I don’t think my interview is going to show up. That is the second one in a row. It is very annoying. I mean there is no way people would just not show up to a job interview. I think people think because it is volunteer work it doesn’t matter. That attitude annoys me. I mean just ring.

It must be the January thing. I have had so much initial interest this month. 21 enquiries, that’s the most I have ever had but not a lot of follow through. I guess people make new years resolutions to volunteer but then by the end of January they have given up.

I have another interview at 6.30pm. I think I am going to go and ring her to make sure she shows up. I would be very angry if I stayed behind and she didn’t come.

Another very fun weekend. Every weekend is a long weekend for me so that was no different but it is good when everyone else has a long weekend too so I can hang out with them.

Started on Friday. Took the afternoon off to go and hang with Jemma. We drank tea, ate food, sat in the park, bought undies and talked and talked. It is so wonderful to have her home again even if she is going to be living in Merrylands. In the evening we hung out in Enmore. We had Anna Thai with Tom, David, Matt, Cara and Martin and then went for ice cream. Jem wanted to be in Newtown so we sat outside Newtown Mission and ate our ice creams. There were some buskers playing so Martin made us all do some dancing. This quickly turned into charades and then bum charades. It was one of the funniest things I have done in a long time. It was also quite community-ish. Other peoeple would join in for a round and try and guess and then Martin’s work friends who were on their way home joined in too. You’ll all be very suprised to hear me say that I love community.

Saturday was Australia Day. Like others I often feel a bit awkward on Australia. On one hand I like Australia and think that there is often good will expressed on these kind of days as people gather together and feel grateful. On the other hand there is a lot I don’t like about Australia and we have seen the more nasty expressions of patriotism (I almost find myself shudder everytime I see someone wearing an Aussie flag). Not to mention there is the uncomfort around us celebrating a day which for indigenous Australians is usually not a time of celebration rather mourning. So on Saturday I, with Cara, Martin and Jemma went along to the Botantic Gardens to watch a smoking cermony put on by the local indigenous community. It was early in the morning so I was a bit chuffed I managed to get up and it was worth it. There was much song and dance and smoking. It felt like the sort of thing I wanted to do on Australia Day. In the afternoon I went to Gowies Roadworker BBQ. It was a nice, quiet celebration there and much fun was had.

From the Gowies Martin and I headed to Gerroa. Gerroa is about 10 mins South of Kiama. It was a long drive but so worth it. It is such an amazingly, beautiful place. We went there as Kat and Tom from church invited us to spend the weekend with them. Kat’s parens live there so we were staying in their home. Thankfully not much was done there really either. Just sitting around looking over the water, going for swims and walks, eating, talking and playing music. It was best at night as I lay in bed and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. It is one of my favourite sounds. We also got to see some Aussie Day fireworks. They were simple but nice. I liked them.

I also went to visit Jess in Wollongong and went to her church. It was good to catch up and get some more girl time. Now that my life is quite boyey I always enjoy that. Not a bad service either. The complete opposite to St Johns and not really my quiet meditative style but I think it is good to do things sometimes that aren’t our style as to explore all ways to communicate and worship God. I found myself enjoying others enjoyment of God.

So praise God for a great weekend.

I have changed my day off from Tuesday to Monday. This is good for a couple of reasons but by the time I get to Friday I am very tired. Not used to working four days in a row. I guess all of you people out there who work five days every week don’t have much sympathy but that’s okay, I’m not looking for sympathy.

I was looking forward to going for a swim but boy oh boy is it wet. I just walked up to Chatswood Chase, which is only two blocks from my office, I had an umbrella but I still got soaked. Although I could still go, I mean I am going to get wet anyway aren’t I and as I have said I always feel so much better when do.

Not much planned for this weekend. On Sunday we are going to a friend’s from church’s place for lunch and a swim in her pool, but apart from that nothing. Hopefully I can get some West Wing in too. Only five (I think) episodes to go and then it’s all over. How very sad, lucky Cara bought Seachange over to me last weekend…

Yay. Martin got his P’s today. Now he can drive all his on lonesome.

Back in June 2007, I wrote a post about a website called “What is Stephen Harper reading?” Yann Martel, a Canadian author is sending a book to the PM Stephen Harper each fortnight in an effort to encourage his stillness. On the site you can read the letter that accompanies each book. The letters he writes and the descriptions of the book are fantastic. He has such a unique way of looking at things. It is very inspiring. I don’t know if he has succeeded with the PM but he has certainly encouraged my stillness. And one of my first resolutions for this year is to try to be even stiller. Anyway, here is a quote from one of his letters:

“The great thing about reading books is that it makes us better than cats. Cats are said to have nine lives. What is that compared to the girl, boy, man, woman who reads books? A book read is a life added to one’s own. So it takes only nine books to make cats look at you with envy.

And I’m not talking here only of “good” books. Any book—trash to classic—makes us live the life of another person, injects us with the wisdom and folly of their years. When we’ve read the last page of a book, we know more, either in the form of raw knowledge—the name of a gun, perhaps—or in the form of greater understanding. The worth of these vicarious lives is not to be underestimated. There’s nothing sadder—or sometimes more dangerous—than the person who has lived only his or her single, narrow life, unenlightened by the experience, real or invented, of others.”

I do not blog very well in the holidays. Perhaps when I am not at work or studying I am less inclined to sit at the computer. Anyway back at work today. Still very quiet as no one else is around. Good time to blog I suppose.

Holiday went according to plan. We went to Tamworth for four days over Christmas but apart from that I don’t think I went further than half an hour from the house. I read a lot, watched some West Wing and a few movies, went to the beach, visited some friends and drank coffee. Bliss. Although as much as I didn’t want to come back to work it is probably a good thing I did. Too much of that and I would become very lazy.

I am feeling pretty good about 2007, twas a fun year despite quite few challanges. Things that stand would be:

Attending the youth leadership camp and making a new very good friend
Jemma going to Mexico
Getting a more attractive blog
Celebrating our second wedding anniversary at Wiseman’s Ferry
Travelled around Argentina, Bolivia and Peru
Caught up with old friends and family in Peru. Met my new niece
Gemma goes to Melbourne
Mum and Keith go to Alice
Attended my first confernece for work
Maggie (my dog) died
Went to Alice to visit mum and Keith’s new house. Did my prac at Kaltukatjara
I finished uni
Jo left for Guatamala
Kevin Rudd became the new PM of Australia
We moved into Jo’s room
Matt moved in

However, while these things stand out I do not think that they are what made it 2007 for me. Rather it was the constant conversations, prayers, books, swims, dinners, pancakes, BBQ’s, movies, kisses, hugs, random adventures and other ordinary things that happen in a year. I am looking forward to more of this in 2008.