – in and out of ERs all week and now has finally been admitted to the hospital. It’s painful to think about, and has me worried and in prayer. He’s also been the center of planning my party – so that’s tough – do I want him at my party or at his wife’s side?? Of course the latter, but it’s a sucky choice to make.

So back in April and May I completed the FAFSA – federal app for student aid – and North Park Seminary’s financial aid application. This makes me nervous, although I know it’s normal course. I know I’m 29, but I’ve never borrowed educational money because my parents amazingly took care of tuition during undergrad.

Tons of questions:
- how much do they give me?
- how much should I choose to take? less than they give? will I need more?
- how the heck am I going to pay this back with a theology degree?
- I’m giving up and re-applying to law school

Getting nervous that in July that I still hadn’t heard heard a peep – I contacted the seminary admissions office, but they didn’t have anything to tell me about loans. Different office, you see.

Then on Tues, I get this e-mail:

You have been given student loans for the 07/08 academic year, but these loans cannot be processed because you have not completed the documentation required for these loans.
* You must complete a Stafford Loan Master Promissory Note.

* You must complete Stafford Loan Entrance Counseling.
…
If you are no longer interested in these student loans, please let me know and I will update your account.

Your prompt attention to this matter is appreciated.

If I’m no longer interested?? Just as I feared – this e-mail assumed: a) I knew what was going on, b) that someone had said something/anything more to me than “welp, you can take gov’t loans.”

A few e-mails later, I knew that “my financial aid package was in the mail but hadn’t reached me yet.” Okay.

I know I’m the king of, “I’ll just learn about this via Google.” But student loans is one of those search terms that is inundated with lots of links that look shady – it’s hard to know what’s good info or not. Plus, getting specific numbers info is obviously impossible – but that’s the only info that feels like it’d help.

Not that I’ve ever been the most focused person (what’s that on the floor? Sweet – I’ll work on that… wait, what’s this on my computer?). But I’ve decided to change the focus of my blog.

I want to try to write in detail about my transition to seminary studies, and how my many unanswered life-goal questions are addressed as I move day-to-day into grad school.

I really could have started this kind of journal a year ago, as I decided to stop dabbling and make a formal investigation into further studies. I googled lots and lots. I read more seminary and grad school web pages than I can remember. I ranked, discussed, asked, attended, re-ranked, decided, re-decided… it was a tough process.

During the process, I found few truly helpful resources on the web. Really. No good seminary rankings. Very few personal stories that weren’t sanitized by theology admissions offices. So maybe, if I spend this next few months writing in detail, I can help someone else who is at the same place I was a year ago.

Because I’m such a generalist, I’ll still be interested in lots of other things in pop culture, music, politics, spiritual formation, etc. And I’ll keep my old archives up here. But here’s to a new focus.