Tuesday, January 31, 2006
another day....
It's been a pretty average day at work today. It gets slightly crazy at times as I'm the only one in the office, so things such as toilet breaks and lunch breaks are quite rare...and it's warm enough that we need the air conditioner on (the office is on the mezzanine floor of a factory, so it gets quite warm), but when the a/c's on, water starts pouring through the roof. Nice if I want a cold shower, but I'd rather do that in the privacy of my own bathroom thankyou!
Then, in came a customer. Due to the nature of our work, it's not that often that I'll get real, live, customers into the show room, and usually they call first because they've become lost. However, this guy was different. He was pretty much driving past (a strange thing, considering our office is in a cul-de-sac), and thought he'd drop in for some brochures, prices, color samples, etc. He looked familiar....I knew that I'd seen him on TV, just couldn't place the actual program. Now, my boss is renovating his house, so downstairs (in the show room) are things like new doors and tiles, etc, which were in the way of the colour samples that my customer and I were trying to reach, so I apologised, stating that "Sorry - my boss is renovating his house", to which he replied "aren't we all?!". Then it clicked! He was Peter Everett, off Renovation Rescue on Channel 9!!!
My very first celebrity to come in to work! And, he was a very nice man :)
Then, in came a customer. Due to the nature of our work, it's not that often that I'll get real, live, customers into the show room, and usually they call first because they've become lost. However, this guy was different. He was pretty much driving past (a strange thing, considering our office is in a cul-de-sac), and thought he'd drop in for some brochures, prices, color samples, etc. He looked familiar....I knew that I'd seen him on TV, just couldn't place the actual program. Now, my boss is renovating his house, so downstairs (in the show room) are things like new doors and tiles, etc, which were in the way of the colour samples that my customer and I were trying to reach, so I apologised, stating that "Sorry - my boss is renovating his house", to which he replied "aren't we all?!". Then it clicked! He was Peter Everett, off Renovation Rescue on Channel 9!!!
My very first celebrity to come in to work! And, he was a very nice man :)
Monday, January 30, 2006
my first meme
Rodney, over at "The Journey" has tagged me with my first meme. So here goes:
4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
Lab Assistant
Home School Teacher
Pre-School Piano Teacher
Church receptionist
4 Movies You Could Watch Over And Over:
Napoleon Dynamite
Frequency
Pride & Prejudice (BBC)
Josie & the Pussycats
4 Places You Have Lived:
Port Lincoln (SA)
Bonnyrigg
West Hoxton
Casula
(last 3 in Sydney, NSW)
4 TV Shows You Love To Watch:
The Adventures of Lano & Woodley
Coupling
All Saints (how sad am I?!)
Alias
4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:
Adelaide
Sydney
Port Lincoln
Fiji
4 Websites You Visit Daily (or often):
Bloglines
Koorong
Engage the Journey
Pandora
4 Of Your Favorite Foods:
anything cooked by my mum & dad
thai
fresh seafood
italian
4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
Fiji :)
Visiting my family in SA
on holidays anywhere
on the beach
4 People To Tag:
(some of the people I intended to tag have already been tagged - I'm tagging 5 in the hope that 4 will do it......so here goes)
Bruce Chant
Robyn Elise
Josh Ballard
Shaun Groves
Julie Anne Fidler
4 Jobs You Have Had In Your Life:
Lab Assistant
Home School Teacher
Pre-School Piano Teacher
Church receptionist
4 Movies You Could Watch Over And Over:
Napoleon Dynamite
Frequency
Pride & Prejudice (BBC)
Josie & the Pussycats
4 Places You Have Lived:
Port Lincoln (SA)
Bonnyrigg
West Hoxton
Casula
(last 3 in Sydney, NSW)
4 TV Shows You Love To Watch:
The Adventures of Lano & Woodley
Coupling
All Saints (how sad am I?!)
Alias
4 Places You Have Been On Vacation:
Adelaide
Sydney
Port Lincoln
Fiji
4 Websites You Visit Daily (or often):
Bloglines
Koorong
Engage the Journey
Pandora
4 Of Your Favorite Foods:
anything cooked by my mum & dad
thai
fresh seafood
italian
4 Places You Would Rather Be Right Now:
Fiji :)
Visiting my family in SA
on holidays anywhere
on the beach
4 People To Tag:
(some of the people I intended to tag have already been tagged - I'm tagging 5 in the hope that 4 will do it......so here goes)
Bruce Chant
Robyn Elise
Josh Ballard
Shaun Groves
Julie Anne Fidler
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
back to normal
Well, after the madness that is christmas and new years, everything is pretty much getting back to normal. Work has a way of making you forget that you were still on holidays just two weeks ago :) but then, if I wasn't working, then I wouldn't be able to go on holidays!
Lately I've been a part of an online bible study called "Engage the Journey", where we're reading through the bible in chronological order, and in theory, we should read through the bible in a year. I've only been doing the readings from monday-friday, as my computer at home is still not connected to the internet (and probably won't be until I get a new computer). We've read part of Genesis and all of Job, and now we're back into Genesis. There's also a discussion board where you can post your comments about the day's reading. Kate (the Journey founder) posts the days readings in (I think) NIV and also The Message, or you can read along in your own bible. It's a great thing.
For ages I've been wanting to read CS Lewis' "Mere Christianity", but I've never got around to purchasing it - until the other day. It arrived from Koorong this morning, so I'm actually getting excited about reading it. I'm supposed to have read 3 books (Captivating, Intimate Friendship With God, and Boundaries) before our Connect Groups start back up next month, but, as always, when I'm supposed to read one book, I'll read the other one first. My connect group leader keeps telling me that it's me being rebellious, and maybe it is, but I was even like that in school. I'd read all the bits that I didn't need to read - to me they were always more interesting :)
I love the new M7 that's just opened up. On sunday night I went to Hillsong for the 6pm service - I left home at 5:20pm, and got there by 5:45pm. Usually I'd be leaving home around 5pm to get there by that time. The only sting is that it costs $6 one-way to use the new road, as I travel the complete length of the new highway, and because it's all electronic tolling, I'd need to get my own E-Tag (I used my bosses on Sunday night!).
Another totally unrelated thing: the AFL pre-season should be starting up soon. And, because we're getting Foxtel Digital soon, I might even be able to watch some games!!! C'mon the Crows!!!
Thursday, January 19, 2006
RIP Kelli
I'm quite sad at the moment - infact, it's a little hard to see the monitor clearly. My mum just informed me that our dog, Kelli, died last night at the grand old age of 15 years 6 months. Dad actually had to get her put down, as her rear legs stopped working, and she was unable to walk anywhere. My brother and sister don't know yet, as they're still at planetshakers and mum doesn't want to tell them while they're at the conference.
We got Kelli, a English Staffordshire Cross, when she was a few weeks old in April of 1990. She was a present for my sister, who had been deeply affected the death of our grandmother 2 years earlier. Since then, she's been an integral part of our family life. She did everything with us. She would fret to the point of becoming ill when one of us was missing for an extended period of time, and for a while there, she could out-stink my brother, and out-snore my dad. She was also very jealous of our attention - to the point where if mum and dad were sitting next to each other on the couch, Kelli would jump up onto the couch, and place herself between them!
Kelli was such a part of our life that my mum recently threatened to quit her job over restrictions being placed on the dog. My mum does home based child-care, and until recently, the issue of pets in the home was negotiated between the carer and the parents of the children. Apparently new regulations have just come into play that stipulate that dogs must be kept in a run, away from the children. This stressed both my mum, and Kelli to the max. Kelli would bark (she's never barked like that in her life!) and pace up and down the run - which probably aggravated her leg condition, and it would also make the children sad. It's also been quite hot lately, and kelli refused to eat or drink while in the run. It was almost like she'd been placed in a detension centre and had gone on a hunger strike! Kelli had been raised and trained to be around children. She never bit anyone, not even in play. The kids would dress her up in costumes, build block towers on her, and even fall asleep against her. If she ever had enough of them, she'd just get up and walk away. The kids were as much a part of her life as she was part of theirs. Well I guess the dictator from head office will be happy now.
RIP Kelli - I'll miss you.
We got Kelli, a English Staffordshire Cross, when she was a few weeks old in April of 1990. She was a present for my sister, who had been deeply affected the death of our grandmother 2 years earlier. Since then, she's been an integral part of our family life. She did everything with us. She would fret to the point of becoming ill when one of us was missing for an extended period of time, and for a while there, she could out-stink my brother, and out-snore my dad. She was also very jealous of our attention - to the point where if mum and dad were sitting next to each other on the couch, Kelli would jump up onto the couch, and place herself between them!
Kelli was such a part of our life that my mum recently threatened to quit her job over restrictions being placed on the dog. My mum does home based child-care, and until recently, the issue of pets in the home was negotiated between the carer and the parents of the children. Apparently new regulations have just come into play that stipulate that dogs must be kept in a run, away from the children. This stressed both my mum, and Kelli to the max. Kelli would bark (she's never barked like that in her life!) and pace up and down the run - which probably aggravated her leg condition, and it would also make the children sad. It's also been quite hot lately, and kelli refused to eat or drink while in the run. It was almost like she'd been placed in a detension centre and had gone on a hunger strike! Kelli had been raised and trained to be around children. She never bit anyone, not even in play. The kids would dress her up in costumes, build block towers on her, and even fall asleep against her. If she ever had enough of them, she'd just get up and walk away. The kids were as much a part of her life as she was part of theirs. Well I guess the dictator from head office will be happy now.
RIP Kelli - I'll miss you.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
martin luther king day
Hi! I went missing for a while - again - didn't I? Well Planetshakers was great (once I got over my "I'm getting to old for all this jumping around" attitude). Chris Hill and Reggie Dabbs were great - Chris was especially challenging.It's now been raining for over 24 hours, and it's not just light rain, this is stuff that will make you wet even if you run. It's weird - it's still hot, but it's wet. I feel like i'm back in Fiji.
Got a new mobile the other day. Switched from Orange to 3 for free, and with no han
dset payments. Apparently when you spend as much as I do, they like to look after you :) Sweet! I can handle that. I got the just released LGU880, which can pretty much do anything I want it to - except connect to my work PC (that's it to the right). I think there's something wrong with the 5 spare USB ports on my computer. Maybe I'll just have to upgrade my home computer....(but I really want to get a new piano first!)Anyhow, back to the title of this post. Apparently in the only country that exists outside of Australia (that would be the USA :) ), it's Martin Luther King Jr Day. Doug TenNapel has a nice little post featuring some quotes from his sermons...here's one that stuck out to me....I'd heard bits of it before, but never realised that it was from a sermon by Martin Luther King (in 1957):
"But we must rememb
er that it's possible to affirm the existence of God with your lips and deny his existence with your life. The most dangerous type of atheism is not theoretical atheism, but practical atheism (Amen)—that's the most dangerous type. And the world, even the church, is filled up with people who pay lip service to God and not life service. That's right, Filled up with, Come on, Lord help him) And there is always a danger that we will make it appear externally that we believe in God when internally we don't. We say with our mouths that we believe in him, but we live with our lives like he never existed. That is the ever-present danger confronting religion. That's a dangerous type of atheism." (emphasis added by Doug TenNapel)Food for thought hey?
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Planetshakers 06
Tell me what's wrong with this picture: my planetshakers satchel is packed for tonight, and this is what it contains: Bible, Notebook, Pen, Conference Diary, Water, Umbrella. (answer at the end of the post).
Sydney Planetshakers started last night at the State Sports Centre (Olympic Park). I'm registered, but due to work can only attend nights, so it's going to be a big week (it's about a 45min drive from work to Planetshakers).
I'm starting to think that maybe I'm getting old.....especially when I'm at something like Planetshakers. We were lining up for an hour, and some of the kids were trying to push through to the front of the line with lines like "my friend's just up there"....when just seconds before we could hear them discussing their strategy...! And then the surge that comes from behind just as the doors get opened....I've seen kids (at planetshakers) get hurt, just from standing in line!
It was good once we were inside. It's fairly easy to find a seat due to the size of the venue, and the fact that the conference is not at capacity - something that's good during summer!
The new songs this year are good....the one stand out song is called "Save Australia". Mike Guglielmucci spoke about how this generation has been "pacified", and how it's time that we "spat the dummy", and stood up for what we believe in, and stand for our nation.
For years, I've heard many songs calling God to save the USA, but not many half-decent songs calling for God to save Australia...until last night. The chorus goes something like "Save Australia, pour Your Spirit out, on this nation, send revival to this land..." and then it even breaks into the national anthem. I tell you, it's powerful to see a room full of young people calling God to save their nation - and even worshipping Him through the national anthem!
When we left the state sports centre, we were amazed to discover that was still raining! A thunderstorm hit just before the preaching started, but we didn't think that it would still be raining over an hour later. So guess who got wet on the 10 minute walk back to the car? Me! In my nice cool summer clothes and flimsy footwear...! And so that's why an UMBRELLA is now packed in my satchel for tonight.
I never thought that I'd need to take an umbrella to a conference in January!
Sydney Planetshakers started last night at the State Sports Centre (Olympic Park). I'm registered, but due to work can only attend nights, so it's going to be a big week (it's about a 45min drive from work to Planetshakers).
I'm starting to think that maybe I'm getting old.....especially when I'm at something like Planetshakers. We were lining up for an hour, and some of the kids were trying to push through to the front of the line with lines like "my friend's just up there"....when just seconds before we could hear them discussing their strategy...! And then the surge that comes from behind just as the doors get opened....I've seen kids (at planetshakers) get hurt, just from standing in line!
It was good once we were inside. It's fairly easy to find a seat due to the size of the venue, and the fact that the conference is not at capacity - something that's good during summer!
The new songs this year are good....the one stand out song is called "Save Australia". Mike Guglielmucci spoke about how this generation has been "pacified", and how it's time that we "spat the dummy", and stood up for what we believe in, and stand for our nation.
For years, I've heard many songs calling God to save the USA, but not many half-decent songs calling for God to save Australia...until last night. The chorus goes something like "Save Australia, pour Your Spirit out, on this nation, send revival to this land..." and then it even breaks into the national anthem. I tell you, it's powerful to see a room full of young people calling God to save their nation - and even worshipping Him through the national anthem!
When we left the state sports centre, we were amazed to discover that was still raining! A thunderstorm hit just before the preaching started, but we didn't think that it would still be raining over an hour later. So guess who got wet on the 10 minute walk back to the car? Me! In my nice cool summer clothes and flimsy footwear...! And so that's why an UMBRELLA is now packed in my satchel for tonight.
I never thought that I'd need to take an umbrella to a conference in January!
I'm back ... pt 2
New years was great. We were planning on going camping, but heavy rain was predicted, so we hung out with the "more mature folk" and the kids out at a farm. It was great, catching up with more people at the same time...
My brother and his friends had fun with an air cannon, glow sticks, and their brand new 125 motorbikes (new toys)...but that's another story!
On the monday, my mum took me for a drive to see where the bushfires went through a year ago. It took us over 3 hours to cover the area that the fire destroyed in just over an hour. It was incredible. I got out of the car at Wanilla forrest, and it smelled as if a fire had just been through. I can only imagine what it must have been like even a month after the fires. The trees and undergrowth are all growing back. The regenerative power of the Australian bush is incredible. God's handiwork never ceases to amaze me :) The large gum trees are even growing new leaves - but not on branches! Instead, the trunk and limbs are covered in all these tiny green leaves - it makes look like a forrest full of green dancing people!
Mum went back to work the day after our trip, and so our house was then full of kids. Only one of them was irritating - but mum had him every day!!!
I spent the next week hanging out with my brother and his friends, as they also had time off. We didn't do much - swam in friends' pools, went out for coffee, or watched DVD's. Usually they were my brother's choice, so we ended up watching stuff like Scary Movie 3 or Jackass Series 1. If you like to laugh and feel sick at the same time, Jackass is for you :)
I sang an item - Relient K's "I Celebrate the Day" - on Christmas Day at church, but I didn't tell them that I would still be around for the sunday morning service on the 8th...so I had the morning off, which was nice. It was a good thing that they didn't get me to sing - I didn't know any of the songs!
And then it was off to the airport. I made all my flights - just - and had to pay an extra $35 in excess luggage...regional airlines have a limit of 14kgs...how can you pack for 2 weeks (with christmas presents) and not go over 14kgs? My hair/makeup case weighs 7kgs all by itself!
And so ends the story of my holiday.
I still wish I was on holidays....work is just....so....um....not like being on holiday!
My brother and his friends had fun with an air cannon, glow sticks, and their brand new 125 motorbikes (new toys)...but that's another story!
On the monday, my mum took me for a drive to see where the bushfires went through a year ago. It took us over 3 hours to cover the area that the fire destroyed in just over an hour. It was incredible. I got out of the car at Wanilla forrest, and it smelled as if a fire had just been through. I can only imagine what it must have been like even a month after the fires. The trees and undergrowth are all growing back. The regenerative power of the Australian bush is incredible. God's handiwork never ceases to amaze me :) The large gum trees are even growing new leaves - but not on branches! Instead, the trunk and limbs are covered in all these tiny green leaves - it makes look like a forrest full of green dancing people!
Mum went back to work the day after our trip, and so our house was then full of kids. Only one of them was irritating - but mum had him every day!!!
I spent the next week hanging out with my brother and his friends, as they also had time off. We didn't do much - swam in friends' pools, went out for coffee, or watched DVD's. Usually they were my brother's choice, so we ended up watching stuff like Scary Movie 3 or Jackass Series 1. If you like to laugh and feel sick at the same time, Jackass is for you :)
I sang an item - Relient K's "I Celebrate the Day" - on Christmas Day at church, but I didn't tell them that I would still be around for the sunday morning service on the 8th...so I had the morning off, which was nice. It was a good thing that they didn't get me to sing - I didn't know any of the songs!
And then it was off to the airport. I made all my flights - just - and had to pay an extra $35 in excess luggage...regional airlines have a limit of 14kgs...how can you pack for 2 weeks (with christmas presents) and not go over 14kgs? My hair/makeup case weighs 7kgs all by itself!
And so ends the story of my holiday.
I still wish I was on holidays....work is just....so....um....not like being on holiday!
Monday, January 09, 2006
I'm Back! (holidays pt 1)
I know I said that I was going to try and post while I was away...but hey! I didn't even catch up with most of my friends! Yeah, I know. I'm really slack. But, I decided that I was going to have a holiday, and if people wanted to catch up with me, they could. I made a few exceptions for elderly friends who can't get out of the house, or for my friends who invited me around for dinner, but for the most part, I hung out with my family. Camping (well, delivering pizza's, potatoes and spud cannons to the campers), surfing (really just jumping around trying not to get dumped by the quite large waves...) and sleeping in. Not to mention realising how addicted I am to Su Doku! (how sad is that!)
I think in the two weeks I was home, we averaged at least one DVD a day for the first week, sometimes even two per day. The second week I ventured out of the house more, as the weather was slightly nicer - except for the rain on new years!
Yes, you read that correctly....while my adopted home of Sydney was sweltering in 48 degree heat (my friend had birds falling out of trees - dead!), we cancelled our planned camping trip due to the predicted 2 inches of rain - which we got. It's strange to be woken up in summer by rain!
My flight to Lincoln was quite eventful, so here are the "highlights":
- Flight from Sydney to Adelaide delayed by 2 1/2 hours
- Therefore, I missed my connecting flight from Adelaide to Pt Lincoln
- Both flights were on Qantas, so they put me up in a hotel overnight
- Restaurant at hotel wasn't serving food due to Christmas party
- Ordered Pizza @ Qantas' expense
- Woke up @ 4:30am with food poisoning from take away
- Nearly missed taxi to airport (my expense...soon to be reimbursed by Qantas)
- Got to the airport @ 5:30 as requested by Qantas, only to wait 30mins before check-in opened
- Going through security, was randomly selected to be screened for explosives...
- Arrived 7:30am in Pt Lincoln, a whole 12 hours after I had intended to arrive....
Christmas was great, spent the afternoon with all of my cousins on mum's side - for the first time in around 7 years. All of my cousins are at least 10 years younger than me, so I ended up hanging out with the grown ups :) Then we had christmas dinner with a lot of my friends at my old youth leader's house - which was great - it's always handy to catch up with lots of people at a time.
to be continued...
I think in the two weeks I was home, we averaged at least one DVD a day for the first week, sometimes even two per day. The second week I ventured out of the house more, as the weather was slightly nicer - except for the rain on new years!
Yes, you read that correctly....while my adopted home of Sydney was sweltering in 48 degree heat (my friend had birds falling out of trees - dead!), we cancelled our planned camping trip due to the predicted 2 inches of rain - which we got. It's strange to be woken up in summer by rain!
My flight to Lincoln was quite eventful, so here are the "highlights":
- Flight from Sydney to Adelaide delayed by 2 1/2 hours
- Therefore, I missed my connecting flight from Adelaide to Pt Lincoln
- Both flights were on Qantas, so they put me up in a hotel overnight
- Restaurant at hotel wasn't serving food due to Christmas party
- Ordered Pizza @ Qantas' expense
- Woke up @ 4:30am with food poisoning from take away
- Nearly missed taxi to airport (my expense...soon to be reimbursed by Qantas)
- Got to the airport @ 5:30 as requested by Qantas, only to wait 30mins before check-in opened
- Going through security, was randomly selected to be screened for explosives...
- Arrived 7:30am in Pt Lincoln, a whole 12 hours after I had intended to arrive....
Christmas was great, spent the afternoon with all of my cousins on mum's side - for the first time in around 7 years. All of my cousins are at least 10 years younger than me, so I ended up hanging out with the grown ups :) Then we had christmas dinner with a lot of my friends at my old youth leader's house - which was great - it's always handy to catch up with lots of people at a time.
to be continued...
