We finished exams on Thursday afternoon. Our last exam was Doctrine and it was a 3 hour one. We both felt like it went ok. It was a bit quirky in parts, but mostly ok.
Since we finished on Thursday, I don't think I've cooked one meal at home! We had celebratory kebabs after finishing. Kebabs up here, btw, are basically a souvlaki - but these Lebanese ones from Rowda Ya Habibi in Newtown are amazing! Mmm, Schwarma! Anyway, went and hung out at Katie and Bernie's place with some friends after that. It's really nice, there's a bit of a group of us who live around Newtown who've become friends this year. It's so lovely to finally have time to hang out together.
On Friday there was a big bbq lunch at college. There must've been about 500 people there - spouses, kids etc. It was fantastic, they had kebabs (on sticks), prawns, salads and even good ice creams (like, you know, Drumsticks and that sort of thing). When we came home we were too tired to cook, so we got fish and chips. We've discovered a local place which does really nice fish. Chips are middling to ok, but not terrible.
Saturday Dan and Miranda and the girls came round for an impromptu lunch and that was lovely! We so enjoy hanging out with those guys, it's a pity that college life is so hectic we've not seen heaps of them this year. We made them homemade pasta and bruschetta for lunch and they are sold on the idea of a pastamaker (hint - might make a good housewarming gift?)
On Saturday night we had my birthday party at Uighur Cuisine. I've raved about Uighur food on many an occasion so I won't go on about it. Suffice to say, it was AWESOME. We had a really lovely night, most people got into the whole 'food adventure' thing, and it was so nice to do something fun with friends. After dinner we went for a walk in Haymarket (Chinatown) and stopped at the Y2K SuperCafe. As well as the usual ice cream dessert things, they had all sorts of cool asian desserts and drinks. Nick and I had Taro tea (it's bright purple and very sweet and milky - totally awesome)
Sunday was our last day at Church. It was sad to leave because there were lots of lovely people who we really haven't been able to get to know at much as we would have liked. We've got a better idea of our own limitations though, so next year we'll be looking for something closer (ie, not an hour's drive out West!)
We were going to check out another Church on Sunday night, but just weren't up to it. So we went and got takeaway Sushi and the first disc of Boston Legal and had a dvd night in.
Well, that's the roundup. Today and tomorrow are quite busy with running errands and getting things such as Centrelink sorted before we come to Hobart. We've got a Big Lebowski movie night tonight though so that should be fun.
Can't wait to come to Hobart on Wednesday!!!
I forgot
I did get a photo at my birthday afternoon tea. This is Azaria, our friends Bek and Weber's baby. She was born just before the September holidays. She's been such a good baby that - amazingly - Bek has been able to finish off this year of study.
I like taking photos of babies. It's not clucky-ness, they're just interesting subjects. And they pretty much always look good. Well, unless their face is plastered with beetroot and cottage cheese (I tell you what, under incandescent lighting, that combo looks like a terrible skin disease!)
The camera batteries have been flat, so I haven't had the chance to show you some of the cool presents I got for my birthday:
Here's Jamie At Home in our home.
I've been oggling over these bags at the Glebe market every time I went to buy someone else a present so I finally went and got one with my birthday money.
The man at the turkish cafe calls it "Appril" - whatever you call it, it's delicious - thanks Katie! (btw - I think "tisane" sounds like a hip-hop word)
I um, didn't photograph the edible ones. But I can assure you they were yummy! Special thanks to Miranda for shouting me to an incredible afternoon tea and to Mel for the Japanese dinner which was awesome.
Here's Jamie At Home in our home.
I've been oggling over these bags at the Glebe market every time I went to buy someone else a present so I finally went and got one with my birthday money.
The man at the turkish cafe calls it "Appril" - whatever you call it, it's delicious - thanks Katie! (btw - I think "tisane" sounds like a hip-hop word)
I um, didn't photograph the edible ones. But I can assure you they were yummy! Special thanks to Miranda for shouting me to an incredible afternoon tea and to Mel for the Japanese dinner which was awesome.
Thought this was a good idea. I was particularly horrified to find that:
"Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide."
Being-towards-holidays
Only three more exams to go! Philosophy tomorrow morning, Mission Foundations on Wednesday morning and Doctrine on Thursday afternoon. We'll be in Tas in ten days time.
Old Testament was a pretty kind exam. I managed to get my five essays written quickly enough and my hand was not permanently crippled.
New Testament however was brutal. Last year's exam was straight-forward enough but this year's was a swing in the opposite direction. You could hear the intake of breath around the room as people looked through the questions. Studying for the exam was excellent though, getting into Ephesians, 1 Peter and Mark.
Church History was in between OT and NT. It was quite a bit more difficult than last year's exam, asking specific questions about relatively minor characters. I wrote an essay on Arius which I liked and I felt at home because it was a history exam. I'm keen to read some Augustine and Athanasius as soon as I get the chance.
This afternoon a few of us will be getting together to talk Nietzsche and Heidegger. Before that I've got to finish reading an essay of Heidegger's on the tree of philosophy growing from the soil of Being with its trunk of metaphysics and branches which are the sciences. Good times.
Old Testament was a pretty kind exam. I managed to get my five essays written quickly enough and my hand was not permanently crippled.
New Testament however was brutal. Last year's exam was straight-forward enough but this year's was a swing in the opposite direction. You could hear the intake of breath around the room as people looked through the questions. Studying for the exam was excellent though, getting into Ephesians, 1 Peter and Mark.
Church History was in between OT and NT. It was quite a bit more difficult than last year's exam, asking specific questions about relatively minor characters. I wrote an essay on Arius which I liked and I felt at home because it was a history exam. I'm keen to read some Augustine and Athanasius as soon as I get the chance.
This afternoon a few of us will be getting together to talk Nietzsche and Heidegger. Before that I've got to finish reading an essay of Heidegger's on the tree of philosophy growing from the soil of Being with its trunk of metaphysics and branches which are the sciences. Good times.
SPAM SPAM SPAM SPAM and SPAM
Spam Vegetable Strudel - Bake 20 minutes or until golden, serve with soy sauce
Spam Fajhitas
Creamy Spam Brocoli Casserole
Spam Hashbrown Bake
Spam Primavera - Toss with linguini, serve immediately
Ginger Spam Salad - serves 1, refrigerate overnight
Spam Imperial Tortilla Sandwiches - to serve, cut each roll in half
Spam Swiss Pie - bake 40-45mins or until eggs are set
Does anyone else check their gmail spam box for recipe ads? Gosh, as if spam quiche wasn't bad enough! I think the Strudel is the worst. It just doesn't compute - surely strudel is fruity, sprinkled with sugar and served with cream, not slathered in spam, studded with vegetables and served with soy sauce.
Spam Fajhitas
Creamy Spam Brocoli Casserole
Spam Hashbrown Bake
Spam Primavera - Toss with linguini, serve immediately
Ginger Spam Salad - serves 1, refrigerate overnight
Spam Imperial Tortilla Sandwiches - to serve, cut each roll in half
Spam Swiss Pie - bake 40-45mins or until eggs are set
Does anyone else check their gmail spam box for recipe ads? Gosh, as if spam quiche wasn't bad enough! I think the Strudel is the worst. It just doesn't compute - surely strudel is fruity, sprinkled with sugar and served with cream, not slathered in spam, studded with vegetables and served with soy sauce.
I had a really nice birthday on friday, despite having an exam in the afternoon. Nick woke me up very early by bringing in my present so I could unwrap it as I woke up. It was the prefect present - the Jamie at Home Cookbook. I've had a really good look through it and it is awesome! (except it makes me really wish we had a garden).
After the exam (Church History - did not go well, may have to sit the supp in Jan) I went out for coffee and cake with the girls. We had lots of cake and Iced Chai Lattes (which were pretty incredible) . Then after that I had decided to use my birthday present from Mel to go out for Japanese dinner.
We went to the little Japanese place near us (which is actually really good and reasonably priced and very friendly) . It was sooooo good (and nice not to have to cook on my birthday). We returned home with some Sangria and a chocolate truffle and were just able to see the last of the firworks from Darling Harbour.
After the exam (Church History - did not go well, may have to sit the supp in Jan) I went out for coffee and cake with the girls. We had lots of cake and Iced Chai Lattes (which were pretty incredible) . Then after that I had decided to use my birthday present from Mel to go out for Japanese dinner.
We went to the little Japanese place near us (which is actually really good and reasonably priced and very friendly) . It was sooooo good (and nice not to have to cook on my birthday). We returned home with some Sangria and a chocolate truffle and were just able to see the last of the firworks from Darling Harbour.
Smileys are like sugar on your breakfast
You use them to sweeten up your communication and soon one plain old smiley isn't enough. Then it's a smiley and an exclamation mark, then who knows? Before you know it, you're stuck in Comic Sans.
I realised today than I've become a smiley addict. I don't know if I can give it up cold turkey... but I'm definitely thinking of cutting back. Writing should be able to convey friendliness without abusing punctuation.
I realised today than I've become a smiley addict. I don't know if I can give it up cold turkey... but I'm definitely thinking of cutting back. Writing should be able to convey friendliness without abusing punctuation.
I Want Out
It's not the heat, the fumes, the dirt, the lack of greenery or the crazy busyness. It's not the study, or the small apartment or the constant need to wear sunscreen. Nor is it the mozzies at night, the lack of a garden or even missing all my friends and family back home.
I have finally cracked and it is because of the noise.
I know there are building sites in Tasmania too. I know they have jackhammers and circular saws and diggers and drills in Tasmania. But they weren't bloody next door to us making noise every day from 7am for a year!
*deep breath*
Ok, so I can probably last for a few more weeks. But today I am at home, studying for my Church History exam tomorrow and they are digging up the foundations of the second major building site next door to us (they've nearly finished on the big one behind us which they've been working at all year, only to start on one next door which looks to be an even bigger project). After I've had lunch I think I'll take my books and go study somewhere else. Perhaps in the lovely courtyard cafe of the nice looking but slightly gender-bending bookshop.
I have finally cracked and it is because of the noise.
I know there are building sites in Tasmania too. I know they have jackhammers and circular saws and diggers and drills in Tasmania. But they weren't bloody next door to us making noise every day from 7am for a year!
*deep breath*
Ok, so I can probably last for a few more weeks. But today I am at home, studying for my Church History exam tomorrow and they are digging up the foundations of the second major building site next door to us (they've nearly finished on the big one behind us which they've been working at all year, only to start on one next door which looks to be an even bigger project). After I've had lunch I think I'll take my books and go study somewhere else. Perhaps in the lovely courtyard cafe of the nice looking but slightly gender-bending bookshop.
Spam Quiche
No, not actually. But spending several hours of study time cleaning up our landing as well as two levels of a dirty old communal laundry because of the flood my washing machine caused... is about as appealing. "God I asked you to help me study and not procrastinate today - learning about patience was last week!!!!" ;)
I can hear fireworks, so it must be summer.
We have an exam tomorrow - Old Testament. It's a bit of a big one - 5 essays in 3 hours, worth 65% of our total mark. It's a bit hard not to stress about that one (and the ones to come).
Anyway, enough blogging - back to studying.
We have an exam tomorrow - Old Testament. It's a bit of a big one - 5 essays in 3 hours, worth 65% of our total mark. It's a bit hard not to stress about that one (and the ones to come).
Anyway, enough blogging - back to studying.
Baby Names Challenge
It all started when we heard about the baby girl twins, Brucine and Kevinette. Yes, they do exist for real. And yes, they are from Tasmania (bows head in shame)! It was fueled by all the strange bogan names I used to come across when I was working at Aurora. It was given further inspiration by those mashed up couple names like Bennifer and Brangelina.
More recently, we picked up our little project again when we were watching the Nigella Bites DVD and Nigella happened to mention that her sister was called Thomasina. And I guess ultimately it has it's roots in history. Afterall, where did Edwina, Victoria, Drusilla and Tomasina, come from!
Our little multi-purpose baby names project has come up with a few good ones:
Timifer
Barryanne*
Tobyhanna
Gosh, I can't remember all the other ones. There were more. Generally thought up and giggled over while were were falling asleep or during long car trips. They're like puns, once someone comes up with one you spend the next few hours only half listening to the conversation while you rack your brains for one to trump it.
So, here's the challenge: What's your best multi-gender baby name?
No Eric/Erica, Joe/Jo, Jean/Gene or the more recently fashionable ones like Casey, Jesse etc.
*In a tribute to mid-day tv, this one could be spelled Barri-Anne.
More recently, we picked up our little project again when we were watching the Nigella Bites DVD and Nigella happened to mention that her sister was called Thomasina. And I guess ultimately it has it's roots in history. Afterall, where did Edwina, Victoria, Drusilla and Tomasina, come from!
Our little multi-purpose baby names project has come up with a few good ones:
Timifer
Barryanne*
Tobyhanna
Gosh, I can't remember all the other ones. There were more. Generally thought up and giggled over while were were falling asleep or during long car trips. They're like puns, once someone comes up with one you spend the next few hours only half listening to the conversation while you rack your brains for one to trump it.
So, here's the challenge: What's your best multi-gender baby name?
No Eric/Erica, Joe/Jo, Jean/Gene or the more recently fashionable ones like Casey, Jesse etc.
*In a tribute to mid-day tv, this one could be spelled Barri-Anne.
2007: The Year of the Eggplant
Well, we may not have grown our hair long and discovered the avocado... but we have learned greek and discovered the eggplant. 2007 really has been the year of the eggplant. Tonight we had kolokithokeftedes - yeah, I know it's just a fancy name for fetta and zucchini patties. But there was grilled eggplant, there were marinated baby mushrooms and of course, garlic bread.
Why of course? Weeeell, Nick has a new found obsession for garlic bread. It is pretty good actually. I think homebrand have changed their supplier. If he could, Nick would spend our entire week's shopping budget on garlic bread. Yes, indeed!
My favourite part of this year?
Marty, the college cat. He might look uncomfortable, but he's actually snuggling. When I pick him up now he relaxes and snuggles onto my shoulder. He belongs to some 4th years though, so he won't be around at college next year.
Actually, neither will I. I realised today when I was talking to Mike and Nikki on the phone that I hadn't really told many people that I won't be studying next year. I had been thinking about it, but decided that it's best for both of us if I'm more free to look after us. Plus, I'm just looking forward to being a housewife, being able to support Nick more in second year (a notoriously difficult year at college) and not being so stressed. I think the crunch came a few months ago when I had really bad bronchitis, Nick had come home from college stressed and exhausted and neither of was in any fit state do anything! I realised that it was not a question of whether I could or should study next year but rather what was best for us.
So that means that in a few weeks time I'll be looking for work (and hopefully having a bit of a rest!). Next year I'll try to get some part time work, just enough to make ends meet and allow me to focus on what I really want to do.
Why of course? Weeeell, Nick has a new found obsession for garlic bread. It is pretty good actually. I think homebrand have changed their supplier. If he could, Nick would spend our entire week's shopping budget on garlic bread. Yes, indeed!
My favourite part of this year?
Marty, the college cat. He might look uncomfortable, but he's actually snuggling. When I pick him up now he relaxes and snuggles onto my shoulder. He belongs to some 4th years though, so he won't be around at college next year.
Actually, neither will I. I realised today when I was talking to Mike and Nikki on the phone that I hadn't really told many people that I won't be studying next year. I had been thinking about it, but decided that it's best for both of us if I'm more free to look after us. Plus, I'm just looking forward to being a housewife, being able to support Nick more in second year (a notoriously difficult year at college) and not being so stressed. I think the crunch came a few months ago when I had really bad bronchitis, Nick had come home from college stressed and exhausted and neither of was in any fit state do anything! I realised that it was not a question of whether I could or should study next year but rather what was best for us.
So that means that in a few weeks time I'll be looking for work (and hopefully having a bit of a rest!). Next year I'll try to get some part time work, just enough to make ends meet and allow me to focus on what I really want to do.
This week is swot-vac (or stu-vac as our New South Welsh friends argue). After a very slow start today, I'm... still um, 'yet to begin'. Nick has been working very hard all day at college. Although, at least a little bit of that has been hard work on his ping pong skills. All the cool kids call it 'pong actually ;)
Not really any news to report, am just avoiding studying! It's deliciously cold today though. Will be cool all week - which is refreshing!
Lately we've been thinking through lots of things and have had the energy to have those great creative conversations. I guess one of the things that we've really benefited from this year (even though we haven't liked it all the time) is the exposure to different ways of doing things, different ways of expressing stuff etc. Even if you do end up defining your thoughts against what you come across, it is still helpful.
Nick's been reading a biography of Welsh preacher Martyn Lloyd Jones (I've been hearing all about it :) and we've been reading a bit of James Joyce at night, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This is so nerdy I'm not sure if I should blog it, but in the spirit of making our greek something we can practically use, we've been doing short devotions from 1 John in greek together every few days after dinner.
Not really any news to report, am just avoiding studying! It's deliciously cold today though. Will be cool all week - which is refreshing!
Lately we've been thinking through lots of things and have had the energy to have those great creative conversations. I guess one of the things that we've really benefited from this year (even though we haven't liked it all the time) is the exposure to different ways of doing things, different ways of expressing stuff etc. Even if you do end up defining your thoughts against what you come across, it is still helpful.
Nick's been reading a biography of Welsh preacher Martyn Lloyd Jones (I've been hearing all about it :) and we've been reading a bit of James Joyce at night, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. This is so nerdy I'm not sure if I should blog it, but in the spirit of making our greek something we can practically use, we've been doing short devotions from 1 John in greek together every few days after dinner.
