It seems a little incongruous to celebrate the fact that I don’t have to go to church tomorrow because I went tonight. Like it’s bad karma for feeling as though I’ve discharged my duty to ‘the Baby Cheeses’ rather than celebrated the ‘communion of the saints’.
I don’t actually think that ‘Cheeses’ is keeping score. My boss may be. But Cheeses isn’t.
Funnily enough, I’m glad I went. Quite apart from the obvious free Sunday benefit, I was truly surprised that the smaller crowd, ‘the B-Team’ leading the ‘cheering’, and the relaxed Saturday afternoon vibe actually made for a great experience, one I want to repeat rather than one to avoid (as has been the case in the usual flurries of Sunday morning).
I guess one of the perils of being involved in one of those mega-churches is the most common criticisms levelled at outfits like mine is the absence of the personal touch.
I can’t criticise it for that because I’m not one to hunger for long leisurely chats after the meeting. I’m a get in and get out congregant. I’m more about hang time with ‘Cheeses’ than with the saints. That may make me anti-social but I’m past worrying about what everyone else thinks, or even if they notice my presence or absence. But the hang time with ‘Cheeses’ feels to me sometimes like it’s obscured in the crowd and tonight it didn’t feel like that.
I can’t decide if it’s because I’m getting old or because genuine Cheeses moments are easier to come by in the quiet. And while the proceedings are far from quiet it seems there’s more room for it on Saturday.
I wonder whether if I make Saturday night my more regular appearance whether Cheeses will mind if I take money out of the bucket rather than put it in.
Just to make up for the babysitting I’ll be missing…

“Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.” Mark Twain
It’s been a week of friends. This is quite an achievement for a self confessed ISTJ introvert but I’m holding my own. (Late nights and noise canceling headphones help…) But the truth is I’ve been loving it. It does this body good to be reminded of the sterling people around my world.
Charm and Just spent a week here, all tucked into my shoebox of a flat. Charm is a sterling musician and one of the best bits of the week for me was to spend an afternoon around the piano singing along to some of my favourite Jazz standards interspersed with quality piano solos. I’m pretty stoked that they’re coming over again next year, so we can do it all again. Actually, quite apart from the musical benefit, as someone I’ve known since she was 14 it’s fantastic to see what a great woman she’s become and great that we’ve stayed friends! Even though I’m an old duck by comparison… And Just? A brilliant choice of partner for her and fast becoming a great friend to me too! Guys, January can’t come fast enough!
Kirk and The Guy had us all for lunch and provided the piano, and well, as she reads this regularly I don’t want to embarrass her. But she’s been to hell and back with me and there’s no one else I’d rather have there too. Hardly fair on her… but that’s the test of a good friend really, that and whenever I need corned beef I only have to ask and they’ll throw it in the pot. Oh, and she’s the mother of my 2 favourite Australians which makes her a gold medal winner.
Then there’s Shoe who’s back in Sydney after 15 months away. She’s back. That’s bloody awesome in my book. As sterling single women of a certain age we’re both prizes that are yet to be snapped up. It can’t come soon enough for either of us to be honest, but while we wait we are going to have some fun painting the town together, let me assure you!! We started tonight here. We’ll be back… in Margarita season. (Who am I kidding… every season’s a Margarita one!)
Monday night saw me at the MacFriends place. Now there’s where you go when you want deep and meaty conversation. If you can fit it in around the kids coming and going and climbing all over you and the chatter and the dinner and the ridiculous Skype conversations with the neighbours up the road. Mrs MacFriend is a regular reader too… and so this is a ‘Hi’ for you busy mum… you rock, I love hanging out there! We may not get to hang out often but it’s worth it when we do!
Ok, so I think I’m approaching the cheese border line. I’ll forego all the other gushing I may have been tempted to do when thinking about my fabulous friends. But before I go I did have one other social engagement on the weekend.
One that really could be considered a bit of Boy Action…
Heh, that woke you up!
If you’ve been around here long enough you’ll remember Clayton. Well… finally after months of talking about it we finally hooked up.
Sunday night he came over to admire the Mac and talk about web development and projects we’ve got going on. I cooked him dinner and actually, if I had taken him at his suggestion and gone out to eat I would never have burned my fingers.^{See Extended Entry} Guess that’s what you get for diffusing the ‘potential date’ scenario by attempting to create a casual ‘friends hanging out at home’ vibe. It’s either that or it was the cunningly calculated ‘ouch, I’m an invalid, can you please ‘carve the chicken’ for me’ man trap ploy…
*bats eyelashes and passes the knife…*

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Tis Easter Sunday. Generally considered to be a good day to go to church, if you’re of the Christian persuasion, and sometimes even if you simply nod to the Christian persuasion now and again, Christmas Day and Easter Sunday are Days To Go To Church.
So, this is why Dusel and Dorf wanted to go to church with me, and also because they wanted to give their parents the [apparently] quintessential Australian experience. So this evening, all 5 of them arrived at church to enjoy the Easter Sunday services. Which, happily, instead of being subjected to having the thrill of a good meaty sermon, they were able to partake of our annual Easter musical, or passion play.
That wasn’t the freakshow part.
Actually, it isn’t really a freakshow, but sometimes, when I’m with someone who doesn’t usually identify with our expression of worship I put myself in their shoes and wonder if the services don’t appear a little that way…
First of all the music simply doesn’t sound holy enough… click here for an example… There’s no choirs or strings or even any organ type instruments… But we’ve a plethora of electric guitars, drums and singers…
Second, we even have dancers… (eep I hear you say)… I know, it’s strange and unusual… but happily they’ve come a long way from the streamer waving, tambourine banging, white skirted pentecostal dancers of yore… but stil… dancing in church???
Third, it’s noisy… people pray out loud, there is much passionate seeking God from the pulpit…
Fourth, there is much talking about giving and the offering… which, when you are standing in buildings worth a substantial amount of money, all paid for by donations from the congregatiion is likely to feel a little disturbing… our detractors regularly use that as a point of disagreement…
Finally it’s mad simply because of the number of people there… to see so many individuals clapping, dancing, and praising God you have to think you’ve walked in on some kind of cult… I mean, church is so passé these days isn’t it? For so many people to be identifying themselves with that kind of organisation there must be some kind of mind control in play right?
At least, these are the things I imagine that people are thinking when they come to church with me.
Dusel has gone home to check us out on the web and google the Captain to see what people out there are saying about him… From what I’ve seen he won’t find much that’s derogatory… and after the show, and even after the appeal at the end for ‘souls to come home’ (Not the terminology used… ) I think we made a good impression.
And if not? Well… they haven’t started looking at me as if I’m from another planet.
That has to count for something…

I spent money today…
I’m actually not very good at it. Not that that means that I have a bank account that overflows, but that while I can totally overspend on the grocery budget I’m absolutely crap at shopping for fun, therapy, clothing or gifts.
So, today, I went to buy clothes for Brad and Henry’s wedding [Brad’s the girl…] and found some lovely things that cost too much. I bought two tops which are lovely but were expensive… (no Target shopping for me this time!!!) I got bargain shoes which was good though, and accessories… so the ‘what to wear’ dilemma is solved for the weekend… now I have to apply myself to the gift part… yikes… thank goodness for gift registries…
I bought Flick’s DVD gift for Christmas and bought a gift for myself, but it might be considered a bit of an unusual splurge if I think about it.
I bought ‘The Passion of the Christ’ on DVD. Partly because it was only $11.00 and partly because as much as the movie was painful to watch, I loved it.
I have my issues with Jesus (actually less with him and more with his followers) on occasion, so I don’t think it’s bad for my soul to be reminded periodically, even in a graphic and dramatic fashion, that I do believe his story, his sacrifice, and his passion. I believe it happened, I believe its impact on the world, and I believe its relevance for modern man.
So, as I write this I’m half watching the movie, which I can just about handle… I’ve passed by the part that made me cry like a baby the first time I saw it (when Mary throws herself on the floor above Jesus’ cell) and while I’m only half concentrating on it I think I can bear the worst of the torture and crucifixion scenes.
It’s Sunday, and this is church for me today watching and hearing the story of the life that makes my life mean something.
So, if I think about it, some things are worth gratuitious expenditure.