...and all is well during the blogging hour. Al was asleep on the couch as we watched Chaser / United States of Tara / Movie Show but was rudely awakened when I accidentally knocked over some of the chess pieces I had next to me while I continued my chess addiction on chessmaniac. After my current 16 (?) games remaining, I am going to have to cut it right out as it is soaking up way too much time. I even went to sleep last night dreaming about the chess games which is not at all conducive to sleep... always better to stick to the Oscar winners reciting. Did I mention I've basically memorised all the Oscar winners in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress categories? Ken H tested me out this afternoon with 1973, but I was equal to the task. He tells me he is memorising Under Milk Wood by Dylan Thomas - amazing!
Took the morning off to see our new financial planner Troy with Al at I'pilly. He inspires a lot of confidence, being clearly more proactive than most others we've had in the past. He's easier to understand as well! Today was really about sorting out Al's insurance situation and also investing $15000 we didn't realise we had sitting in cash into an ASX200 fund. I reckon it's definitely time for that because the market looks still pretty cheap but rising all the time.
Tomorrow is the good old Thursday 8-straight so I hope all hangs together. Meant to write my RAVE magazine report tonight but it didn't happen - the lure of the chessboard was too strong. It's due Friday so I'd better get my act together on that.
Verity all smiles after Baby Born swimmer started working. Al got some great shots of her in the bath, wearing togs and goggles to add to the occasion.
Had a good chiro visit and soccer practice tonight as well. Team seems keen to get back into the winners' list after their two recent losses. Dec volunteered to be keeper for a half which is probably not so bad, but not great either. We'll see what happens with that. OK, good night from me now.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Quick chat
Ups and downs - curric chat with consultant went fine - will speak with her again in a couple of weeks. She threw me a little at first by saying her background was in RE and then mentioned she was friends with some of our neighbours!
Other classes OK - 12 Eng Comm was less volatile than usual because I took less crap from them and kept on the backs of the individuals most likely to bludge. About to ban the use of ipods in class altogether - some kids just spend all their class time fooling around with song selection rather than completing their assts.
Tomorrow should be another pleasant day of Edward Scissorhands, 12 Eng Comm again and then double Evan Almighty! Oh, and a silly evacuation drill at the end of p.2. Hope Lizzie is there so I don't have to be a warden, but I think I should be safe.
Verity very upset this afternoon that the Baby Born swimmer doll she has sought for so long managed only about 3 strokes before dying! I'll have another look at it tomorrow.
Off to bed and back to the Book Thief, which still hasn't quite grabbed me yet, but I guess it's early days. Nightie night.
Other classes OK - 12 Eng Comm was less volatile than usual because I took less crap from them and kept on the backs of the individuals most likely to bludge. About to ban the use of ipods in class altogether - some kids just spend all their class time fooling around with song selection rather than completing their assts.
Tomorrow should be another pleasant day of Edward Scissorhands, 12 Eng Comm again and then double Evan Almighty! Oh, and a silly evacuation drill at the end of p.2. Hope Lizzie is there so I don't have to be a warden, but I think I should be safe.
Verity very upset this afternoon that the Baby Born swimmer doll she has sought for so long managed only about 3 strokes before dying! I'll have another look at it tomorrow.
Off to bed and back to the Book Thief, which still hasn't quite grabbed me yet, but I guess it's early days. Nightie night.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday night fever
Sunday school / church not bad. Saw Mum for a while then home. Al not well but Tommy came to take kids to park for a while as payback for looking after their kids yesterday so all good. Watched Eastwood's Gran Tarino in a couple of parts while kids were away - enjoyed it quite a lot, probably more than Million Dollar Baby. He's just a very good director who knows what he's doing and doesn't make things too tricky. I don't know that it took me to any new emotional peaks, but it was good all the same. Catholic priest figure doesn't come out of it too badly either.
Still a bit worried about the curric review meeting tomorrow, but I'll have a decent half hour at least to get my act together, and it doesn't look like I'm going first so hopefully someone else will have softened them up. I suspect that RAVE is an area I will be able to make look good in terms of what we're doing, but of course I'm much more concerned about whether these consultants are looking at the overall WMAC strategy of having a sense of community and common purpose driving all we do etc. Hope I can express that in reasonable terms to them.
Anyway, better head to bed so I'm at least a little fresh tomorrow. Playing a fair amount of online chess at present - probably too much so better cool off over next few days. Chatted a bit with some of my chessmaniac team-mates tonight, including Martin from France. Weird discussion about Men at Work and Peter Garrett - amazing which Australians are known overseas!
Reading Zusak's The Book Thief - still not sure what I make of it so far. Ciao for now.
Still a bit worried about the curric review meeting tomorrow, but I'll have a decent half hour at least to get my act together, and it doesn't look like I'm going first so hopefully someone else will have softened them up. I suspect that RAVE is an area I will be able to make look good in terms of what we're doing, but of course I'm much more concerned about whether these consultants are looking at the overall WMAC strategy of having a sense of community and common purpose driving all we do etc. Hope I can express that in reasonable terms to them.
Anyway, better head to bed so I'm at least a little fresh tomorrow. Playing a fair amount of online chess at present - probably too much so better cool off over next few days. Chatted a bit with some of my chessmaniac team-mates tonight, including Martin from France. Weird discussion about Men at Work and Peter Garrett - amazing which Australians are known overseas!
Reading Zusak's The Book Thief - still not sure what I make of it so far. Ciao for now.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Anger and other problems
Well, a funny old day today. Kids slept over at Mum's so a very quiet start to a Saturday. Usual enjoyment of Times cryptic crosswords briefly before picking them up. Dec's soccer game was harsh for them - another loss to a strong team they hadn't played before. They haven't really regained their spark from before the holidays, so I hope it's not all downhill from here. Final score 8-4 I think. Dec had his moments, including putting his head on a corner which would have been spectacular if it had gone in. Not to worry.
After lunch, Dec had to a cub event which is when the rot set in. Al gave me money which I thought was to pay for entry at the event if necessary, but it turned out I was meant to give it to him for food and drinks if he wanted any during the afternoon. I felt stupid and angry that I either hadn't heard this or hadn't understood it and it just triggered a rage in me. I went downstairs and hit a few walls and things, luckily not leaving any holes (as has happened a couple of times before, I must admit). Then I calmed down enough to put up a new smoke detector in the laundry and went for a long trip to the hardware shop for another shower head (after the last one broke off and I then busted it properly while trying to repair it - another source of frustration) and a mop-head thingo to reoil the pool deck. By the time I got home, it was too dark to get underway with the pool deck, so maybe we can squeeze it in tomorrow. I sure hope there aren't any other trips tomorrow I don't know about.
Other issues: an unexpectedly sudden curriculum meeting with outside consultants at school on Monday. Concerned that I haven't brought home a copy of the College Strategic Plan to help me prepare for it but then again there was no reference to that in the ridiculously brief prep notes I was sent by the boss' PA. They want to see a sample assessment item (not applicable in RAVE) and evidence that my subject is innovative and prepares kids for the future. Well!
I'm thinking I'll give them the Year 10 unit from last term on Environmental Values and Ethics, or else one of my Yr 10 Powerpoints from this term which have Youtube links etc.
What I'd really like to see is these consultants looking at the whole school's overall curriculum strategy. At 16 years old now, we really need to decide what kind of school we want to be. Can we market ourselves as a school for high academic achievers? With only 1 -3 OP1s each year, that's going to be pretty demanding. Our central mission statement and vision must be clear to all - and I don't think it is at present. I'd argue that our Anglican nature and values can be the core of what we do. We should be able to say that if you are an OP1 level student, you will more than likely get an OP1 at our school; if you want an apprenticeship or traineeship, you can do that here (and since we're apparently the biggest provider of these in the state, that's an easier claim to sustain); but that overall, our school teaches kids to care about others. I believe that getting a reputation for being a school which produces great citizens who are able to change the world in positive ways will actually solve a lot of our problems. More pragmatically, we certainly need to do a better job of marketing our low fees and 'all inclusive' philosophy - the value for money at our place is incredible. You'll get a very good private education and Yr 12 still costs less than $10 000, probably more like $8000 - $9000, I think, with huge savings when you consider the inclusion of textbooks, camps, a ski-trip, excursions, etc, etc. Why aren't we marketing that on every billboard?
Anyway, in other matters: fantastic Founders Day dinner last night in the St Pauls hall - MC was the mayor, Paul Pisasale, who must have a personal approvhatred al rating higher than 80% - he's incredible. Guest speaker was former rugby legend Tim Horan - despite my long-held loathing for rugby, I'd drunk just enough to have my photo taken with him, along with other colleagues - surreal. He spoke well enough, but it was basically 20 minutes of chat about places he'd been, things he'd seen, people he'd met (e.g. the Queen; Nelson Mandela) and of course some amusing tales from the rugby field (including the best one which included his dropping of the F-word but I doubt anyone was offended). Today I found myself wondering why my mate Dave couldn't do the same thing for a living, after his retirement from the Ten Tenors - he could prepare a 20 minute monologue about amusing and incredible places he's been and of course, add in 2 or 3 songs along the way. Horan's chat began with a 3 minute video presentation featuring him scoring try after try; Dave's could do likewise with event after event. I'm convinced it could work - I've even come up with the name "Tenor Eleven" (geddit? geddit?)
Must chat to Dave soon - thought his 1st child was due in a week or two, but it's actually November.
OK, last thing - fantastic Founders Day/Chaplain Commissioning service on Friday morning. I had a few little roles to play. All went well except choir got missed in the program when they were supposed to perform their own featured item - poor old musos! Everything else was great and I continue to be extremely optimistic about Lizzie's prospects at school. Fingers crossed!
After lunch, Dec had to a cub event which is when the rot set in. Al gave me money which I thought was to pay for entry at the event if necessary, but it turned out I was meant to give it to him for food and drinks if he wanted any during the afternoon. I felt stupid and angry that I either hadn't heard this or hadn't understood it and it just triggered a rage in me. I went downstairs and hit a few walls and things, luckily not leaving any holes (as has happened a couple of times before, I must admit). Then I calmed down enough to put up a new smoke detector in the laundry and went for a long trip to the hardware shop for another shower head (after the last one broke off and I then busted it properly while trying to repair it - another source of frustration) and a mop-head thingo to reoil the pool deck. By the time I got home, it was too dark to get underway with the pool deck, so maybe we can squeeze it in tomorrow. I sure hope there aren't any other trips tomorrow I don't know about.
Other issues: an unexpectedly sudden curriculum meeting with outside consultants at school on Monday. Concerned that I haven't brought home a copy of the College Strategic Plan to help me prepare for it but then again there was no reference to that in the ridiculously brief prep notes I was sent by the boss' PA. They want to see a sample assessment item (not applicable in RAVE) and evidence that my subject is innovative and prepares kids for the future. Well!
I'm thinking I'll give them the Year 10 unit from last term on Environmental Values and Ethics, or else one of my Yr 10 Powerpoints from this term which have Youtube links etc.
What I'd really like to see is these consultants looking at the whole school's overall curriculum strategy. At 16 years old now, we really need to decide what kind of school we want to be. Can we market ourselves as a school for high academic achievers? With only 1 -3 OP1s each year, that's going to be pretty demanding. Our central mission statement and vision must be clear to all - and I don't think it is at present. I'd argue that our Anglican nature and values can be the core of what we do. We should be able to say that if you are an OP1 level student, you will more than likely get an OP1 at our school; if you want an apprenticeship or traineeship, you can do that here (and since we're apparently the biggest provider of these in the state, that's an easier claim to sustain); but that overall, our school teaches kids to care about others. I believe that getting a reputation for being a school which produces great citizens who are able to change the world in positive ways will actually solve a lot of our problems. More pragmatically, we certainly need to do a better job of marketing our low fees and 'all inclusive' philosophy - the value for money at our place is incredible. You'll get a very good private education and Yr 12 still costs less than $10 000, probably more like $8000 - $9000, I think, with huge savings when you consider the inclusion of textbooks, camps, a ski-trip, excursions, etc, etc. Why aren't we marketing that on every billboard?
Anyway, in other matters: fantastic Founders Day dinner last night in the St Pauls hall - MC was the mayor, Paul Pisasale, who must have a personal approvhatred al rating higher than 80% - he's incredible. Guest speaker was former rugby legend Tim Horan - despite my long-held loathing for rugby, I'd drunk just enough to have my photo taken with him, along with other colleagues - surreal. He spoke well enough, but it was basically 20 minutes of chat about places he'd been, things he'd seen, people he'd met (e.g. the Queen; Nelson Mandela) and of course some amusing tales from the rugby field (including the best one which included his dropping of the F-word but I doubt anyone was offended). Today I found myself wondering why my mate Dave couldn't do the same thing for a living, after his retirement from the Ten Tenors - he could prepare a 20 minute monologue about amusing and incredible places he's been and of course, add in 2 or 3 songs along the way. Horan's chat began with a 3 minute video presentation featuring him scoring try after try; Dave's could do likewise with event after event. I'm convinced it could work - I've even come up with the name "Tenor Eleven" (geddit? geddit?)
Must chat to Dave soon - thought his 1st child was due in a week or two, but it's actually November.
OK, last thing - fantastic Founders Day/Chaplain Commissioning service on Friday morning. I had a few little roles to play. All went well except choir got missed in the program when they were supposed to perform their own featured item - poor old musos! Everything else was great and I continue to be extremely optimistic about Lizzie's prospects at school. Fingers crossed!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Aths day 2009
Well, I haven't found out for sure but I'd be very confident indeed that my House won the Interhouse aths today, and Facebook tells me that we won the House Spirit trophy as well - good stuff (even though I'm not sure it was really deserved - but given all the rip-offs of the past, I'm not complaining). The win was based around kids deciding to turn up and compete (lots of empty spots from the other houses) and gutsy work by our usual suspects. Very few superstars who won lots, though Megan P is one for sure, as trained by Nigel B. A win for the good guys!
Also very pleasing was my trip in to see my orthopod godfather to be told my knee should be fine within 2 wks. He gave me some great colour photos taken inside my knee during the operation. What's pleasing is how bad the torn medial meniscus looks - it just reassures me that the operation was really necessary. Still don't know what the final damage to my wallet will be - an invoice is coming - but I'm guessing it could be up to $800, and that's after the private health insurance has reduced the cost. Oh well, I guess the upside is having a knee that works and will let me get back to the gym soon (badly needed in terms of my shape and mental outlook at present) and hopefully will last me for decades to come.
Al had a job interview today at a company on pretty much the other side of the city, to be a part-time HR manager for them. Went well, but as she says, it comes down to whether there was someone even better who applied. If she gets it, it will be good financially - it's $50000 pa for 2.5 days a week, not be sneezedat. The impact on our family's routine will be pretty dramatic - I'll need to be much more involved in getting kids ready for school, and they may have to go to before-school care at least one day per week, etc. As Al says, Verity won't mind that because she'll get to watch TV in the morning which we don't allow now. But we'll worry about those things once we know if Al has an offer.
Found my phone in my office this morning, as expected - thanks God!
All in all, not a bad day - teaching 8 straight tomorrow, so time to split. I'll hold off on a chat about the novel Breath until a better time pops up.
Also very pleasing was my trip in to see my orthopod godfather to be told my knee should be fine within 2 wks. He gave me some great colour photos taken inside my knee during the operation. What's pleasing is how bad the torn medial meniscus looks - it just reassures me that the operation was really necessary. Still don't know what the final damage to my wallet will be - an invoice is coming - but I'm guessing it could be up to $800, and that's after the private health insurance has reduced the cost. Oh well, I guess the upside is having a knee that works and will let me get back to the gym soon (badly needed in terms of my shape and mental outlook at present) and hopefully will last me for decades to come.
Al had a job interview today at a company on pretty much the other side of the city, to be a part-time HR manager for them. Went well, but as she says, it comes down to whether there was someone even better who applied. If she gets it, it will be good financially - it's $50000 pa for 2.5 days a week, not be sneezedat. The impact on our family's routine will be pretty dramatic - I'll need to be much more involved in getting kids ready for school, and they may have to go to before-school care at least one day per week, etc. As Al says, Verity won't mind that because she'll get to watch TV in the morning which we don't allow now. But we'll worry about those things once we know if Al has an offer.
Found my phone in my office this morning, as expected - thanks God!
All in all, not a bad day - teaching 8 straight tomorrow, so time to split. I'll hold off on a chat about the novel Breath until a better time pops up.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Social action
Tuesday night: Interhouse Aths tomorrow - I have to be a track judge all day which I haven't done in more than a decade. Not sure if the organisers knew I had knee surgery just two weeks ago, but I decided not to wimp out. Still, hope it doesn't get too sore. Going back to see my Godfather orthopod straight after school, so I guess any tenderness will be easy to spot after a day of standing around outside.
Today was very frustrating - kept losing things, including my phone which I just hope is somewhere in my office. Worst case, it's fallen out of my pocket and could be anywhere. Next worse case scenario, some kid has swiped it, though I think that's pretty unlikely (I hope).
Last Sunday night was interesting. Church had organised for a roster of people to go to a local supermarket near the uni and stand outside (looking like we were kind of picketing it, though we obviously weren't), handing out little strips of paper asking people to buy an extra non-perishable product to give us so we could give it to the poorer folks in another parish. If they came back and gave us something, we gave them a thankyou card with parish contact details on the back. There was no picking the people who chose to participate! International uni students, lefty looking kids, older wealthy-looking people, etc etc. Apparently, there wasn't much cut-price soup left on the shelves, thanks to us! I was there for the last two hours before closing, and it was actually a lot of fun in a strange way. I was there with "elder" Ruth K and a bloke I've never met called Murray. He's been going to evening services for a long time, but as a morning service person, I'd never met him - a bit weird. He's into aviation and conservative politics, as it turns out; at one point, he introduced me to the local LNP member who turned up in his shorts etc.
Murray was replaced by Natalie B, a charming architect who's also apparently a regular at evening services who I'm also certain I've never seen before. Standing next to her passed the time very pleasantly indeed. Lots of parishioners were on the roster at various stages, but (and not trying to be too self-righteous here) I'm rather surprised there weren't a heck of a lot more people on board. As soon as I heard the concept, I signed up straight away. If Anglicans can't even go and stand in the street and encourage people to help out the needy, then what can we do? I'm delighted to report we collected (over Saturday and Sunday together) a huge amount of groceries. Don't know how often we can repeat the exercise, but it would have to be tempting to go back sometime and see what else we can pick up.
OK, it's 10pm and I vowed I would hit bed at this hour after a day of being tired and out of sorts, so ciao for now. Finished Breath last night but will review tomorrow.
Today was very frustrating - kept losing things, including my phone which I just hope is somewhere in my office. Worst case, it's fallen out of my pocket and could be anywhere. Next worse case scenario, some kid has swiped it, though I think that's pretty unlikely (I hope).
Last Sunday night was interesting. Church had organised for a roster of people to go to a local supermarket near the uni and stand outside (looking like we were kind of picketing it, though we obviously weren't), handing out little strips of paper asking people to buy an extra non-perishable product to give us so we could give it to the poorer folks in another parish. If they came back and gave us something, we gave them a thankyou card with parish contact details on the back. There was no picking the people who chose to participate! International uni students, lefty looking kids, older wealthy-looking people, etc etc. Apparently, there wasn't much cut-price soup left on the shelves, thanks to us! I was there for the last two hours before closing, and it was actually a lot of fun in a strange way. I was there with "elder" Ruth K and a bloke I've never met called Murray. He's been going to evening services for a long time, but as a morning service person, I'd never met him - a bit weird. He's into aviation and conservative politics, as it turns out; at one point, he introduced me to the local LNP member who turned up in his shorts etc.
Murray was replaced by Natalie B, a charming architect who's also apparently a regular at evening services who I'm also certain I've never seen before. Standing next to her passed the time very pleasantly indeed. Lots of parishioners were on the roster at various stages, but (and not trying to be too self-righteous here) I'm rather surprised there weren't a heck of a lot more people on board. As soon as I heard the concept, I signed up straight away. If Anglicans can't even go and stand in the street and encourage people to help out the needy, then what can we do? I'm delighted to report we collected (over Saturday and Sunday together) a huge amount of groceries. Don't know how often we can repeat the exercise, but it would have to be tempting to go back sometime and see what else we can pick up.
OK, it's 10pm and I vowed I would hit bed at this hour after a day of being tired and out of sorts, so ciao for now. Finished Breath last night but will review tomorrow.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
The weekend comes...
At last: a big sleep in today as planned followed by another one this afternoon - it's a good investment of time as I would otherwise go crazy. Yummy dinner and at last a chat with Al about her 40th. If she is working (i.e. part time away from home), it means we would have the money to pay for quite a few of our projects and plans which at the moment are up in the air e.g. new kitchen, long-service trip to New York, and... a trip to Melbourne for her 40th. If she isn't, I reckon we could still afford it, but I guess it's all about opportunity cost, etc. She thinks her buddies may well organise their own parties and events for her, which obviously makes my job easier though not really what I had in mind.
Watching Foyle's War now - what a great show. Sat in front of the Bill but didn't take a lot in. A regular minor character recently has been played by an actress I now know to be Naomi Ryan - wow, she's stunning. She was severely bashed in the episode tonight, but hopefully she'll stick around for the sake of me and other fans!
Haven't played any bass guitar now for weeks, and that's annoying. Need to take it back to see if I can lower the action a little, but I might see if I can fit in a short session tomorrow.
Dec's soccer team got hammered today - 10-3 down, with a couple of guys away and up against the other really good team in their comp. I'm pleased because I'm hoping it will make the players listen more carefully to the coaches at training, rather than running around doing their own thing. Dec was keeper in the 2nd half and did a pretty good job. There's no doubt in my mind I would have been no better and probably much worse at his age, and I told him so. I didn't get any soccer skills together until sometime in Yr 7 or later, though I think I may have been a little faster than most. Anyway, at least the team weren't crying or bitching and moaning after their loss like some teams I saw in my younger years.
Verity told me today her ballet teacher gave her a high-five for knowing what a jete is! Excellent. She demonstrated a couple back and forth in the kitchen.
Big Sunday tomorrow - Sunday School resumes; then video recording Bob and Jean; then doing some social service work for Church; then dinner at Mum's. Maybe I should have done more schoolwork today after all.
Rev Greg rang tonight to find out how to download Youtube clips for use in a sermon tomorrow. Terrific stuff, and certainly the way of the future. Though our church is excellent in many ways, there are times a data projector would add another dimension, I feel. I suspect it won't happen for many years, though.
Time for bed and to see if I can finish Breath, which would be good. Still gripping and just hope it ends as well as it started. Good night and good luck.
Watching Foyle's War now - what a great show. Sat in front of the Bill but didn't take a lot in. A regular minor character recently has been played by an actress I now know to be Naomi Ryan - wow, she's stunning. She was severely bashed in the episode tonight, but hopefully she'll stick around for the sake of me and other fans!
Haven't played any bass guitar now for weeks, and that's annoying. Need to take it back to see if I can lower the action a little, but I might see if I can fit in a short session tomorrow.
Dec's soccer team got hammered today - 10-3 down, with a couple of guys away and up against the other really good team in their comp. I'm pleased because I'm hoping it will make the players listen more carefully to the coaches at training, rather than running around doing their own thing. Dec was keeper in the 2nd half and did a pretty good job. There's no doubt in my mind I would have been no better and probably much worse at his age, and I told him so. I didn't get any soccer skills together until sometime in Yr 7 or later, though I think I may have been a little faster than most. Anyway, at least the team weren't crying or bitching and moaning after their loss like some teams I saw in my younger years.
Verity told me today her ballet teacher gave her a high-five for knowing what a jete is! Excellent. She demonstrated a couple back and forth in the kitchen.
Big Sunday tomorrow - Sunday School resumes; then video recording Bob and Jean; then doing some social service work for Church; then dinner at Mum's. Maybe I should have done more schoolwork today after all.
Rev Greg rang tonight to find out how to download Youtube clips for use in a sermon tomorrow. Terrific stuff, and certainly the way of the future. Though our church is excellent in many ways, there are times a data projector would add another dimension, I feel. I suspect it won't happen for many years, though.
Time for bed and to see if I can finish Breath, which would be good. Still gripping and just hope it ends as well as it started. Good night and good luck.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Footy and chess
Playing some interesting Chess games on chessmaniac tonight. Trying to get into games for my Team, the Chess Fiends (a strange name but not the strangest on the site). I'm OK at longer Chess games but absolutely useless at anything of 15 mins and under, I've decided - I must need time to think!
Broncos lost to Rabbitohs tonight - first time Souths have won at Suncorp since 1990! Only one person at work tipped it, and it wasn't me. Not a great year for tipping. Watching Titans play Bulldogs now and looks like I'm going to be 2 losses down for the weekend - great (not).
Yr 10 multimedia spectacular lesson on Church history and Martin Luther went really well, I thought. Ran out of time in the end, but not badly.
Also enjoyed watching rest of the Gallipoli movie with Yr 11. It's been quite a while since I've seen the whole thing. I don't think I'd noticed before that David Williamson, the screenwriter, gets a cameo as a lanky Victorian soldier playing in a scratch AFL game against the Western Australians. Most kids had seen the film before but I think were still shocked with the final moments. Amazing film, definitely one of Australia's best ever.
Another good film on TV right now is Insomnia which I'm pretty sure I saw at the cinema many years ago. What a cast: Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank - wow! Can't remember much about the plot but Williams comes across as a formidable match for Pacino both in terms of their characters and as actors (imho).
Really need to have some time with Al to have a serious planning discussion about her 40th this year. She wants something special and by golly, she's going to get it. I think she wanted to be surprised at one stage, but I always think that's a bit risky. Think of that great scene in the surprisingly good In Good Company where Dennis Quaid walks into the 'surprise' party he knows is happening, wearing just his underwear - and proceeds to flash his butt at the guests - great stuff!
I'm thinking dinner at a small restaurant followed by hiring a whole cinema at the Blue Moon at Rosalie for watching something with friends and then going around the corner to one of the numerous cafes at Rosalie afterwards. Then we fly to Melbourne for a day or so. That's my plan anyway, but I'm happy to discuss it. My 'secret' present (or one of them) could be getting Al's uni graduation pictures finally printed, and her degree framed. I'm sure she'd also like some more Pandora jewellery for her bracelet, but maybe that should wait for Christmas... not sure.
Anyway, it's pretty bizarre that we haven't had much chance to have such a discussion recently - too busy and then we fall asleep in front of TV.
Must have a good sleep tonight and let all parts of my body do some healing! Throat still not great. Last steristrips came off knee today, which looks and feels fine to my way of thinking. Keep forgetting to do my 50-100 daily straight leg lifts, but I guess I could do them now. Looking forward to Saturday morning as always, especially with a late soccer game for Dec. Night night.
Broncos lost to Rabbitohs tonight - first time Souths have won at Suncorp since 1990! Only one person at work tipped it, and it wasn't me. Not a great year for tipping. Watching Titans play Bulldogs now and looks like I'm going to be 2 losses down for the weekend - great (not).
Yr 10 multimedia spectacular lesson on Church history and Martin Luther went really well, I thought. Ran out of time in the end, but not badly.
Also enjoyed watching rest of the Gallipoli movie with Yr 11. It's been quite a while since I've seen the whole thing. I don't think I'd noticed before that David Williamson, the screenwriter, gets a cameo as a lanky Victorian soldier playing in a scratch AFL game against the Western Australians. Most kids had seen the film before but I think were still shocked with the final moments. Amazing film, definitely one of Australia's best ever.
Another good film on TV right now is Insomnia which I'm pretty sure I saw at the cinema many years ago. What a cast: Pacino, Robin Williams and Hilary Swank - wow! Can't remember much about the plot but Williams comes across as a formidable match for Pacino both in terms of their characters and as actors (imho).
Really need to have some time with Al to have a serious planning discussion about her 40th this year. She wants something special and by golly, she's going to get it. I think she wanted to be surprised at one stage, but I always think that's a bit risky. Think of that great scene in the surprisingly good In Good Company where Dennis Quaid walks into the 'surprise' party he knows is happening, wearing just his underwear - and proceeds to flash his butt at the guests - great stuff!
I'm thinking dinner at a small restaurant followed by hiring a whole cinema at the Blue Moon at Rosalie for watching something with friends and then going around the corner to one of the numerous cafes at Rosalie afterwards. Then we fly to Melbourne for a day or so. That's my plan anyway, but I'm happy to discuss it. My 'secret' present (or one of them) could be getting Al's uni graduation pictures finally printed, and her degree framed. I'm sure she'd also like some more Pandora jewellery for her bracelet, but maybe that should wait for Christmas... not sure.
Anyway, it's pretty bizarre that we haven't had much chance to have such a discussion recently - too busy and then we fall asleep in front of TV.
Must have a good sleep tonight and let all parts of my body do some healing! Throat still not great. Last steristrips came off knee today, which looks and feels fine to my way of thinking. Keep forgetting to do my 50-100 daily straight leg lifts, but I guess I could do them now. Looking forward to Saturday morning as always, especially with a late soccer game for Dec. Night night.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
True Beauty
Time to be shallow! This isn't about the nature of beauty, it's the name of the latest ridiculous American reality show we're watching right now. Silly stuff - I'm going to bed asap after writing this. Can these pretty people really be so self-obsessed? Of course they can!
School was demanding in spots today - throat is still bad but at least I can still speak. Must go in tomorrow for big Yr 10 RAVE powerpoint lesson in the afternoon which has taken a lot of setting up across the 7 classes. Had quite a few IT issues today which were very annoying, including a profile problem which meant I couldn't log on to any computer in the school except my laptop - what a waste of time.
Told my Yr 12 Eng Comm class this afternoon they were the slackest class I've ever taught. I don't normally resort to negative comments of that kind - but no-one contradicted me! I added some qualifiers regarding the good kids, but then went ahead and cancelled library bookings because these kids are literally sitting around in the library doing nothing! How are we going to make it to the end of the year without coming to blows?
Started watching Gallipoli with Yr 11 today - having 2 female German visiting students in the class made it interesting. Some kids were disappointed to learn Mel Gibson was actually born in the US, though they were reassured when I told them about his time at NIDA etc. It's a great movie and good to watch via data projector on the 'big screen'. Then we need to get into our play 'The One Day of the Year' asap.
Al: has an interview with a company at Morningside next Wed as a part-time HR person. Will be her 1st job interview in a long time. If she gets an offer, we'll need to make some very crunchy decisions re: transport arrangements, kids' education, cooking - almost everything really! Interesting times.
I also got the usual letter from the QSA re: QCST, but this time telling me I'm a 'standby marker' - not sure if I'm interested in waiting around until the last possible day to see if I'm even needed or not during the first week of the September holidays. At most I could make about $1000 after tax for a week of marking papers - do we need it that much? Not sure! Time for bed.
School was demanding in spots today - throat is still bad but at least I can still speak. Must go in tomorrow for big Yr 10 RAVE powerpoint lesson in the afternoon which has taken a lot of setting up across the 7 classes. Had quite a few IT issues today which were very annoying, including a profile problem which meant I couldn't log on to any computer in the school except my laptop - what a waste of time.
Told my Yr 12 Eng Comm class this afternoon they were the slackest class I've ever taught. I don't normally resort to negative comments of that kind - but no-one contradicted me! I added some qualifiers regarding the good kids, but then went ahead and cancelled library bookings because these kids are literally sitting around in the library doing nothing! How are we going to make it to the end of the year without coming to blows?
Started watching Gallipoli with Yr 11 today - having 2 female German visiting students in the class made it interesting. Some kids were disappointed to learn Mel Gibson was actually born in the US, though they were reassured when I told them about his time at NIDA etc. It's a great movie and good to watch via data projector on the 'big screen'. Then we need to get into our play 'The One Day of the Year' asap.
Al: has an interview with a company at Morningside next Wed as a part-time HR person. Will be her 1st job interview in a long time. If she gets an offer, we'll need to make some very crunchy decisions re: transport arrangements, kids' education, cooking - almost everything really! Interesting times.
I also got the usual letter from the QSA re: QCST, but this time telling me I'm a 'standby marker' - not sure if I'm interested in waiting around until the last possible day to see if I'm even needed or not during the first week of the September holidays. At most I could make about $1000 after tax for a week of marking papers - do we need it that much? Not sure! Time for bed.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Struggling on
Well, cough is getting worse, I think. Must keep up olive extract / betadine / cough suppressants / pain relief / etc and see what happens. Al wants me to stay home from work but I just don't think it's quite that bad - it seemed to be OK for most of today, though admittedly I had very few classes so not much talking etc. Went to soccer tonight with Dec but obviously didn't run or shout so stood around chatting with the other dads, as you do. It's a bit funny that the dads chat with dads and the mums chat with the mums. Do we really have such gender-specific topics of conversation? Is there some unwritten code that we should avoid mingling unless spouses are present or something? It doesn't really bug me that much, just an observation.
Qld lost 3rd State of Origin tonight which is kind of disappointing in some ways but good in others. I always have a small sense of suspicion with some of these results - they seem written with future marketing in mind sometimes, I think. Paranoid! Conspiracy theory!
Still helping Rev Lizzie settle in - was a bit sad to hear that she has heard so little about her own commissioning service which is coming up. You'd think she'd be allowed to choose her own music etc! I hope she gets to have some input before it's too late.
Too many late nights in recent days - must head to bed very soon. Glad classes are organised and going well. Even though tomorrow is an 8-straight day, I'll be trying to keep it fairly low-key on my energy levels to try to survive the week. See you soon.
Qld lost 3rd State of Origin tonight which is kind of disappointing in some ways but good in others. I always have a small sense of suspicion with some of these results - they seem written with future marketing in mind sometimes, I think. Paranoid! Conspiracy theory!
Still helping Rev Lizzie settle in - was a bit sad to hear that she has heard so little about her own commissioning service which is coming up. You'd think she'd be allowed to choose her own music etc! I hope she gets to have some input before it's too late.
Too many late nights in recent days - must head to bed very soon. Glad classes are organised and going well. Even though tomorrow is an 8-straight day, I'll be trying to keep it fairly low-key on my energy levels to try to survive the week. See you soon.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
First day down
Well, to recap on Monday first, a student-free PD day. I came away thinking, wow, that was a really inspiring day! The govt has given us $3 million to build a multi-function centre which will revolutionise all sorts of activities at school; they've stuck up lots more colourful shade-sails all over the place which have actually brightened the place up while simultaneously actually making my main classroom a little darker with the lights off, which is good when using the data projector - still no blinds or curtains on the horizon despite years of lobbying.
Our new Head of Library has redesigned and organised the renovation of the library into a bright, comfortable space which appeals to all; she's also created a new website which allows students and staff more interactivity and looks great.
Our new chaplain Lizzie has started us off with an outstanding first service which was professional, engaging, smooth and basically demonstrated the best of an Anglican service. I loved it.
Following some debates in HODs meetings last term, the school is simply getting smarter all the time and taking active steps towards emailing parents a link to the online weekly newsletter rather than tying up photocopiers for a whole day and creating literally hundreds of newsletters, dozens of which never make it home! The money we will save in this way is extraordinary, and should have happened a long time ago.
Yet more good news: the school is finally going to be able to tap into a fibre-optic cable for Internet purposes, kissing goodbye to painful years of dropouts and interference to microwave links and other cables. Teachers were literally punching the sky with that one!
So all in all, a day of tremendous progress and positivity! Just wish I was a little healthier at present to enjoy it more.
Classes have started OK and thank goodness tomorrow is my day of one duty and only one period of teaching, so my voice should get a good rest and I can get a lot of other DVD burning and photocopying done, fingers crossed.
Sitting here watching the end of 'He's Just Not That Into You' - well, a chick flick par excellence with a few funny scenes admittedly - still not really something I can see myself rewatching much!
Also just had a close chess win against a guy who lost on time but it could have gone either way. If you're playing a 30min or shorter game, it certainly helps to build up a time advantage if you can. 'Slow' players will suffer. No more chess tonight, though.
OK, bed time, dudes.
Our new Head of Library has redesigned and organised the renovation of the library into a bright, comfortable space which appeals to all; she's also created a new website which allows students and staff more interactivity and looks great.
Our new chaplain Lizzie has started us off with an outstanding first service which was professional, engaging, smooth and basically demonstrated the best of an Anglican service. I loved it.
Following some debates in HODs meetings last term, the school is simply getting smarter all the time and taking active steps towards emailing parents a link to the online weekly newsletter rather than tying up photocopiers for a whole day and creating literally hundreds of newsletters, dozens of which never make it home! The money we will save in this way is extraordinary, and should have happened a long time ago.
Yet more good news: the school is finally going to be able to tap into a fibre-optic cable for Internet purposes, kissing goodbye to painful years of dropouts and interference to microwave links and other cables. Teachers were literally punching the sky with that one!
So all in all, a day of tremendous progress and positivity! Just wish I was a little healthier at present to enjoy it more.
Classes have started OK and thank goodness tomorrow is my day of one duty and only one period of teaching, so my voice should get a good rest and I can get a lot of other DVD burning and photocopying done, fingers crossed.
Sitting here watching the end of 'He's Just Not That Into You' - well, a chick flick par excellence with a few funny scenes admittedly - still not really something I can see myself rewatching much!
Also just had a close chess win against a guy who lost on time but it could have gone either way. If you're playing a 30min or shorter game, it certainly helps to build up a time advantage if you can. 'Slow' players will suffer. No more chess tonight, though.
OK, bed time, dudes.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
3 minutes to midnight
Woeful. I had no intention of being up this late yet again - it's a bad habit, but of course I was still working on the RAVE curriculum I will have to be telling staff about tomorrow. Think it's all basically under control now - it's going to have to be!
Knee fine today, but throat is bad, nearly as bad as Declan's. Dry cough and sore - not 100% but there's no way to be away tomorrow or this first week really. Using numerous medications simultaneously which may or may not be a good idea.
Took Declan to soccer game of Roar v Celtic at Suncorp this afternoon where the Scots were way too classy, 3-nil winners. Last goal was a spectacular header but otherwise Roar looked pretty lacking in options. Anyway, good seats and a good father/son activity, I guess, even though the soccer was pretty dull. There were 3 people who attempted to invade the pitch early in the 2nd half but no full-on streakers. Crowd were even Mexican-waving by the end to liven things up!
And Australia is either going to win the first Ashes test or get a draw -only 4 wickets left for English. Good to see.
Found good site for RAVE just now - www.36parables.com - DVDs can be downloaded for $10 US with free study guide which looks good, so that's pretty good value, and I can always find somewhere to use them. I'm thinking particularly of Yr 9 studying Miracles then Parables this term. Also going to use Keith Green's Prodigal Son Suite and one of the various Youtube dramatic versions of it. I remember loving the Prodigal Son Suite when I was in high school and it's still great.
OK, must get to sleep now or be cactus tomorrow. Ciao.
Knee fine today, but throat is bad, nearly as bad as Declan's. Dry cough and sore - not 100% but there's no way to be away tomorrow or this first week really. Using numerous medications simultaneously which may or may not be a good idea.
Took Declan to soccer game of Roar v Celtic at Suncorp this afternoon where the Scots were way too classy, 3-nil winners. Last goal was a spectacular header but otherwise Roar looked pretty lacking in options. Anyway, good seats and a good father/son activity, I guess, even though the soccer was pretty dull. There were 3 people who attempted to invade the pitch early in the 2nd half but no full-on streakers. Crowd were even Mexican-waving by the end to liven things up!
And Australia is either going to win the first Ashes test or get a draw -only 4 wickets left for English. Good to see.
Found good site for RAVE just now - www.36parables.com - DVDs can be downloaded for $10 US with free study guide which looks good, so that's pretty good value, and I can always find somewhere to use them. I'm thinking particularly of Yr 9 studying Miracles then Parables this term. Also going to use Keith Green's Prodigal Son Suite and one of the various Youtube dramatic versions of it. I remember loving the Prodigal Son Suite when I was in high school and it's still great.
OK, must get to sleep now or be cactus tomorrow. Ciao.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Late night Ashes
TV: Ashes: Test Cricket. Presently in its classic state: i.e. not much happening. Australia batting well against ineffective English bowling in Cardiff.
Knee OK, very sore throat though and reasonably persistent headache - I'll be pretty freaking unimpressed if the swine flu does suddenly grab me just as school goes back. Did a few school things today but headache now is making me want to go to bed and try to read some more of Breath.
Finished a game of chess today against an Indian bloke which I must rate as one of my best wins ever - he was all over me but I fought back and finally got him. As a chess fix, that should keep me going for a while.
Had some time at home with Verity today. She was keen to ride her bike, which she hasn't done for many months, if not more than a year, so I was happy enough to pump up the tyres and see how she went. Luckily it was still big enough for her so we went up and down the front timber and around the yard, and then down the footpath across the road when she was brave enough. She has training wheels but still needs two hands to squeeze the hand brake which is not really ideal. Still, it's great to see one of my kids interested in bike riding. Dec has shown virtually no interest in his bike since a couple of early goes a long time ago. Is this more genetic stuff? Thinking of the fact I didn't learn to ride until I was in about grade 5 or 6 and have only done it a handful of times in my whole life. Just not my scene, but Al and I would still like our kids to be reasonably proficient. There was one time in, I think, upper high school or maybe uni, where I was with a group in the city who suddenly decided to hire some bikes and go around the Botanic Gardens. I managed to do it but concealed the fact it was the first time in many years - and I was pretty sore afterwards, as I recall. We've tried to convince Dec that this is the sort of situation which could come up, but he's been unimpressed. He's gutsy in other ways, so I don't think he's being too wussy about it.
(Australian team really starting to slog now, so probably a declaration coming. Some people in the crowd in fancy dress - pretty amusing.)
More little jobs done around home - finally replacing smoke alarm. Al reminded me my mum still doesn't have any smoke alarms in her house, which really is bizarre. Typically, Al's on the case and has bought some for her. She also bought some pull-down blinds for downstairs but was irate to discover that because they have the pattern on only one side, you either have the pattern facing you when the blind is fully down, with a white roll at the top, or vice versa. She doesn't like having two colours visible at the same time, but there's not much you can do about it. I'm more concerned about the Chinese instructions which tell you to cut the blinds to suit your window space, and then cut the aluminium rod to match. What am I going to cut that with?
Probably a bit down about going back to school, which is normal for this time in the holidays; headache not helping. Oh well, more drugs and we'll see how it feels in the morning. Ciao for now.
Knee OK, very sore throat though and reasonably persistent headache - I'll be pretty freaking unimpressed if the swine flu does suddenly grab me just as school goes back. Did a few school things today but headache now is making me want to go to bed and try to read some more of Breath.
Finished a game of chess today against an Indian bloke which I must rate as one of my best wins ever - he was all over me but I fought back and finally got him. As a chess fix, that should keep me going for a while.
Had some time at home with Verity today. She was keen to ride her bike, which she hasn't done for many months, if not more than a year, so I was happy enough to pump up the tyres and see how she went. Luckily it was still big enough for her so we went up and down the front timber and around the yard, and then down the footpath across the road when she was brave enough. She has training wheels but still needs two hands to squeeze the hand brake which is not really ideal. Still, it's great to see one of my kids interested in bike riding. Dec has shown virtually no interest in his bike since a couple of early goes a long time ago. Is this more genetic stuff? Thinking of the fact I didn't learn to ride until I was in about grade 5 or 6 and have only done it a handful of times in my whole life. Just not my scene, but Al and I would still like our kids to be reasonably proficient. There was one time in, I think, upper high school or maybe uni, where I was with a group in the city who suddenly decided to hire some bikes and go around the Botanic Gardens. I managed to do it but concealed the fact it was the first time in many years - and I was pretty sore afterwards, as I recall. We've tried to convince Dec that this is the sort of situation which could come up, but he's been unimpressed. He's gutsy in other ways, so I don't think he's being too wussy about it.
(Australian team really starting to slog now, so probably a declaration coming. Some people in the crowd in fancy dress - pretty amusing.)
More little jobs done around home - finally replacing smoke alarm. Al reminded me my mum still doesn't have any smoke alarms in her house, which really is bizarre. Typically, Al's on the case and has bought some for her. She also bought some pull-down blinds for downstairs but was irate to discover that because they have the pattern on only one side, you either have the pattern facing you when the blind is fully down, with a white roll at the top, or vice versa. She doesn't like having two colours visible at the same time, but there's not much you can do about it. I'm more concerned about the Chinese instructions which tell you to cut the blinds to suit your window space, and then cut the aluminium rod to match. What am I going to cut that with?
Probably a bit down about going back to school, which is normal for this time in the holidays; headache not helping. Oh well, more drugs and we'll see how it feels in the morning. Ciao for now.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Another late night
This time watching Law & Order with Al after So you think... Rabbitohs finally won in NRL which is good for my tipping. Currently in middle of huge chess game with an Indian guy of very similar rating - thought I was gone for sure, but anything could happen.
Knee OK, not bad. Looked after Cam N for a while today while ladies and girls were all watching Disney on Ice spectacular. At his age, my buddies and I would have been playing board games (maybe) or rolling around outside with guns playing army games (more likely). Cam and Dec were more into PS2, Nintendo, one board game (at my suggestion) and doing some unscrewing with a drill (under my close supervision). They seem on good terms but I guess you can't be besties with everyone.
Dec's cough is shocking and pretty hard to live with. Our throats are also a little sore which is not great. Friends rang us the other day to say they have swine flu officially - we'd seen them a few days earlier so it may or may not happen to us.
Al had call from her boss very recently where he intimated that he may be downsizing around September. He didn't actually say Al would need to look for work elsewhere, but Al is assuming the worst. In some ways, it would be good for her to get back into part-time or full-time work now before she spends too many years out of the labour market, but it's been incredibly convenient for her to work from home via the Web. She's already dreading a loss of playdates for the kids etc. Having them come with me to work/school could work out, but it would need a bit of thinking through. They'd get a 50% discount on fees, and the money we would need to spend on fees would be hopefully completely outpaced by the higher income she'd be making. It's the old story: do we go for income or do we go for lifestyle? Her great friend she was with today is an insolvency accountant who's just been given a $25000 payrise! Business must be booming for insolvencies... Anyway, I've tried to reassure her that it's early days in making these decisions (I hope). Let's take it one step at a time.
Never a dull moment!
Knee OK, not bad. Looked after Cam N for a while today while ladies and girls were all watching Disney on Ice spectacular. At his age, my buddies and I would have been playing board games (maybe) or rolling around outside with guns playing army games (more likely). Cam and Dec were more into PS2, Nintendo, one board game (at my suggestion) and doing some unscrewing with a drill (under my close supervision). They seem on good terms but I guess you can't be besties with everyone.
Dec's cough is shocking and pretty hard to live with. Our throats are also a little sore which is not great. Friends rang us the other day to say they have swine flu officially - we'd seen them a few days earlier so it may or may not happen to us.
Al had call from her boss very recently where he intimated that he may be downsizing around September. He didn't actually say Al would need to look for work elsewhere, but Al is assuming the worst. In some ways, it would be good for her to get back into part-time or full-time work now before she spends too many years out of the labour market, but it's been incredibly convenient for her to work from home via the Web. She's already dreading a loss of playdates for the kids etc. Having them come with me to work/school could work out, but it would need a bit of thinking through. They'd get a 50% discount on fees, and the money we would need to spend on fees would be hopefully completely outpaced by the higher income she'd be making. It's the old story: do we go for income or do we go for lifestyle? Her great friend she was with today is an insolvency accountant who's just been given a $25000 payrise! Business must be booming for insolvencies... Anyway, I've tried to reassure her that it's early days in making these decisions (I hope). Let's take it one step at a time.
Never a dull moment!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
TV sleeping
Kids asleep (and in their own beds which is a bonus); Al dozing on and off on one couch; me with laptop on the other couch - it's become a recent pattern of late night life in our household. It's 10.30 and we're watching a Grey's Anatomy with Izzy apparently coping with cancer treatment. I haven't watched a whole episode ever - I think - and so am not really paying a lot of attention now. I've been working away on my Powerpoint for Yr 10 RAVE on the history and customs of the Anglican Church - a pretty big project! - and now feel the need, the need for speed... or the need for blogging, really. Just found some cool blogs like the one below. Any anti-atheist blogs are welcome right now!
We finished watching the movie Ghost Town tonight, and I'd have to say it's pretty odd. Not very happy with direction/editing. Ricky Gervais seems unable to play his natural style of comedy and there are some very strange pauses in the flow of action. Tea Leoni seems uncomfortable - in fact, I think almost everyone seems uncomfortable here. Is it a poor man's Ghost / Truly Deeply Madly / Sixth Sense etc? Couldn't give it more than 2 stars.
Earlier today, I finally got around to seeing Evan Almighty which I am setting for all Yr 8 RAVE classes to see this term. I liked it quite a lot more than I expected. I read a great interview with the director Tom Shadyac after I saw Bruce Almighty where it seemed he had a very sound, liberal Christian view of the world. Good to see! Evan is not at all a fundo wacko movie, as I had feared, but should give classes quite a bit to discuss.
In other news to hand, I took the bandages off my knee this morning to survey the scars - not bad. 3 separate puncture wounds, and I was surprised to discover none at the back, which is where I had thought they would enter - guess not. Anyway, I'm still taking it slowly and hope the strength comes back soon.
Was hoping to make it into school today to get a few things organised but it didn't happen. In theory, I should be able to drive an automatic, but I just feel a bit unsure for some reason. Maybe I'll try tomorrow and see how it goes.
No on-line chess today, I'm pleased to report. Want to now go, take panadol etc so I don't wake up at 4am again, and keep reading Tim Winton's Breath, which I am seriously enjoying. Some great tips from a new blog I found tonight called www.conversiondiary.com (female atheist to Catholic) with 5 steps to belief. I'd encourage everyone to check it out!
'Til tomorrow, my brothers and sisters...
We finished watching the movie Ghost Town tonight, and I'd have to say it's pretty odd. Not very happy with direction/editing. Ricky Gervais seems unable to play his natural style of comedy and there are some very strange pauses in the flow of action. Tea Leoni seems uncomfortable - in fact, I think almost everyone seems uncomfortable here. Is it a poor man's Ghost / Truly Deeply Madly / Sixth Sense etc? Couldn't give it more than 2 stars.
Earlier today, I finally got around to seeing Evan Almighty which I am setting for all Yr 8 RAVE classes to see this term. I liked it quite a lot more than I expected. I read a great interview with the director Tom Shadyac after I saw Bruce Almighty where it seemed he had a very sound, liberal Christian view of the world. Good to see! Evan is not at all a fundo wacko movie, as I had feared, but should give classes quite a bit to discuss.
In other news to hand, I took the bandages off my knee this morning to survey the scars - not bad. 3 separate puncture wounds, and I was surprised to discover none at the back, which is where I had thought they would enter - guess not. Anyway, I'm still taking it slowly and hope the strength comes back soon.
Was hoping to make it into school today to get a few things organised but it didn't happen. In theory, I should be able to drive an automatic, but I just feel a bit unsure for some reason. Maybe I'll try tomorrow and see how it goes.
No on-line chess today, I'm pleased to report. Want to now go, take panadol etc so I don't wake up at 4am again, and keep reading Tim Winton's Breath, which I am seriously enjoying. Some great tips from a new blog I found tonight called www.conversiondiary.com (female atheist to Catholic) with 5 steps to belief. I'd encourage everyone to check it out!
'Til tomorrow, my brothers and sisters...
Out of the closet as an Anglican blogger
Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.
Oh, that's right. You knew I was an Anglican all along - it must have been my tags that gave me away. Anyway, I like the sound of being an "Anglican blogger."
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Just a quickie...
Knee is going well - starting to feel a few little itches etc, so more ibuprofen going down. Had first shower ever with plastic bag tied around the bandages but all good. Meant to do about 100 leg lifts a day which seems a little weird - not sure how it works upon the knee, but I guess it's about thigh stabilising or something.
What else? More schoolwork - spent a fair amount of time on Youtube and got on to old Rowan Atkinson and Fry & Laurie clips which were a very pleasant memory or else brand new to me. Trying hard to see if I can use them in RAVE - if not, Yr 10 Satire for English will have to do. "A Warm Welcome", "Songs of Praise" and "Apostle's Creed" all have potential, but as they say, all need to be used "carefully". I really wanted a nice clip on Francis of Assisi for Yr 8, but as I feard, the clip which came up features good old Donovan in 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon' stripping off and I fear bare male buttocks won't fly in Yr 8 RAVE classes - I think. Same problem with Jesus of Montreal, probably my favourite movie of all time - just a couple of sequences which might get me some complaints - disappointing, but that's the reality of schools today.
Time to confess I did waste some time playing more online chess at www.chessmaniac.com but must immodestly report I played some of my best chess ever! I won my last three games and must say this site seems to be much more my speed than freechess. The next step is to join one of their teams and meet some other like-minded chess nuts. Looks like a team called the 'Chess Fiends' are seeking my services.
The only downside of Youtube I have yet found is the number of 'militant atheist' videos. There was one which has had more than 6 million hits by a particularly obnoxious sounding American who wants to know why God doesn't cure amputees (!) There was a rather nice rejoinder in another clip where a man asked why the first guy is so sure amputees need to be cured etc. So much of the atheist clip was asking why we can't just use our rational intellect and get over the delusions of religion. I guess if the original atheist had something positive to offer, we'd be onto something. Still, there are good arguments for all sides.
Watched Chaser again tonight - had a few chuckles. The scary part was when they showed genuine middle Eastern news clips featuring Arabs saying the most outrageous things about Israel and the US. I suppose the US Fox Network is almost as bad, really. It strikes me as crucial that 'sound' liberal Anglicans like myself try to become the voice of reason at these times, but will we be drowned out by the extremists on both sides?
Tomorrow, I vow - minimal chess, maximum school work. May even need to try to drive to school to get things, check the office, see if Lizzie has moved in OK, etc. Thanks God for friends and for you and all the good things you have to offer this world. Night night.
What else? More schoolwork - spent a fair amount of time on Youtube and got on to old Rowan Atkinson and Fry & Laurie clips which were a very pleasant memory or else brand new to me. Trying hard to see if I can use them in RAVE - if not, Yr 10 Satire for English will have to do. "A Warm Welcome", "Songs of Praise" and "Apostle's Creed" all have potential, but as they say, all need to be used "carefully". I really wanted a nice clip on Francis of Assisi for Yr 8, but as I feard, the clip which came up features good old Donovan in 'Brother Sun, Sister Moon' stripping off and I fear bare male buttocks won't fly in Yr 8 RAVE classes - I think. Same problem with Jesus of Montreal, probably my favourite movie of all time - just a couple of sequences which might get me some complaints - disappointing, but that's the reality of schools today.
Time to confess I did waste some time playing more online chess at www.chessmaniac.com but must immodestly report I played some of my best chess ever! I won my last three games and must say this site seems to be much more my speed than freechess. The next step is to join one of their teams and meet some other like-minded chess nuts. Looks like a team called the 'Chess Fiends' are seeking my services.
The only downside of Youtube I have yet found is the number of 'militant atheist' videos. There was one which has had more than 6 million hits by a particularly obnoxious sounding American who wants to know why God doesn't cure amputees (!) There was a rather nice rejoinder in another clip where a man asked why the first guy is so sure amputees need to be cured etc. So much of the atheist clip was asking why we can't just use our rational intellect and get over the delusions of religion. I guess if the original atheist had something positive to offer, we'd be onto something. Still, there are good arguments for all sides.
Watched Chaser again tonight - had a few chuckles. The scary part was when they showed genuine middle Eastern news clips featuring Arabs saying the most outrageous things about Israel and the US. I suppose the US Fox Network is almost as bad, really. It strikes me as crucial that 'sound' liberal Anglicans like myself try to become the voice of reason at these times, but will we be drowned out by the extremists on both sides?
Tomorrow, I vow - minimal chess, maximum school work. May even need to try to drive to school to get things, check the office, see if Lizzie has moved in OK, etc. Thanks God for friends and for you and all the good things you have to offer this world. Night night.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Happy again - well, mostly
Hi ho everybody,
Well, I'm sitting here blogging and playing chess while fam watches final of HomeMade, the latest reality show which the other 75% of my family seem to love but I fear I don't. Oh yes, and I also have a big bandage wrapped around my knee to remind me of the day's events.
Woke up 5.30 (actually Verity achieved that yet again at 4.30 but that's another rant), quick shower (trying not to drink too much water) and off to hospital at Everton Pk. Hospital under renovation but easy to get in, get registered, say goodbye to fam etc. Sent off to next waiting room where each person went off for another quick chat then returned to go into the very public bathroom right there in the waiting room, and got changed into our paper undies, gown, dressing gown, etc. A nice young nurse then came in to shave my knee area all around which I don't think has ever been done before, but no dramas.
Then off to a bed for a little more waiting then basically straight to the theatre door. Met more staff including very nice anaesthetist Martina who made life pretty easy and did a good job with the needle into my arm, a) giving me a magazine to read beforehand which I could then use to shield my eyes as I winced and b) getting me to cough as it went in, which I turned into more of a laugh, a technique I often use at the chiropractor when he is really crunching me hard. Admittedly, part of that chiropractic laugh on my part is always laughter that I'm paying someone lots of money to basically hurt me, and maybe that was also the case today. I think she took a couple of goes to find the vein, but hey, it was still a lot better than I expected. I saw Dr Tuff (my godfather) for about, oh, 30 seconds before he got down to business, but that's fine. I'll go see him for a follow-up in a week or two, and I won't be too worried about it.
Still no pain and it's been probably 9 hrs or so since op. They say they use Marcain, a long-lasting local anaesthetic and by golly, it must be pretty good stuff. I also took panadol and ibuprofen as directed, and will give myself a another dose tonight to see what happens. It certainly seems good to have done this on holidays to prevent more walking around and other hassles. We'll see how I feel on Monday when school resumes though. Was pleased with number of people who responded to my Facebook mention of my op - not that I was going out of my way to get some sympathy, but it's nice anyway.
Other matters: still trying to jazz up these RAVE programs - must do whatever I can not to make them boring and enthuse staff and students - I really feel some weight of responsibility in that regard.
Formally mentioned this blog on the Facebook group for Anglican bloggers so in case anyone reading those posts ever feels called to check out each one, I guess I may actually get a visitor sooner or later. On other Anglican matters, I'm very disappointed with the English bishop who has apparently decided to do some more gay bashing, or 'calling upon them to repent' which is the Anglican equivalent... the younger generation simply cannot fathom this kind of approach, and there is no surer way of dispatching our Church to the historical scrapheap... Anglicanism is about intellectual honesty - why is it not possible there is a genetic component to homosexuality? Even if there wasn't a genetic basis, what is there to be appalled about? If a bishop wants to target sexual immorality, that's another matter, I think, but just going after gays for being gay is really ridiculous. Reminds me of the time during a theology oral on the life of Paul that I intimated there had been a case made for St Paul being gay - the lack of evidence of his marrying, the references to hating his body, etc. Some of my audience wanted to hear all about it afterwards!
All righty then, see you tomorrow.
Well, I'm sitting here blogging and playing chess while fam watches final of HomeMade, the latest reality show which the other 75% of my family seem to love but I fear I don't. Oh yes, and I also have a big bandage wrapped around my knee to remind me of the day's events.
Woke up 5.30 (actually Verity achieved that yet again at 4.30 but that's another rant), quick shower (trying not to drink too much water) and off to hospital at Everton Pk. Hospital under renovation but easy to get in, get registered, say goodbye to fam etc. Sent off to next waiting room where each person went off for another quick chat then returned to go into the very public bathroom right there in the waiting room, and got changed into our paper undies, gown, dressing gown, etc. A nice young nurse then came in to shave my knee area all around which I don't think has ever been done before, but no dramas.
Then off to a bed for a little more waiting then basically straight to the theatre door. Met more staff including very nice anaesthetist Martina who made life pretty easy and did a good job with the needle into my arm, a) giving me a magazine to read beforehand which I could then use to shield my eyes as I winced and b) getting me to cough as it went in, which I turned into more of a laugh, a technique I often use at the chiropractor when he is really crunching me hard. Admittedly, part of that chiropractic laugh on my part is always laughter that I'm paying someone lots of money to basically hurt me, and maybe that was also the case today. I think she took a couple of goes to find the vein, but hey, it was still a lot better than I expected. I saw Dr Tuff (my godfather) for about, oh, 30 seconds before he got down to business, but that's fine. I'll go see him for a follow-up in a week or two, and I won't be too worried about it.
Still no pain and it's been probably 9 hrs or so since op. They say they use Marcain, a long-lasting local anaesthetic and by golly, it must be pretty good stuff. I also took panadol and ibuprofen as directed, and will give myself a another dose tonight to see what happens. It certainly seems good to have done this on holidays to prevent more walking around and other hassles. We'll see how I feel on Monday when school resumes though. Was pleased with number of people who responded to my Facebook mention of my op - not that I was going out of my way to get some sympathy, but it's nice anyway.
Other matters: still trying to jazz up these RAVE programs - must do whatever I can not to make them boring and enthuse staff and students - I really feel some weight of responsibility in that regard.
Formally mentioned this blog on the Facebook group for Anglican bloggers so in case anyone reading those posts ever feels called to check out each one, I guess I may actually get a visitor sooner or later. On other Anglican matters, I'm very disappointed with the English bishop who has apparently decided to do some more gay bashing, or 'calling upon them to repent' which is the Anglican equivalent... the younger generation simply cannot fathom this kind of approach, and there is no surer way of dispatching our Church to the historical scrapheap... Anglicanism is about intellectual honesty - why is it not possible there is a genetic component to homosexuality? Even if there wasn't a genetic basis, what is there to be appalled about? If a bishop wants to target sexual immorality, that's another matter, I think, but just going after gays for being gay is really ridiculous. Reminds me of the time during a theology oral on the life of Paul that I intimated there had been a case made for St Paul being gay - the lack of evidence of his marrying, the references to hating his body, etc. Some of my audience wanted to hear all about it afterwards!
All righty then, see you tomorrow.
Monday, July 6, 2009
The Last Supper
Well, I'm writing now to calm my nerves somewhat. It's the night before my knee operation and I admit I am now anxious about it. The knee has felt close to 100% much of the last six weeks, but just every now and then I feel a twinge or something shift and I know it's not entirely reliable. It's just hard to shift the feeling that I'm going into hospital with a pretty good knee and may or may not come out with the same feeling. Hard to believe that this time tomorrow (in fact by lunch time tomorrow) it will be all over. Thank goodness I haven't had to wait six months or more for the op, even though I think I've done a pretty good job of putting it out of my mind in recent times.
I am scared of the unknown - I've had operations under general anaesthetic before, but not since 1984 when I got my wisdom teeth out. I shouldn't be too worried about needles, because I've had them before enough times. I kind of just don't want to know all the details of what's going to happen in the operation, which I suppose is going to be a problem because I'm sure the nurses, surgeon and anaesthetist will feel obliged to tell me (or are legally obliged to tell me!)
Can't eat or drink anything after midnight tonight, even water, although I am allowed to shower tomorrow morning which is a good idea.
Had a nice dinner with Greg & Ingrid last night at the Caravanserai restaurant at West End - pretty busy for a Sunday night but great food, very good service and only $35 per head for the simplest banquet (with $2.50 each corkage). I couldn't remember much about the food we ate in Turkey when I was there in '99, but I would guess this was authentic. I am very confident that Al and I will be going again - a great find, with brownie points to me for picking it, if I may say so immodestly.
Kids and Al were out a lot today playing and shopping so I have advanced further in my lesson prep, but there's still a fair amount to do. I fear I am going to have to abandon most if not all of the big home projects we had planned for this Winter break, e.g. sanding and repainting the deck. I just don't think it's going to happen. Still, I shall try hard to do the school stuff fast and see what my knee allows me to do this week.
Liking DJ Ironik's take on Tiny Dancer atm. Missing my old penpal Adam too. Time to be helpful elsewhere.
I am scared of the unknown - I've had operations under general anaesthetic before, but not since 1984 when I got my wisdom teeth out. I shouldn't be too worried about needles, because I've had them before enough times. I kind of just don't want to know all the details of what's going to happen in the operation, which I suppose is going to be a problem because I'm sure the nurses, surgeon and anaesthetist will feel obliged to tell me (or are legally obliged to tell me!)
Can't eat or drink anything after midnight tonight, even water, although I am allowed to shower tomorrow morning which is a good idea.
Had a nice dinner with Greg & Ingrid last night at the Caravanserai restaurant at West End - pretty busy for a Sunday night but great food, very good service and only $35 per head for the simplest banquet (with $2.50 each corkage). I couldn't remember much about the food we ate in Turkey when I was there in '99, but I would guess this was authentic. I am very confident that Al and I will be going again - a great find, with brownie points to me for picking it, if I may say so immodestly.
Kids and Al were out a lot today playing and shopping so I have advanced further in my lesson prep, but there's still a fair amount to do. I fear I am going to have to abandon most if not all of the big home projects we had planned for this Winter break, e.g. sanding and repainting the deck. I just don't think it's going to happen. Still, I shall try hard to do the school stuff fast and see what my knee allows me to do this week.
Liking DJ Ironik's take on Tiny Dancer atm. Missing my old penpal Adam too. Time to be helpful elsewhere.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Windy Saturday
Getting back into this habit of blogging has brought back memories of my first major efforts way back in 1998 or thereabouts - I decided it was a good habit to reread the last blog entry before writing in an effort to prevent repetition of content while still hopefully allowing a flow from entry to entry. Wow - I was really whinging yesterday but I'm pleased to report that today was very productive in schoolwork and in some other household admin tasks like filling in forms for govt rebates etc. Still liking my RAVE powerpoints a lot but not sure whether to send them out to Anglican RAVE colleagues as a freebie or stick them on the site EJW sent me recently: www.teacherspayteachers.com which is certainly something to think about. Maybe I could create an Australian version (and then probably get sued or something). Kids in pyjamas just about all day today - one of those kinds of days.
Quick chat to Phil who said mediation went well - he has finally secured unsupervised access at long last, for 5 hours instead of 3 - and that's great. Aiming for overnight stays in December or so. He said he'd ring back tonight but hasn't - he's probably too stuffed after 3 little kids running / crawling around him all day. Thanks to God that it went well.
Couldn't quite avoid online chess today, but have kissed goodbye to FICS in favour of www.chessmaniac.com and I won't be looking back. Alright, time for some more Tim Winton. Night all.
Quick chat to Phil who said mediation went well - he has finally secured unsupervised access at long last, for 5 hours instead of 3 - and that's great. Aiming for overnight stays in December or so. He said he'd ring back tonight but hasn't - he's probably too stuffed after 3 little kids running / crawling around him all day. Thanks to God that it went well.
Couldn't quite avoid online chess today, but have kissed goodbye to FICS in favour of www.chessmaniac.com and I won't be looking back. Alright, time for some more Tim Winton. Night all.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Still down a bit
7.36pm. Watching Masterchef with family. Full of Pizza Capers - got to be happy with that. New chorizo/scallop pizza was yum-my. Declan finished Moggill Uniting daycamp today - had a great time, particularly after his team won everything, mainly thanks to an ex-army adult helper who proved a wiz at constructing the gunya out of palm leaves etc. Some people are pretty competitive, aren't they?
Felt a bit sad this afternoon. Cue: sad music and pathetic comments to follow.
Reasons: a)Knee was hurting a bit.
b) concerned about knee operation on Tuesday.
c) concerned about work still needing to be done before school restarts.
d) generally sad about my lack of application and work ethic in recent days.
e) angry that I had to spend hours doing household tasks like trip to the dump and day camp closing today (I realise how selfish this one is.)
f) annoyed we had to take 3 friends home from day camp today (see above re: selfishness)
g) generally hungry and thirsty. (pause now for drink - that's salty pizza for you)
h) some strange lower back pain - annoyed at posture and home seats which probably contribute. Annoyed in light of chiropractor visit on Wednesday night. Annoyed further at having to spend money on chiropractors.
i) annoyed that friends we ferried home from daycamp are much wealthier than us. They have come back from a family holiday skiing down south, and are off tonight to the Gold Coast prior to running in the Gold Coast marathon tomorrow. Further annoyed that this guy can spend so much time away from family training for marathon, apparently without resentment from said family. Annoyed about our lack of money. (Am really getting pathetic now.)
j) after visit to financial planner today, annoyed that I didn't have all the documents to hand which I should have had - further annoyed at my lack of good filing downstairs to make this easier to follow. Annoyed that we are not in a better financial position after so many years, but admittedly we have been on basically one income for many years, have two children, etc. At least this guy (yet another new face) sounds solid - even suggesting it was possible to run our investments ourselves! Points for honesty!
k) annoyed at not making more money from OzLotto and then blowing it all on a ticket for the Powerball jackpot last night, which nobody won. Why am I wasting money chasing the big one? Must not go down the path of a gambling problem on top of everything else.
l) concerned about Phil and Jo's mediation session this afternoon. Fingers crossed that things went OK and nobody stormed out etc. Will call Phil tomorrow sometime to see how it went. What a saga - I realise I am now of the age when some friends will start separating / divorcing but this one is looking particularly harsh.
There may have been other things as well, but that's a pretty good start. Will have an iceblock and start doing more schoolwork. Mad Men's final two episodes last night were excellent viewing, so that cheered me up a bit. Weird Al Yankovic clips on Youtube are also a good source - hope to use some in my Year 10 English satire unit this semester. Pray for a good sleep tonight - need to go to bed at 10 if possible, I reckon. My bedtime novel, Breath by Tim Winton, is going very well - memories of my amateur efforts at surfing brought to mind and he really is impressive in his descriptive skills. Ciao now.
Felt a bit sad this afternoon. Cue: sad music and pathetic comments to follow.
Reasons: a)Knee was hurting a bit.
b) concerned about knee operation on Tuesday.
c) concerned about work still needing to be done before school restarts.
d) generally sad about my lack of application and work ethic in recent days.
e) angry that I had to spend hours doing household tasks like trip to the dump and day camp closing today (I realise how selfish this one is.)
f) annoyed we had to take 3 friends home from day camp today (see above re: selfishness)
g) generally hungry and thirsty. (pause now for drink - that's salty pizza for you)
h) some strange lower back pain - annoyed at posture and home seats which probably contribute. Annoyed in light of chiropractor visit on Wednesday night. Annoyed further at having to spend money on chiropractors.
i) annoyed that friends we ferried home from daycamp are much wealthier than us. They have come back from a family holiday skiing down south, and are off tonight to the Gold Coast prior to running in the Gold Coast marathon tomorrow. Further annoyed that this guy can spend so much time away from family training for marathon, apparently without resentment from said family. Annoyed about our lack of money. (Am really getting pathetic now.)
j) after visit to financial planner today, annoyed that I didn't have all the documents to hand which I should have had - further annoyed at my lack of good filing downstairs to make this easier to follow. Annoyed that we are not in a better financial position after so many years, but admittedly we have been on basically one income for many years, have two children, etc. At least this guy (yet another new face) sounds solid - even suggesting it was possible to run our investments ourselves! Points for honesty!
k) annoyed at not making more money from OzLotto and then blowing it all on a ticket for the Powerball jackpot last night, which nobody won. Why am I wasting money chasing the big one? Must not go down the path of a gambling problem on top of everything else.
l) concerned about Phil and Jo's mediation session this afternoon. Fingers crossed that things went OK and nobody stormed out etc. Will call Phil tomorrow sometime to see how it went. What a saga - I realise I am now of the age when some friends will start separating / divorcing but this one is looking particularly harsh.
There may have been other things as well, but that's a pretty good start. Will have an iceblock and start doing more schoolwork. Mad Men's final two episodes last night were excellent viewing, so that cheered me up a bit. Weird Al Yankovic clips on Youtube are also a good source - hope to use some in my Year 10 English satire unit this semester. Pray for a good sleep tonight - need to go to bed at 10 if possible, I reckon. My bedtime novel, Breath by Tim Winton, is going very well - memories of my amateur efforts at surfing brought to mind and he really is impressive in his descriptive skills. Ciao now.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Down a bit
Made a poor decision just now to finish the day with a game of chess at freechess.org - what a mistake. I lost narrowly on time after being in a good position - very disappointed. It tells me that I must try hard to go cold turkey from online chess for as long as possible. What surprises me is that I can win pretty regularly on other sites, but freechess just has too many good players. Particularly when I'm playing under time pressure, I'm just not up to it. I know I should just harden up, but it was a mistake to play it - it just makes me blue!
The day otherwise was quite productive. More Dance clips transferred to DVD, other DVDs copied for school. Lots done on a Powerpoint on Church history for 10 RAVE - wondering why I never did it before! Saw lots of Youtube today too - some great pieces on Luther including raps and polkas which I hope to use; more theist/atheist issues elsewhere - how people have the time to go wandering through Youtube doing nothing but making negative or abusive comments on people's sites disturbs me. Added lots to my favourites for use soon.
Went to chiropractor again tonight with family. As usual, torn between hoping the treatment helps me feel good, and wondering if it really does anything at all - increasingly concerned about the cost as well. Can we afford it? Al will quote my dad and say, 'You can't argue with results.'
Speaking of money, we go to see our new financial planner on Friday and I'll be pretty interested to hear what he suggests, given the GFC etc. Must admit I entered the massive OzLotto record jackpot yesterday, and no, I didn't win $53 million like some other people, but I did get a $13.20 Division 7 prize. Unfortunately my ticket cost $25, so what does this teach you?
Good Chaser and good M. Jackson expose doco on tonight. Good to see a critical Jackson story just keeping the balance there this week, too. What a life.
With good wishes for another solid workday tomorrow,
Goodnight from me.
The day otherwise was quite productive. More Dance clips transferred to DVD, other DVDs copied for school. Lots done on a Powerpoint on Church history for 10 RAVE - wondering why I never did it before! Saw lots of Youtube today too - some great pieces on Luther including raps and polkas which I hope to use; more theist/atheist issues elsewhere - how people have the time to go wandering through Youtube doing nothing but making negative or abusive comments on people's sites disturbs me. Added lots to my favourites for use soon.
Went to chiropractor again tonight with family. As usual, torn between hoping the treatment helps me feel good, and wondering if it really does anything at all - increasingly concerned about the cost as well. Can we afford it? Al will quote my dad and say, 'You can't argue with results.'
Speaking of money, we go to see our new financial planner on Friday and I'll be pretty interested to hear what he suggests, given the GFC etc. Must admit I entered the massive OzLotto record jackpot yesterday, and no, I didn't win $53 million like some other people, but I did get a $13.20 Division 7 prize. Unfortunately my ticket cost $25, so what does this teach you?
Good Chaser and good M. Jackson expose doco on tonight. Good to see a critical Jackson story just keeping the balance there this week, too. What a life.
With good wishes for another solid workday tomorrow,
Goodnight from me.
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