Singular Scene

So Singular in Each Particular

Well, I never…

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If you’re anything like me, as the year winds down you spend the occasional moment looking back over the preceding months and reflect on what’s been going on.

I have a lot to reflect on.

I don’t think I could have predicted that at this point, one year since I upped stakes and left a reasonably secure job that I’d be able to say I’ve completed my Masters in less than a year, AND with a Distinction average (with 1.675 marks to spare!)

I didn’t imagine that I’d have supported myself by my own efforts and some canny contracting and today paid off a credit card (taking my total cards down to one. Phew – getting out of debt in the GFC. Yay me.)

I didn’t imagine for a second that I’d have spent one day a week as a nanny and LOVED it. It felt a little like a necessary evil in those first few weeks when I was terrified I’d end up destitute or when Missy spent that first hour of every day I was there SCREAMING. Happily, it has turned into the highlight of the week for me and will do so long into the New Year. Nannying 2009 culminated in a marriage proposal, and not my first from a member of the younger set.  I’m a huge hit with the under sixes – sigh, if I could just up the average age by about 30 years…

I never thought I’d find so little to blog about in a whole year.  I’ve been so remiss but I suspect that most of my writing energy was being expended on writing essays – and let’s face it, you’re likely to be not particularly interested in the kind of stuff I was turning out… maybe 2010 will be better for blogging.  I certainly need to do some design tweaking… this notebook look is so old skool.

I never thought I’d be able to successfully pull apart my Mac and put it back together (and have it work) without major incident.

I never thought I’d be in NZ twice in the year I was a student, nor that I’d be going also to Tasmania for a holiday in January but I did and I am, and I’m so grateful to be able to get to see the family and friends on the other ends of those plane rides.

I never thought at age 41 I’d have to prevail on other people’s generosity when my circumstances looked impossible and when I didn’t know where the next dollar was coming from.  At the same time I could not be more thankful that I have such close and generous friends who bought me groceries, meat parcels and coffee and who took me out for steak and tequila once in a blue moon.  Or, even better, gave me work so I could buy coffee for other people on occasion.

I never thought I’d be inquiring as to the possibility of further study next year, a research project that will upgrade my degree to Honours.  It’s a nagging thought I can’t shake… I must be insane, particularly given how excited I am by the thought of surveying Christian churches about their use of digital technologies…

Yep.

Insane.

I never thought that I’d be so happy to go to church on a Sunday nor that to get so happy I’d have to leave one church and take up with another.  This is such a bittersweet change and one that I never expected to occur, I still find it a bit bizarre.  I only know that given the paradigm shifts my faith and feelings have gone through this year and as hard as it is that there are people I see a lot less of now, it’s still the right thing to have done.

Above all, I never thought that my life could be so rich with friends, relations, experiences, love and life, both IRL and here online.  To all of you, whether I know you in person or ‘virtually’. Thank you for making this year an awesome one!  I hope yours has been as much an adventure for you.

Merry Christmas.

The Next Place.

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I’ve been thinking about where I’m going to live next.  Don’t get me wrong, I do rather like my little flat, I love its garden and I LOVE the price, but I do not love that it is old and damp and that it is rather small.  So, I’m plotting my next move.  It won’t be until next year, so I’m SERIOUSLY planning ahead… but I have been thinking about what I’d like it to look like.

  1. I’d like two bedrooms, one for me to sleep in, and the other, a guest room which would primarily be an office.
  2. I’d like a bath.  I know, it’s politically incorrect to want one here in Sydney, so maybe I need to move back to NZ or to the North of NSW so that I can bathe guilt free, but after ‘a day like today’ sometimes a soak in Epsom Salts really is going to be the only remedy. 
  3. Additionally the water pressure in the shower has to be good.
  4. I’d like a garden for my patio table and barbeque.
  5. I’d like a decent stove, gas hob.
  6. I need good, fast internet coverage, preferably on cable rather than ADSL.
  7. I’d love more natural light, Lulu loves to laze about in the sun and she gets very little of it here.
  8. The flat needs to be pet friendly, as in screened security door and screened windows. (Oh and the landlord needs to allow for cats too).
  9. I need a built in wardrobe.
  10. I’d like it to be reasonably new.
  11. A garage for my car.
  12. Good Storage space, though I’m not a huge pack-rat. No storage means no junk so it has its compensations.  Definitely needs good space in the kitchen though.
  13. I love that I’m close to shops here, so that would be good in the future as well, also close to public transport, I use it so much more than I used to simply because it’s really close and handy.

Have I missed anything?  What would you look for in your next place?

The Farewell Speech.

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It’s not without a little bit of a pause that one decides to hand in their notice after 7 years.  These days people look a little askance at someone whose résumé has such long tenure with one employer, however, they’re usually assuming someone is unambitious and unmotivated towards brighter and bigger things; they’re not seeing the bigger picture of just to whom it is this servant has been in service.

I was asked publicly early on in my time on staff to define why I loved working here and the answer has never changed.  I love serving an eternal purpose not a temporal one.  I love that people are the bottom line, not the usual bottom line of profit and loss.  Our profit is the extraordinary community of people who have gathered around the One extraordinary person of Jesus, and I will never be sorry to have given so much time for such a place.  But places and people change, I’ve changed and I owe much of that to this place, to the people who have been around my world in this time.  I’ve not only walked through pleasant and peaceful ground but also water and fire, and in all of it I’ve  grown, developed, overcome and achieved things I’d never have imagined possible. I’ve studied, learned, taught, loved, lost, lived and experienced. The value of that is immeasurable and all in all, it has been marvellous. 

Now, I have other things to learn, others to teach, and new avenues to pursue so I think it’s time.  Seven; the number of completion.  Seven years, the perfect time to leave. [Note: I found out in discussion today with our Payroll clerk that in fact, this speech was actually delivered on my 7th anniversary! Wild!]

It is with grateful thanks that I acknowledge Pastors ____ and _____ for their faith in me and the extraordinary opportunities I have had to work along side them to serve their vision; The Captain, Fish and The Great Dane, who have been the most encouraging and supportive team to work with; they’d probably say long suffering too if they were asked… Crabman and Mrs Crabman for whom there are not enough words to express my gratitude for all their love and support over some of that rocky ground. P.I.A, pastor, friend and shoulder on more than one occasion!  Dixie whose spontaneous appearances at my window caused occasional heart stoppage but were always welcome. Cove a constant friend in all those years and OzLoz a new one! Finally, Daddyof3 with whom I worked closely in those early years and who STILL rings me up for occasional help with his computer…  These people are gold.  There’ll be no other team like you anywhere, and you and all the others of you who have gone unmentioned are the reason I will always look back at this time with love and immense gratitude.

Above all of this, I wish to thank God that his purpose for both me, and this place, was worked out in my being here for the last seven years.  He has sustained, encouraged, and moulded me through my time, and to you who remain, particularly those whose tenure is just beginning, allow Him to do the same and you too will surely fly.

Change

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I’ve followed the campaign to elect Obama president by default because so many of my daily reads have followed Obama.

As a self-confessed fundamentalist voter you may be surprised to note, that from what I’ve seen in this campaign, I’d very likely be celebrating today had I had a vote too.

No one is more surprised about this than I.