VolaciousNet

Well.. the last exam is over.

However, I have to admit it was a complete disaster. I suppose I knew before I walked in that my chances were slim… but after half an hour of sitting in front of that exam paper, mind blank and staring at the page, I just broke. I got up, handed the paper in and left the exam room.

I had kinda hoped that I would at least be able to pass the exam, just enough so that I wouldn’t have to do it again. I’m so over this “uni” thing that I don’t think I can bear to go back to it for another year. Had this year gone to plan, yesterday would have been my final day of uni …ever. But things never go to plan.

I went and saw the lecturer after I walked out (ironically whilst other students were still sitting the exam). I explained how I lost it, and asked his advice.
The good news (thankfully there is some) is that if I file a special consideration, due to my decent midsemester mark, I would likely be able to sit a supplementary. I think this is my only option, and he mentioned it would be an oral exam. I can handle those… I understand the concepts and can explain them much better than writing them down on paper.

Anway.. I need sleep now. 12 hours at work today.. the body is just burnt out completely and I’m losing the plot.

‘later people.

How interesting.
I would have thought my last post would have generated some discussion, and I was looking forward to some debate.

I hope I didn’t come across as too hostile… I realise some people are religious and I hope I didn’t offend them personally. *big sincere hugs*

I’ve been wanting to post some of my thoughts on religion and the state of the world for some time.
It’s such a controversial topic, and it gets me riled up every time I talk about it. It seems like a hot topic at the moment, as we see that Sir Elton John has gotten on his high horse and slammed religion.

Adam and I went down to another wedding yesterday… this time to Kangaroo Valley, a beautiful ceremony set in a paddock overlooking the misty mountains. There was a Presbyterian Minister presiding over the wedding, whose first line in his opening speech was “Two out of three marriages fail”. Great start to an inspirational wedding speech. He then went on to say that the 66% statistics were the latest by the Bureau of Statistics, and that if the couple “accepted Christ and prayed together, following His design”, then the rate would become 1 in 100 (no source given). The rest of the speech followed this course, and his second speech after the marriage proclamation had the words One must remember that it was Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. At this point, the Groom almost choked, the bridesmaids giggled, and the Bride went red. Of course, everyone sitting in the same row as Adam and I shot us a glance and a slightly embarrassed look. Of course, this did not upset Adam or I, but it did cause the Bride and Groom to come up immediately after the wedding and apologise to us.

I must put this out there… it wasn’t the “Adam and Steve” comment that annoyed me, it was the blatant scare tactics used by the minister when he said to the newlyweds “go to church and follow Christ or it is likely your marriage will fail”. And I’ve found this to be such a common tactic used… and it enrages me. I’m an Agnostic, in that I believe in a higher being, but do not subscribe to any particular religion. It amazes me that in the Age of Googleâ„¢, where any and all information is available at the click of your fingers, that people are increasingly ignoring the facts and basing their beliefs on a set of rules set down 2000 or more years ago and interpreted through a set of “chinese whispers”. Miranda Devine outlined this well in her article Geeks in White Coats Shall Inherit the Earth. Read it if you have the time. People appear to be finding all this information too overwhelming, and dare I say it, confronting. So they retreat into their hole and follow the belief that, if they follow someone else, the facts of life will be explained to them without them having to think for themselves. This not only annoys me, it infuriates me as there is nothing worse than a person who deliberately ignores and shuts out their own intelligence and takes the “simple option” whether it be evangelical religion or otherwise.

Adam and I have talked lately of marriage, but not in the immediate sense as much as a long term goal. Marriage of course is still not a legal option in this country, with our laws still being governed by generations of conditioning through a religious moral base. That being said, I believe the world is changing, and fast. I have negotiated with Adam that if he can last another 5 years with me, until the age of 28, then both of us will definately deserve to have a large ceremony that we can publically declare our committment amongst family and friends. Plus, if he can put up with me that long he certainly deserves it! By that time we will also be able to afford the lavish affair that neither of us could be without. Believe me ladies and gents, it will be big!.

The sides are dividing rapidly, with some accepting the information and wisdom available to them, and some rejecting it. I just hope that in our lifetime we will be contacted by extra-terrestrial intelligent life, as this is the only way I know to defeat advocates of ignorance who hold this self-centered view of the universe. It is the next step since Galileo proved that the earth was not the centre of all things (and was interestingly demonised by the Church for doing so).

I encourage everyone who reads only the bold words to read over this in full and offer their opinions, as I value good discussion. Perhaps you offer other views on the value of organised religion, and I welcome the comments.

Hi there everyone!

Well… last weekend turned out to be much more enjoyable than expected. The original plan was to get in the car and head out to Bathurst for the day, as I needed to make a showing at the gliding club as I was trying to persuade them to allow me to use their high-performance glider during the Junior Nationals at the end of the year.

Instead, late on Friday afternoon as I was getting ready to go, I persuaded Adam to come along with me, and he, Shelton and I could have a lovely weekend up in the country. He was a bit reluctant, as last time we had an unfortunately run-in with Grandma Fosset, the houses’s paranormal resident, and he swore he’d never go back. However, I managed to get him to pack up the puppy and hop in the car for a weekend away.

The trip up was wet and extremely foggy, with visibility down to about 5 metres. Of course, the Subaru lapped it up, making me very thankful I wasn’t doing the trip in ‘Tasha, my old Ford Laser. We decided not to stay in the main bedroom but instead stayed in the guest room, and for some reason neither Adam nor myself felt any presence up there, and wasn’t bothered by her all weekend.

Anyway, Saturday I headed out to the club (with Husband and puppy), and went up in the air to brush off some cobwebs and get my Competition Finish Rating, which is a nice way of saying to get a “beatup license”. It involves flying very low ( < 50 feet) and very fast ( > 250 km/h), and I came in at full speed, screaming over the top of everyone’s head at about 20 feet, before doing a big pullup and turn. Looked speccy apparently.

Saturday night was just the ticket… playing “Squatter” (a board game) in front of the fire, enjoying a nice Cabernet Savignon and some cheese. We’ve decided that we’re going to get married when we’re 28, hopefully legally if Johnny has pulled his head in by then, or through the British system, as Adam is now a dual citizen with Great Britain. I think I will talk more about this later, just though I’d drop it in

Sunday was a mix of flying and pottering around the farm… Puppy on the back of the ute (looked like a real farm dog!), but pity didn’t get any pics. Was kinda fun driving around the hilly (and muddy) country in a ute with (literally) no brakes. Really brought it down to first principles! We tried to tire the dog out by making him run home from the top of the hill (about 2 km)… he is a fast little bugger! Kept up with me in 2nd gear, and was still bouncing around when I got out of the car. Crazy dog… he also went and jumped in the dam, which I’m sure wasn’t too warm…

Although I should have been studying (exams in 4 days time), I think I really needed the break after the madness that has been the last month. One more week… then it’s all over! Now to attend to my scotch…