VolaciousNet

Hill$ong’s $aviour

Oh yes. Bob Carr has sunk to a new low. Who would have thought that this man, so obviously inept at running a state government, would try and reach out to the pro-materialistic “religious” group, Hill$ong. What was he thinking? The classic Labor stance has been to disassociate themselves with all religion, and he thinks that he is going to be getting a few more votes amongst the bible belt in the classically Liberal Hills area.

Not only has the man lost the faith of those who dislike combining church and politics, but he has absolutely little chance of ever causing the Pentecostalists to stop voting conservative. He has widened the gap so that Brogden will absolutely wipe him in the next election, which frankly are way to far away for my liking. I’m glad that for once the NSW Liberals have finally stopped their bickering and party political games so that they may actually have a stable leadership in time for the election. Hell, going the way that Carr’s government is, the Liberals will not even need to spend much on a campaign… Labor’s doing plenty now to ensure that the Liberals are a shoe-in.

So I say, keep it up, Carr. Soon you will become such a media joke that you will enter the ranks of Tom Cruise, and end up doing commercials like Derryn Hinch.

We cleaned all day today… wiping this, mopping that. I even cleaned out the oven, which I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t done for quite some time. The apartment looks absolutely beautiful… everything is clean and shiny. If I were a neat freak, this would be a moment of ecstacy. Thankfully, I’m not, but hopefully will try and keep things nice and pretty.

The reasoning behind this madness is that we had our first house inspection today by our agents. Adam was buzzing around making sure everything was perfect and would pass the white glove test. Of course, as I knew, the reality was far different. The agent came, glanced into each room, asked us if there were any problems, and promtly left, 5 minutes after entering. What an anti-climax. After that, we went outside to our lovely little balcony and had a bottle of champagne whilst watching the sunest. Dawwwwwww……

Hello, World.

I am staring at my glass, and appreciating the way that red wine can refract light and create interesting timbres and colours. It hasn’t been usual lately that I have been so reflective. I think the world has been rushing past at a million miles a minute, and I’ve been caught like a deer kangaroo in the headlights. Exams are over now, and I have tried to sit down and think about things, but whenever I try and think, it never comes. Revelations and moments of clarity only come when I am distracted with other things.

I have just received back my first exam result of the semester: a 70 (credit) in WORK 2010 – Strategic Management. I guess I should be happy with this mark… it is likely to be my best one this semester, so I was hoping for a distinction but the script I wrote in the exam wasn’t exactly perfect. It is now that I realise just how important the marks for this semester are going to be in terms of proving to myself that I am really starting to climb out of this edgeless pit that I seem to have dug myself into these past few years.

It really is amazing for me to think about just how much things have improved over the past year, even the last 6 months. I am feeling a lot more controlled yet capable of emotion, thanks in part to Aurorix, which is by far the best solution I have come across. That, and I am capable of distinguishing the early signs of a downward spiral much earlier, and have come up with working plans as to how to improve things.

The situation with my folks, as I described earlier, has improved out of sight. I spent last weekend up at the family farm at Oberon, just me and my mother. It was a pity that the motorbike wasn’t there, so I stayed in the house a lot in front of the fire, talking to mum. I now talk to her openly about people in my life, including Adam, and she is constantly inviting both Adam and I to dinner or theatre or any occaision really, inviting him as you would any long-term partner. She has become a completely different woman. And the same goes for Dad: he is happily inviting Adam along to dinner as well… they both know that I have been getting better, and that I am happy, and that much of that has to do with Adam.

Of course, the situation I’m in at the moment is almost too good to believe it is true. With my partner, we rent a beautiful apartment with modest but tasteful decorations. A large living room with a nice leather lounge, a piano, a study. Adam has built a beautiful looking mini-garden on our balcony. A car, now in my name, lies wearily in the garage downstairs. Now whilst material possessions are not the important part (it is really surprising what you can do on a pitiful budget though!), it is a far cry from last year where I was in a dark and noisy bottom-level apartment which slowly but surely drove me insane. It just gives me a sense of perspective as to how things were just not so long ago, and why I should be happy that for once things are looking up.

Of course, I must always need to touch wood, for I should not take any of this for granted. Sometimes it seems all too much to be true, and that disaster is waiting just around the next corner, to haul me down from my little utopia and dash my hopes upon the rocks. That is why I am hoping that I will pass the remainder of my courses. Otherwise, I will feel like this has all been a farce, and for nothing. That I have been deluding myself into happiness, and the core problems remain unresolved. Who would have thought that a mere pass or fail could hold the key to mental health?

©2005 A Stewart

Recipe
Potato and Leek Soup

This is a great recipe for feeding many very cheaply, and can easily be stored in the fridge for a few days, served with fresh bread (from bakery is best, but toast will suffice). Is a great idea to keep in the fridge for those lunches or dinners that you can’t be bothered preparing and can’t afford to go out.

Ingredients
2 kg Potatoes
6 Leeks
4 brown onions
50 mL Chicken Stock
2 tblsp butter
100 mL milk
2 tblsp thickened cream

Directions
Peel potatoes, and dice into quaters.
Trim and chop the leeks, slice the onion and toss into large pot with potates. Mix around lightly.
Cover with water and add chicken stock and butter.
Bring to boil, and leave to simmer (covered) for 90 minutes.
Remove from heat, and add the milk and thickened cream. Stir lightly.
Put into blender / food processor, and blend until creamy. You will need to do it in portions.. there’s a lot of it!
Put processed portions into large salad bowl / large pot, and mix through.
Serve hot.

Serves 8 young adult males.

Observation point No. 1:
That blonde guy on the French Rugby Union team is hot.

Observation point No. 2:
It’s rather cold here.

I’m up at Oberon at the moment, approximately 30 mins southeast of Bathurst, and 1,500 feet higher. It’s about 3 degrees outside, and raining.
Naturally, I’m curled up inside with a nice glass of shiraz, sitting in front of the fire, watching the Australia vs. France match on TV. I’m being a very good son and looking after Mum at the family farm. The boy unfortunately couldn’t come, and damn I miss him.

I was meant to go flying out at Bathurst today, but the weather prevented it. Instead, I went for a walk around Bathurst, as a bit of an exploration, and a chance to practice some photography and see if I could get some nice shots. I need a bit of practice in overcast conditions… it just all looks flat and grey to me. Oh well.. more practice!
Whilst in town, I picked up a copy of DNA from the little country newsagency. I have to say, Mr. July is very nice to look at.

Film Review – War of the Worlds

Well… if there’s two things I can’t stand in a movie, it’s stupid people and little girls screaming. Maybe I shouldn’t have kids… all I wanted to do throughout that entire movie was throttle those two kids. And end the misery that is Tom Cruise, who has become such a joke in the media lately because of his allegience with the Church of Scientology. I have to say, the cinematography was brilliant… somehow they always managed to make Tom Cruise look tall.

In essense… many have said that this movie is very deep in terms of its political appeal, but frankly I was made sick by the blatant Americanisation and annoying cliche’d characters. I don’t think it’s one of Spielberg’s best.. many have compared it to Schindler’s List, but in essense it is anything but.

5/10.