Well here I am again sitting in the freezing cold computer labs at university killing time. It is the second day of my last semester and I am having mixed emotions about it.
Firstly because this semester consists entirely of intensive subjects, modules and group assignments which means that I will be unable to have a set routine or schedule (which I seem to need to function normally). this is evidenced by the fact that I have time to kill on my second day of university thanks to mixed up timetables!
However on the up-side I have a fair few days off and was even lucky enough to get an extra week off in the middle of semester (gives me a the perfect opportunity to do those group assignments!). Unfortunately this doesn't give me longer holidays it just breaks my semester up into 4 chunks of varying lengths and workloads and come the week AFTER a big assignment is due... oh the irony!
Secondly it is because at the end of this semester I will be a fully qualified Occupational Therapist and quite frankly the thought scares me! You see I have just come back from a year's worth of practical work and have found that, in some cases, my passion and drive to work well was just not there. I thought long and hard about this, even thinking that I may not be suitable for working as an OT. I then came to realise that this is not the case, it was just a matter of low self-esteem (having your every move watched and analysed and assessed didn't help with this), low energy levels, a bit of a negative attitude (seriously though, working full time hours for no pay and then being required to pay for all your travel and accommodation.... it kinda sucks!) and poor supervision, I was never challenged to take up the responsibility for myself as my supervisor always stepped in before I had the chance. Why didn't I say something? Well I suppose that's part of the learning process and if I were to go through the same thing now (please kill me if I do) then I would probably speak up, but at the time the only thing that is going through your mind is the fact that the outcome of the rest of the year is dependent on this person's opinion of you! So now i am sitting here contemplating the future (well at least the near future) with what can only be described as trepidation and a little bit of anxiety! Come November I will be expected to go out into the real world and know what I'm talking about. Suddenly I will have responsibility and I wont have the security blanket of a supervisor of university lecturer that can help and guide the way.
Once again though there is an element of excitement. To a certain degree I'm looking forward to the extra responsibility, to being pushed beyond my limits and being forced to step out of m comfort zone, which for the past 3.5 years has been within the grounds of the university. The opportunities and the initiative will be there for the taking and I am looking forward to seeing what I am made of! Of course the full-time pay will be nice too!
Finally I am a little bit excited about the end of this year as I have come to a little bit of a realisation... out of the girls in my family, that is my sisters and my cousins here in Townsville, I will be the first to finish my university degree before getting married! So, despite all my claims that university was only a time filler until I found a husband I am excited to finish in 12 weeks and embark on a mission that no Schwartz woman (in Australia) has been on before.... full time work as a single woman! I feel great!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Why I love Townsville
Yesterday I woke up to a crisp and fresh Townsville morning. The sky was blue and clear after the un-seasonable yet welcome rain and there was a soft breeze blowing. It was one of those mornings that tells you the rest of the day was going to be great! and it was!
After a good sermon, a successful Sunday school lesson and a free lunch a few of the guys from Willows Pressie and I decided that the day was far too nice to waste doing stuff inside. So off we went together to the Strand where coffee and frozen yogurt from Juliette's was enjoyed by all (thanks guys I will pay you back soon!). While the others walked up Castle Hill we (Gum, Phil and I) spent the rest of day at my 2 other favourite places in Townsville... Castle Hill and Queen's Gardens! (There are more favourite places but we ran out of daylight!)
To put things into perspective I have added some photos from a day where the weather was very similar... blue skies, blue oceans and good company!
Because of the clear air the view from Castle Hill was spectacular and we ended up sitting on top of the bunker for quite a while and almost lost track of time.
Eventually we decided that Gum was getting sun burnt and went for a walk in Queen's Gardens. There we chatted to the birds in giant aviary (when I first called it that Gum thought I had said it was a giant ovary!), smelling the roses and acting like complete kids on the swings. Because of my height (or lack thereof) I almost got lost in the mazes and had the crap scared out of me when Phil thought it would be funny to hide in the corner and jump out at me, if I could I would've crash tackled him for that!
After night church Scooter started playing the piano and I couldn't resist singing along. Pretty soon it turned into a jam sesh with Phil and I calling out requests and singing at the top of our voices. It almost reminded me of the family sing alongs that we used to have around the piano at home and having a tenor to sing with made it all the more enjoyable! (I miss you Dad!)
While to some this may not seem like an awfully exciting day to me it was a great way to spend a perfect Townsville winter day and one of many similar days that made me fall in love with this town in the first place. The weather, the scenery, the coffee and the people are just some of the reasons that I love this place so much and it is days like yesterday that makes the thought of ever leaving very difficult. It is no wonder that when people move to Townsville they stay!
It is hard having my family live so far away from me but every now and then I am reminded that, at least for now, this is home!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Wian and Skye's Wedding
Ok so this is almost 2 weeks too late but as you can tell, I've been lazy!
(no... this wasn't a posed kiss, what gives you that idea??)
Wian and Skye got married on the 12th of July and it was a beautiful day and not just because it was the first wedding since forever that I didn't have a job or role! They were able to do everything on a budget but when you look at the pictures you really can't tell. And everyone could see that their day wasn't about how good the church looked or if they had the best venue in town, it was truly just a day that reflected their personalities perfectly and the emphasis was where it was supposed to be, on them coming together and joining their lives under God.
Well it couldn't have been a Schwartz wedding without music and a lot of laughing and at least one person being picked on! All of this happened! Janel and my Dad both sang during the ceremony and the wedding favours at the reception was small music boxes (that drove us all insane by the end of the night!) Poor Wian was picked on all through the speeches and rightly so as he never asked Skye's dad for permission (!) and has almost succeeded in killing his best man and brother about 5 times! and of course the day could not be complete without Dad's signature "Well Wian, now Skye truly is the limit!" joke!
Of course, because I talk too much and take too many photos I am not able to load all of the photos onto this page, which is probably a good thing cos at the night wore on and as the amount of sugar and caffeine filled drinks were consumed the photos and the dancing just got scary! However I do hope you enjoy the selection of photos that I have provided.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Michael Buble Photos
Here is a small selection of pictures from the concert for you all to enjoy!
In case you were wondering, no I wasn't sitting that close I just zoomed in on the big screens that were on either side of the stage!
Sorry for those waiting to see photos of the wedding, they are comming soon!
For Marli...
Well considering that my sister has been checking my blogs and has been complaining that I haven't updated I thought I would sit down and force myself to write something.
It is a particualrly gloomy and rainy day in Townsville and a few things keep going through my mind....
It is a particualrly gloomy and rainy day in Townsville and a few things keep going through my mind....
- yay for rain!!
- It's raining in Townsville in the middle of winter, how strange!
- Crap my washing is hanging out on the line!
- Being on holidays while all your friends have full time jobs sucks!
I have just entered into my second of 3 weeks of holidays and so far I have finished the last 3 books in the Chronicles of Narnia and have made a fairly large dent in my new Francine Rivers book. I also seem to be spending an unhealthy amount of time on Facebook and have memorised the daytime television lineup... I think I need to get out more!
However I can't really say that my life has been totally uneventful in past weeks. Since my arrival back in Townsville I have....
- officailly moved out of home and am now in a very cool share house,
- been to my cousin's wedding
- gone to the Cowboys vs Broncos game and...
- become a second cousin again!
Well that is just a simple catch up and I suppose that, now that I have said all that I could simply add photos, but that requires energy and right now I want a coffee. Well that and Dr Phil is starting soon.... just kidding!
That being said I am going to put off adding photos until tomorrow simply cos it takes so long and facebook is once again calling for my attetion! So Marli, I hope you are happy, you have finally gotten through to me, and I promise that there will be photos up tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
When old friends become new friends once again
I have recently come back from a very short visit to Adelaide. While I was there I had the opportunity to catch up with a good friend from the past whom I haven't seen for almost 6 years. I walked away from the visit uplifted and encouraged.
In high school we were good friends and got along like a house on fire, but like most male-female friendship relationships in high school a lot of our friendship was based soley on the fact that we went to the same school and shared EVERY class! We both knew that the other was a Christian but the conversation never went further than that, although I do believe now that it is our shared belief that has kept us connected for the past 5 years despite living almost 3000km apart.
I have often heard my friends and parents tell stories of their old high school friends who they used to attend church or youth group with who have fallen away from the Lord or have drifted from the church. These stories always sadden me and always made me afraid that one day I would have to share the same story.
So when I caught up with Simon I was so excited to see that, not only was he still a Christian but he was a stronger Christian and more on fire for God than he was when I last saw him! For the first time on our 7-8 year friendship we talked openly about our faith with each other and shared experiences. I was so happy when he asked me things like "So what have you been learning in church lately?" because not only did it show me that he cared about my relationship with God but it also showed me that our friendship, through our shared faith, was continually growing. It showed me that unlike some of my other high school friendships, ours wasn't stuck in high school!
I am going to make a very big generalisation now, and please feel free to leave a comment and correct me if I am wrong but this is simply based on my personal experience. Of all my past high school friendships I have found that once school has finished, those friends who aren't Christians have drifted away no matter how hard I have tried to maintain the friendship. However my Christian friends have not just stuck by me all these years but have also grown with me.
I find this both encouraging and frightening at the same time.
Its encouraging because I know that God has provided me with a wonderful base of support and I will always have someone there to talk to and who in return will pray from me. I can do the same for them and in this way our friendships will only grow stronger.
Its frightening because it means that my non-Christian friends are having less and less Christian influence in their lives and as we move on and forget (which we as humans do) they have less and less people praying for them. It also makes me ask the question, why are they pulling away? Is it because they feel like they are being judged by me and my friends? Do they feel left out when I start talking about church and youth activities? are they really the ones pulling away or am I the one who is pulling away?
So I am rejoicing in the fact that my faith and God and our shared salvation through Christ has cemented and strengthened my relationships with the wonderful people in my life but I am challenged now to find another way to build and strengthen my relationship with my non-Christian friends. To find a way to make them feel like they are welcome to share in my life, to help them to see that I love them regardless of whether they come to church or not. and most importantly to share the love of God with them and pray for them so that one day they too might find the joy that I have found in being called a child of God.
I leave you with the challenge to do them same. I encourage you to pray for and strengthen your Christian friends by sharing your faith with them and allowing them to share their faith in you. But further I challenge you to hold fast to your non-Christian friends, pray for them, share your lives and your love with them, show them the love of God and take every opportunity to share the gospel with them so that one day they too may be able to be called a child of God!
In high school we were good friends and got along like a house on fire, but like most male-female friendship relationships in high school a lot of our friendship was based soley on the fact that we went to the same school and shared EVERY class! We both knew that the other was a Christian but the conversation never went further than that, although I do believe now that it is our shared belief that has kept us connected for the past 5 years despite living almost 3000km apart.
I have often heard my friends and parents tell stories of their old high school friends who they used to attend church or youth group with who have fallen away from the Lord or have drifted from the church. These stories always sadden me and always made me afraid that one day I would have to share the same story.
So when I caught up with Simon I was so excited to see that, not only was he still a Christian but he was a stronger Christian and more on fire for God than he was when I last saw him! For the first time on our 7-8 year friendship we talked openly about our faith with each other and shared experiences. I was so happy when he asked me things like "So what have you been learning in church lately?" because not only did it show me that he cared about my relationship with God but it also showed me that our friendship, through our shared faith, was continually growing. It showed me that unlike some of my other high school friendships, ours wasn't stuck in high school!
I am going to make a very big generalisation now, and please feel free to leave a comment and correct me if I am wrong but this is simply based on my personal experience. Of all my past high school friendships I have found that once school has finished, those friends who aren't Christians have drifted away no matter how hard I have tried to maintain the friendship. However my Christian friends have not just stuck by me all these years but have also grown with me.
I find this both encouraging and frightening at the same time.
Its encouraging because I know that God has provided me with a wonderful base of support and I will always have someone there to talk to and who in return will pray from me. I can do the same for them and in this way our friendships will only grow stronger.
Its frightening because it means that my non-Christian friends are having less and less Christian influence in their lives and as we move on and forget (which we as humans do) they have less and less people praying for them. It also makes me ask the question, why are they pulling away? Is it because they feel like they are being judged by me and my friends? Do they feel left out when I start talking about church and youth activities? are they really the ones pulling away or am I the one who is pulling away?
So I am rejoicing in the fact that my faith and God and our shared salvation through Christ has cemented and strengthened my relationships with the wonderful people in my life but I am challenged now to find another way to build and strengthen my relationship with my non-Christian friends. To find a way to make them feel like they are welcome to share in my life, to help them to see that I love them regardless of whether they come to church or not. and most importantly to share the love of God with them and pray for them so that one day they too might find the joy that I have found in being called a child of God.
I leave you with the challenge to do them same. I encourage you to pray for and strengthen your Christian friends by sharing your faith with them and allowing them to share their faith in you. But further I challenge you to hold fast to your non-Christian friends, pray for them, share your lives and your love with them, show them the love of God and take every opportunity to share the gospel with them so that one day they too may be able to be called a child of God!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
A real winter...
My family doesn't do things by halves. When we move we move far! For example the first move that I can remember was us moving from South Africa to Warren, NSW, Australia! After this we moved to south east South Australia and I am now semi-settled in Townsville North Queensland.
This means that I have experienced almost all the different climate zones and come across some of the extremes that Australian weather has to offer.
Our biggest inter-state move was from the southern tip of Australia (Naracoorte, SA) to the northern tip (Townsville, QLD)! This does not only involve an approximate 4 day drive (which we did in 3 weeks instead) but it meant shifting from an area that had roughly 9 months of winter a year to a place that only has about 1 week of winter a year!
In Naracoorte, SA I spent many cold blustery nights on the couch or on my bean bag in front of the fire listening to the pounding rain on our old tin roof (I preferred this to watching the AFL). Not surprisingly, this is what I miss the most about the southern areas of Australia. Especially when I am sitting in the sun in Townsville when it is 35 degrees outside with over 80% humidity! So in my first year in Townsville I would often laugh at my friends when they started pulling on their jumpers as soon as the temperature dropped below 25 degrees, so you can imagine my shame when I did the same the following year!! However, I still remain strong on my opinion that a Townsville winter isn't a real winter, that Townsville doesn't actually run in 4 full seasons but rather goes from summer to summer to autumn then straight back to summer.
That is why I plan my trips to Bathurst to be during the June/July holiday, right in the middle of winter! My fellow Townsvillians call me mad and insane and some go as far as saying suicidal but to me it means that I actually get a real winter! And besides, I love the cold! I love all the things that come with being cold! I love stepping out of the house and getting that biting cold feeling and the fresh breeze in my face. I love it when, after just a few minutes outside, the tip of my nose, fingers and ears go just a little bit numb! But most of all I love getting rugged up in warm fluffy jumpers and jackets, I love snuggling in under a mountain of blankets at night and watching TV with slippers, a doona and a cup of hot coffee.
Of course I wouldn't like it to be like that all the time, but I do like the thought of having 4 full seasons. I still love Townsville and for now it is very much home in my heart, but who knows, maybe the call of winter will draw me back south one day....
This means that I have experienced almost all the different climate zones and come across some of the extremes that Australian weather has to offer.
Our biggest inter-state move was from the southern tip of Australia (Naracoorte, SA) to the northern tip (Townsville, QLD)! This does not only involve an approximate 4 day drive (which we did in 3 weeks instead) but it meant shifting from an area that had roughly 9 months of winter a year to a place that only has about 1 week of winter a year!
In Naracoorte, SA I spent many cold blustery nights on the couch or on my bean bag in front of the fire listening to the pounding rain on our old tin roof (I preferred this to watching the AFL). Not surprisingly, this is what I miss the most about the southern areas of Australia. Especially when I am sitting in the sun in Townsville when it is 35 degrees outside with over 80% humidity! So in my first year in Townsville I would often laugh at my friends when they started pulling on their jumpers as soon as the temperature dropped below 25 degrees, so you can imagine my shame when I did the same the following year!! However, I still remain strong on my opinion that a Townsville winter isn't a real winter, that Townsville doesn't actually run in 4 full seasons but rather goes from summer to summer to autumn then straight back to summer.
That is why I plan my trips to Bathurst to be during the June/July holiday, right in the middle of winter! My fellow Townsvillians call me mad and insane and some go as far as saying suicidal but to me it means that I actually get a real winter! And besides, I love the cold! I love all the things that come with being cold! I love stepping out of the house and getting that biting cold feeling and the fresh breeze in my face. I love it when, after just a few minutes outside, the tip of my nose, fingers and ears go just a little bit numb! But most of all I love getting rugged up in warm fluffy jumpers and jackets, I love snuggling in under a mountain of blankets at night and watching TV with slippers, a doona and a cup of hot coffee.
Of course I wouldn't like it to be like that all the time, but I do like the thought of having 4 full seasons. I still love Townsville and for now it is very much home in my heart, but who knows, maybe the call of winter will draw me back south one day....
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