Well I finally managed to finish U2 on U2. I bought it back on Nov 12th (it is good having a blog so i can look those things up) so it has taken just over six months. Not sure why it took so long. I am usually a pretty fast reader and I enjoyed it very much. maybe it was just the bigness of it that overwhelmed me.

Now I can finally start Mandela, which Tom gave us for Christmas. I have been wanting to start it for ages but thought that two huge books going at once would be impossible. I hope it doesn’t take as long to read.

Well I am home on a Saturday night studying. It is not a lot of fun and I am a little over but it will all be over soon which is good. I can’t complain too much though. I did take a bit of a break at around five and Martin and I went to the beach for a run. It was dark but it was still really beautiful there and the sound of the waves was awesome. I really needed the fresh air and to be active as I have been sitting most of the day. Then we went out to the Peruvian restaurant for dinner. I had a really nice Sudado and it made me feel excited about the trip. Although it has reched the satge where everything is doing that.

But now I am back. Martin has gone to meet his friend Milad and I am here. I have Emmy Lou Harris playing. My father always called her his queen of pain and I have to say her music is pretty depressing but I really like it. It does remind me of my dad actually which is kind of nice.

Well thought I should do a bit of a catch up on how life is going. So it’s going pretty well.

House as always is easy, I mean apart from the fact that we are not able to get an effective system for paying and doing the shopping. I don’t quite understand how five relatively smart people (one of whom is an economist and another who claims to be a genius) can not get something so simple together but we can’t.

Work is busy. I have ten people going through at the moment so that is a lot of work for me but I won’t complain about that. It makes me happy when new friendships start. We had a friendship lunch on the weekend which was fun. I have to say I was somewhat cynical about the whole thing at first, it felt a bit forced but some people do really become very genuine friends. We had two pairs there that had been going for ten years.

Church is very fulfilling. Geoff does such good sermons and the liturgy is really nice. I am also part of small group with people I really like and we have some very stimulating discussions. They have put me one the prayer roster too which I enjoy. Nice to feel like I have something to give and I get some good feedback. That’s good if I ever do want to write this prayer book.

I am excited by the Labor Party’s continuing popularity. Despite coming to the realisation that Kevin may not be the answer to all or problems I am excited about a change and continue to hope in the possibiltiy of a more compassionate Australia.

Marriage is pretty cruisy too at the moment. Martin has particularly impressed me lately with his patientence and kindness and I feel very blessed. We start dance classes tommorrow which I am really looking forward to.

Uni is a bit hectic. I have three things due before the 9th of June so I feeling a little pushed but I should be okay. Then off to Peru on the 21st. We are very excited, was looking through the Lonely Planet the other day which also fueled my excitement.

I haven’t been to Rough Edges for awhile but will be going on Sunday so maybe I will give an update on that sometime soon.

God continues to be very present to me in all these aspects of my life which makes me feel very grateful. It sure makes things more peaceful, more real and more exciting to know that He is always there.

I went to see a Chinese Herbalist on Wednesday. He was reccommended to me by a volunteer of mine to help me with my skin problems. Anyway I ended up having acupuncture. I am not entirly sure why but it was an experience and he has given me some crazy herbal pills and creams but he has also got me on a pretty full on diet. He wants me to halve my dairy intake, only drink 1 or 2 cups of coffee a week, only drink alcohol once or twice a week, drink lemon juice every morning and I can’t eat oranges, bananas or mangoes.

Part of me was thinking that I might just prefer the skin problems but I’m giving it a go.

Yay, Portuguese Tart for sweetness after lunch. That makes me very happy.

For my practicum I am reading the book “My Place” with the students. While it is a children’s book it raises some ver interesting topics such as the wars, the depression, women working, aboriginal issues etc. This week the topic of politics came up and I wanted to give the students some information on the two major parties. I did not want to be bias so I went to the official websites of each of the parties and each had a heading that said what we stand for. This is what I found:

What Labor Stands For

Labor’s Values
Labor believes the truest measure of a good society is the care it provides for those most in need and the opportunity it provides for every person to realise his or her full potential. Labor’s commitment to a strong economy is therefore matched by its commitment to justice, fairness and equity for all.

Fairness
Labor believes that all people are created equal in their entitlement to dignity and respect, and should have an equal chance to achieve their potential. For Labor, government has a critical role in ensuring fairness by:
ensuring equal opportunity;
removing unjustifiable discrimination; and
achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth, income and status.

Compassion
Labor is committed to protecting and supporting those who are disadvantaged, oppressed or simply struggling to cope. The Labor tradition has always been to reach out, embrace, protect and support those in need. The consequences of a society characterised by high levels of inequality include poverty, crime, drug abuse, greed, envy and insecurity. Accordingly, Labor believes that all Australians have an interest in the creation of a more compassionate and egalitarian nation.

Human Rights
Labor is committed to a just and tolerant society which fully protects the rights and freedoms of all Australians. Labor supports the rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treaties to which Australia is a party. This includes:
the fundamental political and civil rights of everyone to freedom of conscience, expression and association, and to due process of law.
‘economic rights’ such as, for example, access to tertiary education on the basis of merit, access to adequate health care and the right to rest and leisure including reasonable limitations on working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Labor supports the introduction into Australian domestic law of the rights recognised and protected in the international treaties, conventions and protocols to which Australia is a party. In introducing these rights, Labor will ensure that existing rights are also protected.

Labour Rights
Labor is committed to protecting and advancing the fundamental rights of working people to join trade unions, and to organise, collectively bargain and strike.

What does the Liberal Party stand for?

We are the party of initiative and enterprise.

We believe in the inalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives; and maximises individual and private sector initiative.

We believe in government that nurtures and encourages its citizens through incentive, rather than putting limits on people through the punishing disincentives of burdensome taxes and the stifling structures of Labor’s corporate state and bureaucratic red tape.

We believe in those most basic freedoms of parliamentary democracy – the freedom of thought, worship, speech and association.

We believe in a just and humane society in which the importance of the family and the role of law and justice is maintained.

We believe in equal opportunity for all Australians; and the encouragement and facilitation of wealth so that all may enjoy the highest possible standards of living, health, education and social justice.

We believe that, wherever possible, government should not compete with an efficient private sector; and that businesses and individuals – not government – are the true creators of wealth and employment.

We believe in preserving Australia’s natural beauty and the environment for future generations.

We believe that our nation has a constructive role to play in maintaining world peace and democracy through alliance with other free nations.

In short, we simply believe in individual freedom and free enterprise; and if you share this belief, then ours is the Party for you.

I imagine that a lot of this rhetoric and it doesn’t always get lived out that way but I thought it was rather interesting

Apart from a lunch break in the middle and a few minor distractions (phone calls, tea, emails) I have been doing uni work for about eight hours now and I tell you what my brain is sizzled. I have got to get away from the computer now.

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed by all that is happening in the next two months. Four uni assessments, a practicum, two parties to host and a few more to go to, organise a trip to Peru, GAPP volunteer training, Compeer volunteer training, not to mention the normal four days a week at work, rough edges volunteeering and trying to be a good wife and comminuty member.

I guess I will just keep focused on the trip.