Thursday, December 14, 2006

Observant

I (being Carolanne) just couldn't let this one past. I don't know if anyone does bother to come and read here - I mean, it's only been 3 months but here goes......

Russell and Carolanne went out for dinner to celebrate their 21st wedding anniversary. After dinner, we walked to KFC to pick up dinner for our dear son Nathan. We were passing the shops and noted that Sports Power was between the Pizza place and the One Stop Shop. We tried to remember what was there before.....

Call us unobservant but even the lady serving us at the restaurant could not remember what it had been before Sports Power. As we walked, a man approached us. On the front of his shirt was a sign that said, "Visually Impaired". Russell went up to the man and said, "Excuse me but do you know what ................." and then he noticed the sign. His voice trailed off and he stumbled over an apology.

Russell decided not to ask anyone else what the store "had been". In his defence, he commented that the man did not have a Seeing Eye dog, nor glasses, nor a walking stick. And how was he supposed to notice a sign that said, "Visually Impaired"???

Sunday, September 17, 2006

A Deep Reaction

Last Wednesday an A.F.L coach was sacked. It is not unusual. They say with coaches there are two categories which are: current coaches and coaches sacked.

I don’t even barrack for his team. However, I have appreciated the way he has gone about things. He took a club with a history of heavy drinking and partying, and sought to develop their character. He took them to Africia to get them out of their comfort zone. To develop them as people beyond footballers. He has taken them on other overseas experiences for the same reason. He was crticised for this in the first instance, but now many other clubs have followed suit.


He decided to change the captain every year because he believed they all had something to contribute to leadership. He wanted to see his younger players develop in their leadership skills. He always encouraged his players to develop skills beyond being a professional footballer.

His ideas were criticised strongly. In a football sense he took the club from the bottom to the top end of the ladder. Unfortunately, they didn’t win a Grand Final.

I think I really appreciated where he was coming from. He was trying to see the players develop as footballers and people. He relied on character development more than just stirring up emotion.

Seeing as my team is in a rebuilding stage (which means they’re near the bottom), then I was hoping his team did well. They got knocked out in the first week of the finals with many of their key players getting injured.

On Monday afternoon it was announced he was to be replaced. Later in that afternoon I felt a knot in my stomach. At first I was trying to remember why (given a lot of things transpire at work in an afternoon), and then I remembered it was about the St Kilda coach. I have continued to feel a sense of loss. I am surprised by the depth of my reaction.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Book Meme

Well now that Carolanne has explained what tagging means and that this isn't a chain letter, I can answer these questions.

One book that changed your life
"The Navigator" --An autobiography of Dawson Trotman (the founder of the Navigators). He was somebody that believed that building into people's lives was what was really going to have an impact for God. He had enormouse influence on Billy Graham, the founder of World Vision and many others, but it is not well known.
I committed myself to being open to allow God to work through me in the way that I would have maxium impact for Him, and this continues to be my prayer.

One book that you’ve read more than once.
I can't remember any.

One book you’d want on a desert island.
"Finding God" by Lawrence Crabb. It talks about building your life on a strong foundation (a godly foundation) and the desert island would give me the opportunity to reflect on how I might do that.

One book that made you laugh
The John Harrop book my wife encouraged me to read "In Trouble(s) Often"

One book that made you cry.
The Lindy Chamberlan book about the injustice to an Australian woman in 1980.

One book that you wish had been written
A guide to understanding yourself and learning from mistakes for teenagers.

One book that you wish had never been written
The Origin of Species and the subsequent philsophies that have come from it.

One book you’re currently reading
A book about Moses called, "The Priest" by Francine Rivers.

One book you’ve been meaning to read
The pile Nathan has put next to my bed.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Fiction addiction?

Looking at the title and me doesn't seem to go together. I read a lot. I love to read the following: lifestyle/personal growth books, sport books and even relevant text-books. I don't mind biographies, either. I love books when they have clear headings and are set out in a sequential way.

But, fiction?!?

At High School I sort of read the books I needed to read. I enjoyed the film more (which we usually got to see) and read what I had to. This is not to say I haven't read fiction books over the years and I have enjoyed them but the amount of time it takes compared to the outcome just seems inefficient. I have made the offer to my wife (and son) many times to summarise the book for me, so I can enjoy it. This seems like a "win-win" situation. I enjoy the book with them while they do what they love and read. However, I know to real fiction addicts this is abhorrent and is why such suggestions haven't been met with any real enthusiasm.

On the holidays, Nathan insisted I read a book. I skimmed through. There were no sub-headings, it was 400 pages long and with little writing, I thought it was unlikely. After consistent nagging I said I would read it, but over an unspecified time frame. Nathan agreed to fill in the blanks in regards to who was who, etc.

There were 30 chapters and so my goal was to read up to the end of chapter 3, so I could say I was a 10th of the way through the book. Then as I read further increments of 3 chapters (I just realised that has relevance to the theme of the book), it started to get me in. So much so, that I was going to read in the car when Nathan and Carolanne were in the book-shop.

Last night, the book had a real grip on me (I even skipped the Footy Show to read). I contemplated doing what I had seen my wife do for many years (stay up and read until the book is finished). "What's happening to me", I thought? This morning I had allocated as the day to get our fence fixed, but instead it is past 11am and I have been reading all morning (another thing that my wife and son do).

The book is finished. I also noticed that the book wasn't predictable as it had many twists and turns and sub-plots. All things I had heard fiction readers make reference to in the past, but this time it was like I was understanding this as an "insider" on the fiction reader sub-culture.

When I looked for the fan-fare, my wife and son wanted to know if I enjoyed the book. Well, I did but I don't think I have crossed over to the fiction side. However, my wife wanted me to record this moment.

For those who are interested, the book is called, "THR3E" by Ted Dekker.

Saturday, May 27, 2006

Women and Melodrama

Nathan mentioned in passing that one of his teachers used to be quite melo-dramatic (my translation of what he said). I thought this was a "moment" where I could communicate some timely insight.

I highlighted that you can't have it both ways. If you want an extroverted wife when you grow up, then you have to accept a bit of melo-drama as a "trade-off". I then noted that if you don't want "melo-drama" then you have to go for a woman who is very cognitive and subdued.


The teacher Nathan was referring to was quite melodramatic. In case you are seeking to read between the lines, let me spell it out. In my own case, I got an extroverted, fun-loving, enthusiastic, intelligent wife, with a bit of ocassional melodrama as a trade-off. ("Occasional??!!! Are you being serious??!!?" Nathan asked)
All I was trying to do, was give Nathan the big picture so he can start praying and planning (for much further down the track of course).

On a TV show, there was a girl talking about "Five ways a woman can get what she wants". Examples included: the cute look, a pout and if all else fails, tears. I was about to explain that again that this is another by-product of extroverted, fun-loving women. This is another factor he has to take into consideration. However, this raised a sore spot for Nathan as we were watching the T.V. show we had pizza and chocolate in Nathan's absence.

I had to post this before my extroverted, fun-loving, intelligent wife put her own spin on it. I did note that such honesty could portray me as a logical, cold male. And my extroverted, fun-loving wife's response was, "If the cap fits...."

Sesame Street

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them!

You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you

You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil

How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others
I'm sorry, I hate to disappoint you but I am not a neat freak. I am a hoarder in the sense I keep things in case I need them, but I don't keep useless things unless you count my stamps and coins.

Another personality test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion:

You have medium extroversion.
You're not the life of the party, but you do show up for the party.
Sometimes you are full of energy and open to new social experiences.
But you also need to hibernate and enjoy your "down time."

Conscientiousness:

You have high conscientiousness.
Intelligent and reliable, you tend to succeed in life.
Most things in your life are organized and planned well.
But you borderline on being a total perfectionist.

Agreeableness:

You have medium agreeableness.
You're generally a friendly and trusting person.
But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism.
You get along well with others, as long as they play fair.

Neuroticism:

You have low neuroticism.
You are very emotionally stable and mentally together.
Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly.
Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure.

Openness to experience:

Your openness to new experiences is medium.
You are generally broad minded when it come to new things.
But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it.
You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Where Are They Now?

In Australia they have a show called “Where are they now?”. It finds stars from past shows or news stories and brings them in for a chat.
It is becoming one of my favourite shows.
I was wondering why I like it so much.
There are some who want to immediately throw in because I am getting older, and I am sure there is some truth in this.
But, I think there are some other reasons. The main reason is because I think I am fascinated to see what they have learnt: Young guys or girls who were rock stars in their day, who are now often “Joe or Josephine average” and others who were involved in key news stories and have integrated back into society.

I guess I am curious because I am hoping to pick up some insight from what they have learned. I am curious to find out if there is anything I can apply to my life.
At Bible College, I was always keen to pick the brains of the older, experienced lecturers about what they had learned from the past. Even in the secular courses I have done, I have been interested to learn about insights gained through their life experiences.
So "Where are they now?" is great entertainment for me, but I also am intrigued about the story behind the story.

Monday, May 08, 2006

About the Logies and about my day

Last night I tried to watch the Logies (Australian T.V awards). I like to see who wins the best new talent which is near the start of the show. I also like to see who wins the best Sports Show which is near the middle of the show and I also like to see who wins the Gold Logie which is right at the end. I couldn’t keep awake until the end, so I video-ed it.
I am not a huge t.v watcher but I do find it interesting to see the stars with their hair down.
Today I had to take the work car in to replace a battery and though it was meant to take 5 minutes it ended up being 1 hour. All my work was in the car, so I had to read the women’s magazines. The interesting thing was about Michael Parkinson. He gave up drinking when his wife told him “you’re unattractive when you drink”. As a result he is still interviewing at 71 and they are still happily married.

About my day--Work has been really busy lately. I started first thing with a necessary, but difficult letter that I was going to hand deliver to a client this morning. This was to reinforce a conversation I had with them last week. They are making good progress, but I had to have the conversation and write the letter to reinforce the point. I finished the letter and then (as our computer network was down) had to read a 3 page letter to my supervisor to double check this. Then I tried to print it out. We had enormous problems and what should have been so simple took 1 hour plus. I was running late, then I jumped in the work car and guess what? (flat battery). Another half an hour went by and finally the RACV came (work-safe prohibits us from jump-starting it ourselves). Finally I was on the road, but couldn't get hold of my client. AFter another visit, I got a call from the Office Manager to ask if I could take the car to our dealer for a 5 minute battery change over. I didn't bother to take any work in, but an hour plus later, I was well versed on the women's magazines.
So, lots of curve balls as far as making progess on the work goes.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Masters of Conflict Resolution

Well since I created this post, with our son Nathan to keep you informed of Russell's whereabouts, it looks like it's my duty to explain these photos that were taken last Friday night - 28th April. As you can tell, Russell graduated and as the title of this blog says, he got his "Masters of conflict resolution". Just a few more letters to add to his name. He has previously earned a bachelor of theology and a post-graduate diploma in Pastoral counselling.
He has worked very hard over the past few years to get his masters and we, along with the chancellor of the university, congratulated him on his fine effort.

In the next photo, "Graddy" as the teddy is referred to, was awarded to Russell's dear wife for her support in his endeavour to study etc.

At the end of the night, we also bought clothing from the university. TShirts for the boys and a Rugby jumper that will keep me warm during winter. (Me, being Carolanne - the dear wife.)


Russell did have an embarrassing moment on the evening. As he returned his robe and cap to the hirers of such garments, they asked him "How did it go?" Now, assuming they asked everyone that, they probably also expected the right reply of "good thanks," which is what came off Russell's lips too. However, as I was following behind him, I thought "What a stupid question... what do they expect to hear?" so I replied, out loud with, "Actually, not so good. They decided he couldn't have the award after all. He failed".


Russell blushed and decided that he would not take me there again and asked me to keep my voice down as the graduates of the Fraud Investigation Law Students had been in front of him during the ceremony.

That's fine by me since I told him that's the last time he can study again. He doesn't need more letters after his name and besides, he's getting too old to continue studying. He was one of the oldest there, after all!

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Current Questions

Well I thought that I would get in first on this ocassion. So I want to answer two questions which are:

1/ Why the monkey bars?
It all started on our holiday to Echuca. It was often over 40 degrees celcius and playing basketball, volleyball, etc with Nathan showed a contrast in our areobic fitness. Nathan is very fit and I recognised that I had to put more effort into this area.
My problem is that I still have to take Jemimah for a run every morning. I can't ride fast on my push-bike because I have discovered if she suddenly goes in a different direction, I come off fllying. However, I decided that running with Jemimah could be the go. So each morning I go for a run with Jemimah instead.

That's worked well. Then, in the Herald Sun they have this special feature called Body and Soul. In the middle of this section they have a fitness section. About 2 months ago they had a description on why chin-ups are beneficial. So, in addition to the run, I do chin ups on the monkey bars at 6:15am every morning (sometimes a bit later on weekends).
Then I throw in a few glides on the flying fox (see below).


Last Sunday morning I was on a roll and did a few too many glides. I have found that I have worked my way up to 5 chin-ups at a time and I did this a few times. I know that you are meant to do warm ups, but I don't find I get this done that often in a morning.

After church I took a box of Sunday School things out of Carolanne's car and I felt something go. As you can see it is not a huge box, but was it the box or the monkey bars? By the way, Nathan is concerned whether anybody sees me at 6:15am on the monkey bars.


By Sunday night I was really sore. Monday morning my jog was a very slow stroll. Getting out of the car on Monday morning was a real challenge. But, getting out the work car (a Nissan Pulsar) was an even greater challenge. During the week it started to get better. I know it is not a back problem per se, but it is in the muscles. Hamstring stretches really are a struggle.

Carolanne's brother is a great massager. He is trained and works on the the no pain-no gain principle. He starts massaging and you are grimacing with pain. He has this little wry smile come over his face and he says, "I haven't really started." After an hour or so of agony, you really benefit. He has turned swollen knees from football into moveable knees in one session. Then he gives you the talk about "You really need to come back on a consistent basis." You know he's right, but when the pain goes away you tend to forget about it. I have considered going back this week.

So was it the box or the monkey bars?

Question 2--What's going on in the Garage?

About 4 months ago, I decided to put up shelves in the Garage. One of the things I did was take the table (which is the table we used when I was growing up) and used it as shelving. It is a creative way of hoarding. Underneath this take, I had another cupboard but when I was putting it all together, I noticed the cupboard had borers in it.

There is a Pest Conrol man, who sadly has passed away recently. He told me many horror stories about borers. This Pest Control man was very blunt, but was very helpful. He still charged me like a wounded bull, but always seemed to go the extra mile to help me. When he inspected the house, he told me "off the record": "Russell--I have to write all this rubbish down for indemnity insurance purposes, but you have got no worries with this house. Russell--they built this house in the days when they actually knew how to build houses. It is very solid and extremely clean inside and out".

Every time I have looked at that cupboard in recent months, I have thought of the borers and the horror stories he has told me about borers. So, I decided to sieze the opportunity to get rid of that old cupboard and build one in it's place. Now that I have my spiffy new cutter, I can actually do that. As you can see by the photo it is a work in progress but at the end, I will have more than enough room to store my things and I have will have a borer free garage.

So, that's what's going on in the garage.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Milk and Diet Coke

Well here I am - but who am I?
This morning my son caught me drinking milk for breakfast. The milk had a "shot" of diet coke in it. I was hoping no one would catch me. It was only a little bit of milk in the bottom of the cup and I only put a tiny bit of diet coke in. I didn't want to ruin the flavour of the cocktail.
A long time ago, a man shared with me that he tried not to drink alcohol before 12 noon and here I was at 9am having a shot.
I told my son the old line about do what I say, not as I do.
My son and wife have decided to begin a blog for me - hence this title and post.
Sometimes they will add to it, sometimes I might even.

Russell's Added Comment: Well as the original source, I will just say: "Let's not let the truth get in the way of a good story".