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Gee whiz...

I haven't blogged for ages, so to all my fans, I'm sorry. Things have been rather hectic and there have been lots of things going on in my life. Uni, piano students, various other things...those who me will know what and who I'm talking about.:)

I'm getting quite tired and crashed today, was almost late for church due to my arvo nap. But at least I wasn't too tired for church tonight. Mat preached on John 12 and it was encouraging to be told that the cross tells us who God's people are; God's people are identified by the Cross.

Stuart our youth pastor is leaving in a couple of weeks, he has been an excellent YP for us over the last 3 years. May we continue to build on what you have shown us in your 3 years here.

Could be out of a job soon but that's another story, I'll update you all on that when that happens.

But it's always good to remember that there are always people worse off in the world and it is loving to be praying for them and not be self-piteous because things happen for a reason. God has his purposes and we can learn and are to learn from the situations that He places us in. I have realised that this year and the people He has surrounded me with this year have been instrumental in that.

If you're one of them, I want you to know that I have been really encouraged and feel very blessed that the Lord has placed you in my path to help me in my journey. May you help keep me on the straight and narrow and enter through the narrow gate. Thank you for praying for me and being there for me, particularly during the difficult weeks in April (see blog for April).

*Sigh*

Well, I could be facetious and say I don't blog much anymore because no one comments on it but that's ok...that's not the real reason.

I'm just too tired to blog much anymore.

Because most of my life revolves around uni - if you want to read stuff about uni, you can go to Jeff's blog at http://jelification.blogspot.com

In short, I'm tired. I had an ingrown toe nail operation today as well...that was pretty painful...3 local anaesthetic needles (woohoo!)

Anyhow...CIL Steamboat evangelistic was nice - my photos turned out badly though (too much f-stop)...

Melbourne, Adelaide, MYC and Uni

I haven't blogged for ages. I've had better things to do quite frankly :P

Melbourne and Adelaide was great - if a little cold and wet and windy. I flew Qantas (QF in IATA speak) on Thursday 7 July and "enjoyed" a roast chicken panini and Multi-V juice. Now I'm one of those who actually enjoys airline food, but QF has descended to another low with this thing. The roast chicken and stuffing occupied about 60% of the surface area of the roll. The lettuce covered the rest. It was reasonable tasting but gone are the days of two course hot lunches on Melbourne flights. I'm not complaining though, for $66 total airfare and 1000 frequent flyer (FF) points to boot.

Arrived in Melbourne, and it was a weird feeling going to the place and doing the same things I was doing the day before mum died. Same bus, same destination, it was difficult. Thanks to my support crew who kept me in their prayers. Good way to exorcise demons, figuratively; realistically it was a good way to allay the fears I've had - I was scared of flying since my last flight was so awful, I was scared of a lot of things.

Went to my accomodation, thanks Liz for the accomodation - cheap as chips in East Melbourne. Had Fox Footy (woohoo!) - went to The Cat Empire at the Prince of Wales in St Kilda that night. They were fantastic, support band was awful though (Symbiosis they were called...avoid unless you like over played music that's so loud that your ears are shot before you listen to the main act. Cat Empire live are better than on record, there's something visceral about their performing style.

Went to Carlton training on Friday arvo - thanks to Brendan Fevola and Andrew Walker for taking pictures with me, I'll publish those at a later date.

Lygon St for Italian on Friday night - at the Cafe Corrente....i'm still full from it, particularly the Italian Hot Chocolate at Brunetti's.

Met Ros and Al at Spencer St on Saturday morning. Walked about Queen Vic market - and went to Cafe Corrente and Brunetti's AGAIN (I'm addicted can't you tell??). Michael W Smith was fantastic at night.

Went to the footy on Sunday, Carlton got smashed by St Kilda (woohoo - draft picks!) but I managed to score Medallion Club tickets from my cousin (thanks Adrian) at Telstra Dome.

Adelaide was non-descript - except spending a day with Mecka, my Tanzanian pastor friend, that was great, and an evening with Tim and Gill Haslam, who were in Musoma while I was in Africa.

MYC was great...read Jeff's blog on http://jelification.blogspot.com for a run down of the talks.

And Uni's started....erk

One of the great icons in the world. The Sydney Opera House in its evening glory. It's possibly a more beautiful building at night than during the day, though it might be because I go there at night usually to watch the Sydney Symphony. This was taken with my toy zoom (the affectionate name for my 28-100mm G lens) set at 90mm at 30 seconds exposure at f8. Taken from the same location as the previous one with the two sandstone rocks. 

The 5th location for my "expedition" was just under the Harbour Bridge. If you look carefully at the bottom left and right you will see two pieces of sandstone. They are in focus and made by my 24mm f2.8D lens (thanks to Denise for courier-ing this back for me from HK). 

The 3rd location for my film shoot was Observatory Hill but those ones didn't quite turn out because there was low cloud. This 4th location was on Walsh Bay and is an attempt to capture the lights of North Sydney. Notice the Harbour Bridge curling towards the focal point of the picture just left of Luna Park (that big bright yellow light in the middle of the picture). Taken with 24mm f2.8D on its side. 

Word of warning re: Harbour pics

Just a word of warning. Since they were posted by Picasa they are not as sharp as they could otherwise be, they may be better viewed by saving them onto your computer and then viewing at 50% or 100% using Picture Viewer in MS Explorer.

Yes, I did mention I like photos didn't I?

One of the world's great sights in all its night glory. Sorry about the left pylon being brighter than the right; that's because there was extra lighting on the left pylon for the sake of the unions, who had paid for (I assume) advertising space to spread recognition for their battle against the Howard government's proposed Industrial Relations reforms.

Being able to take such a picture really makes you marvel at the natural beauty of the harbour that God has bestowed so graciously to us.

As I said...I like photos...

Photography is my new hobby.

Thanks to Ben and Pete for sharing a great night with me on the harbour. All photos except the ones of the Opera House were taken with a 24mm f2.8D lens mounted on my Nikon F80 camera. They all have different f-stops and shutter exposure times. The one of the Opera House was taken with a 28-100mm f3.5-5.6G zoom set at 90mm. Ask me if you want to know where I shot them from exactly.

There is something addictive about this "sport" and I just want to get better. I still have a long way to go of course, but I realised that Sydney is extremely photogenic and I think even more so at night.

In this picture, note the handrail which runs right along towards the central focal point of the picture. This was taken with a 24mm lens on its side. The Opera Bar is below and forms a secondary focal point. Note the line that runs towards the focal point between the umbrellas.

Weddings, Photos etc.

I like weddings. And I like photos.

My cousin Cedric was married on Saturday and it was great. Firmly Christ-centred ceremony, great music and ample photo taking opps.

I wish you all the best in your future life with Jenni, Cedos, and may God bless your marriage.

Over!

Title refers to Grad Law Year 2 Sem 1. After a pretty difficult few months, this semester is over. It's tough, so if you want to do grad law, don't say I didn't warn you.

Prop was an awful exam...Lit...yeah...

Good to have steak after Lit, very good! Gelatissimo was better!

Idea of North was great on Wednesday night...now, Man in the Mirror, I know it isn't politically correct, but how applicable to the writer of that song...I was glad they finished with Isn't She lovely - great song, even if Nick lost it at the end of the song attempting to play the trumpet hehe :) Thanks to those who came, made my night so much nicer!

Off on holidays soon, but will try to read The Cross of Christ before MYC.

The Eulogy

It took a little while to finally get this done but hopefully this will serve as a lasting tribute to Mum.

Mum

First of all, I’d like to thank Dad for his thoughts and reflections, particularly before I was born – to know that I was almost not born brings a certain perspective onto my life.

I remember my mum saying to me many times as a kid “Cha gee deen lah!” – that’s Chinese for “check the dictionary!”. So to make sure that I understood what a eulogy was I checked my Oxford pocket dictionary.

Eulogy – “speech, writing, in praise of someone”. It was hard writing this eulogy, that is pure understatement – but I am talking about and praising my mum, and that was not hard because she was a woman who had so many praiseworthy qualities.

I have many fond memories of mum and to share all of them would be quite time consuming – and I’m sure my dad and I will relate them all to you some other time. However, I thought I would tell a few of them just to point out the amazing qualities she had and for which I am deeply indebted today.

My mother always had a deep love for music. She used to tell me that the only reason I ended up being musical was because she listened to the records in my dad’s collection while I was in her tummy; scientific evidence is neither here nor there but my mum’s constant encouragement, sitting down at the piano while I practised, despite not being able to read a note of music still guides my musical philosophy today. She was ruthless; if she heard anything that was not quite perfect, there would be her voice saying “Clem - was that right?” She wanted perfection from me, because she knew I was gifted and I sometimes disappointed her in later years by not practising as diligently as I should have. For my musical development, I have so, so much to thank my mother for, for taking me with dad to music lessons, for sacrificing time and energy to help me practise, for taking me to competitions and being a constant encouragement if I played badly.

Mum did all sorts of things for me – I am forever grateful for what she did. Time only suffices for me to give a few examples. She used to carry my cello several times a week for 2 years from Sydney Grammar Edgecliff Prep School back home to Oatley when I was a little boy, taking the train every afternoon, she used to make my lunch everyday at school, she used to always worry about me when I went out, made sure I had enough money to get home in an emergency. This didn’t stop when I became an adult. A couple of years ago on a shift with World Vision, I stupidly left the cash tin key at home, as such I couldn’t actually function – a hurried phone call and mum went from home to Westfield Miranda on the train to bring it to me. She always looked after me if I was sick or if my dad was sick; hot water bottles, calls to gargle salt water, drink flat lemonade, go to bed early and insisting I did things right, not just my music but my life. She always used to call me “Ah Jai!” – which in English means “Son!” or “Look son!” – once we were in Hong Kong and she went “Ah Jai!” and I said “mum, I’m here but you called so loud, I would have heard you if I was anywhere in Hong Kong!”. Such was her care for me and her devotion to doing the utmost to see me grow up.

On the subject of perfection, many of you will have seen my mother being an absolute stickler for getting things right. This pervaded her everyday life as well – her dishes when she really put effort in to cook something had to be right, vegies had to be washed very, very cleanly, the house had to be spotless, things had to be just right for guests when they arrived at our house.

She became very ill about 9 years ago. As my dad has mentioned, my mum had had a long history of medical problems since she was a kid. This affected her badly for a few years to the extent, that she once said to me that she hoped to live long enough for me to graduate from uni. And she saw me do that, even if it was just an Arts degree from Sydney Uni albeit with Honours. That was a very special day for her and for me as well, because memories came flooding back.

She came to know Christ through her illness and no doubt this was a watershed period in her life. Previously, death held great fear and uncertainty; with her future assured in Christ, she was full of peace, hope and joy. I immediately sensed a great peace and joy in mum that sometimes I had not found before, she had generally been pretty serious with me, and you probably see a lot of mum in myself; that bit anyway - on my off days, I’m terribly serious, just like mum was. And because she was ill, she wanted those closest to her to know about her great hope and the great God who provides that hope. My dad told me that the time when our family all knew Christ was the day that her life felt complete. And the great hope of resurrection that Christ brought to this world 2000 years ago carries us forward today. My father and I are greatly indebted to those who have stressed the faithfulness and love of God particularly shown by providing the great hope of resurrection.

And that sums mum’s last few years up. My mum was an extremely hard-working and driven woman. What drove her on even amidst suffering? The answer is simple. The Lord Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for her and the rest of humanity and the hope of resurrection. Her life was devoted to our family and to serving the Lord and seeing Him made known to others. As I came to mature in my faith, spurred on by the great example my mother was, I think I finally realised what a great woman God had created her to be, a woman who had a real servant heart, a passion for the lost, a passion for those in the church. It was so easy to take her for granted, but I know that she never took me for granted. To her, after she became a Christian, she knew I was, to her, a precious gift from God. And friends, I hope that if I even follow her example in some small proportion, I will be a much better person 1000 times over.

One of my mother’s great virtues was her ability to forgive. I’ve lost count of how many times when her and I had arguments that I was extremely disrespectful and hurtful to her and reflecting on things that I said to her throughout my childhood, my teenage years and even in the last few months – I regret what I said straight away because deep down I knew my mum had meant it all as good for me. I wish I could take it all back, I really do. But as my dad told me a few days ago, mum forgave you, because Jesus had forgiven her.

In some ways, I sometimes thought of myself as doing the things that mum had always wanted to do but never got the opportunity to do. She always wanted to learn a musical instrument; she had wanted to study law. So for her to see me grow and go into these disciplines from my dad told me and her friends have told me, made her very proud of me. My great prayer is that I would not disappoint her with the life that I live in whatever I do.

As I conclude, knowing that my mum was proud of me (and that was apparent through her actions and words to those around her) as I was preparing to say goodbye to her, I tried to think about what my mum would want me to be. And so I came up with these words, at her bedside:

“Mum, I hope I turn out to be a son that you would be proud of, a son who like you followed Christ to life’s end”

My family, my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ – I urge you to keep me to that promise I made to her. Rebuke me, like mum would have, encourage me, like mum would have, support me, like mum would have, and most importantly of all, you yourselves, remain with or turn to Christ in your hearts so that you too, maybe able to see her standing with you before our great God and Father in heaven.

To my mother who is now with the Lord, freed from the suffering of this world: Thank you for what you have done for me, thank you for helping point me to the gospel, thank you for the people that you have helped, thank you for the work you have done for the Lord. I’m sure God is right this very moment saying to you “Well done, you have finished the race. Well done, good and faithful servant”. Mum - Dad and I will forever love you and forever have our lives shaped by your example. May we honour you and the Lord our God with the rest of our lives until we are reunited with you in heaven.

Thank you Mum - I will love you forever

My mum passed away on 2 April. When I deliver the Eulogy - I will post it on here.

No words can describe what I feel like now but I know that Mum is not suffering and is with her Lord.

Thinking of doing Grad Law?...

So, you're thinking, what do I do after 3 years of B(ugger) A(ll) - perhaps BA (Hons). Well, think you might want to do law?

Well, ok, but it's a rather masochistic pursuit. We thought 1st year was bad...well, 2nd year isn't much better. If not, it's worse in workload terms.

Fed Con - tough course conceptually...fun...sort of...

Litigation - hello...common sense...more litigation = more costs....

Property - interesting, it really is, but it's tough work

Law and Social Theory - the best thing about an Arts degree is the fact that you've probably done sociology...which this course is a rehash of.

Haven't had time to post much - it's called 2nd year Grad Law.

CARLTON!!!! GO BLUES!!!!

Reading

Reading is a chore.

Reading is a necessary evil.

And I have too much of it...

And who wants to read Marx??

MKC, Uni!!!??

MKC was awesome - 3000 men singing is great. Lots of funny stories, but a lot of serious reflection on the nature of work. Vaughan Roberts was fantastic.

Started uni today and I'm buggered, going to be a hard semester. Law and Social Theory - I'm going to have to get my sociology notes from Sydney Uni...might need them.

Ooh, Litigation 1, is nasty because the readings seem to go on and on...I need a nap though before I do any work...

What's a BBQ?

Played golf in the rain today...sheesh, was bucketing down....quit after playing my drive on the 8th.

I'm still slicing my driver...hit a 250m beauty straight down the opening hole today was wonderful but the rest were mostly slices.

Campus Bible Study BBQ tomorrow...I always have this feeling that I've forgotten something for some reason...I always do that...I always lock my car twice or three times, and check whether my headlights are off 2x or 3x....it's crazy...

Church was great - nice sermon Ben! Really encouraging and challenging - Romans 2:1-16. Tough first-up passage though!

Well, it had to happen...

Haven't blogged for a little while, but Valentine's Day got me back into it. Why do people always make singles feel bad when VD comes around? Like it's some kind of fun game. Commercialised rubbish really, I mean, if you love someone, every day's VD isn't it? What kind of message does that send the world? You can be romantic one day and give your other half crap for the rest of the year? Typical churlish attitudes that rule the world nowadays.

Hitting the ball terribly on the golf range - i think it's right wrist problems, it's been hurting lately. Have diagnosed my problem as being a failure to use enough bottom hand and therefore being too wristy in my swing.

Oh, the Appassionata Sonata of Beethoven.....gee, it's a hard play, but i'm getting there. Must avoid trying to play it too fast...

The Idea of North!

Woohoo! The Idea of North were back in town. Started with Man in the Mirror, ended with Stayin' Alive, which was worth the price of admission alone.

The Basement is still a groovy venue and really enjoyable. Thanks to all those who came, it was really fun!

Got their latest CD signed by the 4 of them woohoo! :)

Chai

Well, another day..closer to Jesus coming back! woohoo!

My Tanzanian pastor friend Mecka has arrived in Adelaide from Musoma - he's doing a BTh. Bwana asifiwe! (Praise God in Swahili hehe). It's going to be awesome sharing with him, looks like a few trips to Adelaide in the next few years.

Indulged in some Gloria Jeans' chai tea today...what can I say, it's the goods.

My dad's got 2 weeks off work, woohoo, and he decided to get a haircut - what hair?....oops :)

My cousin comes back from Melbourne tonight - in like an hour...she's doing dentistry...hmm...free dental care! :)

Cricket season is over....it's time for footy. Carn the Blues!!!!

Romans 1

Have you ever had an online bible study? Sounds corny, but it's actually really good. It means you can have good Christian discussion rather than talking about inane topics that dominate MSN convos (like spading and the like...).

Did Romans 1 with Leo and Denise; very encouraging. As is usual with Romans studies, we can get really bogged down in just a few verses of the book. It's really amazing. Praise God for the book of Romans. And that's only 1 chapter of 16...hmm.....

7 February 2005

Doing nothing at home...

Went to the golf range at Barden Ridge - half price balls 10-12 Monday to Friday - hit 165 balls (1 x 100 and 1 x 65) - only cost $10...

Created this website...bit rushed so I apologise in advance.

So looking forward to the Idea of North gig at The Basement on Wednesday 9 Feb. Should be AWESOME!

View from the XPT driver's cabin of the Zig Zag viaduct near Lithgow. 

Chris Middlemiss and Dave Burdon at my graduation - Chris you traitor, how could you wear a Uni Gong jumper!? 

Orange station - a bit dark, but eh well, shows recline and generous legroom of the XPT in 1st class. 

My 21st - about to start my speech, after being embarrassed by a few of my friends...particularly Leo!!! Grr.... 

Chris Lee and myself after my graduation (poor Chris has embarked on a PhD...could take a while :P) 

Me being stupid...Quad at Sydney Uni after graduation. 

My dad snapped this one of me walking down the middle of the Great Hall at Sydney Uni - again I ask, why didn't anyone fix up my hair!!??? 

Dave Moore and myself at my graduation. Why didn't anyone fix up my hair.... 

Team shot at St Luke's Kenyatta - just missing Ryan though (who was obviously taking the photo). We arrived 15 mins early - but we were actually 1 hour early (African time...). 

St Lukes Anglican Church, Kenyatta, Nairobi, Kenya. Corrugated iron roof - no better conditions than a horse stable, but that's life in Kenya. Youth leaders' seminar was good - training in godliness and communication (i.e. bible teaching - how to teach the bible properly) 

Another posed photo...but the ride back out of the park wasn't far off this - hooning along a dirt road in a leaf-spring suspension minivan at 120km/h with wildlife on the road... 

Posed shot (of course) - Serengeti National Park 

My Bunda team - from L to R (back row) - Naomi, Danielle, Helen, Merry. 

I preached in a little church in Migungani - Colossians 3:1-17. Helen Hoskins is translating into Kiswahili; she did a great job. Notice the green bucket - that was used for baptising people that day. 

On the shores of Lake Victoria. Speke Bay Resort. Speke was an Englishman who thought that Lake Victoria was the source of River Nile. He was right; this bay in Lake Vic was named after him. The resort is cheap and good (didn't stay there though). Imagine waking up to a view like this... 

Me being domesticated. Really! Merry and I had a translator (Jane) who was pregnant; baby waited until Girls' Brigade camp was over before coming out. If it was a boy, it was going to be Clement (Klementi in Swahili) or Merry (if was a girl) - it was a girl - so this is Baby Merry.

Location is self-explanatory - one of the great places on the planet. Serengeti Plain (Maasai for "endless plain") - kilometres and kilometres of open savannah grassland.  

Peter Garrett again...see the jugular..."How can we dance when our earth is turning? How do we sleep while our beds are burning?" 

One of my musical heroes (except he can't sing really, just rants and raves). Peter Garrett in full flight at Wave Aid (thanks to the SMH) 

I got a pass to get into the driver's compartment, don't worry, I didn't touch anything :D  

Orange Station - XP2000 heading the up Central West XPT Train WT27 on 5 Feb 2005.