Approaching the Pointy End

Now that Joe and Alaine are married, and housing for next year is sorted out (more on those below) in my field of view, at the moment, is little other than Hebrew. The exam is at the end of the week.

I enjoy Hebrew, but it's definitely tough. There's almost nothing from English to help you, as there is in Greek. And some letters sound basically identical... like coughing up something unpleasant. My memory-hook for the word 'to take' is that the word sounds like someone 'taking' some unpleasant medicine - that gagging, throat-clearing sound. Delightful.

On Joe and Alaine's Wedding. Heaps of you know Joe, of course; others might remember him as my school-mate, who became a Christian years ago and was at Crossroads (Hobart) for a while. The wedding was a great time. All the Tassies were accommodated on a cool 'Farmstay' property just near the reception venue. That was fantastic. The whole thing was really fun, well organised, riddled with great personal touches (like oysters), just excellent. And, of course, they're now married - which is just wonderful. (I preached at the ceremony; it went pretty well, I think).

(No photos yet, I'm afraid. Kate stayed home with Noah and the camera.)

On our home next year. Praise the Lord, we have been offered (and have now accepted) college housing for next year. We had been hoping for something in Newtown, but in the end we were offered a place in one of the other centres: Croydon. Three cool things about the Croydon college-housing-metropolis:

1. It's really family friendly. Heaps of space on the lawns. A bunch of other families live there.
2. Some of my mates live there already (guys from Queensland and Germany, for instance).
3. It may be pioneering a new path for the Taswegians up here, but it's in a cool area and we're looking forward to it heaps.

Oh yeah - and it means we won't have to compete with (quite literally) 50+ people per over-priced Newtown dive. That alone is an enormous point for thanksgiving.

Yum Cha

Thankfully, I've only been sick a couple of times so far this year. Unfortunately, today is one of those times: I'm in the clutches of some mild flu right now.

I was afraid I'd be too crook to make it to Yum Cha with the Hansard's (Unca, Auntie, Luke, Jan, and the boys). It all worked out. I guess the battered chicken feet gave me the strength to pull through :)

It was really fun (even though I felt like death): heaps of waiters bearing all manner of little dumplings in their trolleys, bottomless jamine tea, the place was really humming at 11am - that's Yum Cha! I think the craziest thing was sugar-cake. It can't have been more than sugar and gelatine - wild.

In other news bites:

• The new Radiohead album, In Rainbows, is really good. It's no The Bends or Ok, but there's lots to like about it. Worth however much you choose to pay for it.
  
• Language exams are bearing down on me. This Friday is Greek. Then two weeks later is Hebrew - that's the frightening one.
• Our good mates, Pete and Pamela, have just welcomed their firstborn, Simon, into the world. (For the interested, most of the people in the most recent post on Simon's site are my classmates - spot the Tasmanians!)
  

The New (Old) Look

New Years Eve with a few friends...
So, Kate says, "My resolution would be to get rid of those [dreadlocks]".

To which I, naturally, say, "Well then, my resolution is to keep them for the year!"

(Or was it the other way around: with Kate provoked by me? Hmmm...)

Tuesday evening (just gone) was the night of the grand chop. All 31 of the little blighters were given the chop and this shows the very last one. A great way to lose 90gms in an evening. Not much, you might say - ah, but that's when they're dry.

People keep asking why, why, why? Fair enough question, I suppose, but not one with a very succinct answer. Ask me about it sometime, if you're got a while to kill ;)

So, folks, here's your final chance. Say your farewells to this guy for the last time:

My New Year's Resolution in Tatters

A handful of you might remember my and Katie's New Year's resolutions for this year. They're not the sort of things we usually go in for; in fact, even this time, I think they were in answer to a question like, 'If you had to come up with a resolution, what would it be?'

Well, I broke mine.

And, Kate kept hers.

Any guesses for what they were? (Next post when there's a correct answer in the comments!)

Goodbye OT Essay, Hello Holidays

This arvo I finished-off my Old Testament essay. Holidays at last :) The end result is less-than-perfect, but you've got to draw the line somewhere I guess.

I read a whole bunch of stuff for my essay. One thing that stood out was a chapter from Hays' From Every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race. I'm a continually impressed by that series: it's fresh, it's rigorous, it's tight, it's biblical theology. (Köstenberger & O'Brien's Salvation to the Ends of the Earth is also proving very good).

On a very cool note, our friends Pete and Pamela recently upgraded their espresso machine and donated their old baby to us! Gosh the College community is generous. As much as we might talk about our difficulties in settling in, there is no question that you'd be hard-pressed to find a more caring bunch than we have around us here. Praise God for 'em.

In other news, our little family is planning on escaping the hum for a few days next week. We'll let you know how that goes.

Coffee & Ethics

No, this isn't a post on Rainforest Alliance v. exploitative trade regimes.

Lovell Roasters - are some boys from college who roast their own coffee (single origin and blends). Kate and I have been enjoying their wares over the last month or so. College is something of a congregating point for rather brilliant people with buckets of initiative, so it's no surprise to me to find people creating their own coffee roasting machines and such. They also offer a cut price deal for the college community. Hats-off to them.

Oliver O'Donovan - For three evenings last week I went to the New College Lectures 2007. It was entirely voluntary (they're a UNSW thing). I won't pretend to summarise what O'Donovan had to say; I'm sure I'd fail dismally! The mp3s / transcripts will be available for download from their site very soon - so check them out if you're interested.

But to give you some idea, he spoke about stuff like ideals and compromise; he explored the (biblical) metaphor of 'wakefulness' for moral reasoning; he spoke about admiring the good in this world and the significance of gratitude. I guess you could say the lectures were foundational, in the sense that they outlined the under-girding of a moral framework, but they were by-no-means simple. I'm glad I went; but I'm glad that this week I'll have the evenings at home :)

In other news: Term 3 is finished. I'm writing an essay on Israel and the other nations in the book of Deuteronomy (very interesting; should touch on stuff like genocide). And, if you haven't already seen it, you must check out the walking-video on Noah's blog.

A Window on my Miscellany

Life at college has been in something of a lull recently. Not that it's been boring, not that that there's been nothing to do - it just hasn't been hectic. So I thought I'd tell you about a few disconnected little things that have either surprised me or taken my interest or whatever.

Engage Conference - Starting this year, these smart-thinking Sydney Anglicans are running a Bible conference just for workers: Engage. What a brilliant idea! Tasmania, I think we need one :)

Deuteronomy Essay - My Old Testament essay is about the relationship between Israel (God's special, chosen people) and the nations around them, particularly in the book of Deuteronomy. It's proving a really great topic.

Hugh Palmer - I don't think I've heard better preaching while being in Sydney than I have in the last 8 days: 5 sermons by Hugh Palmer. Hugh's from All Soul's in London (John Stott's old church). His preaching reminded me heaps of David Jones' style. Some of his sermons will soon be available from the Cathedral.

Holman v ESV - (This is a total Bible-nerd comment) Ok, this was a surprise to me. I had thoroughly expected everyone up here to rave about the ESV when I first arrived. Not so. If anything, the Bible that gets the big props is the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Cheap, too (from Moore Books, anyway).