I’ve been struggling with this one stupid database all day.  All.  Day.

The good thing about having a new job in which you have very little background is that there’s always an exciting challenge around the corner.  Life is certainly not dull, and you feel a real sense of accomplishment at the end of every day.  There’s no way you were at work for 8 hours without learning something significant.

The bad thing about having a new job in which you have very little background is that sometimes you can’t face down the exciting challenge of the day.  I tried today.  I had a stare-down with a monster of a database, and it beat me.  It is electronic, after all.  It only stands to reason that it would win a stare-down.  I learned a lot, sure, just not what I needed to learn to beat the database in this round.

Anyway, that’s that part of the day.  When I go outside for my morning or afternoon commute, or even just for lunch, I’m thankful that it’s fall and that I work in a new place.  This cute little town is more dangerous than most small towns I’m used to (it’s really kind of bizarre), but that doesn’t erase the cute factor.

Like I said.

If we were walking by this right now, I would be oohing and aahing about colonial architecture and such.  I might make references to a few buildings I loved on the UNC Chapel Hill campus (shout-out to land of the Tar Heels).

I’d be talking about how awesome old cemeteries are.

Then I might go on for a while about how lucky I am to see this stuff every day.  It’s true.  I drive from my cute house through some less cute stuff to some pretty woods, and then I arrive in my adorable small town.  My supply closet office serves to balance all of that beauty.  Balance is important.

Why does all of the cuteness matter at all?

Well, I think God designed us to enjoy order and beauty, and there’s something special about good craftsmanship, too.  Even when it’s somewhat decayed and forgotten (other houses in town, not the one above in particular), you know that somebody put a crazy amount of effort into planning these places down to the exterior trim.  Some poor mason had to lay bricks on the diagonal just because it was pretty, and I bet he took pride in that job.

That house above is all about order and beauty.  It gets its job done, sure.  And while it’s providing shelter, it doesn’t skimp on things that aren’t strictly necessary, things that exist purely to make people happy.

Even though I know that excess and extravagance are typically bad things, I think they have a place in the world.  What kind of God makes a different sunset every single day if he doesn’t condone extravagance every once in a while?!  So this moment is brought to you by excessive exterior molding and old buildings, which make my commute and thus my life a better place to be.  Forget databases.  They’re supposed to be all orderly and nice, but they’ve got nothing on architecture and a drive through the country.