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Server Downtimes

Sad times for the server. As always, whenever I get out of SSH range the smurf.footboot.net server decides to crash itself. This time it did it for about two solid weeks. 70% uptime for the last month. Oh dear. I haven't figured out why it was so unhappy. Perhaps it just missed me and was looking for attention. I feel like our relationship is a little up and down. Sometimes I do wonder if we'd both be happier without each other. But I doubt we'll separate. We've been two long together now I think.

I'll do a bit of an apt-get upgrade. Might make things better. Could make things worse. We will see. I'm going away for another two weeks on Friday. Poor old smurf.

1 post this week

Redux

It annoys me when I go to quote some lyrics and then realise I've already quoted them. But damn it, I'm just going to quote them again, because I want to.

We're not questioning God.
Just those he chose to carry on His cross.
We're no better, you'll see.
Just all of us, the lost causes. - Anberlin

3 posts this week

Don’t slobber

“You want to be the kind of man women beg for sex. . . . Don’t slobber. You’re not a washcloth. You. Are. A. Lover.”

A father instructing his son, in the novel Where the God of Love Hangs Out, by Amy Bloom

2 posts this week

Emptied

I hate feeling or being sick. So the last 16 or so hours haven't been awesome. All the more sucky coz I can't just lay on the couch with my doona and DVDs. I'm glad though howie can stay here for part of the day. But I'm just so sore - my back and leg muscles from all the tensing with the abdominal pain. Plus little sleep and funny insides...

4 posts this week

choice bro

In October I’m going on holidays with my wife and son.

We are going to New Zealand.

I hope we don’t regret taking an almost 2yr old overseas, but how could we resist when he is free!!!!!

3 posts this week

7 years old

7 years ago today, I started blogging.

I removed access to my archives a while ago cos I was a bit mean to Telstra back in the day, and I didn’t really want that to be seen as being written by me as an employee of the company. So it was safer to abandon them.

But it’s a good thing, cos re-reading some of my early blog posts in 2003 makes me hugely embarassed that some of that trash made it onto the web!

1 post this week

Street Soccer Sydney meets Alice Springs

Twenty minutes to go till the end of my shift and I have been told to relax for 2omins. So I thought I would blog. It has been a good day here at the Big Issue office. I feel happy to have found myself back in the world of homelessness Australia. Not that homelessness makes me happy but given it exist I like to be involved in helping those who are affected by it. After stocking up the distribution points this morning I found myself making phonecalls for one of our vendors who is hearing impaired and in need of accommodation. The shoe string of disappointing phone calls. “Sorry we are full for the night,” eventually ended with a room in the inn. Yay. Not that it is permanent but it is one less night in the rain. I am pleased to say he does have his name on the department of housing list. So many people get disillusioned with the waiting list they don’t even put there name down.

The other interesting thing about my day is that The Big Issue’s street soccer program are looking to start up a team in Alice Springs. However, they have been struggling to find a connection there. Anyway I had happened to mention to Eduardo (who is from Chile and runs street soccer Sydney) that my Peruvian brother in law lives in Alice. He put two and two together and figured he must play soccer. And there you have it. A connection. Today he asked me if he could contact Martin and after checking with Martin I gave him the contact details. I find this all rather exciting. Street Soccer is international and hold a massive World Cup event every year and players from all over Australia get to try out. The Northern Territory really should be in the mix.

2 posts this week

Too sick to think about what to blog, too sick to actully blog and all I would probably blog about anyway is how sick I am. And that like this post isn’t very interesting.

so it begins

So it begins. Adam is in his earth Tempted, and fallen, and his doom made sure Oh, in the very instant of his birth: Whose deathly nature must all things endure. The hungers of his flesh, and mind, and heart. That governed him when he was in the womb, These ravenings multiply in every part: And shall release him only to the [...]

Simpsons Gap

Since the rain we had here 2 weeks ago, Simpsons Gap has had a lot more water in it than usual. It is an incredibly special place any way, but with the water it is even more beautiful. It is such a privelege to live so close to the place and visit whenever I like. I often go at the end of the day at the moment to just paddle my feet and look at the reflections of the rocks in the pools. At the end of the day the rocks glow orange and there are also these white and purple rocks around too . There are tadpoles everywhere and a few frogs starting to emerge. I can just sit there in silence and wonder.

Onto Delhi Via Chennai

As much as I have enjoyed the beauty of being in “God’s on country”, and I really have. I am looking forward to getting to both Delhi, and Nepal.

I am looking forward to being somewhere I really know in Delhi and catching up with some friends. Asides from eating lots of good dosa (which I have) this is what this trip has been about for me. So I look forward to coming back to my old home, and seeing Kara, Victor and his family and Benjy. It will be nice too to show Andreana where I once lived, and how I once lived.

Then there is Nepal, and seeing Ben and his family. Ben along with Steve Bevis has been one of the key people in my ending up working for TEAR Australia. Ben seems like he is doing really exciting things with UMN in Nepal, and I am looking forward to hearing about them in more detail. It will also be great just to hang out again.

I am also excited to be introducing Andreana to the India train system this afternoon. With some of the availability issues we have ended up flying more then we had initial planned, but today we have a one remaining train leg. It will take us 14hours to reach Chennai, you can see the route here. Then we have about 12 hours to kill in Chennai before our flight onto Delhi. Any ideas on fun things to do for a few hours in Chennai?

New job, rowing, new bike, life etc…

So, it’s been quite a while since I have updated… sorry! What’s news for me? Well, the job search is over! And all the turning down offers and holding off for a workplace that fits in with my values, suits my personality and extends me professionally has paid off I’m now working at Downstream Marketing as [...]

Question

What are your top 3 best books of 2009?

Mine are:
Gilead- Marilynne Robinson
The History of Love- Nicole Krauss
East of Eden- John Steinbeck

last little while

lots of stuff has happened since i blogged last so too compact all the excitement of the last little while into 1 amazing blog post i will smash it out bullet point style.

i went to melbourne

i went to the pub 5 times

i shared 2 bottles of indigo ridge red wine

i saw 3 movies

i had a birthday

i got a helicopter

i baked a pudding

i took up swimming

all that in only 1 and a bit months.  wow.

oh yes yay.

capetown

The Beginning of the End