So Martin and I are now the proud owners of a motorbike. Not that I know how to ride it, Martin does that, but maybe I will learn. Bikes are lot more expensive than I would have thought so it took us ages to find this one that wasn’t. I just hope it doesn’t break down really soon. It is good to have a second vehicle though. I was starting to feel fairly overwhelmed by all the driving I had to do to get us both to and from work. This is much better for the environment and my mental health. And I have to say I think Martin looks really hot on the bike. Let’s just hope he doesn’t hurt himself.

Yesterday I went to the PO Box, a task that still amuses me as I have never had one before. Anyway it was especially lovely as my Grandparents has sent me a card and a little gift and Jess had sent me second season of Brothers and Sisters. Woo Hoo. Big thanks to my Grandparents and Jess. You are lovely.

Got on the blogs and facebook tonight hoping that I would find a post or some photos of Jo’s wedding but everyone has been very slack. Now I know that it has been less than 24 hours since the wedding but some of the Australians (mainly me) who didn’t make it to Guatemala are very keen for some contact so this is my plea. I have been feeling a bit sad this weekend that I didn’t make it to Guatemala for Jo’s wedding but thankfully we did get in a last minute conversation and I got in some good prayer in my poustinia so was able to feel connected in some ways but a post would be good.

I think I have already mentioned this book a few times but now I have finished it now. I was very sad when I finished it as I was enjoying it so much. It really opened up the gospel of Luke for me as well as the whole Bible. Richard Rohr has a way of reading it that really rings true to me.

Internet is not working at our place. I guess that is the price you pay to live out of town I suppose but it is very annoying. Especially as I have so many post running around in my head. But as I am paying $1 per 15 mins for internet I am not going to be able to do them any justice but here is a quick version.

I am still here in Alice. I am working for a cafe and going to do so until the right teaching job comes up. It is going okay really and it still leaves me with much time for being, waiting, listening and what John calls “sitting down” which I think incorporates all those things. I am trying to live something of a monastic life with three daily prayer or meditation as well as reading time. I don’t always succeed but we are not supposed to beat ourselves up about these things. I am also going to try and go up to the hut each month for 24 hours for what Sue calls “postinia”. Basically means going away in solitude to pray. Plan the first one for the weekend of 20/21 (Jo’s wedding). Let’s see how I go.

My other little task has been to try and rid our property of cats. Magrita, our neighbours daughter broungt some home and now they have about 10. It is a problem for the natives so we all agreed to take them to the RSPCA. On the arranged day though when i showed up they weren’t there. I saw one cat though so I took it and thought well I’ll at least take one. Unfortunately when I got there, after a fairly long drive of cat continuously escaping teh basket I brought to put him, the cat jumpedout of my arms and ran. I tried to chase after it but I was too slow especially as it was trying to escape the dogs. Since then I have been fairly disheartened as my attempt to make sure teh cat didn’t go feral actually assured that it would.

Martin’s job is going really well though. He says it is challenging but not overwhelminly so. he really likes the people too.

We went camping on the weekend to the Finke Desert race. That’s a Motorbike race for those who don’t know. Not that I am that into motorbike racing but it was cool. They race on a dirt track from Alice to Finke and back. 500km all up and bumpy as. We watched from a small hill which many of them were jumping at very dangerous speeds. One of the things about the NT is there is a lot less OHandS to worry about. The fireworks been let off was certainly testament to that. It was a pretty wild crowd though so we didn’t get much sleep.

I also saw Terminator Salvation with Martin on Friday. It annoyed me how they make out throughout the movie that if they win this battle the war is over and then at the end they say that it is not. I also thought John Connor was annoying. Everytime he ended his radio broadcasts with “Im John Connor” I thought lame. In saying that I didn’t hate it. I am not a huge action movie person but I have always got into the terminator ones. Maybe becasue they started when I was a teenageer and I have been following sincethen. We also had a nice dinner. Our first restaurant meal here just the two of us.

It has been raining all weekend and it’s freezing. Doesn’t look like a desert at all. In fact looking up at the misty covered mountains and the rain falling down on the roof feels more like the Blue Mountains. It is very beautiful.

A few things happening on the job front after four weeks of nothing. Last week I thought I would put my name down at some cafes. It seemed that it could take awhile to get a job I really wanted so I could do this in the interim. That day I had an interview and the next day I was offered a job. It was a little bit of a cheer up as I had, had a rejection that morning for another job I was applying for.

But then in the evening another job I applied for rang to offer an interview which will be tomorrow. I was quite clear with the cafe lady it would be an interim thing and that seemed to suit her too but I wasn’t expecting to hear from this job so soon. Not sure how much I want this job though. Well I do but it is not exactly in education rather mental health again and I am not sure if I should hold for the education one.

I guess I will just have the interview and see what happens and then decide. They may not even want me.

I love starting my day by reading Luke and then Richrd Rohr comments on it. My diary is filling up very quickly with quotes (thanks again Jess for the book). Here is one of my faves on forgiveness if the title hadn’t given it away.

“Most apologies people make to you are sort of embarassing and don’t work out because in granting them you are big hearted and generous, a great person and very often other are demeaned. It doesn’t make others feel better about themselves, they just feel you are big hearted. Of course, we would appreciate having some big hearted people around but Jesus is asking us to go one step deeper. Jesus isn’t saying “I’m big hearted, you’re sinful”. When Jesus forgives it isn’t so much an act of mercy as it is a loyalty to the truth of who you are. To really forgive someone is to recognise who they are, to admit and affirm who they are and to know theri best selves will brought out only in the prescence of an accepting and believing person. Forgiveness is believing in a person and not allowing that person to be destryed by self hatred. This is a way of forgiving that doesn’t make you look good but them look good. That is the way God forgives us. In forgiving us God gives us back our dignity and self worth. He is loyal to the truth of who we are. God affrims we are good persons who have sinned, God asserts we are not bad.”