What number are you?

I'm 81. No, not 81 years old, or 81 kg (I wish!) - I'm not a value, I'm a number.
What do I mean?
Everything about me tells me that I'm 81.

• I'm odd
• I'm a square
• I'm rational
• I consist of a lot of factors
• I'm curvy
• I'm not perfect (ie. not 100)
• in the grand scheme of things, I'm not that big

So, what number are you?

Easter Sunday

What better way to relax after a 2-hour church service in another language than to help run an Easter egg hunt in a park? The eggs to hide, the kids to yell at for taking eggs before the hunt begins, and not to mention the ominously long grass which is the perfect camouflage for little things like eggs, spiders and snakes.
Believe it or not, I actually did manage to enjoy my Easter Sunday - albeit only after donning a pair of cardboard rabbit ears. But such were the requirements for me to make my transformation into Donny the Evil Bunny of Retribution.
After my stint as chief keeper-outerer of children from the egg-hunting area, I vented my frustration on the same perpetrators who inflicted that frustration. The time for retribution had come.
And what better retribution than to frustrate those who had frustrated me? Each time they were tipped meant they had to surrender an egg they had collected. And the cruelest twist? The destruction of the eggs. That's right. No giving them back. No giving them to someone else. Those eggs were predestined for destruction since before the beginning of the game. OK, not for solely vindictive reasons. And it's not because I don't like chocolate. I just don't trust kids. A couple of times, I had to get the eggs from the kids mouths because they didn't think I'd do it. Ah, the joys of stubbornness.
My only regret is having to wait another year to help these kids understand the concept of retribution. Oh, and the running. Muahahahaha...

Observation

My parents met a Nursing student from China at church, and decided to invite her over for dinner. My mum - in all honesty - is not normally the type with the quick, sharp remarks. But while that may not be so impressive, what does impress me - as a perennial monolinguist - is her ability to speak perfectly pronounced English... as a fourth language.
Now during dinner, my mum was quizzing this Nursing student on the college she was studying at.
"So, are they teaching you nursing? Or Engrish?"

Did my mum really mispronounce that word? Or was my mum making a sly observation?

A Beautiful Day

For the past 8 years, I've had the great honour of teaching the Bible to teens who rocked up to our church on Sundays at our church youth group (MYF). Last year, I made the tough decision to discontinue this work that I've been doing. It wasn't a decision that was made lightly, but one definitely made out of necessity.

A busy Christmas spent out of Sydney meant a quiet retreat into retirement, slipping out of MYF and into a much appreciated sleep-in.

But today was a little different - invited to our 9am Indonesian service, then our 11:30am English service and lunch, followed by a MYF "social" and then a dinner out with the new MYF leaders. Sounds like a nice simple day.

Here's a rundown of my highlights:

• 9am Indonesian Service
  
• sitting through a 45 minute sermon in Indonesian... and not understanding a word
• getting up the front at church to be thanked for my work in MYF in Indonesian, and having to have our pastor translate for me in front of the whole church
• 11:30am English Service
  
• finding out (at 11:30am) I had to MC our (11:30am) English service because someone had misunderstood the message that another person was ready to MC, but for "something else"
• going to lunch with the non-MYF-socialing people at our service
• MYF Social
  
• being "surprised" by the fact that the MYF social was actually a surprise farewell party from MYF
• eating lots of food of great food (like sausages, bacon, and lemon meringue pie!)
  
• being serenaded with a personalised song (it was actually quite good) from one of the other MYF leaders
• MYF Leaders Dinner
• eating some spicy Kwayteow Ayam at Ayam Goreng 99 in Kingsford
• completely obliterating a Maxi Ice-Cream Sundae at French Riviera Ice-Cream with ease

It was a great day, spent with great people, and definitely a group of people I will miss seeing and working with every week. I'd just like to say Thanks to all who were involved in planning the day and joining in to make today so fantastic for me. As much as I enjoyed the appreciation that people showed, I think the best thing for me was to be able to look around, gaze upon the old and new faces, and see a group full of people whom God loved and who were taking the Bible seriously. There is truly nothing greater than being able to see people developing through the years into fantastically mature Christian people.

Darby Falls

Last Wednesday was our mission team half-day off. As usual, we headed out of town, and drove through a little place called Darby Falls. Normally an uneventful drive, the highlight was seeing a few kids, standing outside a house, waving to us. A couple of girls leaning against the fence, while the boys were balancing themselves on the fence. Passing by at a leisurely and legal 50 kph, we had time to turn our heads, wave back, and watch as one of the guys on the fence began to frantically wave both arms in the air, before toppling to the ground. All the other kids didn't flinch, and kept waving. We laughed, as we drove by, with nothing but appreciation for Darby's Fall.

Richie's Holiday MLOG (with Literary Commentary)

Welcome to Richie's holiday MLOG (CamLog).
I thought I'd start off this feature with a simple explanation of a mlog, considering it's a word I just made up.

Simply put, this is a photo-a-day summary of his time spent up in the much-maligned Northern Territory.
A little explanation of what I've been doing and the context in which these pictures will appear.

Each photo was taken on a Motorola V3x 2MP camera-phone, and is an attempt to summarise the day.
Hopefully you'll get a small sense of the context surrounding each of the photos displayed here in this mlog.

Enjoy.
Bon apetit.

Saturday 16th December, 2006

This picture was taken out the back of The Oasis - a hotel with a pool out the back which basically anyone can use, as long as they buy a drink. This was the scene of a farewell party for our family friends Grace & Skooda, who were moving from Alice Springs to Cairns. I feel that this picture (especially with the palm trees) captures the massive change of pace in lifestyles as I went from crazily busy to completely laid-back.

Sunday 17th December, 2006

Yet another long unbending stretch of single-laneway road. The end of it, disappearing into the distance. Most of the roads between towns are like this. After driving a couple of hundred kms towards to Curtin Springs (aided only by unrestricted speed limits), we quickly realised that there were other repeated themes on the roads not visible in this photo, namely dirt, wildlife and roadkill.

Monday 18th December, 2006

This was taken from the car as we drove away, almost an afterthought. We had spent 2.5 hours trekking across the top of the stunning rock formation Kings Canyon, while the sun was at it's highest and hottest. Given the fact that all the signage estimate 3.5 hours for the walk, it's needless to say we probably didn't take as many happy-snaps as other tourists.

Tuesday 19th December, 2006

Ah, Uluru. That great big rock in the middle of a great big desert centred in a great big mass of land surrounded by a couple of great big oceans. Most people don't realise, but that thing is big. Out of respect of local land owners (and because the of the shutdown due to forcasts for 36 degrees or above) we decided not to climb the rock (local lingo). So instead of concurring the rock, we settled for concurring the track which winds around the 9km perimeter of the rock.

Wednesday 20th December, 2006

After all that walking around in the middle of the desert, one can build up quite an appetite.
And nothing satisfies a hunger like a low-fat, high-protein and very tasty meal of kangaroo. And although this meat doesn't feature regularly in many people's diets, it can still be conveniently found (pre-marinated and packed might I add) at the Coles in Alice Springs.

Thursday 21st December, 2006

Answer: this photo.
Question: What do you get when you are home alone with no car, no friends, and only a pile of junk food and DVDs to keep you company?
That's right Jeopardy buffs, this pretty much (and quite proportionately) sums up the day while my sister was at work. Just the right amounts of chips packets, remote controls, and general mess.

Friday 22nd December, 2006

After threatening to do it all week, it finally rained. Well, stormed, thundered and lightninged more like it. Here we see the surrounds of my accomodation thirstily soaking up the precipitation. One of the greatest sights in such a dry country - though the more keen of eye may be wondering why grass looks suspiciously green considering how long it's been since the last rain.

Saturday 23rd December, 2006

Aside from all the last minute Christmas shopping, we continue our stringent maintenance tests on the TV, stereo and DVD player. Here you can see them during a rare moment of silence. After a fantastic wiring job, they now work together in unity to reproduce small fuzzy pictures with slightly muddy sound for Region 4 DVDs. Who would have thought that Palsonic, Panasonic and Pioneer products could work together to produce such a result.
(Thanks to the angled-back speakers, we had to them next to the TV instead of next to the stereo. Now instead of getting the sound muddied in the cabinet, we have a small green haze in the bottom left corner of the screen.)

Sunday 24th December, 2006

The sound of rain pounding on the roof at 6:30am in the morning alerted me to this sight. A total drenching causing the Todd River (traditionally a completely dry river-bed) to flow, and the temperature to drop significantly - to the point of having to turn off the AC... though we didn't do that, so I was just really cold.

Monday 25th December, 2006

Merry Christmas!
The view from Anzac Hill at sunset. From the highest point in Alice Springs, looking south over the rest of the town. While a camera-phone doesn't do it justice (big surprise there) the colours were absolutely stunning. Although the colours weren't captured, I feel that this shot does capture the fact that Alice isn't such a small place. While it's no comparison to any major coastal city, in relation to other country towns it is actually quite significant in size (although the map of the town still fits on an A4 page).

Tuesday 26th December, 2006

The end of an adventure.
Home sweet home.

Richie's Holiday MLOG

Welcome to Richie's holiday MLOG (CamLog).
Simply put, this is a photo-a-day summary of the time spent up in the much-maligned Northern Territory.
Each photo was taken on a Motorola V3x 2MP camera-phone, and is an attempt to summarise the day.
Enjoy.

Saturday 16th December, 2006


Sunday 17th December, 2006


Monday 18th December, 2006


Tuesday 19th December, 2006


Wednesday 20th December, 2006


Thursday 21st December, 2006


Friday 22nd December, 2006


Saturday 23rd December, 2006


Sunday 24th December, 2006


Monday 25th December, 2006


Tuesday 26th December, 2006

Who Am I?

So you may be asking "Richard, why have you been offline all week?". Well let me give you a quick rundown of what's been happening (what I've been to and some highlights).

Friday 7th:
Bible Study
- throwing down the Challenge (and discussing the methods) of evangelism, after considering God's love for people (Jonah 3-4)

Saturday 8th:
Wedding
- drove past a Buddhist Temple and Islamic Mosque to get to a Jehovah's Witness wedding
Visit Grandpa
- being amazed at his still-developed fine motor skills
Work
- got a park right in front of the building for $2.20/hour
Jazz & Jesus nite @ St Mark's, Malabar
- gigging with Alison & Gilly
- hearing a talk which was truly accessible to non-Christians

Sunday 9th:
Piano @ Liverpool Presbyterian
- meeting a guy who's as nerdy as Tim (and I'm not exaggerating!)
Music @ HIP Church
- playing funky bass for "By The Cross"

Sunday 9th - Friday 13th:
Study Camp
- playing lots of drums
- meeting some really encouraging year 12s
- exposing the Vegetales "Cheeseburger Song" for the evil, selfish and deceptive song that it is
- Study Camp had a shadow cast over it by one man and five syllables "De-rek Zoo-lan-der"
- playing a really good gig @ the semi-formal nite
- seeing the year 12s agree and dance to "Nutbush City Limits" for the last song of the semi-formal
- getting called a "soul monkey" even though no-one knows what that means
- NOT getting thrown into the pool

Friday 13th:
- watching Napolean Dynamite
- espousing the joys and benefits of audio commentaries

Saturday 14th:
Surprise!
- Happy Birthday Queenie!
Trivia
- We are the Champions, my friends!

Sunday 15th:
MYF on Piracy (the copyright kind of piracy)
- getting kids seriously asking about what is legal to do
EMS (English Multicultural Service)
- playing more drums!
- getting some fantastic historical/cultural background info on Daniel 1
Commissioning the Proudfoots @ Woonona Baps
- driving through fog
- seeing the Proudfoots one last time before they leave
- being challenged to think about evangelism

As you can see, it's been a busy week for me, with plenty of driving, late nights, and good friends.
Here's a quick summary of my week... in statistics:

• drove 530.1 km (approx. using Whereis)
• heard 12 talks
• played music for 10 different services (incl. study camp stuff)
• took 7 showers (it was a busy week!)
• lead 6 Bible studies (well technically, only 2)
• sustained 4 injuries
• played 2 gigs

Goodbye Aussie's Rogue

Steve Irwin - the Crocodile Hunter - died today. It was a bizarre feeling - something I don't think I've felt since I heard that Princess Diana died.
It took me a while to work out what I was feeling, but I think it was uncertainty. There are some things in life that although they aren't certain, they feel certain.
I felt certain that Diana was bound for a life in the media spotlight. For so many years she had been the focus of gossip mags, appearing in scandals, it felt like there would be no end to it.
Similarly, Steve Irwin seemed indestructible. Whenever he was on TV, defying death and injury so easily, his aura of invincibility grew. It became expected that no matter how big the animal, no matter how dangerous the situation, he would come out unscathed.
So it was no doubt a surprise to hear he had died. Not injured. Not seriously wounded. Not teetering on the brink of death. He was gone. And it shook me up.
My certainty, that Steve Irwin - a young, strong, experienced man - would continue to live and entertain, was shattered.

Nothing is certain.

What To Watch?

As winter draws to a close, and I peruse the list of movies coming out at Greater Union, I realise that there are actually a few movies coming out that look half-decent and worth seeing. So as an extended birthday present to myself, I think I will make an effort to go see these movies, and grab as many people as I can to join me.

Here's my schedule (well, the release dates at least):
Now Showing
Footy Legends
2:37
Thank You For Smoking
September
14th - Nacho Libre
21st - Talladega Nights
October
12th - Little Miss Sunshine
19th - Boytown
November
2nd - Borat (Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan)

Ok, yes, some of those look a little stupid, but that's the sort of stuff I enjoy.
So, what do you guys want to see?