I think I had a bit of a revelation last night. I went along to bible study / small group / eighteen plus.... whatever you want to call it, and we did a bit of an exercise about reading the bible a special way. It's part of a series of workshops about spiritual practices that we have been working on during lent. Anyway, this way of reading the bible is really more like meditating on the words in the gospel. You basically choose a short story from the bible (parts of the gospels are particularly good for this) and read it through a couple times. Then you close your eyes and try to imagine yourself as part of the story. Sometimes you might take up the role of one of the characters, or an onlooker. I didn't think it would be that different to reading it, but I was wrong.
The story we used was the story of Jesus healing a blind man. Everyone in the church knows this story back to front, there are songs, plays and children's stories relating to this story, all focusing on the idea that the story is supposed to illustrate the grace of God. Last night, I did more than read this short story, I experienced it. I imagined myself to be seeing the story as I think it would have been explored through the lens of the camera. (I find I do that a lot in meditation, am I supposed to be a filmmaker?)
To my surprise, different parts of the story stood out for me while I was experiencing it this alternative way. Particularly, I found the Jesus actually healing the man didn't have much of a part in the story. Here's sort of what I imagined...
Jesus was walking down the street, followed by his friends, who were followed by a huge crowd of regular townspeople. Jesus walked right past the beggar on the road, not looking at him twice. Jesus' followers also flocked past the man, not taking a moment's notice.
While the blind man sat by the side of the road, he began to hear all the conversations that people were having. Being blind, the man had a keen sense of hearing, and could tell that this Jesus guy was the one. He knew that Jesus could heal him. He yelled out to Jesus, but was drowned out by the sound of the crowd. The people kept walking past, and kicked dirt in the man's face, saying "Jesus is not interested in you, he's far too busy and important to waste his time on you." The blind man cried out to Jesus again, but he was well and truly drowned out by the noisy crowd.
Jesus stopped, turned around, and told the crowd to shut-up. "Come forward" he beckoned the blind man. The blind man needed the crowd to help him get to Jesus, because there were so many people in the way.
The rest of the story is a blur. I don't think it's that important.
The thing that really stood out about this story for me, was that Jesus heard the man, even thought he was probably the smallest voice in the crowd. Once the man's cries were affirmed to be OK, the crowd then could help the man get the healing he needed.
I can't help but wonder if at some point in my life I feel like my voice is being drowned out, closed in on by the crowd. What am I trying to say in this part of my life? It's intriguing, but at least now I finally understand how people can say that the bible is "the living word" of God. =)
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Interstate Visitors
Sunday was Grandma Wheatland's 83rd birthday. To celebrate, the whole family got together for a meal at the middle hotel. It was made extra special by the fact that we were joined by Aunty Lorraine, who traveled from Queensland for the occasion. She is staying for a week with Grandma, and will spend some time visiting Grandpa as well.
I know Grandma doesn't ever let on that she wants a present for her birthday, but I got her one anyway. I printed off a photo of us together at my 21st birthday (it was a really nice photo, considering that it was just a happy snap). I bought a pewter photo frame for it to go in, and wrapped it up in the best wrapping paper I could find. You should have seen the look on Grandma's face when she opened it. I could tell she loved it. =) she then proceeded to show it off to everyone around the table. It was so nice. I think Grandma secretly loved getting a personal present for her birthday.
Chris and I sat opposite Michael, and next to Matthew over dinner. You can imagine what the conversation was like.... quite lively! We discussed all the world's problems, such as cloning, stem cell research, the water shortage, Australia's green energy problem, and interest rates. I really enjoyed the lively debate, but all good things must come to an end, so we left the restaurant around 10pm to head home. It was a fantastic evening out, but I didn't really get to chat with Aunty Lorraine much, so maybe sometime during the week we can catch up. =)
I know Grandma doesn't ever let on that she wants a present for her birthday, but I got her one anyway. I printed off a photo of us together at my 21st birthday (it was a really nice photo, considering that it was just a happy snap). I bought a pewter photo frame for it to go in, and wrapped it up in the best wrapping paper I could find. You should have seen the look on Grandma's face when she opened it. I could tell she loved it. =) she then proceeded to show it off to everyone around the table. It was so nice. I think Grandma secretly loved getting a personal present for her birthday.
Chris and I sat opposite Michael, and next to Matthew over dinner. You can imagine what the conversation was like.... quite lively! We discussed all the world's problems, such as cloning, stem cell research, the water shortage, Australia's green energy problem, and interest rates. I really enjoyed the lively debate, but all good things must come to an end, so we left the restaurant around 10pm to head home. It was a fantastic evening out, but I didn't really get to chat with Aunty Lorraine much, so maybe sometime during the week we can catch up. =)
Sunday, March 25, 2007
It's official!!! this is the 1000th post on my blog!!
Well, after more than two years of blogging, this is my thousandth post! How exciting is that? Hmm, I guess you could look at it the other way and argue that it's sad that I have wasted thousands of hours working on a little project that doesn't profit, and will never really "help" anyone. =P I don't care, I like keeping my blog. LOL
Well since I last wrote, lots has happened (yes, I know it's only been a couple days!). On Wednesday night Chris and I went to Scott and Diana's place to have dinner. Linda came too, however Quoc was not able to make it. It was a great meal, and a great chance to catch up with the gang. Linda drove her new car there, so we got to check it out. (See the photos) Diana, Scott and Chris decided to draw on the dew that was on the car.
By the time we had finished dinner, it was so late that Scott and Diana invited us to stay at there house, in the guest room. It was really good, because the next day I had a really short drive to work. (About 20 mins, which is really good compared to the usual 90 minute drive.)
Thursday evening was Tim's birthday party. He was turning 20, so we went to La Porchetta in Box Hill to celebrate. Tim had other friends from uni come along to help celebrate, and we all shared a meal. Tim's Grandpa had baked a cake for us, which tasted really great. There are some photos from the evening, so I will have to upload them.
Friday was a nice, rather homely evening. The day had been quite warm, so I was relieved to be catching an air-conditioned train home in the evening. I was quite annoyed that the train was running late, but I guess that can't be helped. I caught the train one stop more than normal, to Ringwood, because I had to pick up some things from the pharmacy. Chris called me while I was in the shop, telling me that in Hawthorn (where he was) it was really raining quite hard, and that he thought the cool change might be on it's way over to Mitcham.
I quickly raced through the store, and ran home from Ringwood, because the clothes line was full of clean, dry washing. It had been hanging there for a couple days trying to get dry, so I was adamant that I was not going to let it get soaked again. As most of you can imagine, I had to run (quite literally) the entire way home. I was so puffed out by the time I got home. I rushed to get all the washing off the line, and tripped over the stupid tree stump in the back yard. It hurt, but I managed to get all the washing in, and as soon as I had, the skies opened up!! I was really quite relieved.
The rest of Friday evening was quite uneventful, which was nice. I managed to watch some documentaries I had taped from SBS using the latest toy (the DVR). I also watched Dateline, which had some really interesting stories about environmental stuff. They ran a story about the richest man in mainland China, who is actually an Aussie. He runs a company called "Suntec". It was quite an interesting article, and I suggest people look it up on the SBS website. www.sbs.com.au
Saturday was a busy day. We had a suit fitting for Tim and Marion's wedding in the morning, then I had an appointment to get my hair cut. I used the voucher that Mark gave me for my birthday. It was a fantastic gift, as I quite enjoyed the experience. (and I should add, that they did a great job on my hair) It was at Kawsa, which is a place in Surrey Hills. I had never been there before, but I might go back. I really liked it.
After getting my hair cut, we spent the afternoon with Mark, talking over coffee, and looking through old antique stores. It was quite fun. In the evening, we headed over to Federation Square, to see if we could get tickets to the Queer Film Festival.
We wanted to go and see two lots of short films, one started at 6pm, which we were too late booking tickets for. The other lot of short films kicked off at 10pm, so we got our tickets, then went to get some dinner. Ryan joined us for dinner, because it was his birthday. Mark had to work, so couldn't come with us to the late lot of short films, but Ryan did come, and seemed to enjoy himself.
This morning I spent cleaning the house, and blogging. Krissy came over for me to fix her computer. We talked about a startup company she is hoping to market early this year, called "Starworks". It's all very exciting. I'm going to be working on the marketing and website design, which I am really excited about! So we will have to see how everything works out.
Later today I plan to try and remove the dog smell Naz left on our carpet in the lounge room.... oh, I feel so domestic! lol
**Happy 1000th Post**
Well since I last wrote, lots has happened (yes, I know it's only been a couple days!). On Wednesday night Chris and I went to Scott and Diana's place to have dinner. Linda came too, however Quoc was not able to make it. It was a great meal, and a great chance to catch up with the gang. Linda drove her new car there, so we got to check it out. (See the photos) Diana, Scott and Chris decided to draw on the dew that was on the car.
By the time we had finished dinner, it was so late that Scott and Diana invited us to stay at there house, in the guest room. It was really good, because the next day I had a really short drive to work. (About 20 mins, which is really good compared to the usual 90 minute drive.)
Thursday evening was Tim's birthday party. He was turning 20, so we went to La Porchetta in Box Hill to celebrate. Tim had other friends from uni come along to help celebrate, and we all shared a meal. Tim's Grandpa had baked a cake for us, which tasted really great. There are some photos from the evening, so I will have to upload them.
Friday was a nice, rather homely evening. The day had been quite warm, so I was relieved to be catching an air-conditioned train home in the evening. I was quite annoyed that the train was running late, but I guess that can't be helped. I caught the train one stop more than normal, to Ringwood, because I had to pick up some things from the pharmacy. Chris called me while I was in the shop, telling me that in Hawthorn (where he was) it was really raining quite hard, and that he thought the cool change might be on it's way over to Mitcham.
I quickly raced through the store, and ran home from Ringwood, because the clothes line was full of clean, dry washing. It had been hanging there for a couple days trying to get dry, so I was adamant that I was not going to let it get soaked again. As most of you can imagine, I had to run (quite literally) the entire way home. I was so puffed out by the time I got home. I rushed to get all the washing off the line, and tripped over the stupid tree stump in the back yard. It hurt, but I managed to get all the washing in, and as soon as I had, the skies opened up!! I was really quite relieved.
The rest of Friday evening was quite uneventful, which was nice. I managed to watch some documentaries I had taped from SBS using the latest toy (the DVR). I also watched Dateline, which had some really interesting stories about environmental stuff. They ran a story about the richest man in mainland China, who is actually an Aussie. He runs a company called "Suntec". It was quite an interesting article, and I suggest people look it up on the SBS website. www.sbs.com.au
Saturday was a busy day. We had a suit fitting for Tim and Marion's wedding in the morning, then I had an appointment to get my hair cut. I used the voucher that Mark gave me for my birthday. It was a fantastic gift, as I quite enjoyed the experience. (and I should add, that they did a great job on my hair) It was at Kawsa, which is a place in Surrey Hills. I had never been there before, but I might go back. I really liked it.
After getting my hair cut, we spent the afternoon with Mark, talking over coffee, and looking through old antique stores. It was quite fun. In the evening, we headed over to Federation Square, to see if we could get tickets to the Queer Film Festival.
We wanted to go and see two lots of short films, one started at 6pm, which we were too late booking tickets for. The other lot of short films kicked off at 10pm, so we got our tickets, then went to get some dinner. Ryan joined us for dinner, because it was his birthday. Mark had to work, so couldn't come with us to the late lot of short films, but Ryan did come, and seemed to enjoy himself.
This morning I spent cleaning the house, and blogging. Krissy came over for me to fix her computer. We talked about a startup company she is hoping to market early this year, called "Starworks". It's all very exciting. I'm going to be working on the marketing and website design, which I am really excited about! So we will have to see how everything works out.
Later today I plan to try and remove the dog smell Naz left on our carpet in the lounge room.... oh, I feel so domestic! lol
**Happy 1000th Post**
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The week in review.
Well, it's been a week since the tupperware party, and nothing much seems to have changed all that much. Work is still fairly busy, and the seasons seem to be marching along in the correct fashion. We have actually had a fair amount of rain, indicating that Summer is definitely over, and the leaves are starting to fall off some of the trees.
Thursday last week was a bad day. I was really tired, and needed to rest. The tupperware party had extended into the night, and I don't think I am up for all that excitement in my old age... (That was a joke... lol) Fortunately, Thursday night was empty on the calendar, so Chris and I spent it at home, cleaning up after the tupperware party, and having an early night.
Friday night was empty on the calendar, but quickly got filled up with the stupidness of everyday life. Chris and I decided to go shopping for a present for Tim, and Barbara, because they are both having birthdays very soon. By the time Chris and I got to Eastland, it was about 8pm, and there were kids everywhere! Why can't they invent a shopping centre where there are no kids, only adults? it would spare me from tripping over 5 year olds, and bumping into year 7 kids. Anyways, we found a gift for Tim, but had no luck for Barbara yet..... that's ok, because Barbara's birthday is still a little further away.
Saturday seemed like a nothing day. In the morning there was a working bee at church, where I helped clear out part of the shed (which was home to about a thousand rats!!) and helped to set up the new data-projector and screen. The new data-projector is pretty cool, and I was most impressed that it could be seen from every part of the church without any problems. =)
Following my efforts at the working bee, I went to get my teeth checked at the dentist. He seemed to think that my teeth were pretty good, and I just needed to scrub my gums harder (which is what they say every time). Mum asked if I would like to join them for lunch, which I thought might be nice, so I headed back to Mum and Dad's place. Mum arrived about an hour and a half after I did, with a trunk full of shopping. Then we had to goto some house auction that Dad wanted to see, which I think was a waste of time. We finally got back to the house to eat lunch around 3.30pm, which is quite a feat considering that we left the dentist around 11.45am. I was not happy.
I had to run almost straight after lunch, because we were having Liam and Ann over for dinner and I had not started cooking yet!
Ann and Liam arrived around 5.45-ish. It was great to see them again, after about 3 months of being out of the loop. Ann was so impressed with Chris and my cooking skills. It was such fun, seeing them again and catching up. Liam was saying that when his lease is up (sometime next January) they are planning on moving in together. (Young love is soo sweet!)
Sunday was another marathon day at Church. The morning service was lead by Scott, and was actually really interesting. After the morning service I went to Bayswater UC for a "Climate Change Forum" which was interesting, but a little draining. I think alot could have been said in a shorter period of time. (Less is more is particularly applicable to boring uni professors.)
Following the forum, I headed home for a couple hours to do some odd bits and pieces, then I went off to "Urban Suburban" at Glen Waverly Uniting Church. Ambassador 77 were playing, and it was heaps of fun. (I think I have to upload some photos of it sooner or later.)
Monday night was interesting, because I weaseled my way out of a tupperware meeting (the tupperware lady was trying to get me to join up). I went along to 18plus instead, which I think was a much wiser choice. Last night I went to Rovers, which was ok, although the activity was a bit boring (not to mention unrealistic). The idea was that you had to walk around and within a certain time limit, collect sheets of paper from 20 points marked on a street map. I think Andrew (who planned it) was trying to annoy us by putting almost all of the flags at the end of courts, or places that were not easy to get to.
Anyways, that's enough blabbing from me, I should get going. Tonight I am going to Diana and Scott's place for dinner. It should be fun, Linda will be there too, and Chris is coming of course. =)
Thursday last week was a bad day. I was really tired, and needed to rest. The tupperware party had extended into the night, and I don't think I am up for all that excitement in my old age... (That was a joke... lol) Fortunately, Thursday night was empty on the calendar, so Chris and I spent it at home, cleaning up after the tupperware party, and having an early night.
Friday night was empty on the calendar, but quickly got filled up with the stupidness of everyday life. Chris and I decided to go shopping for a present for Tim, and Barbara, because they are both having birthdays very soon. By the time Chris and I got to Eastland, it was about 8pm, and there were kids everywhere! Why can't they invent a shopping centre where there are no kids, only adults? it would spare me from tripping over 5 year olds, and bumping into year 7 kids. Anyways, we found a gift for Tim, but had no luck for Barbara yet..... that's ok, because Barbara's birthday is still a little further away.
Saturday seemed like a nothing day. In the morning there was a working bee at church, where I helped clear out part of the shed (which was home to about a thousand rats!!) and helped to set up the new data-projector and screen. The new data-projector is pretty cool, and I was most impressed that it could be seen from every part of the church without any problems. =)
Following my efforts at the working bee, I went to get my teeth checked at the dentist. He seemed to think that my teeth were pretty good, and I just needed to scrub my gums harder (which is what they say every time). Mum asked if I would like to join them for lunch, which I thought might be nice, so I headed back to Mum and Dad's place. Mum arrived about an hour and a half after I did, with a trunk full of shopping. Then we had to goto some house auction that Dad wanted to see, which I think was a waste of time. We finally got back to the house to eat lunch around 3.30pm, which is quite a feat considering that we left the dentist around 11.45am. I was not happy.
I had to run almost straight after lunch, because we were having Liam and Ann over for dinner and I had not started cooking yet!
Ann and Liam arrived around 5.45-ish. It was great to see them again, after about 3 months of being out of the loop. Ann was so impressed with Chris and my cooking skills. It was such fun, seeing them again and catching up. Liam was saying that when his lease is up (sometime next January) they are planning on moving in together. (Young love is soo sweet!)
Sunday was another marathon day at Church. The morning service was lead by Scott, and was actually really interesting. After the morning service I went to Bayswater UC for a "Climate Change Forum" which was interesting, but a little draining. I think alot could have been said in a shorter period of time. (Less is more is particularly applicable to boring uni professors.)
Following the forum, I headed home for a couple hours to do some odd bits and pieces, then I went off to "Urban Suburban" at Glen Waverly Uniting Church. Ambassador 77 were playing, and it was heaps of fun. (I think I have to upload some photos of it sooner or later.)
Monday night was interesting, because I weaseled my way out of a tupperware meeting (the tupperware lady was trying to get me to join up). I went along to 18plus instead, which I think was a much wiser choice. Last night I went to Rovers, which was ok, although the activity was a bit boring (not to mention unrealistic). The idea was that you had to walk around and within a certain time limit, collect sheets of paper from 20 points marked on a street map. I think Andrew (who planned it) was trying to annoy us by putting almost all of the flags at the end of courts, or places that were not easy to get to.
Anyways, that's enough blabbing from me, I should get going. Tonight I am going to Diana and Scott's place for dinner. It should be fun, Linda will be there too, and Chris is coming of course. =)
Friday, March 16, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
The Tupperware Party
Last night was the Tupperware party, but I should start my blog post by talking about the events of Tuesday night.
Tuesday evening was supposed to be spent slaving away in the house, cleaning and cooking food in preparation for the Tupperware party. However, this was not the case. During the day on Tuesday, Mum gave me a call to invite us out to dinner. Mardi was in town, and wanted to catch up with the family. Mardi was in the USA on the Gamoo program a year after Dad was, and knew Dad because he helped her get settled in to the US way of life. Anyways, we went along to dinner, which was nice, but there was too much food! Following dinner we all headed back to Mum and Dad's place for tea and coffee. Mum and Dad spent hours showing Mardi photos of all the family, and it was about 11pm by the time we headed off home! Needless to say that very little cleaning happened once we finally got home.
The Tupperware party was on Wednesday. I arrived home on Wednesday around 6.50pm, and Chris was only just getting home then as well, because he had been out shopping for food. Jenny, the Tupperware lady, arrived about one minute after we stepped in the door. Jenny was fine setting up her stuff, but Chris and I were run off our feet trying to get some food ready (which nobody really ate) and lighting candles around the house, and preparing drinks. Once people started arriving, I started to relax. There were not as many people as I had hoped for, and some people who said they would come along didn't. =( But all-in-all I think it was a good night. I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did.
On a completely different topic.... Did you know that Channel 31 has canceled "Fish Cam"!!! For those who have never watched Fish Cam, the name basically says it all... It's fish, in a tank, somewhere in the hallowed halls of RMIT in Melbourne. I think Wikipedia captures the essence of the show quite nicely: "It used to be live, but the station got complaints from the ACMA when there was a dead fish floating on the top of the tank for several days." For some reason, people have become really attached to this mind numbing show, with one blogger stating "I found myself up late at night watching Fishcam. It wasn't particularly interesting but was somehow compelling and addictive." I couldn't stand FishCam myself, so maybe it's a good idea that Chanel 31 have chosen to fill their late night TV with real people instead of fish.
Tuesday evening was supposed to be spent slaving away in the house, cleaning and cooking food in preparation for the Tupperware party. However, this was not the case. During the day on Tuesday, Mum gave me a call to invite us out to dinner. Mardi was in town, and wanted to catch up with the family. Mardi was in the USA on the Gamoo program a year after Dad was, and knew Dad because he helped her get settled in to the US way of life. Anyways, we went along to dinner, which was nice, but there was too much food! Following dinner we all headed back to Mum and Dad's place for tea and coffee. Mum and Dad spent hours showing Mardi photos of all the family, and it was about 11pm by the time we headed off home! Needless to say that very little cleaning happened once we finally got home.
The Tupperware party was on Wednesday. I arrived home on Wednesday around 6.50pm, and Chris was only just getting home then as well, because he had been out shopping for food. Jenny, the Tupperware lady, arrived about one minute after we stepped in the door. Jenny was fine setting up her stuff, but Chris and I were run off our feet trying to get some food ready (which nobody really ate) and lighting candles around the house, and preparing drinks. Once people started arriving, I started to relax. There were not as many people as I had hoped for, and some people who said they would come along didn't. =( But all-in-all I think it was a good night. I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did.
On a completely different topic.... Did you know that Channel 31 has canceled "Fish Cam"!!! For those who have never watched Fish Cam, the name basically says it all... It's fish, in a tank, somewhere in the hallowed halls of RMIT in Melbourne. I think Wikipedia captures the essence of the show quite nicely: "It used to be live, but the station got complaints from the ACMA when there was a dead fish floating on the top of the tank for several days." For some reason, people have become really attached to this mind numbing show, with one blogger stating "I found myself up late at night watching Fishcam. It wasn't particularly interesting but was somehow compelling and addictive." I couldn't stand FishCam myself, so maybe it's a good idea that Chanel 31 have chosen to fill their late night TV with real people instead of fish.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
How excitement....
This past week has not been the most exciting or eventful on record. I was at home for dinner two nights this week. (Wow, now that I think about it, maybe it's been a bit busier than I thought.)
Monday night was good fun, it was the first Monday of the month, so "The Upper Room Project" was on. Chris and I went along to Shine cafe for the regular event with all the churchies. Cheyne came along too, so that we could talk about what was happening with him as far as sorting out somewhere new to live, and a new job.
Cheyne's last landlord kicked him out, taking pretty much all his stuff, which he claims he will give back after Cheyne pays back the money he owes for a couple weeks rent and some bills. I'm not sure how legal this course of action is, but Cheyne doesn't seem to care! Cheyne is planning to goto Canberra to "sort himself out" because one of his good friends lives there. Chris and I were planning a trip up on the long weekend anyway, so we offered to give him a lift. (I hope it's the right thing to do?)
Anyways, back to the upper room thing... It's an event organized by Age on behalf of the synod, and offers a time for socializing with other Christians outside of church. Usually there is a focus issue that we can talk about, but this month I didn't quite get it (sorry Age). But I did have a good discussion with Hannah about engaging youth in the church. Hannah always has something interesting to say about these issues. Oh, and I caught up with Laura (who was my small group leader at NCYC) she has started a social work placement at a youth outreach centre, so that's great news.
Tuesday night was exceedingly uneventful. Everyone was home for once, so we had a proper "family dinner". Chris J cooked a roast for us, which was great. I have been so spoiled by Chris's cooking lately, because I can get home and he's got the food all cooked and ready to eat. Of course, that usually means I get to wash up, but so long as I am not drying, that's ok.
Wednesday evening was pretty quiet as well, with the only activities being washing the clothes, which we made a special trip over to Michael and Janet's place for. We did three loads of washing, which took about 2 hours! While the washing was going, I explored Google earth, which has some fantastic new features. They have just implemented the street directions function for Australia, which will be very useful for getting around Melbourne.
Thursday was a busy day. Straight after work, we had some farewell drinks for David, our marketing guru. He is leaving Oates to pursue studies in Argentina. He is planning to learn Spanish (I think). I rushed straight from after work drinks to church council, which was ok, except that I was a couple minutes late. I had drive through for dinner (I know how bad that is) lol.
Friday was one of those days where you just couldn't get any work done. David is leaving the company, so we had a special lunch for him, there were also some speeches at morning tea. When we finally returned to work, nobody was interested in working because the long weekend was coming up. So you can see it was a self-perpetuating spiral.
Straight after work on Friday, Chris and Cheyne picked me up from work and we started driving to Canberra. Cheyne was sort of hitching a lift, because he wanted to visit his friend, Amanda, who lives in Canberra. Chris and I were also going up to visit friends, Scott and Anthony. We arrived at the boy's place around 1am, and by this time I was happy to crash into bed.
Saturday morning was spent doing touristy things around the ACT. We went to the top of the mountain to overlook the entire city, and what I found amazing was that you could see over into NSW. We went to the shopping center and checked out what the retail therapy was like in our nation's capital. I was surprised that it was nothing like shopping in Melbourne CBD. The shopping complex felt more like Chadstone or Knox City, and had many of the same shops.
We went to check out the Canberra art gallery and museum, but I was quite disappointed. I expected that they would have some more modern works than they did.
Saturday night, we went out for dinner to celebrate Amber's birthday. We went to dinner at this little place called "Mako". They specialized in seafood, so everything was fish-themed. Following dinner, we all headed out to Cube nightclub, and spent the rest of the night dancing and lounging around on their huge sofas. It was a great night, but we got home really late.
I woke up around noon on Sunday, and didn't feel fantastically rested. Maybe I was dehydrated? Chris and I headed off to investigate parliament house, and spent most of the afternoon just having a sticky beak around. That night was Canberra's 94th birthday, so there was a concert in the park. The Rouge Traders were playing, so we went along to watch. Anthony said he's second cousin's with the lead singer (who is also Izzy from Neighbors). I can sort-of see the resemblance.
On Monday morning we left fairly early, so that we could make it back for 21plus. We made fairly good time, taking about 7 and a half hours to drive. We did take a stupid detour though, which took us through Wagga Wagga.
21 plus was all about "unplugging" our lives, learning to live without a dependence on technology. I thought one of the interesting thoughts was to try and have one day every couple of weeks that was a e-communication free day. So that means no email, no phone and no text messaging. Another interesting thought was to go on a "media diet" for a couple days. This would involve not watching the TV, reading the newspaper, or listening to the radio for a couple days. The idea is that when you get rid of the crap in your life, there is more space for God to speak to you.
Monday night was good fun, it was the first Monday of the month, so "The Upper Room Project" was on. Chris and I went along to Shine cafe for the regular event with all the churchies. Cheyne came along too, so that we could talk about what was happening with him as far as sorting out somewhere new to live, and a new job.
Cheyne's last landlord kicked him out, taking pretty much all his stuff, which he claims he will give back after Cheyne pays back the money he owes for a couple weeks rent and some bills. I'm not sure how legal this course of action is, but Cheyne doesn't seem to care! Cheyne is planning to goto Canberra to "sort himself out" because one of his good friends lives there. Chris and I were planning a trip up on the long weekend anyway, so we offered to give him a lift. (I hope it's the right thing to do?)
Anyways, back to the upper room thing... It's an event organized by Age on behalf of the synod, and offers a time for socializing with other Christians outside of church. Usually there is a focus issue that we can talk about, but this month I didn't quite get it (sorry Age). But I did have a good discussion with Hannah about engaging youth in the church. Hannah always has something interesting to say about these issues. Oh, and I caught up with Laura (who was my small group leader at NCYC) she has started a social work placement at a youth outreach centre, so that's great news.
Tuesday night was exceedingly uneventful. Everyone was home for once, so we had a proper "family dinner". Chris J cooked a roast for us, which was great. I have been so spoiled by Chris's cooking lately, because I can get home and he's got the food all cooked and ready to eat. Of course, that usually means I get to wash up, but so long as I am not drying, that's ok.
Wednesday evening was pretty quiet as well, with the only activities being washing the clothes, which we made a special trip over to Michael and Janet's place for. We did three loads of washing, which took about 2 hours! While the washing was going, I explored Google earth, which has some fantastic new features. They have just implemented the street directions function for Australia, which will be very useful for getting around Melbourne.
Thursday was a busy day. Straight after work, we had some farewell drinks for David, our marketing guru. He is leaving Oates to pursue studies in Argentina. He is planning to learn Spanish (I think). I rushed straight from after work drinks to church council, which was ok, except that I was a couple minutes late. I had drive through for dinner (I know how bad that is) lol.
Friday was one of those days where you just couldn't get any work done. David is leaving the company, so we had a special lunch for him, there were also some speeches at morning tea. When we finally returned to work, nobody was interested in working because the long weekend was coming up. So you can see it was a self-perpetuating spiral.
Straight after work on Friday, Chris and Cheyne picked me up from work and we started driving to Canberra. Cheyne was sort of hitching a lift, because he wanted to visit his friend, Amanda, who lives in Canberra. Chris and I were also going up to visit friends, Scott and Anthony. We arrived at the boy's place around 1am, and by this time I was happy to crash into bed.
Saturday morning was spent doing touristy things around the ACT. We went to the top of the mountain to overlook the entire city, and what I found amazing was that you could see over into NSW. We went to the shopping center and checked out what the retail therapy was like in our nation's capital. I was surprised that it was nothing like shopping in Melbourne CBD. The shopping complex felt more like Chadstone or Knox City, and had many of the same shops.
We went to check out the Canberra art gallery and museum, but I was quite disappointed. I expected that they would have some more modern works than they did.
Saturday night, we went out for dinner to celebrate Amber's birthday. We went to dinner at this little place called "Mako". They specialized in seafood, so everything was fish-themed. Following dinner, we all headed out to Cube nightclub, and spent the rest of the night dancing and lounging around on their huge sofas. It was a great night, but we got home really late.
I woke up around noon on Sunday, and didn't feel fantastically rested. Maybe I was dehydrated? Chris and I headed off to investigate parliament house, and spent most of the afternoon just having a sticky beak around. That night was Canberra's 94th birthday, so there was a concert in the park. The Rouge Traders were playing, so we went along to watch. Anthony said he's second cousin's with the lead singer (who is also Izzy from Neighbors). I can sort-of see the resemblance.
On Monday morning we left fairly early, so that we could make it back for 21plus. We made fairly good time, taking about 7 and a half hours to drive. We did take a stupid detour though, which took us through Wagga Wagga.
21 plus was all about "unplugging" our lives, learning to live without a dependence on technology. I thought one of the interesting thoughts was to try and have one day every couple of weeks that was a e-communication free day. So that means no email, no phone and no text messaging. Another interesting thought was to go on a "media diet" for a couple days. This would involve not watching the TV, reading the newspaper, or listening to the radio for a couple days. The idea is that when you get rid of the crap in your life, there is more space for God to speak to you.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Sharing meals
I almost forgot the most exciting part of the weekend. On Sunday evening, we used the dining room for the first time!
Due to Chris's unpacking on Saturday, I found that there aren't that many boxes left in the house at all. In fact, the dining room was free of clutter, and Chris had set up the table in the middle of the room. We have four chairs to put around the table, so we can't have too many guests over at once.
I cooked up a storm in the kitchen on Sunday night, making "Spanish rice", which is one of my favorite dishes Mum taught me how to make. I cooked extra, because some of the meat in the fridge needed to be cooked, and I haven't mastered cooking for just two people. As it happens, Janet and Michael, (Chris J's parents) called in on the way home from lunch with Grandma. They wanted to drop off some leftovers, like potato salad and pasta salad. They also had some sliced meat which they thought we could use in sandwiches. It's very thoughtful really.
Chris invited them to stay for dinner, and we all ate "Spanish rice" in the newly furnished dining room. I was most excited.
Janet mentioned while she was over, that for the Tupperware party, you can actually take orders from people who can't make it to the party. I think it's a great idea, and am asking for anyone who wants to buy some Tupperware to email me or call me to place an order, or find out more about the party! =)
Due to Chris's unpacking on Saturday, I found that there aren't that many boxes left in the house at all. In fact, the dining room was free of clutter, and Chris had set up the table in the middle of the room. We have four chairs to put around the table, so we can't have too many guests over at once.
I cooked up a storm in the kitchen on Sunday night, making "Spanish rice", which is one of my favorite dishes Mum taught me how to make. I cooked extra, because some of the meat in the fridge needed to be cooked, and I haven't mastered cooking for just two people. As it happens, Janet and Michael, (Chris J's parents) called in on the way home from lunch with Grandma. They wanted to drop off some leftovers, like potato salad and pasta salad. They also had some sliced meat which they thought we could use in sandwiches. It's very thoughtful really.
Chris invited them to stay for dinner, and we all ate "Spanish rice" in the newly furnished dining room. I was most excited.
Janet mentioned while she was over, that for the Tupperware party, you can actually take orders from people who can't make it to the party. I think it's a great idea, and am asking for anyone who wants to buy some Tupperware to email me or call me to place an order, or find out more about the party! =)
Wow, another weekend over!
Well, I have to say I can't believe that this weekend is already over, and I am heading back to work today. I don't feel like the weekend was restful; maybe that's an indication of us trying to do too much.
On Friday evening, Chris and I went to the footy at Telstra Dome. Mat and his friend, Daniel, came along too. Mat is not really a footy person, so he was quite entertaining to listen to giving a commentary on the events of the night. The game was a pre-season game between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions. Needless to say, the Bulldogs got thrashed, and the Lions came out on top yet again. After the game, we dropped Daniel at the train station and Mat at his house, then tiredly drove back home.
Saturday started off well. I had a sleep in. I woke up at 9am instead of my normal 6.15am. I had some errands to run in the morning before heading over to Mum and Dad's place to help Mum with the photos for Grandpa's birthday. My errands took up more of my morning than I expected. I dropped in to Scott and Sue's place to collect my jumper which I accidentally left at her tupperware party. I ended up stopping for a little while, and helped get the children ready to go to the toy library. I can't believe how much work kids are! Once they finally got on the road to the toy library, I headed down to the tyre place to collect a tyre for my car which I had a puncture repaired in.
I returned home, with tyre and jumper, to discover that I had to set up my old PC to retrieve some of the photos we needed for Grandpa's album. I didn't have that much trouble actually starting the computer, which was a surprise because I have not started it for quite some time. I burned the CD of photos that we needed for the day, and then decided that I should really backup my photo library so that I can give the computer to Mum and Dad soon. It took 17 CDs, and about an hour and a half to back up my photos. I spent the time running around the house trying to unpack and clean and all that fun stuff.
By the time that I actually got to Mum and Dad's place, it was around 2pm. Mum had begun picking out photos for me to scan, so I could pretty much get straight into it, scanning and touching up some photos from when we were little kids and Grandpa and Grandpa came to visit. I left around 7pm, and went to dinner.
David and Darren had Chris and I over for a beautiful meal and a couple drinks. It was lots of fun, and ended up being quite a late night.
Sunday was church day. Quite literally, I arrived at FTG uniting church around 10am, and left at 4.40pm!! As if that was not enough, Chris and I both headed off to GWUC for the first "MTC" which is held every first Sunday of the month. MTC stands for More Than Church, and is designed to inspire people to get out at do something in the community. Yesterday, we picked up rubbish around the church and the Glen Waverly shopping complex. It was Clean Up Australia Day, so we were doing our part to clean up Australia. It was refreshing to respond to our faith in such a practical way. After picking up some rubbish, we headed back to the church for a guest speaker and some more praise and worship. The guest speaker was a 19 year old boy who spoke about his experience with outreach and international mission. He spoke about his experience with World Vision, and a little about his latest project, which is to unite Christians in our schools.
On Friday evening, Chris and I went to the footy at Telstra Dome. Mat and his friend, Daniel, came along too. Mat is not really a footy person, so he was quite entertaining to listen to giving a commentary on the events of the night. The game was a pre-season game between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions. Needless to say, the Bulldogs got thrashed, and the Lions came out on top yet again. After the game, we dropped Daniel at the train station and Mat at his house, then tiredly drove back home.
Saturday started off well. I had a sleep in. I woke up at 9am instead of my normal 6.15am. I had some errands to run in the morning before heading over to Mum and Dad's place to help Mum with the photos for Grandpa's birthday. My errands took up more of my morning than I expected. I dropped in to Scott and Sue's place to collect my jumper which I accidentally left at her tupperware party. I ended up stopping for a little while, and helped get the children ready to go to the toy library. I can't believe how much work kids are! Once they finally got on the road to the toy library, I headed down to the tyre place to collect a tyre for my car which I had a puncture repaired in.
I returned home, with tyre and jumper, to discover that I had to set up my old PC to retrieve some of the photos we needed for Grandpa's album. I didn't have that much trouble actually starting the computer, which was a surprise because I have not started it for quite some time. I burned the CD of photos that we needed for the day, and then decided that I should really backup my photo library so that I can give the computer to Mum and Dad soon. It took 17 CDs, and about an hour and a half to back up my photos. I spent the time running around the house trying to unpack and clean and all that fun stuff.
By the time that I actually got to Mum and Dad's place, it was around 2pm. Mum had begun picking out photos for me to scan, so I could pretty much get straight into it, scanning and touching up some photos from when we were little kids and Grandpa and Grandpa came to visit. I left around 7pm, and went to dinner.
David and Darren had Chris and I over for a beautiful meal and a couple drinks. It was lots of fun, and ended up being quite a late night.
Sunday was church day. Quite literally, I arrived at FTG uniting church around 10am, and left at 4.40pm!! As if that was not enough, Chris and I both headed off to GWUC for the first "MTC" which is held every first Sunday of the month. MTC stands for More Than Church, and is designed to inspire people to get out at do something in the community. Yesterday, we picked up rubbish around the church and the Glen Waverly shopping complex. It was Clean Up Australia Day, so we were doing our part to clean up Australia. It was refreshing to respond to our faith in such a practical way. After picking up some rubbish, we headed back to the church for a guest speaker and some more praise and worship. The guest speaker was a 19 year old boy who spoke about his experience with outreach and international mission. He spoke about his experience with World Vision, and a little about his latest project, which is to unite Christians in our schools.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Wow, is it Thursday ALREADY?!
Well, this week as flown by! I think I have had something on almost every night this week. I should take some time off from my life, so that I can finish unpacking the boxes that are in what is to become our dining room.
I think I mentioned on Monday that we had an Oscars watching night at Kat and Jason's place. The evening was pretty relaxed, and we all ate sweets dipped in chocolate. From watching the awards, I think I finally figured out how much fuss is made over not much. The awards went off with so much pomp and ceremony that the actual speeches were overshadowed.
Tuesday evening was enjoyable too, I caught the train to Glenferrie, and spent the evening with Quoc, Linda, Evan, Chris, Anthony and Gavin. We met "under the sails" at uni, but when I arrived, I discovered that most of the sails have been taken down. We decided to eat dinner at Ruby's, which is just across the road from uni.
Linda said she has bought a car from Sydney, but it needs a few little repairs before it can pass the roadworthy. I think it's all under control though. She bought a manual, even though she only has an automatic license (figure that one out). The car is a Honda Civic, like the one that Quang apparently totaled last Friday.
Evan seems to be enjoying his work with Cobalt-Niche Design, and has a great tan at the moment, due to a family holiday to Apollo Bay. Apparently something is broken on Evan's car at the moment too, so he's training it to work and back every day.
Anthony and Gav have started working together at Kenworth Trucks, which is located in Bayswater. Bayswater would have been about 5 minutes drive from Mum and Dad's place! Anthony and Gavin are doing chassis design or some such thing. It all sounded complicated to me, perhaps I should be glad that I got a position at Oates, instead of one of the other corporations.
On Wednesday evening I went along to my first tupperware party. It was to raise money for the MS society, and was hosted by Scott and Sue, who live about 3 minutes drive from our place in Mitcham. The lady presenting, Jenny, was very nice, and after she showed us the product range, we headed to the kitchen and cooked up a storm with some of the products from the catalog. Jenny made some champaign cocktails and chocolate dips. Chris and I walked out with some new hamburger presses, a meat storage container, and a silicone baking form for muffins. I also booked my own tupperware party, which I expect all of you to come to. =)
Tonight, I plan to do not a lot. I am still feeling a little bit under the weather, and plan to get an early night. Maybe I should unpack a couple more boxes, just so that we can finally set up the dining room.
I think I mentioned on Monday that we had an Oscars watching night at Kat and Jason's place. The evening was pretty relaxed, and we all ate sweets dipped in chocolate. From watching the awards, I think I finally figured out how much fuss is made over not much. The awards went off with so much pomp and ceremony that the actual speeches were overshadowed.
Tuesday evening was enjoyable too, I caught the train to Glenferrie, and spent the evening with Quoc, Linda, Evan, Chris, Anthony and Gavin. We met "under the sails" at uni, but when I arrived, I discovered that most of the sails have been taken down. We decided to eat dinner at Ruby's, which is just across the road from uni.
Linda said she has bought a car from Sydney, but it needs a few little repairs before it can pass the roadworthy. I think it's all under control though. She bought a manual, even though she only has an automatic license (figure that one out). The car is a Honda Civic, like the one that Quang apparently totaled last Friday.
Evan seems to be enjoying his work with Cobalt-Niche Design, and has a great tan at the moment, due to a family holiday to Apollo Bay. Apparently something is broken on Evan's car at the moment too, so he's training it to work and back every day.
Anthony and Gav have started working together at Kenworth Trucks, which is located in Bayswater. Bayswater would have been about 5 minutes drive from Mum and Dad's place! Anthony and Gavin are doing chassis design or some such thing. It all sounded complicated to me, perhaps I should be glad that I got a position at Oates, instead of one of the other corporations.
On Wednesday evening I went along to my first tupperware party. It was to raise money for the MS society, and was hosted by Scott and Sue, who live about 3 minutes drive from our place in Mitcham. The lady presenting, Jenny, was very nice, and after she showed us the product range, we headed to the kitchen and cooked up a storm with some of the products from the catalog. Jenny made some champaign cocktails and chocolate dips. Chris and I walked out with some new hamburger presses, a meat storage container, and a silicone baking form for muffins. I also booked my own tupperware party, which I expect all of you to come to. =)
Tonight, I plan to do not a lot. I am still feeling a little bit under the weather, and plan to get an early night. Maybe I should unpack a couple more boxes, just so that we can finally set up the dining room.
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