Chanters Pray Twice

2009-04-08T09:39:00.003+10:00

Wow, two blogposts in a month. Who'da thunk it?

4/Apr - Some words have lost their meaning. Other words have just plain been invented, sans meaning. Unaustralian, for instance. I'm sorry, precisely what is Australian behaviour?
5/Apr - Became a godfather for a young man who converted to Orthodoxy last year. Many years to our latest neophytes!
6/Apr - Feeling very frustrated... (see below)
7/Apr - I've done 600w for a 4000w essay. On paper, I've got plenty of time. But, once you factor in Holy Week and time that I'm spending away from home and eating after the Resurrection service, the time before the start of May (i.e. due date) becomes really...really short. Plus there's another essay a week after that (~2000w)...and another one due in prac (~1600w)...so I'm very much feeling swamped at the moment.

I'm feeling very sick of things at the moment. There's a lot of things that I can do, quite a number of things that I'd like to do...but only a few things that I have a personal stake in. And I'm not doing them. Not really.

So, I'm setting myself a not-unreasonable deadline. If something doesn't happen in the next nine months (i.e. by the end of the year) that will allow me to run with one of those personal-stake things, then I'll take that as a message that I'm not in the right place. And fix that.

FB status updates in a blog.

2009-04-04T12:07:00.002+10:00

13/Mar - Joined a group where a chick in Canada promised that, if 2500 people joined her FB grouup, she would eat Twilight (the book). Thanks to, like, 2000 Australians, she got there. There's a video coming out, too - looking forward to YouTube for that one.
13/Mar - Adjudicated debating. Had the odd occurance of both debates insulting the adjudicator. The first one was okay - it was a junior team saying that 'teachers don't care', which was merely unfortunate that I happen to be training to be a teacher. The 'oh, no!''s were audible. The second one was point-docking worthy - the debater pointed at what he thought was a member of the audience and said 'you look confused, i'll try and speak slower'. Apparently, he didn't know that said member of the audience was the adjudicator. Dumbass. His team lost the argument as well, which is good, because I'm not sure what I would have done if his team was winning but he was an incredible tool.
14/Mar - Went to an art show - very cool stuff.
15/Mar - I want a cat so that I can call it Schrodinger.
21/Mar - Brother's birthday *balloons and streamers*
21/Mar - State election. Not my most interesting time.
22/Mar - For some reason, I have a recurring interest in quantum physics. I know that new-agers like to make a big deal out of quantum physics, but even without that, I can see a lot of analogies that are useful for explaining theology.
24/Mar - Went to the dentist. Got a filling replaced (since the last one had fallen out). Not cool.
24/Mar - Went to vespers. Went /really/ existential (since I couldn't understand the words). I've blogged about it on this blog. Not the most edifying topic, I've gotta say, but it was something.
25/Mar - Realised real problem in existential issue is in how we know we know something. Probably not a way to talk about that without supposing a cosmic Third Person...
27/Mar - Finished all of my midsemester essays. A month early. Awesome. Handed it in a week later, but hey.
30/Mar - Found out some awesome news - there looks like being an English-language Orthodox mission starting up in Brisbane. Sadly, it meant that I only got to sleep at 2:30am, a full five hours after I found out the news.
31/Mar - Got the stimulus package from the government. When something quadruples the size of your bank account, that's a good thing.
1/Apr - Found out what school I'm doing field experience in. Very happy.
3/Apr - Daunted by next assignment that's due in a month - 4000w. Seriously.
3/Apr - But, I explained the two natures of Christ by analogy to wave vs particle natures of light. Analogies have their limitations, obviously, but that one's actually pretty good.

Plans

2009-03-26T19:21:00.004+10:00

It can be frustrating at times.

Part of who I am is my undeniable ability to make plans for the future. I've been doing it since I was in my second-last year of high school (curious? no, this isn't where I thought I'd be), at one point I had 12 different plans in my last year of high school (again, for the curious - one plan came out half-right). While I was at uni, I had speculations on where I'd go afterwards, but knew that it really was neither here nor there until I finished my degree.

I mostly-finished my degree, got a job, got promoted, stayed in the job after graduation, promised myself I wouldn't go back to uni, wanted out of my job, got a better job, worked at that job, decided to go back to uni. Not sure if I made the right call there, but I certainly made a pragmatic call. Had a plan, realised I couldn't go through with it (long story); had a ripper of a plan until that fell through.

In short, none of my previous plans encompass the position I'm in at the moment, and I find myself planless. I do have options, though.

1. Office job. Not thrilling, I know, but at least I know that it's well within my competancy.
2. Teaching at a high school in Brisbane.
3. Teaching at a high school in Sydney/Melbourne.
4. Teaching English in China.
5. Training people in diplomas and certificates.

They're all the plans that I've thought of so far. I suspect that the fourth one might be my backup - having family there and all.

Right now, though, I'm running with my previous stipulation - specifically, that I shan't make definite statements until June. I'm hoping that I can find a direction to head after Easter, though... that would help for when people say 'so what are you doing after graduation' and all...

What else would you do in a vespers service?

2009-03-24T21:39:00.002+10:00

Yesterday, I tried to conjure God out of an equation.

It's kinda difficult to do, but once you follow a certain sequence of events, it's the obvious result of what has been done.

I tried to think my way through existence, looking for something stronger than 'I doubt therefore I think; I think therefore I am'. It's not easy. Saying 'I think therefore I am' assumes that you are thinking - and a person who has problems thinking probably won't see the problem in their own thinking (i.e. a person who has problems in cognition will have more problems with metacognition).
I tried 'I love therefore I am'...similar problems. The result - 'He loves, therefore He creates; He creates, therefore I am'. My demolition was that a conclusion is only as strong as the weakest premise - positing God doesn't make Him so (btw, I wasn't /trying/ to conjure God out of an equation).

But, having thought about this overnight, it's not as illogical as I first thought. Assuming that we exist (which we do), at some point we have to work from what we know and find the most logical explanation for what we don't know - sometimes that will mean working backwards...kinda like string theory's other 26 dimensions :)

Twitter in a Blog

2009-03-12T14:50:00.002+10:00

Twitter updates:

March 5: I'm 40% of the way through the book I'm writing.
March 5: I think that an MA in 'Beatles-ology' is just plain dumb.
March 6: Don't try and figure out the rest of your life when you're going to sleep. You won't do either.
March 6: "The Revolution of Love" is an awesome keynote address on the OCF podcast - http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/ocf
March 7: Saw a former student's FB page, and got very sad that I'd basically dismissed her as 'uninterested' when her FB profile said her fave book was the Bible...made me wonder how many other things I'd missed.
March 8: I considered Melbourne for a future.
March 9: Half the book is finished.
March 11: 68% through the book.
March 12: Ahead on uni work. Happy and relaxed, albeit probably temporarily.

So, it's March already?

2009-03-12T14:17:00.003+10:00

Well, it's halfway through March, and I've not posted. I wonder if anyone will be shocked that a post from Chanters Pray Twice ends up in their RSS feed.

My last post was all about last year. Reading it (as I tend to do when wondering what else to write), I wondered how my year thus far squared up with my expectations.

As far as January/February goes, I did, indeed, complete the third semester of my studies in theology; and March, I'm completing the final semester of my studies in education. In case you're interested, it's going swimmingly, actually. I got my theology studies done so that I had O-week clear, and I also took the first week off - the two weeks just made it so much easier to transition into doing Education. I've been concentrating on doing more than 100w each day, and - so far so good. Today, I'm 200w ahead, and in the next 30 hours I should be finished my first assessment piece (40%, 1000-1200w, due in two weeks) - which I've done entirely without any all-nighters. My other assignment (30%, 1000w, due same day) is half-complete, and that should be done early next week. In short, I'm doing very well, complete with full nights of fairly normal sleeping patterns - I'm fairly sure that that's a first in my academic career, too. Some of my friends think they're rubbing off on me...

My public speaking is going well - I've completed eight of the ten required speeches for the first Toastmasters award, and am starting to both present without notes and to do well in short, impromptu speaking ('table topics'), which was a definite goal I had while I was there.

Chanting at services continues. I've learnt a lot of things in regards to liturgics. Work is continuing in the new organisation promoting Orthodoxy in this part of Australia...much more needs to be done, though. I've adjudicated a debate, and another one in the next few days. That was daunting - adjudicating in front of the new principal my old high school, particularly as a final semester education student! But, I survived...fortunately, my old high school's team was the better, so I was able to give the debate to them :)
(as much as I am impartial, I nonetheless want my old high school to win. That's not because I want them to win, though - it's because I want them to be superior - something that they won't be unless they are graded fairly)

All that said, I'm not sure what I'm going to be doing after I graduate. I'm not referring to whether I have a job lined up - nothing so grand - more where I am planning to be after graduation. Not long ago, there was the possibility (no commitment, but the possibility) that I would be able to go overseas and help an Orthodox Church, but that seems to have fallen through. I can't be too hit by that - or, rather, I shouldn't be - as it was obviously His will that that happen, but it does leave me in the quandry of 'if not that, then what?'. There are a couple of possibilities - the most obvious being 'use your education degree and be a high school teacher' - but I'm still investigating at this point. Maybe that's necessary...though I can't imagine why.

Goodyear/Badyear?

2008-12-30T06:37:00.004+10:00

Sometimes we can look back on the year that passed - as we are wont to do at this time of year - and consider that it was a good year; other times, we look back and see a bad year. Usually, however, these terms are more likely to reflect what happened in December than what took place over the year.

'Good year' and 'bad year' are such subjective, fickle terms.

I could easily look back on this year and see a fairly bad year. I found it difficult to find a place where I felt comfortable and at home (7 residences in a year and a week), I lost my best friend of 4 years, I deferred my studies because I had severe difficulty recovering from that as well as do everything else I was doing, and December has left me a little empty.

On the whole, I've got a lot of reasons to look back on this year and say 'bad'.

But, this year wasn't a total write-off, either. I've been involved in starting some pretty awesome activities (like a new mission parish, a new mission endeavour and expanding a church's cycle of services), had the luxury of taking time out from studies, got to live in West End (albeit for a short time), lived in Shanghai, figured out that I'm actually pretty good at teaching。Looking at that, the year actually starts looking pretty good.

But, looking at the past is only of value in assisting when looking towards the future.
So, what's 2009 bringing?

Well, in January and the first part of February, I'll be completing the third semester (i.e. first semester, second year) of my studies in theology. After this, from March to June I'll be completing the final semester of my studies in education. Concurrently, I'll still be chanting at a number of services, and beginning work with a new organisation promoting Orthodoxy in this part of Australia. I also intend on continuing my public speaking development, hopefully attaining my first Toastmasters' award, and in learning more about Orthodox liturgics and continuing research into genius and expertise. I am, however, intending on scaling down my adjudicating commitments.

On the whole, I'm looking forward to the year that shall be :)

2008-12-23T21:55:00.003+10:00

So, what's happened this year?

January, I started off living in East Brisbane. I did this semester's worth of the theological course I'm doing. I also got glasses and joined Toastmasters.

I found that sharing a studio was difficult, and moved in with my best friend and her housemate in around February. Had an operation in April (around Easter, no less), then did my prac at an all-girls Catholic school. I finished the semester with pass marks and a very positive recommendation for my prac.

Sadly, my domestic relations deteriorated after May, and I felt forced to move. I moved back home in July until I found a new place. I tried to continue university in second semester, but the combination of completing the next semester of my theological course and the disintegration of those domestic relations meant that I found myself unable to complete the final semester of my university course. I deferred my studies, unsure if I would return to them.

I moved to West End, fulfilling a desire I'd had since mid-high school, in around September. I attempted to find a job, but couldn't find any. It was during this time that I recommitted myself to finishing my education degree, which I will complete in June. I made a number of plans at this time, including doing my field experience in west Africa.

At the end of October, I visited China for just over a month, visiting my brother and his girlfriend. I came back in late November and, for various reasons, decided to move back home (making a total of seven places, in the last year-and-a-week, that I have lived in for longer than a month). As my last milestone for the year, I was blessed to be asked to deliver the Christmas message at the carols night at our church.

Other things that I did include teaching high school Orthodox Religious Education for the year and adjudicating high school debating during the year.

And, here I am - about to be half way through my theological studies (another 18 months to go), halfway through my education degree (6 months), back to living at my parent's house. I've got about five months until my field experience, after which is holidays and (hopefully) some family celebrations, and then...who knows!

It's bizarre, and a first for me, but it's kinda liberating to be able to look at a year ahead and not know entirely what's going to happen next. As I'm currently saying to everyone, after September, no promises as to where I'll be...

Scene from the Vicar of Dibley

2008-12-12T20:13:00.003+10:00

This was a scene from the Vicar of Dibley that I particularly enjoyed - particularly seeing the love that the character had (kudos, Dawn French!). It was a Christmas special (entitled Winter), and happens to be one of my favourite episodes - immediate Christmas Spirit^TM. I hope you enjoy it as well.
A warning - a couple of the jokes are somewhat off-colour...maybe PG rated.

Vicar: Right. Well, thank you everyone for an excellent day’s rehearsal… after a slightly shaky start. Right. The poster. What do you think?
Owen: Well, I don’t know about that.
Vicar: What?
Owen: Well, I just don’t think it is the greatest story ever told. I mean, there’s that great story about the people whose house was burgled, and they thought that the robbers hadn’t taken anything, and then they developed their photographs months later, and they found pictures of the robbers with toothbrushes up their bottoms.
Vicar: So, what – you think I should write, ‘the second greatest story ever told’.
Hugh: Yes, there is, there is fantastic story about the woman whose husband got out of the car, and she heard this banging on the roof, and the police said ‘get out of the car, and don’t look ‘round’, but she did look ‘round, a-a-a-and it was a lunatic, actually banging her husband’s severed head on the roof of the car.
Vicar: Well, perhaps I should just write, ‘one of the top 10 greatest stories ever told’.
Owen: That’s forgetting all those great Jackie Collins stories – The Beach, The Stud…
Frank: And Beatrice Potter, of course. She wrote lovely stories.
Hugh: And News from Southeast have some excellent local stories.
Vicar: Right, right. Sorry. Can we just stop, right there. Can I just remind you all a little bit about the story we’re actually telling here. Two thousand years ago, a baby is born in a stable. The poorest of the poor. And yet during his lifetime, He says things that are so astonishing that millions of people are still living their lives by them today. He said, ‘love thy neighbour’. He told us to turn the other cheek, whatever people might do to us.
Owen: Does that include that Simon bonking you like a beachball?
Vicar: Yes, it does, Owen…sadly, it does. But most astonishingly, I believe that this tiny little baby Boy, actually was the Son of God. And when He was younger than I am today, He was brutally crucified, for simply for telling people to love each other. And the men who killed Him thought ‘that’s it, He’s dead, He’s gone’. And yet, here we are. Two thousand years later. In a village, in the middle of England, doing a play about His Birth. Now, I think that’s a pretty great story.
[muttered affirmations]
Owen: Yes, all right, it’s a good poster, leave it as it is.
Vicar: Thank you. Although I do admit, the one about the toothbrushes is pretty gripping, perhaps we’ll do that next year.
Hugh: Perhaps Frank plays the toothbrush.
Frank: Yes, please.

Internet Censorship - Australia says 'WTF, no way!'.

2008-11-08T18:12:00.004+10:00

Those who have known me for a long time have known of my long-time hatred of internet censorship - ever since 1998, in fact, I've researched and opposed internet censorship at every turn. Not based on performance or anything like that - based purely on the principle of freedoms of speech and information.

I've mellowed since then. There are things that should be censored. I fail to see any benefit in allowing, for example, child pornography and bestiality to be shown. I don't exactly think I'm alone in my revulsion.
In short, there is a definite line that should not be crossed. We may not know where that line is, but we can tell when something has unquestionably leapt over it.

As I make no attempts to hide, I'm an Orthodox Christian, and that does govern a lot of my own thoughts and actions; I also choose to live in a liberal democratic society, the upshot of this is that I do not believe that government should legislate for all morality and believe that everyone is accountable for their own actions (and, FWIW, I would be shocked if someone could come up with evidence that Orthodox theology says anything else).

So, there is one problem - where is the line to be drawn. I would draw it where over 90% of the Australian population agrees that a thing is wrong. Gonna be hard to achieve that kind of consensus? Damn right, and that's the way it should be. Our constitution, to function, necessitates our freedom of speech (termed 'implied rights'), and that's the way it should be, and that's the kind of freedom we need to have to gain knowledge to elect good leaders - never mind take part in the world and resurrect the economy.

That doesn't take care of the second problem: how is the line to be drawn. Well, there's really no good answers. But, no computer program can do it. None. All have false negatives and false positives at unacceptable levels (even taking aside the certainty of decreased performance).
Rather: employ someone to basically add sites to a filter. A moral philosopher, a trained ethicist - someone with a good head on their shoulders for that 90% consensus - whose job it is to manually go through and add sites to the blacklist.

These are sites constructed by humans, and - if they are to be blocked - they deserve to be blocked by humans.

The third problem of censorship is, of course, performance. Australian internet performance is currently sub-par, at best. We want to slow it down further? Sorry, that's just dumb.

(more travelblogging coming soon)

2008-11-06T13:51:00.003+10:00

An article caught my eye - it's listed on the OrthodoxMissions group on Yahoo!. I'll be happy to link it to the original article...if it's still existing.

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PASSIVE EVANGELISM

The Church is called by our Lord to evangelize. Unfortunately, this is an area in which all of us has fallen short. Admittedly, active evangelism is difficult, and most of us are not called to be preachers or teachers. However, there is much that all of us, and all of our parishes, can do that is relatively easy, that falls in the class that I call "Passive Evangelism".

First of all, we must live our faith to the best of our abilities, and be both an example of a good Christian and of a good Orthodox Christian. We must make Orthodoxy attractive by what we are and what we do. In addition, we must acknowledge publicly that we are Orthodox - this does not mean preaching, but rather, things like explaining when asked that the Church we attend is the Orthodox Church , and (again, when asked) that we are abstaining from certain foods because we are Orthodox and the Orthodox Church has made this time a period of fasting and penitence.

Likewise, when we are asked about the Orthodox Faith and Orthodox practice, we should answer without apology. Of course this means that we must ourselves know what the Orthodox Church teaches, why the practice is the way it is, and what the meaning of the practice is. Providing a pamphlet (oriented toward the inquirer rather than the student) is also appropriate, but saying that you will get them a pamphlet that explains things better and then giving it to them later smacks less of "proseletyzing" and is less threatening than pulling one out right away. In addition, this provides a second opportunity to discuss Orthodoxy.

There is passive evangelism for the parish as well. Most of these things are obvious, but think back on how many times they are not done and how annoyed you as an Orthodox were. Then think about the impact on someone who would like to know more about Orthodoxy.

The Parish must be discoverable. This means that its existence must be public. As a minimum there should be an entry in the Yellow Pages of the telephone book. Along with this should be an answering machine that gives time and place of the Sunday and other major services and directions to the Church (but don't clutter up the message with every service and activity!). If the local ministerium publishes a directory of churches, get in it. If a local Internet provider has a Churches section get in it. Other Church Directories can be effective, such as listings in local newspapers and Motel/Airport directories - after all, when someone is waiting in an airport, he or she will read almost anything to pass the time. Likewise, prepare a sheet with a listing of services, phone numbers, and directions to the Church (8 x 11, pre-punched) and distribute to all the motels, college and hospital chaplains, etc.

Consider advertising, but make sure that what you do is effective - a small notice stuck in the middle of a whole page of larger ads for Christmas services may be unnoticeable, where a medium size ad for Pascha may stick out, especially if Latin Easter precedes Pascha. A few large ads with bold type and lots of white space are much more effective than many small ads that get lost in the clutter. And keep the message simple - you want to make the Orthodox Church known and invite others to learn more, rather than inform members about your activities. As a practical note, a two column ad is more visible than a one column ad of the same size.

Use your activities to publicize the Church. People will notice an ad or an article about a Pirogi or Baklava sale when they pass over a notice about the Church itself. A booth at a local shopping mall will provide greater exposure than the same activity in the Church hall. Although it may be more expensive at the mall, remember that each new family represents $500 or more in contributions. Ethnic festivals will also attract people, but be careful to insure that the festival does not suggest that the Church is only for Greeks, Arabs, Russians, Serbs, or Romanians.

Use snow day announcements, even if all your members know whether you will be open or closed. This is probably the one media offering that people listen carefully to, and it's free.

Make sure that the Church is identifiable from the street. Architecture can help, but a sign is essential, and the sign should at least provide the time of Sunday Liturgy and a phone number.

The Church must be findable. This can often be difficult because the Church is where it is, frequently in what had been an immigrant neighborhood or where land was affordable. If there is a choice of location, look for a street or road that is well known. A "prime" location isn't necessary, but local people must be know where the street is. In any case, prepare directions from a major convenient landmark. Don't look for the fastest or shortest way - look for the simplest, most foolproof way. Have someone who is only slightly familiar with the area check it out (a visiting cousin is good). You want people to be able to find you the first time; when they start coming back they will find the way that is most convenient for them.

Use signs. The Church should have a sign visible from the street that is large enough and bold enough that anyone looking for it can easily say "There it is!". Make sure that there are standard street signs at each appropriate intersection and that they are readable. If you can, put up directional signs at any significant turnings, especially onto secondary streets.

Once people can find the Church, make sure they know when services are (at least the Sunday Liturgy - if they come to Liturgy you can tell them then about Vespers, Bible Study, the Ladies Society, etc). This is information that should be on an obvious sign, by the street or at the main entrance.

The Church must be welcoming. The Liturgy is solemn, but it is also joyous. The congregation should act as though they were glad to be there. The greatest single inducement for others to join us is that we want to be there.

Welcome newcomers, give them a service book and a bulletin, and show them where in the service book the Liturgy is (it's sometimes hard to find, even when you know what to look for). If they appear to be non-Orthodox, tell them where in the service you now are. If your neighbors seem confused, help them find their place. If you are in Matins or Hours, tell them that a preliminary service is in process and that Liturgy will start at 10, and then tell them when Liturgy starts. Realize that even other Orthodox have different specific practices and signs of devotion and that non-Orthodox p probably have very little understanding of what we are doing and why. Let the visitor sit, and perhaps even tell them that although the Orthodox commonly stand for most of the Liturgy, they are welcome to sit whenever they want. Any visitor who is not intending to show disrespect will be respectful by his standards and try to make a reasonable accommodation to our standards.

Invite newcomers to coffee hour, and then talk with them, finding out where they are from, answering any questions, and if appropriate giving them one or two pamphlets. Don't overload them, and select pamphlets oriented to the newcomer rather than texts for the old member who wants to learn in detail. You want the newcomer to come back and learn more about Orthodoxy and your church, not convert them on the spot. You may organize teams of greeters, but have several people talk with them, and especially members who have things in common with the visitors.

Have a meaningful and attractive bulletin. Include not only the special events, but also the times of all regular services. The bulletin is probably the only reminder that the newcomer will keep that has this information. After all, you want to make it as easy as possible for the visitor to return.

Appropriate pamphlets must be available. The goal is to induce the visitor to come back and to want to learn more about Orthodoxy. An attractive small booklet that provides a short description of the parish, a brief introduction to Orthodoxy, and a short explanation of icons in Orthodoxy, together with a tour of the Church, identifying the various icons (and giving their significance), and a listing of services can be very popular. Whenever you have an open house, group visitors, etc, make sure that something like this is available

The Church must take advantage of curiosity. Encourage college Christian Clubs, Sunday Schools, college classes in Religion or History, and other churches to visit. When they come, make sure that each person has an attractive reminder to take home - an Icon card with the schedule of services on the reverse, the tour booklet, etc.

The Church must have attractive programs. This is a sign of an active parish, and whether we like it or not, people are attracted by programs. Examples are a good church school (an hour on Sunday, not a full elementary school), a youth group, adult Bible study, etc. As appropriate, establish special interest groups such as a Widows/Widowers group or a single parent group.

The Church must reach out to the local community. Major programs like a homeless shelter may well be beyond the capability of a small parish, but any parish can do a used clothing drive, toys for the orphanage, hospital/nursing home/hospice visiting, etc., and can cooperate with other organizations on major activities.

The Church must reach out beyond the local community. As a minimum, it must support the usual appeals - the Seminaries fund, the Diocesan and national Charities funds, the Earthquake Relief funds, etc. Beyond this, any parish, regardless of how small, can adopt an orphan or help support a mission priest (especially a native in Africa or Asia). Likewise, cooperate with the other Orthodox parishes in the region, supporting their activities and requesting them to support yours.

These things are not substitutes for active evangelism, but they are all steps to making it as easy as possible for an Orthodox person to become associated with an Orthodox Church when moving or traveling, and as easy as possible for a receptive non-Orthodox to become Orthodox. This is the minimum we are bound to do.

Confucian Temple? Try maps and earphones. (5:21pm illustrated)

2008-10-31T16:02:00.003+10:00

I went on my first lone trek around Shanghai today.

It's an intimidating city. No surprises there.

I wanted to go to a Confucian temple. I knew it was nearby, because I saw it on a map. But, that was out of date (a lot has changed since 2006), and we needed a new one, so my first mission was to find a tourist map. I've found several – all in Chinese. Not exactly much help when part of the reason you need a tourist map is because you don't speak Chinese.

Silver lining, though – I think I learnt the Chinese word for map. Or, at least, the word that all the vendors seem to understand – ma̅-pù (apologies if that doesn't turn out right – accent marks are an important part of transcribing Chinese into Pinyin).
(turns out, not the Chinese word for map. Maybe next time.)

Also had another adventure, of sorts. I went into a computer market. Pushiest. Salespeople. Ever.
I remembered that I was really looking for some noise-cancelling earphones. So, I decided to purpose myself – and came across some earphones. Figuring that there had to be noise-cancellers around somewhere, I came across some in a short order.

They had no idea what I wanted. Turns out, talking slower and clearer in a language that they only functionally understand doesn't help much. Shock.
Until, that is, I pulled some earphones out of my pocket. Then they stopped thinking that I needed another laptop (or something) and we got to talking. They pulled out a pair of Sony earphones and told me that it would be 380 yuan.
For the Australians out there, that's about A$90. Unsurprisingly, I looked at them like they'd just kicked the cat.

It was an instinctive reaction. See, I hadn't realised, but I was actually in a bargaining-accepted place. I had been told previously, however, that in a bargaining situation, the first price is just an opening offer. Once I said 'no, no way' and they said 'well, how much do you want it for then?', I realised my position and changed my tack. Slightly.
I offered 200 yuan (A$50). They mocked it and talked about 330 yuan. I stuck to my guns, and said 'that's okay, I'll just go somewhere else'.

There are a number of countries that do bargaining. I've been in Mexico and seen it done by my father (who took to it like a proverbial duck to water), and now I'm in China. Turns out, neither country wants you to take your business elsewhere, and both are quite happy to provide substantial discounts when your counter-offer is 'no deal'.

His last price was 300. He became my friend all of a sudden, and offered $280. I took two steps away. Suddenly, my new best friend offered $230. No dice. 200 it was.

Last price my butt.

Then I walked back down the street to the cool cafe I went to on my first night here. Nice place, called Unicolor (full endorsements). I ordered an ice chocolate (which, btw, is awesome, as per usual) and settled down to blog my day and read my textbook.

Confucian temples will have to wait.

(As I left, I saw the best No Smoking sign ever. Ever.)

Another day in the PRC

2008-10-31T12:14:00.004+10:00

The Toastmasters meeting was cool - a company based club. I evaluated a speech. Very impressed with the memorised speech - particularly considering that it was her first one in Toastmasters.

After that, went and visited my brother at work, which was cool, and ate at - I kid you not - Cold Stone Icecreamery. Far cooler, though - they'd, like, throw the ball of icecream in the air and catch it with the cup, that kinda thing. So much better than what I'm used to :D

Got set up with someone on a language exchange (someone my brother works with) - basically, I teach someone English, and in return, they teach me Mandarin. Or, more correctly at the moment, I teach them all the rules and pronounciations of English, they teach me how to read Pinyin (looks like English, but a few important differences, like 'zh' becomes 'j'). Working out really well, I think :D

On the way to the language exchange that evening, I passed a sign which I found amusing - in the centre of the image above, it has "THUMB Keeping In Good Health Health Care Spa". I can see how easy the mistake was, but it's still a little jarring :)
That said, I'd rather almost-English than no English at all, like Australia has for all its tourists...

Today, I'm planning on seeing a Confucian temple that's nearby, and maybe pick up a tourist map (the one from 2006 is, sadly, quite out of date...)

Photos!

2008-10-30T19:51:00.000+10:00

For those of you that don't otherwise know - I've updated my last three posts with 2-3 photos (each) - check 'em out!

Breakfast, subway, interviews, traditional-modern contrast

2008-10-30T12:24:00.005+10:00

Yesterday, had breakfast with brother, brother's girl and friend of brother's. To get there, we went by subway. Good experience. Subways here are very different to trains in Australia that I've experienced: they're stable and, often, they're crowded. The former has been attributed to less turns (they're basically straight lines), while the latter, well hey, it's a densely populated city and driving isn't a standard means of commuting.

Having WiFi basically freely available in cafe's is trippy, too. Awesome, but trippy.

After that, a trip around that area - on the other side of the city centre (People's Square) - where we went through an old neighbourhood. Got some good photos of the contrast between the old neighbourhood and the new skyscrapers, too. Still surreal to be the focus of everyone's faded-out sentences :)

Had an interview that afternoon. Didn't work out because they were looking for someone who would stay a minimum of a year, which I obviously wasn't planning on doing. But that's okay, I've already another interview lined up. May need moving to another city - Suzhou - which is about 45mins west (60kms - awesome that the trains actually work well!), but that's cool - it's a very different city to Shanghai, and I think it'll be an awesome experience to be around that kind of ancient, traditional culture (which, sadly, has probably been largely knocked down to make way for modernity) - even if I have to fit it around work (which will probably work out for the best anyway). The plan is, I should be able to get back in time for church on Sunday morning at the Russian embassy - here's hoping, anyway!

For today, another Toastmasters meeting. Looking forward to it already :D

(and yes, photos are coming - I want to upload it from a decent-sized computer...)

Happening Place is Shanghai

2008-10-28T19:35:00.005+10:00

So, things just keep happening :D

Yesterday felt soo full...I was sent off from home with little more than a page of scribbled instructions on where I lived (in Chinese), the promise of a rendesvous in 3-4 hours and directions on how to get to the waterfront and a 10storey set of shops. And I thought the Myer Centre was big.

Well, I did want to go shopping.

So I ambled down the street. Took a metric truckload of pics, including a few things that I thought that people just wouldn't fully comprehend (or even believe) if I just told them. Things like the movement of traffic rules to traffic guidelines - such as, beeping just means 'please don't dawdle', intersections are massive and can be a separate bit of road and is less governed by 'my car should go here' and more governed by 'my car should not occupy the same space as another car'.
Eventually, I got to the end of the main street. Construction got in my way, so I made a panic phone call and found out that I was lost exactly where I had to be. So I went to the waterfront, and spent a leisurely hour or so walking up and down what was essentially the equivalent to the walkway at Southbank. Y'know, with a greyer skyline and river.
I remembered what it was like to be a minor, short-term celebrity...there were what seemed to be several classes of primary school (or creche) students, and a whole slew of them were gawking at the tall foreigner who strode past...kinda funny to get no reaction from a wave :)

Then I returned to the shopping centre nearby. That 10 storey shopping centre. And I thought the four-storey Myer was big. I strolled through, checking out the clothes stores, and tried a particularly nice pair of trousers on.
I was underwhelmed when I didn't fit the XXL size.
Who the superlative has to get tailor-made casual trousers?!

Had a wonderful hot chocolate...as it turns out, I happened to stumble across a high-quality coffee place. And, wonderfully for me (disappointingly for Australia's standards as a technological nation), every coffee place has WiFi capabilities. Fan-tastic.

Went home, chilled for a little while, then went for a walk and saw some more of the sights. My back seriously hurts from wearing Trenchie. Had some beautiful Mandarin Fish, learnt that Chinese restaurants have table-wide meals, then went to the top of the Shanghai World Financial Centre. Incredible views that put the 'zing' in amazing.

It's kinda weird to be in a situation where I understand absolutely nothing of what's being said in the world around me. I've experienced that - and, bluntly, the whole 'foreigner' experience - before when I started going to the Greek services at church, but I've actually understood a bit of it in the past year or so, enough to at least track the conversation and laugh at the same time (although, I'm sure, due to very different things - I was probably laughing at my machine-like translation!), which makes going back to that kinda...weird. At least here, it makes sense.

Went home and went to sleep very quickly.

Today was a bit of an easier day - stayed home, did some research work, got an interview (ESL teacher - *fingers crossed for tomorrow*), experienced more cuisine...it's a sweet life, if I may borrow the phrase myself :)

The computer I'm currently using, while having a full-size keyboard, has some deficiencies, like reading SD cards...so I'm going to have to upload some photos separately. They are coming, though. They're coming.

First Day in Shanghai

2008-10-27T10:58:00.006+10:00

Wow, I'm in China now. Even the concept is kinda cool :)

I'm in Shanghai, and the city is very cool, I've gotta say. I'm staying with my brother, who is living on the 24th floor of one of the buildings. The view is so good it's surreal - there are construction sites that take up what we Australians would consider entire blocks...and these are just small parts of the block.

Traffic is crazy. What we in Australia would consider laws and, therefore, unbreakable and unquestionable tenets of driving and staying alive are more, well, advisory. Road rage is non-existant, even beeping horns aren't terribly common (although, as I write this, the outside decides to prove me wrong...), which is extraordinary considering how everyone drives. Lanes are the closest thing to a rule, and indicators seem to be used more for decoration. Oh, and seatbelts are an optional extra.
Yet, as crazy as all that sounds (and multiplied by the fact that Shanghai has just short of the population of Australia into, like, half the size of the Sydney), there's not that many accidents. Drivers from China seem to have a built-in sense of caution where the possibilities of danger are anticipated and avoided...hence, no accidents. It's as if the driving school instructors all said 'look, you want to get from a to b. Here's a system, work around it to get from a to b without stopping to exchange insurance details'.

Haven't seen too much of the city as yet, looking forward to seeing some - and to shopping, since I packed lightly with that in mind.

Was able to get to a cafe last night - like the Central Perk in Friends, except far less, well, yuppie-y. And the food! The food is so cheap - and good! I spent 28 yuan (about A$7) and got this great meal of Singaporean noodles - so cool!

The only downside so far is that I can't charge my new Eee PC yet - in a brilliant stroke of foreplanning, I forgot an adapter. Most things can plug in to plugs here - for some reason, Australian plugs are okay - but only if they have the third prong (the earth one)...so, I'm classing that under 'oops'.

Totally looking forward to the rest of my time here :D and yes, photos will be coming soon!

A month of bloglessness

2008-10-10T12:34:00.003+10:00

Well, it's been a month. A lot of things have changed...

I didn't end up getting work in an office. Rather, I'm a lowly-paid research assistant, studying the formation of children into geniuses and experts, as well as how experts do their job, well, expertly. It's really cool - cool enough that I don't mind the rather lowly pay.

I'm still going overseas in ~25 days, which is still awesome - I'll be able to continue my work over there, and be able to stay with my brother. The plan is to stay for a month, but I may take the opportunity to stay for six weeks or so and come back in time for Christmas.

I've also been spending a fair bit of time updating my other blog, so I haven't had a complete hiatus.

I've been very relaxed generally, actually. Not much to do...it's a good break. I've been taking the chance to get into quantum physics a little, actually - plenty of respect for the theoretical physicists out there!

Lightbulb for Brisbane Private Schools

2008-09-18T17:21:00.002+10:00

I'm not sure if I've posted this before, but I'm going to post it again...because I find them so funny! (and with disturbing amounts of truth...)

The 'How many does it take to change a lightbulb', for Brisbane schools!

I've found two of these, so I'll post them both...just a warning, it's all just words, but the content is somewhat NSFW.

*******

Brisbane Girls Grammar - One. She holds the bulb and the world revolves around her.

St. Laurence's - Two. One to change the bulb and one to figure out how to get high off the old one.

Gregory Terrace - None. They're all too drunk to notice and even when their sober if they spot a hole they just put dencor rub in it.

All Hallows - One. She'll put through a call to maintenance staff because there's no way she's going to do manual labour.

Kenmore High - None. That hole looks better in the dark.

Lourdes Hill - Six. One to change it but only after the other five have found an interpreter to translate the English instructions.

Indooroopilly High - Seventy six. One to change the globe. Fifty to protest the globe's right not to change and twenty five to stage a counter protest.

Brisbane Boys Grammar - None. Those poor bastards are keeping their backs to the wall even if it means standing in the dark. "If you can't get a girl, get a Grammar boy".

Somerville House - Five. One to change it, two to make sure her hair ribbons are still in place and another two to make sure her bag looks cool at all times.

Ipswich Boys Grammar -Six. Four to break into the store, one to steal the globe and one to install it.

Brigidine - None. It is too unsafe for pregnant girls to attempt such a dangerous task.

Brisbane State High - where?

TSS - 10. One to change the bulb. One to call his dealer and eight to talk about how gnarly things got at Kirra during the last cyclone.

Nudgee College -Five. One to install it, and four to tally the number of times he says F*** or talks about rugby while he's doing it. Their wives and children shall all watch the process.

Ipswich Girls Grammar - None. Everything not welded down had been flogged long ago.

Marist Bros, Rosalie - None. Everyone is either suspended or wagging (including the teachers).

Marist Bros, Ashgrove - Three. One to put in a formal complaint about the imposition, one to change the bulb and one to make the observation that it isn't half as bright as the light shining from their arses.

BBC - Two. One to insert the bulb the other to jump start it via mummy's Volvo.

Churchie - None. In the company of canines one needs less imagination in the dark.

TGS - None. Electricity has yet to make it west of the great divide.

*******

Springwood:
None: cos even tho the prinicpal trys 2 say how gud the skool is he cant actually string his sentences together, while trying to explain that we will have to lock the classrooms now and everyone must sign in and out a key when they go to class because someone has vandalised the new light bulb, a massive group of islanders playing there guitars try to steal the new lightbulb, but cant fit it in their bag because of the sterios blasting their gangsta music are taking up all the room

Churchie:
Three - one to call the electrician and one to call daddy to pay the bill. I think we know what the third guy is doing.

CHAC:
Only one, but they get 6 demerit points for breaking it in the first place.

Moreton Bay College:
One - she holds the bulb and the world revolves around her.

Lourdes Hill:
Eleven - one to screw it and ten to support its sexual orientation.

Balmoral:
Three - one to change it and two to try and figure out if you can get high off the old one.

St. Laurie's:
Ten - one to change it, one back up if the first guy's too drunk and the other eight to pray that it works.

Cooparoo SHS:
Eight - one to change the light bulb and 7 to figure out whether to knife it to death or sell it on the cooparoo shs drug market

St Margaret's:
the whole school; 2 to spread a rumour about the light bulb being a slut, 3 to say how they wish they could be as thin as the bulb, 3 more to call those 3 fat then go throw-up, 1 to buy the light bulb with daddy's credit card and 1 to invite Churchie so the rest can find a rich Husband. hopefully the principal will actually show up to do the honour but there is always the vice.

Kelvin Grove (Queensland Dance School of Excellence):
Five - one to change the bulb and four to do an interpretative dance about it.

Carmel College:
Seven - one to change the light bulb and six to throw a party because he didn't screw it in upside down this time.

Wynnum North:
None they don't have light bulbs...they are too fucked up...people smash them and try to kill them selves with them but if you told someone there was a broken light bulb they would probably try to fix it even though there isn't one there because they are so stoned to get light bulbs for the school!

Sommerville:
None - with fluoro green uniforms, its better in the dark.

BBC:
Seven - one to change it and the other 6 to stand around playing soggy sao's while he does it.

Iona:
Five - one to change it, 3 to stare at his arse while he does it and 2 to burn a hedge down, just for the hell of it.

Girls Grammar:
Five - one to change the bulb, one to make sure her nails don't break, one to curl her hair, one to make sure her outfit matches the light and one to make sure her shoes match as well.

Nudgee:
None - they don't have any money left after all the imports.

Toowoomba Grammar:
none - they don't have electricity yet.

All Hallows:
Four - one to change it and the other three to bitch about what a shit job she did.

Terrace:
Two - one to screw it in, and the other to gel his hair while he does it.

Villanova:
Two - one to fix it and one to look in a dictionary to discover what the heck a "light bulb" is anyway.

Ipswich Grammar:
None - they can't find a shop selling light bulbs within a 200 km radius of Ipswich.

St. Eddies:
just one guy to make the light bulb fall in love with him... but it doesn't matter cause he'll just go screw some other light bulb anyway...

Boys Grammar:
Twenty One - one to change the bulb and 20 to hang out at the Queen Street Mall...

Brisbane State High:
Ten - one to change it, one to break the old one and stab the guy fixing the light cause he looked at him 'funny' and a crew of eight to fight them both for no particular reason.

Wynnum State High:
Thirty One - one chic to actually change it, fifteen guys to look up her skirt, ten guys to see if they have enough money to pay her for a one night stand and five to smoke pot while they are skipping class.

MSM College:
None - they call the Marist guys and get them to do it for them.

Marist Ashgrove:
None - they return the call and get the MSM girls to return the favour.

Ferny Grove:
None, their tree friends help them out.

Stuartholme:
5, one to screw the bulb, 2 to hold her up there and the other two to hold the chair that the first two are on.

Mitchelton State High:
none - why waste money on light bulbs when they can waste it on their cricket fields??

Our Lady's College:
none, they all seem to have older boyfriends who do everything for them

Loretto College:
First you gotta find the blasted place (hint: Year 10 Marist Dancing Lessons... remind most of you?

Loretto College: 10, 3 to change the light bulb, two to sit on their arses watching and 5 to sit around wishing their boyfriends where there to help.

Redlands College:
1 to ask Mr patterson if they can... wait while he asks god if its ok ... oops none coz mr patterson (and god) would say no coz it promotes sex.

St. Mary's:
i dunno... but i'm sure they'll make it into an act at their musical next year.. at least it would be more interesting then this year...

Malanda High:
the entire school population coz its the most exciting thing that's happened there since the freakin school opened!

Forest Lake College:
none, they're too busy pretending they don't live near Inala

Clayfield College:
doesn't matter, those girls will screw anything

Macgregor High:
3 to change the light bulb, 2 to act as interpretators so they can understand each others' languages, 2 to work out why a scottish school has no people from Scotland in it and an extra 3 girls trying to find new ways to make their skirts shorter.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT):
1 to design a nuclear-powered light bulb that never needs changing, one to figure out how to power the rest of Brisbane using that nuked light bulb, 1 to change the light bulb, 1 to crack under the pressure, 10 to share the experience, 5 to write a report on the importance of light bulbs in today’s modern society, 50 to protest the light bulb's right to not change, 25 to hold a counter-protest, 1 to write the computer program that controls the wall switch, the whole creative industries faculty that to commemorate the event with an interpretative song and dance routine, 20 that turned up for the extra 6 credit points, 1 to hand out the coffee and guarana refreshments, 5 that stumbled over from the bar to see if there is going to be a party, and 1 to say loudly how a QUT student can change a light bulb just as well as any Griffith student ............ (it’s a whole campus affair)

Rosewood High:
if they're anything like Jacqui, they'll just be standing around ringing BRISSIE people asking 'What does that mean? Lightbulb what?'

Sunnybank High:
Well once they find out Macgregor has 'changed' a lightbulb, they'll have to get the whole school to change all of theirs, before bashing up the Macgregor 'changers' in the pathway up to Garden City.

STMC:
10... 5 guys to try and work out how they actually screw in a lightbulb, their gurlfriends standing behind bitching about how girls at Clairvaux/Sunnybank/Macgregor/Browns Plains are such sluts, and a few others just standing around trying to convince people that their school REALLY is a private school ('see it says college!')

Park Ridge High:
The whole 'How to change a Lightbulb' class... its right after there 'Teenage Pregnancy' class and right before 'How not to look stoned at School' class...

Browns Plains High:
None... they're all over at the 'Grand' Plaza hanging around the bus station

St. James:
5...One chick to change it and 2 other chicks to give their boyfriends blow jobs on a park bench.

Holland Park High:
all of them...the schools the biggest shit heaP that no one could care less but they would all go and hide and smoke pot.

Whites Hill College:
none...They are too busy wondering why the hell they'd change the name of the school to make it sound remotely sophisticated when clearly it's not!

Wellington Point SHS:
10, 3 to steal the old bulb and use it as a bong, 2 to miss it all together because they’re skipping class, 4 to bitch about the light bulb because they think it is ‘up itself’ while seeing how high they can pull up their socks and 1 to show the private schools that light bulb changing is a sport, and that’s why Wello is great at it.

Ormiston College:
10, four year 12 boys who have been asked by their year 9 girlfriends to help, four offering to do it “because its all about school spirit” (they are competing for prefect) and two spoilt little rich girls to bitch about the slutty light bulb and how it would break for anyone.

QASM:
just 1....but he does it with his mind

Clairvaux Mackillop College:
It probably wouldn't ever be changed. Knowing Clairvaux. It takes a whole freaking year to clean out a blocked and overflowing sink in the toilets.

Back to Better

2008-09-17T18:30:00.004+10:00

Well, I'm no longer that sick. I've got a persistant cough, and my voice doesn't feel like what it used to be, but aside from that, I'm entirely back to normal.

I'm taking a fairly lengthy look at That '70s Show - I'm trying to get through the entire series of 200 (over 8 seasons) before I start working.

Which (cue neat segue) will hopefully be fairly soon. I'm registered with two temping agencies, which should ensure some work. I've also clocked in at 87 words per minute (net), which is awesome, since the last time I was employed in data entry, I was at 72 words per minute. I'm confident.

The sickness did take it out of me, though. Out of willpower (rather than good sense), I went to church on Saturday night - stayed through the service (mostly seated) and went home right on the dismissal, sleeping in for Sunday morning. Like I said, very sick. The last Saturday (being of fairly decent health), I went to church, and went to a mercy meal (the anniversary of a person's repose) afterwards. Then on Sunday, went to church again.

This week, an interview and a skills test (aforementioned), and this weekend a birthday celebration. House blessing planned for next week.

Still sick

2008-09-07T15:26:00.003+10:00

Being sick has multiple downsides - currently, that means a perpetually runny nose, a rather vicious cough, a temperature and sporadic headaches, the combination of which meaning that there's not a lot that I can concentrate on. On the positive side, I suppose, it means that I have very little to blog.

Went to church last night. Didn't serve, didn't stand (no energy), stayed very incognito (as much as I can, anyway) and left right on the final 'amen'. I suppose it came more under an 'act of defiance' thing...

Aside from that, I've just been watching movies (Who Framed Roger Rabbit - a classic that I had totally missed - and it explained Toontown at Disneyland!) and TV shows (That '70s Show, How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs, in that order)...haven't even the energy to plug in my Wii, let alone play it...

Hopefully, we'll be well enough to reschedule the houseblessing to sometime this week...fingers crossed.

so much so that i forgot a header

2008-09-04T12:15:00.003+10:00

I'm sure I'm not saying anything new, but...
...being sick sucks.

It all started yesterday. Well, it probably started on Sunday night, but I started to know about it yesterday. I'd gotten an appointment for temporary positions (i.e. you're employed by a company and they send you to various places that particularly need office workers for a short period of time), which was nice, and I had a dry throat all that morning. My flatmate, on the other hand, was just short of asking for Unction.

Which, sadly, just gave me an idea of what I had to look forward to. But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

So I went to the interview, did a good job (I think) and then came home...when the sickness set in. Temperature, massive headache, lack of ease in using joints and, for continuity, a dry throat. That was rather unfortunate, since I still had to do the Word, Excel, Typing and Alphanumeric tests. So, in a temporary let-up, I took a Berocca and plowed through the tests. I'm pretty sure I did okay - one wrong in the MS Word test, a few more in the Excel test, and my typing was as fast as I could go.

But, with the illness still with me, I went to the final lecture on the Ecumenical Councils - this week, going into the 'universally recognised as whole-Church binding but not as Ecumenical' Councils: the Eighth Ecumenical to repair the "Photian" Schism (basically, it affirmed St Photios as rightful patriarch - negating previous Papal claims to the contrary - and refused any changes to the Nicene Creed - an explicit rejection of the Filioque); and, the Ninth Ecumenical to affirm hesychasm against scholasticism/rationalism. We also touched on the Sigillion of 1583 (Old/New Calendars).

Sadly, I was quite unable to enjoy it, or to derive much from it - though in my apartment, I'm at an acceptable level of sickness, when I was in the Church, I did not have the same level of comfort. At one point, I had to go to the back and lie down, where I felt much better.

Today, I don't feel too badly, on the scale of how-bad-one-should-feel-while-sick. I'm hoping that my standard hasty recovery time will serve well - the apartment is getting blessed tomorrow, and I'm hoping that we'll be okay for that.

update 8:21pm - had to cancel the house blessing. even if i might have been able (optimistic), my flatmate certainly isn't.

Ecclesiastical New Year!

2008-09-01T15:21:00.002+10:00

Well!
Some big and great news came in today - I got my theology essays back, and not only did I pass both (Old Testament a 'B'-equivalent, Church History 2 a 'A'-equivalent), but the comment at the top of my Church History response was that I have the potential to be a Church historian. Very, very happy indeed!

I've pretty well settled into my new place, all going well thus far. I'm definitely straight back into the uni lifestyle of getting cheap, cheap stuff - the lack of uni studies, at present, regardless :)

Overall, I'm pretty happy.

Last night was the Vespers for the Environment, which basically became the Greek Orthodox contribution to the ecumenical group here (Queensland Churches Together). The Orthodox priests served, and other leaders read most of the readings. I suspect, however, that a lot of the readers were used to things basically changing from week to week...the readings were so slow! I was almost drifting off in one particularly slow rendition. If we did that, our services (already long) would basically double in length. But, OTOH, most people in attendance hadn't heard an Orthodox vespers before, so it was probably not the worst thing...just horrible for us who are used to brisk reading, particularly for the unchangable parts (which are the same every Vespers!)

Well, that's my big news...

Moving day.

2008-08-29T21:42:00.003+10:00

Today, I moved into my very central new place of residence. Very happy, albeit somewhat tired and exhausted.

Have been quite preoccupied by my hopes and dreams, how to make them happen and (more importantly) what length of hope/dream they are (lifelong or short term, that kinda thing).

Life is much more relaxed. I'm enjoying this time.

A Change of Life

2008-08-21T16:47:00.002+10:00

So, I've gone on a leave of absence from uni - I've decided to take this semester off entirely.

In a couple of months, I'm intending to take a trip to visit my brother in China, and stay there for a month; then come back for a month, hopefully make another trip for a couple of months. That should take me through to first semester next year, when hopefully, I'll be fully refreshed and able to tackle the wonders of educational theory and practice.

But, to lifeblog this month...

All theological essays were submitted on time, much to my relief.
I managed to make it to most of the Supplicatory Canon services this Dormition fast. Gave me a good reason to get out of the house - today, actually, has been the first day in quite some time when I had neither reason to get out of the house nor thing to do for the day!
Was asked to adjudicate three debates in the state debating finals series this year - two for year 9s, one for year 8s. Was very impressed with one of the debates, was appalled by one and indifferent with the third. Not all debates are top-notch affairs in the first round of finals - you have to weed out the ones that come from lesser regions (which, not to sound snobbish, usually includes those furthest away from the capital).
Have been treated to a lecture series on the Ecumenical Councils these last weeks, from the First through the Sixth (as of last night). I already knew the basics around the councils, of course, as well as a number of the key players, but particularly as we got past around 400 I found my knowledge of the background of the councils being somewhat deficient, so I have found significant portions of the lectures to be quite beneficial. I must say, though, that these do seem to be quite advanced lectures - bordering on tertiary standard - so I'm curious as to how many other people are finding the lectures.
Met the other landlords for the place that I'm moving into; quite nice people.
Delivered my second speech for Toastmasters. The third will be done on the Wednesday coming up.
The Archbishop came up on a Sunday. We had discussions about various things, particularly about the future. I've also put an idea to him - keeping posted when it occurs.
Trying to get my passport stuff all in hand.

Well, that's about everything for this month. So far, at least - there's still a week to go, after all!