Ebullient
Wednesday, 16 April, 2008
This is the chocolate bunny I won on the Easter long weekend for being the only one in the church who answered all the questions correctly in a True or False? quiz on the resurrection (and, yes, the contestants included two ministers and three Moore College graduates). I think this is the first time I've ever won anything for knowing stuff.
Wednesday 2/4/08
Rose later than intended, then caught the bus and train into work because Ben was putting the car in for a service. I think I was listening to Saturnalia by The Gutter Twins. I got into work by 9:30, then worked for an hour on Faithful Writer stuff. I walked to New College at 10:45 and met with Mark Tredinnick and Trevor Cairney to talk about the conference. It was good to meet Mark—he's a very interesting person and has worn so many different hats throughout the course of his career, it has given him a varied perspective on life. He even signed my copy of The Little Red Writing Book for me.
After the meeting, I caught the bus to Taylor Square. I walked to 118 Campbell St (which was where the Hope Street Markets were held this year) because I wanted to see what it was normally. Turns out it's a restaurant but a very different sort of restaurant: Table for 20 is more like rocking up to have a meal with a bunch of people you've never met before—trying to build community in a postmodern world (the link explains it). I thought it was an interesting concept.
I walked up Oxford St and stopped in Berkelouw to have a look around. I considered having lunch there but I wanted to get up further so I kept walking. One shop had a bargain basket of books out the front and I found a Peter Dickinson novel for $2.
By now, I was pretty hungry. I decided to treat myself to lunch at Micky's (a place Emma R took me to once years and years ago ... she's the one who introduced me to fruit frappes there). I had a delicious chai tea and a haloumi salad—yum! It wasn't cheap but it was worth it because it was so nice and it was just what I felt like that day.
After lunch, I walked further up Oxford St to Palm Beach to look for sandals. Of all the different kinds of shopping that I am forced to do out of necessity, shoe shopping is by far the worst. I always know what I want but have no idea where to find it. (Maybe I haven't done it enough ... I really don't know anything about shoes.) I wanted a pair of sandals to replace my black Colorados which have served me faithfully over the past three years. I remember buying them from my brother-in-law when he used to work for Williams the Shoemen and he got them for me at a discounted price. Since then, I've managed to create the shoe equivalent of the Grand Canyon in the sole, the split running rather uncomfortably just below the ball of my foot. They're good shoes but they're pretty much unwearable now. I needed sandals like that—tough, durable things which are still relatively stylish—and preferably in black.
Unfortunately, Palm Beach, which is where my mum bought me my boots for my birthday last year, was filled with pretty frippy useless excuses for footwear. My refusal to wear heels ruled out two thirds of the merchandise in the shop, and the rest was ugly, impractical or both. There was a nice pair of black thongs (US readers: read “flip flops”) for $20 but I could not bring myself to pay $20 for thongs—especially as the pink thongs I wear around the house sometimes only cost me $10 and have lasted me almost three years (that's just under $3.50 a year—bargain! *Sigh* ... I'm so Asian ...) Speaking of those, they were starting to fall apart too ...
I gave up on Paddington (I knew the rest of the shoe shops there would stock more exorbitant useless stuff) and caught the bus into town. I looked in Centrepoint and then Myer (who, funny enough, were having a shoe sale so the place was swarming with women), the shoe emporium on Pitt St (three levels of shoes and all of them completely unsuitable!), and then Hype where I spotted some Birkenstocks. I remembered that Elsie, Marinka and Mary like Birkenstocks, so I thought I'd try them out. Hype didn't have any in black, but the girl behind the counter said there was a Birkenstock store just up the road. So I headed in that direction (stopping at Dirt Cheap CDs on the way where I got Tori Amos's American Doll Posse). The store was at the back of the little arcade where Rockbottom CDs used to be. The guy serving there was very nice and polite, and he patiently watched me walk around and around in them before I made my up my mind to buy them.
I caught the train home and spent the rest of the afternoon watching taped So You Think You Can Dance?. Ben went to pick up the car but he was told he had to bring it back the following day because they had broken the inside handle on the driver's side. We had leftovers for dinner and spent the evening watching TV, then I curled up in bed with Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor (D.A. Carson) and went to sleep.
Thursday 3/4/08
Because the car had to go back to the mechanic's, I caught the bus and train into work. Unfortunately one of the buttons came off my red velvet coat and lodged itself in the back door of the bus so I could not retrieve it. I should have said something ... oh well.
Work was filled with Briefing stuff and compiling The Daily Reading Bible (Volume 16) (DRB 16). Over lunch, I chatted with Alison (Tony's wife) and got a glimpse into what it's like to bring up teenagers. I was on phones during prayer meeting, then the afternon was filled with more DRB 16 compiling.
Ben came to pick me up but he wasn't feeling too well so I took the wheel. He went off to Julia's 40th while I cooked and spent the evening relaxing—well, blogging talking on the phone with Tim and Liz, cooking and watching two episodes of Buffy.
Friday 4/4/08
I got into work by 7:30 and ate my breakfast there. The day was filled with more Briefing stuff, making Faithful Writer images and finishing the compiling for DRB 16. I had an early lunch and didn't participate in Thai Day Friday because I had to leave early—at 1 pm. I drove to North Sydney and parked on Bridge St near the oval, and walked down to the Centre for Public Christianity to meet with Vaughan and Anne about the C.S. Lewis Today conference. It was good to get to know them in person as before I'd only ever corresponded with them via email.
That meeting didn't take as long as I thought it would, and I went downstairs and had a chai latte in the café. Ben joined me there; he had been in a tax seminar all morning but wasn't feeling well. We walked to the car and I drove us to North Ryde, listening to The Gutter Twins. We were an hour early so we sat in the car and I knitted.
Counselling was frustrating. I drove us home and did computer things for an hour before going to meet Little Rachel in Newtown in front of Moore Books. We had dinner at the Green Gourmet and talked for hours and hours. It was so good to catch up—to be listened to as well as to listen—just the thing you need when you've had such a trying week. We moved to the Ice & Slice for dessert, then Seamus came to pick Little up and I went home.
I tried to read Eddie Campbell's The Fate of the Artist (which Guan gave me for Christmas last year) but kept falling asleep so in the end I put it down and turned off the light.
Current:
seen: Moon 15/10/2009
read: The Incredibles 11/10/2009
seen: She's the Man 05/10/2009
read: I Kill Giants (Joe Kelly and J. M. Ken Niimura) 04/10/2009
read: Astro City The Dark Ages Book 1: Brothers and Other Strangers (Kurt Busiek, Brent Anderson and Alex Ross) 04/10/2009
seen: Children of Men 02/10/2009
seen: Metric (The Metro) 30/09/2009
seen: 500 Days of Summer 25/09/2009
seen: The September Issue 18/09/2009
seen: Gilmore Girls: Season 1 17/09/2009
read: Flight (Volume 1) (edited by Kazu Kibuishi) 16/09/2009
seen: Ponyo 11/09/2009
read: Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader? (Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert) 05/09/2009
heard: Aimee Mann (Enmore Theatre) 04/09/2009
heard: Ben Folds Solo (Opera House) 31/08/2009
read: Phonogram: Rue Britannia (Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie) 26/08/2009
seen: Northanger Abbey 20/08/2009
read: The Princess Diaries (Meg Cabot) 18/08/2009
seen: The Phantom of the Opera 17/08/2009
seen: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 10/08/2009
seen: District 9 10/08/2009
read: Shortcomings (Adrian Tomine) 02/08/2009
read: AIR Volume 1: Letters from Lost Countries (Willow Wilson and M.K. Perker) 28/07/2009
seen: Persepolis 25/07/2009
seen: Ghost Town 25/07/2009
heard: Gutter Twins (Seymour Centre) 23/07/2009
seen: Coco Avant Chanel 20/07/2009
seen: Gutenberg! The Musical (Seymour Centre) 16/07/2009
seen: So You Think You Can Dance? Australia Live Tour (Sydney Entertainment Centre) 11/07/2009
seen: Every Little Step 07/07/2009
seen: Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen 03/07/2009
seen: Synecdoche, New York 30/06/2009
seen: Charlie's Angels 27/06/2009
seen: Penelope 26/06/2009
seen: Coraline 10/06/2009
seen: The Sky Crawlers 08/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Ultimatum 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Supremacy 07/06/2009
seen: The Bourne Identity 06/06/2009
seen: Stick it 05/06/2009
Comment:
@Sarah: Thanks for the tip RE Australian Breastfeeding Association! I never would have thought to look there. Ditto KMart: I was wondering if they did since Target don’t.
@Rae: Thanks for the tip! I’ll check it out.
@Little Rachel: Oh, I’ll definitely be up for visitors! I may not be very good company (brain-dead, etc.) but I’ll certainly appreciate visits!
@Rachel C: CONGRATS!!! So excited for you 
Yours sounds like a good philosophy. One day I shall have to blog about Outliers!
@CafeDave: Thanks for the tip!
@Elissa: Thanks for your kind words! It makes me happy that you and Dave were excited we were getting married! Thanks also for the prayers!
@Elsie: There are lots of other lovely things I could have said about you, but let’s not overload my readers, shall we? ;P
Aww...thanks for the lovely things you said about me! I enjoyed reading this post (as I do with all yours). xo
Congratulations to you both. I know you will be such wonderful parents. You sound WAY too sensible! 
(Sorry to read that there were some unusual comments made about your marriage! We thought it was exciting. We still have a lovely photo of you & Ben in our lovely box of special memories. (I was only 22 when married & I was 30 when we had Bonnie...)
Everyone is different! I nodded through your post. SO many people feel the curious need to share their “horror stories” which is just dreadful. I remember complaining to David who said - go find people who are positive & listen to them. Great advice, which I did. Those people still have a big place in my heart because their advice was honest & gentle.
Bless you & Ben & the little Peanut. We pray all goes smoothly over the coming weeks/months ahead. We sometimes forget what a precious little miracle life really is…
Another book from the dad’s perspective I found helpful was From here to paternity - it’s an Australian book, and was followed up with a blog.
Hi!
I’m so excited for you reading your blog about being pregnant I am 13 weeks pregnant with #2.
You’re so right about all the pessimism “advice” that you get. I got so mad about it but never found a good response. I’ve had such joy right from day one with E that I just don’t want to buy into the negativity (I’m sure kids pick up on it too!).
My philosophy was/is to be a relaxed mum and from that figure out what was best for my baby/child. Get advice when you’re not sure on things or want to know how other people approached things, read books (loved Outliers!) that aren’t all about parenting… but just enjoy.
In a sample size of one to date, I’ve had such a happy, chilled out son right from day one. People say all the craziest advice… glad you don’t do guilt
With love,
R
Thanks so much for writing more! I love hearing how you’re going and all your thoughts.
After watching my sister I agree with you that it seems the first six months are perhaps the hardest. She got quite lonely at home all day; weekends were all right because then her husband was around but it’s just as you say… one feed ends then the next begins! If you are accepting visitors during this period then I hope to use some RDOs to come have grown-up conversations!
The book review of The Second Nine Months makes me want to read it now!
Names: We have one girl name that we both like and no boy names that we agree on. But they are also top-secret… so if anyone else uses them we can’t accuse them of theft! 
Yay Peanut, keep on growing, can’t wait to meet you!
Hello! Thanks for sharing
I loved reading your pregnancy update! I am glad to hear that things are all going pretty well, and I hope the rest of your 2nd trimester is as good.
I just wanted to add, that some other blokes decided that there was not much for the fathers-t0-be, and made a couple of DVD’s just for expectant dads. They are called ‘Being Dad’and i think they are available at big W. I have both though, if you would like me to send them!
Just wanted to wish you all the best!
Love
Rae
re: gluten: no idea!! I didn’t have to go on that diet - it was probably related to the test I didn’t do.
At the risk of adding to your list of advice:
Re: maternity bras - because I’m big I had to look hard for something nice in my size and discovered the Australian Breastfeeding Association. They have a massive range online and most are (dare I say it) sexy.
Re: maternity clothes - Kmart have a nice range of basic stuff.. I only found out towards the end of pregnancy and I would have liked to know earlier!
Re: Parenting classes - if you’re at RPA you can just ring the midwives section (they’ll put you through) and ask directly.
Congratulations again
Don’t laminate your ultrasound picture That is my advice.
Congratulations! This is so fantastic!
Thanks so much for sharing all of this… people swap engagement stories but rarely pregnancy stories! And it’s kind of similar don’t you think, all this excitement leading up to a big day!
So happy for you guys! Actually never been more excited for anyone except my sister! I think it’s because I think that you will both be amazing parents and love the idea that someone could grow up in your family.
Looking forward to many more posts on the topic.
Lovely news, Karen.
Thanks everyone! I will be sure to ask for help when I need it!
Great pic!! Peanut is cute! :D
Praying for you all!
xx
:D
I had a similar sort of morning sickness.. except I threw up! I’m suitably impressed that you coped OS.. that must have been tough.
It sounds like you’re doing marvelously otherwise!
Book recommendation on something a bit less technical and a bit more human: ‘Birth’ http://www.birthnet.com.au/
Praise be to God indeed! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Congratulations, Beilharzen! Welcome to the slightly-bewildering world of pregnancy (and birth...and children...). God has blessed you greatly with this new life. We’ll be praying for Peanut’s growth and development, and for you guys as you prepare.
I’m sure you’re surrounded by baby veterans, but always happy to help with books/advice/recommendations/listening.
B&L;
Excellent job Karen! You SHOULD be pleased with yourself!
Have you discovered http://www.ravelry.com ? It is an excellent site with thousands of free patterns in its database, lots of support, tips, forums etc and of course - friends like me? Look me up when you get there - fionag77
PS Are you just wearing a bulky dress or are you sporting a bump under that dress?
oooh.... It’s done and it looks great on you! xxx
Well done on all that hard work! It looks great and will be very snuggly come winter!
Thanks for letting me know, Timo!
Hi there,
Thanks for pointing out the shortcoming on our website. I’ll pass it on to my colleagues and hopefully it will be rectified soon.
The documentary at Fashioning Now was by Holly Kaye-Smith; I’d be more than happy to put you in touch with her if you’d like.
Again, thanks for the comment, much appreciate it!
Kind regards,
Timo Rissanen
Thanks Mark! Much appreciated!
Rich survey, Karen. Particularly I was struck by the notion of Jesus being clothed with our sins. I heard recently somebody suggest the crown of thorns was a kings crown but it was made of the symbol of the curse in the Garden - thorns. I would like to read your thoughts about Joseph’s coat of many colours.
Looking forward to the next installment. Regards,Mark
It is lovely - and looks great on you.
You’ve made me want to read it - though I may need an interpreter at times!
Well done with the sewing!
I think it looks good - very relaxed and spring-y.
Hey Sandra! Thanks for the tip! I read it yesterday, but I struggled a bit because Lewis doesn’t start from the Bible. I wasn’t convinced by his argument. What did you think?
Interesting post Karen - Thanks
I like the ending too! :D
xxx
Fantastic post, Karen. Just great. Thanks!
Thanks Bec! Eternal life just keeps getting better and better ...
I do like the way you ended this post - excellent thought.
Personally I don’t feel that way. Maybe that’s something you should blog about?
Wow. Lots of things to pick up on there. It’s been interesting to see the changes to your blog these last 6-12 months: Twitter is certainly more immediate, but are there (gasp) downsides to having its constant buzz in the ear?
Is our (already fractured) ability to concentrate on a single relationship at a time further jeapordised by the regular buzz of tweetdeck (and worse yet, by the imagined sense of loss that goes with being off the grid)?
Or am I just projecting my own fears?
Hi Karen!
If you’re still thinking about this… I just read CS Lewis’s essay “Learning in War-time” which exactly addresses this issue (ie. how can we justify cultural & aesthetic pursuits when people are going to hell around us?). Have you read it? i’d be interested to hear what you think..
(i have it in his little volume “Transposition and other Addresses”, but it’s easily findable online)
I’m doing my own series on the trials and tribulations of writing on my own blog here http://sedshed.blogspot.com/search/label/From%20Head%20to%20Hand
It’s coming along slowly
Coincidentily, I stumbled upon the above Phonogram vs. the Fans cover when digging around for ID concepts for Salt. A disturbingly brilliant image.
Thanks Karen. At the very least, this post gives some context to your myriad of phonogram tweets. At best, it has reinvigorated my stagnated appreciation of comics.
Seriously, though 4,549 words. Is that the best you can do? I say, longer!
Blinks:
Maybe discomfort is better for writing.
Showing her daughter that women are great by doing tours and walking in the footsteps of famous women. I like that this article is about engagement.
Jordan White, editor for Marvel, answers questions.
Jamie McKelvie answers questions.
Vision therapy as a treatment for ADHD, learning disabilities and even autism. The scientific community's opinion. The results of concentrated therapy.
Kieron Gillen on Phonogram, Siege, Ares, Loki and his collaborative relationship with Jamie McKelvie.
Superheroes and how they have changed the way we see urban landscape. Their attraction to New York.
Kieron Gillen talking about Phonogram's run and the effect it had on its audience.
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Comments
Yay for Birkenstocks! I wonder if the guy who served you was the same guy who was in the store when we visited....he was youngish, polite and no pressure to buy.
Well, I’d say he was in his early to mid-thirties so possibly, if that’s what you mean by “young”!
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