Last day

Four months ago, I posted about my first day at FHSC. Yesterday was my last day there.

To be cliche, it was both a great relief and a little bit sad. There were hard days, and difficult classes, but I enjoyed working in my passion area so much that it was all worthwhile. Although I still think I'm far from being a natural, I think my time there has given me the world of experience and boosted my "teacherness" so much. Here's hoping!

Timing is everything

Have you ever tried to tell a really funny joke, but rushed to the punchline too early? Ever tried to deliver a talk on a very important issue, but taken too long to get to the point and lost the impact? Ever mangled a musical piece by playing at an ill-fitting tempo? Ever needed to tell someone something, but lost the moment?

Timing is everything.

A well-timed joke is hilarious, a well-paced flow of speech is powerful, the tempo of a piece gives it feeling, and a timely word can change a life.

Timing is everything.

My life may be bustling with things that I 'do', but I'm really not in a rush. Some people want to rush from one experience to the next, or achieve a range of life goals in their own designated time frame. But I want life to the fullest in every nuance. I want the hilarious, not just the funny. I want the powerful, not just the monotonous. I want passion, not just noise. I want life change, not just missed opportunities.

Timing is everything.

I believe it's God's timing that makes the difference, that takes life up a notch. Like a captivatingly told story, or an artfully orchestrated suspense scene, God's plan for our lives is one of perfect timings. People sometimes ask what I'm waiting for ("You're 21 and still living at home?!"). But I'm playing to a different tempo. I don't just want to submit to God's ideas for my life, but His timing for them too. I want the style of my life to be con brio, but the tempo is up to God.

Today is the day

Today I did my last exam for third year and am officially on uni holidays like everyone else!

If only it were school holidays, too... time to start my reports.

Today is not the day

Today, most of my friends completed the third year of our course (some have even finished uni for good!). Not so for me (no, I did not fail!). I have to keep slogging it out for a little while yet, so don't party too hard without me, guys!

To think we're all going up into big, grown-up fourth year next year. Scary!

Update

It was time I updated my blog, made it a little more trendy. You can see the new additions in very bright and obvious colours above and on the sidebar. Now you'll be able to check out what the time is where I am and when I'm due home in Australia. They also serve as a subliminal promotion of healthy eating.

In other news, MSTIE is finally over, with the final components being handed in tomorrow. Yay!

MSTIE 2

The second week of MSTIE is over, and we're all counting down the five days left until the end of another prac. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it. I'm loving the team-teaching and the chance to teach an on-going topic. But working under someone else (the supervisor) with limited scope (one specific topic) can get tiring. Probably the worst thing about pracs is the added pressure of trying to impress and be professional so you can score a job in the future (you don't have that pressure once you've landed one!).

Some days I think the people who come back beaming and gushing how they love prac must be from another planet. I used to think I must be the weird one; the teacher-in-training not enjoying the training-for-teaching. I know I'm not a 'natural' unfortunately. But having my own 'classroom' at Flora Hill is a completely different story to prac, which gives me hope that I'm not unteacherlike after all.

I guess the people who 'love prac' to such an extreme are also the ones who think that report writing isn't so hard, the holidays are longer than everyone else's, and teachers are appallingly underpaid.

I need a secretary

Busy, busy, busy! Do you ever feel like you're really busy just because you have to make a series of phone calls (or am I just weird)? Some days I feel it would be nice to have a personal secretary; someone who takes my calls, photocopies my worksheets, arranges my schedule, makes things happen. Some days I realise I already have 'secretaries' in my life! Where would we be without those people who look out for us?

Five Years

Wow, we're getting old!

But more seriously, Stoz and I enjoyed a beautiful evening together on Thursday to celebrate our five years dating anniversary. We went to a posh restaurant with exquisite food and my favourite music playing in the background - how much more perfect could you get!

"We're going on an adventure!"

A cooking adventure, that is. It goes a little something like this.

It all began with a trip to Keck Street to pick up an over-sized rice cooker and bags of rice, carrots and onions. Back at Neale Street, we proceeded to overcook the first batch - about 13 cups - of rice. The next lot was much better. Then began the tedious peeling of the vegetables, followed by the mammoth clean up.

Some things we have learnt from this adventure:
* A V-slicer is a useful kitchen tool.
* A well-ventilated room, a nearby burning candle, or chilled onions are not successful theories for preventing stinging eyes when dicing onions.
* Goggles work well when dicing onions.

MSTIE 1

Welcome to MSTIE!

MSTIE is the Maths Science Teaching Integrated Experience that our course has created for third year B.Ed. students to do instead of 'normal' rounds. 36 hours of painstaking planning later, we have a professional little folder and some idea of where we're headed. Despite all the slog and criticism, I must say I am so far enjoying the distinct lack of nightly lesson plans and evaluations! In a way, it's much more like real teaching than anything else we've ever done.

Update 2

I had my final Twinrix shot - glad that's over with! I'm now immune to the most nasty of the diseases at risk in Indonesia (I didn't get yellow fever, polio, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, measles-mumps-rubella or tetanus-diphtheria, although I've had a couple of those already and the others really don't apply). I also paid some of my fees, so it's starting to get serious!

Steff the Chef: Banana Non-Tumble

My second attempt at this delicious banana cake turned out fantastic! As you can see, its form is perfect, and it tastes just as good as last time. I just love banana cakes. In fact, I love almost all banana-products; smoothies, sundaes, shakes, pancakes, slices... I'm just so glad the terrible banana disaster is long gone!

Some of you may remember my first attempt at this, which barely resembled a cake at all. In fact, we turned it into trifle. If you don't remember it, it can be found here.

Do you miss me?

Holidays!

Finally. For once, due to the nature of 'time in lieu' I have almost two weeks off. Don't get too excited filling up my social calendar though, because I reckon I need to spend at least a week straight in bed. To say I am exhausted would be an understatement. How I look forward to next year, where I once again promise myself that I will fix my priorities and put an end to this ridiculous break-neck pace of living!

After the holidays we go straight on prac for three weeks. That means I don't see my Flora Hill guys for 5 whole weeks, and strangely, I will miss them (well, my Year 7's at least). There's such great classroom dynamics, and just the whole level of language which is so different to that of primary school. To think I only have them for four more weeks...

Drugged up

Another update on my trip - man, things are going so fast!

After getting a passport, booking my flights and selling my fundraising chocolates, it was time to get my jabs and scripts for various other travelling pills. I went to see my doctor on Friday to make an appointment to have them, since I didn't think he'd have that kind of thing just laying around in his fridge waiting for randoms to show up saying they want to head overseas. However, I was mistaken; they must be pretty common among the nursing students too, and the campus nurse prepared them while I waited - eek!

Anyone who knows me knows I'm terrified of needles (although more so the intravenous ones, not so bad about the flesh ones anymore). But I must say I was very brave while I endured shots of typhoid and hepatitus A + hepatitus B. As an interesting side note, since I had already had my three hepB boosters, I am now "super immune" and all drugged up!

Perjalanan ke Indonesia!

Most of you already know about my plans for an adventurous jaunt to Indonesia in just under three months. For those who don't, here is the grand unveiling of my Indonesia trip!

On the 27th of November I will fly out of Melbourne with my travel group, headed for Denpasar, Bali. From there, we fly to Ujung Pandang (also known as Makassar), the capital of the island of Sulawesi. An easy way to spot where I'll be is to look for the 'k'-shaped island on SBS world news!

Because Sulawesi has a rather mountainous region in the centre, its four peninsulas are actually completely isolated from one another. The only way to get between them is by boat or plane. So, we catch another plane from Ujung Pandang/Makassar to Kendari, the regional capital of Sulawesi Tenggara (South East Sulawsi).

In Kendari we'll attend a 10-day language course at a university and home-stay with lecturers. Classes will be in the mornings (Indonesians start school earlier than we do!), and buddy/tour-guides will show us around in the afternoons as 'field experience'.

Next we visit a village in Sulawesi Tenggara for a six-day survivor-style experience! Here we get to teach English and cultural studies for two days in each of a primary, junior secondary, and senior secondary school. Aside from our busy teaching schedule, we'll get to tour the village and help our home-stay families with their daily work (hopefully not rice fields for me!).

After our hard work in the village, we sail from Kendari to the tiny island of Hoga, part of the Tukangbesi island group in the reef area of Wakatobi (named after the four most important comprising islands in traditional Indonesian style). Here we stay in a "resort" (very non-Western longhouse), and relax by the beach for three days.

Then, while some of my travel friends go off to tour Bali and Java, I will make the long three-leg journey home to Australia on the 21st of December to see my friends and family who will have sorely missed me!

First detention

I've never had a detention, so I don't know what it's like to get one. They're not much fun to get, and they're not much fun to give out either. Some people love having this power. I don't.

You're Next

Specially dedicated to Stoz (ask him why).

'When I was younger, I hated going to weddings. After the wedding and during the reception, my aunts and the grandmotherly types would come up to me and poke me in the ribs, cackling, "You're next."

Finally they stopped, when I started doing the same to them at funerals!'

- Rex Cornelius via GCFL

Walk the line

So many people think you can get to heaven (if you even believe in it) by doing good for others, and that a sin is something which is socially unacceptable. To them, Christianity is just another religion among the many crazy, antiquated belief systems with long lists of negative regulations and hocus-pocus spirituality.

Of the 8 respected and responsible people present in the discussion (including the self-professed Christian teacher), only 2 said that having 'premarital relations' was sin. I guess I shouldn't have been so naive. How do we effectively walk the line between 'holier than thou' and set apart for God in our discussions of such topics?

Apakah kukehilangan kesempatan lagi? Bagaimana kubisa menjelaskan hal-hal pokok agamaku kepada sesamaku? Terus terang, perbuatan-perbuatan baik tidak cukup untuk dimasukkan sorga. Sebenarnya, mengikuti Sepuluh Perintah Tuhan tidak cukup untuk dimasukkan sorga. Percaya pada Tuhan juga tidak cukup. Kalau percaya pada Tuhan karena takut dimasukkan neraka, kepercayaannya tidak begitu benar. Kalau melakukan perbuatan baik atau mengikuti perintah Tuhan karena takut memasukkan neraka, kepercayaan tidak begitu benar. Menurut pendapatku, mencintai Tuhan adalah hal pokok agama Kristen. Tuhan yang Maha Esa, yang Maha Kuasa, yang Maha Tahu mencintai setiap orang sebagai anakNya sendiri. Oleh karena cintaNya, kita bisa cinta kembali pada Tuhan dan berhubung denganNya. Kalau kita mencintaiNya dengan benar, kita akan ingin mengikuti perintah-perintahNya, melakukan perbuatan baik dan membantu anak-anakNya yang lain. Untuk dimasukkan sorga, manusia harus menyerahkan diri kepada Tuhan dengan cinta kepadaNya.

Yang juga penting: mengikuti perintah-perintah Tuhan tidak buruk, membosankan atau kodot! Semua peraturan Tuhan diciptakanNya dengan niat mengirimkan manusia hidup yang penuh kebahagiaan. Peraturan diciptakan untuk melindungi kita. Betapa sempurnanya kehidupan kalau kita mengikuti peraturan-peraturan ini! Malang, orang-orang dewasa ini kurang mengerti...

I wasn't serious...

But it seems the uni is! Check it out - this is what I received in a uni email today:

SECOND LIFE

La Trobe University is joining universities around the world in exploring educational applications of virtual worlds. The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences is developing a campus in Second Life as a two-year social learning project. To visit the virtual campus as it evolves, log into Second Life and go to La Trobe University.

Wow.

The volvo will win

Nearly had a bingle today. I was driving my friends to the Osborne Street campus, so I had a full car (a rarity indeed) and I was driving on semi-unfamiliar road, so I was being extra cautious (if you know me at all, that means a lot cautious). Approaching a roundabout I slowed and checked for traffic before preceding to enter it. I kept my eye on a car approaching rather fast from the left... in fact, she didn't stop! I was more than half way through the roundabout when she entered hard and fast, very nearly collecting my car. Fortunately, I don't trust anyone on the road and so I was already breaking. We stopped within inches of each other. Poor frazzled woman was probably running late for work.

My advice for L-platers (and all drivers, really): Drive as if everybody else on the road were driving with their eyes shut!

Kids say the funniest things

Quotes of the day from my year 7s:

Quote 1
Kid, insulting another kid: "You're a volvo with no wheels!"

Quote 2
Kid 1: I don't understand it.
Kid 2: It's German - nobody understands it!

Between two worlds

It appears I exist in a place between two worlds... that of the 'old people' and that of the 'teenagers.'

A common problem faced by highschool teachers is the issue of mobile phones in class. A sneaky tactic in recent years is the "silent" or "mosquito" ringtone - a tone at a frequency too high for 'adults' to hear. The sound is like a high-pitched squeal, similar to what you hear when you turn on a TV before the sound comes on. Due to the natural shift of the human hearing range over time to lower frequencies, these sounds are likely to disappear from your range by your early to mid-twenties. You can of course speed up this 'degeneration' by lots of iPod use and exposure to loud sounds, or slow it by taking good care of your hearing - but it will happen.

Being the ripe old age of 21, most of these high frequencies are still within my hearing range. I busted a kid when his 36 year old form group teacher couldn't catch him. On a similar note, I busted a kid for playing games and could actually name the game correctly. This place between two worlds is a handy place indeed.

It's interesting to try and find out what frequency you can hear.

IMPORTANT: DON'T PUT YOUR EAR CLOSE TO THE SPEAKER OR TURN THE VOLUME UP REALLY LOUD. EVEN IF YOU CAN'T HEAR IT, A SOUND IS STILL PLAYING, AND IT CAN CAUSE DAMAGE TO YOUR EARS JUST LIKE ANY OTHER SOUND PLAYED LOUD AND CLOSE!
(I didn't know that before :$)

Welcome to Second Life

It seems I've joined Second Life. Our introductory lecture for Practicum C today involved the lecturer telling us about how exciting this new 'blended learning' experience was going to be. The most 'exciting' part was the online learning component, where face-to-face learning has been replaced by involvement in a 'virtual world'. In this virtual world, we go on a kind of treasure hunt to collect marks. The lecturer can check up on us and see what we are up to there. In fact, she says, if we wish to speak to her, it will probably be easier to catch up with her in this virtual world rather than calling by the office - we'll be sure to 'see' her around there often.

This isn't really Second Life, or any real virtual world at all; it is merely WebCT. Although the lecturer's excitement and enthusiasm makes it easy to pretend it is such (and wouldn't that be fun!), after many years of distance education I'm all too familiar with online learning.

Maybe I should suggest getting avatars?

Wanted

Where are you?

First day

Exciting news - I got my first job! Actually, I'm calling it placement, because I'm hoping to get credit points for it, and I was trying to arrange a LOTE practicum at the time it landed on me. I'm teaching two German classes (7's and 8's) at Flora Hill Secondary College as of today - my first day. It all began on the day of my last exam, Friday 22nd June. The official call came the following Monday, with the interview that wasn't really an interview the very next day. Before I knew it, I was spending my three precious weeks of holidays madly planning units of work.

And today was my first day. It went well - considering it was the first class, first day back after the holidays. Hopefully I'll get better at it quickly and the kids will settle down too. I enjoyed it, however the inconsiderate nature of the university looks likely to threaten the whole position at the moment...

Cake! Food! Shop! Games!

Southbound, D'Fo, the Chip, the Loop. These are the main landmarks along the five times e-tagged road to Frankston.

This particular five-day holiday had the following goals:
1. Catch up with family.
2. Relax a lot.
3. Go shopping for two particular items.



Goals met:
1. Caught up with family.
2. Relaxed a little.
3. Went to three different shopping complexes (Bayside Shopping Center, Centro Karingal, and Essendon DFO) and acquired one of the desired items plus 8 additional items, none of which were my original intended purchase.

Other highlights included:
* Completing Lolo 3 (a repetitive puzzle game in which I had minimal involvement).
* Feeding the pelicans at Hastings (fish heads are disgusting and very smelly).
* Playing cards (it's good for the brain).
* Eating way too much nice food (simulaneously the upside and the downside of visiting good cooks).

The least of these

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:40


Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27

The Bible has a lot to say about our responsibility towards those who are struggling. For a start, just check out Deuteronomy 15:7-18, Leviticus 25:35-43, Psalm 41:1, Psalm 112:9, Prov 31:9, Jer 22:16, Matt 19:21 and Matt 25:34-45 (see also Matt 6:1-4 and 1 Cor 13:3).

Who are 'the least of these' in our world today? There are definitely still people who are sick, blind, in need, oppressed, homeless, orphaned, widowed and in distress.

God has given us a responsibility to help these people. We might not consider ourselves all that rich, but if you have money in your pocket right now, you are richer than 75% of the people on the planet. If you have money in the bank, you are wealthier than 94% of the people on the planet. That's a fairly big reality check, ain't it?

But what are we to do? As a student with no job or government benefits, how can I afford to do anything? Where there's a will, there's a way!

In my travels I have found some free, quick and simple ways to make a difference in someone's life, and ultimately in the world:
* Feed the world's hungry
* Provide health care for children
* Help underprivileged woman in America

Some other free ideas:
* Help kids to become literate
* Feed animals in shelters
* Save the rainforest
* Donate your old belongings to the Salvos or St. Vinnies

With a little organising...
* Celebrate Christmas or birthdays with Oxfam or Worldvision

For a small cost...
* Give a person the gift of sight
* Make a one-off donation to help rescue children or help in emergencies
* Give to missions through your local church

The best ideas of all:
* Give your time...
* Give your love...
* And pray for the people in need around us (who might not necessarily be 'poor')

Examen

Exams are finally over and the end of the semester has come (well, almost for the secondary and primary students!). At this point, I'm thinking about a different kind of 'exam' word. Examen is a word of Latin origin, meaning a critical investigation or inspection of something, and in a religious sense, a daily reflection on our walk with God. I'd like to encourage all of us, amid our relaxation and refreshing, to reflect on the half-year that's been.

What is the thing I am most thankful for this past half-year?
This reminds us to be grateful. The support of close friends and family has been much appreciated this extra-busy semester.

What is the best thing that happened to me this past half-year?
This reminds us to look at the positives. My 21st birthday was great, made special by all my friends and family. Exciting opportunities also became available.

What was the best thing I did for someone else this past half-year?
This isn't boasting about our great deeds, but perhaps a gentle reminder to make sure we are seeking others' needs above our own. I did a few things, but I want to do so much more.

What did I do well this past half-year?
This reminds us to see the growth and achievement in our lives. I survived this past semester! I managed to hand in all my work on time.

What did I do not-so-well this past half-year?
This is not beating ourselves up; it is identifying our struggles. Things were often out of balance a bit for me, and some areas of my life didn't get the attention they deserved.

Did I develop any bad habits this past half-year?
This reminds us to develop good habits and be on the look out for bad ones. I developed bad habits of time-wasting and neglecting important things, like my health routine.

What do I need to change in the next half-year?
This reminds us to set goals. I need to work harder at implementing my home-physio program, I need to have greater motivation, and I need to work at the delicate balance between social, personal and work time.

Hero in a half-shell

Turtle power!
Courtesy of Trav's blog, another quiz for procrastination.

You scored as Donatello, You are intelligent and peaceful...maybe you should consider going into a different line of work. Even though you are friendly, you should try to fit in with other more often. Donatello 68% April O'Neil 64% Leonardo 61% Raphael 46% Mater Splinter (The Rat) 46% Michaelangelo 29% Which teenage mutant ninja turtle are you? created with QuizFarm.com

Held together with sticky tape

Gaffa tape is like the Force; it has a dark side, a light side, and it binds the universe together.

Sticky tape is one of the most useful inventions. Car parts, electrical cords, crafts, school projects, emergency home renovations... It holds everything together.

Recently, I was the one being held together with tape! My physio taped the offending part of my back (I think it's a rib), and I'm amazed at how effective it was! I felt like one of those athletic people with strapped knees, ankles or shoulders. I'd never quite understood why people would continue to play such physically endangering sporting activities, when the respective body parts are obviously already under much stress and/or injured. But it's an amazing science! How the humble sticky tape holds us together I don't quite know, but I could breathe properly for the first time in a week!

What's the most important thing sticky tape is holding together in your life?

Making a World of Difference

I saw a really good promotional DVD recently, called Making a World of Difference. It contains the thoughts and experiences of people from various walks of life, with the recurrent theme of how language learning impacts our lives in positive ways. School students, uni students, bilingual children and parents, radio broadcasters, lawyers, chefs, viticulturists, translators and musicians - all have been touched by foreign languages and cultures.

I really needed to see this. After having a bad run of luck with LOTE at my prac schools, the disillusionment presented in my methodology class, and the general lack of regard for languages by fellow students, I was doubting why I ever threw my lot in with the obviously last-decade, unappreciated LOTE bandwagon. Seeing this DVD reminded me that it's ok to be passionate about this, that it still is something important worth fighting for, and that there remains a need for bilingualism in the world today.

Any comments would be much appreciated...
- What do you think of bilingualism or the study of other languages?
- Does it have a place in today's English world?
- What's your experience (I can handle it if you want to dis LOTE)?
- Am I crazy for being passionate about languages???

Tenth week "It's almost over!"

Sorry I'm a little late publishing the final semester post: week ten. For me, this week has been a great feeling of "it's almost over." Prac is over (which was a very educational and even enjoyable experience), exams are looming, and there is a lot of catch-up. How frustrating when you just can't be productive!

As I contemplate the end of the semester, I wonder...
1. How much of our present-focus is stolen by us wishing away things, holding out for the end of something without enjoying the journey there, and making ourselves useful along the way?
2. How many of us are tempted to just give up, when we are so close to the finishing line? Earlier in the semester, I talked about persevering in the race.

Faithful readers, do you relate to either of these?

Steff the Chef - Zapped Pears

Another delicious recipe from Steff's kitchen!

An elegant and fancy dessert turned quick and simple. Here's what you do:

Recipe:
1. Core and peel pears.
2. 'Poach' in the microwave with a little butter and sugar.
3. Serve with chocolate sauce and icecream.

Ratings:
Taste: 8/10
Difficulty: Easy-peesy-lemon-squeezy
Presentation: Impressive Dinner Party Quality

Chef's Note: Normally you'd do all sorts of fancy French things to the pear, like add cinnamon and cook in something a little more refined than the microwave, and you'd make your own chocolate sauce... But this is a great variation for a quick treat.

Been there before

Hello, readers!

Last night was exactly two weeks shy of 4 years since I went up to the hospital complaining of chest pains. The significance? I did that again last night, on my poor mother's birthday. The conclusions? "Just take some Nurofen..."

So, where are we at now?
1. Visit my GP - try Panadol.
2. Make a trip to casualty.
3. Have an ECG.
4. Have an x-ray of my lungs.
5. Visit GP again.
6. Visit a cardio specialist.
7. Have an echo-cardiogram (like an ultrasound...)
8. Call an ambulance from New South Wales (honestly, Dad!).
9. Visit GP again - try Brufen.
10. Visit an osteopath.
11. Have an x-ray of my spine.
12. Visit orthopedic surgeon about possible scoliosis.
13. Visit physiotherapist - referred to clinical pilates.
14. Have another x-ray of my spine - look for missing vertebra.
15. Make a trip to casualty, clots ruled out.
16. Visit GP again - try Voltaren.
17. Visit same orthopedic surgeon about vertebra issue (tomorrow).

Do you think I'll ever figure it out???

Planeteers, the power is yours!

A post from a blogger whom I've never even met before inspired me to write about some feelings I've been slowly processing over a very long time. These feelings are issues that have been gradually brought to my attention mostly because they were problems in my own life that were hindering me from my potential, and they were unhealthy. The more I grew, the more I saw how these parts of my attitude were a problem and that I should change the way I was thinking. I wish I was writing this in the past tense, but the truth is I still struggle with this almost everyday, and I think that they are problems that plague most members of western society from time to time, maybe even further than that. It's my hope that by defining these problems I can remind myself to move past them, and maybe even help others to see how they can move forward too if they struggle like I do.

I've heard a bit lately from various different people from all different friendship groups and all different scenarios and relationships that echos these attitude problems I see in myself, which makes me think the problem is bigger than just me. Often we get hung up about how we relate to others, or how other people relate with one another around us. To be bluntly honest, I am well and truly sick of feeling this way, and I want to change!

My first major problem is the issue of boxing. We are all for 'unity' and 'respect for people of all walks of life' and 'inclusion' and 'supporting one another' and all sorts of nice, warm, fuzzy phrases like that. But in the very next breath, we say words like 'my type' or 'those people' and proceed to place ourselves in a box apart from the rest of the societal group in question. After we have placed ourselves in our nice little box, we continue to complain about how everyone else outside of our box has put us in this box, doesn't understand us, has isolated us, and is generally so much poorer off for not being in the same box with us. Kinda silly, isn't it? The problem in question here is not so much that people put us into boxes (which is detrimental enough to unity as it is), but that we are putting OURSELVES into boxes, and isolating ourselves from others by our own choice. I don't rant as someone free from this tendency; I've put myself in the 'uncool and friendless' box for too many years to count, before realising it was not the people around me who considered me that way, but my own self-perception. People, "we" are different from "them" only because WE have decided to make ourselves so.

In the process of packing up our lives into the neat little system of self-defining boxes, we often place our self-determination on the shelf to get dusty. When we're saying, "They make me feel left out" or "They make me feel worthless" or "They make me feel [insert other non-unifying negative feeling here]", this is the kind of mistake we are making. Yes, stuff happens in life. Yes, we will feel good and bad and in between. Yes, people don't always know how what they do makes us feel. But ALWAYS, we are in control of how we will respond and how we will feel once the initial shock is over. We choose whether we are going to feel like an alien, like an odd-ball, like a hero, like a saint. I don't like hearing people complaining about how others (even the church!) are making them feel or act, when the responsibility for our feelings and behaviour lies solely with us. And I'm guilty as charged! How many times have we been 'made to feel' second-rate and unwanted, when really people are wondering why we never make contact anymore? How many times have well-meaning people said or done something for us, only to be slandered as controlling or rude, when the real problem was we chose to see their actions as terrible, not well-meaning? We choose how we feel in response to any situation.

As Captain Planet would say, "The power is yours!" We are the ones who put ourselves into isolating boxes by declaring how different we are to other people, and putting ourselves into exclusive little groups. We are the ones who decide how we will feel, even if we're tempted to blame it on other peoples' imagined lack of consideration. We are the ones who determine how close we are to the people around us, even if we're tempted to say that it's them who are drifting away. People, we all need to wake up and take responsibility for our feelings and our relationships if we want them to be healthy! That's the choice I'm going to make.

21st Birthday

I suppose I really ought to mention that my 21st birthday was on Saturday. Due to the extreme rush of the weekend, I couldn't post earlier, sorry. On Saturday I slept in for the first time since February (nice!), then had a fantastic party at Stoz's house complete with mountains of food Mum had spent all week cooking, groovy coordinating decorations, a surprise photo slide show and home movie from Stoz, lots of nice pressies, and around 40 of my closest friends!

Sunday was a family lunch at Pratty's Patch, followed by Mum's homemade cakes at home. Also nice.

A big thanks to everyone who came - and people far away who wished me well - for the presents and the friendships we share. Thanks heaps to the boys for letting me use their awesome party house, and my parents for organising so much stuff. And extra big thanks to Mum for her huge effort, and Stoz for all the scanning, music and organising that he did.

Practicum 3 - What will it be?

Today marks the commencement of another three week school placement - Practicum 3 (previously known as Practicum 3A until the recent invention of MSTIE). I'm always nervous about starting a new prac, one because it's a LOT of hard work, and two because it's like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get (sometimes simply divine and other times just the peanuts with all the chocolate already sucked off!).

I visited last week and got the 'bad vibes.' I had to remind myself this morning that I don't even believe in vibes as I headed off to school for the first real day. I'm at Maiden Gully Primary School, which is actually turning out to be a nice little school with friendly staff, and my Prep/1 class are beautiful. So far.

Anyway, you probably won't hear a lot from me for the next three weeks. Here's hoping prac stays positive once I start actually teaching!

Peace out.

Ninth week crunch time

Hold on!

Eighth week expectations

Why is it that lecturers only clarify their expectations in the final days before the assignment is due? No wonder people do things the night before! It's really frustrating to spend so much time working on something to be told it's not what they wanted, and that you're going to lose marks for all your effort.

People are often unclear about their expectations. I had a rather nasty and expensive lesson in clear versus implied expectations just last week! In the classroom, it is essential to have clear expectations. But what about in 'real life'? Expectations can have both positive and negative effects - they can help us to perform and achieve, or leave us forever falling short. I've always held myself to very high expectations, and probably others as well. I think that we should have high expectations of ourselves, or we might see it as reasonable to become complacent or sloppy. High expectations of others can be positive too, so long as they're not critical, but rather in the light of 'benefit of the doubt.' I think it's important that we keep the ideas of grace, love and gratitude close in mind: grace for when we or others fall short of expectations, love to remind us to seek others' needs above our own, and gratitude so that we never take the service of others and blessings in life for granted. Perhaps this is true 'resilience'?

What kind of expectations do you have of yourself - high, low, realistic? What sort of expectations do you have of others? Do you think they're healthy?

Seventh week sleep

Or lack there of.

I am SO tired. Coming off a 'break' from uni (and I use that term VERY loosely), one would expect to hear words such as 'refreshed', 'invigorated', 'energised' or even 'relaxed'. (If you're me, the word you most want to hear is 'productive'.) But, as tends to happen, many events clamour for one's attention during the single brief week so as to leave not much time for either study or rest!

Check out my holidays:
* Parade Paskah - walking in the Easter Procession under the BAIK flag
* Hen's night
* Physio appointment
* Very expensive hair cut
* Explorers meeting
* Church youth forum meeting
* A coffee date with a friend from way back
* Wedding rehearsal
* Baby sitting - so much fun!
* Wedding ceremony and reception
* 21st birthday party
* Church
* Prayer/observation meeting

In review:
Busyometer: 9/10
Relaxometer: 2/10
Productivityometer: 2/10

In a word:
Scheduled

Did you have a break recently? What did you get up to? How would you rate it, and how was it in a word? (Remember, I'm part-primary teacher, and I won't be accepting boring adjectives!)

What makes a good partner?

When Stoz so artfully foreshadowed his post Friends are Forever, I also began thinking of what makes a good partner. I decided to hold off until after Stoz's post, but now here is my answer!


What makes a good partner?
* Someone who can jump from a moving horse onto the horns of a runaway steer and never lose his hat.
* Someone who’s by your side in a gunfight.
* Someone who doesn’t let the saloon doors swing back and hit you in the face as you enter.
* Someone who says “Howdy!”
* Someone who has integrity, honesty and respect - maybe even the Sheriff!
* Someone who says “Reach for the sky!”
* Someone who can shoot straight.
* Someone who's a quick draw.
* Someone with whom you can ride off into the sunset.

What? Isn't that the kind of "partner" you meant? Well, just in case, I'll show you how these things can line up for a real relationship too...

Someone who can jump from a moving horse onto the horns of a runaway steer and never lose his hat.
Amid all all the hustle and bustle of chasing down a runaway steer, he still holds on to what is important to him - his hat. In all the craziness and busyness of life, they still hold onto what is important to them - God. That is always their first priority, and in much more than just a superficial way.

Someone who’s by your side in a gunfight.
Any good partner is at your back in a gun fight, and any good life partner is by your side through life. They're with you through the thick and the thin, and you really share your whole life with them.

Someone who doesn’t let the saloon doors swing back and hit you in the face as you enter.
A good partner is considerate and compassionate towards both you and others. They are thoughtful of others' needs before their own. They have humility and are willing to serve.

Someone who says “Howdy!”
Communication is incredibly important. Not just in terms of the ability to communicate with one another effectively, but also the enjoyment of communication with each other.

Someone who has integrity, honesty and respect - maybe even the Sheriff!
Integrity is a deep and often misunderstood word. Having integrity is more than just being a (wo)man of your word, but also being someone who adheres to their values and beliefs, and who seeks to have God's way in their lives in entirety.

Someone who says “Reach for the sky!”
A good partner is encouraging and inspires us to reach our life's highest goals. They're behind us every step of the way, supporting us, and not afraid to challenge us if we drift.

Someone who can shoot straight.
A good partner knows where they're aiming in life. They also aren't afraid to pull us up on our faults and say it like it is, constructively of course!

Someone who's a quick draw.
A good partner is quick to love and forgive, quick to offer help, and quick to seek forgiveness.

Someone with whom you can ride off into the sunset.
A good partner is one with whom you can enjoy doing things together... And a little bit of romance never goes astray!

Everyone needs good partners in their lives, whether they're romantic relationships, close friendships, family or other support groups. We all know that ultimately God is the best partner we could ever have.

In conclusion, these are just my ideas. I'm sure the list is not exhaustive. I hope you found this both enlightening and amusing.

Sixth week "No, I'm not on holidays!"

Hey perhaps-faithful readers! For those of you who are not all that cynical and distrusting, and hence failed to pick up an important point, I shall enlighten you now: The date of my last post was critically important...

Yes, April Fools! I'm actually surprised nobody seemed to notice. So yes, my blog is staying (for awhile longer at least). I think perhaps the convincingness of my post came from the truths that it actually contained - they were all true reasons I've been tempted to give up! Thanks to everyone who commented - made me feel valued :) Kudos to Stoz for picking it up.


So anyway, here we find ourselves in sixth week, and this I have dubbed the week of saying "No, I'm not on holidays!" I seem to find myself answering this question almost every day this week. Just because all primary and secondary schools kids are presently loitering in the streets, hanging out in holidays programs, and just generally being everywhere, does not mean that uni's are automatically "off" for the week too. Us hard workers are slogging it out to the end of the week (which incidentally happens to be today anyway).

Goodbye, Bloggers

Well, after a long time deliberating, I've finally decided that I'm going to let my blog fade gracefully from existence. That's right: I will no longer add to my blog!

There's several reasons for this. Firstly, it's kinda lonely here. There's very rarely a comment, which leads me to think that maybe nobody even reads this blog... A blog without readers is like a fish without water.

Secondly, I'm a very busy person. Blogging can be time-wasting, especially if there is nobody to even read my posts!

Thirdly, I'm pretty sure that my blog would die eventually anyway, so instead of leaving it hanging as some sort of decaying graveyard of words, I thought a fitting farewell would bring better closure.

So in closing, thank you my faithful readers (of whom there are few). I wish you all the best with your own blogging adventures.

- Steff

Fifth week everything-due-ness

Isn't that always the way?

From Monday of this week to Wednesday of next, I have/had 5-6 assignments!
Monday: Lit presentation.
Tuesday: German assignment (written and oral components)
Saturday: Methodology presention.
Monday: Lit presentation write-up.
Tuesday: Indonesian Grammar Jounral draft.
Wednesday: ENS essay (still haven't started!).

Not to mention Odyssey and Explorers meetings - how do they always manage to conincide like this?

I hope your due-ness is more spread out, and if not, happy cramming!

"I'll just get a second opinion..."

Fourth week falling behind

This week has the potential to be depressing, or at least stressful. The pressure is building, and you find yourself doing a double-take, asking "Are we really in fourth week already?!" (Particularly when your course has an intensive 10 weeks of classes to allow for a 3 week practicum.)

Some fall behind in their readings and/or assignments (that'd be me).

Others fall behind in their immune system and contract the early-semester cold (Dr. Steff's diagnosis). Ever organised, I got in early on mine, and contracted it in week 2.

Others still fall behind in healthy lifestyle regimes (me again).

Perhaps there are those who fall behind in social matters, too.

Amid all this falling behind, I am reminded that we are all called to run our own race. The important thing is that we finish - not that seven other people are gracefully and athletically racing around the track in front of you while you labour and pant far from the finish line, feeling like a massive unathletic lump (trust me, I know what THAT feels like!).

So my advice this week?
1. Keep at it! Don't give up!
2. Keep a track of the positives along the way - as least you can run in this race!
3. Make sure you don't let the important things in life 'fall behind'...

Third week social pressure

Having made determined resolutions merely one week prior, the first attack on your commitment infiltrates your life insidiously... Social pressure! Oh how tempting to go out for dinner with friends! How tantalising to kick back and watch a movie with your family! What temptation awaits at seemingly every encounter with another person! Your goals may fall by the wayside as these pressures to maintain social contact compete for your attention. You may experience disbelief when surveying how little was achieved in the past week, wondering where all your time went. Social interaction is not in itself bad, in fact it's one of the most important things in life! But how do you deal with it in third week?

Three questions to aid in this situation:

1. What's your priority?
Your underlying priorities in life shape your values, and if your life's not lining up with your values then it's not going to be all that productive, is it? Work out your priorities, and from there decide to what you will commit yourself. Are relationships a priority to you?

2. What's your commitment?
Sometimes in life we find we are committed to things which are not our highest priority - we have to do the other parts of life too so that we are in a position to pursue our priorities. When we are committed to something, it's bad form to break our commitments and abandon our posts, even if it's to run off chasing our 'priorities'. That's why you consider your priorities before your commitments. Once you're in something (for example, study or an event) you should put your best effort in for as long as it is right for you to be there. What commitments have you made?

3. What's the opposite of yes?
NO! How do you say no? Firmly and politely... I'm still learning this one... If you're still struggling, try saying it in a different language! You never know, it might help! :D

Second week determination

The second week for returning students often begins with an idealistic determination: I will do things better this year/semester! I will stay on top of my readings and assignments, eat better, get more sleep and exercise, improve my grades, etc.

Tips to maintain the determination:
1. Set yourself realistic expectations and goals.
2. Reward yourself when you achieve them
3. Grandma's rule: make sure you don't reward yourself until AFTER you've achieved them!
4. Keep perspective.

First week freak-out

Dr. Steff reveals the epidemic of first-week-freak-out:

First-week-freak-out (FWFO) is a condition suffered by many university students on commencement of or return to study of an academic course. [Note, I say academic course with reference to courses requiring text book readings, minimal practical experiences, and large assignments. Students of creative courses, such as the fine arts, are more likely to experience last-week-freak-out, corresponding to their last-minute folio work.] It varies in its degree of severity, from mild daunted sensations to earth-shattering identity crises.

Causes and triggers:
* Reading unit outlines
* Text book readings
* Ambiguous assignment descriptions
* Detailed assignment descriptions
* Word limits
* Assigning tutorial presentation groups

Symptoms:
* Feeling overwhelmed
* Feeling exhausted and/or starving by 10am
* Feelings of confusion regarding assignments
* Depression and/or anxiety
* Feelings of inadequacy
* A tendency to become more emo
* Questioning why you are even in your course
* An inexplicable desire to defer and become a fruit-picker in Queensland

There is hope! What to do:
1. Read your outlines and mark the dates of assignments with the aid of a nerve-friendly substance (eg. chocolate) to cushion the blow.
2. Get organised - develop a triage system to tackle the insurmountable!
3. Remind yourself how glad you are that one day you will have a degree and not be picking fruit in Queensland for a living.
4. Treat yourself right - fix your sleeping schedule, stop eating uni food, exercise if you're able, buy the odd veggiechips.
5. Don't get sucked into the latest time-sucking fad of your uni friendship group - make time for what's really important (it might be the time-sucking fad after all).
6. Find something each day to laugh at.
8. Find a simple way to help someone else, even if it's only holding a door open for someone.
9. Ask yourself: Is this going to matter in ten years? More importantly, is it going to matter in Eternity?
10. Take a deep breath and wait it out until week 2!

Remake

How often are old songs 'redone'... and how often are they quite different to the original artist's intentions?

Last week, my banana tumble was remade into a delicious trifle (with a hint of banana). It wasn't my original intention for the cake and the whole fiasco was a bit of a disappointment, but in the end we still had something nice to eat.

Often in life things go completely the wrong way, and we can become quite distraught sitting amongst the rubble of our shattered dreams. I know I've felt this in much more significant circumstances than just a silly cake. But if God can remake something beautiful out of us - broken sinners far from His original intentions that we are - shouldn't we also share with Him in this creative flair? I'm sure that we can make something good (but different) out of what's gone bad for us.

Do you have a remake story?

When life goes pear-shaped, make pear-strudel!

Steff the Chef - Banana Tumble

Another delicious recipe from Steff's kitchen!

I call this one Banana Tumble (some sources call this Banana Fall-Apart).

Recipe:
1. Gather ingredients for making a cake (I used banana cake, but you may substitute any flavour as desired to create the entire Tumble series).

2. Proceed to make the cake.

3. Take the cake out of the oven and allow to cool. It's very important that the cake looks beautiful and is near-perfect at this point.

4. Turn the cake tin over and allow cake to fall to pieces on the cooling rack.

Serving Suggestions:
Banana Tumble may be used to make trifle, eaten with ice cream and your choice of toppings, or eaten as a snack on its own throughout the day. If you're creative, try sticking the cake back together with icing, or drizzle melted chocolate over the pieces artistically.

Ratings:
Taste: 10/10
Difficulty: Easy
Presentation: Classy Restaurant Quality

Chef's Note: If you'd prefer an untumbled cake, I suggest using something a bit more hardy than olive oil cooking spray to grease your tin.

From The Inside Out

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

Hillsong United - United We Stand (2006)

Snakes On A Plane

The photo just about says it all: I took snakes on a plane (purely so I could blog about it). For those of you who are unaware, Snakes On A Plane is a humorously titled action movie I've never seen (but which I've heard is quite bad), starring Samuel L Jackson and having a somewhat lacking plot involving an assassin, a witness in protective custody, a crate of snakes and an overseas plane trip. Fill in the blanks. The slightly dopey look can be explained by my getting up at 3am to catch this flight!

So yes, I got to fly to Brisbane last weekend to visit my grandma in Warwick (and some other relatives too). It was a very short trip, but long overdue (four years overdue, in fact). For those of you operating under the common misconception that QLD = holiday, I regret to inform you that this was not actually a holiday per se. (By my definition, for a trip to be a holiday, you must spend more days at the destination than days you spend [part of] travelling to the destination, the exception of course being travelling holidays, and/or the trip should have no other motives than simply to relax). But it was still nice :)

For those of you wondering what it's like to fly, here's some more photo's taken out of the plane window! (And yes, you're allowed to do that.) The first one is a picture of some hilltops poking through the clouds. Beautiful, isn't it? The second photo was for Dad - he was so excited that we were on a 'new' plane, and wanted a photo of the special, curved wings. Sorry there's no coastal pictures (electronic devices can't be used during descent).

The Land Beyond Time

Working title: Of Teachers and Nurses

Today I had surgery - scary! As you might have guessed by the title (and alternate title), there's two major parts to my story. Firstly, the time thing. I went in at 1, and came out just after 4... For a ten minute procedure. I spent most of my time sitting around, alone and waiting, with no clocks to be seen and no watch. It's kind of strange being unaware of the time - I'm normally lost without a watch. Time feels all distorted when you can't track its passing. Eventually, they offered to fetch me a trashy mag to read, which I declined. Boredom is for those who lack imagination! However, after I was given the anaesthetic (major ouch!) I succumbed, and read all about Prince William and his girlfriend of five years - how sweet.

Now, of teachers and nurses... I remember starting uni, particularly prac, and being so shocked to realise how little teachers actually knew! I figured teachers had to at least understand the topics they were teaching (me teaching hockey certainly killed that idea). Another much-trusted profession is nursing - you want them to know what they're doing. I've heard a few stories that rock the boat. Anyway, the nurse was talking about a lesion on my leg (it was on my back). Now I'm thinking, am I going to have both legs when I get out of here?! Thankfully, the theatre nurse at least knew what part of me was being operated on. But before we got there, I was sent to the regular surgery unit, not the day procedure unit (which was under renovations). Upon realising I was not on their list, and so was not requiring an anaesthetist, I was marched back down to the day procedure area, where the banging of the work men's tools could be heard. After the procedure (which was a horrible experience) the nurse (a new one) forgot to photocopy my details and book my appointment. And all up, I had my pulse monitored, was weighed once, had my blood pressure checked twice (with the suggestion of a third time), and had my dressing checked at least three times. It makes you wonder some days.

At least you can't fault their hospitality; I had at least seven people attend to me throughout my stay (plus the doctor), they fetched me a mag, and they continually offered me tea, coffee or juice.

PE teachers get on my nerves

For lack of anything better to say, I will regale you with more tales from my physiotherapy - a strange and unusual occurrence in my life at present, since it involves physical activity!

Anyway, at yesterday's session I learnt something very interesting. As some may know, I spent most of high school with PE teachers making life miserable through their perhaps unwitting lack of understanding and compassion for people of lesser ability (some even mocking me, believe it or not). My poor flexibility performance was countered with the inevitably useless advice of performing various hamstring stretches in order to improve. Even though I put in my most diligent effort in this regard, as I did with all areas of my education, there was never any noticeable improvement. Even continuing such stretches during osteotherapy years later proved unsuccessful.

Yesterday I was asked to try a move which required minimal flexibility - and dismally failed, upon which I explained my poor hamstring condition. The answer? Hamstring stretches, of course! But upon performing the 'real' hamstring stretches (not the ones that only stretch your back, as prescribed by my dear old PE teachers), we discovered the limiting factor was not in my hamstrings at all (well, not yet anyway). The stretch-pain was in the wrong part of my leg, for a start. My real problem? My nerves.

So in the end, I could maybe have salvaged my sporting self-esteem a little bit more if my PE teachers could have told me the difference between a muscle and a nerve (surely that isn't medical specialist knowledge?). Then I could have pursued a more appropriate action, improved and achieved. So, the moral of the story, for both PE teachers and the little people alike: Don't assume; seek to understand the real issue.

Star-gazing

I really love the night sky. As a kid, I loved to read up about all the planets, constellations and other galactic wonders. I thought my grandma's telescope was the coolest thing ever, even if I still can't work out how to use it. Even now, when I'm coming home late at night, I pause as I step out of my car to appreciate the view our streetlight-lacking road gives of the night sky. Admittedly, I can only pick out the Saucepan, the Southern Cross and Venus.

On Wednesday I had the privilege of seeing comet McNaught! Stoz and I rugged up and headed out to a hill I didn't even know existed. There we watched the sunset, and eavesdropped on wise old Uncle John (some stranger, among many, viewing the comet with his family) explaining how to find it. Before nine thirty, it was visible, and by ten it was beautifully clear. It wasn't as bright as on previous nights, but it was still spectacular. Ironically, the photo I've posted here was taken in Frankston.

Long time no holiday

As promised, the low-down on my recent holiday in Frankston! This was the only real holiday I've had in what seems like years, and for something so simple it was unbelievably relaxing!

Day 1 – Wednesday Jan 3 2007
We left a little later than intended at around 12. I hate being late, and it meant we missed lunch with the Stosics. But never mind. Shortly after starting our journey, we stopped at Centro Lansell. There we bought a very groovy dinosaur book for Jasper's first birthday. Shortly thereafter we were on the road again. It was very hot, since Stoz's car has no air conditioning (that I am aware of). We stopped for lunch at Maccas, but the ice cream machine was broken, unfortunately.

We arrived just after three, and I was very happy to see everyone. It felt like it'd been ages, but it was really only a month or two. That evening Uncle Bernie arrived with his scaredy-cat dog, Schroeder. That dog is so funny to watch, particularly with the crazy antics of the other pets in that house, Milo and Ezekiel. Stoz went off to unload the boot of all the forgotten treasures from the backroom of his house, and I talked to Maureen about Omi, Jasper and other family matters. Dinner was scrumptious goulash and noodles, with ice cream for dessert, although I ended up feeling kinda sick from food overload. After tea, I mostly watched Kate and Stoz play Tetris and Doctor Mario. We all went off to bed just after 12. I felt so comfortable getting into bed, even though it was an old trundle bed. Why? No stress! It took me awhile to figure out why I felt so good... It was a forgotten feeling.

Day 2 – Thursday Jan 4 2007
We got up around 9 and I did my stretches (so the physio should be happy!). One of the parts I love most about staying with the Stosics is the awesome BBQ bacon and egg breakfast, complete with mushrooms. Kate stayed in bed, though.

After breakfast, Stoz and I headed off to see Oma in Warragul. It was another hot road trip. We passed through Langwarrin, which sounded familiar. I finally figured out it was where Nat lived, and I texted him. I saw a strange giant bird statue out the front of a a fun park, along with many weird business signs along the road. We arrived in Warragul just after 12 and spent three hours with Oma. I drank three cups of tea (and felt sick!), looked at all her photos, books and paintings, and heard all about her life. I was reminded very much of Omi, Opa and Mama, which was a strange yet familiar mix. Her accent is different to Omi's, probably since she's Polish not German, but the things she said were very much the same, particularly the haunting “Alles geht vorüber/vorbei” (it all passes). On the other hand, the way she talked also reflected Opa's fantastic memory of every little event that had transpired. Even the house seemed half German, half Warwick to me.

One thing Oma said that made an impression on me was this: “It was the war, but those were nice days. We were young.” I guess we have so much to learn from that generation. If they could enjoy life where they were, war and all, how much more should we enjoy the life God has given us, no matter the circumstances?

I left Warragul feeling a little sad, since it was all so close to home and fresh. Once back in Frankston, we went out to dinner with Maureen, Alex and Kate at Sophia’s on the beach front. It was a lot like a La Porchetta, but very nice and beautiful. Very quick service, too. We had a waitress from Belgium (the Dutch part), who had been in Australia for six years (I love how Melbourne is so multicultural!). There were lots of cops around for some reason, so something must have been going on at the beach.

After tea, we all went for a walk along the pier. The water was so beautiful and clear, you could actually see the bottom (not like other Victorian beaches). I guess I've been spoiled by the Gold Coast. The pier was long and between the cracks you could see the water and the beams holding it up. There were kids and other people everywhere, many looking ethnic of some sort. Very beautiful, and very romantic (almost). There was a gorgeous, picturesque sunset to top it all off. Oma called while we on the pier, and said to Maureen to “Enjoy Steff while she’s there, she’s a sweet girl.” Aw shucks.

As we were leaving, we passed a mob of boys heading out to the end of the pier. Between them they carried a pair of BMX bikes and a wooden ramp. I said to Stoz, "Do you think that's kinda suspicious?" We didn't get to see what happened next unfortunately, but instead went home and played games again until just before midnight.

Day 3 – Friday Jan 5
This was our supposed last day of the holiday. We got up around nine. Kate had to go to the dentist at 10 – I didn't realise she hates the dentist even more than I do! Stoz and I played Tetris while we waited for Kate, then the rest of us headed out for a late breakfast at Billy Baxter’s café, near the new cinema. It was really nice. Then we went window shopping at the nearest shopping complex - HUGE! It felt like being in the airport, or Melbourne Central (poor little country girl). I wanted to spend ages there, but also felt guilty since you can go shopping any time really. We went past the infamous JB on the way home, and I played that crazy guitar game on display.

At home Will, Kate's boyfriend, had arrived as moral support (she was still sore from the dentist). We all decided (except Maureen) to go to the beach, where we spent about an hour. Firstly Stoz and I went for a short stroll, the waves splashing over our feet. Then I paddled up to my knees, since I didn't have my bathers. Though, I got wet anyway. I gave up and sat on the towel and watched as the four of them played keepings off with a foam ball. Stoz also chased Kate around with a piece of seaweed (what a mean brother!).

As you can guess, we got home and played games yet again. Dinner was fried rice and chicken (I love this family!), followed by cookies and cream ice cream. Yum! We decided it was too late to head home at 8.30pm (it's a three hour trip at least), so we played/watched games again. I got to sleep in the double bed (woohoo!) since Will was also staying.

Day 4 – Saturday Jan 6
I woke up at 7am, but hit snooze several times. I finally heard Stoz rummaging around next door. He popped his head in on his way to the shower, and I said he could go first so I could snooze a little longer (lazy or what!). We packed up, then had breakfast with everyone - another bacon and egg feast.

We were finally ready to go just after 9.30 (an hour and a half after originally intended). We said our goodbyes and left. Thank goodness I'm not the navigator, because I couldn't follow which turns we took on the highway! We stopped for drinks at Maccas and eventually made it home. The sad part is, I could feel all the stress coming back the closer we got to Bendigo.

Oh well, it was still fantastic, and I can't wait til Kate's birthday when we're going again!

Catching up on life

Well Kids4Life 2007 is over, so here I am trying to catch up on life. Many others have done a really good job of filling you in on what went on with Kids4Life, so if you're interested you'd be better off checking their blogs!

Well, here's my own brief summary:

The best thing:
Being involved with local Bendigo kids who I will meet again, and having a positive influence into their lives.

The worst thing:
Not being myself after the events of the last month and so feeling my best efforts weren't quite up to my regular best.

The easiest thing:
Packing! If you forget something, just drive home and get it. Or better yet, have your totally awesome mum deliver it to you! (Love you, Mum!)

The hardest thing:
Some parts of team life (probably related to "the worst thing").

The most different to Champion City:
The beautiful hot weather (a little too hot at times).

The most the same as Champion City:
All the mission traditions and chants.

A Promise

Just got back from Melbourne. Fantastic time. Will blog about it soon, I promise (although perhaps it may have to be after Kids4Life).

Oh, and my cousin has had a baby girl, one week early! :)

Einen guten Rutsch ins neue Jahr!

For those of you wondering, that's a phrase my grandpa taught me just yesterday. It literally means "a good slide into the new year" or in other words "happy new year" (note: to be said before midnight).

Many people have made inspiring 'highlights of 2006' type posts. My memory is a little hazy, perhaps because it's been such a whirlwind year, but let's give it a go (with a lot of memory jogging from Sammy!)...

January
* My final Warrnambool SUFM, Champion City.
* Rediscovered the relaxation of reading novels.

February
* Short listed for an exchange scholarship to study in America (didn't make it past the interview).
* O-Week leader - not as much fun as you'd think.

March
* Found out that science was also not as much fun as you'd think with the School Based Program.
* Met some interesting lecturers, learnt and forgot some strange theories.
* Spent heaps more time with the wonderful Sammy!

April
* Um... Probably lots of homework.

May
* Turned the big 2-0. My friends threw me a sweet 'surprise' party. :)
* Worst ever practicum at Marong. Learnt what not to do.

June
* Exams - the dumbest multiple choice ever.
* Went on a hot double date with Sammy and Hamish (something nearly burnt down).

July
* Spent a week making a pirate video.
* Heard Sammy go on and on about Xanado for ages! :P
* The banana crisis struck.
* The Numa Numa song!!! O-Zone's Dragostea Din Tei - groovy stuff.

August
* The big 2-0 for the magnificent Stoz and the beautiful Cara.
* Mansfield camp - very cold.
* Started the best prac ever at Spring Gully.

September
* Prac continued.
* Had a brief week's respite from classes, which I spent starting and finishing my major SOSE assignment on water management.

October
* Stoz and I celebrated our four years 'anniversary' (well, we would have if he hadn't been sick).
* Things were crazy at the end of semester. The saying "when October ends" came about.
* Did my entire art folio at the last minute. Well, everything this year was pretty much at the last minute...

November
* Two exams (two more than most education students).
* Totally crammed German and still pulled a HD!
* Bethlehem Village in Explorers was tiring but awesome.
* Had a brief over-night holiday in Melbourne.
* The big 2-0 for Sammy.
* Sliced my finger open on a ring-pull can.
* Went to a trivia night at Flora Hill Secondary College and hung with the L337 Krew.

December
* Went to see a doctor that took over a month to get an appointment.
* Had a Princess Party.
* Bought a Christmas tree (kinda).
* Hung out with the Seniors (not really).
* Received the Odyssey and Explorers Leader of the Year awards (wow).
* Went to see a physiotherapist.
* Lost my grandma.
* Went to a green-themed New Years party.

Well, that wore me out! For now, I'll leave you with my quote of the week:
If you speak three languages, you are trilingual.
If you speak two languages, you are bilingual.
If you speak one language, you are English.