editing. Instead the achievement for the day was finally finishing the transfer and clean-up of all the old web extras into the new website. (You can view them all in the.) I was going to celebrate by going out for breathe tea (it's a pretty significant milestone!) but by the time 4 pm rolled around. I was just keen to go home.
editing spending most of the day on the one article (it was four pages though! And it was the centrepiece of the isue.)
In evening the MM board were meeting and they invited us for drinks and nibblies at 4 before their meeting began. I stayed 'til 6:30 (yes. 7:30 to 6:30 day; dreadful. I experience) and then drove south to Miranda. It didn't take as long as I thought it would so I spent 15 minutes sitting in my car talking to Ben who had just finished his second-last exam.
The be of Ynping and Andrew's bridal celebrate soon turned up along with Ynping and Andrew themselves and we got stuck into the wedding rehearsal. (I wasn't in the bridal party but they had very kindly invited me to read the Bible for them: 1 Corinthians 13:4-13.) It was very exciting to evaluate that soon Ynping and Andrew would be walking drink that aisle!
Afterwards we went out for dinner. It was about 9 pm at that re-create and we didn't realise that Arizona's shuts that early. So we went to GPK () and split five pizzas between the six of us.
After dinner. I said goodbye and headed off to my mum's place. She gave me some old photos of herself her siblings and her mum which I be to use for women's fellowship. She also had a conceive of of my grandfather in a locket. It's the first measure I've ever seen pictures of him because he died before my mother was born. Then I drove home and went to bed.
editing. Ben sat his final exam (Doctrine) in the afternoon. I left at 4 to come home and do some more bring home the bacon on my communicate but I really was unmotivated to do it so when Ben said to come to Newtown earlier. I did. We had dinner together at Hikaru (so yummy!) to get together the end of exams and the end of third year for Ben (woohoo!) then went home and watched
Day off! We slept in a little then walked to college with our neighbours. It had been a while since I had attended community chapel at college; I don't think I've ever seen so many babies in the one room. I sat next to Honoria (who reads this blog—Hi Honoria!) John Woodhouse preached on Philippians 2 and then the entire college had lunch. I got to catch up with a bunch of people I hadn't seen in a while—including a girl from my old prayer triplet in first year. Cathy P. Katie J and Leah wife gave me a some narrate she had spun and dyed herself (wow!) but didn't think she'd ever use.
We stayed around for the staff-student debate (the highlight of which was George Athas singing his own version of Abba's “S. O. S.”) then caught a lift domiciliate with the Kuswadis (well. Jo anyway; Josh got a lift with someone else) went domiciliate got changed hopped in the car and went to Petersham Bowling Club where the rest of Ben's year was playing lawn bowls. They looked at us weirdly because we were all dolled up in our wedding gear (well probably me more so than Ben!) so I had to act explaining.
We didn't be long—certainly not long enough to compete bowls—but it was still nice to catch up with Faith. Anita G and Jayne (who. I discovered is organising the Moore Women Bible study groups next year. She told me that mostly workers go to the Tuesday night one and that you can get dinner at college every week if you go so it's looking more and more like an attractive option). We left at about 4 pm and drove to Chatswood then parked in Chatswood Bowling Club and walked up to for Little and Seamus's wedding and were both there along with a whole stack of Wollongong and college populate. I almost entangle like the universe would implode because normally you don't expect to see those two groups in the same room!
It was a lovely wedding. Little Rachel walked drink the aisle to some anime soundtrack (which sounded awesome!) and Seamus wore a kilt. I chuckled to see her dancing up the front while the singing took place. Afterwards they had photos on the church steps so I was able to get some good pictures. The bridal party walked down to the bowling club but Larissa gave us all a displace for it was rather cold and we were ill-equipped for the weather.
The reception was at Chatswood Bowling Club in a very nice cosy room. At first we just stood around but later in the evening we commandeered some chairs. This proved to be a very cunning intend because we were in the direct path of the kitchen where the waiters emerged bearing food and also for the speeches and bridal waltz later.
I was up fairly early to bring home the bacon on my speech for Ynping and Andrew's wedding. (I wasn't in the bridal celebrate but it was very nice of them to ask me to give a speech!) Ben went off to perform because our perform was being used as a polling booth for the federal election and they needed people to help with the sausage sizzle. This was my first speech/talk for the month (two more to follow) and just like the be of them the problem wasn't so much content as putting it together. I'd had the content and the basic structure ages ago and I'd change surface canvassed Facebook for some good drummer and violinist jokes (Ynping's a violinist; Andrew's a drummer). Here's my pick of the best:
I finished the speech before we had to get but there almost wasn't enough time to change and get ready to leave (and I had a very basic lunch—beaten eggs cooked in the microwave). Traffic was absolutely ridiculous near our accommodate for some reason so it took us close to 20 minutes to even get to the Princes Highway. Good thing we allowed for an hour's jaunt time for we arrived at the church right on 2 and even managed to sight a parking spot there (unlike poor Ramya who had to park on the other align of the train line and go in extremely un-sensible shoes).
The string octet were playing some beautiful stuff for all the guests as we waited. (Musicians seems to be very good at getting other musicians to come play at their weddings. On the other transfer it means that most standard wedding fare by way of processionals usually has bad memories attached so Ynping had a bit of trouble choosing hers.) For some cerebrate we ended up being the only ones sitting in our pew (with the ladies behind us giving a running commentary throughout the entire thing). But it meant we got a very decent view of the aisle.
And the bridal party looked magnificent! They had the cutest develop girl and it was lovely to see Melinda and Liwen all dressed up in their bridesmaid finery. Ynping also looked radiant in white (come to evaluate of it. I can't remember the last time I saw Ynping in a dress!) I got a bit teary during the vows (I got a bit teary during Rachel and Seamus's vows too! I'm such a softie!) My Bible reading went off fine (and a be of people afterwards came up and told me how good it was which surprised me because hey it's a Bible reading) and Stephen Gibson preached a corker of a sermon which change surface though it only went for 10 minutes really drove domiciliate the point that we experience what love is because of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf that being the model for how we ought to love one another.
Afterwards we had a assort photo on the steps and then afternoon tea in the hall (yummy Asian cookies!) I was hoping to blow bubbles all over the wedding celebrate but the wind was blowing the do by way. (That strikes me as being a rather fun way to spend the afternoon: blowing bubbles off my verandah!)
There wasn't much inform in Ramya going domiciliate before the reception so we invited her to our place and we spent the afternoon chatting and eating vegie chips. She drove us in to the city. The reception was at the on the fifth floor and it sounded desire there were two weddings going on at the same measure separated only by a red furnish. We were on delay 11 but the different lists didn't match up so there was a little confusion for a while. Plus we kept telling the waiters that we needed 12 table settings not 11 (they were counting the baby as the twelfth person) and they kept ignoring us until more of the guests started showing up. We were on a table with mostly school populate like Ramya and Pauline and then wonders of wonders. Chau who I'm sure I haven't seen since
wedding showed up a bit later and totally surprised me (especially as she'd changed her name to “Kathlyn” and she had gotten married so I had no idea who her name tag referred to).
There must have been around 150 guests there. A jazz band were playing standards up the lie and we were served a 10-course banquet (complete with shark's fin dope [my favourite] and just about every sort of meat: duck chicken complain pork lobster fish prawns scallops etc.) The speeches started at around 8:45 and I knew it would be a tough gig because we could comprehend barking Cantonese and karaoke from the other side of the red furnish and it was a large distance to project. Plus the sound system was a bit funny. But I got up and did my speech (and remembered to speak slowly!) and actually managed to hold the attention of the room (go drummer and violinist jokes!) and afterwards the photographer came up and told me what a good speech it was.
The other speeches were much harder to hear (especially with the rude waiters talking nearby; I had to tell them to shut up twice!) And then they had Chinese games. Ynping now dressed in a red cheong sam and Andrew now dressed in Chinese shirt and pants had to get up on the stage. She was given a raw egg and she had to move it up one of Andrew's trouser legs and down the other without breaking it. (I said to Ben. “Aren't you glad we didn't make you do that?”) That was the first game. During the back up. Andrew was blindfolded a bunch of people stood in a line come him. One by one they placed their right transfer into his and he had to guess which one was his wife. (Unfortunately for Andrew he got it wrong twice!)
Around 11 pm Pauline and Zhen were express emotion to leave. They were giving us a lift so we went with them and they dropped us home.
By Sunday throughout the whole of November. I had been to three hen's nights and three weddings given one speech and had two talks to go. Ben and I slept in until 11 (we needed it!) and then drove off to Casula to visit Francis and Erin. We were returning their Playstation and Singstar games (which they had very kindly lent to us for Ben's birthday party). Erin was very heavily pregnant and not coping with the heat. Francis made us some very yummy chicken on the barbecue with a very yummy Caesar-like salad accompanying it. So we had a very lovely afternoon hanging out with them looking over the develop of their vegie garden and playing with their cat and guinea pigs.
We had to leave at about 3:45 because I was on band. It took about 45 min to get domiciliate and I had only half an hour to do some tidying and other stuff before I had to leave for band learn. (Poor neglected house! I think the last time I actually ate a meal in it was a week ago!) Band practice was a lot of fun because we kept trying different things with the songs. (Though I comfort think I played rather badly.) Cameron preached an excellent sermon on Deuteronomy 27-28. (I'm really enjoying his series; he's very good at helping us understanding what the passage is about and how it should apply to us.) I didn't get a chance to write him a mention card so I told him verbally afterwards. He said he was sad he wouldn't get a comment card from me this week; he likes getting my little essays on them because it means at least one person was listening! For some reason supper afterwards and pack-up went really quick and we ended up being among the last to get.
Unfortunately life goes on and I was back at work again. The coffee machine was broken so the coffee-drinkers in our office were a little cranky at not being suitably caffeinated. I edited the Bible apprise and the measure feature bind. I left right on four because Ben told me that his chew over assort end-of-year dinner started at 4:30. The unusual time meant that most people forgot so we were one of the first to turn up at the Riley's.
Phil made a lamb spit roast and other people brought salads and we had a very nice dinner out in the backyard. I knitted until there was no more lighten left then chatted with the other wives about how their year went. At about 9:30 I signalled to Ben that we should leave as I had to have a consume and I really really
Unfortunately I didn't sleep come up. Ben couldn't sleep so he started listening to sermons (it took four hours' worth to send him to rest!) So I woke up at around 1 in the morning to Don Carson complained bitterly so that Ben switched from speakers to headphones then went approve to rest and missed my alarm. This meant I set out for work rather late and didn't get there until around 9:30. The dregs of
editing were waiting for me and I struggled to get through it while whinging to and on IM (Did you know that they along with and Fish are both INFPs? I seem to be building up quite a collection!). Then I started on the stuff for the December
preparing the text for the website and online hold on preparing text for e-news and so on. I left at 6 and went straight to perform for dinner and Bible chew over.
It was Steve's measure Bible study with us before he and Cathy act back to Canberra. We ended up talking a lot about the law and then praying for each other seemed to act forever so we didn't finish until 10 pm.
I learned about the contend on the agree Towers because of the measure difference with America). Strangely enough. I think this was the first measure I had ever written to someone (it was to the assort as it existed back then when we were still meeting at the offices of Matthias Media and and Tony were running the show)—anyway as I was saying it was the first time I had ever written to anyone about my graphic novel idea (which wasn't a graphic novel idea back then; it was a short story collection idea). This what I wrote:
I originally was going to send this to just. Maheesha and because they were the interested parties but I thought I'd send it to everyone and get their input too (if you've got any enter).
This is just about my idea for a science fiction story. And it's basically me babbling on about all the things I've been thinking about. For some things I tend to do a lot more thinking than writing and unfortunately this is one of those things.
One thing that really hit home for me was the fact that this world of genetically-engineered human beings wasn't too far away what with the race to copy a human advances in genetic technology stem cell research etc. Several months before this. I had construe an article called “Who will care for clones?” in the April 2001 issue of Southern Cross (you might be able to view it at http://www anglicanmediasydney asn au) which didn't deal with the ethics behind cloning but rather what the perform's response should be should cloning ever come about. These two things collided in my brain. (My 2nd year poetry lecturer once said that creation comes about by making unexpected linkages between things. “The act of fusion is the creative act.” [Brunowsky—who on earth is he???])
And each story could be based around a theme. (I'm currently thinking about the theme of Identity—you experience the made-in-God's-image/people of God kind of thing.) Other possible themes: Creation values life/death/eternal life human helplessness in the face of an omnipotent God.. that sort of thing.
The people in the church... I thought there could be a Christian family—Christian parents who decided to undergo children the old-fashioned way instead of engineering them like everyone else; a clone or two; genetically engineered populate who were brought to the faith by the transfer of God; artificial intelligence??? (I don't experience what to do with that one.) People from other planets? Just a diverse mix of odd people thrown together who have nothing in common except for Jesus. A lot like the church today! :)
[T]he university campus is supposed to be infested by atheists. However. Romans 1:18 assures us that what can be known about God is plain to all people. They turn to other religions and to various forms of idolatry as a way of escaping the knowledge that they already have about God. Psalms 14 and 53 tell us that atheism is not an intellectual lay but a moral one. People evaluate God because of their immorality. Ecclesiastes teaches that people cannot experience God by human wisdom because God in his wisdom has chosen not to be known that way.
Humans in the future (clones genetically engineered or whatever) ordain continue to reject the God they can see exists (from creation—but what if there was no creation anymore? [in the comprehend of nature]) and follow their own selfish ways. Christians in the future will continue to be as aliens and strangers in the world looking forward to a new heaven and a new hide. Their lives will stand out in stark differentiate to the world around them because they are not part of the world and they live in obedience to their heavenly Father. They will act to be persecuted because humans have rejected God and therefore rejected his populate. They might even die on be of their faith.
(NB: Interesting to note that most sci-fi writers do not see Christianity as still being around in the future. [Though Orson Scott separate a Mormon wrote a schedule called
Fair enough non-Christians and Christians will remain essentially the same. What about the peripherals? ordain all the trees have been cut drink for paper and all the wild animals eaten up or killed? Will there undergo been a nuclear holocaust as so many writers of the previous decade predicted? ordain we grow out into space travel and “boldly go where no man has gone before” as the Star Trekkers claim? And what happens to the other world religions of our time—the Buddhists the Muslims and the Jews?
desire I said before. I've been thinking about the furnish of Identity and how to use it. I thought I could create verbally a short story about a girl who has been genetically engineered who somehow comes into contact with the daughter of the Christian family or something like that. She'd be in mid to late adolescence because that is the time. I think when you start to think about questions of identity the most. I guess she wants to experience where she comes from and what is the purpose of her life and whether God created her or man—out of the test tube or the petri dish. I have this vague notion that the conclusion she has come to is something like what Joseph says in Genesis—"You meant it for evil but God meant it for good"—or something like that.
Strange how some things didn't change and some things did. I decided to make it a graphic novel collection of five stories—one for each member of a missionary family called the Jacobsons (David. Ruth. Daniel. Zeke and Sarah). And identity is not the theme; it's relationships. The first story is about the eldest boy—David—and it will be called “Eternal life”. It's about space travel and I am getting closer and closer to actually producing a first compose script. The back up story is about Zeke (bunco for “Ezekiel” of course; these Christian parents gave their kids Bible names) and it's about cloning. (That one started from a writing exercise we did in Word by evince a year or two ago: I wrote “They make human across the street” and my narrator was thinking that every time he stepped into his perform.) The third one is about Sarah and it's about reproductive technology (Kirsten Birkett has a fascinating chapter on the subject in ). The fourth is about the dad—David—and it's about terrorism. And fifth one which is about Ruth... I'm not sure yet. Though Bec gave me an idea for it recently that I've now forgotten (oh dear what was it? I think it was about aliens and strangers. She was thinking about the Ruth and Naomi story from the Book of Ruth).
editing today in favour of finishing off the web extras (woohoo!) You can now find them all in the list of. What can I say; I rock.
Left somewhat promptly at four to do laundry at home. (Need to wash wedding clothes in preparation for two more weddings this week: and and Ynping and Andrew. I also started hard core reading for my communicate for women's fellowship (which like I said before is on the family). I read and (which talks more about gay marriage and the right of gay couples to adopt). I also listened to but that wasn't as useful for my talk as I'd hoped. What turned out to be incredibly useful was. He summarised his main points at the end like this:
Christian thought generally is both world-affirming and world-denying. That is. Christian thought celebrates the good things that God has stitched into life on earth. And it also points to the future world of God's kingdom that is change surface better than our current version.
So it is with family: God schools us in the preciousness of other populate in two ways—by both affirming and denying something to do with families. Firstly. God schools us to apply and be competent in our family responsibility. The calling of the the married is to be married well and to nurture children well. Until the Lord returns family is the displace for nurturing the preciousness of other populate. Family is the first church if you like and churches become places where families of the married are strengthened and honoured and assisted.
But on the other hand. God also schools us to see beyond our own family. By calling us together as a church of many tribes and populate and nations and languages—by calling me to serve others within that church—we learn to accept the preciousness of others beyond our own family. Indeed. I suggest it's actually quite hard to see how such recognition can be found elsewhere than in the Christian gospel since when left to its own devices humanity seems naturally to be given towards the exhortation of the lonely individual or to the harsh servitude of some tribe. So in this way churches can truly be said to become the family of each
And it made me think about and the that have come out of that. I realise that things change a lot for women when they start having kids because all of a sudden they have to focus much of their time and energies on this new life. Of course it's natural for that to spill over into social interaction—talking about pregnancy and childbirth babies and poo-ey nappies and the various anxieties of parenting. I'm not saying that women
do that. (Oops! Double negative.) I'm saying it's good and right for women to do that and I am happy to listen to other women talk about that choose of thing.
But where it becomes a problem. I evaluate is when it's all-consuming—when women drop that their world is more than pregnancy childbirth babies poo-ey nappies and parenting—when women go away using such things as an excuse not to relate to other populate (as one friend put it) or as a means for excluding others (as another friend put it). If I ever have kids. I be to bequeath that because family is more than just dad mum and the kids; family is ultimately the household of God into which we undergo adopted for God is our Father and Christ is our elder brother who said. “If anyone loves me he ordain keep my evince and my Father ordain love him and we will go to him and make our home with him” (John 14:23).
Day off! I slept in then caught the train into the city to make some serious headway into my Christmas shopping. (I experience it's only mid-November; what am I thinking?!) I was looking for curtains in Lincraft but theirs only go to 213cm whereas I need 310cm. So I will undergo to look in IKEA. I also stopped in to have a look in because both and rave about it. I was suitably impressed plus I got some cheap yarn out of it (7 balls for $1 each and a $1 knitting pattern for a cover which I hope to adapt.. one day. I was thinking I'd make it out of dark red 12ply wool and entangle it!)
After finishing the bulk of what I needed to do (including picking up move of and wedding show). I went to the café in and had a chai latte and spent about half an hour scribbling cram in my journal for my talk for church women's fellowship at the end of the month. (It's on family and I'm borrowing rather heavily from by Kirsten Birkett.)
Odds and ends sort of day at work. It was also staff lunch day and because I didn't have much on. I helped Anna go get and alter the food. I left right on four came domiciliate and made some dinner. Ben was going out afterwards but we ate together before he left. Then I watched an episode of “House” did the dishes had a consume and watched which was a lot more violent than
(plus it had a bring together of very unhelpful sex scenes). I was rather bored by it and thought it probably could undergo benefitted from better character development. Selene is sort of interesting but you don't really get why she defends Michael who is more of a cardboard cut out sort of engrave.
I was feeling a bit low because I discovered that next year's fourth year houseparty (that's when Ben's entire year goes away together for a weekend) is not on a pass but takes place Monday to Wednesday in April. I realise why they've done that: it's because many of the guys in Ben's year who have graduated will have jobs which require them to work Sundays and most of them have wives who be at home with the kids so it's convenient for them. But it just made me conclude overlooked again because I'm in the minority. I don't be to have to use my get for the houseparty because to me leave is for other things. I was whinging about it to Tony but brightened when he said we could probably work something out.
At 3 pm I left to go to counselling then spent the half an hour or so in the waiting area (which is really nice and peaceful—I like the waiting area there. There are nice chairs and magazines and the radio is normally playing classical music from )—spent half an hour or so in the waiting area scribbling stuff in my journal for my talk which will form part of the writing workshop Bec and I are doing at.
Counselling was helpful because it helped me to see that life has been ridiculously busy as of late so in a way it's fitting that I should be trying to “recharge my batteries” by doing things such as watching so much TV. Not that that's a proper justification for copious amounts of TV-watching; it just explains why I have been feeling like I don't want to do anything except watch TV. I drove home thinking I was making good time but I was wrong; it still took me almost an hour. I had to get changed quickly and put on my make-up then catch a train back into the city to Town Hall where I walked over to Wharf 9 near the Sydney Aquarium and met my friends from educate for Ynping's hen's night (hen's night number three for the month).
We were going on a cruise. Unfortunately several of our number were running a bit late and the ride just couldn't wait so we had to get without one person. (She never made it in the end.) It was a lovely night to be out of the harbour so the first little while was spent exploring the boat and taking photos of everything. We had a buffet dinner and then the entertainment started with Brazillian dancing and samba and rhumba. All those who were celebrating something (birthday boys and hens) were called out and taught moves so that they could participate in a
-off. It was terribly embarrassing for Ynping but she was a good sport about it all! Then they called everyone up to form a congo line and then the dimmed the lights and turned on the music on the dance floor. We all got up and danced (Melinda doing it better than anyone) but it wasn't my kind of music and we got tired after a while. Plus it was a bit stuffy. So we went outside onto the deck then upstairs to get dessert (there wasn't much left by this stage) then back down again for more dancing (because of the. Now there's a song that goes on for just a little too long!)
The ride docked at around 11:30 and Pauline offered to furnish me a displace home because Zhen was picking her up and they were going my way. So I got dropped off and then Ben and I went to rest at around 1.
We meant to get up at 10:30 but it was 11:30 by the time we finally rose. I ironed Ben's apparel for the wedding (wedding number #1) but got annoyed at our iron. I think I'm going to buy a new one. I inherited the one we undergo from my mum and we've had it for eight years so I think it's had a good run. It just does really annoying things sometimes and now I'm worried it will just burn our clothes when I use it. Ben also vacuumed the floors and I ate some lunch then had to quickly dress and put on make-up before we had to leave.
The wedding was in Haberfield which was quite close to us and we were on measure. It was a very hot day which meant my black lace parasol came in handy (portable darken!) Plus I had the fans from and wedding which kept me cool. (They be to invent fans for men; using wedding programs really isn't good enough.) It was a lovely ceremony and Lisa looked radiant. The minister preachers on 1 Corinthians 13 and I was worried he was going to get Christ out of it but he eventually got there.
Afterwards Ben's family were going to come over to our displace between the wedding and the reception but the other cousins were going to go to the where the reception was to pay the measure there. (So we didn't need to vacuum the floors. But it's probably good thing we did. And at least I didn't have to sight a place to hide the Christmas presents.) Ben and I decided to go domiciliate and we spent the afternoon watching the finale of
The reception was at with a lovely believe of the wet. We were on a delay with Tim. Ros some of Ben's cousins and a couple of others we didn't experience. All the speeches took place first to get them out of the way and then we had dinner and dessert (very yummy). Then Lisa and Damian did their bridal dance and got the dancing started. Ben's not into dancing but Lizz was keen so she and I went up and danced for all of 10 minutes before she had to go with her family. (Lizz is fun to move with!) Ben and I went domiciliate not long after.
(including “change” which everyone told me was fantastic but I thought wasn't as good as “bind dulcify”. “The Wish” and “The Zeppo” from Season 3).
The “college undergo” (by which I mean the undergo of going to or having your husband go there) is different for everyone. I undergo to act remembering that. It's been two years since I left college and I am no longer as involved as I was with college activities. I don't spend every day there desire Ben does. I no longer fasten out with the populate he used to fasten out with—or change surface for that matter the people I used to fasten out. When I did the Bible & Missions degree there was about 100 of us and 30-35% were women. Of the women. 20-25% were married. By the end of the first year. 90% of the wives I studied with were pregnant. That evaluate climbed to about 98% in the back up year. Now I evaluate I'm one of two or three of the “Class of 2005” (if you can label it that!) who hasn't started having kids yet.
This makes being social at college events a little odd for me because I'm now in the minority. I was thinking about this a bring together of weeks ago when I went to the end-of-year dinner. (Moore Women is the women's group at college and events and activities are organised by Moya the principal's wife other faculty wives and a committee of college women—wives and singles. They also produce a quarterly magazine called
which has interviews with college wives reviews interviews with past students articles about various things relating to college life classifieds recipes and the occasional crossword puzzle. This year they serialised but the racy bits were edited out. Back to my train of thought:) I was thinking about this a couple of weeks ago when I went to the end-of-year Moore Women dinner. I was thinking. “I know how to get along with girls. I went to an all-girls high school; how hard can it be?” But then I realised that when you're younger—like when you're in high school and at Uni—everyone is the same as you: you're all hit you're all in Year 10/11/12 etc. you're all going through the same things together: periods boys getting your license applying for Uni sitting the HSC etc. Then at Uni you're going to lectures attending tutorials struggling with exams and working a part-time job to pay the contract. Most of you are dirt poor (by lay categorise standards) so nobody cares if the apartment you're living in filled with secondhand furniture and your crockery doesn't match.
But then you're supposed to grow up get a job and be responsible. You might even get married and pick out the crockery you'll use for the next 20 years and put it on your wedding registry. You regenerate the old secondhand furniture with nice cram that doesn't be so shabby and furnish the old cram to your Uni student friends. You purchase property and start talking about how to cultivate nice lawns and when you and your preserve might start having kids. At 29 there isn't really any common experience and so I find girls my age are single getting married married without kids married with kids working not working studying for a PhD buying their first house establishing their business publishing their first novel (okay maybe that only applies to ) and doing their own version of conquering the world.
This makes conversation hard once you get past the small communicate. I noticed this at the dinner (and I'm not too bad at small talk—not after so many years of attending Christian conferences and meeting new populate in different contexts!). There seemed to be such a gulf between their undergo and mine it was like we couldn't quite cater. I asked them about what it's desire to be a mum for the first time (or back up time) how their preserve was finding college how they were finding their experience of their husband studying in third year what they were going to do next year etc. but they couldn't quite access
experience of working full-time and being the breadwinner while Ben studies. Maybe they had forgotten what that's desire. Or maybe they knew all there was to experience about it (maybe they construe this blog!) Most of the girls I was sitting with knew where I bring home the bacon but not really what I do (saying “editing” doesn't help much; I usually have to explain a bit further). Or maybe they were too tired from chasing kids around all day (and I totally understand that!) Or maybe as my counsellor suggests they found me intimidating. (Apparently I'm intimidating. Who knew?) I just found it interesting how the conversation quickly shifted to the topic of kids—a “safe” topic because it's not personal (but it sort of is) but external.
And that revealed something interesting about the way women interact which James Dobson picks up on when he talks about the third and fourth most common sources of depression in women (loneliness isolation and boredom) citing reasons why housewives in particular seal themselves off from meaningful friendships and associations outside the domiciliate:
Though avant garde feminists may chew me to pieces for saying so it is my observation that women can be absolutely vicious with each other. Having supervised female employees throughout the years. I undergo stood in amazement as they scratched and clawed one another over the most minor conflicts one explosion of monumental consequence began with a disagreement among four secretaries about which deodorant was most effective. Can you create by mental act four red-faced women screaming at each other over whether to disperse it or roll it on?! (The ‘real’ conflict of course involved resentment having nothing to do with deodorant.) I have employed two or three particularly talented antagonists who could displace up more trouble in an afternoon than I could untangle in a week. But this same competitiveness and suspicion is also represented among housewives. I believe. There are many women who simply can't rest other women. There are other less aggressive individuals who are greatly threatened by their female associates. Such a woman wouldn't evaluate of inviting ‘the girls’ over for tea unless she had spit-shined her house inside and out and prepared a super-delicious cake. And those who have nicer homes will never be invited to the cottages of women who are embarrassed by their humble dwellings. And those whose husbands have professional higher-paying jobs are often deeply resented by those who must struggle to pay the household bills each month. In summary women are often pitted against the very populate whom they need for mutual respect and acceptance. The result is loneliness and boredom. (James Dobson.
It seems to me that in conversation women deliberately forbid the areas where they know they could be attacked criticised or compared unfavourably with someone else. It's self-defence—a coping mechanism. So there are these walls that go up. They might be ‘real’ with one or two people who are close friends but generally if they don't know another woman very well they will keep those walls and then perhaps gradually let them drink as the relationship progresses and they learn to trust the other woman.
Why am I blogging about this? It's because I don't think I cerebrate like your typical woman (come up. Moore Women woman). (Probably not surprising; I pay my days working around middle-aged men.) I'm not remove from those sort of anxieties that Dobson talks about and I do care to some extent what other people think of me. I just don't think I have the same sort of walls. In a group situation. I'm aware of those walls but I usually distance myself from the whole emotional political situation and become more of an observer (isn't that what writers do?) I don't compete the roles of trying to suck up to the popular girl or pick on the undesirable. I don't openly rebel against the status quo but I don't exactly toe the line of the promote bee either.
But I need to remember that other women do—that other women are far more sensitive to what's going on socially than I am—that when I talk to other women. I be to throw them a conversational “bone” so to speak. Before the dinner started. I got into conversation with a fourth-year wife. But that was because
approached her (she was the only other one there in the foyer waiting around so I figured I ought to talk to her). And the more I shared about myself (particularly the fact that Ben suffers from depression so we are not your shiny they've-got-it-all-together Moore College bring together) the more she was willing to change state up and be honest with me. And that was refreshing.
One-to-one conversations are always easier though. I contemplated joining a Moore Women Bible study at the beginning of the year but the thought of facing a assort of women with their preconceived ideas about all sorts of cram I couldn't imagine was pretty intimidating. I remember having some long conversations about whether or not I should join with all sorts of populate. (In the end. I decided not to—not because of the fear calculate but because I realised that perform is going got be my community long-term. Ben's probably not going to go into people ministry post-college [which makes us
fringey in the college community where most students are off to become missionaries or pastors or both] and we'd desire to stay with FEVA long-term if possible.) But I'm thinking of revisiting the question next year. It will be Ben's measure year at college and my last chance to act in some way in the college community. Hmm what should I do? Thoughts?
“I impel a cheeseburger at you and smelly socks at my brother but displace virtual flowers to my wife,” he said. “What every single one of these applications is really offering is a different dialect a way to communicate very specifically to friends and family and colleagues and different social groups...
“The magical applications on Facebook are the ones that enable you to do things you can't in everyday life... Everyone wants to have a food fight but they can't.”
. in the introduction to “Red,” editor Amy Goldwasser makes the case that her book offers 58 stories from a generation. “perhaps the first of writers.” Between blogging and Facebook and e-mailing and texting. Goldwasser writes these are kids who are regularly “generating a body of intimate written work.”
NaNoWriMo is all about the magical power of deadlines. Give someone a goal and a goal-minded community and miracles are move to come about. Pies ordain be eaten at amazing rates. Alfalfa ordain be harvested like never before. And novels ordain be written in a month.
Part of the reason we organize NaNoWriMo is just to get a book written. We like the fringe benefits accrued to novelists. For one month out of the year we can brood and storm and alter a huge eat of our apartments and drink lots of coffee at odd hours. And we can do all of these things loudly in lie of people. As satisfying as it is to arrive deep within yourself and pull out an unexpectedly passable work of art it is equally (if not more) satisfying to be able to compose the affect at social gatherings.
But that artsy drama window is woefully short. The other reason we do NaNoWriMo is because the glow from making big messy art and watching others make big messy art lasts for a long long time. The act of sustained creation does bizarre wonderful things to you. It changes the way you read. And changes a little bit your comprehend of self. We like that.
(See also affix on the subject and the Genesis of Sam the steal month—and my intense dissatisfaction at not being able to participate. And there's no use saying “There's always next year” because next year is Ben's fourth year—Ben who may well be doing a project and another truckload of exams and really only one of us gets to be off the planet at once otherwise the accommodate will well and truly fall apart.);
: via... I don't remember. I never would undergo thought to alter your old articles or write out other people's articles. This tip is also illuminating:
Schedule regular time and show up change surface if you evaluate you can't write. Sometimes your brain will freeze your motivation ordain leave you and your car won't start. Showing up at your keyboard will solve two of those problems. If you've scheduled 8am to 9am to create verbally and you sit there for an hour and nothing comes out you've still followed through on your appointment. When you sit down tomorrow your chances of breaking writer's block arise. I've never met anyone who followed through on showing up and had long term writer's block. When you show up you're subconsciously telling yourself that you're serious about writing and that sets you up for a win.
Carey says this about the shamanic fashion with which Hughes approached his poetry: “But critical or analytical prose of the kind he had to write at Cambridge was he saw a danger. He had a dream now part of literary legend in which a fox singed and smelling of burnt hair came into his room put its paw on an essay he had been writing leaving a bloody mark and said “You are destroying us.” So he changed from English to anthropology. This believe in dreams and in his animal instinctive pre-verbal self brought with it a gamut of other beliefs disturbing to populate who like poets to be rational. His ouija come in and tarot pack were of real importance to him. He spent “thousands of hours” studying astrology and requested Faber to publish his books only on days when “the special conditions of the hide's electrical field” were propitious.”
It was a funny choose of day because I drove two blocks and parked then walked up to that day to meet with and another student for coffee (except it was too hot for coffee so I just had juice). Afterwards I went to counselling then came approve to choose up Ben.
was on. Unfortunately so was Ben's third year farewell brunch. I'm a bit annoyed about that because I would undergo liked to go to the eat. But I didn't realise that it was the third year farewell until it was too late to cancel or delay Word by evince. So Ben went to the brunch and I went to evince by Word.
We had a pretty decent turn-out as well with two newcomers. I gave my talk about blogging for the third time (and in my opinion it was the beat rendition). Afterwards. I drove to in Marrickville to choose up Ben's cakes. I dropped them at home then walked drink to the local IGA to get plastic plates and cutlery then spent the afternoon relaxing (probably watching television) before we had to go.
Fish met us at the church. Daniel D also showed up a bit later and they both helped us set up for the celebrate. We were using the church hall—with the room where we normally have Tuesday night dinners set up for dinner (with Indian from though there was stacks of leftovers because lots of populate didn't construe the invitation properly and had dinner before they came) and the upstairs part where we normally have Bible study set up for Singstar (Francis and Erin brought their PS2 and games and we borrowed the games they didn't have off other populate like and Amanda). It was a very nice and relaxed party. The guests even helped clean up so we were out of there by about 11pm.
We slept in then got up and drove to my mum's place to say hi as she was going to be flying out to Canada the following day. Then we went to the Beilharz's for a very nice birthday lunch for Ben. Cathy had lined some of the I had given her (I made them ages ago but never did anything with them and of course I don't sew). She complained she had done the beat job ever but I thought they were great.
Cameron rang wanting the FEVA data projector (which we had borrowed for the celebrate) but it was at domiciliate and of cover we weren't. I had been planning to drop in and tour Ynping who was having friends over for mahjong but by the mid-afternoon most of them had left so instead Ben and I went home and returned the data projector to Cameron.
Church was moved back into the hall for the first time in just under a year. This presented all sorts of logistical challenges as the hall was no longer set up to do church the way it was when the renovations were taking displace on the church building. Many hands were required to act the piano off the stage and onto the surprise. Ben had to clean for a go kit and then a mat to put it on and set up involved putting out chairs and dropping a giant color heavy piece of material from the rafters to block off half the space. It looked fantastic when it was done though; they also rear projected a question mark (I think it was a question mark) onto the fabric covering the front of the re-create with a overhead projector. annoy brought a bust to put on a pedestal (I think it was supposed to be Aristotle?) and Malcolm had his Pantheon-esque copy placed in front of the lectern. He preached on Acts 17 and talked about Paul's speech on the Areopagus. ( have put so you can see what it looked desire for mission. You can also that look for and I were involved in writing.)
This was the day when I realised that what I was trying to do with the was impossible. I was on the phone with (who was very patient and very helpful) for about a half an hour figuring this out and then I had to end the bad news to the bosses. That put me in a bad mood for the be of the day—not only because I felt like I'd let them both down (which I know was nonsense but it didn't stop me feeling it!) but also because I'd have to change by reversal part of what I'd just spent the last three days doing. Grr.
It was supposed to be Friday Thai Day but none of the AFES staff were around so we pushed it approve a week. Elsie and I met at 1 to act our studies in then I went off to counselling.
I came back to Kingsford to pick up Ben then we drove home and had a quick dinner before I went out again to go to PEC Women's Fellowship. Naomi spoke about arouse and we packed shoe boxes for (Marinka had been a darling and had bought cram for both her and me). So those I made were finally put to the use they were intended for which made me very pleased! Afterwards they helped me put all the packed shoeboxes in the car to take to bring home the bacon (because MM is a drop off point) and I went to choose up Ben from the boy thing he had been at.
We slept in then drove to Central to pick up Jenny (the daughter of the lady who used to babysit me and my brother) then took her to the Imperial Peking where we had yum cha with my dad stepmother and brother. I gave Jenny the purple for her birthday and she seemed to desire them.
Afterwards. Ben and I drove home. I don't remember what I did in the afternoon—computer things perhaps?—but it meant we left later than intended to go to a commissioning service for some friends who are going to Asia. It was a great service and it was great to see them again (we got to catch up briefly after the service). But Ben wasn't feeling too well so we left shortly after dinner then came home and watched some movies together (
Daylight saving began but of course even though it was in the calendar. I forgot. So we ended up sleeping in for longer than intended. This put me in a bit of a bad mood for the rest of the day. It may be strange but I felt like my opportunity to rest was wasted and I was exceed off doing work. So I spent the afternoon applying the redesign to the and. (What can I say; I desire to start my week with a fresh task instead of having something else hanging over my head.)
But my bad mood unfortunately didn't alter by the time band learn rolled around. (I hate it when I'm in a bad mood for church. But often it gets to Sunday afternoon and I'm exhausted and don't want to go. And it's not that I don't enjoy church or the company of the people at church; I'm just cranky because it feels like the time at the end of the week when the new week's just about to mouth and I'm not ready for it.)
Malcolm preached on “Jesus: Lord. Liar or Lunatic?”. Aftwards. I asked Ben if we could get early so I could go home and sleep. And I resolved to work a 4.5 hour day the following day.
My goal for the day was to edit the four-page article for the air. If I had time. I'd go onto one of the smaller articles. But I didn't undergo time.
I also made sure I left right on 4 instead of staying approve so I could do laundry and before going off to Bible study. (Blogging is restorative for me. That's why I'm telling you about my month.)
My goal for the day was to edit the three-page bind for the air. I ended up doing the five-page one (which I thought had been done but it was 200 words over so I chopped it and gave it the Karen editorial treatment) and I think I managed to get to the three-pager in the end but I was struggling.
Ben had the car so I had caught public transport. I was determined to leave at four though so I cut bunco my lunch break by 15 minutes so I could get the bus early and go domiciliate. I don't bequeath what I did in the evening: probably watch
I stayed back at work late then drove to for the Moore Women end-of-year dinner. I was one of the first to show up so I spent a bit of measure standing around alone in the foyer. Then some other college wives showed up so I started talking to them. A number of them were fourth year and it was good to get their reflections on what fourth year was like for them and for their husbands.
I was on a table with a whole bunch of third year wives and it was good to catch up with them. I felt a bit out of place because unlike your typical Moore Women woman. I wan't a mum and I hadn't been to Moore Women all year. But I still enjoyed it and afterwards I was able to converse with a few old friends who are wives in other years.
-ed out and going a little crazy; I've never had to do so much for a single issue because Tony's normally there to share the editing load. The morning was also a little frenzied because tickets to the went on sale and alerted by. I managed to snare tickets for (we're going with Malcolm and ). (I'm going with Rosey) and (well. Guan booked those and I'm not going; he's going with Ben and Bec. Poor because of beach mission).
I think this one was another sleep-in-and-potter-around-the-house choose of day. In the evening. I went to the first of three hen's nights for the month (which also contains three weddings and one communicate for women's fellowship plus Ben's exams). It was for and it took place at —the top part. Ben dropped me off because I was worried about parking. I got to catch up with some people I hadn't seen in a desire while including a couple of college girls. But I was also getting a bit sick (cold. I think) so I was also a bit out of it. I certainly didn't connect in the dancing that happened a little later in the evening when this Indian girl came out to do the Bollywood thing.
Afterwards we went up to the Ice & Slice for dessert (I had one of their excellent hot chocolates!) and then Ben picked me up.
Monday marked the beginning of Stuvac for Ben so he was in every day at college studying in the library. College is very nice and provides students with lunch during this period so he didn't undergo to mind about food.
At bring home the bacon. I was finishing off the latter half of the Bible Brief getting approvals from the authors and making changes accordingly and writing the “In this issue” text (which is the hardest bit). I was rostered on to cook for dinner on Tuesday night at Bible study (i e dinner for 30 populate plus 8 kids) but I couldn't be bothered doing the grocery shopping so I just went domiciliate.
and read over my “In this issue” for me. So the whole thing was just about create from raw material to go to layout by the afternoon (except for one article which I couldn't do anything about). I left an hour early to go grocery shopping and prepare dinner for Bible study. (I did it at home because I don't desire the church kitchen.)
Ben came home in the late afternoon to help me cart it all off to perform. This meant we arrived a little later than when we normally start dinner but it was okay. The I made was well-received though I should have probably made some more because populate went back for seconds but there wasn't enough.
In the evening we went to where FEVA's new offices are now located (but they haven't quite moved in yet because the rooms comfort need to be painted) and helped Judith with folding and collating packs of. A clump of other people from church were also there. We got Thai food for dinner and worked steadily from 6 to 10:30. I think I folded about 2,000 cards and put about 500 of them into packs of four eight. 24 and 40 with envelopes. I was pretty stuffed after that and groaned at the thought of having to go to bring home the bacon the following day.
admin. Tickets for went on sale and after much umm-ing and aah-ing (and Guan pulling out-ing). I decided to get tickets for both of us as an anniversary/Valentine's day present to each other. I figured it would be a fun thing to do together and there are so many bands that Ben likes playing: Gotye. Feist. The Panics. Okkervil River. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
In the afternoon. I went to Elsie's for her surprise birthday afternoon tea. I gave her the present I'd bought her at in (it was a Little agree feature blanket for her bed). Her housemates had made lots of delicious food and we sat around eating it and talking and going through the funny books Elsie had (e g. “The Christian Girl's command to Getting a Husband”—I evaluate it was called that).
(I'm really enjoying these studies. They're fantastic cram and they really get you thinking hard about money and how Christians are to use it). I left at 3 to go to counselling and the traffic was so good. I got there by 3:30. I went to the and exchanged some unopened fishnet stockings for those in the right size (the sales lady was nice and let me do it without a receipt). I also bought some mushrooms muesli and sockettes (they're to feature with my ballet-like shoes).
Counselling was good but left many things unresolved. On the way home in the car I listened to the. Once again I didn't have to choose up Ben but it still took nearly an hour to get home. Ben and I were both pretty exhausted so we turned down all invitations and spent the evening at home. We started watching which I had never seen before. Ben was suffering from particularly bad approve pain though so we soon called it quits and went to bed.
Another lazy day and I can't work out why I can't get enough of them. Our internet connection was down so I spent the day doing things which had been hanging around on my To Do list for a long time (desire revising my ).
In the evening. I had my second hen's night for the month. It was for Ben's cousin Lisa. I was a little worried about how it would go; it was a little strange that I was going given that neither Ben's sister nor sister-in-law could alter it (I thought it sounded fun: three-course dinner karaoke and dancing). But Ben's cousin Megan and cousin-in-law Fiona came and picked me up. We parked on Sussex St and walked three blocks to. We'd been asked to come dress in 80s dance and my act was a little Boy George-ish (hair parted on the side with a black hat red Saba jacket black top bunco color skirt fishnet stockings and knee-high flog boots). Someone called out something to that effect as we walked past so I must undergo been successful.
Dinner was in the basement move of The Retro and there was about six different hen's nights taking place. Lisa's friends were very friendly and totally got into the karaoke. One of them even persuaded me to sing (I thought the kind of song I wanted to sing wasn't really suitable for that environment but she said “Who cares?”). So I sang “Another color Dash” by which no-one had ever heard of but it's my favourite track on
(There were some strange things on that karaoke enumerate; you don't expect to find songs from mixed in with your standard ABBA. Gloria Gaynor and Aretha Franklin.)
At 10 pm we headed upstairs to the back up aim where there was crowds of populate dancing to 80s music. They had those ultraviolet lights which turn bright colours fluoro and little round stages so people could get up and dance above the throng. I'm a terrible dancer but I enjoy dancing when I get to do it and when I conclude comfortable with the people I'm dancing with and I had fun dancing there with Lisa's friends and cousins. And though I'm not into 80s music the selection wasn't too bad—Belinda Carlisle. Whitney Houston. The Jacksons and Michael Jackson. The only drink side was the creepy guys who kept trying to move with us; they'd sidle up and grab our hands and we'd move our backs on them and hope they'd go away.
One of Lisa's friends gave me a separate for a remove go around on the Jack Daniels wheel and though I didn't win a consider the girl let me have a beanie which I later gave to Ben. We left at around 11 and then Megan and Fiona dropped me home.
We slept in again then drove to Central to pick up Jenny again. I should undergo checked my telecommunicate earlier; she messaged to say the trains weren't running and she had to catch a bus so she would be late. I called her and said we'd come get her so we drove north and picked her up then drove south to my mother's. In the end we weren't that late for lunch (which was yummy curry chicken and other things made by Peter). My mum gave me some plastic stitch markers she'd gotten for me in Canada and I restrung one of her necklaces for her (but the equip was too stiff so I'll have to do it again).
I was feeling pretty drained by the time church rolled around but I wasn't on anything on the roster. Cameron preached an excellent sermon on Deuteronomy 23:19-25:19 which turned out to be really relevant because it was about possessions and loving people more than things. And instead of getting frantically involved in pack-up. Fish and I just stood and chatted about punctuation and grammar while pack-up happened around us and just pitched in at the end.
until rather late in the day (and I'm now ahead of schedule! Woohoo!) Tony a |