Sense and Sensibility-ness-ing-ly

Firstly, apologies for the much ignored blog. I need to rectify this, and soon. I am having some thoughts about how that may happen as it may become an entirely geek thing, but it's still all spinning in my head.

More to come. Drop me a comment to let me know if you still swing by (you've probably all forgotten about us now that we don't blog as often. C'est la vie...

OK everyone, sorry for being so slack. There are a million reasons for this, none of which I'll bore you with now.

Work is a no go zone at the moment. When we get to speak next and share a coffee I'll share more then.

The kids are getting bigger - I really need to update the photos, as Luke is now a real little 4 year old man/boy and Lily is just a gorgeous 2 year old. They are enjoying their various activities weekly with Mum, not least of which is now they share the same swimming lesson without Mum or Dad. Lily is also going to day care on Friday as does Luke (he additionally goes Tuesday), and is finding it hard to settle in but with a change in room this week we're hoping that goes better. Michelle is enjoying a day by herself and managing to fill it with catching up on taped late night TV series and house cleaning. Puzzles me, but that's how she's enjoying spending the time.

I've been able to live out a little of my rock star tendencies in the last week or so by playing bass at an album launch for a group of friends (Remember Seven - check it out and buy their album NOW!), and they are playing at our church this week and I get to extend that experience. Then they go over to tour Canada and the US and I'm not. I reckon they'll go amazingly (as long as they get their entertainment visas!). The album launch was awesome, they all did really well, and we sounded great. Just spectacular.

Other than that, I'm still managing to lose weight just not as quickly as before which is frustrating. I will get there, I just need to continue to apply myself.

So - what's doing with you?

Sadly, it’s official. Warwick Capper failed to register with the ECQ as a nominee for the Qld seat of Beaudesert, invalidating is attempt at running for parliament in the 2009 election. The Courier Mail covers it here.

His campaign launch in the streets of Beaudesert was the expected media circus. Kissing shop dummies, letting ladies grope his “chassis”, etc. [more here]

This is starting to get too good - someone is spending their member’s ca$h very wisely and creatively…

The Qld Public Service Union (QPSU) have not only got their own website and Twitter account running, but they’ve also opened not one, but two websites having a swing at The Borg: ‘De-necessary’ and ‘StopSpringborg’. [more here]

SURELY this is every election’s dream - two high-profile candidates running as independents for the same seat.

The Courier Mail have the down low on Warwick Capper, one-time AFL ‘legend’, throwing his hat into the ring for the seat of Beaudesert. All we need is the official confirmation that Pauline Hanson has registered as well [UPDATE: She’s IN!], and we’re off. [more here]

I don’t get it. How can grown adults, learned people, leaders of our state and respected political parties completely forget that when it’s election time news cameras follow them everywhere!?

Lawrence Springborg’s dancing effort while impressing the electorate while on Cairns radio is just such an effort (oh how I wish I could find some video online of this - I’m sure it will come). As is Anna Bligh’s press conference with no content, but for the entirely opposite reason. Where are the (supposedly) ever-present spin doctors [more here...]

While many scoff our politicians in their attempts to ‘connect’ with constituents by using the latest internet-based thingy or iFad, both the Labour and LNP marketing teams have been somewhat on the ball in ensuring their key candidates for Premier are all social-networked-up.

Given the success Obama had in using things like YouTube and Facebook through his election campaign, you’d offer these tools are now as important as having the website (right, Anna?) ready to go to support your tilt. With the surge in support and awareness now [more here...]

This is a partial re-post of an article I wrote for QldVoice.org - something I decided to get involved with while I have some "spare" time after seeing the invite on Twitter.

My kids (Him-nearly-4 and Her-nearly-2) decided of their own accord to put on a show... enjoy!

Ok, I know I've been the worst blogger in the blogoverse of late - so little time to blog is only part of the problem.

I won't bore you with all the details now, but I've spent the past 5 days (except for the 12 hours I slept in those 5 days total) working on a dying server that is uber-critical to my current employer. Critical like it could lose them a multi-million dollar contract if I don't get it running stably again.

Me and my team did, at about 4am this morning (Friday 02/01/09). Yay us.

I will blog more in 2009 - starting with our overdue letter/video/thingy which will be just as enjoyable as last years (which, if you missed it, can be seen, heard and awed over here) but probably less technical - our video camera has died. BUT THAT WILL NOT STOP themolk - OH NO!  :)  Be prepared to be *dazzled*

Until then, "Happy new year, everyone" will have to suffice...

It's moot, I appreciate, but I'm going to use the upcoming time away from the family to catch up on some overdue blogging - answering all the hard and not so hard questions.

Your involvement will be key. Be prepared.

It's my lovely's birthday - and so congratulated and spoilt she must be.

Happy birthday, Darling. I'm a lucky toy boy.

It's official.

I work with at least one web-savvy person who did their research and found my blog. That, and they have a big mouth.  ;)

SO... given that at least 3 people I now work with have fessed up that they've read my blog, I guess that means that my work updates have to cease/go underground for a little while. Which means I must work at being more interesting again and recommence blogging about inane/vaccuous/partially obtuse things.

Where will I find the time? Where will I find the subject matter? Who really cares?!

Me, for one. Don't worry, I'm compiling a list. It's almost time for another "Your Choice" blogging interactive, so be ready.

To all my American friends and readers, happy 4th of July!

May your fireworks not explode prematurely, may your bbq's be enjoyable and not burned, and may you truly enjoy the freedom which your forefathers fought so tirelessly and bravely for... from all us convicts over here Down Under.

I'm sure nothing says 'Independence Day' to all you U-S-of-A-ians like a large sculpture of the founding fathers in Wisconsin cheese... I just don't get it.

I've been avoiding blogging because I didn't want to dump out how depressed I am that I'm yet to secure a job (although lots of interview processes are coming to the pointy bit at the moment), and I also didn't want to share just how soul-less it is at Centrelink (where I've spent a couple of hours the past few days signing up for the benefits I can have... eventually... if we need them).

Friday is the last appointment for my weight loss program, but I will bless you with another blog specifically about that then. If we're all really lucky, I may even do a vlog about it.

Been keeping busy with lots of interviews, phone interviews, job applications, chasing up recruiters who never return phone calls - doing the whole job hunting thing. Patience is the biggest thing I think I am learning from all of this, but I'm crap at being patient... so you can imagine how well I'm faring!  

 The most difficult thing is not to fall into the "woe is me" trap. I don't want to be like that at all, and I know that people are simply caring when they ask how the job hunt is going and "have I got a job yet" but I can be through gritted teeth sometimes that I reply "fine". The scarce few that ask really want to hear the truthful answer... the rest have already moved on to some other conversation point, or some other conversation with other people altogether.

The most important thing I am trying to remember is that now that we are in a new financial year (Australia runs a July-June fin year for our overseas readers) business that were holding off looking for someone for budgetary reasons are starting to drop out their job ads now... and the quality of some of the jobs is showing.

So... I will persevere. It's game 3 of the Rugby League annual State of Origin clash and it's well interesting as both Qld and NSW have one a game each. This one will be a cracker of a decider, so I'm looking forward to watching that with mates. I've a recruiter interview tomorrow for what would be the ideal job... and I am jumping through all the hoops with them to stay on side. As I mentioned I've my final appointment for the Wesley Weight Management Clinic, so hopefully that'll be a high point to end that on - but that won't stop my weight loss - still have at least 20-30kg to lose I think (and the dieticians agree). So I will soldier on there. Michelle and I have a friend's wedding to attend to on Saturday afternoon, I'm leading worship Sunday morning and then it's a new week again... with an interview on Tuesday for a contract with a company (to be revealed later) that would be spectacular. But it's only a contract. But maybe that's what I need right now. I don't know.

One thing I do know is before I start whatever job I will get, I need to play some more Halo with my mates... but for now, I am being paged to come and play "fast cars" (Burnout Revenge) with my 3 year old boy, and spending time with him will well hit the spot.

I got up early to ride in for my appointment, and it was pretty foggy outside (thinking back now, I should have taken a shot!). After my appointment I rode up Mt Coot-tha to have a look, and was greeted with a Brisbane covered in cloud... even the city couldn't be seen, except for the spire on top of Brisbane's current tallest building.

 An interesting start to the morning for this sub-tropical state capital!

Seeing as I have so much free time on my hands, Michelle though it pertinent that I update our gallery with some more photos of the kids from the past months.

Done - view it here.

As you can see, Luke and Lily are both growing well, and enjoying playing with each other. Lily has inherited her parent's love for reading, although has a little way to go in understanding how fragile books can sometimes be. Luke still loves building, and they both really love riding their bikes (and each other's!) around chasing each other. They've also both become fashion plates, of sorts - Lily in a style to be expected, and Luke... well, let's just say his sense of style is modelled on his Dad's.

As you'll see from the photos, both Luke & Lily have taken to technology far sooner and far better than I even would have guessed... although it should have been expected. There's even a lovely shot of Michelle and I at a work do earlier this year - Michelle looks stunning, and I kinda look like I've lost some weight.

There's also a couple of lovely landscape shots Michelle took in our yard... she really does have a good eye.

...I can't be stuffed.

...I'm sooooo not motivated to do anything really... reviewing my life at the moment will only depress me more.

...if I do it will turn into a rant against IT recruiters and the shoddy disregard they show to job seekers who put actual effort into their resume and application, and then ignore them and refuse to return their phone calls.

...I'll only end up telling you how I put weight on when I went on my trip to Perth/Darwin where I worked my butt off for, it seems now, no real reason. I am struggling to lose this weight I have put back on, but am actually managing to get rid of a little.

..."My Kid's A Star" got shafted 30 min shows on Saturday at midday, and I only realised last Saturday and saw the second last one. At least I know for this Saturday to watch the final episode. I also remembered to tape the first "Flight of the Conchords" too - so at least now I have something to watch - thanks Channel 10 for FINALLY picking up something worthwhile to watch and subsequently burying it straight away. Could be worse... I could have become a fan of "Canal Road" which Channel 9 gave 2 weeks and then buried it so deep it's not even on the program. Ew.

...that's about all I can offer that is sensical and worth giving public voice to. Such is life...

Just a quick one. Got 'dismissed' this morning, so I no longer work at the construction company I was working at. Not that long a story, but not one for here.

Will post more later, but just wanted to let you all know I'm looking for a job again... you know where to find me if you have any leads...

For our Melbourne mums.

Mum's Night Out! for anyone who is a Mum, is about to be a Mum, wants to be a Mum, or plays the role of a Mum (whatever the age of your kids - or you for that matter!) and is aimed at providing a safe, fun and entertaining Night Out.

Currently held in Melbourne, and soon to be expanding to Brisbane and Sydney (just before we take over the nation), Mums' Night Out! hosts an annual ball and a number of fundraising dinners and events throughout the year.

Mums' Night Out! also plays host to the Real Mum of the Year Awards, where each year a "normal" Mum is presented with an Award - just for being a Mum.

Go here for more info.

Went to bed by 10pm. Luke woke briefly at 12.30am for a drink of water. No problem. I heard a short screech at 3.34am. Thought maybe I dreamt it. Nope, happened again at 3.31. And 3.40. Just a short screech then stopped. Thought it might have been Steve's new phone so woke him and he heard it and said it was the smoke detector downstairs. Which one? Dunno.

One is really high and we have no ladder and it will keep screeching if the battery is removed anyway as it's wired to mains power. Went downstairs to figure out which one. Didn't happen again so we went back to bed.

And it went off at 4.02 - again. Just after we went back upstairs to bed.

Unbelievable right?

New battery required. So we had to find one and climb up on the highchair coz it's the highest thing we have and change it. The instant I shut the lid it went off - not just a short screech either, but the full alarm.

Ripped out the battery. Steve hunts for another new one. Install that, hoping and praying for silence.

Go back to bed at 4.26am. Steve figured he might as well go for his walk.

Lily woke at 4.40am,  back to bed at 5.

I dozed off about 5.30am

Luke woke at 5.50am

I can't win!!!!

At least the kids slept thru the alarm

Thanks Pete, for this....

A message from Blake Beattie (Pay It Forward Day Founder)

‘Pay it Forward Day’ is a brilliant concept by Catherine Ryan Hyde from her book of the same title. Some people were originally quite sceptical of the whole idea: they said that it was good in theory, but not in practise. I challenged this point of view believing that people are genuinely giving by nature, but many get caught up in the hustle and bustle of every day life. April 4 is a time when each of us can get to experience the ‘Power of Giving’ and the ripple effect begins.

http://www.payitforwardday.com/

Merry Christmas 2007 and Happy New Year 2008 from all of our chaos to all of yours (yes, this is our annual letter that has snuck in just in time!)...

Here is the end result of growing a moustache for a month...

As you can see, by all accounts, very porno.  ;)

The good news is that our team raised over $600 to support prostate cancer research and BeyondBlue that were the focus of fund raising for 2007 Movember. Next year, if a MoBro sends you a blanket e-mail asking for money - it's real, it's for a good cause, and it's to encourage them to look as silly as their genes will allow. Support that man!

BTW - I love Iestyn's shirt... it never grows old...

I couldn't let this one pass... this entry marks the 100th entry in my generic "blog" category.

I really wanted to write something outstanding, something to mark the occasion. Something to look back on in another 100 entries and go "wow, how profound was I way back then". Not gonna happen.

This blog started as a investigation more than anything else. An experiment in what exactly blogging is, and what that meant for me. I've never been short of an opinion as regular readers can attest to, and I figured that this was as good a way as any to get my opinions out "there" and see if some like-minded people could be found, or at least initiate some discussion on things that interested me.

I've also enjoyed reading the posts of my Beloved as she grows into blogging. She's much more succinct and defined than I and that's what I like about her style. Not waffly like me.  ;)

Since I started on 13 May 2005, I've learnt as much about blogging as I have about who I am... I've learnt:

• My writing style, when focused, is pretty accessible - I even sometimes enjoy reading myself.

• Blogging is as much about community and social networking as things like Facebook.

• You can make friends pretty easy in the blogging world, and make enemies almost as quick.

• To blog is to be acutely aware of your vanity, your weaknesses, your demons and write around them... or confront them head on.

• There is a group or community for almost every theme of blog, and I can't fit into any specific one of them because I just enjoy blogging about too much varied stuff all in the one place.

• I've found real hope, acceptance, joy and encouragement in the online/blogging community I've connected with, so much so that I went through a real period of grief and loss when I changed jobs and ran out of time to read and connect with them all - in 2008 I am working on a way to fit them in, because I need to... all the people I've met and connected with are wonderful (I've even met one!), and I want to continue the relationships.

For posterity, my first blog/post/entry ever can be found here - it's got a little better but not much, has it?

It's been difficult, but I am really excited about this coming weekend. I'm going to Melbourne.

Not that Melbourne in itself it something to be excited about. Been there, done that. Besides, it's MELBOURNE. Ew.

I'm excited because what is happening in Melbourne is looking to be a bit of a standout for me - a little bit of a birthday present to myself, if you will. I fly down Thursday night. Friday morning will be a visit to a factory for work (in Geelong), and then back to the city for Friday lunch with Freaked Out Father Pete. This will be cool, as he and I have e-mailed, commented on each other's blogs and even spoken - but never met. Kind of a weird blind date, but a fun one all the same. Friday afternoon will be a meeting with a vendor for work.

Friday night should be spectacular. My friends Brett and TJ have booked us a table at La Luna Bistro - home of Adrian Richardson (chef extraorndinaire as far as I am concerned - one of Australia's best). This will be a great time, and if I am really lucky, Adrian may even give us a tour of his meat locker (so I am told)... cannot wait. Plus spending time with Brett and TJ is just a spectacular thing in itself.

Saturday is planned to be a very "Melbourne" day (whatever that means) by Brett... and then Saturday night, he and I are off to see SPAMALOT - the Monty Python musical based on Monty Python & the Holy Grail. It stars Billie Brown as King Arthur who I was in the short film 'Ascension' with. Hoping to see if we can catch up with him backstage after the performance, but no promises there, I guess. Then it's home Sunday morning to my lovely family...

It's an entirely selfish weekend only because it's not practical to involve Michelle in it at the moment. I wish I could. All my lovely ones will get to meet Brett & TJ early in the New Year anyway as they are coming up to the Sunshine Coast for New Year's eve, and then spending a couple of nights with us before jetting back to Melbourne. More fool them.  ;)

I cannot wait - it should be so much fun. I am having pangs of responsibility and guilt over what will be an awesome time away, and I am trying to reconcile them in my head. I know Michelle is happy for me to go and see my friends and enjoy myself.

...I just need to find something suitably fun and the opportunity for her to do it to counter, I think...

Just stealing a few moments while in the last session of the Microsoft Unified Communications launch in Sydney. It's been an educational day (and for any other company - expensive - but for us, it will just be something that I need to convince the key players to adopt and we'll just do it). Mentally draining, but good.

This is a concern - IT (for me) is becoming less technical and more conceptual. Natural progression, but my team is not yet is a position for me to be as hands off as I need to be, so there is still a LOT of stuff I need to keep up on/stay across skill-wise. However there is so much new technology that I need to stay across that reading is something I almost need to spend a day a week doing. Really not sure how I can balance this at the moment, which is part of what is causing me pain generically in life.

Not spending anywhere near enough time with my family. This last week I intentionally didn't pull my work laptop out when at home at night - this is good - but it put me massively far behind at work. Really not sure how to balance this out, but with so much to achieve at work and so much that my family should have my attention at home I need to make it work.

...and then, there is what seems to have been my stalled weight loss. The thing that has killed me this week is the fact that I lost a measily 100g. ONE FRICKEN HUNDRED FRICKEN GRAMS! I worked really hard last week, with only 1 real altercation with food, and this is what I get?! Subsequently, with all the mental issues flying around in my head this last few days have been very, very average. Even today hasn't been brilliant (but way better than it could have been). I didn't get to walk this morning because I fell asleep after my wakeup call.

So, walking again tomorrow (and every day), and sticking to the eating plan with a nazi-like fervour. This will have to be maintained pretty solidly to Christmas for me to reach below 130kg... but it is key. I can't go into 2008 still in the 130's. Being in the 130's is doing my head in for a start. The only good news I got was that my waist measurement has shrunk by another 5 cm. All the stats will be collated in the latest update post that will go up later today. I just had to get this out of my head so that I wasn't stressing over it as I am finding that when I don't drop info like this I kinda feel like it's constricting my thoughts, oppressing me. Maybe I have said too much... stay tuned friends (those of you who are still interested - I appreciate I am hardly blogging on anything else at the moment but that's all due to the above reasons, and I apologise - stuff to be addressed soon)...

It's on - the challenge was raised the other day at a team meeting, and most of the boys have accepted the call - time to grow some form of facial hair for 'Movember'. So, this morning, I dutifully shaved off my beard/mo/thing...

This has raised a few issues...

1. While you may not be able to see it, I actually have a dimple in my chin
2. Last time shaved off my beard/mo/thing, Michelle told me to grow it again straight away. That was nearly 5 years ago. I haven't shaved it all off since until this morning.
3. There is no third thing.

So - the winner of the comp we're having at work will be to see who can grow the most 'porno'-looking mo in a month. Stay tuned - this will only get ugly. I should have my whole thing back by December 2008...

I cannot believe how mentally intense the last week and a bit has been, and how that has tired me right out. I'm stuffed! I don't even have little kids to get me - I am just plumb buggered.

My diet hasn't been so crash hot for the past 3 or 4 days... but the only think in my favour (I think) is that I have been on my feet A LOT in the last week and a bit, so that should offset it enough that come the weigh in next week I should still have lost, even if only a little bit. It's a stress, but right now I am so tired that I just don't care.

We've really pushed ourselves to get it all done. On the whole it has worked great too, although we've had some issues getting our Cisco Unified Communications Manager v6.0 box to keep functioning and not peg at 99% when we try and log a new user into a phone. It's known issue with the Cisco TAC so we are downloading the 2GB(!) patch for the server and will apply it later this evening... so fingers crossed, it'll work. If not, we've got a real issue.

Beyond that, everyone at the new office is really appreciative of the effort we've put in and that it all has worked so well (they've all been particularly appreciative of my IS project manager for the job).

Come Friday it's time to go home, so I better get rested up. That, and I better sort out what the heck I am putting in my gob. The tiredness doesn't help, but no excuses.

It's a demanding trip, this one, I'll give you that.

It's all about the condensing of two offices worth of staff into 4 floors of a new building in North Sydney, and the associated nightmare of bringing all the pieces together so that everything works like an office should come Monday 8 October.

One of my team and I were up until midnight last night planning what we need to get done over the next 6 days. Today was an early start to go for my morning walk (across the Harbour Bridge, round to the Opera House and back again), and then did some work, had breakfast and a shower, then into work again.

The only upside at the moment is that being on meal replacements means I don't really have to nick out and get lunch or anything. I need to be really strict on myself as the evening meals are pretty rich no matter where you go - but I must be strong and continue to make smart choices. I must also get some photos of the bridge and Opera House tomorrow on my walk - it is very picturesque.

The family are surviving - Michelle is being assisted by her mum, and the kids are doing their bit too.  ;)  I miss them heaps already, but at least being away from them I can work stupid hours and not upset them or be sacrificing time I am not already away from them. The major bonus: I have a glistening new copy of Halo3 and my XBOX360 in my hotel room waiting to be fired up tonight. Might be a sleepless night tonight for a whole other reason.

Urrgggghhh... Halo3...

I catch myself thinking that this whole IT game isn't what I really want to be doing for the rest of my life. To be entirely frank, it's not, but given how it is now providing for my family how it is there seems to be no way out.

Don't get me wrong - I love my new job. The load it has placed on me is a lot, and I am up to it, however it's still "just IT". I'm not gonna make a difference to the world by connecting a network or backing up a server. IT is not the most creative of jobs... but given the chance I have now, perhaps it can be. I just need to settle in and look to the boundaries and see how I can stretch them in the best ways possible.

End of navel gazing.

Pete Aldin of Great Circle Life Coaching asked me (for some reason) to join in his current writer's carnival "How I Won The War On...". This is my offering - hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did preparing it. My post, along with all the other great offerings, can be found here.

- - - - -

(...Just to give it a nice APEC flavour...)

To be fair, I haven't even really won yet. I am well across it, though, more like 75% conquered - but we'll get to that.

If you've heard of me (no guarantees, but google "themolk" sometime  ;), then you'd know that I have started a fairly serious medically managed weight-loss process. So far, so good - I've lost just over 30kg! On reflection that is a serious amount of weight - still 50kg to go. My weight when I started was 172.3kg... yes, that much. But "losing weight" - that's not my war...

The program has me eating a meagre amount a day (1200 calories including 4 replacement meals a day), and is re-educating me to make much smarter choices when to comes to what I put in my gob and what the sizes are of what I put in my gob. It's tough, and I have experienced some dark moments to date and I am sure will experience some more to come. But "not enough food" - that's not my war...

As a part of the program I also have to exercise a whole lot more than I used to. Considering I didn't used to exercise, ANY exercise is a whole bunch more that I used to. This means for the last 15 weeks I have been walking for at least 45 minutes every day, and even trying to do some resistance training (sit ups, push ups, other stuff with gym equipment if I can get near it). This has meant somewhat of a mind-shift for me, but I am now entirely comfortable that I will need to walk for at least 45 minutes at least every other day for the rest of my life. But "exercise" - that's not my war...

I am already noticing that a lot of my clothes now really don't fit me, to the point of feeling like I've put on a parachute with some of my pairs of pants. I am really looking forward to having to go shopping for the new wardrobe when I get there, and even on the way (as a bunch of clothes will need to be accounted for before I get to the whole new wardrobe time). It will be great to walk into a normal clothes store and try something on and just go "I'll have two of these and some of those and that". But "second mortgage to pay for new wardrobe" - that's not my war...

My war is one is a very personal one, that I haven't shared with too many people. The main reason for that is that it sounds a bit naff, a bit selfish. It's not really a "terror", but a very real fear...

WHO am I going to be when I have lost the 80kg I am aiming to lose as a part of this program?

I have been overweight for all of my adult life and a fair bit of my teenage years. Maybe not morbidly obese early on as I am now/was, but certainly the token fat kid that every school seems to have. As an adult I never really took that much responsibility for my weight or my health, thus it readily and somewhat rapidly grew as I grew. Throughout this process (from my teenage years) I was establishing my identity, understanding who I was, how I related to people, how I coped with various situations, and building my relationships with others. "Being the fat kid/guy" was so centrally linked to that - like the colour of my hair, my ability to cope with stress and pressure, etc. Even though I was comfortable that my overall identity was found to be centrally based in my faith in Christ, all the normal things that surround you and impact your understanding of your 'self' layered across the outer me.

So... the biggest issue for me is that I will one day soon-ish look in the mirror and not recognise the thinner guy staring back at me. Who is that? How will people react to him? Will his friends still like him? Will his kids still come running for a cuddle and a kiss and shout "Daddy" when he comes home? Will his wife still love and desire him the same as those first times she flirted with him, and then committed to him when they married?

The obvious answer to all of those questions is "yes, you stupid head, of course!", but just because it is obvious doesn't mean that it's sunk in or makes sense to me yet. Like I said, I am only 75% of the way there. I am vexed. Troubled. On a journey. Don't get me wrong - I am REALLY looking forward to meeting ThinMe. I am working hard to become ThinMe. I am conquering a lot of other vices and bad habits and developing a much stronger will as I become thin me. I know I can only do it because I believe in a God of grace, love and compassion who is much bigger than all of this and will help me to become ThinMe permanently.

ThinMe is coming. Be ready. I will win this war - I know that I have nothing to fear by becoming thin me. It's just my outer shell - my 'mask', if you will. What you see has been what you get from a physical sense my whole life, but my friends have come to understand that whatever their pre-conceived ideas of me when they first met/saw me the "who" I am is why they want to be my friend. My family know me - they've loved me for some time. I am taking great courage from my cheerleaders in this process, some of who have only recently joined me on the way. You can join in too - come on over to http://themolks.com and read all "The Biggerest Loserer" articles and get involved.

I will achieve this... I have to acheive this. The war is not yet won.

"The calibre of you as a person is determined by the obstacles you meet on the way, and the determination and courage you show in overcoming them".

- - - - -

themolk is a guy. Just some guy. Nothing that special. OK, well maybe kinda special, in that way we all are.

His blog has been hi-jacked of late with all this weight loss stuff, but he is determined to get back to some good old run of the mill blogging about all the other stuff he is interested in - like attempting to be a quality Dad. Like sharing his absolutle love of the art that is music and movies. Like ranting and raving about stupid stuff that most people don't think is worth ranting and raving about. Like sharing all the geeky things that come out of him professionally. He absolutely loves and adores his two kids and lives in constant amazement that his wife not only puts up with him, but loves him in an entirely generous and unconditional manner (despite all those eye rolls and sighs). His wife often thinks she is raising 3 kids - one of which is 34 - and she is not far wrong.

For now - the weight loss stuff is kinda important, so that's why he keeps yapping about it.

I'm sitting in the Qantas Club at Sydney airport waiting for my flight to Perth, and watching/listening to the press conference being given by John Howard and George W Bush.

It's very clear... VERY clear... that GWB has been working on his dealings with the press. He is affable, direct, heaped praise on JWH and Australia for their partnership (specifically focusing on the war on terror), and cracking jokes left, right and centre. He's copping questions on things ranging from the Kyoto agreement, Iraq, security in Sydney for APEC, protecting the US from cyber-terrorism and internal US politics (courtesy of a US journo who got the first question!).

It's an impressive show...

...but that's about it. A show. Nothing that meaty; full of the official and diplomatic niceties you'd expect. GWB did point out he enjoyed the personal relationship he has with JWH, and that he was looking forward to JWH buying him lunch today. Now THAT would be a meeting to sit in on and hear it laid out straight... free from the rehetoric that usually shrouds and encompasses everything that a politician says when they speak to the media.

The only things I've personally seen of the fact that APEC is in town was all the police at the airport. There are other physical signs, particularly in the CBD, but I haven't seen them. It's necessary, but a massive disruption to the locals. I'm glad I'm outta here.

The funniest thing was GWB congratulating JWH on his 'grandfatherhood'. Seems you can't take the texan out of the president, it seems...  ;)

The time has come. My PC has given me too many hardware hassles of late, and as such it is time to take things to the next level...

I've purchased all the key upgrade parts - motherboard, RAM, dual-core processor, video card, 4 x HDD's (for two RAID-0/mirrored drives) - and a copy of Vista Ultimate 32bit - and now it's time for the moment of truth.

THE UPGRADE.

I'll be back soon. Even though I've had this week off we've been too busy doing things and discovering IKEA (THAT is a whole other blog to come) and all that... and now this. All going well, by this time tomorrow, I'll be sitting at my new Vista PC and doing everything I need to do to install all the apps and everything. Massive upgrades and rebuilds like this always take time, but breaking in a new OS will only make things more... interesting...

See you on the other side.

• Each player must post these rules to begin the meme.
• Each player starts with eight random facts or habits about themselves.
• People who get tagged must blog about their eight things and post these rules.
• At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
• Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

We received notice that someone is filming a scene from a movie in the streets just outside our building this afternoon and evening. No stress.

Coming back from my walk, and they were unloading the cars that are obviously in the scene somewhere tonight, including this pretty hot looking Audi decked out as a cop car.

From the rims they are obviously trying to give it a 'futuristic' look. Yeah right - like the cops would choose an Audi as their pursuit car of choice IF they could afford it.

Still... it makes for a nice distraction to the normal stuff that happens in Charlotte St, Bris-Vegas!

We all know The Simpsons movie cometh. If not because of me, then because of the plethora of advertising assaulting us every way we turn. 18 years and it is still going strong... not as strong as it has been, but there is plenty of gold still to mine outta that little chestnut. Brett Debritz, entertainment writer for The Courier Mail has offered a collection of very important Simpsons links that must be linked to - here.

Even the guys from Cracked have gotten involved with the Top 12 Simpsons-created words. It's craptacular! Or is it cromulant? Just be careful of some of the language if you have sensitive eyes.

Ahh, The Simpsons... eases the pain...

My folks are up for a visit so we thought we would take them up to the Ginger Factory last Friday (Gerry loves ginger in all edible forms and we thought we might get some nice tropical ginger plants for the garden). Well, we set off about 9.30am, Steve on the bike, and my parents, Luke and Lily in the car with me. Got out to the motorway and about 10 minutes into the trip, we stopped…for 2 hours.  After half an hour in the queue, Steve went on ahead to try and find out what the problem was – seems a drunk semi driver had collided with two cars and spread a load of diesel on the road so the police shut the motorway to clean it up. Brilliant. Needless to say, we didn’t make it to the Ginger Factory but got off at the next available exit to meet up with Steve and return home. This was after having to stop and feed Lily when she had screamed hysterically for half an hour.

Live and learn hey?

...or "What makes themolk & Michelle's blog? A MeMe Top Ten."

Mr StepFamilyTalk has a lot to answer for. So to does Mr FreakedOutFathers (and Mr LOGICal eMOTIONs for that matter too), but then Mr FOF let Mr SFT take all the heat for this. I've been tagged to do a MeMe...

Wikipedia tells us that a MeMe is "a unit of cultural information, cultural evolution or diffusion which, in some cases will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will survive, spread, and, for better or for worse, mutate." Basically, in blogging terms, it's an idea to review/express who you are and what you blog for and is viral in nature. Thus, we have rules for this MeMe:

*Please try to limit your post to 10 items or less

*Tag 5 of your friends or blogrollers

*Take your time. Do some digging in the archives and find the perfect
ones - it’s to your advantage more than anything else. Just think: if
you were to pull out no more than 10 existing posts from your blog
which hit the high points of your blog SO FAR, (with the specific intent
that your blog will be DEFINED by these posts) and put all your future
writings into better context, which posts would they be?

*Please if possible, link to this post for meme info, and please link to
the post that you were tagged in. Memes go on for quite a long time
and when trying to follow one backwards to see some of the other
posts, it gets quite difficult when only the blog URL is used. Just a
request.

*The people you tag, please let them know by email, contact form
or some other efficient method.

Subsequently, I have e-mailed and tag these people to step up to the plate:

Scott & Jo
The Website Guy
Death By Children
Hello Internet
BadDadRadio

To fulfill my obligation to this process, I offer you the 10 defining posts of Sense and Sensibility-ness-ing-ly - themolk & Michelle's blog...

1. "CarbonCopy - It's not the police...". The angry themolk.
While I tend to be a lot geek in everything I offer, I sometimes spill over into a rant. I try to keep them even-handed, really I do. But let's face it, CC and BCC on e-mails is well over (and often incorrectly) used...

2. "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory". The cinemaphile themolk.
I'm a big Tim Burton fan. I'll proudly watch anything he's done (lots of times, more than once). This film stands up there in the Burton top 3 (for mine). Plus I like film as a medium. There's SO much you can do with it.

3. "Ahmet's Turkish Restaurant". The gourmet themolk.
It's no secret, I like my food. This is one of the many reviews that make up my burgeoning idea for CaesarSalad.com - really should tell you all about that sometime. It was great Turkish food, too.

4. "Controlled Crying". The Mrs themolk.
Michelle does blog occasionally... and while they aren't always a report on the chaos that it is to raise kids, this one was especially poignant for me as I feel she captured ever so accurately what the hell was going on.

5. "Vale Joan Molkentin (nee Drabsch)". The reflective themolk.
My thoughts spilled into bits and bytes when I heard my paternal grandmother had passed away.

6. "When Dad's attack... and fall apart... and don't cope...". The parental themolk.
I have never and will never suggest that I am the best Dad in the world. This is why.

7. "The best ad I have seen in ages". The spiritual themolk.
Whilst many might even question the claim that I am Christian, it's there. I'm there. Just possibly not your 'centre-stage' Christian.  ;)

8. "The Biggerest Loserer". The shrinking themolk.
I know this isn't a 'post', rather a category of them, I wanted to include the whole process as it stands by itself (almost worth a whole separate blog - but we know how multiple blogs for one person ends up). I am shrinking... keep an eye out and you will hopefully be suprised, amazed and inspired.

9. "WC14:Arthur, Illinois". The creative themolk.
This is so much fun, and to date this is my favourite response. It's atypical that I get few comments when I post these on my site as few people get my sense of humour when I write like this. I don't mind. I can play my humour for the masses when I need to. I don't need to here.

10. "Geeking you up to speed". The geeky themolk.
I'm a geek. No question. I've always wanted that on my business card (and I have a fancy schmancy way of doing it next time - that'll be a post in itself when it happens). I have some pretty serious opinions when it comes to technology, and this latest geek post is not only indicative of this, but offer some great suggestions by me. Even if I do say so myself.

Just for the record... this was a lot more work than I expected, but well worth it. A little navel gazing never hurt nobody occasionally...

Well, this group writing project has been run and... completed. 18 entries in all (including yours truly), and they are all here, for your reading pleasure...

What I Learned from...
...Travel – Diversity, by Karin H. at Stop/Start
...Travel, by Benjamin Penfold-Marwick at Hello Internet
...Travel, by themolk at themolk & Michelle’s Blog
...traveling in Mexico, by Joanna Young at Confident Writing
...Traveling In Mexico Without Knowing Spanish, by expatmom at ExPatMom
...my trip to Thailand, by mark at My Opinions Are Important
...Nature’s Amusement Parks, by N.O. Tate (note: this article is actually titled something else… and it isn’t even a blog… but so what? An entry is an entry!)
...the Coyote Hunters, by Nic Darling at Marketing Neophyte
...Travel, by Laura Spencer at WritingThoughts
...Being Abandoned in Mexico City, by Mike DeWitt at Spooky Action
...This Trip was Patience, by GL Hoffman at What Would Dad Say
...Travel, by Monique Attinger at Insurance Guide 101
...Working in Chile, by Terry Starbucker at Ramblings From a Glass Half Full
...Travel Writing, by Yvonne Russell at Grow Your Writing Business
...driving in India, by Rajaram S, at Thoughts of a Rambler
...Travel, by Rosa Say at Joyful Jubilant Learning
...the Passing Lane, by William Tully at LOGICal eMOTIONs
...Er, What Was That I Ate, Anyway?, by Robert Hruzek at Middle Zone Musings

After reading all about this on other people's blogs, I thought that I should get involved, and offer my (very small) pearls of wisdom in the latest "What I learned from..." series Robert runs over at his place.

With that taken on board, I offer you my response - some of the things I learned from travel...

One can never be too prepared. I've never been one to over-pack. In fact, there have been a couple of times when travelling for business when I probably should have taken an extra jumper, etc. General preparedness covers a lot of stuff, but I find it helps to think through the impending trip, and pack accordingly. Not just clothes, but other items like your toiletries, a book or two, whatever. Of course this is now even more an issue with the new "what you can carry on a plane in Australia" rules - minimal amounts of some liquids, everything else is dumped very unceremoniously and all of this AFTER you have checked in your bags, so it isn't like you can put them in there to save them. I do recall seeing a woman lose a large amount of expensive perfume for just this reason. Be like a good Boy Scout, and be prepared.

Always, ALWAYS declare at customs. On a trip back from Tonga I was unsure if I should declare that I had been in a place near livestock (one of the declarations on your customs form coming into Australia). I did, they checked my shoes, and as I had already cleaned them before packing them, no problems. Others in my party also declared, but as they hadn't cleaned the shoes they had to be taken away and essentially disinfected... which took about 20 minutes. My time in customs - 5 minutes. Theirs - 30 minutes plus. In Australia we also have a show called Border Security, which highlights the work of the Australian Customs team including the people who work at the airport and search bags, etc. If it and travel has taught me anything... declare, declare, DECLARE! The worst that may happen will be they'll take the stuff and tell you not to do it again. The best - a 10 minute delay (big deal) before entering the country. If you don't... there's fines, warnings, and in the worst cases - jail (if you are a citizen) or refusal to enter the country, and back home you go. It's just not worth it, people.

Immerse yourself in the local culture. You'd be amazed when travelling overseas how much more of the country you'll see, how much more of the culture you'll experience if you DON'T act like a tourist. Try and learn a little bit of the local language - if nothing else it will be a great ice breaker as the locals hear you mangle "hello" in their native tongue. Take turns you don't expect. Try to explore the areas behind all the showy touristy glitz. Eat the food - and be daring about it. If you can swing it, try to stay with a family for a short period to really get involved. Not only will you benefit by really finding out what the country is like, but the people you meet and the places you go will only impact you for the better.

Be careful - gracious hosts can lead to temples at the top of very big hills. The only problem I can see that can come from immersing yourself in the local culture is the generousity of your hosts. When I was in China in 2006, the people hosting me went out of my way to show me China and help me enjoy it. Part of that was cultural, I accept, and the other part was them wanting to build a nice relationship with me to work into our burgeoning professional relationship. so BOY, did they show me China! When we were in Yongkang I met up with a workmate from Australia who was working there and we went out... for a big night. Not so bad in itself, except the next morning I was being taken on a sightseeing tour of the region. I was pretty hungover, and could have murdered a couple of McDonald's cheeseburgers - but no Macca's in sight. We saw lots and drove lots (great time for sleeping!), and all seemed well until we drove towards this massive mountain range where I spotted a Bhuddist temple at the top. As we got out of the car, they announced to me that we would take a 'short walk' up to the temple - for them to pray and for me to have a look at some more chinese culture. It had been pouring with rain all day, the steps cut into the mountain almost went straight up, and I was recovering but not totally better. It took a LONG time to get to the top and when we got there... it was well worth it. It just would have been nicer for this massively overweight person to not have had to do wet stone stairs while hungover. I couldn't say no (and I am glad I didn't)... but DAMN... so watch yourselves, OK?

ALWAYS ask for an upgrade. If you don't ask (nicely, of course), you don't get. Nothing to explain, and every benefit to gain.

If they ask to weigh you before you get on the plane, the plane may be too small. While in Tonga in 1999, we were flying back to the main island and the plane that was there was significantly smaller that the one we flew in on. I totally get that in some cases you need to weigh luggage, however as Tongans are usually quite large people, they also weigh all the passengers to ensure the plane's load isn't more than it can handle. Not only is it confronting but that hint worrying - what if they can't fit you on the flight because you weigh too much? I do much prefer to fly in planes that there is no worry about weight BEFORE you get on. That said, I'll have a go flying in just about anything... just about...

If you think my learnings are worthwhile and valid, you can always read up on my trip to China from 2006 (start at the bottom and read up) - hopefully reflecting the great time I had and the benefits of travelling following the tips listed here.

We had a great day on our wedding day. We'd well planned it, so everything happened as we'd hoped, and everyone really enjoyed the day with us.
The day we were married (Sat 8 December, 2001) the place I was working at the time (Forest Lake College) had their Christmas party that night. The Head of College had arranged with me to get a video (somehow) of the day up to her so that they could play it as a part of the formal proceedings of the night, as a surprise for everyone.

It was a lot of work, but it was managed - massive thanks to our friends Sols & Catherine and Tony (who filmed the service, and then edited it up on Sols & Catherine's iMac during the morning tea after the service). Then, when we went for photos, they were dropping it off at a local Armidale ISP for them to put it on their FTP site for a friend in Brisbane with ADSL (rare back then) to download and burn to a DVD for someone from the College to pick up and take to the dinner that night.

As you can see from the clip below, not only did they do a great job, but the song Andy and I wrote worked wonderfully as the soundtrack to it. Enjoy.

OK, so it's weird and it's funny (pushing all my buttons already). It's CuteWithChris.com, and it's on the web and available as a vodcast near you now.

CuteWithChris.com - "...all your dreams... are dead..."

It won't take you long to work out his angle, but it is a good one. Damn, I wish I had thought of it. Just too funny...

Just as a word of warning - this may seem a little rambly(?) as the diet is kicking in nicely and I am finding I am not the sharp tack I usually consider myself to be...

Riding my bike home last night I noticed it felt a little sluggish. Got home and the rear disc was smoking hot. So, called Waz, and he came over and had a look at it. No idea, so up on the back of his ute it went, and he dropped it off at Morgan and Wacker service department for me this morning. On calling them, they MIGHT get a look at it today, but don't have any loan bikes they could give me in the mean time. I'll be ringing the sales guy about that - can't be without wheels...

Subsequently, had to catch the bus in this morning. SIGH. Hopefully won't have to catch it home this afternoon. When I went outside to walk to the bus stop, there was this thick fog down over Forest Lake - not uncommon, but there was a lot of it. It was in the whole way into the city, and still isn't cleared fully (from my view on Level 19) looking south. Just something different, I guess.

The issues surrounding my sister coming out have only compounded with the rest of our family (Mum & Dad, other sister, other brother) all claiming that they "can't validate her lifestyle and encourage her by supporting/loving her". So now it has degenerated into Helen being seen as "the living dead" by them... SIGH... I just don't get why Christians have to be so judgemental of non-Christians. It's not like they live by the same moral code!? Sheesh! Subsequently, it seems lines are being drawn and sides taken. I'm pretty sure this isn't what Helen wanted (but maybe expected) and it certainly isn't what I expected. I expected them to react poorly, but holy crap! Oh well - it seems that family reunions will have just become a whole bunch cheaper and less-attended.

To finish, spectacular news - Chad Vader has been chosen by George Lucas as his favourite fan film submitted in the AtomFilms Star Wars Fan Film challenge. In the words of the great hatted one, "Do yourself a favour" - it's a cack.

This Saturday is my sister Helen's 25th birthday. To celebrate, those of her family who are in Brisbane are meeting on Friday night for dinner at a cafe/restaurant in Forest Lake (thanks so much for this concession, Helen - this means all my mob can come!). At this dinner will be Helen's girlfriend, Neave, who I think all of us have not yet met.

Personally, I am looking forward to it.

Although Helen has never 'officially' come out to me, I've known through secrets and not-so-secrets for some time that she was at least bisexual. This latest relationship, however, is one that she seems entirely secure in. One that has offered her great support through her latest battle - ovarian cancer. Helen is old enough, ugly enough, smart enough and been around the traps enough to know how to look after herself and how to manage her relationships - I don't need to and I'm not gonna start lecturing her on what to do.

A recent e-mail from her about the upcoming birthday dinner had Helen admonishing unnamed family members about referring to Neave as her "friend", not as her girlfriend as Helen (and, I'm sure, Neave) would prefer. Whilst my baby sister has always been somewhat of a drama queen (and that is meant in the nicest way), this is certainly topping the charts and pushing some buttons for some members of our family.

Am I stressed about this choice by Helen? Not at all - after all, it's her life, she knows we love her and will support her however we can. Will I be shielding our kids from Helen because of this choice - no way. She is still their Aunty Helen. Of course when they are old enough to discuss things I'll inevitably have to have a discussion with them about "why do Aunty Helen and Aunty Neave kiss like Mummy and Daddy?". I'll be straight and explain that Aunty Helen has made a choice about how she wants to live her life. I'll also discuss about our choices and that Mum and Dad made a decision to live their life a certain way concerning our understandings, relationships, faith, etc, and we are raising them in the hope that they will follow our lead. It's not our choice, but other people are free to decide their own way of life.

My only concern is that I hope Helen doesn't try to be overly confronting for the other members of our family who are still coming to grips with the whole concept of Helen being gay.

I just want her to know that I love her, as an older brother should do for his all grown up little sister, and that I and my family will always be here for her - in the celebratory times, and the crappy ones too. I may not understand her choice, but I respect her decision and love her anyway...

Just a quickie...

Reading this morning that Australians have been fleeced to the tune of $4.45 million through the 'Nigerian Money Laundering' scam to date, with many people turning to crime to send more money and refusing to believe they have been duped.

Oh... my... goodness...

How thick do you have to be IN THE FIRST PLACE to think that someone is going to give you a lot of money (it varies, usually multi-millions) just to hold some money they are smuggling out of the country in your bank account for a few days.

As my grandparents and parents taught me - there is no easy way to make money. Work hard, earn your $$$, and get on with life. If the victims only realised that if they sunk all that money they lost to the scammers into lottery tickets or something, they'd more than likely even have gotten a return! They might not have broken even, but at least they'd have had fun losing it (or so I am told)...

Still getting used to this "working in a high rise in the city" thing.

Another surprise got me yesterday morning when I arrived into work:

See, up until now, I would have only ever seen that kind of thing from the ground looking up at the outside of the building. It's just surreal looking at it from the inside out!

So - now I have my motorcycle learner's I am now that step closer to actually getting a bike. To all the naysayers out there (TJ, I'm looking in your direction), it will be fine. I'll fall off at some point and we'll be over it.

There is a trade off, however. I have to - HAVE TO - do something permanently about my weight. So, I have booked my first appointment with the Wesley Weight Management Clinic (figuring that they've had a lot of success with big arses like me, so getting some professional help will only encourage and ultiamtely help me lose those kilos that have been hanging on for too many years). It's embarassing admitting I need help and all that, but I mention it here to add you who'd care to the list of people whoI ask to keep me accountable on this. More info  on the whole process, expectations and outcomes after my first appointment 10/05/07.

So - if you are of the praying kind - pray for me as I start this whole new approach to being me; and pray for Michelle as she copes with her husband having his early mid-life crisis.  ;)

Do you need a reason to blog? I've learnt that you mostly don't, but sometimes it helps (otherwise you just end up rambling with no real end point in sight, and people lose interest really easily and you are left simply typing bytes and leaving them in cyberspace with little else to do...).

Work at the moment is pretty dull. It should get better - the next three days are being spent on ITIL Foundations training, which if nothing else adds to my less than extensive certification list something that more employers want but don't know why. I really should have stayed at home today, as I am tired and I know Michelle is shattered as Lily didn't really settle last night again until 11:30pm. Add to that Luke was up two or three times and Lily was up at 2:45am for another feed... it looks like we need to work out our settling strategy and get her used to settling herself (before it is too late, no matter how too late it already seems).

I led worship on Sunday night - second Easter Sunday night service in a row. It went well, I think, with there being other players this time (first time it was just me on acoustic guitar!), and things seemed to go OK. I am really looking forward to the new rehearsal thing starting this week (ours is next week) so that we can as a team really start to nut out playing together. It may be initially painful, but beneficial in the medium term at least.

Other than that, my baby sister (OK, she's 24, but she's still the youngest) is in Melbourne having had/is having an operation to remove a cancerous growth from one of her ovaries. After the op she is having a radiation implant put in and she'll be isolated for a week - mainly feeling sick from that. This has been rushed through due to the speed with which this cancer grew... so, we saw her on Friday, and we are thinking of her and praying for her this week. I know she is scared (understandably so), and I know she is trying to tough it out (because that is the way she is)... but no way around it, she knows this is serious. Get well soon, Helen...

Just a complete excuse to pop up some photos of Luke and Lily from their time with Grandma and Grandad Alais (who went back to Uralla today). Check them out here...

Aren't they cute!

05/04/07 EDIT: ...and how good does our back grass look considering the drought!??! I think I even need to mow it this weekend (pending hopeful copious amounts of rain)...

It's been a long time coming, but here it is anyway... the tale of my broken toe.

It was Wednesday a couple of weeks ago now, I think just after I brought Michelle and Lily home from the hospital. Michelle has got us collecting water in buckets from the shower before the water runs hot to put out on the garden. Makes sense, and helps keeps things alive. I was bringing down a nearly full bucket and a 3/4 full one on the stairs when towards the bottom I missed a step or something and down I went. Literally - down about 7 steps. Those who have an idea of my immenseness will understand that (a) falling down on the stairs period was gonna hurt; and (b) I had a lot of momentum by the time I hit the bottom of the stairs, so it was always going to be nasty.

Conveniently all the water in the buckets came down the stairs with me. Most of it flowed outside (what a waste) while the rest needed mopping off the kitchen floor and from under our fridge and freezer. Of course, I was in the middle of it and in a pretty severe amount of pain. Chaos ensued. I managed to hop/hobble out of the way (dripping wet) and let Gerry and Maureen clean up with direction from Michelle, but not before everyone was a bit scared and paniced and everything. It all settled down eventually. An outcome, however, was that it felt like I broke my right ankle. I know I didn't because I am able to walk on it OK but DAMN did it hurt! Somehow in the process, I also managed to mangle my 1st toe on my right foot - see picture below.

Sadly the picture doesn't really do justice to how it felt and still feels. You can see the toe looks a bit black and so forth - the main problem I am getting from it now is that I cannot roll my foot forward straight without a lot of pain. I am hoping that ends soon, as it feels weird rolling off the side of my right foot. As long as they don't have to amputate at the neck I'll be right. I did also score a cracker of a bruise on my right buttock, which with all the pleading in the world I was not able to convince Michelle to take a photo of. It was pretty big, and nice and black and mottley. It hurt for a while when you pressed it, too.

My advice... screw the drought and water what you need to. No one can water in a neck brace.

Well, what an interesting day it has been so far.

Arrived in the city at about 7:45am (for reasons to come in a future post), had breakfast due to rushing out this morning, and then fronted up at work. Nick (my team leader), Gavin (was team leader of same team but northern region, but newly moved to Brisbane for a position change) and Emma (HR) took me back down to the street for coffee. That was nice and informal. Emma was moaning about having pink hair due to a hair tie thing that was wet and leeched colour into her hair... I couldn't tell, but I am never one to get in the way of a woman and her hair. That I have learnt.

After that back upstairs, Nick showed me where I will be sitting for the next four weeks on Level 22 before the move his whole team down to Level 19 (for now), and met up with the other guy I'll be working with - Mick (I met him at the dinner last week). Then ushered into the boardroom for my induction, done again by Emma. Pretty dry (by her own admission), but also pretty comprehensive. First time in my whole working career that I've had any kind of real induction at all, so it makes for a good start. After that, I was given my "welcome pack" which included my letter of offer, etc, which never made it into the post. So - filling out paperwork for the next 45 minutes (including a VERY confusing super fund form, which I'll throw at my financial advisor to have him check it and see if it is the best deal for me (probably is) and then will get those forms back to them as well... I got the main ones in, so at least in a fortnight I'll get paid! Woo hoo! Fortnightly pay again (after 2 years of nightmarish monthly pay with ASSA ABLOY)!!!

I had my first performance meeting with Nick... which consisted of him peering over the cube wall and asking if I had done ITIL training. My answer - "No". "Good" he said, and ducked back down I think to include it in his monthly report and plan for it for me for sometime in the next 4 weeks.

Nicked to Woolworths for lunch (MUCH different to Woolies in the 'burbs!), and realised just how close the Queen Street Mall is. Came back and ate it with Nick and Mick, and due to the fact that my account has not been set up on either Ergon or Energex's network, Mick has logged me on so I can read what doco they have on their systems, etc. The most telling thing about today happened at lunch, when I asked "what do we (our team) do?"... Nick's response was "we don't know yet - you've arrived in the middle of a team reconstruction and realignment".

The most beautiful irony is that I am sitting here on ONE (I'll get two!) of my new work laptops, typing this blog entry. This is on top of the mention of security in the induction meeting this morning - don't give anyone your password. To Mick's credit he hasn't given me his password, but to be fair and if I was that way inclined... it would have been the last thing he did for [COMPANY] as an employee! I'm much nicer than that though... besides, if i got rid of him, it'd just be me to do the work!

Working out the public transport thing will be a problem. There are a couple of bus services that will get me home (one that terminates at Forest Lake Village, one that stops on Grand Avenue at the bottom of the street we join on to), but both are going to be (a) pretty full; and (b) take about an hour to get home of an afternoon or in of a morning. So in speaking with Nick, who rides a bike into work, he has spotted me all the free motorcycle parking spots near our building ([BUILDING] on Eagle St) and it looks like it will make the most sense for me to (finally!) get a motorcycle and ride to and from work. More on that as I am allowed to progress that, though (right Michelle?). Don't you think I'll look cool on a motorcycle!?  ;)

P.S. Still haven't heard from either of the other jobs as yet... guess we all know what that means...

Today, I managed to make a perfect cut on some glad wrap I was getting off a roll. This is no small feat for me, as every other time I attempt to get near a roll of anything like this thin, clear film, it mangles itself and renders the bit I get off almost unuseable.

I don't know what happened in this instance. Maybe the planets aligned. Maybe the film was pre-perforated and I didn't realise it. Maybe all that instruction from my wife on how to cut the damn stuff finally paid off! I guess it doesn't matter how I did it, I did it. Now that cut up watermelon will remain locked nicely inside that bowl due to my efforts in not only removing the required amount of cling film from its roll, but also because I secured it to the bowl in an almost perfect manner - no creases across the top, no little ripped bits to account for, no overuse of film due to a poor cutting methodology. I have peaked, and it is only down from here.

...ah, the inanity of it all...

In a fit of cleanliness (and possibly due to Michelle's nesting instinct kicking in so strong), we've been tidying up around the house a lot. The study got hit today, and thus the treadmill has finally decided it needs to leave us for a household where it may get some use.

It's been sitting in the corner of my study for a little while now, and all after we got a new motor put in it. Why? Well, we looked in the manual (after the new motor was put in) and found out that this treadmill isn't rated for someone of my... magnitude...

Pics of said treadmill can be seen here: http://themolks.com/treadmill.html

It's fully motorised, including the incline funtion, has a number of built-in preset courses and speeds and you can set two of your own. Usual safety features built in, plus heart rate monitor, plus I'll even throw in the can of silicone spray required to keep the treadmill mat running on the board nicely. If you are of an appropriate weight this treadmill is built to deal with running as well as walking.

If you are interested, either leave a comment with your e-mail address (only I can see it) or contact me personally if you know how to. I'm looking for about $1,200 for it (it is worth over $2,500), but it's negotiable if it is going to the right home. One where it will get some use, and not be walked on by someone who's girth is as equatorial as me. As it obviously lives with us here in Brisbane, the person who wants it will need to arrange to get it to wherever in their own time and in their own way (I'd recommed a good mate with ute and a couple of hours to spare). It will pack down but trust me it is easier to move it all put together.

More information available for interested parties on request...

I think I've blogged this before, but my head hurts.

There's too many ideas I have spinning around in my head about stuff I want to blog about - recruitment agencies, reality TV, Luke growing up and baby #2 on the way, how I am feeling being unemployed again, Rove returning to television, Will Anderson starting soon on Triple M, blah, blah, blah. None of it will be that interesting, but I think I just need to get some of it out of my head. Oh, and someone hacked my blog overnight last night - I hoped I have fixed it now (thanks for the heads up, Scott!).

I have realised I am still feeling a bit hurt about being made redundant, and this is riding on the top of me feeling useless generally about the house and in helping Michelle in her final stages of pregnancy. I don't want to feel hurt - just every time I think of my old job I think of the promises made to me by my old boss and how I realise now that they were bald-face lies designed to string me along with the hope that I might actually get to do what he said. Oh well - if nothing else, it will make me a better boss because I know exactly how I didn't like being treated and in no way will I treat my staff like that.

Tomorrow is Luke's last weekday swimming lesson. Should be fun. Saturday he moves up a class and starts the new term in what will surely be the PACKED classes that happen on the weekend. Primarily this is so I can take him while Michelle has to look after the new bub... whenever it arrives. Other than that... I think we are cleaning the study.

I should also hear by the end of this week if I will score a couple of interviews for different jobs that I have applied for. we'll all have to wait and see how that pans out. Oh, and I am trying to plan a Halo party to release some frustrations in a group electronically-induced way. If that can be pulled off, THAT will be fun...  ;)

It's been an interesting weekend.

Due to an impending council cleanup that starts collecting on Monday, and a very pregnant wife that is more than nesting now, and the fact that we were both just sick of the state of the garage, we tidied up. A lot. We put a lot out for the cleanup, and interestingly enough some stuff vanished within hours of it being out there!

Some of Saturday and Sunday were spent moving things, throwing things out, unpacking some boxes, setting up shelves, packing tubs, etc, etc. It's very weird, but I am really pleased to look in our garage now as it not only looks tidy but feels tidy too. That mightn't make too much sense, but trust me - we'll show you what we mean when you visit. There are still a number of boxes to unpack but that will happen now sooner than later and find life in a tub (or a bin) and mean that we can now find those things we are keeping a whole lot easier - cardboard boxes never do kept rubbish justice.

Had a great dinner at Scott & Jo's with Geoff & Hayley as well on Saturday night - Jo's patented ribs (mmm... the sauce...). This was highlighted by Michelle feeling the baby's head engage and a bunch of pain on and off that sent us home thinking we might have to be heading into the hospital very shortly. In the end (at least so far) it has turned out to be a false alarm. No serious contractions yet, no waters breaking yet, no baby #2 in the house... yet. We'll keep you posted.

Waiting to hear on Monday also about the National IT Manager job. The wait now has me thinking that I'm not going to be the guy they want, which is a shame as I would have really liked it and I know I would have done a spectacular job. All is not lost - I have a recruitment agency 'interview' on Monday morning as well for an IT Manager job for a school which would be great also, as this falls into the desire I have to be in charge of IT for a school and do a great job. We'll have to see what happens. I also have about 4 other leads with different recruitment agencies, but they are ones that I am yet to interview with the client for, so it is a bit of a start again process. It can get a bit depressing, but I am trying to stay positive and know that God has it all in control and will help me find the job He knows is right for me. THAT is a tough thing for me - leaving all the worry with God and letting it happen - but I know that I will be all the better for it when I do.

Other than all this, Michelle is great and Luke is a little wonder. It is going to be tough to go back to work full time when I do finally get a job and leave them all at home, as I am kinda getting used to them being around. As difficult that it can be to spend a lot of time with a near 2 year old that is just starting to get the words out right, it is also a lot of fun and a complete joy - what an enjoyable, gracious, neat, clean, fastidious, excitable, loving little boy he is growing to be. Like I have said previously, when I get a chance to finish editing up the video and pics of him, I'll post 'em up for all to enjoy.

Just a quick one - with the latest version of bpBlog now out I decided I had to upgrade, and while I was at it I needed to give the site a facelift. Hope you like it. I do anyway.

Sorry if this stuffs up your RSS feed reader, as I think the location has changed again... oops!

The job interview went well this afternoon, I think. I got to meet with all the important people, then I got to meet 2/3 of the IT team I would be managing if I am successful. All in all, I think I presented well again and I look forward to hearing from them.

Then, on the drive home, this attack of some fear and confidence-drilling malaise washed over me. Am I really up to this? Can I do it (it's gonna be a big job)? What if the team don't respond well to my style? Will I be able to spread the love/charm as I have previously and with good customer service skills win over all the key players there?

I'm pretty sure it's just me. I must continue to trust in God and know that He will not only open the door He wants me to walk through, but that He knows with His help I can do it.

Still makes me feel a bit scared and a bit crap at the same time...

No, not one of ours... "Domestic" is a great short film written and produced by a long time (school!) friend of mine, Brett Snelgrove. Check it out...

WARNING: If you have sensitive ears, you might want to turn the sound down. Oh, and there's lots of dangerous stuff you kiddies shouldn't try at home. There. I said it. Now do whatever you can while your parents aren't watching.

BTW - the guy in the film is also a friend of mine and Brett's, from our school days - Lawrence Carmichael.

For mine, Brett is a dead set legend. With his permission, I may wax lyrical about how our relationship grew, vanished, and has been recently rekindled. In a totally platonic "best friends" kind of way. Phew... that was close...

Yes, it's happened again... that fickle IT industry has caught up with me and this morning I was made redundant from my role within ASSA ABLOY due to restructuring purposes.

More to come as it sinks in. My main concerns now are to support Michelle (as she is 34 weeks pregnant with Bump v2.0) and Luke, and find a job that allows me to financially meet our obligations.

The rest... well, that will probably come out during a game of Halo or three when I get the chance...

Last week I got to be involved with something I have wanted to do for a long time... shoot a short film.

A friend of mine (Stephen Irwin, hereafter known as Crikey) has written a few shorts now, and 'Ascension' is his second to get funding from the PFTC to get it made. I missed out on a part in his first, but he managed to write a non-speaking/background role in for me this time. How generous!  ;)

It was a whole lot of fun - rehearsals on the Tuesday before allowed the cast to size each other up and get into it quite nicely. Shooting last week was a five day affair - Wed/Thu at QPix in Wollongabba for inside shooting, Friday at Canungra for a tunnel shoot (I was not required) and Sat/Sun all night shooting in the city (I was needed all night Saturday night). The cast were superb - featuring Billie Brown as the Leader ("The Dish", "Fierce Creatures") and Sean Lynch as Tim ("Garage Days"). The others were great too - just right now all I can remember is their first names (and mainly character names!). I could wax lyrical on what I learnt from these guys and just how good they are as actors - but I'll save you the words and let you see for yourself when the film is out.

The night shoot was the most torrid, even though the robes we wore were kinda hot and on the first day it was pretty hot outside and the air conditioning had to be off inside so as not to interfere with the sound recording, but it was still good. Lots of fun running down the street in robes at midnight in Spring Hill. There is always sitting around on these kinds of things - I'd always heard that, but believe it now - but that just allowed me to chat with the cast and some of the crew and find out about what they like about it and why they do it. Just being around such a bunch of creative people got all my creative juices flowing...

The crew were amazing - so professional and organised. There was all the waiting you'd expect from setting up new camera and lighting angles and re-takes, but in doing so they were quite quick and efficient with all the resets. All in all, it made for a wonderful experience that has bit me strong with the acting bug proper - not sure how it will work with a "real" job, a wife, a nearly two year old and one about to pop... but we'll see if anyone is interested and worry about it then...

Watch this space for news of the launch of this spectacularly funny short film.

I managed to score a token role in a friend's short film that is being filmed this week - 'Ascension'. As filming is 3 days (well, the bits I am in) this week, it warranted a week off. I also had to sit one of the two exams I was due to upgrade my Microsoft MCSE certification after completing the course the other week. 70-296 was taken and passed this morning (PHEW!).

Filming starts tomorrow, and should be a lot of fun (even though I think the Production Manager doesn't like me - apparently I'm a wannabe actor). Lots of sitting and waiting and stuff, but at least it is in the cool and there's food and drink and cameras and acting and stuff.

On Australia Day we moved Luke from his cot into his 'big bed'. We were expecting this to be a trauma but he simply took it in his stride quite nicely. He looks so small again in his new bed... I guess he'll grow into it! Subsequently the nesting mother of the house has spent a bunch of hours in the new baby's room preparing it and sorting clothes and the like. You'd almost think she is pregnant.  ;)

Tonight, as Michelle went upstairs for a shower after Luke was asleep, she went in to check on Luke. I was summoned and asked to "find your son"... and so entered and in the half-light could see that there was no Luke on top of the sheets as I left him. For that nanosecond, I panicked. Then I saw the tell-tale lumps of a small 20 month old boy who had worked his way under the sheets and fallen asleep. It was pretty funny. We salvaged him up and all seemed well - until he woke up a half hour later because he was under the sheets.

Sorry for the gibberish - holidays.

Quote of the night:
Sideshow Bob - "How can one ordinary man have so many enemies?"
Homer Simpson - "I'm a people person... who drinks..."

2006/2007 is indeed the season for cricket in Australia... the Aussies regained the Ashes from England with a solid 3-0 victory after 3 tests, and stand to make it 5-0 with the Melbourne and Sydney tests to come... and sponsors everywhere are lining up to cash in on the massive interest surrounding cricket this summer.

It started with some XXXX beer ads promoting their XXXX Beach Cricket tour that will begin shortly, with not only people able to enter teams to compete but also get the chance to play against some legends of the game like Alan Border and Michael Holding. Interestingly enough, you have to be of drinking age to even enter their site... perhaps it's a legal thing? No idea, but their beach cricket flash game is pretty fun and kind of addictive, but it wears thin soon as you really have to try and work out in 2D how to determine where to ball is to pick your swing to make the best shot to get the most runs. There is even cheer girls around the boundary shaking their digitally encoded whatevers - if that's an indication then they've won the bogan vote already, and there will be people in droves at the actual live events.
3 beer cans out of 5.

Then I started to see Ford's Tonk-a-pom serve up on adverts everywhere. It exists to tie in with Ford's sponsorship of the domestic one-day series (Ford Ranger cup), and does an OK job. More 'cartoony' than the XXXX effort, it is entirely focused on you trying to smash the type of delivery you spun up as far as you can... and it humourously gets you smacking the ball past the Gabba, WACA, MCG, etc, as well as associated ride on mowers and seagulls. A bit drab, but OK for the first 10 minutes.
2 fairlanes out of 5.

Then, rising out of the ashes (sic) is KFC's Stick Cricket, repleat with commentary by the Twelfth Man (neatly tied in with promoting his latest release "Boned"). It's a cack, and you can play for fun, against a mate, or sign up and actually compete to help the Aussies take back the Ashes (your score tallies in with everyone else that has signed up, and if you look towards the bottom to see that Australia has taken out the first test by a MASSIVE amount of runs). It doesn't pretend to be anything than a bit of fun, and the commentary is a great bonus. They've even solved the 2D thing by making the ball get bigger as it comes toward you... making it at least have a 3D look and feel to be able to help you determine your shot. The controls are easy, and it is way too much of a time machine. Picking your side from the start, you play as either England or Australia and bat through the order as it stands (noting Symonds is in and Martyn is out of the team, due to a recent retirement on his part). Have a go - you'll get hooked, and find that two hours passed REALLY quickly. As it is a shared portal with FOX Sports, you even get some real info on the game, cricket news, blog from Steve Waugh, etc, etc, etc. Worth visiting even if you don't want to play the game (and trust me, after 1 innings, you'll want to play).
4 zinger burgers out of 5.

Brisbane Exhibition & Convention Centre, 21 November 2006

3 Mobile invited Michelle and I to the Ashes luncheon, and we thought we'd just get a seat at a table somewhere towards the back - oh no... (this seems to be setting a standard now, doesn't it?!).

There were lots of people there when we showed up - everyone all pretty due to the business suit dress code. Michelle looked lovely. When we first arrived and got a drink, we went to look at the seating list and our names weren't to be found. A couple of panicked phone calls later and we'd found Tim Gallagher (Qld Sales Manager for 3 Mobile) and he assured us we had seats. We hoped so - 86 tables of 10 - there'd have to be room for us somewhere.

As the doors opened, we followed Tim in to table 6 - right up the front. That was nice. Also noticed our proximity to some interesting people... Ian Healy (host for the afternoon) and Darren Leahmann (now chairman of the Players Committee). We settled into our seats and soon noticed a few of the Australian Cricket team show up... and then two of them sat at our table... and not just any two! We got to sit with Ricky Ponting and Mitchell Johnson! Of course photos were taken and autographs collected.

The afternoon was pretty good. The food was pretty nice, the wine and drinks were pretty nice, the entertainment of Heals and Mark Nicholas was interesting, the auction was good (the three items up went for bargain prices - even though those prices were well out of our price range!), and they even had Tripod turn up and perform (they were a cack).

A good time was had by all... and thanks to Jo and Catherine Carpenter for looking after Luke while we were out hob-nobbing!

26 November 2006, The Gabba.

The main reason behind this post is to allow both my friend Rowan and I to gloat about our day at the cricket. If you can cope with that, read on...

I managed to secure a couple of tickets to the Ashes through 3 Mobile, our mobile broadband data card provider. I wasn't expecting anything other than seats, maybe a bit of a corporate box thing, but instead scored two tickets to the Chairman's Room (as in the Chairman of Queensland Cricket). A tie for gentlemen was a must, the letter said (I initially questioned my status as a gentlemen, but after some explanation from Michelle - all boys are referred to generally as gentlemen in these situations - all was right again). Roped in my mate Rowan Wingrave to come down from Toowoomba to watch it with me, as Michelle really wasn't keen to have Luke babysat for 3 days this week (plus it wasn't really fair on him either).

Rowey made it, we drove in hoping to secure a park in the grounds of East Brisbane primary school (they open their oval on the weekends to raise money for the school - it's right next door to the Gabba), but we missed the turn. No worries, down a street and let's do a block - lo and behold, parking in someone's yard for $10 all day. Sold.

We walked down to Gate 10 and straight in (no lines, no security checks), up the escalator, got our name badges and straight into... WOW... one of the function rooms at the Gabba all decked out, with a nicely glassed in view at 45 degrees to the Stanley street end of the pitch, inside (for the cool) and outside (for the atmosphere) seating, drinks on tap, waiter service, blah, blah blah. We had a quick sit down outside to see the pitch getting its final roll and Mark Nicholas preparing for his intro to the cricket coverage, and then retreated to the cool to watch the first session.

Sat down at a table inside, and lo and behold we were sitting with former Australian cricket captain Kim Hughes! Had a good chat with him about the game so far, his thoughts on the pitch, etc, etc. He seemed OK, but probably thought we were just 'another couple of punters'. He left after a while (his loss), and we continued to enjoy the game.

We go to see Justin Langer get his century and then Ricky Ponting declared to being England back into bat for what we hoped would be a day of wickets to give Australia a lead in the 5 test Ashes series 1-0.

Lunch was awesome - Rowey had his first oyster, the rib fillet was pretty special, and the cheeses were nice for afterwards. Good wines from Wolf Blass, beers aplenty, Lemon Lime and Bitters was the drink of the day, as were the yummy shortbread biscuits available the whole time. Afternoon tea was some fresh scones with jam and cream. A lot of firsts this day - first time I've drunk wine at the cricket, first time I've worn a tie to the cricket, etc, etc.

We had a great time, and stayed right to the end. The crowd were as entertaining as you'd expect (even got to see a MASSIVE beach ball spend an hour trying to get back up to the top of the three tier section near the scoreboard, only to end up on the field and get deflated by a police officer), and then we saw a blow-up doll get bounced around for a while until a Gabba staffer grabbed her and took her away. The Barmy Army were in fine song ("God Save Your Queen" was a personal favourite), as were the Fanatics. It was just a cracker of a day... and would have only been made better by having our other mate Uncle Davey there as well, or at least to have secured a result.

Many thanks have to go to Michael, Pino and Tim at 3 Mobile - what a day! Now, to talk about some One Day tickets that I'd love you to secure for me...  ;)

18/9/1920 - 15/10/2006

Mother to Barry, Lois, Graeme, Nerida, Peter, Phillip, David & Ruth. Grandmother to many, Great-Grandmother to a growing brood...

There is much I can reflect on about my Grandmother. Her petite frame whenever I think of the old photos of her standing next to a towering Grandfather. Her gentle way with which she dealt with all of us grandkids as we terrorised "Clear View" on our many weekend visits, and the many smells that eminated from her wood-fired kitchen. Going to Gilgandra Lutheran church with her when we visited (and having to remember to stand up to pray and sit down to sing - very confusing for a young Uniting Church boy!). Generically visiting the farm when I was a kid period - Grandma is so wrapped in those memories of my childhood that they cannot be separated.

Grandma attended both of my weddings and those of my siblings. She always made time for us... independent of how far she had to travel (even though the travelling was harder for her as she grew older).

At a family reunion held in Gilgandra in 2004, held to co-incide with her 84th birthday, I can clearly remember Grandma saying to not make a fuss about her. I think she had buckleys chance of that, but such was this woman of strength. It was never her way to be the centre of attention, but always to be supportive and encourage and enable those that needed to be. I remember many stories of Grandma helping others at church (even with 8 kids to feed), and after that once she moved off the farm and into town.

My most recent memory was from a special visit in January 2006, as we were on the way to a wedding in Orange and were able to pop into her flat in Cooee Lodge in Gilgandra and visit briefly. It was a surprise as we didn't want her to have to go to any fuss... plus she got to meet Luke and have a cuddle - and he got to meet his Great-Grandmother. It was a lovely time, and the photos we have of her and Luke prove that - even though she was a little embarrassed she wasn't all "dressed up" for us.

In her lifetime, she saw 1 world war and many other conflicts, experienced the hardships that surrounded the great depression, raised 8 children and ran a farm with her husband, saw the introduction of motor vehicles and television (the black and white type), buried her twin brother, experienced the fear and horror of the atomic bomb, saw many droughts and even a couple of floods of the Castlereagh River, and remained a strong soldier of the faith.

She died peacefully, but, sadly, in pain due to the effects of the pancreatic cancer that took her. There is no doubt that Grandma has gone to be with her Lord... she had lived a life that was one of service and greatfulness to a God that remained steadfast and true. A God that loved and is loving, in spite of what we offer. Her faith is what she relied upon in the hard times, gave her joy consistently through her life, and her faith is what gave her comfort and peace in these last weeks of pain and darkness. Her life has not ended as her God has welcomed her home - free from pain, free from the frailties of age - to now be with Him for the rest of her eternal life.

At 86, Joan Molkentin - a life well lived, and lived well...

So, here I am working at the dining table while watching Thank God You're Here, and I get an e-mail from my wife... who is sitting on the couch checking her e-mail wirelessly on her laptop.

It's just getting a little sad when communication gets to that. Although, at the Cisco Networkers conference I was at last week (and will blog about shortly), one of the keynotes mentioned IM'ing his family members from his PDA in the kitchen to come down for dinner - when they are all in the same house - now THAT is technology out of control (I reckon)... although I can see some applications that might be beneficial...  ;)

So, after just being too busy to get this done, I have put up a BUNCH of photos of the start to finish process of doing our garden and landscaping. There is still a bunch of extra plants and planting we want to do, but this is a massively good start.

You can check it out by looking at the gallery I created - click on the gallery link at the top right, or just plain click here.

The saddest and best thing about it for me is that I got to mow the lawn at our new house - over a year after we moved in. It was so satisfying and the end results show that it was well worth all the effort and cash dropped into it. The lawn looks so lush and is so much fun to play around on... bring on some day/night matches watching the cricket outside projected onto the back wall!!!

Australia and the world yesterday lost a complete legend. Conservation globally lost a freedom fighter and an advocate. The media lost a character. A family lost a huband and a dad.

I have long been a fan of the Crocodile Hunter - just his whole attitude to how things should work, and his complete personal sense of presence. He had a warmness, a likeability, a genuine concern for animals and people. He also had learnt how to play the political and the media game, and did it well to promote the cause of wildlife conservation.

I think most importantly, he was a proud father. You could see it any time he talked about his kids, Bindi and Bob. That distant mist that fills any father's eyes when they wax lyrical about how much they love their kids, and the hopes and dreams that shroud the pride with which they speak of them.

Everything about Steve was raw, real and personal. It's what made him the real-life comic book character that he was... who else, before him, thought a croc was beautiful and that all animals should be as respected and promoted as he did? He did it with such gusto that he easily swept many up in his passion. His Australia Zoo will continue his legacy, however it's atmosphere will always be slightly less than before as everyone will know that Steve will not/can not return. A place that mixed sizeable amounts of education, terror and joy will now be a hint sadder because we all know that Steve won't just show up and teach us something about the animal kingdom.

His legacy is large, and the public outpouring of disbelief and grief at the loss of the unbreakable Irwin is the start of the many tributes that will follow. As they should. If you want to express your concern, support or just get involved, go to http://www.wildlifewarriors.org.au/ (if you can get the page to load - it's understandably suffering due to the huge numbers of hits it is now getting). It is sad that Steve's passing has had to prompt this sudden show of solidarity and support... if only he could of seen how he was not only looked up to, but loved by all.

I do not know if he made it to heaven... I hope so. God needs passionate, authentic people like him, here and there.

I just had to share this...

Michelle and I flicked over and saw some of the final of "Torvill & Dean's Dancing On Ice" on Channel 9. It's between Mr Jennifer Hawkins (Jake Wall) and the beige one from the Today show (Karl Stefanovic).

We had our subtitles on, and as it is a live show it is subtitiled live. They must use some kind of predictive text thing when doing the subtitles, as when the host (Jamie Durie - what were you thinking!?!?!) said his name, it showed as Karl Stefan obvious ig.

I loved that.

Also, one of the judges was in some kind of pink/light red/rose coloured suit. Looks weird, I mentioned it, and deadpan Michelle delivered "dress like you mean it"... outstanding... she still manages to surprise and make me laugh so hard she gets the hiccups!

It really couldn't have come at a better time too, with our two weeks of using town water to wet in our grass ending on Friday night (at least, that's when we saw it end). It's only been a bit of a soak - and I do not think anything made it into the dams (which are now reaching critical levels) - but it is a nice start.

Our new vegie/herb garden will appreciate it. All our plants in the garden beds will appreciate it. The grass will appreciate it. The green tree frog I found living in one of our little strelitzia's will love it more than anything, I reckon. We're hoping he hangs around...

It woke me up during the night at one point, the rain was that heavy. Also probably not used to hearing it!

If nothing else, the rain has settled the dirt a little, and just makes everything look that little bit cleaner, fresher and newer.

I hate it.

I know that most people have already had a least one this year (and if you are Michelle or Luke, that one may have lasted like 3 or 4 weeks), so I am not having a cry about it... just noting that my nose feels like there is a cubic metre of set concrete in it.

I hope I do not get a sinus infection to boot. While the colours can be nice(!), shifting it is the most common cause of anuerisims today.

I think I also have an itchy right buttock... entirely unrelated.

...when you water it (at some ungodly hour)!

I know I have been very slack in not updating our blog with images, etc, but it has seriously just been one of those weeks. Too much on, and when you get home there is just too much garden stuff to manage! Poor excuse, but it will do for now.

As our new turf(!!) was laid yesterday, I opted to perform the onerous task of being the "turf waterer" for the next 2 weeks. Thusly, at 5:30am this morning (after attempt to put Luke back to bed and under his covers) I was out in my bedsocks in thongs, trakky daks and jumper on, watering our front and back garden. Due to the Level 3 water restrictions, with new turf we CAN water for up to 14 days after the laying of said new turf, but we have to do it before 7am and after 7pm.

It was pretty cold this morning - it will have to be a beanie and better jumper tomorrow. It already is making a difference with how the place looks as far as just having the garden beds in and the turf now laid... here's hoping we can get the second rainwater tank in soon (after using all in the first) before we get too much rain - I really don't want to see this investment die off too quickly!

BTW - sorry about no pictures yet - just been too busy. Will try to put some up this weekend so that you can all share in the joy!

While the trip to Melbourne that Daniel and I took on Friday last was all business/team meetings/etc, there was still the chance for the "play hard" part of our "work hard/play hard" ethic to be kicked in.

So, off we all went, all 13 of us, down to some place called SideTracked in Oakleigh. Agenda: mini-10-pin-bowling (pins on strings??), mini golf, and indoor karting.

Mini 10 pin Bowling
Just weird - like the real thing, but we used bowls that were effectively plastic coated bocce balls, the lanes were shorter and narrower, and the pins were on strings to assist with the resetting. We started by seeing who could piff the bowl down the fastest, and end with seeing who could create the most destruction across as many lanes as possible (well, at least the team I was in did).

Mini Golf
Castle themed, with some weird pre-recorded noises based on specific sections, it was mini golf. The golfers amongst us were confident - some would say a little over confident - however it was the hacks that proved to be on song. Both Colin and myself scored 5 holes in one each as we made our way through the not-so-challenging course. All arse (no other way to explain it). To make matters worse, when it came to the last hole, my ball edged the hole, nearly making my total 6 holes in one. I putted in 2.

Indoor Karting
This was, I think, what we had all been sizing up for.
First team: Aaron, Ben, Colin, Kaare, Kim, Darek, Satha.
Second team: themolk, Daniel, George, Paul, Chris, Stewart.
The first team set a cracking pace, with Ben and Aaron going all out for the whole 10 minutes they had. It was most amusing at one point to see Ben weaving all over the place behind Satha ("The Grey Ghost") trying to find a passing line, and then when he finally did his shaking fist went up in frustration. The second team were pumped, after closely following the exploits of the first team and traking their lap times. We went in knowing that the karts had been tuned to do a lap in 25 seconds flat, and pumped to try and at least hit it. It was on - although George ("The Chief") complained after the fact that he had the dud kart Satha had, we still think it was just that he drives like a Volvo driver. I was able to put my foot down and have some clear track to wear into the corners and after the first 5 or so laps I had worked out that I could pass on a couple of key corners, use the straight to sneak up on people, and not have to break around any of the corners. I think my "additional load", coupled with a low centre of gravity and high momentum once I got going helped me out a fair bit - enough to win our team's race convincingly and make me second only to Ben ("The Pup").

After that, we were over to Chadstone for a feed, some brews and some pool at a pub called "Tom Thumb's". That was pretty good. I was off about 1:30am to the hotel, leaving Daniel in the capable hands of everyone else. I was in bed (and I think asleep) by 2am. When I called Daniel to go to breakfast 7:30am Saturday morning, it turns out he had checked in at 6am, and had just had time to have a shower and a bit of a lie down - no sleep. He left George at Crown Casino at the Poker tables, who apparently kicked on until 7am, netting a tidy profit.

Feeling as old as I am now, 2am almost has to be my limit. I used to be able to do what Daniel and George (and I think Kaare and Kim) did, but not any more... some call it soft, some call it sensible...

Po-TAY-to, po-TAH-to...

Michelle and I had a meeting with the guy who will be doing our landscaping today, and he advised us that he can "fit us in starting this Tuesday", due to some other things sliding around. WOO HOO! Finally, the dirt farm will be no more...

This is particularly good news for Michelle, who hasn't been able to let Luke loose on our yard at all yet - too much yuckky stuff and no soft fall over areas. Plus, Michelle loves gardening. So I know that for her, this really is the completion of our house. It will just be wonderful to have some greenery about the place. Greenery that we want, anyway.  ;)

Photos will appear here on the progress of said grass and that. I am just looking forward to having reasons to fire up our lawn mower and edger again (the new ones that we bought about 6 months before moving in that hasn't had any use for over a year now)... no point mowing dirt now, is there?

Sometimes, technological solutions to things surprise me in a really good way.

Take, for example, our new bank's approach to internet banking security. To log on to internet banking with our new bank, you enter via the keyboard you inernet banking id. Fair enough. Then, using ONLY the mouse, you must click on a special screen keyboard applet they have created to enter in your internet banking pin. The catch with this, is that with each new screen refresh you load the internet banking front page with, the numbers 0-9 are in different places every time. You physically have to stop and look at what numbers you want to click on, as they aren't the in the standard pattern, and it's completely unlikely that they are in the same place they were when last time you logged in.

Think about it - 10 numbers, 10 different places each number can be located - that's a pretty serious matrix of permutations and combinations. All of this to stop little automated programs and scripts from capturing the location of your mouse or a key logger getting your internet banking pin - because it CANNOT be enter by the keyboard, and the location of the numbers changes so that only a human can see where the numbers are to enter them.

I just thought it was a neat approach to an increasingly common problem - people being silly enough to expose their computer to stuff that lets their details be captured. All hail the intelligent people behind this design!

Additionally, the data we can get from our new bank via internet banking is outstanding. All transactions are clearly shown, and via a double entry system (must have been designed by an accountant and not an IT geek!). At any point you can fire off an 'internal' e-mail to them and you WILL get a response - within the working day, usually. What a difference a change makes - plus, NO MORE FEES!!!!!

Are you impressed by how your bank handles its internet banking security responsibilities? Comparing our new bank to our old bank... I have to say that currently (they are now talking about their "new" approach to internet banking "coming soon") our old bank is well behind on its approach, that is for sure. Is service (both from the banking industry and generically) something that is about to go the way of the dodo???

...but I got better...

Just a quick note to say that my head is a 'little' clearer, but not much. Many of the frustrations still abound, but I'm not dwelling on that at the moment.

I have been prosrastinating (and running out of time daily) to blog about the employment process that I have been involved with in the past month, and how weird it has been to be on the OTHER side of the desk (we were employing, and I was interviewing!!!). Lots to brain dump on here about that.

The short answer to it is that the guy we selected, Daniel Lutton, is doing a great job (end of week #1 today). Here's to him kicking on and continuing in the same vein. Woo hoo - I have some help!!!!!!

Having a bit of a hard time of it at the moment... just seem to have too much spinning around in my head.

The first thing I am chewing over is my now seeming complete lack of acting talent. I used to act a bit, and I really enjoy it. I also USED to think I was pretty good - particularly in a comedic role... however at rehearsals this week for the drama that will be used at the upcoming Uniting Church Assembly celebration service, I've come to the realisation that I'm not as good as I thought I was. I just can't get the voice right for this character - Tony (the director) is looking for a "blustery, Australian, Ray Warren-like, evil guy" kind of thing, and I just can't get it right. It is killing me - I'm Australian, and I can't do an Australian accent!!!

I can do a good English bad guy (this must be what I am hearing in my head for it), even a good American bad guy, even a decent Chinese/English bad guy - but not an Aussie. Sheesh!!

Church worship is continuing to be a frustration too. I think we (team 3) did a pretty good job on Sunday night, jungle and all (don't ask), but I am still finding it really hard to connect with the congregation as a whole as worship leader. It's like they are well in the zone of "well, go on... entertain us... play us the stuff we are used to..." - but that isn't gonna cut it with me. Corporate worship like that is meant to be a stretch - something a bit uncomfortable as we are moved out of our comfort zone and into a place where we as a collection of God's people can worship AND be challenged by Him. It's not just "let's sing some nice songs, get that out of the way, and then have a nice long sermon". I also seem to not be able to have the chance to unpack the service afterwards with someone (and I used to do this all the time) - this help me process it, identify the good things, find the not so good that needs to be fixed for next time, and generally allow me to work through why I feel I may not be connecting with the congregation like I want to be. I am starting to think it's me... and I guess it well could be...

Additionally I really want to see the team I am in start taking things to the next level - but except for me and maybe one or two other people who have said they are keen I just can't convince the others that we should get together at a time other than Sunday afternoon to prepare for worship - rehearse, muck around, pray together and for each other, try thing musically - all the normal stuff you can do when you don't have the start of that evening's service bearing down on you like a runaway freight train. How are we going to get better if not through practice? How are we going to learn how to play off each other and be aware of each other's style and skills and limitations and everything else unless we PRACTICE MORE?!?! I'm not talking every week - just the weeks we are on (which is usually one in 3 or 4). I wouldn't have thought that was too much. It seems it is... and that continues to get under my skin, because I am all about doing my absolute best for God, and how can I be when we try and cram everything into an hour before church? How does that represent "my best" (or anyone else's for that matter)? SIGH...

To wrap all that up, I've just been frustrated of late by some leadership things that are bugging me. I like to consider myself as someone with great leadership skills, who can lead and enthuse a team to work on a specific project or projects, and do that with finesse and encouragement. I also like to think that I am at a stage in my professional life where I am just preparing myself for the next step in my career where I am put in charge of some significant team that has responsibility for a large proportion of some IT thing for a business. I think my irks here are twofold:

1. it's not happening anywhere near as quickly as I want; &
2. the leadership I see offered is so inadequate that I just want to step in there and fix everything and make the decisions that need to be made (instead of faffing about around them and seemingly avoiding them).

I appreciate in all this that all of this is because I have had the chance to develop my leadership skills since a pretty early age, and I feel I have more than proven this trust in me in every situation. Subsequently I find it easy to analyse (and inevitably criticise) the leadership being offered to me or in leadership of me and see the shortcomings. I also get that I am supposed to serve to those placed in leadership of me just as I am serving those I am responsible for... the latter I get and I find pretty easy... the former - well, let's just say that one will be a lifelong lesson, I'm sure...

BTW - the Socceroos lost to Italy 1-0 in the last seconds of the game on Tuesday morning, due to a dodgy "fall" and an even dodgier refereeing decision. Just in case you'd been living under a rock (perhaps in a mine in Beaconsfield?) for the past few days. I know that hasn't help my frustration levels as I continued to climb on the Socceroos band wagon (and man, how big is that wagon?!?!).

It all just hurts my head... and sometimes my heart...

Like a large proportion of Australians, I got up this morning at 5am to watch the Australia v Croatia match from the World Cup in Germany. This is Australia's first time to the Cup in 32 years, and this year we secured not only our first ever World Cup goal, but also our first World Cup win!

It was quite the game - with it ending at 2-2... all we needed to progress to the second round. Now, the first and second placed teams from each group progress to a round of 16, playing one-off/sudden death matches, with only the winner progressing. Australia will face Italy at 1am Tuesday 27/06 (AEST)... and God willing I'll be up to watch a minor miracle take place.

Even if they lose, and are out, the Socceroos have done themselves and their country proud.

Just ask the Qld State of Origin team.

NSW 17 - 16 Qld.

Don't even start me.

Thanks to Mark, Catherine and Chloe for their hospitality last night - shame the game wasn't better...

Went to BIG time again last night - it was great, as Microsoft's Senior Security Analyst Jesper Johansson was around (for AusCERT on the Gold Coast) and spoke on his top 10 security myths.

Wow.

Just an impressive thinker. It would be good to have a longer conversation with him at some point... however in the interim I'll just have to stalk his blog.  ;)  Prompted some good thinking from even me - something to mull over on the plane to Hong Kong next week (or on the ferry to China after that).

Wow - the more I look on the web, the more there is to learn, prepare for, get ready to see... I am feeling pretty out of my depth! Still, bring it on...

<<gulp>>

Well, it's official (as of the video conference today) - I'm going to China in a week and little bit. It's been in the offing for a little while now, but not confirmed until the meeting today with my Boss (ASSA ABLOY Asia Pacific CIO), China region IT Manager and the other SNE (Senior Network Engineer) going with me.

I fly out from Brissy the afternoon of Monday 29 May to Melbourne, and then a late flight into Hong Kong, arriving Tuesday. It all spreads out from there for the next week and a half, going into China to Xiaolan, Yong Kang and Shanghai (where I fly out of the evening of Thursday 08 June). I'm all excited as I have never ever been on a flight longer than 5 hours (even my flight to Tonga in 1999 was a flight to Auckland and then a flight to Tongatapu). A whole other country, where I'll know noone, and stand out like the proverbial fat white Aussie.

Michelle's parents are coming up to enjoy some time in Brissy while I am away, and help look after Luke. That will be a massive help - we hope they enjoy their time up here. Of course during my time away I will miss seeing them a lot (I'll catch them at the start and finish of the trip) and will absolutely miss Michelle and Luke - lots of phone calls, e-mails and probably I'll even send them some video and pics and stuff. Technology - what a great collection of inventions.

Keep checking during my time away - there will be daily blogs (with pics and video, if I can arrange it)... so it will be just like you are there with me!  ;)

Figured I'd just update the pic and post from earlier of why it is that I work so hard...

I love my wife and son.  :)

For those interested, Geoff Bullock is back writing stuff - available for public cosumption at:

http://www.soundclick.com/geoffbullock

I've tried to grab a few tracks (you have to sign up to get them), and what've heard already is great. Love what I've heard so far - so many to go. He's even mixing one down now to go up this afternoon! The lyric and style so reflect his journey and understanding of grace - a fresh new voice is growing in his writing style, again to be a blessing to those who believe...

After much consternation and gnashing of teeth, we have a fix for our commenting/spam problem. It will now occur no more...

When you go to post a comment, you now must enter the 8 digit number that shows just below the comment space - if you can't read it press F5 and it is regenerate another 8 digits that should be more readable. This change has been made so that only humans who can read the digits (and enter them) can post comments! Hurrah!

Any feedback you'd like to offer is appreciated. I will look into seeing if I can make it a little more user-friendly. BTW - comment approval is back off, as this new system will be our gatekeeper (so to speak)...

...I can climb the stairs all the way to the top! Mummy and Daddy will have to get gates so they don't have to keep chasing me all the time because sometimes I stop and look down and that's VERY scary! Hmm, yes, it certainly is good exercise having a (nearly) 1 year old in the house - he never sits still! Thankfully this seems to have led to him sleeping all night long more often than not - fantastic! Mostly he'll sleep at least 10 or 11 hours, although there can be exceptions when he will wake for no earthly reason we can discover and decide to scream for nearly 3 hours (sorry, that's a fresh memory from just last week...).

Daytime naps are even improving, he's in that "maybe I need one nap, maybe two" phase so sometimes he will have just one but fall asleep in his dinner, other times he'll have two short ones - it's a bit of a guessing game right now. Mostly it will only take about 10 minutes to get him settled but yesterday I was so shocked because I didn't hear a peep out of him, he went straight to sleep at midday. He loves to "help" around the house, wants to watch and be a part of everything, even if he was happily playing by himself - if I move, he's got to see what I'm doing which makes housework and cooking a bit tricky at times. He walks really well now too, with that hilarious "Thunderbirds are Go!" action - it's so funny but absolutely amazing when he turns and runs at you with a big smile and sloppy kiss. *Sigh* I'm sure he'll grow out of that all too soon....

Figured I'd drop a couple of pics on the blog as soon as I had the chance... WOW - the MCG is amazing - so big and intimidating, and just an awesome place to watch football (or cricket).

The crowd at the MCG

The teams at three quarter time

A great game - a great day (thanks again, Boss) - pity the tickets weren't better (better tickets next year, Michael?). Just an amazing time... it's a shame the Pies came back in the last quarter to win by 17 points.  SIGH...

WOO HOO! After so long, I am off to the MCG today (Anzac Day) to see Collingwood get thumped by Essendon.

It should be a lot of fun, as I am going with my boss who is a massive Collingwood fan. It should be a great day (for one of us)!! I've never been to the 'G before, and I am told it will be a massive experience.

Bring it on.

Will post tonight (if I'm up to it) as to how the day was. More likely tomorrow...  ;)

 Oops - forgot to mention...

Due to the fact that our blog effectively got spammed in the comments section (a whole bunch of rogue entries point to some dodgy websites), I have had to turn the "comment approval" flag back on. This means if you comment on a blog, it will have to be approved before it is shown - sorry, but that's how it has to be for the next while.

And so now, on with our story...

Time to update - so now it is the latest version of the blog, as supplied by BetaParticle (thanks!). Also decided to go white/clean, just to make things easier. I am so colour-retarded (that's my disability)...

Was thinking the other day about the fact that Luke is nearly 11 months old, and where Michelle and I were this time last year, and what our hopes & dreams were (for Luke & the house). Some have been realised beyond our expectations, some have been only partially realised, and some (like the garden) will not see the light of day for some time yet. We'll get there. All a part of the joy of home ownership (or boat ownership, or the benefits of overseas travel...).

My "inane comment" tirade on Geoff & Jonny's blog continues to amuse... mainly me, but it still amuses. Why don't you come over and join in (the water's fine)!

Tropical Cyclone Larry's destruction was pretty massive. We have some family and many friends up there, and as it crossed an Innisfail, it affected pretty much Townsville up to north of Cairns. Oh, and by the way, TC Wati is on the way.

I usually listen to a mix of Triple M, B105, Nova 106.9, 97.3 and 96.5 on my way into work, but yesterday I flicked over to 612 ABC AM to find out what was happening as Larry was due to cross the coast as I was driving in.

I'll admit during the cricket season when we are out in the car, the radio is locked on to the ABC - no one commentates the cricket like Jim Maxwell, Kerry O'Keeffe and the team.

It's just another sign that my 33 years are catching up with me...

Got it fixed - not sure what the problem was, but anyway... As you can see, he is turning into a real little boy now (just ask his mum how he behaves sometimes, bulldozing through everything!!).

Here is the pic of my little legend...

I'm in Perth for business (been away nearly a week - Sydney last week, and Adelaide to come before I make it home this Friday night), and got a call from Michelle this morning... she, her mum and Luke are out shopping. I think they are trying to get Luke some shoes so he can start wearing them and get used to it. Also after some PJ's for him, and a birthday pressie for Catherine Carpenter (he's becoming quite the social butterfuly, is our young Luke).

Just hearing her voice and Luke's in the background made me homesick. Talking to him the other day on the phone, he recognised my voice and said "Daddad"... I miss them.

I was going to try to put the latest phot of Luke in the shopping trolley from January), but something is playing up with our host in the states and I can't... SIGH... at least he's grown since this one was taken! More photos always available here too...

Now, while this may seem like a simple thing to do, those who read my previous post will appreciate what I mean.

Led worship last night and it went really well. The team I am a part of (go.... Team 3!) is really starting to hit its straps - whenever we lead worship together now we are becoming more aware of how we work together, listening more to each other and (importantly) listening more to God when we lead. It's good.

Additionally, I tried something a little different (at least to what I have seen at SDBC) in that we had an intentional time of worship and waiting on/speaking with God. It worked really well, and this is good - hopefully setting up a framework for things to come.

Oh, and I didn't say "crap" (and I was REALLY conscious of making sure I didn't say it, so that kinda worked out well)...

POSTSCRIPT TO "When new is no longer new"...

So, I'm inspired now. These are the songs that in no way can be considered new (or even close to recent):

"Dirty Vegas" - INXS with JD Fortune
"I Would Do Anything For Love" - MeatLoaf
"This Love" - Maroon 5
Anything by Steve Miller Band
Anything by Fleetwood Mac
"Time Of Your Life" & "I Walk Alone" - GreenDay
"Drops of Jupiter" - Train
"Scar" - Missy Higgins

The list goes on and on - that's just what I can come up with now. That last one is getting on my nerves, if for no other reason than this line in the chorus:

"Doesn't it sound familiar..."

YES - THAT'S THE DAMN POINT! OF COURSE IT IS FAMILIAR - EVERY RADIO STATION IN AUSTRALIA PLAY IT 10 TIMES A DAY!

Don't get me wrong - great song, great artist. I want to be as encouraging as I can of Australian artists, as we have some of the best in the world (a great percentage considering the population difference). However, radio does them no favours by playing one of their singles over and over and OVER again...

At some stage, I used to like hearing all these songs, or still do - just not every hour. This also goes for some worship songs that seem to pop up every other week... but perhaps that is another blog entry...?

So - what songs are on your nerves because they have been overplayed? Let's make this a little bit interactive here, people...

The tragedy of having a cool looking floor... drop something even partially breakable, and the floor isn't very forgiving.

Yesterday afternoon while holding Luke, he decided as usual to try to play with Daddy's glasses. He managed to dislodge them from my face and knock them onto the floor - I didn't think anything of it until I heard them hit the polished concrete floor and felt "something" bounce off my leg. I was soon to discover that "something" was a small fracture off the front of my left lens... crap...

So, now, I can wear my glasses still, but I looks like there is a permanent water drop on the bottom of the left lens (to me, anyway). --SIGH-- Oh well, I was due to update my prescription and get new glasses anyway... It's just not an expense we wanted right now, what with us trying to get the garden done AND our builder's final invoice appearing out of nowhere.

Mind you, it looks like the painters have done our builder no favours in that they used a cheaper paint than what was specified... so the builder's final invoice may not be a problem for much longer...

So, while travelling for work may SEEM glamourous... let me promise you that it is not.

I am on leg #1 of trip #1 to rollout some new 3 Mobile Broadband cards I have championed for work. First stop Melbourne, in the midst of Australian Tennis Open fever. Then Adelaide on Sunday (I must ring David Kowalick to catch up), and then home Tue evening 24 Jan. Off to work on the Wednesday, then the Thursday is a public holiday (Straya Day), then Friday will be a day off for me so as to not repeat what happen last year the day after Australia Day (made redundant). I won a competition for a two night stay at a hotel on the Gold Coast, so Luke, Michelle and I will go down and enjoy that.

Then, Mon 30 Jan is an AM flight to Sydney, there for two days, and Tue night is a flight to Perth with my boss, George. In Perth for the rest of the week with a flight home on Friday arvo. PHEW! Then I might get some stuff fixed up at work!

The biggest thing is the time away from Michelle and Luke. I love them both dearly, and while travel is an increasing part of the responsibility that comes with my job, it never goes down welll when it has to happen. Add in that Luke doesn't yet understand what or where Daddy has gone... just as well I took a couple of new photos of home on my phone to enjoy while I am away.

P.S. I still have to do my review on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, the movie that Michelle and I got to see while we were away...

Just a quick one to check that the changes made will allow comments to post automatically (previously they needed to be approved)... lots more interesting things to post shortly...

...four years ago, Steve and I were getting married. Today, I have the privilege of looking after the most gorgeous little human being - ok, I'm a little biased! Once upon a time I never thought I would ever find a husband, let alone be lucky enough to find my soulmate in Steve and start a family with him. Just wanted the world to know - I love you Steve!

I just thought I would share with the world what I have done with my office door at work. I decided that it needed to be prettier as I look at it over my monitor most of the day (when I am at my desk), and I was over the more formal "ordered" way I had put up piccys before... so I wanted something more interesting that I could add photos to at any time without making it look too messy or "added to", if you know what I mean.

So... the end result (to date)...

Please forgive the resolution, as it is out of my PDA. Not bad, but you get the idea.

Additionally (yes, today, two for the price of none), I thought I'd put up the pic we took of Luke the first time we sat him in a trolley while we went shopping (from a couple of weeks ago). He seems to be enjoying it - for the moment, he'll have to get used to it!  ;)

Aww... ain't he cute? (gush, gush)...

Oh well, back to work...

This swimming thing is a hard gig.

The early starts aren't great... I am not liking the fact that come 9pm at night I am tired. I am used to being up to usually about 11pm, having put in a few hours work or whatever. Not any more!

This morning, I arrived at the pool just as the heavens opened, and it poured for at least the first 4 laps. Bonus - the rain cooled my back.  ;)

THEN (and this is what I hate most about swimming), I think I lost count while doing my laps and I must have swum an extra 2 but haven't counted them. The reason I think this is that I have been taking about 28 minutes to swim my 20 laps (I know, crap, but it's the best I can do at the moment!), but today I swam harder than I have for a while, and finished my "20 laps" in 32 minutes. I must have lost count - there is no way I swam that hard only to do it slower, is there?... I know the last two laps were like I had a rope tied to my leg, however. Just weird.

Still, I get the weekend off, and a small additional bonus of no swimming Monday-Wednesday as I'll be in Melbourne for work. Thursday next week will hurt but. To be fair, I can go hard Thursday and Friday, because then I'll have two days to recover...  ;)  ...before starting another full week of laps again.

Benefits to date:

• Someone at work noticed I look "thinner" in the face.
• I am feeling better about myself generally, I think, when I am not aching from the outcomes of my extremely crap stroke.
• Michelle says I have definitely lost weight off my butt... which is just where I wanted to lose it, because the fat there has so much effect on my heart and stuff!  ;)
• I *think* my clothes are fitting a little better, although I am a long way off my goal of having my current wardrobe be so loose that I have to buy a new one... maybe if I keep it up until the end of the season (April '06) then I'll be well on the way there - and then it will be back to walking.
• Apparently there are some longevity benefits (you know, like I'll live longer, and not die prematurely of heart disease) - can't see how, though...

Another quick one (sorry).

Of late, I've ben feeling a little down about a few things. Am I being/going to be a good enough father? Am I being a good enough husband and provider? Am I resting any of who I think I am in my job, and therefore when it is crap is that why I may be feeling crap? Why is it that I just get frustrated with some of the limits set around me when preparing to lead worship - is that fair, or not? Etc, etc, etc...

Then, today, out of the blue, someone sat down and had a chat with me that lifted my spirits. To be told that something I was doing was helping, and was being recognised, makes all the difference. That this other person took the time to talk with me about it also was special.

Lesson learned: If you think someone is doing a good job, tell them, even if they are yet to finish.

Why is it that 20 of anything bad for you is really easy to do, or vanishes really quickly (in the case of food), but that 20 of something that is GOOD for you is REALLY hard??...

Swimming 20 laps every morning Monday to Friday is a good thing, but really hard. Hard to get out of bed at 5am. Hard to get into what is a pretty cold pool (at the moment) to start the process each morning. Hard to keep your mind focussed on either just the swimming or on other things.

Mind you, it is a good feeling when you get out after having done your laps. The feeling really tired thing is not so good, but I guess it will get better. I just find that I do some of my best work in the evenings, and with Luke and feeling tired, my evenings aren't so long any more.  ;)

Very little hot water in the showers afterwards isn't so great either.

On the upside, I hope I'll be losing a bit of weight. That's the plan anyway. Otherwise I am doing this for not a whole lot of benefit and hurting me and my wallet at the same time ($3.70 a swim!). Not a bad scam - we'll charge you to come and put yourself through torture...

You know, it puzzles me... the more things change, the more things stay the same. I'm saying things I remember my parents saying to me, for example. "I remember when.." (even just about fuel prices), "some of that 80's music is GREAT", "That song sounded better when done by the original artist", etc, etc, etc...

Blah.

It's Monday, the factory is on RDO, and I am SO tired. It isn't even funny how tired, but I shant dwell on that. 14 laptops arrived from Dell (yuck) for me to install onsite here - while that may seem straight forward, for at least 8 of the users I also have to run them through the domain migration/new file system stuff we've been doing here - which makes the process a little more demanding. Add to this that we've just got in some software for a network label printing program I have to test before the end of the week... and on top of all this, I have to keep the rest of the site running. It's not easy, and I feel like I am drowning in it all sometimes... like I'm unable to get on top of everything because more pours in on top once I seem to be just getting on top. I hate that. I like working hard, and I like achieving - a lot of it seems pretty pointless at the moment, though. Whatever, I'll just have to get some sleep and get over myself.

Things are all gearing up for Luke's baptism/house blessing this weekend. Food all purchased or arranged to be, the boy has a new outfit especially for the occaision... I just need to write a blessing for him, get him a bible, find that song I was going to play, chase up all the non-responders/RSVP-ers, send out parking info to those that ARE coming - just as well he only gets baptised once (I couldn't cope with many more like this!).

I started writing a worship song the other day. I like the verse, but the bits I've messed with on the chorus are crud. More work to do. At least it is an enjoyable and creative outlet - something I don't have too much opportunity to do at the moment. Not a lot of creative IT stuff you can do.

I must away - got the carols band to organise and setup rehearsals (that might be tomorrow's job), and arrange the charts, and I have to track down my guitar amp for church this weekend and go and get a new and longer gas hose for our BBQ as Shaun is due to finish it this Wednesday... we hope... we're planning to use it Saturday night - so something better be done!

OK, so it isn'y going to mean much to the rest of the world who've had ADSL for years... but it has finally happened to us (and not before time!).

When we first applied, we were told that the exchange was full and that Telstra had no plans to upgrade it. A month later we reapplied, and were told it would be connected by the end of November. Then, tonight, I got an e-mail to say that it had been connected... and it is  -  YAY!!!

Now, off to sleep as I have to get up early again (more on that shortly).

[Postscript to "I love a good self-implosion"]

Overnight, John Brogden has attempted suicide. The Sydney Morning Herald (along with just about every other newspaper), reports that the former NSW Opposition Leader was found in his electoral office last night suffering the effects of drugs and alcohol. Police and Ambulance staff were called immediately. A family friend has made a statement this morning saying that John's situation was not life-threatening.

Holy crap. Perhaps the full effect of John's actions caught up with him and he was finding it difficult to deal with. That, or he REALLY doesn't know what he should and shouldn't take drug-wise when he is having a few beers. Probably the former, though.

It speaks volumes for having a good support network for anyone in the public eye, which is all too often overlooked by many people (particularly Idol contestants and political parties). I hope John comes to his senses and realises he has so much to live for - a young family, a (hopefully still) loving wife, and the opportunity to rise above his indiscretions and prove that he is not the drunken fool he may have been "that one time".

John Brogden, Member for Pittwater in the NSW parliament, must have either the worst case of self-control or pretty shoddy minders.

Over the past weekend, John was at a party where he managed to have a few too many drinks - in his case 6. He then went on to describe Bob (recently retired NSW Premier) Carr's wife as a "mail-order bride", and groped one female journo before trying it on with another. Neat trick. Talk about the world's quickest way to end a flourishing political career. He has now resigned.

Did I forget to mention that he WAS also the leader of the Liberal party in opposition in the NSW legislative assembly?

This pretty clean-cut man was groomed for the position, and Labour new it. To replace Carr they had installed Morris Iemma, a virtual unknown, and were well into the spin to attempt to build his profile in time for the next state election. All the pundits had tipped them to lose. Until now.

Now, Brogden is unlikely to even get voted back in as the member for Pittwater. We certainly will not hear from him again... it is a shame, as he "seemed" like a decent enough bloke, and I'm pretty sure he would have lead the Liberal Party to their first success in NSW in a long time. Now, over a cold one, he will have to dream of that which could have been, but now can never be. Just amazing... I am sure Brodgen's wife will have had a few words to say to him.

Politics is such a fickle mistress when you have a big, fat, drunken mouth.

Sadly, yes, and it doesn't feel like it just yet. Too much happening in my mind.

The move is complete (well, we're in, anyway - the unpacking is still to complete). Luke is growing bigger and bigger each day. Work is teetering on the only partially stimulating and I just have too much to do for only one bloke... but that which has to be done isn't that challenging.

It's just a Friday, and I needed to let my brain spill out, so that maybe some sense could come of it. It's swirling in my head and a lot of it makes no sense at the moment.

We are happy to be in the house, but disappointed at some of the finishes... and when we discuss it with the builder, he kind of looks at us blankly as if to say that's as good as it gets. We'll cope... we have to... but it is just a shame. I guess even though we spec-ed things pretty tightly, we didn't do it enough to ensure that the stairs have a highly polished epoxy finish (for example). Do not get me wrong - it is GREAT to be in our new home. 2 years in the making can get you a little impatient for these things! Michelle and I know that most people will walk in the home and not notice any of the small imperfections that may exist - it's just that we know they are there. Still... we can now turn our focus to paying it off and also planning the landscaping and doing it (we have to do the last thing, as it seems the guy we were going to get to do the landscaping has officially fallen off the face of the earth now as his mobile has been disconnected). We'll do it - we may even get some professional advice (although I think Michelle would do a great job planning it herself) - and then we'll get busy in the yard and make it happen.

Church is going well. I am playing in the band for the annual church celebration this weekend at the Logan Entertainment Centre - all 4 congregations come together to worship and celebrate as one. I'll be playing guitar, which I haven't done for so long... so I'll be a little nervous and excited at the same time. The band is pretty tight, so it should be a lot of fun. I am feeling a little sad that I do not play as much as I'd like, but I think that may be the life of this father, now. I have joyous responsibilities that may not always allow for the gig-need to be met.  ;)  I think I just have itchy fingers - maybe when I have my study cleared I'll be able to be a little more creative in there with stuff. That will probably help.

Luke is just amazing - 3 months old now, and he is clearly recognising Michelle and I, and even her parents (they were up here to help us move... and they were SUCH A BIG help it's not funny). He's started sucking/chewing on his fingers - not just a bit, but as much of as many of his fingers as he can get in his mouth at once! It's almost become a game for him... he puts them in, and then Mum & Dad take them out, he smiles and distracts us, and then they go straight back in. Ahhh, the circle of life (apparently, it moves us all). Of course, he's also started vomiting for no apparent reason. I'm not talking possets, but a decent gutful each time. It's weird - although as Kaz Cooke puts in her book "Kid Wrangling"... 'it's like the baby is going "la la la massive vomit la la la"...'. So, we know it is kinda normal - it just makes for a good test of the washing machine's warranty.

My parents have connected with my Dad's sister in Karumba (north-west Qld), and seem to be enjoying themselves. They are a little (read: MASSIVELY) disappointed that we can't make it to my cousin's wedding in Cairns in September, but we just can't afford it post-move, new home and baby. They don't seem to recognise that. I love my parents completely... I just find it hard to deal with some of the emotional blackmail that is used sometimes. I get why they do it... but that doesn't make it right. The means do not justify the end. Additionally, they do not seem to recognise that I may be growing up and maturing (I am 32 in December!!)... but I think that's a whole other blog entry.

Enough of this - I have work to do, then there is the house to clean at home this afternoon, a massive shop to do tomorrow as we were running down so we didn't have to move so much when we shifted houses, AND I have the study to get into some semblance of order. Can someone please tell me why cloning is such a bad idea?...

..and I am not going to push my luck, but I had to slide a blog entry in while peace reigns here.

Move to the new place is set for Saturday July 30. More info over here. Chaos is the order of the day now as we prepare for that, while keeping a good eye on how things finish off over there too - we aren't moving into a shoddily completed house, that's for sure.

Luke has his first cold - what a milestone. His nose is pretty blocked and he isn't overly happy about it all. We think this has come on as a a bonus result of his pneumococcal vaccination he had on Thursday (part of his two month shots). At least no more for 6 weeks (then it is his 4 month shots). Poor little dude - he is really sleepy, and when he wakes you can hear how difficult is is for him to breathe through his nose, and you can't convince a 2 and a half month old to blow OUT through his nose (trust me, I have tried unsuccessfully). On the plus side, he has found his voice and gotten all non-sensical-talky. More on that soon...

Work is just plain busy. In the middle of a migration project from one domain to another for the whole Sherwood site, and it is working OK, but we were relying on DFS to do something for us that we've tested and found it really will not do... so we are at a stage with that to say that users will have to deal with it. They probably will not notice the difference! As for everything else, I have 40 hours a week worth of other work on top of this, and everyone has now come to learn that I can actually fix things pretty well with a good turnaround, so I've made a little of a rod for my own back. I am still feeling a little under-utilised, but that should be discussed next week when I am in Melbourne for my "induction"... shudder.

Church at SDBC seems to be going really well. I am involved in the WebTeam. charcged with setting up and maintaining a functional and useable website (well, moreso that what is in place at the moment). I am enjoying playing every other week (only bass at the moment, but maybe guitar soon??), and am starting to form some good friendships. Generally on the music scene I just have itchy fingers, and want to play a LOT more than I am at the moment. Not sure how I can make that happen, but we'll just have to see. I'd also like to be writing more music, particularly worship stuff and stuff for Luke... so, once the move is done, I can at least have a guitar out and accessible that might prompt me to pick it up and get creative (a bit hard when they are away in a difficult to get to cupboard - only because there are boxes in front of them for the move).

Bottom line - moving into the house will free up a lot of time, and allow Michelle and I to entertain friends in a way we can't here. It will also mean that we can just relax and spend some time together...

...more than likely, that will be in the yard doing some landscaping (mental note: once we've sealed all the brickwork and the driveway and paths).

Who says cloning is a bad idea? I'm ready to sign up!

Horrible news overnight of the terrorist attacks on London's public transport system - bombs on the underground and on some buses. As it stands now, 37 confirmed dead and hundreds injured. The only blessing is that it was just after peak hour, so there were far less people on both the tube and buses to be injured. It could have been much worse...

A branch of Al Qaeda have taken responsibility for it, saying this is a retaliation for the UK being a part of trying to hunt down  Osama Bin Laden et al after the September 11 attacks in New York in 2001. They have said they timed it to coincide with the start of the G8 summit... in Edinburgh... I guess they figured there'd be more people in London?! It is lucky however that it wasn't the day before - over 10,000 people in the city celebrating London's successful bit to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Again, that could have made it much worse...

When will it end? What is to be our response? What can my response be? How do we make it stop? Can we/should we force an end to it all? How can I feel confident in bringing my child up in a world where people feel the only way to get their point (political or otherwise) across is to revert to senseless violence, hurting and killing many, many people who had nothing to do with their problem?

Luke will learn how to love, how to be tolerant, how to respect all people... and that violence is never a valid option or response to any situation. I guess we have to change the world one person at a time... starting with our children...

Nothing big, but managed to fix the database time/date autoentry thing so that when I make an entry, it's the ACTUAL time I do it.

Not much - but it's a start for me.  :)

It's weird - it's like Australia, but it's not. It has street signs like in the UK, TV that looks like it is straight from America or from Australia (but with different people in it), radio that I can bearly hear anything I know... it is the strangest infusion and experience of culture I've had yet.

This is not a criticism of New Zealand. It is an extremely pretty place, with beautiful vistas at almost every turn. I've now only experienced Wellington and Auckland, so I wouldn't call this an authoritative view by any stretch. A very pretty place, with some wonderful people.

Some strange things though... I saw an ad on TV to 'txt' (SMS) a number, and you'd receive a message/bible reading/inspirational quote from the 'Lord'. Every day, costing only $0.95. You could also then txt back to the same number with a question, and have a 'converstation with the Lord'. What the ...?! I also observed New Zealand's love of reality TV, as well as it's whole-hearted embrace of American televangelists (with the likes of Benny Hinn at the top of my list - a blog entry to come on him VERY soon - what a deluded psycho).

The weather/general ambience is probably the weirdest thing though. Because you are farther from the equator here, the sun is in a different spot that casts a noticably different light/shadow across the whole place. Add to that the sun gets up later and goes down earlier in winter. Put some clouds and rain (always present in some form), and you have a winner... the Auckland-ites are challenging Melbourne for its 'four seasons in one day' moniker. I am sure many Victorians would suggest they can have it (and the weather to boot).

I just find the lack of warming sun a bit depressing, but then I am a Queensland boy, enjoying sun's warming glowing warm glow. One thing I have noticed that makes New Zealand a lot like Brisbane... there are an awful lot of Kiwis over here...

So, here I am, some would say wasting a good Friday night by geeking it out on my PC. Valuable stimulation and professional advancement, I call it.

Michelle is happily feeding Luke, and watching bits of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Australia that Channel 7 are re-running on TV. Our boy is wonderful, but I'll gush over him later.

I'm not going to whinge about feeling tired - that I get is a part of becoming a parent. Anyone who's been through it will empathise with you for a moment, then grin, and anyone who isn't yet a parent glazes over into a stupour of indifference combined with a complete lack of care. But I'm tired. He (our bloke) is sleeping well, although at the moment you'd almost thing that he was eating more than he sleeps (and he certainly is crapping more than anything I've ever seen, and that includes me!!).

You know... I think I could just get used to this whole blogging thing. Crap on as much as you like, who cares if anyone reads it (although I'd like to think that a fair few people do)... It's very cathartic. I may even get organised and blog about something of value to the human race one day.

Let's not rush things though.

BTW - Just heard from Michelle that My Restaurant Rules will be a must watch this Sunday night, as two of the teams have been "exposed" for "colluding". Can't wait. Spewing that Restaurant Louvre got dumped - I really liked Todd and Francesca, and hoped to dine there one day (well, not any more!).