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