Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Surreal Moments

The other day I rented a storage space to store my stuff when I'll ultimately have to move from my house. Now, I've rented storage space before. The usual kind with exterior access. This time, though, I rented a space in a "climate controlled" setting, so I could store my piano without any difficulty.

As the manager and I walked through the building to get to the space, I couldn't help but feel as though I'd wandered into another universe. There were rows and rows of white metal "rooms" with rows of green and orange and white doors residing under a white balloon-material roof. When we got to the assigned space and the manager opened the door, there wasn't a speck of dirt or dust or anything in it. Just three metal walls, a wire mesh top, a metal wall with a metal door in it, and a smooth concrete floor. I've never walked into a storage space that was as clean and almost sterile as this one was. The whole experience was a bit surreal. (Well, d'oh!)

On Sunday, my congregation held its "Gifting of the Final Fruits". It was a wonderful opportunity for them to 'play Santa Claus', just as they'd wanted to. There were 35 truly worthy organizations that received funds from the proceeds of the sale of the building and the balance of the church's endowment funds. It was well and beautifully done, in a meeting room of one of the local hotels. Media were present. Members gave introductions to each of the organizations and explained why they were significant. Photos were taken. Refreshments served.

And yet, it was a very surreal moment for me. I was and was not a part of the proceedings. I was and was not a part of that wonderful group of members. There was sadness in the loss, and joy in the accomplishment of this heart-wrenching task done with courage and grace. There was fear and impatience in the "what now?" moments of my own life. There was this really weird feeling that somehow, some way, this should have been happening in a church, while I realized that the ONLY place it could have really taken place was totally inaccessible. And yet ...

Then yesterday I was watch-listening to the tv while doing some other things around the house. It was commercial time and I hadn't hit the mute button. Soon across the room wafted the obnoxious voice of Billy Mays. He was touting one of these hands-free adapter thingys for cellphones and went on and on about how wonderful this gizmo is. (Of course, that's his job.) Then, a woman's voice came on air and said, "Billy, you're needed in the production office in twenty minutes." To which, Billy replied, "No problem! I'll see you shortly."

Immediately my mind jumped to "Oh! I hope she isn't afraid of ghosts!" It may be more of a problem than he thinks for Billy Mays to get to that meeting, since he died several months ago. I can't imagine why the company decided to keep that particular ad. Definitely another surreal moment.

In fact, even writing about these surreal moments, feels a bit surreal. Wonder whether it's the moments, or just me!