Post-Reloaded
Monday, 08 March, 2004
Now back from ECU Reloaded and all I want to do is turn into a blob in front of the television, eating processed squid from the Asian grocery store. Well, I did blob around for a while this evening but I didn't eat squid. I finished off episodes 11-13 of Hellsing (is there more?) Matt seems to like animes featuring men in long flowing red coats with enormous guns. On Wednesday we ate Thai food with Arts/Creative Arts students and went to see “An Evening With Job” at our church which was a dramatic presentation of the Book of Job (not all of it but most of it) by two girls. I enjoyed it, though I was disappointed that, halfway through, they had to pull out their scripts because they didn't quite know the whole thing off by heart. I was somewhat surprised that they interpreted Job to be quite angry against God. I could understand Job being angry at his friends since they keep telling him he's sinned when he hasn't, but against God ... On Thursday Tracey did a study on contentment at girls' meeting, I led my first Bible study group for the year, I found a cool secondhand black leather jacket for $40 and a beautiful birthday present for Hannah at the Market Day stalls, we re-learnt the Greek alphabet (lowercase and uppercase), Amanda and I read through the whole of Ephesians in the NASB and we had church Bible Study. On Friday I did the laundry, accidentally melted one of my laundry baskets on the stove (thus causing white plastic goo to splatter on some of my clothes, near ruining one of my favourite jumpers), I forgot to call someone I had promised to call, we had a meeting for main meetings committee, I went to Bible study again, I copied posters and main meeting outlines for Week 3, I went into work for a secretariat meeting that was not as helpful as it should have been, I caught the bus home and spent the afternoon sweeping the balcony, the porch and the garage, and weeding the backyard, Ben and I went to IBM where Ben preached on John the Baptist (Luke 3), then Ben and I went on a mini date to Hungry Jack's for dinner and then we came home and I watched more episodes of Hellsing than I should have—should have been packing instead. And sleeping. On Saturday I got up at 6:30, hurriedly finished packing which was a big mistake because I forgot to take a heap of things, we were 15 minutes late in picking up Dennis and we drove up Macquarie Pass to Fitzroy Falls for commencement camp which, this year, has been dubbed ECU Reloaded. There were around 50 students who came. A lot didn't make it because of illness or perhaps because of the rain (and it rained ALL weekend!) Peter Hughes gave some awesome talks on Wisdom from the book of Proverbs. The band, interestingly enough, consisted of acoustic guitar, a cello, a saxophone, a trumpet and drums. During faculty time, our group made sculptures out of fruit and vegetables (had to top the potato prints from last year). This resulted in some awesome photos which I do not have the time or the energy to blog. During Organised Fun time, Pete So 'n so got put into a cardboard box and Lil had to drink coffee mixed with Pepsi max, salt and pepper. Each of the faculties had to go away and come up with a musical about another faculty (these were designated). Arts/Creative Arts got IBM and did a round the world tour, culminating in, “There's no place like IBM! There's no place like IBM!” and “We will we will rock you.” And even though it rained, people still went on the giant swing, or wrestled in the mud (resulting in more amusing photos which I wish I could instanteously blog but I can't so I won't). It was great watching people learning things, growing in confidence, coming out of their shells, etc. One lady, who is quite a bit older than the rest of our cohort, said she felt quite overwhelmed but, at the end of the weekend, she told me that she was glad that she came and that, before the weekend, she had been thinking of quitting Uni because it was too hard. I had the privilege of honing Peter Hughes' skills in mahjong, but despite his and my previous experience, Little Rach still beat us to a pulp with four or five consecutive wins. On Sunday I was so exhausted I fell asleep during time with the Chin Factor (ie. Richard gives a talk from somewhere in Matthew). We all ate a hurried lunch and attacked the orderlies jobs. Of course, on our run, the dishwasher wasn't working properly due to the lack of hot water so we did most of it by hand and then Hannah and I mopped the floors. I was worried about coming down Macquarie Pass given that we had swapped Dennis for Simon's amp and guitar and we were also carrying Ben's keyboard amp, keyboard and our luggage (which, I suppose, is nowhere near as scary as last year when we were driving Valerie, Simon's panel van, which is the total opposite of our car in every possible way except for the colour and has chronic blind spots, with half a drum kit, a keyboard, a guitar, two amps, luggage and $2,000 worth of books in the back). But God was gracious and the pass was dry; in fact, it was shockingly sunny as we came back into Wollongong and I was so not used to it, given the fairly cool conditions of Fitzroy. We stopped at home for an hour, during which Ben collapsed into an exhausted heap and I fiddled with my Sunday school crossword. Then I had to go teach Sunday school and it was my first week with the boys and it was a bit of a nightmare. They are so naughty compared with the girls and it is so hard to get them to actually do anything. Funnily enough, they shut up when you're telling them the story, but when you try to get them to do the craft or the activity, they refuse and ask if they can do it at home. I was talking to a lady from 5 o'clock church who is a teacher and who is going to help us out a bit and give us some feedback and training and she said that she had those boys over summer and they are hard to manage. She told me that I need to practise a lot more discipline and positive reinforcement. I groaned inwardly when I heard that; I hate doing that sort of thing. She gave me some helpful books on how to tell the Bible story which I haven't had a chance to look at yet. I had to go and write prayers for church before church began but I kept getting interrupted and then, during the service, they asked us all to move to the front which was very irritating and I got upset and plonked myself right in the front row in the service leaders' seat. I think I was upset because I was tired. After church we had supper in the hall and some people made us soup which we could purchase for $1. So I had a lovely dinner of soup, a bread roll and Sunkist, and spent some time chatting to people at church (often very hard to do; these people are not very trained in the art of conversation) before Ben and I finally went home to sleep. Which is probably what I should go do now ...
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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Just bump in to say Hello. I enjoyed your blog. You’re a beautiful girl.
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