In which Ben and Karen drive to Camden twice, listening to hits from 2000 to 2003
Monday, 13 September, 2004
Work is boring me to tears—mainly because there's nothing to do and my job (now) is not the kind of job when, when there's nothing to do, you can always vacuum the carpets or dust the tops of bookshelves that normally never get dusted. All my work is done online and there's nothing to do online save run the entire development site through W3C's link checker, though there's not much point in doing that if the entire thing is going to change anyway, which it will. Well, some of it will, anyway.
This morning I read an amusing article on the underground theatre in Paris (via Neil of course) which isn't worth an entire blog post so I'm mentioning it here. It did, however, rekindle my passion for cities and awoke all sorts of thoughts of Kip running through the deserted streets defusing bombs in Ondaatje's The English Patient (the book, not the film) and bits of Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale which is all about New York.
(By the way, I quite like the literary device that some authors use at the beginning of their chapters, eg. “In which Abdullah buys a carpet” or Sandman Vol. 10: The Wake.)
Anyway, on Thursday night I had dinner with an old friend who used to be in my writing course. She asked me whether I have a compulsion to write. Writing for her is something she feels she has to do or else she'll go crazy. I'm not sure if it's the same for me, or if she was speaking about all writing. I do write quite frequently (if you count emails and blogs) but when it comes to creative work, I feel no compulsion to write, just a longing to one day get back to that project that I've shelved at the back of my mind and occasionally take it to gloat over it (*Karen reminisces about a line about Mr Darling from Peter Pan*).
On Friday Ben wasn't feeling well so I went to Sydney with the rest of the staff team in Richard's car to the Christians in the Media church for an AFES pseudo-AIM (Australian Institute of Ministry) day. This guy named Jonathan Fletcher who comes from Wimbledon, UK, spoke on 2 Corinthians 11-12 and what student ministry was like back in his day. It was quite interesting, although the UK context doesn't quite translate back to Australia.
We had lovely Thai food for lunch, I met a couple of other MTS-ers from all over Sydney, I told Matt that a guy he went to school with had become a Christian and he was in shock for the rest of the day, and then in the afternoon Sydney Uni talked about what they were doing next year for the Year of Tertiary Evangelism (sounded really exciting too). I fell asleep in the car on the way home.
Simon came over for dinner and watched the rest of the Trois Couleurs trilogy with us. I didn't get the feeling that he liked them as much as I do but anyway ...
Saturday we slept in. I tried to do some work but didn't get much done. Ben and I drove to Camden for his cousin's engagement party (at which we meant a nice guy who used to come to Wollongong Uni and is considering theological study in the future). We also dropped in on the Fords but they weren't home. When we returned to Wollongong, I thought, “I must rest now or else I will never rest and I will crash and burn on Monday,” so I ignored the rest of the work I had to do (main meeting outlines for Week 9, poster for Week 9, my Sunday school lesson, TEAM Unileavers on Marriage and Singleness and, of course, The Page), ordered takeaway Thai and Ben and I watched S1m0ne and went to bed.
Sunday I was up at 9, doing the laundry, going grocery shopping, making mini quiches to take to the Fords' and trying desperately to finish my Sunday school lesson but not having much success. Because of that, we were late setting off for Camden again and therefore late arriving at the Fords' but it was a nice hour we spent there in Duncan and Christie's living room, sitting around the fire, pigging out and listening to their friends talk. Next week Duncan goes to France for a year!
And then back to Wollongong we drove again. I fell asleep in the car (I need more sleep). I finish my Sunday school lesson in 20 mins and Ben drives me to church. The rest of my team is patiently waiting for me, except for Joe who has sprained his ankle and is on crutches and can't come. However, no arrangements were made with his co-leader, Rowan, and so we make the last-minute decision to combine both classes which means I will be teaching both girls and boys at once. Tim tells me not to worry—that it will go fine. I start to get a bit hysterical.
We play bullrush in the backyard for a while, the kids pulling up large hanks of clover and tossing them onto the roof. I try to get them interested in France through a multiple-choice quiz. They pick all the silly answers just to be obtuse but at least they don't get bored and act up. Tim has a memory verse relay, girls vs. boys. (Girls win.) Then we all troop into the next room—three leaders and 17 kids—where I try to get them to play Celebrity Heads (my goodness, why don't these kids know how to play Celebrity Heads??? They just sit there when it's their turn to ask a question and say, “I don't know!”) I scrap half my lesson because the game takes too long. I try to dramatise the story with my voice and it holds them for two minutes. One kid already knows the answer to the game of Hangman I try to instigate in the middle of the story. We play relay Pictionary with five words, boys vs. girls, and the girls win. Then I try to do some summing up questions at the end and get amazed that my girls, who are normally quite intelligent and recall what we have done in former weeks, have now started saying the most ridiculous things in answer to my questions—perhaps because the boys are here with us. (“What does ‘Son of God’ mean?” “Ah ... Son of God!”) Maybe I should have words with Richard about his daughters ... goodness me.
But God is good and we make it to the end and even though they very strongly got the point about Jesus being God's king and didn't really understand that Jesus is God's king who dies to save us, I was just happy that it was over. I called Ben and asked him to pick me up; I was exhausted and I decided that it was probably better that I be a little heretic and skip church (because, you remember, I still had to write The Page). And there was leftover Thai for dinner so I didn't have to cook, but The Page took me 4 hours to write (why is the execution of an idea so much harder than having the idea itself???) so I didn't get to sleep until 11.
(I think I'm getting sick. Bother.)
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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