I attended the GC Session in Atlanta this year, both weekends. I had to return to 3ABN to finish a project in between, so I did a lot of driving! Thankfully I was able to rest at my mom’s place in TN coming and going, which shortened the trip somewhat.
3ABN's booth at GC
Many people have commented that this year’s GYC (December 30, 2009–January 3, 2010) was the best yet. It is hard for me to make such a judgment, since each GYC I’ve attended has had its own special qualities, and sometimes disappointments. But I think it was truly one of the best.
Quality may be subjective, but quantity is not. This was clearly the most attended GYC ever, with well over 3,000 attendees on the opening night, and reports of close to 6,000 attendees on Sabbath. It has come to be a powerful movement.
Seems wherever I go, I end up writing editorial style guides!
At my previous workplace, Young Disciple Ministries, I compiled the original style guidelines — which at first amounted to only one or two pages of very basic rules. Apparently that task defaulted to me because I fussed the most. Although editing was a secondary part of my job, I had always been a stickler for editorial consistency and grammatical correctness. I did not recognize it for many years, but I learned I had a pretty good eye and ear for correct grammar and construction, even when I didn’t know a participle from a misplaced modifier.
Later I went on to teach a college class in copyediting and proofreading. I think I did pretty well at it, despite sometimes learning the material barely in time to teach it! Once an older visitor to my class knew more about the subject than I did — so much more, in fact, that I couldn’t even understand her questions. That kept me humble. Shortcomings aside, I was a quick learner, and was soon up to speed.
Recently I upgraded a number of things. If you’re into technical stuff, you may find this interesting. Otherwise, you are welcome to skip.
A suddenly flaky internet connection was the first sign. Usually this means a thunderstorm is on the way, or else someone has cut my ISP’s fiber cable again. I looked at a weather map, and saw that a very strong storm was brewing across southern Missouri and southern Illinois. But I couldn’t have guessed just how bad of a storm it would be.
Moments later a weather alert email appeared, saying there was a tornado watch in effect. I heard rain and thunder, and a little later my lights flickered and went out. The wind was picking up, so I went to a window to see what was happening.