Sydnevangelical n.

1. A Sydney-sider who emphasises the teaching and authority of the Scriptures.
2. A person with a cool factor of 9.25/10.

Incongruence of intended meaning and perceived meaning due to failure to understand or interpret online dialogue correctly. Exacerbated by the failure to recognise the deficiencies of instant messaging in conveying emotions and expression. This may lead to unnecessary complication of human relations.

1. To wear items of clothing during a holiday which is purchased on the same holiday. Particularly novelty T-shirts or hats e.g. with 'Australia' or 'Melbourne' written on it.
2. To spend money impulsively on items during one's holiday, often purchases with little value after holiday.
3. To wear one's camera as an accessory.
4. Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tourisdorky (1840-1893)

As Aloisi slotted in the decisive penalty kick, I think I leaped higher than John Fahey did when Juan-Antonio Samarranch proclaimed the 'weener' to be 'Sideny'!

I must sleep well in May '06 so I can handle the late nights in June :)

1. Negligence: My fault, I emailed people about church cleaning and many didn't have internet access for the duration of the week. I'll learn from it, I think I'll call next time.
2. Circumstances: Some were unfortunately sick, others had work and family commitments, which is fair enough.

    So the equation we were left with was rather simple but tiring: one big church and 3 pairs of hands, 200 chairs and billions of dust particles to shift.

    We started at about 9:15am and after an hour and a half of work I realised that something was missing... Ahh! Music! After a quick dash to the car to grab some CDs and we were back on our way. 

    For the next couple of hours we worked to the melodic masterpieces of Vivaldi, Chopin & Tchaikovsky; which certainly helped my productivity (I hope Grae and Rach didn't mind...). We (Rach) even pointed out that 'Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy'  was in Harry Potter, there, a nice piece of movie soundtrack trivia. The layout of the chairs was also a challenge, due to inexperience and our tendencies toward perfectionism.   

 We finished up at 12:40pm, exhausted... I couldn't believe it when Rach said she had to stay back to do music prep . Good work all round and you guys will be getting pats on backs from me until heavy bruising occurs.

Devastating is sin and crafty is the devil...

    Today I was like a pile of wood after a dry summer, all I needed was a spark. Numerous were forthcoming.

    All I can really say is that "I wish I saw that metal pole as well as the 'Small Cars Only' sign at the Burwood Plaza Carpark...". That wrecked my day, because from the small 'thud' sound onwards, all my trains of thought terminated with that event!

   I was livid, no, not because the car is only a year old and it was the first prang anyone has had in it; no, not because it wrecked my day. But because it's my mum's car, literally her livelihood as she relies on it for work, rest and play. I was livid at myself for damaging her car, and to some extent her emotional state.

   No, the devil didn't make me do it, and it wasn't intentional either, the reason why I say that sin is devastating and that the devil is crafty is because he used this situation to tempt me with anger, and my sinful nature surely obliged. The end result was the disappearance of my self-control, and when that happens it's difficult to tell that I am actually a Christian.

   Not many people have experienced this side of me, but if they did, it'd take a lot of grace from that person to forgive me. God knows this aspect of my personality, and because he knows I am both ashamed of my failings and thankful for his grace.

In Sydney to be exact...

In Blacktown to be more exact...

In my room to be absolutely precise...

I've been getting headaches from working in my room, finally today, I had enough, so...

I spent all of today vacuuming, wiping, scrubbing, and any other action words associated with cleaning. The room now has a rich aroma of carpet cleaner, thanks to a botched attempt to remove carpet stains by none other than I :S

Operation Desert Storm III began at 1300 hours and I finished moments ago. The ridiculous amount of accumulated dust in my room surpassed my greatest estimates, halfway through the vacuuming, 'shock and awe', phase of the operation, I said to myself "I live in this! I breath in this!".

Now I officially declare the end of major combat operations, although I err on the side of caution, as I do not want to make the same mistake as Bush.

My friends are like any good bunch of crazy people, perhaps that is why I enjoy their company so much! After church on Sunday night at about 9:30pm we drove up to Sunset Rock in the Blue Mountains, away from the city lights for a bit of star-gazing and general rest and relaxation. It was an amazing experience and here are my highlights.

Jo brought along her guitar, which Wayne used to great effect in starting an impromptu sing-a-long on a cliff-face, in the dark, with a bunch of freezing lunies (who were thoroughly enjoying themselves). We performed a wonderful set, many church songs that we knew and loved. Spare a thought for Wayne however, because I was feeling the coldness of their air through my ye olde leather skii-gloves and he was in fingerless gloves being the tune machine.

After a little singing session, I laid down on ground using my backpack as a pillow and just stared straight up for what must have been more than half an hour. During my gazings at the stars I varied between a rather pleasant conversation with Ben and comfortable periods of silence, during which I'm sure we were all marvelling at the wonders of God's creation.

The experience of witnessing God's fireworks display in blissful silence stirred many emotions in my usually black and white pallette of feelings. A shooting star bisected the Southern Cross just as Will was explain how to locate South on it, a beautifully choreographed show which brought out the "Oooo's'"and "Ahhh's'".

A smile of contentment, a permanent fixture on my face such was my enjoyment. I marvelled at the heavens above as if a child looking at the night sky for the first time. I felt great joy in being there, and more so because I was sharing this with friends, and more so because my friends shared in the hope of Christ! What a majestic evening!!!

What a full-on day that was! But then again, photo expeditions are very hectic experiences in general. It's rather strange that I only took two photos however... (When I told Ben he had to double-check whether I meant two rolls of film or two photos). The reason was the smog that had descended upon the city making and the mid-afternoon sunlight, making Sydney-town to be a fairly disgusting cityscape today.

Of great noteworthiness is the tremendous distances we travelled by foot today. After getting off the rattlers at Central we zigged and zagged beneath the concrete canopy of the multi-million dollar, multi-storey forest. Here's our pace-notes:

• Our first stop was Town Hall where we had a quick peek inside St. Andrew's Cathedral - Berrinice!
• Then the QVB and it's innards;
• Afterwhich we went down to the water-feature at Martin Place which was famously featured in'The Matrix'  (i.e. in the scene where Neo meets woman in the red dress),
• we even saw the Channel 7 studios, where Ian Ross was actually gearing up to do a news-report!
• Next we trekked through the Botanical Gardens, a relaxing contrast to the hussle and bussle of 'citification'.
• Walking down from the gardens to Benelong Point, we did not make a stop at the over-photographed Opera House but headed for Circular Quay,
• Then hiked up George St. to find a camera shop where Will wanted to purchase way-too-expensive camera gear from.
• Grabbing a quick bite to eat at McChuck we ran back down to the Quay to make the 4pm ferry to Parramatta linking up with a train back home to Blacktown.

Credit must be given to Will for suggesting that we take the ferry instead of the train. To cap of the day with a ride on the purring Rivercat was very relaxing and refreshing, I'd highly recommend it as an alternative to the train when travelling out to the city. Consider the train being like going over the Blue Mountains on the Great Western Highway, it's quick, but the ferry is like the Bell's Line of Road it's just more fun and picturesque.

All in all, today was quite enjoyable, if a little tiring.