Today was Father's day and I honoured Dad by purchasing him a Beegees's (be-jeez-uz) greatest hits album. It has 42 tracks on two discs and I know it will really infuriate my Mum. Dad's smirk when he opened it was priceless. But that wasn't even the best thing about today.
Today at church I looked after Xchange (the intermediate aged youth) so that the regular leaders could sit in on the Father's Day service. People in Sunday morning ministries need a break from time to time. I thought, that given it was Father's Day, I should present a message to that effect, so I spent a good amount of time yesterday preparing one. I had been a little bit worried about how it would go down, but things ran smoothly as. I talked about how we need to treat our fathers, drew a link between that and our treatment of our Heavenly Father, and then made them write letters addressed to both. It was a realllllllllll answer to prayer and afterwards I was buzzing. I felt very encouraged and received several compliments, but I know that they are not due to me, but to Him. I'm looking forward to having some of these young adults come through into our youth group next year.
Monday, September 7, 2009
05.09.09
I had never been to an engagement party before until today which is remarkable. Or rather, it is remarkable that I was invited: usually I am blacklisted. When Michelle was handing out invitations weeks ago I made a joke that my one was different and contained a notice from the police ordering me to cease and desist, and threatening me with police brutality and community service if I came within 500 yards of Zane's parents garage on Saturday the 5th of September. I was only half joking, and only half relieved to find I had been invited. just. like. everybody. else. Sometimes I wish that people thought I was such a rascal they would take a restraining order out against me to stop me from making their parties too much fun. The reality is i'm not that guy, no matter how much I posture and pretend that I am as a joke with my friends at church. That's why only Zac laughed when I said that.
So anyway, Michelle Griffiths is engaged to be married to Zane Brown of Franklin Baptist and this has caused quite a sensation at my church. It is cool to see them together because I think they are a great couple, and Zane isn't one of those pathetic fiances who treats their future spouse like a china doll. You know the ones? He knows she loves him so he can afford to joke around a bit. They are really good mates who can take a little bit of flack from each other and that is awesome. I want that one day.
Having never been to an engagement party before I wasn't sure how to dress. I settled on wearing my only nice shirt - a black one - with dark jeans and black loafers. I kinda knew when I looked in the mirror that I was dressed in a similar manner to the way Zane often dresses, and sure enough, I found he was dressed the same. Except he was wearing chucks. Zane is far more courageous and comfortable with himself than I am to the extent that he can wear chucks to his own engagement party and not break a sweat. I was glad to see that I was dressed to meet his minimum standard. A lot of the guests were dressed fairly casually, almost negligently, although these were mostly younger uncouth people. I was happy because my friends all looked beautiful/handsome.
The food was great.
So anyway, Michelle Griffiths is engaged to be married to Zane Brown of Franklin Baptist and this has caused quite a sensation at my church. It is cool to see them together because I think they are a great couple, and Zane isn't one of those pathetic fiances who treats their future spouse like a china doll. You know the ones? He knows she loves him so he can afford to joke around a bit. They are really good mates who can take a little bit of flack from each other and that is awesome. I want that one day.
Having never been to an engagement party before I wasn't sure how to dress. I settled on wearing my only nice shirt - a black one - with dark jeans and black loafers. I kinda knew when I looked in the mirror that I was dressed in a similar manner to the way Zane often dresses, and sure enough, I found he was dressed the same. Except he was wearing chucks. Zane is far more courageous and comfortable with himself than I am to the extent that he can wear chucks to his own engagement party and not break a sweat. I was glad to see that I was dressed to meet his minimum standard. A lot of the guests were dressed fairly casually, almost negligently, although these were mostly younger uncouth people. I was happy because my friends all looked beautiful/handsome.
The food was great.
04.09.09
Today I saw a friend whom I haven't seen for over two years and it was great. Jack went to live in Wellington an indeterminate number of years ago and I haven't seen him since St Kent's ball in 2007; it is cool to see people who are still the same after long absences. I think he was taller, and I had forgotten that he had glasses but Jack was essentially the same. Maybe his voice was a little deeper. Some people disappear from your world for a while and then reappear as wildly different people with purple hair and skinny jeans and are vegans or something weird. That infuriates me. Good on you Jack :)
I saw him at a barbeque my friend Matthew was hosting. I actually saw a whole lot of people there I don't see all that often. Andre is starting to tank out which makes me jealous. I didn't know Bundaberg made an Apple Ale. Reunions are great.
I saw him at a barbeque my friend Matthew was hosting. I actually saw a whole lot of people there I don't see all that often. Andre is starting to tank out which makes me jealous. I didn't know Bundaberg made an Apple Ale. Reunions are great.
03.09.09
what did i do today? that's a good question. actually it was the first time in a good while that i have had a good old sleep in in the morning. i slept in so late that the morning was nearly over in two more hours when i got up! i don't usually sleep in so late because nothing gets done if i do, but it was necessary today after getting up early and going to bed late for so many days one after the other in a row in the previous weeks.
then tonight i went to Ben's house for dinner and met a whole lot of new people! Sue made a rice-base pizza which looked really weird but tasted amazing. there was also one with roast vegetables on it. i think my friends are all part of some sort of elite foreign culinary confederacy. they never talk about it when I'm around though because if they did they would have to kill me.
then tonight i went to Ben's house for dinner and met a whole lot of new people! Sue made a rice-base pizza which looked really weird but tasted amazing. there was also one with roast vegetables on it. i think my friends are all part of some sort of elite foreign culinary confederacy. they never talk about it when I'm around though because if they did they would have to kill me.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
02.09.09
Today I went and saw Inglorious Bs at the movie theatres and it was a truly remarkable movie. I have to say that I really really liked it, despite Tarantino's excesses. He really knows what he wants out of his films. There were so many cool scenes, even violent ones! I liked the Bear Jew and the scene where they pretend to be Italians. I-talian. And B. J. Novak from The Office is in it, but the Germans call him The Little Man. I think Tarantino thought alot about the scene of that woman's film playing through the smoke in the movie theatre. He was clearly trying to say something there. Perhaps the movie theatre is an ironic device, an oven for Nazis, an anti-Auschwitz sotospeak. It was a great evening. And to top it off Josh screwed up his ticket and threw it into the box with the popcorn and Megan ate it. Ha.
01.09.09
Today was the first day of a new season, but more importantly it was Random Acts of Kindess Day. Or that's what Megan said, so I just went with it. I sometimes wonder what a person like me is able to do on days like this... how can I randomly make someone's day?
I settled on poetry because I've been doing a lot of that lately. My writing portfolio is due tomorrow and I am currently frantically working to finish it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to.
So I wrote name poems for everyone in my smallgroup and a few extra people; I should have done them for everyone but I simply did not have time and some people would have been creeped out. I wonder if maybe I missed the point of the exercise; there isn't really anything random about writing a poem for everyone in your smallgroup. That's methodical as! Way to ruin the magic Andrew.
But I came up with some pretty great ones anyway!
Josh Oversees Serbian Humility Under Apartheid
Many Eskimos Grasp Antarctic Naan
Marginally Amphibious Regional Krakatoa
And my favourite one:
Michelle Inhales Candy Hearts Exhales Lipstick Lotae Enthusiastically
I thought this one was real cool because Michelle is engaged to be married in January. Lotae doesn't appear to be a real word, but I used it as a plural for lotus.
I settled on poetry because I've been doing a lot of that lately. My writing portfolio is due tomorrow and I am currently frantically working to finish it. I'm not sure if I'll be able to.
So I wrote name poems for everyone in my smallgroup and a few extra people; I should have done them for everyone but I simply did not have time and some people would have been creeped out. I wonder if maybe I missed the point of the exercise; there isn't really anything random about writing a poem for everyone in your smallgroup. That's methodical as! Way to ruin the magic Andrew.
But I came up with some pretty great ones anyway!
Josh Oversees Serbian Humility Under Apartheid
Many Eskimos Grasp Antarctic Naan
Marginally Amphibious Regional Krakatoa
And my favourite one:
Michelle Inhales Candy Hearts Exhales Lipstick Lotae Enthusiastically
I thought this one was real cool because Michelle is engaged to be married in January. Lotae doesn't appear to be a real word, but I used it as a plural for lotus.
31.08.09
Today was the final official day of winter and I didn't even realise. I hadn't a clue. I guess it was a little anti-climatic (ha) because we don't really have proper seasons in New Zealand. In movies it is always very obvious which season it is: If there is snow then it is winter; if there are orange leaves on the ground then it is autumn. But not in New Zealand; New Zealand has very few deciduous trees that I am aware of. It can sometimes be very hard to tell which season it is... I'm going to miss winter though. You may all be like "hey wha-!" but better the devil you know than the devil you don't I say. Spring is a joke, being the least consistent of all seasons, and I hate it. Expect sweltering heat and torrential rain in indeterminate measures
Oh and I wrote a short story today called "Mayor (Max) Moose" as a homage to "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov and "Alice's Adventures Underground" by Lewis Carroll. Both of those novels are disturbing on different levels which fascinates me. "Lolita" is very disturbing in its subject matter and many people can't stomach reading it, but I actually think Nabokov is a genius. It is so well written, and the man clearly isn't a pedophile himself. Lewis Carroll on the other hand most definitely was, and yet everyone loves "Alice's Adventures Underground", especially children. That's creepy as. I'm not one and my story isn't about that, so "Mayor (Max) Moose" falls somewhere in the middle.
Oh and I wrote a short story today called "Mayor (Max) Moose" as a homage to "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov and "Alice's Adventures Underground" by Lewis Carroll. Both of those novels are disturbing on different levels which fascinates me. "Lolita" is very disturbing in its subject matter and many people can't stomach reading it, but I actually think Nabokov is a genius. It is so well written, and the man clearly isn't a pedophile himself. Lewis Carroll on the other hand most definitely was, and yet everyone loves "Alice's Adventures Underground", especially children. That's creepy as. I'm not one and my story isn't about that, so "Mayor (Max) Moose" falls somewhere in the middle.
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