It is entirely up to me to eventually work out which are feasible, but it is now 2009 and there are, however ridiculous: resolutions or I could term them idealutions, at least that way there is leeway in sidestepping the mark.

2009 came in moderation, not with a bang. There were no fireworks, but we had sparklers, music, champagne, a marquee and a few friends. I most enjoyed the early morning introduction to ‘09. First up after a less than perfect sleep in a tent on less than flat ground, but there was an eggshell sky and sun, a silent field and moment of the same before it went to the crapper and the clouds and we got some rain.

The news continues to talk about 2008 as a non-highlight and begs hope out of the new year. I am inclined to disagree with the former statement however the word hope is a sweet one that should live on.

In a moment of introspection (aka. now) here are my highlights of the past and hopes for the present (with a few true aspirations and undoubtedly top shelf items that I won’t really reach, being short and all).

Highlights

• January 5th I married my best friend. And consequently spent the rest of the year married to him (to be continued…). It’s been interesting and fun! Needless to say, I really love being married and I really love Geoff! It’s certainly been a wildly contrasting year in regard to all previous years.
• Uni, second semester proved full of inspiring people especially in regards to tutors. I finally felt like I was pulling my weight effectively and got to try things like branding and animation. I have come to the realisation that I mightn’t fit the typical traditional stereotype of ‘graphic designer’ but can work from my interests and strengths and hopefully can levy more out of the web stuff and marry it with my ‘designish eye’.
• Frustration. It seems a weird choice to include it here, but God has increased my frustration with how I live as a Christian and how church can/could operate. It hasn’t gotten too far but there is room for movement and there needs to be room for movement. Some of this is tied up with finishing up with leading youth and being dumped in the deepend of doing nothing.
• And there are the miscellaneous things like: growing friendships with people like Beth and Bri, marvelous restaurants, some great movies  and books and some less than typical experiences – like seeing Wicked.

Un-Highlights

• A bodgy start to the uni year with some super low motivation levels in regard to particular subjects.
• Less investment in certain friendships and not because of want, but because I am a lazy and…
• Feeling so busy and unorganised

Idealutions, resolutions and hopeings

• A slower year, where priorities become priorities and the trivial things are thrown out with the bathwater
• Invested time and head space to enjoy and get the most out of uni
• To be more organised at home
• Eat better, cook nicer food – to be bothered
• Get more fit
• To continue to investigate, read more about, and live out some of the results of the aforementioned frustration
• More time for God…. listen more, write more
• Be less critical of things like traditional church and learn to love what is good and do differently instead of simply getting annoyed.
• Be a part of something that explores doing Church differently, try some things!
• To freelance for a while and to do well at it in terms of being self-disciplined and gain useful experience
• Put together a portfolio, get a design job
• More head in the blog. More faithful writing, less crap. Perhaps make something more of it.
• Release a Wordpress Theme (and yes it is in production!)
• Learn to use the Wacom properly and work on practicing drawing/illustration etc.
• Learn more about Flash
• Learn more about Illustrator
• Learn some of the little extra things about webdesign and standards that I might otherwise ignore.
• Get my head around Javascript/PHP etc..
• Continue to work on building a really good marriage and be better at loving Geoff
• Be better at maintaining and developing friendships
• Invest in things like Soul Survivor etc.
• Keep track of the money I spend
• Spend less money
• Own less, give more
• Greater confidence and willingness to try things (especially re. design)
• Days of doing different things, like taking my camera out somewhere foreign or less than usual
• Finish uni, and do well in my final year
• Righteousness and peace… Isaiah 32, Romans 14

I’ve never been very in to politics, I grapple every election to really ‘get it’ and so although interesting, I probably cannot talk very informatively on how to vote. Keep this is mind as you read. Thankfully I’m married to a man who enjoys explaining such things. The United States election should be of even less interest me. Oddly enough since I started watching the West Wing (of which I am unashamedly a huge fan) and demanding small explanations, and as the media across the world hones in on these two very different candidates it’s become increasingly intriguing.

At uni we’ve talked about how their branding strategies differ, about how they’ve chosen to represent themselves and there is of course the ridiculous amount of money that could be spent on fixing real problems rather than campaigning. Sometimes it feels a bit of a sham.

I do think the following:

It should be compulsory to vote and I’m really glad I live in a country that demands it.

The world is not black and white.

At least locally if Barack Obama doesn’t manage to hold the spot, a ton of America’s credibility will fly right out the window. I’m not sure what it is, perhaps the opportunity to make such a clear statement about the past, or perhaps it’s just that from here one candidate seems to outweigh the other so much, that the other might as well not be running. But then where would be democracy?

As I peruse the countryless internet, I’ve come across a few things related to the election that I think are interesting:

20-somethings and Obama

Why I’m a Democrat

and best still, you can go and download Derek Webb’s album Mockingbird for free, which has a very interesting spoken bonus track about voting (not endorsing either candidate). Decent CD too (I got it the first time around), interesting lyrics. If nothing else, listen to, A New Law.

Please vote.

image source

The photojournalistic dream must still be burried deep somewhere, because this is really exciting:

The Big Picture – Boston.com

It took me three and a half hours to get home tonight. It usually takes an hour.

Melbourne has been subject to some angry winds and a dirty brown sky due to the very tail end of a cyclone coming from the west and some Port Phillip Bay winds. Such bad winds that they canceled uni classes (I was in for all of half an hour). Truly it was more dangerous at Glenferrie than Prahran where I am but hey. My train was late (power issues) slightly expected, then the other train finished it’s trip far too early due to trees down – I grabbed a bus in quite good time only to have it arrive at the secondary stop to find the door of the bus was stuck. They finally opened it, but made us change busses (again I succeeded onto getting on quite an early one). This bus took me to the station before mine which meant yet another bus – also thankfully right there and with working doors.

I went inside for about two minutes and then drove back in towards the city to pick up Geoff who would’ve been even more stuck than me. So after leaving uni at 2:00pm, I officially ‘got home’ at 7:00pm. By then the power was out. So we went to the supermarket (the nearby one was closed due to no electricity). Just as we pulled in the drive, the street lights came on. We cheered.

So my day was all up pretty sucky (which is why you’re getting a whingy ‘this is what happened’ post) except that I met three new people at uni, caught up with a girl I know a little bit from last year and became reaquainted with another two.

Today I like people but not trains, busses or wind. And I’d really prefer it in future if the sky stayed a normal colour.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Today Kevin Rudd and the Parliament of Australia said sorry to the Indigenous Australians for the stolen generation.

Honestly, my understanding is limited. I do know that we touched on it during Australian History but my mind at 12 years was far more entranced with The Middle Ages.

Regardless of your position, understanding, agreement etc. I think it is an amazing demonstration of love for a people. For this I am really quite proud. Which surprises me because I am not at all patriotic.