This is the photo of the orangutan that ning was talking about...its so sad. (Ning: Andy just came over and gave me some chocolate...He knocked on five houses b4 finding mine..)

ok, ive decided its about time for another entry.

My life is busy now. I thought it was before, but that was nothing...now im working i seem to appreciate my down time more and appreciate early rising less... For those who dont know im working in an office on St George's tce...its called CGU House i think, and im on the 7th floor. If you actually make it to the 7th floor (very dodgy lifts), a sea of partitions and the top third of peoples heads will open before you. I dont actually have a desk yet, its more two other peoples' end bits but it's where i sit for now. I have a computer...no tissue box or bin yet but im assured they can be arranged. Work is ok, i get really tired after lunch and need a big milo/sugar (deserves a mention cos there's so much of it)/coffee drink to wake me up. Im determined not to become fat and lazy...so im going to join the gym and go in my lunch break. Work will pay for it so long as i go 8 times a month which could be a challenge. Im learning heaps...mostly all i do is read at the moment as im not allowed near anything i could break.

I guess its what i expected an office job to be...i swore i'd never be a faceless man in a suit joining the countless others identical to you on the sidewalk on the way to sit at a desk all day. Now that i find myself doing just that.. its pretty hard. What makes it easier is being pretty sure that i am where God wants me to be.

There is such a big gap between rich and poor...but i think some people make it bigger than it is. Usually the rich, desperate to disassociate themselves. Everyday on the way back from work i walk past these homeless people out the back of a church. Just sitting on the benches, they look at the people streaming past...as many of the people streaming past do their best to ignore them. I dont want to reach a point where i think im any better than the people i walk past every day.

I've got heaps of other stuff on at the moment, and after most of its done im gonna really have to cut down on what i take on. And its really hard not seeing Ning as much as i'd like to now we're both working. *sigh...*

All will be well.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2006 is here.

Spent new years eve in Pinjarra at Uncle Rephael's house (i think thats how it was spelt on his name tag, really great guy) for the monthly get together for praise and worship of the almighty God. Got down there about 2 or so, and after saying hi to the goat we went inside. It was a really good time, though my shoulder got so sore from being asked to play drums for bout 4 hrs... had dinner then left at about 9:30. Had a bit of a drama with the car that Tabs borrowed from work not being able to make it up a sleep slope on the way out of the property. Fortunately there were some strapping lads (+tabs) around who helped push it back up..there was no room on the back of the car..so i gave.. um. moral support... I still managed to slip over though on the way back to the car..arrrr so unco. So, moving on, we got back at about 10:20 and ate pavlova (thanks glenna!) and assorted other sweet things (except for daniels black pancakes) until 12 in which we opened up the 3 sparklers left in the packet and ran around the pool in a baton relay strangely reminiscent of the cape naturaliste carpark fiasco a few weeks earlier. The highlight of the evening came when the following events occurred as we were all in the early stages of 2006, standing outside:

• Ning came out of nowehere and lunged at Glenna in a desperate attempt to push her into the pool fully clothed
• At that exact moment i was in the process of giving Glenna a congratulatory new years handshake
• Glenna spun around falling backwards into the pool
• I still had her hand
• Glenna ended up half way into the pool before i pulled her out (ignoring ning who was saying 'let her go!)
• An enraged Glenna, now wet from the waist down, tried valiantly to return the favour to ning who ran screaming and got away
• Glenna, now desperate for someone else to share her uncomfortableness, turned to the only other real target in the vicinity, Tabs.
• They struggled, teetering on the edge of the pool for what seemed like..well..seconds
• Again Ning came out of nowhere (maybe from behind me...not sure) and pushed them both in the pool while laughing in that deep wha-ha-ha... like baddies do in super hero movies
•  They really stood no chance and so both of them went into the pool, this time all the way for Glenna.
• They dragged themselves out and without a word spoken between them went straight for Ning, who i think new what was coming (she put her camera down earlier)
• They all went for a swim.
• We all went inside and looked peered out at them through the open door
• They started singing to keep warm...

They got changed then we played a game of articulate until around 1. We lost but it was still fun :P

A good start to 2006

Life has been going along quite steadily, and to be honest, most of the time its felt like im getting swept along for the ride while still trying to convince myself it really is in God's hands. There are little signs here and there that it is, and that makes me smile.

Here's a rundown of whats been happening in the last few, well weeks i guess.

- Finished all my core units for my degree (still gotta go back for a semester to do two electives)

- Went on a training course at the vines (really nice beds) but no job came from it as yet, they are looking around for me which is really nice..no guarantees though. It was worth it because i got to play with a paintball gun,  soo much fun! On the downside, i did miss noobie a lot, and that was only two days being away...sigh..

It only got worse the week after due to a meticulously planned camping trip with a couple of close riends taking me away from ning for even longer this time....4 days!!!! how i managed is a mystery to me to this day... well, we did all the wonderful things people do when they are camping, one to one with nature......we sat around the campfire with marshmallows (fire restrictions meant fires for only two of the four nights, and we forgot to get marshmallows).....we caught many a trout in the crystal clear waters (went fishing for hours and hours on end, early early morning, late into the evening - not a single bite, not a single fishy, little child we met caught fish...we caught no fish. Barry the yabby doesnt really count because he's not a fish... sorry to Barry's family, i realise he went for the worm because u guys hadnt eaten in a long time. I was against it......we also ate relatively well (we fought over what the flies left us..man there's some big flies out there!) ok, but on a more serious note, it was a really good time to talk to my friends about the Lord. It didnt happen as much as i had hoped but it did happen, and for that im thankful. I dont want there to be any hardship (like no fish...boo hoo) that stops me from wanting to try to show them His love.

So came back from camping on friday the...16th i think it was, then went away again to dunsborough on the 20th to the 24th with ppl from church. There were 7 of us (then 6 as Rowan left on thursday for worship practice) and it was a really good time. We did the winery tours (dont really like wine, but met Ben the dog, he was nice) and went to the cheese factorial where we bought some delicious rasberry yoghurt at what we thought was a really cheap price (not as cheap as the supermarket, we later found but really good anyway!) Watched the sunset go down over sugerloaf rock on cape naturaliste, then ran around the parking lot with sparklers doing slow motion chariots of fire style baton relays..good times, went to the beach on saturday (the day we were leaving had the nicest weather we'd seen all week) a beautiful place called *insert name cos davy forgetted* and went snorkelling..Ning found a dead fish that apparently attacked/touched her... hmm none of us can verify this though.. Our other hours were spent playing fifa06 on the xbox, playing the game of life (how can i be a doctor getting $30,000 per year when a ning the teacher can get $80,000 :0) hehehe, i wasnt very good at that game... although i did discover a new planet   Played card games and other assorted things, sat outside and talked, ate reallllly well (steak and chicken and pasta and steak and chocolate (fondueeee!!!). So yeah, really good time, very nice bed, very nice people.

Came back Christmas eve at around 4pm. Went to Satay and Carols that night with Nings family and friends. They put me on the spot to sing a carol/tell a story/dance a jig and i politely declined til next year...hmm now i gotta think of something!! Very enjoyable, really felt like Christmas, its funny how carols can do that. Our mostly out of tune voices rang high out into the nieghbours backyards, singing praise to Jesus!

Christmas itself was a busy busy affair. Went to church in the morning, and for the first time EVER, got there at 8:40 and harldy anyone was there...there were sooooo many chairs to choose from!!!! the service was great, after it we went back for a big lunch with a Kenyan family and a Polish family and we ate and played a crazy game of scattegories...for example, excuses for being late starting with 'M' my massive mother made me miss my bus...for 7 points! ok not quite that bad but almost. Mum tried to make us eat again later on but noone was really up for it. We sat around and talked until 8 or so then took the kenyans on a bit of a tour of perth (kings park, bell tower...thats it really before taking them all home. Came home and finished opening presents before crashing.

Thats all for now, my sister just woke up and needs the phone.

Take care everyone, hope you all had a great Christmas

David

"August since my last entry...? NOOOOOOOO cannot be..." - David (1984- )

Hi everyone, i gotta question my sanity in neglecting to update this when im quite free and dont have much on, yet on what feels like the busiest week ive had for ages...im updating. *nerd talk start here* I've spent the last few days trying to install .NET so i can do my VB assignment at home but the cd's were dodgy and so im up to ripping the iso's and putting them in the same directory to install multiple cd's...i think it'll work, havent tried it yet tho..I've kept trying because i dont want to have to go into uni every day just to do an assignment. I cant concentrate in those labs...people get so so excited (the brand new super fast cooling fan for their computer, the hushed whispers and excited giggles when what appears to be a 'girl' enters the lab, heated arguments for and against linux versions while unanimously muttering threats against microsoft, the whoop of joy when someone finds out they overclocked their graphics card a few Mhz more than their arch rival)...sigh.. this is why i need either an mp3 player or this program working at home... i actually found an ipod in the labs (20GB sweeet) and secretly hoped no-one would claim it so i could get it...but i guess someone did. Which im glad for.

Something else occupying my mind has been the pretty rapid decline in my grandad's health. He has been moved to palliative care at Hollywood hospital and is expected to pass away in the next few days. Its really sad, he has always been there for me and even in his hospital bed he told me that if there was anything he could do for me..to just ask him. I cant help but be overjoyed that he has recently professed his faith in Jesus. Last sunday we gathered around him and prayed for him. It was an amazingly uplifting time. My Grandad said he had never felt so at peace in his spirit. I know i will see him again.

love ya gramps...