Irish Idol

YAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so glad Damien Leith won Australian Idol on Sunday night. After four series of Idol, finally there's a winner that appeals to me and I would definitely buy his CD (yes, I know Guy Sebastian's a Christian and seems to be a top bloke but his voice is far too nasally in my opinion).

I went out to dinner after church on Sunday night and got home in time to see the winner announced (after hearing James Mathison say "after the break" a gazillion times). I wouldn't have minded if Jess won; she has a terrific voice but I'm kinda over the diva sound. Traditionally, the winner's single has sounded like something off The Lion King but I really liked Damien's version. I can't wait to hear his album.

I just hope his newfound fame doesn't hurt his marriage and family.

Happy Birthday Emma!!!

My dear friend and housemate is 23 today!

Hey! Check out my Blog - Part 1

Since becoming a blogger in June this year, I've inevitably started comparing myself to the 'gurus' in the blogosphere. You know the ones I mean - the people who seem to have a readership of hundreds and commonly get up to 50 comments on a single post. They can just say "hey I had spaghetti for dinner tonight" and suddenly people are crawling over each other to comment. "Was it nice?" "You should try out my recipe." "I find your life so incredibly exciting". Blah blah blah. Then a new blogger posts on a controversial topic, hoping to spark up some debate....and gets 0 comments. Can you relate? I honestly feel sorry for some bloggers. I read some blogs regularly and find what they have to say very interesting, yet not many others seem to. Then they feel like giving up because the whole point of putting something on the net is so others will read it.

I'm not having a go at people who have large readerships. Many are fantastic bloggers and I read their blogs myself. What I want to raise for discussion is the fact that having a lot of comments doesn't mean they are the best writer. Good writing is often a matter of opinion anyway. Sometimes it's who you know/who you are and not what you know. If Tom Cruise starts a blog, he's bound to get lots of readers simply because he's Tom Cruise and not necessarily because he's a certainty to win 'blogger of the year'. So if you have a blog and aren't getting many people commenting or maybe even reading, take heart. Even the kings of the blogosphere had to start somewhere and probably stared at '0 comments' on the end of their posts for quite some time before their readership grew. Persevere!

My blog turns 5 months old on Sunday and sometimes I get disheartened because of my seemingly small readership. I am greatly encouraged by others' comments but sometimes I wonder, "what's the point?". Am I boring? Then I read this article which gives ways on how to attract readers to your blog. The fourth one is Comment on others' blogs. This lets others know that you have started a blog and they may like to read it. I think many of the people who comment on my blog, first came to read it because I first commented on theirs. I also told some of my friends about it and I know some of them read it, although some haven't commented. Now, you don't need to comment in the hope of 'luring' others to your blog so you can boast about the size of your readership. I only comment on blogs that I'm interested in and feel I can contribute in some way. There are also a great number of blogs that I read that I haven't commented on yet.

Which brings me to my next point. Why do we (myself included) become regular readers of certain blogs yet NEVER comment? I know sometimes it's because they're the blogs of people I know or sort of know and I'm afraid of exposing my blog to them. I'm not sure why this is when I haven't written anything greatly offensive or sordid. I could comment as an anonymous person but I prefer to use my blogger ID. Some people genuinely think they don't have anything interesting to say - which isn't often the case. Sometimes I don't comment because all the other people commenting seem to be friends/acquaintances of the blogger and I feel stupid being the only stranger. Also, if you don't know the blogger personally, is it weird to be a regular commenter on their blog? Is that stalking? Some of the people who comment regularly on my blog, I haven't met or perhaps have seen but not met properly. I love the way they keep coming back as it gives me motivation to write. Yet, maybe some people see it differently and the purpose of their blog is more to keep in touch with their circle of friends and not to meet new people as much.

I'm going to make an effort to comment more regularly on blogs, knowing that it might just encourage someone to keep blogging, that what they write is worthwhile. How about you? Do you comment on the blogs you read? Why/why not?

Lastly, just to inflate my own ego, I'd like to give you all a challenge. If you are a regular/semi regular reader of my blog, please leave a comment on this post, even if it's just to say 'hi'. I'd especially like to hear from you if you've never commented before. I'm not that scary - really ;)

Goodbye Belinda

I am still sad over the death of Belinda Emmett from cancer early on Saturday morning and from reading other blogs, I can tell I'm not the only one. I remember watching her on Home and Away in the late 90s and when she took a break from the show to have treatment for breast cancer, another actress filled in for her until she came back. Over the past couple of years, she has been looking more frail and gaunt and about a year ago, a magazine said she was dying. I didn't hear anything else about it until I heard the sad news on the radio on the weekend. Belinda was only 32.

My prayers go out for Rove and the Emmett family. Whatever people think of Rove and his show, I don't think anyone can question his love and devotion to his wife. That's not to take away anything from people who aren't in the public eye that have faithfully cared for their ill spouses. Nor does it take away anything from the many cancer sufferers who fought just as bravely as Belinda.

*The picture is from the Unofficial Belinda Emmett website.

Thank You God!!!

I just have to share a MASSIVE answer to prayer I received last week. In June, you may remember, I mentioned I had asked my boss if I could work part-time (4 days a week) so I could spend one day a week working on my novel. Working full-time, being involved at church and having a social life while trying to write an epic story as fat as the Harry Potter books was just too hard. My job involves sitting in front of a computer all day and the thought of spending my nights/weekends staring at a monitor while I wrote, made my eyes sore. If ever I could work part-time and write, then this was the time in my life to do it. No kids, no mortgage and no desire to join the sleazy backpacker culture. I didn't know if I was ever going to be published, but I wanted to find out if it was God's will.

My boss wanted to help me but the bigger bosses said 'no'. At first I wasn't so disappointed and I knew God had it under control. But as time went by and I became more dissatisfied with my job, I started wrestling with doubt. Should I give up? Was God saying 'no' or 'wait'? I didn't hate my job but I just didn't want to spend 5 days a week there. Should I try again?

I had my yearly review at work a few months later at which I told my boss I still wanted to work part-time. She hadn't forgotten this and told me that my best chance would be at the end of the year when the workplace was going to be restructured. So I waited. Then I started questioning God. Why did he want to be stuck in this job and there were no other jobs out there (trust me I looked)? Why did he say 'no' to everything I asked? I then realised that God was telling me to trust him no matter what, that he knows best and is working everything out for my good. It was a very hard lesson to learn. God was no genie that gave me whatever I asked for. I had to learn to say that 'God is good' even when he didn't say 'yes'.

A little while ago, an email was sent around my workplace, asking for expressions of interest from people who wished to change their working hours or move to another department. This was my big chance. I put in my request and waited for a couple of weeks until the lady in charge of this came back from leave. I still didn't hear anything. I prayed about it but found this time I wasn't overly worried. But I began to tell myself that if I got another 'no', I would seriously keep looking for other work. Then I got an email from the lady in charge of this area and she asked me to come to her office. I was a bit nervous and expected her to say 'no', so when she said 'yes', I couldn't believe it! Not only that, she said I could work part-time for a year and then if I didn't like it, I could change back to full-time (although I don't think I will). Also me working part-time will help others who are on contracts get more work.

I cannot thank God enough. I just hope I will use my day to write diligently and not waste time. I have a friend who is keeping me accountable and wants me to show her how much I have written each week. While I waited, I wondered if sometimes God wants us to kick down the doors ourselves or wait for him to open them? I always used to look for 'open doors' but this experience made me not so sure. If I hadn't approached my boss, then how could I expect them to read my mind and know what I wanted? Also, if I'd gotten another 'no', does that mean I should have given up or kept trying? In this case, I'm glad I kept trying and waited for 6 months. But we still need to prayerfully seek God's will and I was still dependent on him to open the door, even though I kept knocking.

God is good. I want to say this all of the time.

As for why I want to write and what my book is about - more on that later :D :D :D

Mad Hatters!

On Tuesday, I attended my first Melbourne Cup lunch. My workplace has one every year. It's held up in the staffroom, we get far too much food, go in the sweep and have a mad hat competition. Over the years, I have been very anti Melbourne Cup and last year I didn't attend the lunch. Despite being a big fan of National Velvet, I don't generally like horse racing (whipping is cruel, I don't care what anyone says), and all it is is an excuse for people to get drunk and spend far too much money on outfits and betting. Millions are wasted and that could be used to help the poor and needy. It's disgusting! Yet, I was challenged by Rodney Olsen's post to actually DO something with my money, instead of sitting on it and self-righteously condemning others who waste theirs.

So why did I attend this year? The mad hat competition of course! Two years ago I made a crazy hat for Jane's mad hat party for her 21st. It consisted of an upside down straw hat filled with straw and sitting in it was a chicken. No, not a live one. I got an old stocking, stuffed it with newspaper, shaped into a chook and put black tape all around it. Then I bought some feathers from Lincraft and superglued them all over the body, made a beak, eyes, comb and wattles out of cardboard and superglued them on too. Lastly, I stapled a big red ribbon to the hat that would tie under my chin. My fingers were covered with dry glue and bits of feathers but it was worth it. The hat made its second public appearance in March this year for Tammy's 30th. The Melbourne Cup seemed a perfect excuse for the now somewhat decrepit looking hen to sit on my head once again.

It may seem trivial but I felt the Melbourne Cup reminded me of my sin. I had been telling my workmates in the week leading up to it about my truly marvellous hat (although I didn't describe it) and how I was a certainty to win the prize for best hat, that NO-ONE could EVER bring a hat that was so creative and spectacular as mine. How arrogant of me! When I arrived one of my workmates was wearing a straw hat with a toy donkey stuffed through it. I thought it could be a potential rival but surely I was to win!

As it turned out, God convicted me of my arrogance and I didn't win. I came second. God was very kind and I got a box of chocolates as second prize. Not a good prize for my diet but I'll eat them slowly. The Melbourne Cup ended up bringing out my competitive streak that I wish I didn't have. But in the end, I found that I really didn't care that I didn't win and was happy for the donkey hat lady who won. Second was good enough for me. I still really like my hat. The whole thing just showed me how trivial I am.

I'm going to go and put my money on a goat!


At Jane's 21st in Nov 2004.


Caroline and I


Rohan, Sarah D, me, Jono, Tamba, Jane and Min


Ali and I at Tammy's 30th in March this year.

Oh Where, Oh Where Have My Pictures Gone?

People perusing this blog! Can you help?

If you have a look at my archives, then you'll notice a lot of my pics have disappeared and all that's left is a little box with an 'x' in it. Right clicking on the box and choosing 'Show Picture' doesn't get the picture back.

I've looked at the online Blogger Help group and there are people experiencing the same problem - but no-one has replied to them.

Can anyone tell me how to fix this?!?

Many thanks!