pick one : jenny/jenga/jentle/jengi/itchy/jk

internet is a bit dodgy today. can't send any emails as yet.

anyways, hello world.

to recap last few days... we had a day off on sunday. we went to various churches - a good experience. it's awesome singing worship songs with people in different languages. same God. awesome. we also went to lake prespa. it is bordered by greece, albania and macedonia. quite pretty. crazy all the bunkers and stuff. i don't know much about albania's history, besides that it was communist up until 1990 or so. such a different world.

the festival last night was good - incredibly, kiddies all lined up. at least to start with. very different to what they're used to.

i've been pretty seedy the last few days. feeling ok today.

bought some fun shoes for 1500 leke - less than $20. howie got some fun ones too for 2000 leke. we'll head back to the markets today.

only two festivals to go. in some ways, time has gone very quick. in other ways, not so much. looking forward to some rest. but it's exciting what God is doing amongst the hearts of the people of korce, believers and non-believers alike.

enjoying warm showers!

different is the word of the week.

in two days we head back to greece, and to finish our pilgrimage. then the long flight/s back home. I'm glad God is everywhere and in everything.

more news

well, found a place with power. often there is no power in parts of korce each afternoon. must be inconvienient for some.

last night's festival went quite well. it got a bit crazy but i had two/three really helpful albanian guys who helped control the crowd. i can't believe how much they love hearts - xema(?) - they were the most requested balloon sculpted item i reckon. i've learnt a few albanian words - spart = sword; qen (chen) = dog; falimendirent = thankyou; si je = how are you; mire = good; that's probably almost the extent of it so far. languages are an amazing thing. reminds me of the tower of babel - how confusing!

we have another festival tonight, and then tomorrow off. that will be nice. we're going to church in the morning. and then i don't know for the rest of the day.

i'm feeling a bit sickly today. but not too bad.

i haven't even said anything about our time in Greece. well, it was good. i'm sure that's a helpful statement.

it's all very tiring, but it's good stuff. God is good.

so yeh. trying to make the most of every moment. to see things as 'different' rather than weird, or strange, or wrong. we've met some very cool people.

yep.

until i write again.

peace out.

in korce, albania. i don't want to write just the same as howie, but i probably will. very different to any other place i've been. quite a developing nation - poverty and just different.

will run first festival tonight here. shall be interesting. if you feel inclined, please pray for us. and for the people.

so many things i could write but i gotta go.

just had the hugest icecream. my goodness.

ok, bye!

my first experience of singapore. airport reminds me of bangkok. flight was pretty drama-less. slept a bit, having taken a tablet to aid that. not heaps solid or quality, but sleep nonetheless. so over 8 hours of our first 17 hour leg is over. flying isn't the most comfortable experience. one day i would like to be rich enough to travel in business or first class. so much room!

but hoorah for mp3 player. good job dad.

adieu once again.

now at the gate. gate 61. i already feel smelly. that's not a good sign when a shower is at least a day away. yuk.

we had vegetable salad, fruit salad and powerade for dinner. all for the handsome sum of $27.50. boy oh boy. hoorah for airport affordability.

i promise this is my last post from australian soil for a while. just gotta take advantage of free internet!!

byeeeeeeeee.

love youse all.

free airport blogging. good stuff.

just bid my parentals good bye.

howie, julie and i will be sitting next to each other for 17 hours. hopefully much of that will be asleep.

i'm being a good walking advertisement in my 'thehowie.net' tshirt.

i think i have a lot of nervous energy. i'm not panicky, but aware of nervousness.

it will be an interesting time.

i'm looking forward to spending some solid time with God on the plane. i'm glad He's coming with us, and is here now, and is already there in Greece. glad for the "omni"s.

so with that, my friends, i bid you farewell. or whatever goodbye is in greek. i really should know that!

figured what better to do with my arvo, now that i'm packed, than indulge in some cast commentary... oh how i love billy and dom.

heavy packer

i certainly haven't changed since this post... but what can you do. just pay the excess baggage costs. man, they're gonna be huge!

still $1568.45 to go. not really hanging out for that at this stage. but still, from $7000 in just three weeks. not bad people, not bad.

fun hair. it's got blonde and red and purple. hehe! i'm sure my father will have something to say about it. that, or nothing at all to say.

all clear

had CT scan at the SAN. it's a fun machine to be totally still in while it whizzes around you. the pictures of my brain are cool. i'm glad doctors can understand what the films say about my head, coz i got nothing! but apparently all is good so that is good news indeed.

i'm going to the hairdresser for the first time in however many years since i had boy short hair (four years?) this arvo. i hope that it's fun. oops, coz my hair is very unwashed. i'm getting foils. lardy da.

greece tomorrow. that is from the land of insane. oh, and did i write i'll probably be going to albania too? if not ... i'm probably going to albania too.

sometimes it's hard to understand why people don't see things the same way as me, coz "it makes sense" - why don't they see that! why must there be so many opinions.

but then again, at other times, i would prefer to see things the way other people do.

life is so subjective.

packing packing packing

lots of new

in the last two days i:
~ went on two rex planes
~ slept in a new different room in armidale
~ drove howie's mummy and daddy's car
~ bought a new phone to replace the one my car ran over (coz the ringing was no longer audible)
~ with howie, bought a new toy cash register from coles
~ ate curry chicken for the first time
~ watched 'in good company'
~ got my ken duncan that howie's mum and dad framed
~ caught my first millenium train
~ caught a bus to and from a plane on sydney airport tarmac
~ was present at the purchase of howie's birthday present camera

perhaps that is all the newness.

yesterday consisted of lots of lying around and napping. good stuff. i think it's probably the first day is ages that i've given myself permission to do absolutely nothing. brain CT booked in for thursday at 1:45pm.

today i'm flying off in a jet plane. well a 37 seater. so little! i told my grandpa on friday about flying in a little plane, and commented that he'd be fine with it, having flown littler planes in the war. he informed me that "it doesn't matter, they all crash just as heavily". thanks grandpa! we fly back home tomorrow. then i start thinking about packing for greece.

only $1999.45 to go. michaela's $1 brought us under the $2000 barrier. good job michaela!

(i know that obviously everyone else's lovely, wonderful and generous donations, no matter how much, also took us under $2000, so no need to draw my attention to that fact)

oh, and that cold is coming on just now. sore throat. little bit snotty and sneezy. please pray it won't come on too strong. i really don't know that being sick will be helpful for my time in greece. i might infect all these people with strange australian cold viruses!! it'll turn into an epidemic, and they'll trace it back to me. oh dear! ok it mightn't be that dramatic, but still. not fun.

a good saturday night out

so, you see, after work yesterday, at about 9pm, i was waiting for howie to grab some things from his house. my eyes started going a little strange, not focussing properly. it's happened before so i wasn't too concerned. i had a headache too. i drove home regardless, coz my vision wasn't blurred, but strange.

but when i got home, and thought about getting out of the car, i knew that walking might prove a little difficult. and it was, i was unintentionally veering to the left as i walked inside (supported by howie). i went into my room and sat on my couch and started shaking uncontrollably, though i wasn't cold. i also felt like a was going to throw up and my head was quite painful.

after a little while, mum suggested we head over to emergency. i was still unable to walk properly, and was shaking like crazy. after a little wait, the nurse lady karen checked me out. all my obs were fine. then they took me to a little room and i lay down, and got a warm blanket. that was nice.

i almost fell asleep, but then karen came in a jabbed my upper butt with two needles - one for nausea and one for pain. no worries about pain in my head, how about the pain in my butt! i can still feel that. then howie and dad joined me and mum. all the symptoms eventually lessened. and we waited about 1.5 hours to see the doctor man. meanwhile, dad kept heading back to the waiting room to see if the cricket had started. funny man. we ended up leaving hospital at about 1:20am.

ends up i probably suffer from migraines. i have to have a head CT next week, just to make sure everything is ok. he gave me some anti-nausea medication for next time, and told me to take nurofen and lots of water when it happens again. i must say, my last such similar episodes were in 1998 and last year. so i'm not expecting frequent migraines. those poor people who have to deal with them regularly and frequently.

i really do have a burn on my tongue from last night's marshmallow which still hurts. i'm glad the mouth heals so quickly though.

presently i am wearing:
-a beanie
-gloves
-two pairs of socks
-shoes
-shorts
-underwear
-singlet
-longsleeve shirt
-tshirt
-jumper
-scarf

it was a cold day!

i burnt half my taste buds off tonight with a fire roasted marshmallow. ouchy. lachie talked about love (1 cor 13). it was good to be reminded of what it is to love. the things that love is and isn't. how often i'm doing the things that it isn't. or not doing the things that it is. but also, it's important to remember that we can't love like that unless we're allowing God to love through us. like fruit of the spirit.

soon i shall go home and sleep. i promise. only a few little things to do at the office.

ooh, i need to pee.

just a little photo i thought i'd throw in for fun...

sometimes i am very slow. people need to dumb it down a bit.

can't wait til bed time tonight. that will be awesome!

and bed tomorrow night! that will be awesome!

i had to use a watering can to rid my car windows of ice this morning.

my grandma is radioactive at the moment.

i would like to not have an early morning sometime soon. i think monday is my best bet.

looking forward to it being a month from now.

haven't started packing yet for greece.

going to armidale next week.

the blue mountains will be cold tomorrow.

armidale will be cold.

greece will be hot.

excited about GAP tonight.

i am so cold in this place that if my house was hell, hell would be frozen over.

i think there's $2690.45 to go. something like that.

rorting the tax system

i just read this in mX... 'Two heterosexual Canadian men are to wed under same-sex marriage laws to access tax benefits for married couples. With no laws defining sexual preference in marriage, Bill Dalrymple, 56, and Bryan Pinn, 65, said they had a serious point to make. "There are significant tax implications we don't think the Government has thought through," Pinn said'

well there you go.

if you know lachie...

next time you see him you should ask him about the dream he had last night

"cold spaghetti, cold spaghetti...

...squashed mobile phone, squashed mobile phone"

sure did run over my phone this morning. the screen's a bit cracked, the back is all grazed and doesn't quite click in, but it's fine. i can't be bothered getting a newby.

reminds me though of the time one of my barbie's got run over. her back looked much the same.

what are the chances that i won't get sick in the next week and a half. my mum apologised in advance this morning for the cold i will get.

my body is so predictable - as soon as anything involving plane travel comes along, it has a spaz and comes down with a cold. i have many potential infectors around this time - debs, mumma, bel, steve, libby.

yep, looking forward to it. umm.. it'd probably be good if you threw in some nausea and/or diahorrea as well. oh, and don't forget sleep deprivation. thanks body.

exciting is having five pieces of mail when you get home. so popular.

fun is having phoebe be your friend. we played with the telephone, and with howie's bob the builder bucket and spoon. she likes me because i wear a wiggles bandaid everyday.

cold is wearing two singlet tops, a cotton long sleeve shirt and a scarf with no jumper.

reassuring is having people give so generously for the Greece trip (almost halfway there!).

busy is helping coordinate a trip for saturday having not really put your hand up for it.

encouraging is having a lady come up to you at church and tell you she made a commitment at a trip 40 years ago.

tiring is falling back a bit into dodgy sleep.

hungry is not grazing all day.

silly is thinking that i'm in it all alone.

"Amazing picture of Qantas 747 overshooting landing strip"

thanks lachie

after conference finished, went for some lunch in windsor with howie. wandered the streets. there were country bumpkin markets and everything. ended up having red rooster. then fun drive back via cattai ridge road.

youth supper tonight was at our place. such a little baby house. so many squished people. watching the cricket was fun. only needed 3 more runs!!!! ah well. poor kasper. he did good. silly ricky getting zero. it was fun meeting libby's steve. lots of fun people.

i'm hoping for some days off sometime soon... that would be fun. we shall see.

and boo for less than 4 hours solid sleep last night. but hoorah that howie got 7 solid hours!

off to conference we go. well i go.

gap was fun last night. how many funs is singstar on playstation... many. so much budding talent. go lachy, go!

i went to the bank to utilise the 10 second teller and one of the bank worker ladies was walking along the queue asking if people wanted to buy badges for jeans for genes day. the first dude said he was wearing jeans, and she responded with "so am i but i had to pay for it". the next couple of people said they didn't have any money and she commented on how it was strange people in a bank having no money. she got to the last guy, and he said he didn't want to buy anything. so she said "well, let's hope you don't get cancer then". nice.

$5073 to go

good to see rain again isn't it.

and i really do wonder sometimes about myself. sometimes i think i must be losing it. my sanity that is. ah well.

YAY for friends at 5pm!

i mean, ummm, gap talk. yeh.

WHOOP-PAH!

i've fallen into the unhelpful habit of forgetting to lock my car. it's happening more and more frequently.

phew. teeth all good. $100 for him to tell me that.

woke up with a headache. not so fun.

might have an early one. dentist in the morning. eek. on second thought, maybe i'll spend my evening brushing my teeth instead.

"The church is not a building, not a voluntary society, not an optional extra at the end of a busy week. It is the body of Christ..." Michael Green (whoever he may be)

$5 tuesdays at greater union for august. i hope to take advantage of that.

and well there you go, i didn't know lisa mccune has three kids. i knew she'd had one. but that one is now four years old. she has a 22 month old boy and a seven week old girl too. i like lisa. she's a coles girl (albeit paid to be). and i was one of those people who kinda stopped watching blue heelers after maggie died.

some fotos of fun from tim's party of fun of some people of fun. there were plenty of fun people present. but there's only piccies of a few.... enjoy.

howie, me, michaela and william

debdab, cathy bell, brett, grant and lachie

debs and liberachi

and tim was there too... being his party and all

today i spent about $110 on "stuff" for Greece - basic, mostly toiletry, stuff. i got a new nose stud which is fun. i've never had a new one before.

i'm thankful for generous people who give of themselves, whether in prayer or their finances when i do work things. it's special. good on them. thanks for them God. it's pretty humbling.

i'm very liking my black longsleeve bonds shirt at the moment. i think i wear it most days. it's very comfortable.

i've watched snippets of "outback house" over the weeks. i cannot fathom how life would have been in 1861. i'd have no chance. but it was interesting to see how people do adapt and learn and become more and more industrious. we live much too kooshy lives.

i'm gonna be on a plane many more times than i had planned for this year. at this stage i've already been through five takeoffs and landings. i've got at least eight more to go. it's not that i'm fearful. it's just not something i immensely enjoy.

i'm looking forward to bed tonight. but firstly, some pizza, mobile phone biscuits and beverage with howie.