One long weekend, coming right up

This weekend it's Queen's Birthday, traditionally a time for 25% off sales and bad weather.

The weather hasn't arrived - yet - and I don't need anything from the shops. So I'm hoping to get a bunch of stuff done for CKC for this term and hopefully some of next as well. One of the bigger projects for that I would like to start on is to compile a book of games that we have played so that I can hand a bit more of the responsibility over to the other leaders - especially for when July and August come around, when I'll be gone for a total of 8 Wednesdays in fairly rapid succession.

The trip to Melbourne earlier this week was quite productive. But it was a little bit of a challenge to then get back into the swing of things at work, with 2 meetings and a phone call to the States having been deferred to the day after I got back.

Of trips and trivia

Last Friday was the date of the most recent IRL quiz night. Some colleagues and I mustered a team that didn't do half bad - in fact we tied for first place! (Unfortunately we lost the sudden death question, which was: How many tons does Nelson's statue in Trafalgar Square weigh?)

A shame the Hurricanes couldn't do better than second in their semi-final game either. Oh well, there's always next year... or the year after... or...

Next week I'm off to Melbourne for 2 days - I have a 3-hour meeting at the synchrotron on Tuesday. It may seem like a bit of a waste of time but I've made arrangements to meet up with some other people while I'm there re: stuff for our next experiments there in July, which are going to take some considerable co-ordination of chemicals and equipment.

It's a bit scary in some ways because July seems so close already - and two weeks after I get back from there, Mum and I are off to Scotland & Ireland. Life is starting to be measured in weeks again... not that I'm complaining, really.



Oh - and by the way, the answer is 18. (We guessed 6.)

Looking up

Things are looking up from last week.

We had a leaders' meeting for CKC which helped my enthusiasm for that immensely.

Work is progressing well and I am getting on top of stuff there.

Badminton interclub competition started last week so with 3 nights per week dedicated to that I am getting fitter and faster (I hope!). Looks like I am in the division V team by default; our first match is on 6 June.

My youngest brother getting engaged last week, I am still trying to get my head around. On Saturday night I went around to Mum and Dad's to watch the rugby, and felt like the seventh wheel. When I arrived everyone was playing Cranium in couples. Then sat together in couples and so it goes. Even Bob the cat wouldn't keep me company.
Our family has all been invited to the future in-laws' for lunch next weekend and I am not ready for it.
I had some advice from a close friend in an email who basically said, yeah, it hurts, but God has a purpose in all things. I just hope I can figure out what that is. In the meantime try to keep myself busy and not dwell on things.

Bottom of the barrel

Well the last few weeks have been one of those times, full of little niggles that just sap you dry.

First I had all the hustle of organising a conference and then heading off straightaway to Melbourne for 4 days of beamtime. Cue no weekend, followed by a lazy Monday and not quite getting back into the groove of working a full week.

Then I had a number of issues at church, particularly with the kids' programme - discipline problems with one or two kids who just set off the rest. No joy for anybody, especially me. On top of that I had a run-in with somebody else at church which left me even more deflated. Can't seem to find any support for the issues that exist already, meanwhile there are even more icky things coming along that somehow fall on me to deal with.

Then there was badminton rep training on Sunday - following the church blow-up, I figured that smacking a shuttlecock around would be a productive vent of frustration. Instead it left me with a killer headache, and the combination of too much water and not enough food meant when I got home I couldn't decide if I wanted to eat or throw up.

Then yesterday I was reminded all the more sharply about my single-ness...

I know I need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture in all of this. In my head I know that where I am in terms of my job, ministry, and shall we say 'relationship status' is God's will for me right now. But it's a bit harder to bring my feelings into line with that.

It'd be nice to find a way out of this hole I'm in.

Or at least to make it through until August when I'll be on holiday with Mum for a month...