Christy's Blog

Last Post

2006-07-09T23:41:00.000+12:00

Not that I am expecting anyone to read this because I haven't blogged in four months, but this is my final post to let you all know that this is my final post.

The End

The Dentist

2006-03-20T14:46:00.000+12:00

I have never been timid of visits to the dentist, but recently I had to get my two top wisdom teeth extracted.

On Friday I was very very nervous before going to the dentist. Now needles do not bother me, but it was the thought of getting my teeth yanked out while I was awake that bothered me.

Thankfully, the experience was not too traumatising apart from getting a bit panicky when the anaesthetic was put in the roof of my mouth and it felt like my mouth was starting to swell up.

The crunching sound was not too pleasant either but thankfully the whole process was over and done with in half an hour. And I have had no bruising, swelling or much pain at all. Now that is a blessing!!!

Unfortuantely I am making another trip to the dentist today. It looks as though I might be having a second root canal. I had one in January.

After this I really hope I have no more trouble with my teeth. Maybe it's easier having false ones!!

More Stuff

2006-03-07T14:00:00.000+13:00

Just been down to Nowra on the weekend. It is so relaxing down there and so great to get away from busy Sydney. Tim helped out with the youth group's learn to surf afternoon. I stayed at home and worked on a college assignment.

After church on Sunday morning we came home and Tim's parents told us that someone had made an offer on his house. This was great because we've only had it on the market for a few weeks. What transposed is that we've accepted an offer on the house and if all goes well it should be sorted out soon!!! That was a real answer to prayer.

Had run ins with the medicare office people lately. Isn't it frustrating when you're just trying to get something done and people are rude to you? Thankfully on my final visit I had a friendly staff member and I was able to finally get a medicare card.

Next thing to do is get a new passport and see how I can get approval to teach here in NSW.

Might have some more people over this weekend to our little apartment. Otherwise we could be heading down to Nowra again. Yet to find out.

That's all for now.

Stuff That's Happening

2006-02-27T12:34:00.000+13:00

Hello again. Been awhile since I blogged last time. Because the only internet access I have is at college and I don't live on campus anymore, I dare say my posts will be fairly infrequent. I haven't even replied to many emails yet.

Anyway, I'll try to update you a bit on what is going on in my life. Our little 2 bedroom apartment is going really well now. We finally got some 2 seater couches on Saturday, borrowed from Tim's cousin and put them in our flat. Now it really feels homely.

We got rid of our old car by taking it to a wreckers. It served us well, but it's pretty much a piece of junk now. Now we have a new reliable car. It's a toyota corolla, conquest. Metallic blue. Only done 73,000km and we go it with 12 months reg already on the car. We like it. So that's good.

Tomorrow night we're going to visit Tim's Nan for tea. I really like going to Nan's house. It is so relaxing to hang out at her house and just chat with her.

I am getting my two top wisdom teeth out in 3 weeks time!!! Not looking forward to it really, but will be good to ensure that they don't keep getting infected.

Going down to Nowra this weekend. Hopefully the weather is good for a swim at the beach.

College life is off to a good start. I'm enjoying my subjects and I've got a good load so that I can cope with part time work at the same time. I'll only have two exams this semester and one exam next semester. Wooohoooo!!!

Had some college people over for tea on Saturday night. That was awesome to have people over. That was that first time we've had a group of people over for tea. It was so good to hang out with friends and chat.

Holidays are only 5 weeks away. That is scary. My sister is coming over in the holidays. Cool.
My parents are coming over in the next holidays in July. Cool. Can't wait.

That's about all the stuff that's happening in my life at the moment. Until my next interesting update, see you all later.

Quick Update

2006-02-10T12:58:00.000+13:00

Hi everybody. I am back at college now so I finally have internet access again. Just to let you all know that I am settled back in Australia and am enjoying married life. Tim and I have found a place to live here in Sydney that is close to college and within walking distance. I'll be studying at college this year and working part-time and Tim will be working.

Happily Married

2005-12-29T09:36:00.000+13:00

Almost two weeks have passed since Tim and I got married on Saturday December 17th. The wedding day was so great. It was lovely having all our family and friends there to celebrate with us. Thank you to all those people who helped make it such a special day for us. As with anything in life you can't expect everything to perfect. The weather wasn't the best and Tim ended up getting sick. But isn't it great how you can turn seemingly negative things into positives. Because the weather wasn't so great we had our photos at Nathan Homestead which ended up being way better than the Botanical Gardens and our photos are really great. And because Tim was sick we ended up doing nothing much at all for half of our time away at Pauanui. This was good because it meant we had a really good rest which both of us really needed.

I am truly fortunate to have such a kind, caring and loving man for a husband and I can foresee that the years ahead are going to be good ones for Mr and Mrs Tim and Christy Dallimore, whatever the future may bring.

One More Day

2005-12-16T08:43:00.000+13:00

Just one more day and I'll be married. That's a strange concept really. One day you're single and the next day you're married. Well, I'm glad that day has nearly arrived. Everything is nearly organised and things seem to be running smoothly at the moment. The next time I blog I will be a happily married woman. See you at the wedding!

9 Days To Go

2005-12-07T22:35:00.000+13:00

There are 9 days until our wedding. That is very exciting. I am soooooooooooo looking forward to getting married now. I am completely over planning the wedding and just want the day to arrive. Hurry up 9 days!!!

It's Getting Closer

2005-12-06T11:37:00.000+13:00

The day of my wedding (or should I say 'our' wedding) is getting closer and closer. I am really looking forward to all the preparations being over and enjoying the wedding day. I am so over shopping, planning, organising, choosing, deciding, contemplating, analysing, theorising, hypothesising........and on the list goes. That's enough to make anyone tired!!

11 days to go and my single life is over. A new chapter begins. One with lots of unknowns and plenty of fun times. I am eagerly anticipating it.

Home Again

2005-11-28T18:35:00.000+13:00

I'm home again!!! I can't believe how fast it has come around. It is so good to be back in N.Z. with my family for 3 fun filled weeks before the wedding.

Jody my bridesmaid arrives tomorrow.

Dinner with family in 10 minutes. Great!

Talk to you all soon

Woohooooooo!!!!!!! Holidays!!!!!!!!

2005-11-21T11:41:00.000+13:00

I'm on holiday!!! Thankfully all my exams went well and I am fairly confident that I passed them all. So with that out of the way, I can now focus on R - E - L - A - X - I - N - G. Oh sweet relaxing. I finished my last exam on Friday and then went out for tea to celebrate with a few of the girls. That was great. We went to the Italian Forum and ate pasta and risotto. Mmmmm-hmmmmm!! On Saturday I started packing up my room before going to work. Then I caught the train down to Nowra.

Yesterday, hung out, went to church, watered some grass, bought some delicious cherries off the side of the road for $10/kg!!!!, watched some tennis on television, had a sleep...zzzzzzzzzz.....had another sleep..zzzzzzzzzz.......

Today a bush walk might be on the agenda. Then heading back to Sydney on Wednesday to do end of year college things. On Monday 28th I arrive back in N.Z.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! From then on it will only be 3 weeks until we get married. Bring it on, because I am ready!!!

Have a nice day everyone. I know I will because I'M ON HOLIDAY!!!!!!

Isn't It Ironic?

2005-11-18T15:13:00.000+13:00

Isn't it ironic that the most posting I've done of late is actually at a time when I should be the most busiest, studying for my exams!!!

Anyway in exactly 90 minutes it will all be over!!! The holidays are here!!!!

Going out tonight to celebrate end of year and finishing exams. Go Diploma!!!! Yippeee!!!

Holidays are Nearing

2005-11-17T14:49:00.000+13:00

Well in approximately half an hour I have my Old Testament exam. Looking forward to getting this one done. As much as I am still feeling pretty calm and unstressed during this exam period, OT does make me a little nervous, considering it is on the prophets. Never an easy subject to tackle in the bible. I must say, that I do enjoy the book of Daniel. It really is a good read. And a good reminder of God's sovereignty (must remember that phrase for the exam).

Tonight I will be studying a LOT for theology tomorrow! And then tomorrow it is all over!!

Oh sweet holidays!!!

1 down and 2 and a bit to go

2005-11-16T12:52:00.000+13:00

1 exam is over. New Testament last night went pretty good I feel. Results will tell I guess. So now I have Old Testament tomorrow afternoon. Then it will be 2 down and 1 and a bit to go. The 'bit' refers to our one hour exam on Hebrews. Thinking this will be pretty straight forward and easy. Here's hoping!!!

Counting Down

2005-11-11T15:13:00.000+13:00

1 week and exams are OVER!

2 weeks, 3 days and I arrive in AUCKLAND!!

5 weeks and I get married!!!

8 1/2 weeks and I come back to OZ to live......

Stuff

2005-10-25T19:40:00.000+13:00

So there is not much stuff going on at present and I don't really have anything to write about. Wedding plans are coming along still and getting sorted out gradually. Just under 8 weeks until I get married. It is fast approaching.

Exams are here in 2 1/2 weeks. Now that's a scary thought.

Daylight Saving starts this weekend. Hooray!! Summer is here. The weather was brilliant today.

Saw Pride and Prejudice at the movies and greatly enjoyed it.

Another couple from college announced their engagement yesterday. That makes 3 engagements in total this year.

And that's about all the stuff I can think of.

Fare Thee Well New Zealand. I Will See Thee Soon

2005-10-14T22:33:00.000+13:00

Mmmmmm, weird title. I'm tired. It's late. I've been doing far too much thinking today and running around trying to fix things that have accidentally gone wrong. Hee hee hee. I feel like going to bed. What was the point of this post? Oh yeah. I'm leaving for Oz again on Sunday. But I will back in Kiwi Land in six weeks time to prepare for our wedding.

So great to see old familiar faces again (and young familiar faces too - he he he he..........). So good to catch up with friends and chat. Time doesn't stand still. People move on. Life changes. Thankfully God stays the same.

See you all in 6 weeks time. Good bye!!! And to all my SMBC friends reading this post.....I will see you soon!!!!

Time is Flying

2005-10-11T08:59:00.000+13:00

I can't believe that it is Tuesday already. I have been here for 3 whole days. I certainly have not had much rest time that's for sure. I am busy doing as many things as possible for the wedding so it will be easier when I come home in December. I am having a really good time here in N.Z. It's so good to catch up with friends and family again. The shared lunch on Sunday was great. Thanks to all who came. It was good just slotting right back in and talking to people again.

6 weeks back in Australia and then I will be back in N.Z. again for the 3 weeks prior to the wedding. Now that does not seem like a long time at all!!! Exams to do before then also. I will have to start studying as soon as I get back to college. On that note, I had better go and get stuff done. Toodle loo.

Back Home Again

2005-10-07T19:27:00.000+13:00

Just arrived back in N.Z. about 2 1/2 hours ago. Flight was good. Strange to be home. Good to be reunited with family. Starting wedding preparations already. See you on Sunday.

Shared Lunch - Sunday 9th October 12:30pm

2005-09-30T19:12:00.000+12:00

On Sunday 9th October I will be in N.Z. I am planning to have a shared lunch so I can catch up with everyone, since I will have limited time to visit people during my one week stay in Auckland. This is the deal:

Venue : The Peek's House

Date: Sunday 9th October

Time: 12:30pm onwards

(onwards, meaning if you can't make it for lunch and want to drop by later in the avo then please do)

Bring: food and drink to share

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Parentals Arriving Soon

2005-09-28T23:41:00.000+12:00

In exactly 4 sleeps I will be meeting the parentals at the airport!!! Yippee skippee!! It's been 8 months since I've seen my parents so I am looking forward to it. I guess 8 months doesn't seem like a long time, but when your life has changed so quickly and in a big way 8 months feels like ages. It will also be the first time they've met my fiance Tim, so that will be good to spend some time together, getting to know each other before we actually come back to N.Z. to get married.

At the moment I'm hanging out with Tim and his family for a few days. Going to a wedding of Tim's friends on Saturday. Then back up to Sydney on Sunday to meet the parentals.

Will be in N.Z. in exactly 9 sleeps!!! Oh my goodness!! Time is certainly ticking by quite quickly. December 17th will be here before I know it. Good times ahead.

Yawn..............getting tired now.................good night.

Essays To Finish, a Wedding to organise and Holidays are Here

2005-09-22T21:52:00.000+12:00

I apologise for the uncreative title of this post.........on the other hand, no I don't. I just really could not be bothered trying to think of something inventive. So there it is - plain and simple. I do not really have any new news to share. My life is going along, going along, going along, going along.

As the title of this post indicates I have essays to finish.

As the title of this post also indicates I still have a wedding to organise.

Lastly, as the title of this post also indicates, the holidays start tomorrow.

That is about it for now. See you all in a couple of weeks. Then I can actually talk to you in person. (New Zealand people that is)

Shared Lunch

2005-09-14T16:54:00.000+12:00

As most of you already know I am heading on back over to N.Z. in about 3 weeks time (No way!! 3 weeks!! That is so soon!!) Because I will be needing to spend most of that time with my family and doing wedding preparations that does not leave me any time to go around visiting and catching up with people. Of course I would love to do that but I am only over in N.Z. for a week, so time is short.

So to catch up with everyone I thought I would have a shared lunch and then I can catch up with everyone in one go. I come home on October Friday 7th. Shared lunch will be on Sunday 9th at Mum & Dad's place. Probably about 12:30 / 1pmish but I will let you all know closer to the time. So bring yourselves and bring something to eat / drink and we'll have a great time. Looking forward to it.

Holidays!!!

2005-09-07T23:41:00.000+12:00

2 1/2 weeks until the holidays!!! Oh yeah!!! I can't wait!!! And I am getting heaps of work done. So I am on track to completing all my assignments for the semester before the holidays. So all I have to think about from holidays onwards is getting married and doing exams!! (reverse that order...doing exams and THEN getting married).

It's September Already!!

2005-09-02T18:00:00.000+12:00

Help!! Time seems to be getting faster. Objectively I know it's not. But it sure feels like it. I can't believe that it is September. I am going to be back in NZ in 5 weeks exactly from today. That is not far away. I am looking forward to coming home and seeing familiar faces. It will have been 8 months since I left NZ to come and live here. This is not really a long time at all, but so much has changed in my life this year that it feels like a lifetime!!

Today marks the end of Research Week so it is back into lectures next week. What does the weekend hold for me? Not a lot - some study, some tutoring work, some leisure time. It will be good.

Next year my plans have changed again. I'll most likely be studying part-time and working part-time. This means that in 2007 I can study full-time and get AUSTUDY. This is a student allowance from the Australian government, which I can only receive after becoming a permanent resident (have to be living in Oz for 2 years). So this works out pretty well. So now I have to begin the process of getting approval to teach here in NSW. Seems like a lengthy process, so I'd better start now. Then in 2007 I will be graduating with my Diploma of Theology!!! After that, only God knows. But that is fine by me. : )

What happens when you live in Australia?

2005-08-31T13:24:00.000+12:00

You see kangaroos jumping down the street of course. Honest!!! True story!!! On Sunday I was driving home from church. In the car with me was Tim and his Mum and younger brother. In Nowra there is a fair bit of bush, so even though we were driving down a street with houses there was bush around. A short distance ahead of me I saw what I thought was a big dog. But no, it was a kangaroo!!! And this was no small kangaroo either. It was a jolly big sized one. Everyone in the car told me to slow down. (Like I was going to run it over!!) So I slowed down and the kangaroo stood right in front of us for a few moments before bounding off to the side of the car and then back across the road. Now this does not happen every day!! But it was pretty amazing.

Another Update

2005-08-22T13:45:00.000+12:00

Well let's see........what can I tell you? I have booked my flights to N.Z. In October I will be in NZ from October 7 until October 16. In the Christmas holidays I will be in NZ from November 28 until January 12th. I thought I might get married when I come over in the Christmas holidays. I think that would be a fun thing to do. I might also invite some people to come and see me get married too. Fun times ahead!!!

On Saturday night I went and visited some of Tim's relatives. We took his Grandma and went over to his Aunty & Uncle's place. Now this was a treat, because Tim's aunty is a qualified chef. Oh my goodness!!! We had some pistachio and almond nuts for nibbles. Following this was thai fish cakes as an entree. Yum!!! We are talking restaurant quality. Oh it was good. For mains we had this delicious rice with a chicken curry. Oh yum!! Dinner rolls along with it also. Then for dessert we had blueberry upside down cake topped with home-made icecream. The ice-cream was banana, cinammon & honey. Delicious!!! Now that was worth writing about.

Next week is research week, when I hope to get lots of assignments done. I'll let you know how that goes.

Yesterday I went to Bondi beach. Only been there once since I've arrived here in Sydney. The day was beautiful and sunny. Lots of people were swimming and surfing. Parking was interesting. Did you know that the drivers here in Sydney are so rude? Everyone beeps their horn at you for practically nothing!! It is highly rude. Now I know NZers are not that bad!!! And that is the truth.

And by the way, South Africa beat Australia in the rugby on Saturday night too. We were watching the game after dessert. Oh yeah. It's good when that happens.

Still Alive

2005-08-17T14:10:00.000+12:00

For those of you who may be wondering due to my lack of posting, I am still alive. Have not had any time of late to do things like posting.

I'll attempt to recount my weekend and leave it at that. Went down to Nowra on Saturday afternoon. Dallimores had some visitors over for dinner. Hung out and chatted.

More people came over for lunch on Sunday, so did some more eating and hanging out with people. Got an invitation to a wedding from Tim's friends in October. Sunday afternoon Tim and I went and played races and other competitions on the beach. Fun times. We made dinner in the evening.

Dallimores have their friend Andrew from India staying for awhile. He brought Tim and I some gold candlesticks from Inda for an engagement gift. That was nice of him. I like nice people. We took him to an Australian wildlife park in Nowra. Andrew, Tim and I had a group photo with a koala. I have actually never touched a koala in my life. They are very soft. Apparently all they do is sleep, like 18 hours a day!!! Reason being is that they don't have any energy. Gum leaves give you no energy whatsoever. Go figure!! Fed some kangaroos. Saw a baby dingo, a big wombat, and some other cutesy animals. Lots of fun. Had lunch, went for a walk with Tim and then went back to Sydney. Had Subway for dinner. Yum. I love Subway. And that is my weekend to date. Hope you found that thoroughly interesting. I'm sure you did. Well, time for lunch.

Busy, busy, busy!!!

2005-08-01T15:40:00.000+12:00

Hi all. Have been very busy lately. Trying to plan a wedding has been taking up most of my time. Then with the time left I've been going to lectures, eating and sleeping. That has pretty much been the whole of the last two weeks. Spent a bit of time in Nowra on the weekends, which is always relaxing. Bush walks, dvds, chillin out and relaxing. All good things to do.

Biggest decision made in the past two weeks is changing back to the Diploma course and finishing Greek rather than doing it until the end of the year. These two things have made my life much more manageable and enjoyable of late and have taken a huge burden off my shoulders. So needless to say I am very relieved!!!! It means I can really enjoy my study rather than just cope with it. Exam time will be much less pressure as well. So glad.

Thank you to those kind people who have sent Tim and I congratulation messages either via email or in the post. Much appreciated. Almost 4 months until wedding day. Not long now.

December 17th 2005

2005-07-18T16:32:00.000+12:00

Getting married on December 17th!!

I'm Engaged!!

2005-07-18T14:46:00.000+12:00

Well, little did I know when I wrote last post, that I would have something so momentous to tell you after the holidays. As many of you will now know, Tim and I are engaged and are planning to get married back in N.Z. in December. Lots of thought and prayer went into our decision and we are both very happy. It's all a bit surreal at the moment and there is lots to do and think about, but we're just enjoying it. Will be announcing it at college today at lunchtime. So I had better go, because lunch is in 5 minutes.

Off to Melbourne

2005-07-01T22:00:00.000+12:00

The time with my sister came and went so fast. Tomorrow I am flying to Melbourne to stay with Alana for a week. Then I'll be in Nowra for a week at Tim's parents. So I doubt you'll be hearing from me until after the holidays. But, then I'm sure I'll have plenty to post about!!

I'm On Holiday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-06-23T13:36:00.000+12:00

Oh yeah!!! Im on holiday!!! Just finished my Old Testament exam approximately 40 minutes ago and I ran out of that lecture room and did my excited little dance. I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 3 weeks of holiday here I come!!!!!!!!!!! My sister arrives in 7 hours!!!!!!!!!!! Wooohoooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeeeeeeeheeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's all I have to say about that!!!!!!!

24 hours to go!!!

2005-06-22T12:13:00.000+12:00

In 24 hours I will be on holiday!!!! Oh sweet holidays!!! So near yet so far.......

Exams Continue

2005-06-21T15:11:00.000+12:00

Today is day two of exams. Greek exam went alright last night. Feeling confident that I passed. Will have to wait and see though. Today I am about to do my biblical theology exam and then a few hours later I will be doing my New Testament exam. I am excited to get two more exams done.

My sister is arriving in two sleeps. How exciting. Thursday seems so near yet still so far. Church History and Old Testament are the biggie exams on Wednesday and Thursday. All my time until then is accounted for by studying. Nothing else. Just study. Hurry up Thursday!!! I am going crazy!!! Today I might study in the library for a change of scenery. My room is starting to look very dreary and my motivation is dropping.

Well, until the next post. Happy studying for me!!

Greek Exam

2005-06-20T20:01:00.000+12:00

My first exam is Greek and it is about to start in 20 minutes. I am very excited about exams finally starting and getting them done. 3 days until I'm on holiday. So near yet so far!!!

On Thursday I am going to run out of the lecture room and run around and jump up and down excitedly. Hurry up Thursday!!!

Study, Study, Study

2005-06-14T12:33:00.000+12:00

I am in full study mode now. This is my morning tea break and so I have about 5 minutes to write a short post. This week I have been studying, and studying and studying.

I did take one break yesterday and went to Darling Harbour to watch a bit of the free Jazz Festival. That was alright. Good to get out of my room for a couple of hours.

On Sunday I went to church, had subways for lunch and then did babysitting from 4 till 8:30.

Today I have been studying Church History all morning. Will continue to do this all day with a bit of Greek in the afternoon.

Delz is ringing me tonight!! Can't wait for that! Will be good to catch up with her again.

Well morning tea is on now so I'd better jet. Take care. I'll try to sneak in another short post sometime this week, but no promises!!!

Since the Weekend

2005-06-07T15:30:00.000+12:00

Went away for the weekend to Nowra. Good to get away from college for a bit before hard study begins. Went out for tea to Mill Thai on Saturday night. Yum yum. Relaxed on Sunday. Drove back to college in Tim's new car.

Attended Spit Roast party last night at Arthur Street boys' flat. Theme - Senior Citizens. Activities - fire breathing. Photos taken - see Tim G's blog. Good time had by all.

Next two weeks - hard study. Week after that - EXAMS!! Sister comes over. Nice one. Can't wait.

Posting - not much time. Sorry.

Lunch - just eaten. Study - back into it. Going - see you later.

Exams

2005-05-30T14:07:00.000+12:00

Exams are fast approaching. They will be here in three weeks. So it is likely that you will be hearing very little from me over the next few weeks. It is study time for Christy. No more fun until the holidays. Oh well....... such is life.

Since Thursday

2005-05-24T12:00:00.000+12:00

Not a lot has happened since Thursday. In fact my life is pretty ordinary at the moment. On Friday I had lectures and then went to work. On Friday night I vegged out in front of the television for a few minutes and then realised that I'm just not into television that much anymore because I haven't watched it for such a long time.

On Saturday I did my normal chores of washing my clothes and tidying my room. I went to work on Saturday afternoon and spent the entire evening trying to do my New Testament essay. Thankfully I got 1000 words accomplished.

On Sunday I went to church in the morning. For the rest of the day Tim and I did babysitting for a couple from college. It was fun hanging out with kids. We looked after their two sons aged 6 and 10. We took them to the park, played board games, watched The Incredibles, had dinner and then they went to bed. I miss the whole hanging out with kids thing I get to do when I'm teaching. Kids are so much fun!! Yesterday I was finishing off my essay and handed it in at 4pm. Last night I went to bed early after having a late night on Sunday. I went to bed at 9:30!!! That was bliss. I wish I could do it more often.

Time Goes By Quickly

2005-05-19T23:25:00.000+12:00

I must say that at the moment time is seemingly going very quickly. Holidays are only 5 weeks away. Oh yes........exams are 4 weeks away. Forgot about those for a moment. I tend to look past the hard things in life to the more fun exciting things. Not sure if this is a good thing, but it keeps me in positive spirits.

On Monday I have to hand in a New Testament essay. Once that is in all I have to do is keep revising Greek and then start studying for exams. So theoretically I will have 4 weeks to study for exams. I had better be disciplined to use this time wisely or I may not do very well in said exams. I am looking forward to Monday!!!

On Sunday I will be babysitting some kids of a lady here at college. How good is that going to be!!!! I love hanging out with kids. I get to do it from 3 in the afternoon until sometime later in the evening. Looking forward to it. A bit of normality would not go amiss in this strange life here at college. I miss hanging out in a house!!! So hopefully next semester I may go into one of the single girl houses. I don't mind really if I stay in Wallace because that too is a great place to be......very social!

Nothing much has happened since Monday. It's all pretty mundane. Last night I went out to the Rocks to a quaint little Pizzeria. It was VERY Italian. The best thing was when all of a sudden one of the Italian customers breaks into full force opera style singing. It was awesome!!! Funnily, he kept doing it randomly throughout the evening. NICE!!!!!

On the weekend I am going to be doing lots of work on my New Testament essay. May go and see Star Wars, but then again it depends on how much work I have done.

That's about all for now that I can think of. Until next post, c ya'all later.

Past Few Days

2005-05-16T16:58:00.000+12:00

I will attempt to recount the past few days of my oh so interesting life. Last time I talked to you I was studying Greek. I am still studying Greek, but my test is tonight so I am looking forward to getting it over and done with. Then I can focus on my New Testament Essay. Won't that be good? Oh yes it will. Very good. I am looking forward to analysing The Sermon on the Mount.

On Thursday I attended lectures and the usual other stuff during the day. In the evening I worked my usual sessions at Kip McGrath. Then I came home, went to supper and went to bed.

On Friday I went to lectures and the usual other stuff during the day. In the evening I worked my usual sessions at Kip McGrath. (Anyone see a pattern here?). Then I came home, ate dinner, tidied my room and studied Greek.

On Saturday morning I did the cleaning of our room because it was terribly messy and unclean. In the afternoon I worked at Kip McGrath. Then I came home, ate dinner, and studied in my room all evening. Oh, I also straightened Tracey's hair with my hair straightener. We had a good ol' natter as well.

On Sunday I went to church in the morning. I have now changed churches. It is good because I finally feel at home in a church and I feel like I'm in a place where I can get to know people easily. We had church lunch afterwards. It was so good. I talked to two old ladies and had a really good time. In the afternoon Tim and I went to the Botanical Gardens and then to an IMAX 3D film in Darling Harbour. I love 3D movies. It is so much fun when everything looks like it is coming out of the screen at you and you reach out and try and touch it. The funniest thing is when you look around at the people in the theatre and you see everyone reaching their hands out in front of them doing the same as you. Hilarious!!!!

Today I have been studying Greek. Just finished my usual hour with Timmy G. It is good finally having a Greek study pal. It's heaps more fun learning that way. We are trying to fit in some time each day. This is proving helpful for revision. Speaking of Greek, I must go back to my room and do more study because my break has finished.

Greek

2005-05-12T22:59:00.000+12:00

I am still studying Greek. I've been studying it all week. I'm turning into a geek. But I'm getting my work done!!!!!

How Embarrassing!

2005-05-10T12:58:00.000+12:00

Last night during my Greek lecture I totally embarrassed myself. Hee hee. It's good that I can laugh about it, but I also see the serious side of the situation...........

Not having had Greek lectures for a few weeks now, one would assume that it would have been possible to catch up on the chapters I have missed out and revise my notes so I'm up to date.......NOT SO.

So, I toddled along to my Greek lecture last night in fear and dread of being called upon to give an answer to a question. Well, my fear came true. Everyone had to have a turn at translating a sentence. I must say that I didn't do too badly with my pronunciation, but I could only work out three words in the whole sentence. Now that's not good. After sheepishly saying so, I was then asked what the other words were. I had to embarrassingly admit that I plainly did not have a single clue! Then I was asked what case a certain word was in. Thankfully, I knew it was in the dative case (sorry for people who don't do Greek, don't have to time to explain). When asked how I knew that however, I replied "because it ends in 'oi'.......?" Unfortunately this was not the full answer the lecturer was after. But I did manage to provide entertainment for the rest of the people in my lecture, who proceeded to laugh loudly at my seemingly hilarious answer. Needless to say, this week I am going to be stuck in my room studying Greek so I am totally up to date next week and know what I'm talking about! How embarrassing!

Second Post in 1 Day

2005-05-09T20:22:00.000+12:00

I am very impressed that this is my second post in the same day. I am now trying to catch small moments during short breaks or not spending entire meal times in the dining hall in order to complete posts.

I would like to be a bit more regular this semester. At least until exams kick in. (They are not far away! 6 weeks only!)

I have nothing more to add about last week. So I will try and fill you in on my weekend. On Friday evening I went to work at Kip McGrath as usual. Then I came home and got into my pjs and watched a DVD with a couple of girls from Wallace. How good was it!! It was so nice just relaxing and chilling out doing nothing. We watched 'The Saint'. I have seen this a long time ago. It has Val Kilmer in it and a girl whose name I've completely forgotten.

On Saturday morning I slept in till 8am and then Anita rang me. We had a good catch up chat for about an hour and then I did some exciting stuff like washing and tidying my room. At 12pm I went to work. I worked until 4:30pm. After work I came home and tried to do some work. Needless to say I didn't get much done.

On Sunday I went to church in the morning, then Tim and I went and hung out at Manly beach for the afternoon. And that is my weekend!

The End!!!

2005-05-09T14:41:00.000+12:00

I have finally reached the end of my Church History essay!!! 1950 words!!! What a relief!!!

Preaching Conference

2005-05-05T13:06:00.000+12:00

This week at SMBC we do not have lectures as usual. Instead there is a Preaching conference here all week. Lots of visitors are here as well as all SMBC students. This week I am trying to get my church history essay written so I can hand it in on Monday. On top of this I am trying to catch up on Greek study. That is my week to date. Nothing else is happening. I will blog again when there is something more interesting to write about.

Posting Error

2005-04-27T17:32:00.000+12:00

Sorry all. I just spend the past hour writing an extremely long post and I don't know what I did but it is completely lost. I do not have the time or the energy to sit down and write it all again. I will try and update again on the weekend. Take care.

Still on holiday

2005-04-22T17:00:00.000+12:00

Hi everyone. Yes I am still enjoying my 2 week holiday here at college. Since Sunday not a lot has happened. Basically I have been trying to get a lot of work done (unfortunately this hasn't eventuated) and getting excited because Anita and Ham and Alex are coming over (they're here actually and I'm meeting them in about 20 minutes so I'd better go...

Back again. I had a great day yesterday with Anita and Hamish. I was so excited when Anita messaged me and said that her and Ham were down at the college gate that I ran down there. There were big hugs all round!!! It was so strange having Anita and Ham visit me here at college, but a good kind of strange. I showed them around the place and in my room.

Me, Tim, Anita and Ham walked to Burwood train station and trained it into Town Hall. We had lunch there in the food court and then trained it to Circular Quay.

In Circular Quay we enjoyed icecream, sat by the harbour and walked around The Rocks. Then we sat in the park by the Opera House and chilled out for awhile. After this Tim and I trained it back to Burwood and Anita and Ham trained it back to Padstow.

Today Jody and I went and relaxed on Coogee Beach in the morning. It was nice and sunny. Pretty good considering it's the end of April. Now you wouldn't catch me doing that back in N.Z. at this time of year. (No that is not a slant against N.Z. I love my home country!!). After enjoying a gelato we headed back to college and met up with a group of people at the pub for lunch.

After lunch I walked into Burwood and bought a re-charge card for my mobile. Topped up and rang Alana for a good old chat. It is great now that Alana is on Vodafone because we can ring each other whenever. It is fabulous!!! I miss her heaps and can't wait to catch up with her when I visit her in Melbourne later on in the year.

I'm trying to make the most out of my holidays before they come to an end. Monday will be coming around very quickly!!

First Week of Holidays

2005-04-17T16:10:00.000+12:00

My first week of holidays has been very relaxing and I have had a good break from work. But next week I will have to work very hard to accomplish my goals I set at the start of the holidays. I have plenty of college work to do and it needs to get done!! So I will have to try very hard to be disciplined this week and work, work, work.

On Monday I rested because I was very tired after Mission Week. I did the usual mundane chores like washing and tidying my messy room. I went to the movies to see Bride and Prejudice. It is a Bollywood movie. I have never seen a Bollywood movie before. It was definitely funny but I probably wouldn't watch it twice. On Tuesday I have no idea what I did, so I musn't have accomplished much.

On Wednesday morning I caught the train with Tim to Nowra. Stayed there with his family until Friday. Nowra is a great place to go. It is very scenic with nice bush walks. We went up to this place called Drawing Room Rocks. It was a spectacular view and you could have stayed there for hours just admiring God's creation. I tried to get work done while Tim worked on Thursday but I didn't really succeed. We caught a ride back up t Sydney with Tim's parents and brother on Friday morning. Got back to college on Friday afternoon and I had a siesta because I was feeling tired. ON Friday evening I went to Thirlmere and stayed at Jody's house overnight. She worked on her bouquets while we watched a dvd and ate Thai takeaways. In the morning she took me for a ride on her scooter.

Yesterday Jody and I got back to college in the afternoon and we took Inka for a walk. (Pierre's dog. Pierre is a lecturer here at college). Then last night a group of us went out for tea in Belmain at an Indian restaurant.

Will blog again next week and tell you all the work I have accomplished by then!! Plus Anita and Ham are coming over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am getting more and more excited with each passing day!!!!!!!!!!

Holidays!!!

2005-04-12T20:39:00.000+12:00

Hi everyone. I am now on holiday for two weeks and it feels good! For the past week I have been living in Mt Druitt on a short term mission with a team of people from college. The overall experience was absolutely awesome. Everyone has come back to college with such a positive take on their mission experience.

Maiko, Phil and I stayed with a dear old lady. She was so kind and generous. She fed us very well (she cooked us bacon and eggs on our first morning there and she also made us vegetable soup to take back to college!). Actually, we were fed well the entire week. A lot of people have come back to college mentioning how much food they ate on mission! So Jody and I started running again yesterday morning. It just about killed us!

During the week we did a lot of different things: ISCF lunchtime groups, after school and lunch kids clubs at primary schools, youth group, bible studies, door knocking, hanging out with the youth of the church, Sunday School, church services, preaching. We were pretty tired by the end of the week. A huge benefit of going on mission was how well we got to know the people on our mission team from college. Maiko, Phil and I had such a great time staying together at our billet's house. I know them heaps better now and it is so good.

We finished mission on Sunday night at about 8:30 and travelled back to college. Everyone was pretty tired by the end and ready to go back to college. It is quite nice being back here. There aren't many people around so it is quite quiet. I am enjoying it. Tomorrow I'm off again, to Nowra for 3 days. Then I'll be going up to the Blue Mountains for 1 night. Then I'll be back at college for all of next week. I am going to see Anita, Ham & Alex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait!! Today I saw Andrew Coulthard briefly at the airport. He is over here having a holiday in Oz and I went to collect some stuff he had brought over for me. It was so good seeing someone from NZ!!!!

During the holidays I hope to get a bit of work done so it is not so stressful when the semester starts back again after the holidays. So I have plenty to keep me busy for the next 2 weeks. It will be good once it is all done. I can't believe how fast the year is going. I think 3 years will go by very fast!!! Next term I will try and be a bit more regular in the posting. It has been getting a bit thin on the ground of late. I think that the girls residence might still be getting hooked up with a wireless network for the internet. So here's hoping!!!!

Hope you all have a good week. I'll try and post again at the end of the week.

Long Time No Post

2005-03-29T17:19:00.000+12:00

Hi everybody. It feels like such an age since I have sat down to write a post. I have been so busy over the past couple of weeks. Finally today I finished my last assignment I had to do before the holidays and I have a bit of a breather before I start preparing for short term mission next week.

During Research Week I tried to get my OT essay on Judges written. I managed to accomplish this but it was very hard going. So my whole research week was trying to get my essay done. I am finding it a lot harder here than at Grace Theological College to be disciplined to do my work. I am convinced it is the social aspect of living on campus. I haven't quite mastered the skill of going to my room and working instead of talking to people. This is something I need to work on.

Fortunately we have a two week break soon where I will be doing assignments to get ahead after the holidays. I am looking foward to that.

Next week I am going on short term mission to Mt Druitt. I have a few things to organise before then: Sunday School, Girls Bible Study, Kids Club, Testimony. Yeah, it is going to be so much fun on mission. I am starting to get very excited about it.

On the weekend I headed up to the Blue Mountains with Jody. We stayed the night at her parent's place in Thielmere on Thursday then headed to the Easter Convention in Katoomba on Friday morning. We spent the entire weekend at the Easter Convention. The speakers were Don Carson, Phil Nicholson and Grant Thorp. The theme of the convention was 'The Holy Spirit'. So most of the talks were from the book of Acts. Some very good teaching occurred and I was refreshed by my time away. We had some awesome singing there with 3000 people in a tin shed. It was great!!!

We stayed in a holiday house that belongs to a friend of Chloe's (a lovely girl in Wallace House). This was so much better than staying in a motel. On Saturday avo a few college people who were also at the convention came over for lunch and we hung out for the avo. It was a really good time of getting to know people better. I enjoyed it immensely.

Other people in college went home for the weekend. Tim G went home to see his family and give his nieces and nephews their easter eggs. Tim G is a pretty decent guy. We have good times hanging out in Greek lectures. He is an excellent photographer and takes pretty good photos. If you want a look, follow the link to his blog on my blog.

Well, that is all that is going on my life at the moment, apart from lectures and meals and other routine things. Next time I post will probably be after mission, so I will have a lot to write about. Until then.

Research Week

2005-03-16T20:48:00.000+13:00

This week is Research Week at SMBC. This means that we don't have lectures or chapel or anything else in our normal schedule. So this week I have been locked in my room trying to write my essay about 'What is the purpose of the book of Judges?'. And do you think I have gotten anywhere with it? That would be a big fat N - O !!!!! Well, that is, I haven't started writing it. I have done all the preparation. So tonight I will start to write it. Hopefully I will get it written reasonably quickly. And that is my week to date. And there is nothing else to tell, so I will get off this computer and do some work.

Life Continues

2005-03-13T16:49:00.000+13:00

Hi all. I just looked at my last post and realised that it was one week ago. I am getting seriously behind in this blogging business. The weeks here are just racing past and the week is over before it has hardly even begun. It's scary because Mission Week will be here in three weeks and then the holidays. In this time I have plenty of assignments due, none of which I seem to have gained any ground in.

I would recount the week's events but I cannot remember them. Soon some of the girls at Wallace are getting wireless internet so it will be much easier to blog and email because I will be able to do it from my laptop in my room anytime of day. I am looking forward to this.

Last night a small group of us went to Coogee Beach (I think that is spelt correctly). It was the best night out I've had since I've been here. We arrived there about 5pm and then we headed to the beach for a swim. This was to be the first swim in the ocean I have had since arriving in Sydney. So understandably I was quite excited. Well, to my dismay I heard a loud voice over a speaker saying that there were bluebottles in the water and to be extremely careful if you were swimming. Well I looked in the water and there was hardly anyone swimming. Well, being a brave kiwi I was not going to let some Aussie ocean creature deter me from having a swim. So I bounded fearlessly into the ocean waves and had a cool, refreshing swim. All the while I had to reassure Tracey that it was alright and not to let some small ocean creature spoil our time in the ocean. (Tracey has a much different story of course.......probably a more accurate one than the one I just relayed to you.....)

After our short swim (because we didn't feel like having a long swim..........not because of the bluebottles) we sat and chatted until the bbq was ready. Dinner was great. We had steak, chicken kebabs, salad, bread. It was ALL good. Then we had Tracey's delicious muffins for dessert (they aren't called muffins, but I have had momentary writer's block as to their proper name. The point is that they were oh so scrumptious). Some of the group played with the frisbee while I and a few others sat around and talked. This was an excellent opportunity to get to know people better. Kerridge and Ben shared their testimonies. It was a really edifying experience. I was heaps moved by both their stories of how God has worked so graciously and sovereignly in their lives to bring them both to the place where they are today. It is truly one of the most beneficial things to ask someone to share their testimony with you. And then you can have the opportunity to share your testimony also. It is a great way to build each other up in Christ.

After this we all headed back to college and went to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz................

Today I went to church in the morning and then I went into the city with Rachel. It was good spending some time with her and we enjoyed each other's company over lunch. Her boyfriend picked her up and then I headed back to college on the train.

This week you probably won't be hearing from me because I will be locking myself in my room. It is Research Week until Friday and I must get my OT essay and Mark essay written. Or else there will be trouble next week!!! I also have plenty of Greek to keep me busy. So I hope you all have a great week and I will talk to you later.

Weekend Activities

2005-03-07T14:47:00.000+13:00

Well, let me begin on Friday. On Friday evening I went to work at Kip McGrath Education Centre. This is a regular event for me each week which I look forward to. It is a chance to be immersed in another world which doesn't have anything to do with college life. This is adding balance to my life which I need at the moment. Sometimes my world feels so small because all the facets to my life which I had in New Zealand are no longer existent now that I am living in Australia. Plus, I just love my kids!!

On Friday night I came back from work and we watched 'The Sound of Music' in the Glory Hole. That was great value. We all sang along especially when it came to 'Doe a deer...'.

On Saturday morning I went to work again until lunchtime. Then I came home from work, did some washing and Anita rang me!!!! I was waiting by the phone for it to ring and as soon as it rung I got totally excited and started chatting away to Anita. It was the best talking to Anita. We talked for almost two hours. It was so good to talk to someone from home. It felt like I could just hang up the phone and go to meet up with her. She felt so close. It was a strange feeling.

After talking to Anita on the phone I sat around in the common room and watched American Idol with Rocher (Rochelle, but I call her Rocher after the gelato flavour. She is one lovely, caring young woman). This was quality time with Rocher. Sharon was watching it with us too. She is another great person. She is from NZ so that really is a given!! It's quite nice having someone else here at college who is from NZ. She is also in my prayer triplet with me and Jody. That is good. Now Jody, I could go on about her for ages. She is awesome. We have become tight in the past few weeks since starting at college and I am loving spending time with her. She is one godly young woman who shows Christian maturity in her living and passion for God.

After much hilarity and cringing at watching American Idol ( i.e. laughing at all the mistakes people make and the strange things some of them do) we went to watch another movie in the Glory Hole. This time we watched 'Collateral' with Tom Cruise. I wouldn't put this on my highly recommended movie list. Now 'The Count of Monte Cristo' is a great movie. We'll have to watch that sometime.

On Sunday Tracey and I went to church at St James Anglican. Now Tracey is another cool chick. I think I have blogged about her and sung her praises so I probably don't need to go into too much detail. She is great value and I love hanging about with her on the weekends especially. Church was good and the message was very encouraging from 1 Peter about the certain hope we have through Christ's resurrection and the inheritance we have in Christ which does not spoil or fade. That was exciting to think about. I must admit that I don't often think about having an inheritance, when I know that I do. And it's an eternal one which God is keeping for us. I can't wait to receive it!!!!

Sunday lunch was fairly relaxed as we sat around chatting afterwards. Sunday was such a beautiful day. The blue sky was so clear and the air was crispy cool. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. I made good use of the opportunity and went for a walk down to Enfield Park and sat there for awhile under a tree relaxing and chatting with a friend. That has to have been one of my better afternoons since I have been here. The weather was so gorgeous.

On Sunday evening we ended up watching yet another movie. This time it was Starsky and Hutch. I love this movie. It is so funny and it had me in stitches laughing!!!! Favourite line - "do it, do it" - Ben Stiller. I had seen it once before. I am one of those people that have to engage with the movie when I am watching it by responding to the characters and the plot by talking to the screen. This annoys some people. I have yet to see if it annoys people here at SMBC. Time will tell I guess.

I like the fact that people's true personalities are now starting to show around college because we have been here for over a month now. People are starting to go into relax mode and I like that because it means you feel a lot more comfortable around people. It also means you can be heaps more silly with people when you feel comfortable around them. Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing for me though, because I can be quite silly if I am fully at ease around people. I think this side of my personality has yet to show itself here at SMBC ( well, show itself completely anyway).

Today has been one of trying to organise activities for Mission Week. Please be in prayer for Mission Week here at SMBC (April 3 - 10) We have lots of teams going out to different places in Oz and we need prayer. Especially pray for my team as we head off to Mt Druitt. I am excited about growing in my relationship with God during Mission Week and seeing how He will answer prayer during our week there.

Well I must go now. Off to do Greek before my lecture. Have to hurry!!!

Posting Mishap

2005-03-04T20:04:00.000+13:00

Hello everyone. Long time no post. I actually managed to rectify this situation yesterday. I sat down for one solid hour on the computer and typed an extremely long post. Unfortunately I got to my last sentence and accidentally hit a key on the keyboard and lost the entire post! So I am sorry that you are not able to hear about all the interesting details of my life over the past week. I do not have the energy to sit down for another hour and write the post again.

Tonight we are going to watch The Sound of Music in the Glory Hole. How GOOD is that!!! I love The Sound of Music. This will be a good way to unwind after a night at work.....not that my work is stressful at all because it isn't. In fact my job has to be the best job I have ever had. I have a darling little 5 year old boy who is learning to read and write English. He is soooooooooooooooo cute!!!!! Today he was starting to put initial, medial and final sounds together to sound out 3 letter words. How clever is he!!! I was so pleased and praised him over and over.

Have a good weekend everyone.

Random Stuff

2005-02-21T17:15:00.000+13:00

Last night me, Dan, Kerridge and Tim D watched an old movie called 'High Society' in the Glory Hole. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is great watching old movies and I hope that we will be watching more. After studying Greek all afternoon it was just what I needed to relax and enjoy the evening. I must say that the turn out of people was a bit on the low side. So next time we will have to round up more people. That's a plan.

Yesterday at lunch we had a delicious array of food, which is pretty good for a Sunday lunch. I must say it is the best Sunday lunch I've had here so far. We even had cheesecake for dessert!! So big ups to Kerridge who prepared lunch and anyone else who helped. (mmmmm......not that they will be reading this post........oh well......) During lunch we managed to have a discussion on the topic of 'should women be preachers?'. That was interesting. A general consensus was not reached as it was more of a discussion of differing thoughts and opinions. Good to think through issues with people. Iron sharpens iron. Must do more of it. Good on Phil for provoking discussion.

Today after chapel I studied Greek ALL DAY!!!! And tonight my lecture is Greek for 3 hours. I am turning into a Greek geek. That's fine by me though because I enjoy it. So I will be thoroughly Greeked out by the end of the day. Fortunately I have something to look forward to after my Greek lecture. Lower Wallace girls are having a 'jelly belly lower wally' party. We're gonna eat jelly.................................and other stuff too. Fun.

Church on Sunday was good again at ST James. Will be sticking here for awhile at least. I can't be bothered looking around at millions of churches and this one is good. It's also just down the road so it's handy for me. It is great going to church with Tracey. She is a great gal. She is someone who I can be very silly with and not feel self conscious. It's great. We have loads of fun together all the time. I will probably be on the singing roster for the 5pm service, which I may get to most of the time.......hopefully......... we'll see. I really need some down time where I can just relax. At the moment I don't have that time allotted in my weekly schedule. Must do that this week.

Next week my first assignment is due in. I have to do a preaching pyramid for 'Intro to Preaching'. Must get onto that this week. I also have a Greek Test next Monday!! Yes, life is busy, but I thrive on busyness (well sometimes I get sick if I work myself too hard). Today I have a sore throat. This is not good because I am singing in Principal's Hour on Wednesday. Mmmm.....must get rid of sore throat this week.

Well, I could keep writing but I have to go and do dinner prep. See ya'all later.

Weekend Happenings

2005-02-18T20:50:00.000+13:00

Life at the moment is busy and routine. Last night I went to work at Kip McGrath in Parramatta. I am really getting into the swing of working at Kip McGrath now. So far I am working on Friday and Saturday at Parramatta and Thursday at Burwood. Hopefully once there are a lot more children enrolled I may be working mostly at Burwood. That will be really good for transport because today I waited for two hours to catch a train. You would think that the trains coming through the station would match up with the timetable. That would be a fairly logical conclusion I think. But alas it was not to be the case today. So I waited and I waited and waited some more. And then I waited some more. And after that I waited even longer. So after one and a half hours I decided to catch a train to a different destination. Then once I got there I was finally able to catch a train to my originally planned destination. And then I ran home because it was about to rain and I didn't have an umbrella.

But when I got home a group of us went to a Lebanese restaurant called Jazmines. This was a great way to unwind from a hard day at work. Nice food, nice conversation, nice food, nice conversation, nice food...............yeah. So after this we came back to college and I came straight onto the computer to write this post. And now I am going to go and find my keys to Wallace House which I have inconveniently lost!!!

Tomorrow I'll be going to church and hanging around college doing whatever. Good night.

Greek is Great

2005-02-16T19:59:00.000+13:00

Now that I have changed my course from the Diploma to the Bachelor I have started learning Greek. Because I missed two lectures I had to catch up on three chapters of work. So all this week I have been spending a lot of time in my room learning Greek. Now, you might think that this sounds very dull. However, I am finding it highly enjoyable. Thankfully this is the case or I might just go mad with the amount of time I have been spending in my room. Another thing to give thanks for is that I am catching onto it quite quickly. This is good because otherwise I would be spending way more time on it. And I just don't have the time to do that.

I think that Greek is great and I am having a lot of fun learning it. I can't wait until I can actually read parts of the NT in Greek. That will be very exciting!!

Well, I've done enough talking about Greek, now I am going to go back to my room and learn some more Greek vocab. See you later.

Valentines Day

2005-02-15T11:23:00.000+13:00

Yesterday it was Valentines Day. All the girls got a single rose in their pigeon hole from the guys. I must say that I was very impressed with this chivalrous act. Chivalry is not dead!! In the morning when we woke up there was also a little heart chocolate outside our rooms with a bible verse attached to it. Along with this there was a chocolate freddo. Nice one.

Nothing Much

2005-02-11T19:44:00.000+13:00

Okay......I am struggling to think of something to write about today. So this post won't be very interesting I'm afraid. On Wednesday night we had the first Wednesday night supper of the year. Each week we have supper in the Glory Hole. The guys and girls take turns every week putting it on. Since it was Chinese New Year we tasted some delicious Chinese delicacies. I happened to choose a tasty looking wrapped sweet. Unfortunately my taste buds did not appreciate it. It turned out not to be a tasty sweet but instead it was a gross plum lolly thing. But in the spirit of Chinese New Year I chewed and swallowed graciously......well almost graciously.........apart from a few minor words of complaint.

On Thursday I had lectures all day. Thursday is my busiest day of lectures. I have lectures until dinner time. Yes.......mmmmmm.....so that was Thursday.

Today I had two lectures. Then we had our mission meeting. I am going to Mt Druitt. This is a suburb out West Sydney not far from here. It is about 45 minutes from college.

After our meeting I went to work at Parramatta. I did one session of tutoring. Then I came back to college.

The End.

Touch Rugby

2005-02-09T20:02:00.000+13:00

Today a group of us headed down to Enfield Park and played a decent game of touch rugby. With no subs we played for 1 hour and 20 minutes. It was great!! I was feeling tired by the end, but a 'good' sort of tired. Because there were so many of us we had two games going. Apparently this is a weekly event which I would love to participate in. Unfortunately I am most likely going to be working at Kip McGrath Education Centre at this time each week. This is not good. One day out of the week I would love to play sport for a couple of hours for the social aspect as well as the fitness aspect. I might have to see about re-arranging my work schedule. Mmmmm........somehow I think that might be a problem.

The game was fairly fast-paced (with emphasis on the word 'fairly'). I managed to score one try near the start of the game and then thought I would do the servant like thing and let everyone else score tries for the rest of the game. I thought it wouldn't be good sportsmanship to keep possession of the ball for most of the game so I shared it around with my team-mates.........now for the real story.......I did score one try and it was a good one too. But that was it for the rest of the game. Everyone played hard and played fair. It was a great game all round.

I think Mondays or Tuesdays might be soccer. Maybe I'll have to go for one of those days instead of Wednesday. I'll keep thinking on that one and let you know what I decide. Au Revoir.

God Answers Prayer

2005-02-08T13:50:00.000+13:00

Today is turning out to be the most amazing day ever!!! Every turn I take I am seeing God answer my prayers. Chapel this morning was so uplifting. The message was tops. My course change has been fully worked out. My job situation is sorted. I finally received my eftpos card in the mail (just at the right time!) and I have received encouraging notes from some of the girls in Wallace. I am also getting a car!! How exciting. God is GOOD!!! He truly is the provider of all my needs. Not only physical, but spiritual and emotional. God has brought me through a really tough time last week when I was missing home so much. But He has given me people to talk to here who have patiently listened to me and encouraged me. I am also thankful that he is providing for me spiritually. He is encouraging me through my times alone with Him. He is also challenging me through Chapel times and prayer times. God never ceases to amaze me. All praise and honour to Him.

A Big Decision

2005-02-07T15:29:00.000+13:00

Today I made a big decision. The decision was to change my course from the Diploma of Theology to the Bachelor of Theology. The biggest implication of this decision is that I will be here in Sydney for three years instead of the two years I had originally planned on. All this is very exciting and very scary. But I am confident that I have made the right decision and now I am glad to know what course I am doing.

I Miss N.Z.

2005-02-05T15:25:00.000+13:00

As life starts to get busier and the pressures of lectures and real life begins I am finding myself missing home. Home would be defined as my family and my friends.

Life at college is awesome and there are so many benefits to it. There are so many amazing people to talk to. At the same time, however, it can also feel slightly overwhelming. Every day you have a million conversations where you ask the same questions over and over to different people. Now, I love talking to people, but the volume of people makes this task slightly tiring by the end of the day. So you really need a bit of time out to yourself away from college. I have been out running some afternoons to escape. However, this doesn't compare to going out with friends who are totally unconnected to college life. This is what I need at the moment - some friends who have nothing to do with college who I can hang out with when I need a break. I haven't really been here long enough to develop these kinds of friendships so I will just have to hang in there and be patient.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I'll be heading off to St James Anglican Church down the road. Last week I went to Ashfield Presbyterian Church. The minister there has since sent me a letter and also rung me to see how I was doing. I was encouraged by this and may go back there again. Then it will be Monday and I will be straight into a full week of lectures. I am looking forward to getting into routine with lectures and work.

Today I worked at Kip McGrath at Parramatta. It feels good to be working part-time again and it will be good to have some finance coming in again. At the moment I am trying to make my money stretch while I am waiting to pay the remainder of my fees.

That's all for now. I have to go and do some mundane chores (unavoidable). See ya next post.

Orientation Week

2005-02-01T17:55:00.000+13:00

This week is Orientation Week. This is where you learn all about the ins and outs of every aspect of college life. Yesterday we spent most of the day in the main lecture room. It started off by meeting all the lecturers and staff at the college. We met with all the people in our individual courses and heard from the course co-ordinator. Last night we had dinner and a commencement service. During the commencement service I was interviewed as a first year female student. Thankfully everybody laughed at my answers and said I spoke really well. Phewwww!!!!

Today was much of the same. This afternoon we had to complete our subject registration and get our student ID cards. Tonight we are having a bbq picnic and then a scavenger hunt. This will be followed by a showing of Princess Bride in the courtyard. I'm looking forward to that. So I am now starting to get into routine and life will start getting more busy I imagine.

Today was the first day I actually felt overwhelmed with the amount of people here and having to talk to people all the time. Don't get me wrong, the people here are top notch. But I went for a run to clear my head and have a bit of alone time. It proved useful. I think I might also need an early night sleep. I will have to be disciplined to do this.

Tomorrow is a free day before lectures start on Thursday. I am looking forward to that. I might even sleep in. I have a library tour at 10am but that's it. Take care everyone. Until my next post. See you later.

Manly Beach

2005-01-29T11:36:00.000+13:00

Manly Beach is such a nice place. If you're ever over this way you really should pay it a visit. Better yet, pay me a visit!! Last night a group of us from college went to Manly Beach. A girl from college had a friend who we hooked up with. Then he had other friends who we hooked up with. It was great. They were all Christians. It is so neat meeting heaps of new people. We went for a walk along the beach. The moon was so beautiful. Amazingly enough there were people fishing at 10:45 at night!!! Because it was Friday night everyone was out at the restaurants and pubs across from the beach, so it was a great atmosphere.

We hung out at Candy's Cafe. This is a superb place to hang out. There are plenty of activities for everyone. You might like to try your hand at a game of chess, or various other board games. As for us we set up a domino trail on our table. Now that was a lot of fun. For those who are not into that kind of hilarity you may like to read some poetry or just read from one of the many interesting books on the old bookshelf. Food on the menu is delicious. Most of us had massive chocolate shakes. For those of you who are a bit daring you might like to try the coffee/banana shake. Although it actually tastes mostly of banana. The great thing about places like this is that they create the atmosphere for good conversation. So good conversation was had all round.

It is so neat meeting people here who are so like minded to me. Everyone is keen on missions and evangelism. It's awesome and I feel right at home (well almost at home.......I love NZ!).

Well I am going now to do something productive instead of sitting on the computer all day. Talk to you later.

Waiting

2005-01-28T10:00:00.000+13:00

Now that I have sorted out all my organisational things I am just waiting around for college life to begin. Yesterday I opened a couple of bank accounts. This was the last thing I needed to do. So I am hanging out for orientation week next week. I am starting to feel a little nervous. It is going to be very full on, meeting a lot more people, learning about all the ins and outs of college life. Today I checked my emails and I was very pleasantly surprised to find so many emails in my inbox. It made me a bit homesick for home. I have been so busy and distracted lately that I haven't really had the time to think about it. But I am still going good and having a fabulous time. Please pray for me this weekend as I have yet to find a church to go to on Sunday. It is very strange not being able to go to Covenant and having to find a church. I will be excited when I finally find one to settle in. That will be great. It will just take a bit of time. Well I might go for a walk seeing as I have nothing else to do at the moment. Bye for now.

Australia Day

2005-01-26T20:32:00.000+13:00

Today is Australia Day. So everyone was either at college studying or out somewhere with friends/family. As for myself, I caught the train to Circular Quay with a group of people from college. There were only 5 of us so that was really nice to get to know people a bit better. I had an excellent day. It was so hot. Apparently it was 26 degrees but it felt like a lot more out at Circular Quay. Circular Quay is a great place, right by the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Because today is Australia Day there was a lot of stuff happening there. We watched some ferry races, listened to some bands, looked in a few art galleries at The Rocks and ate Subways for lunch. Then we saw some plane acrobatics. That was amazing. We got back to college at 5pm and I was absolutely exhausted from being out in the sun all day. I will try and post some photos when I figure out how to post a link to something called Flicker. Must ask Dan about that.

About 6pm some girls came over to Wallace House and we decided to go out for tea. We went to the most fantastic Lebanese food place. We ordered two food platters, which we shared between 5 of us. The whole meal only cost us $5 each!!!! And it was superb food and everyone was totally full. I'll be going back there again for sure : ) It is cool to see people commenting on my blog. It is so easy to access the internet here at college. You can go on anytime you like as long as no one else is already on, in which case you just wait a little while. The problem will be making the time once lectures and part-time work begin. But I will do my best. Hope people have a cool time at Parachute this weekend, for those of you who are going. Wish I was going. I'm going to try and send a group email soon.

Second Day in Oz Land

2005-01-25T16:50:00.000+13:00

Hey everybody. Well I've done it. I hopped on a plane yesterday morning and made my way over the Tasman. I am officially living in Sydney!

Yesterday it was very full on from the time I arrived. I have met soooooo many people. It is brilliant. Everyone here is great and so nice to talk to. The girls in my house of residence (called Wallace House) are so friendly.

I am sharing a room with a really nice girl called Kate. So far we get on really well so that's great. The room is quite big so I'm definitely not complaining and we have our own ensuite. That is a bonus!

Meal times are great. It's just like being on camp. It is also a good time to get to know people you haven't met yet. At the moment not many people are here at college because it is Greek Week and only the people studying Greek are here (except for me and a few others). On the weekend all the rest of the residential students will arrive and there will be heaps of people. Cool!!

We had a gelato night last night in Wallace House. All the girls sat in the common room, ate gelato and got to know each other. That was really good. Then I rang home and talked to my family to let them know I had arrived safely.

Today I walked to the Westfield shopping centre which took me 15 minutes. Then I walked back home carrying my heavy shopping bags. I have now bought most of everything that I need. Now I just have to pay for expensive things like fees and textbooks and so forth. Please pray for me that I will get enough part-time work to support myself and keep saving for next year. And that I will continue to trust in God to provide.

Well, gotta go now. I've been on the computer far too long. And dinner is only 1 hour away. It's at 5:45 - Resthome time!!! That will take a bit of getting used to I imagine.

Goodbye

2005-01-23T01:08:00.000+13:00

This is my last entry in my blog before I leave N.Z. I just came home from a wonderful night out with friends at Cornwall Park. We had a picnic and then went to Ollies Icecream Parlour followed by hanging out at Scotty's place. It was very strange to start saying goodbye to some people because I truly don't feel like I'm actually leaving. I think it will sink in once I get to the airport. (It had better!) So goodbye N.Z. Goodbye family and friends. Goodbye Covenant Pressy and all the cool people there. I wish I could take you all with me, but alas I am not able. So I will keep you up to date with my goings on by emailing you and posting entries on my blog. See you later and take care.

Computer Geek

2005-01-21T22:26:00.000+13:00

Can you tell I have nothing to do? I have managed to post every day (this post will be twice in one day) and I have turned into a "computer geek" who spends all day on the computer. Strangely enough this is something I have passed judgment on others for in previous times. But I have a good excuse........I have nothing else to do!!! I'm just hanging out on holiday until I go to Sydney on Monday. So I've been thinking up posts to write on my blog and chatting on msn all day (well, not quite ALL day).

I am well and truly ready to go to Sydney now. Bring it on I say!! All this waiting around is driving me crazy. At the same time I am thankful for the times I've had with people while I've been "waiting" to go. And just because I am ready to go doesn't mean that I am not going to miss people. Of course I will miss you all.

Sad to say, the wonderfully interesting posts I write (hehehe) will probably not be as frequent once I get to Oz land (at least for the first wee while). I don't know how often I will be able to access the internet. But don't fear, I'm sure I'll be posting once a week, hopefully more, once I actually get into a routine. I know how much you all are going to miss me but there is no need to panic alright?

Maybe I'll write another post before I leave on Monday morning.....maybe not. We'll see how busy I am tomorrow. Until then. Good night. "Yawn"

Packing Stuff in a Bag

2005-01-21T13:55:00.000+13:00

Why is it so tiresome packing stuff in a bag to go overseas? I started to pack yesterday morning and gave up after half an hour. I randomly threw some things into my suitcase in no particular order and by no means in any tidy fashion. I really couldn't be bothered. Maybe I'm unconsciously avoiding packing my suitcase because I really don't want to go? Mmmmm...there's a thought. Funnily enough, my suitcase says Qantas on it, but I am flying on Air New Zealand. Hopefully the Air New Zealand workers won't take offence and start throwing my suitcase around for fun. That would not be good.

So I started packing again this morning and I got a little further this time. I probably stuck at it for about 1 hour before giving up and going to chat on msn. Not being able to handle large chunks of time packing I simultaneously went back to the bag and back to the computer again. This method proved to be quite helpful. I was able to be distracted whilst on the computer so when I started packing again I was much more productive. I think I will keep this method up. At the moment I am on the computer writing this post, so in about half an hour I'll probably go back to my room and attempt to pack again.

I have toyed with the idea of just sticking at it and getting it all done. But then what on earth would I do all day? I find the above method effective because it is helping me fill in the days and it is making time pass more quickly. So I will stick with it. Of course, it is unhealthy to be inside all day, so I will allot some time in my day to get outside in the fresh air and go for a run. That will be good. Anybody want to come? Oh that's right....everyone is at work. And I'm on holiday. Oh the life!

Well, my half hour is going to be finished soon, so I'd better go. Back to packing.

"Awwwwwww!!" Cutesy Kittens

2005-01-20T13:17:00.000+13:00

Yesterday I went to see my Aunty Sharon at her house. My aunty and uncle have recently bought two oh so darling, beautiful, cutesy kittens. They are overly gorgeous!!! I just want to squeeeeeeze them and cuddle them.

Because they're still quite young she is keeping them in the laundry where they sleep in a massive open cage. Free to roam in and out of the cage, their favourite pastimes include (a) eating (b) sleeping and (c) playing. Poking our heads around the door to prevent kittens running out into the hallway we saw them curled up and sound asleep. But I couldn't resist. I had to stroke them. Putting my hand inside the cage, a very nervous Penny gave a little squeak and backed away slightly. However, after sitting on the floor for a few moments she promptly walked over to me and lay down against my leg. Awwwwwwww!!! She is soooooooo cute. Cindy decided that she was quite happy in her sleepy existence and continued on in her kitten snobbery. She is a lovely tabby cat and smaller than Penny. Cindy and Penny are the greatest friends and look so darling together. Penny is black.

Shortly before we had to leave I felt compelled to have one last look into the laundry. I got a friendly goodbye from Penny, while Cindy was still in the land of dreams. But I won't hold it against her because she is too cute.

After that wonderful visit I now want a kitten of my very own. However, I don't think SMBC allows you to have pets in your room. Sadly I will have to relinquish my desire for a kitten until I get a place of my own. Then I'll get tons of kittens and they can all frolic around in the back yard. Awwwwwww.....cutesy kittens.

4 Days Left

2005-01-19T21:13:00.000+13:00

Where does time go? It is true what the bible says about our lives being vapour - here one moment and gone the next. I can remember the day when I made the decision to go to SMBC. It seems like so long ago now but yet the time has arrived very quickly!

Now there are only 4 days left until I go. I must admit I have had a great week catching up with all my friends and spending time with my family. Last night I went out with Anita to Mission Bay. We sat in the freezing cold on the beach and ate Movenpick icecreams. Yummmmmm. Then she sent me a lovely text message that made me feel very special. On Sunday I had a fabulous time with Lou. We went for a walk in the Gardens. We had an awesome time and some really meaningful conversation. It's really encouraging talking to Lou because we are both going through the same experience of leaving N.Z. and going overseas to live. We're really good at being silly together too. I can't do that with many people. Big ups to you Lou!!

Tomorrow night I am going to spend some quality time with my good friend Sam. I can't wait. It's great spending time with him because we never seem to run out of conversation. Now that's the sign of a good friendship. I have a few other friends like that too. I sure am going to miss them. On Friday night I am going out with my big sis Bon. We're going out for tea together. That will be nice. I will miss my big sis for sure. On Saturday night I am having a big bbq at Cornwall Park with lots of friends. I can't wait for that either. It will be bitter-sweet though because I'll only have one more day left in N.Z.

Time is fast running out and I'll be at the airport before I know it. I love N.Z. but I can't wait for all the fun adventures I'm going to have in Oz. It's going to be great.

Farewell Party Details - Saturday 22nd January

2005-01-18T13:41:00.000+13:00

Anyone who wants to come for a bbq at Cornwall Park as a last get together for me before I go to Oz is most welcome to come. Here are the plans:

Meet at my house (contact me if you don't know where my place is) at 5pm. We'll carpool/go in convoy. Anyone who can't make that time or who doesn't live in Manurewa can meet us at Cornwall Park. We'll be going in the Greenlane Road entrance, and picnicking on the grassy area on the right hand side of the roundabout.

Bring meat to bbq plus a salad or drink (or both) to share. I'll bring the plates, cups, knives forks, serviettes, bread and tomato sauce. (I hope that's everything covered).

If the weather is horrible we'll just stay at my place and bbq but I'm pretty optimistic that it will be fine weather.

Looking forward to seeing ya'all there. If you have any questions just text me on 021 256 9624 or ring me on 267 7279.

The Tricksy Mafia!

2005-01-17T13:31:00.000+13:00

Civilians, I empathise with you. Last night I witnessed some of the most sneaky, under-handed, and down right dirty tactics of the Mafia I have ever seen! These Mafia were tricksy alright - so tricksy in fact that they were very hard to spot. So how do you spot a tricksy Mafia person and prevent the Civilians from being assassinated? A difficult question indeed. I'm by no means an expert but I can give you some pointers based on observations of Mafia behaviour last night. It may just help you to survive your next game of Mafia if you are in the dangerous position of being a Civilian.

1. Watch out for those people you would normally consider to be innocent and nice. They make excellent tricksy Mafia. (not naming names...but I'll give you initials D. Y. !!)

2. Clever Mafia may try to manoeuvre themselves into a different seating position during the course of the game. Their plan is to give off the appearance of being a fellow civilian, thus, lulling the civilian next to them into a false sense of security. Once they have gained their trust, they can use them to vote off other civilians, thereby increasing their chances of winning the game. Be on guard is all I can say!

3. Double-crossing is another tactic of a tricksy Mafia person. A Mafia person may suggest to a civilian that they form an alliance at the start of the game. Swearing on their life that they are a civilian, they make a pact to help the civilian out and vice versa. However, the person who gets helped out here is the Mafia! The alliance is completely false with the Mafia intending to double cross the civilian at every opportunity.

I have listed 3 common characteristics of a tricksy Mafia person. However, they are so tricksy that even an excellent player like myself is unable to identify all their crafty strategies.

So the next time you play Mafia, remember you play at your own peril!! Unless of course you happen to get the chance to be a tricksy Mafia person yourself. You may just find yourself crossing over to the dark side. Don't say I didn't warn you!!

9 Days To Go

2005-01-14T20:59:00.000+13:00

There are only 9 days left until I leave N.Z.! It is fast approaching and I must admit that I am starting to feel quite sad. I really appreciate everything I have here in N.Z. - encouraging friends, loving family, faithful pastor, supportive church family. When I think about it I can really see how blessed I am.

But where God leads He promises to provide. And He promises that those who fear him will lack no good thing. So even though I'll be giving up a lot by leaving N.Z. I believe by faith that I am going to gain a lot in Christ. And God can do abundantly more than I can possibly imagine! Isn't it so humbling to meditate on the greatness of God and how good and merciful He is? And this great God stooped so low as to rescue me, an insignificant sinful human in total rebellion against Him. Now that is grace!

If you haven't read 'Christ Our Mediator' or 'The Cross-Centred Life' I encourage you to. They are two excellent books by C.J. Mahaney. Theological content is spot on and they are only small books so they're quite easy to read. It will truly put the cross of Christ back into its rightful place in your heart and mind. The cross of Christ is something we are so familiar with in our Christian lives that we don't spend a lot of time truly meditating on it. But these books will help you do just that. And if you enjoyed Peter Boyd's messages at YBC about Christ and the cross then you will love these books.

Farewell Party

2005-01-13T11:15:00.000+13:00

I've already told a few people and tried to get the word around. On Saturday 22nd January (i.e. two days before I leave) I'm going to head on over to Cornwall Park and have a bbq in the late afternoon/early evening (definite details later). So come on over and we'll have a great time. It will probably be something like this: bring meat for bbq and something else to share (salad is good, bread too) and we'll have a combined picnic. Bring sports stuff if you wanna get active (frisbees are good), otherwise you can just hang out and have some good conversation. Sound good? Spread the word.

Final Countdown

2005-01-12T21:22:00.000+13:00

Well, this is my very first post on my new blog. Scotty actually did the first one - refer to 'tadaaaaaaa'. Thanks for helping me set up my new blog Scott.

I now have 11 days left in the Land of the Long White Cloud. For those of you who don't know (most people do) I am going to Sydney Missionary and Bible College (SMBC is easier to say) for two years. I will be undertaking a Diploma of Theology there and living on campus. My aim is to equip myself further to share the gospel and make disciples for Christ! I'll be seriously praying for God to guide and direct me into the future as I look into doing evangelism ministry full-time. I'd appreciate prayers from people.

11 days left to do fun stuff with family and friends. I am attempting to make the most of it. For anyone interested in farewelling me at the airport I am leaving on Monday 24th January. My flight leaves at 9am so I'll probably be at the airport from 6:30ish onwards. The purpose of my blog is really to keep ya'all up to date with what I'm doing over in Oz land and so you can pray for me. And if you email me I can pray for you too! (great incentive for emailing me...)

Well, here endeth my first post. I am going to miss all of you when I go. Please don't forget me!

The First Post

2005-01-12T19:35:00.000+13:00

Tadaaaaaaaaa!