Anyone...anyone...?

I am going away on Saturday and I am busy all Friday, so this is my last chance to update before I go to Sydney for just over a week. In my absence I expect the following things:

1) Nothing you know I wouldn't approve of. Be mature people.
2) No 6triple posting saying things like - post: I'm - new post: 6triple - new post: posting; don't waste my time. I will delete it when I get back and blow it into cyberspace oblivion and then I'll put super strict monitoring on my blog. Don't make me do it.
3) Don't tell me the intimate details of your day, like Frullet does on his blog. Let me know what you're doing but don't tell me stuff like, at 4:33 I sctratched my head, at 4:35 I made a jellybean and pickle sandwich (for what it's worth), blah, blah, blah - again, don't waste my time.
4) Don't sing the update song. I am not here. Have some respect.
5) Rock on dudes!!

See you when I get back. Please put lots of captions in the thread below.

Caption Competition

Here is the idea. You have to come up with the best caption you can for these pictures. It can be something like, "Look what the cat dragged in" or, "I wish I hadn't licked that superglue". Keep it clean please. The winners will recieve their names and/or blogs paraded around the one80 blogging community courtesy of me. Please refer to pictures as: Ian "Insert caption here", Ryan "Insert caption here" and Tiph "Insert caption here". Thank you and have fun at our expense.

What's the big deal with Aaron Sloper?

Sorry, this isn't a post about Aaron. You will find a plethora of these if you mine the blogs of most Student Lifers. If you don't know Aaron Sloper, count yourself lucky for now, particularly if you live in Logan. If you are Ryan Denny, keep your Logan comments to yourself.

Today's topic of conversation (for me anyway), unlike the last two will be light hearted and hopefully a tad witty (if you read it with the right frame of mind). It comes from the quote I read today: "Comedy is not pretty" - Steve Martin (that is likely to pop up as a tip of the day sometime soon).

It's true though. No one drools over the comedians of our day and age. Adam Sandler may be popular, but he's no teenage heart throb (one word or two?). There also would appear to be a distinct lack of female comedians. I have something to say to the women of the world: Lighten up!! That needed to be said.

With all respect to my fellow women, I know it's difficult to be happy and chirpy all the time, but to be honest, PMS is only once a month, bad hair days only last 24 hours, and if we stopped wearing pantyhose, they'd never get holes in them again. A couple of weeks ago I found it disturbing to discover how little I laugh. Maybe I've made a habit of surpressing my somewhat exuberant cackle because no doubt some people find it uncomfortable when a person displays such unrestrained joy. Some people are just a little dull. But I digress.

A few weeks ago I recieved some unfavourable news and it caused me to draw inwards like I so often used to when I was younger. I used to enjoy being moody and locked away. Somehow being trapped made me feel released. Not anymore. I have moved on from my childish "emo" tendencies ("emo" wasn't a word when I started high school. I sound so old), and no longer get any joy from being locked up. Instead I wanted nothing more than to laugh. It really is the best medicine. The moment I was feeling upset, I wanted to laugh. I'd watch funny tv shows, I'd listen to funny music (God Bless Joel Hockey, very, very richly!!), I'd read funny books. But I found if there's nothing around to make you laugh, make yourself laugh. Look up, at the ceiling, the sky, whatever is above you. If you stare upwards long enough, you'll find something to laugh about.

Usually you'll start laughing because you think of something funny, or because you realise how funny you are for staring straight up. If all that fails, remind yourself that I spent 3 days this week looking after a crying 4 month old that was really, really uncute and has the worst case of halitosis I have ever encountered. And it slobbered. It kind of reminded me of the baby on the bus in the episode of Invader Zim where they get lost.

Getting back to Steve Martin's quote. I think comedy is unpretty in order for us to laugh harder. You can't laugh at something you're in awe of. Like when Da Vinci drew that perfect circle, no one was laughing at it. Perfection isn't funny. Mishaps are funny. Bad decisions are funny. Overestimating your ability and failing is funny. You can't fall off a stool, land gracefully and then expect to get a laugh out it. You have to fall from a great height, arms and legs flaily, exclaiming something along the lines of "AAAAAAAAAAARGGGHH" and then land with a satisfying, but not bone crushing, thud. That's how to get a laugh. Believe me, I've tried. That's why God made me with a billion imperfections. I can raise a laugh out of that. And hearing other people laugh fills me with laughter and happiness.

Laughter heals wounds, it improves your immune system, it strengthens your laugh muscles and 5 minutes of laughter is they same as a 25 minute cardiovascular workout. Laughter doesn't cost anything, doesn't make you gain weight and won't make anyone pregnant. Sure you might snort, but that's probably the only downside to a good long laugh. That, and all those people who feel uncomfotable because you're so happy...

So share your jokes, share your sense of humour, be silly, make me laugh, make you laugh, add your own philosophies and observations. It would make my day.

To keep the rabbits out...

For those of you who would like the timeline for the history of concrete, you can find it here: http://matse1.mse.uiuc.edu/concrete/hist.html

For those who want something better to do, you can read this "update". Just as a side note, I don't want to be a blog Nazi or anything, but if there seems to be a seriousish topic arising on my blog (rare, I know, but it does happen), please try and stick to the subject at hand. If the subject at hand is not readily visible, go nuts. I did delete a comment in the last post because there was a strong topic following and the comment kind of ruined it. I don't want this to become a habit. Now enough on that.

I am nannying next week and that will be great. Temp job for 3 days at Caboolture. It's going to be tops, I'll keep you informed. Other than that I've been offered a job at Colorado, so I'll probably take them up on that offer and be a working girl again. Then I can get my license and do more nanny stuff - Woot!!

I wrote this story the other night and I kind of like it, so I thought I'd share it. Please bear in mind that I wrote it and I kind of like it so please don't crush my spirits and tell me it sucks if it does. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. I have the deleting power :P

Here goes.

Reserved Seating

It has been said the whole world is a stage. I'd rather it were a theatre. I love theatres. Old ones, new ones, big or small, ameture or professional. Theatres are gorgeous.

The world is a theatre. All the girls in the world are seats. All the boys are looking for somewhere to sit. Some boys race from seat to seat as soon as one looks boring. Some men sat, got comfortable, fell in love and died in the arms of the woman he loved.

Some seats seem constantly occupied by different people. Some seats hide, not wanting to be found. Some seats are vandelised. But every seat is different and every boy is looking. It's a busy theatre.

I'm an interesting seat. You have to look twice before you decide if you like what you see or not. I'm a little lumpy in places, I've got some scuff marks from people kicking me as they walk past, but I'm not falling apart. I'm surrounded by other seats, my friends, but amongst them I still somehow manage to stand alone. I'm sure I've been considered by boys before. They never made themselves known, but there may have been one or two, admiring quietly before moving on.

I've tried to make myself look like a very attractive seat to some boys. Not many. Probably 3. None of them ever sat down. I used to wonder why. Now I know why.

There's an usher in the theatre. His name is Jesus. He knows where everyone should sit. He doesn't issue ticket numbers. That takes the fun out of it. He knows every man in the theatre. He know every seat in the theatre. He knows which boy would be best suited to which chair. He worked it all out years ago.

Jesus put a reserved sign on me. It's a little odd when you see it at first. It's not a hand scribbled note. It isn't in the form of someone's left behind belongings. It's an authorotative, theatre owned reserved sign that no one would dare move.

Some boys go looking for a seat that will do them for now. Others are on a search, in persuit of their perfect match.

Jesus wanders the theatre, slowly directing these men tot he right seat. Jesus knows I am a very worthwhile seat. Ther one searching for me is a Prince. He may or may not have spotted me yet. He might be sitting in another seat at the moment, but one day he'll get up, when Jesus tells him to.

One day Jesus will lead this man right to me. Jesus will remove the reserved sign and Jesus, this man and I will know that this is the right match.

That day gets closer with every day I live. I look forward to it.

I'm not single, I'm not taken.

I'm reserved.

In the Spirit of the Occasion...

I went and saw "Cars" with Lesley yesterday. Fantastic film. Highly recommended. Go see it. It got me to thinking about stuff that inspires people. I always wanted to write a movie that inspired people to go out and do something BIG. I still do. I doubt I will, but everyone has to have a seemingly impossible dream. I just have more than most, and I try to acheive mine.

I finally started wondering why I was so dead keen to inspire people. I don't know that I've come up with any kind of a decent answer, but I have got a better idea now. I think.

I know that inside of everybody is an amazing amount of potential. Nothing fills me with greater happiness than seeing people tap into that and discover it for themselves. (When I say nothing, I mean not much else). Nothing makes me more upset than to see people who simply believe they aren't worth anything. My heart breaks for these people. They haven't found their potential yet. But I know it's there. God knows it's there. He put it there.

I found for myself that I was never satisfied knowing other people until I had a good idea about myself and my Creator. I lead a very satisfying life. It hurts sometimes, it can be upsetting, but at the end of the day I can sit down and know that I can't count my blessings, because there are too many to number, so I just say thanks for the lot.

I want people to discover this kind of thing for themselves. No one can give this kind of discovery to you, you have to find it yourself. But things, events and people can prompt the discovery. I want to be a prompter. Like I said, I love seeing people use their potential. It's the best. Part of my potential is helping others use there's. So I get a pay off from the whole ordeal too.

I don't know if any of that makes sense, but it does to me and that's really all I can ask. Know God, know yourself, love others. Kind of sums it up I suppose.

In the event of an emergency...

Why is it the Koorong website makes you LOOK REALLY HARD for ths stuff you want. I mean the front page of the website boasts items like, Purpose Driven Life, The (Burgundy/Tan Duo Tone) Warren Rick, Imitation Leather. That's the bomb if imitation leather, duo tone, mass produced, Christian Living books float your boat, as I imagine they do for some people. However I have to search "Ken Davis" and mine my way to the second page of listings before I come to Wimpy Prophet A Butane Bush and No Excuses, A Davis Ken. Dvd

While it is an abomination that all references to butane and/or Ken Davis are not bold and in 15 different flashing colours up the top of the very first Koorong page, what frustrates me is you type in "KJ52" searching all products and it comes up empty. You can search for simply KJ or you can simply search the music options, but it will still come up empty. If you browse the "RandB Rap" music, the fifth option, lo and behold is Behind The Musik (Music) Kj-52. Compact Disc

So the moral of the story is to just ask your parents to take you to Koorong and then make the employees do a search for any item you can't find. The other moral is I have birthday money and I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy a good trip to Koorong.

Here is your task. Below are a list of options of product you may purchase. You have a hypothetical $70. Choose wisely, and let me know why you chose what you chose.

Behind The Musik (Music) Kj-52. Compact Disc - $19.95 (does not have extra disc with Napoleon Dynamite on it).

Things I Prayed For Eli. Compact Disc - $29.95

Wimpy Prophet A Butane Bush and No Excuses, A Davis Ken. Dvd - $29.95

How To Live With Your Parents Without Losing Your Mind Davis Ken. Paperback - $14.95

Snickers From The Front Pew Hafer Todd, Hafer Jedd. Paperback - $16.95

701 Sentence Sermons Harvey L James. Paperback - $14.95

26 Tales From The Testaments, Semmens Cameron M. Paperback - $15.00

You Can't Handle The Tooth Sampler Various. Compact Disc - $5.95

Rubbish Day On Cromwell Street The Amazing Joel Hockey Movement Compact Disc - $15.95

101 Things To Do During A Dull Sermon Sims Tim, Pegoda Dan. Paperback - $7.95

Have fun!

Coming to a cinema near you

Thanks to all who came on Saturday night to celebrate me getting older. It was fun.

I've been thinking of late about a lot of things, but I've been contemplating some things about Jesus' life. Jesus wasn't here very long by anyone's standards. 33 is a young age to die, admit it. The majority of his work was done after he turned 30. This is comforting and disturbing at the same time.

Jesus was illustrating that life on earth is a blink of an eye in comparison to eternity. We're hear one minute and gone the next. But what we do in that time is so important. Usually I'd panic at that thought and think, "I'm wasting time, I don't have long, we don't get that long on earth to do things right." But that's when Jesus second illustration comes into play. In 3 years Jesus changed the world. A mere 3 years. And He didn't start the majority of His work until He turned 30. I'm only 17, I have time. God's timing is perfect. It's just right. Up until He was 30 He was laying the right foundations. He went to church, He made friends, He was obedient. From time to time He spoke His mind and shook a few people up. I can do that. I can lay foundations, I can go to church, make friends, be obedient. I'll stand up and speak my mind when He says to. I can wait for God, because I love Him. There's a reason Paul put, "Love is patient" first on the list.

Don't waste time, but don't be so concerned about conserving time that you miss the stuff life is made of. Go with the flow, enjoy the moment. Think about the future, don't obsess about the future. Don't worry, be happy. Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday. Hold onto Jesus, you'll be just fine. Big kids cry too. God will always have another hug for you.

The ball is in your court.