Holidaying at the Gold Coast

I haven't updated this for a while as I am holidaying at the Gold Coast until next wednesday. I am staying with family while I am up here. I flew up on Sunday the 23rd. We had a great xmas day here. I caught up with many members of my family who I have not seen for a while. I also met my newborn neice Emma Gates who was born just a few months ago.

It was a great day and I am gradually exploring the Gold Coast. I have not been up her for many years so it is good to see the place.

Last day at BUCO for 2012

Today was my last day at BUCO for 2012. I worked in admin all day and finished off my cleaning duties. All over for the year.

Connect Church xmas dinner 2012

This evening, Connect Church held it's annual Xmas dinner. it was a great night as usual. The food was pretty good.

We were told about what is going to happen in 2013. There will be no Sunday evening services and the Bendigo College of Ministry will commence operation. There will be lots of other exciting things happening and i will keep you posted of them

BUCO end of year celebration

This evening, BUCO held it's end of year function at the all seasons  function room. It was a great night as usual. I did not win any door prizes. There was plenty of food on offer and nobody missed out. A couple from the Bendigo Chaplaincy attended as well and i got to meet the minister of Forest st Uniting church for the first time.

Skyfall

After doing my cleaning job this morning, I went to Bendigo cinemas to see Skyfall, the latest James bond movie. It was pretty good, i thought.

In the evening, pastor Tim hall and his son in law preached at Connect church. it was very powerful preaching and moving in the holy spirit.

Hottest November day

Today the temperature reached 40 degrees. This is the hottest November day on record and it felt like it too.

I booked my flight to the Gold coast for xmas 2012 .

Melbourne Motorcycle Expo 2012

Today, I traveled down  to Melbourne to see the 2012 Melbourne Motorcycle Expo. Getting down there proved to be a challenge. There was a signalling problem in Melbourne so we had to get off the train at Sunbury and catch a metro train to Sunshine from where we had to take a bus to Southern Cross Station.

The bus trip was very slow and my temper was tested. I seem to run into a few annoying loud mouths on the bus. We arrived almost an hour late.

Thankfully the Motorcycle Expo was very good as usual. There were some great bikes on display.

I got to sit on most of them and get a feel for them. I really liked the KTM's and the Husaberg models.

Thankfully the trip back was OK, no dramas.

I was back in Bendigo by 5.30 pm and home by 6.00 pm. Hot and tired, but it was a good day after all.

I have not upgraded this blog for a while as there has been nothing to report until today.

An old friend pays a visit

This evening, John Leahy, who is an old friend, came around to visit me. He is just back from the USA. It was nice to catch up and talk about various things.

Promises being realised

At church tonight Ps Nat Valentine preached on "Promises being realized". He talked about promises that seemed forgotten about coming to fruition.

Grand final day 2012

I watched the 2012 AFL grand final today. The Swans won by 10 points. It was a fantastic game, very close all day. I thought they had blown it at one stage, but they won their fifth premiership.

Pretty cool.

On the down side, my fridge has broken down. Luckily, I still have my old bar fridge available, so I can still keep things cold.

Napoleon

Today I traveled to Melbourne to view the Napoleon exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV).. It was a really good interesting exhibition with lots of great displays and some very interesting facts. For example i did not know that a french explorer named Baudouin bought back lots of exhibits from Australia to France in Napoleon's time. Apparently, there were kangaroos and emus in the garden of Josephine, Napoleon's wife. It turns out that there were also Eucalyptus trees bought back to France at that time. So, Napoleon did have a connection with Australia. This was also my first visit to the NGV and I was glad I went down there.

Very interesting. I still got home in time to go to the gym. So it was a pretty interesting day after all.

Shiraz group meets again

The Shiraz group got together once again. we met at the Furness house and shared wine, a casserole and some damper. it was a great evening as usual.

A new computer monitor

I had to purchase a new computer monitor today as my old one packed it in.

I have also got the new BUCO website up and running. I may need to make a few changes.

Connect Church focus night

Today was a very busy day. Firstly, I bought a new washing machine. It is a new twin tub. My old one had had it, so I bought a new one. I went to the gym in the afternoon.

In the evening Connect Church held a Focus night in the community hall. This was a dinner followed by the pastors giving us details of new events in the church. There was a new logo unveiled. Also news about the new transformations program that has begun in Bendigo. 

We also found out about the new bible college that will start up next year. Pastor Bruce Claridge will head it up. I feel that there are some pretty cool times ahead for this church.

Praise the Lord.

Dinner at BRIT Restaurant

Tonight, I attended a dinner at Brit restaurant. it was a fundraiser for the upcoming Vietnam  missions trip. The meal was quite good and it was a really fun night over all. I think that a good deal of money has been raised.

Farewell to Kath Tointon

This afternoon, BUCO held a farewell luncheon for Kathleen Tointon, out outgoing senior manager. It was held at the Uniting Church hall in Forest St. I got a chance to say good bye to Kath and write her a short letter thanking her for all she has done for me up there. She leaves at the end of the month.

New reading glasses and Watoto

Today was a pretty interesting day. Firstly, I picked up my new reading glasses from Kosmac and Clemens. It will make it easier to read things.

In the evening I attended a performance of the Watoto children's choir from Uganda. It was a great performance. Very moving. My church helps to sponsor them and we are sending a team over there next month. i have sponsored them by filling up a money tin.

The latest Batman Movie

As I had a day off today, i decided to go and see the latest Batman movie - the Dark Knight Rises. It was a long movie - 2 and a half hours but a pretty good one. I also bought some new sheets. As I got home late, I did not go to the gym.

Another hospital visit

I had an appointment at Bendigo hospital this morning to see a specialist about my hernia condition.

The news was not good. He feels that there is no point in operating as it seems the first hernia operation (back in 2008) has failed. Apparently there is a 70% per cent chance of another failure if they operate again. I suppose the good news is that I won't have to have another operation. 

I don't like hospitals very much.

Lunch in Rochester

Today, the Coffee Connect group went up to Rochester for lunch at Kits Cafe. We did that last year. It is our way of helping the cafe get back on it's feet after the floods of two years ago. There was a smaller crowd than last year but it was a great day anyway.

Unlike last time, it did not rain all day.

Queen's birthday 2012

Today is the Queens birthday - so everybody has a public holiday. I saw the movie Prometheus at the cinema. It was quite a good movie. I saw the 3d version. It was the first time I saw a movie in 3d - it is awesome. It is the first time I have been to the movies in  a couple of years. The weather is still very cold.

A meeting to discuss fraud.

This morning I attended a meeting at Neale St Uniting Church hall. The meeting was about fraud and misconduct. A guy from Ernst and Young in Melbourne spoke. Apparently somebody in the Melbourne scene of Unitingcare may have been committing some wrongdoing and they held a meeting to discuss it and it's ramifications. It was an interesting meeting.

I did not end up going to the gym. The weather is very cold and windy.

Eurovision weekend

For the last 3 night s I have been watching the Eurovision song contest on SBS. It was a great show. Sweden won by a long way. I feel it was a well deserved victory. It was a  great show as usual.

At church this morning we had a visiting preacher named Kevin Furlong who preached on "Breaking out of poverty". It was a good message.

A new medical appointment

I finally got a letter from the hospital confirming that I will see a specialist about my hernia condition in late June. I am glad to have an appointment.

I also bought myself a slow cooker this afternoon.

A visit to the doctor

Today, I visited the doctor who syringed the wax out of my ears. I have to have this done every two years. My hearing is much better. It feels great.

A new scamming attempt

This morning I received a phone call from somebody who had an Indian accent and claimed that he was from the Government Department that issues grants. He claimed that I had been chosen to receive a Government Grant of between $5000 - $25,000. It sounded good but when I went online to check things out I discovered that it was somebody trying to scam me. The Government simply does not ring people up and offer grants.

I reported the phone call to Consumer Affairs. I did not give away my financial details and no money was lost.

I later went and bought a new filing folder for filing my business documents and a new USB stick.

The latest version of Celebrity Apprentice was on tv.

Back to Optus

I have had a falling out with ACN who were providing my mobile phone service.

I went to Optus in the marketplace and signed up for a new prepaid service. I can still use my current phone, it just means that I now have a new mobile phone number and I do not have to be locked into any contracts.

End of the line with ACN

Today, I ended my association with ACN, who provided my mobile phone. I am sick of them sending me bills with lots of hidden charges. I will look around for a good deal on another phone.

A very busy weekend away

Okay, lets recap the weekend. I had a very busy weekend away in Sydney to go to the wedding of my sister Pauline and Barry Whiley. Pauline and Barry were engaged years ago but for various reasons, had to break it off. Then in 2011 they met up again through Facebook, and decided to get back together and on Saturday the 24th of March 2012, finally got married. The wedding service took place at the Wanda Surf Club which is located on Cronulla Beach. Most of my family and Barry's were there and it was a great night.

Timeline.

On friday the 23rd of March i flew to Sydney with Jetstar. The flight was OK. Not too bumpy. It was my first time with Jetstar. They were ok. I stayed at the Cronulla Motor inn, a three star hotel in Cronulla. The accommodation was a bit basic but generally ok. In the evening we had dinner at the Cronulla Club which is a typical working man's club in Cronulla. The roast duck was great and I met some of Pauline's friends who had come down from Brisbane.

The next day was the wedding. I was asked to video it as no one else wanted to. That was the first time I have ever filmed a wedding. It was a good experience. The night went off really well and I feel that it was worth going to. Everybody appeared to enjoy themselves and it was a wonderful occasion.

On Sunday the 25th I flew back to Melbourne. I went to Cronulla station to catch the train back but has to take the bus to Central as there was maintenance work being done to the tracks. I made the train to the airport OK, which as a different experience and made it back to Bendigo ok. It was a tiring and expensive three days but I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

Going to Sydney

Today I finally updated my plans to go to Sydney for my sisters wedding on the 24th of March. I have finally sorted out my flights and where I will stay for 2 nights.

The Shiraz group meets again

The Shiraz group finally caught up again after a long while. We met at Kevin Furness's house and had a great meal and fellowship and watched some cricket as well.

I am having some trouble at my place as my shower keeps running. I have had to turn the water main off to stop it running. I don't have any hot water right now and I can't wait for the plumber to get here to fixit up.

First Coffee Connect for 2012

Today we had out first Coffee Connect for 2012. It was a good time as there were new people coming along. I was glad I came.

A new PC

Today, for the first time in four years, I bought a new PC. It is a Medion PC that I bought for $499.00 from Aldi in Strathdale. It is super new with 4GB memory and a ITB hard drive plus Windows 7 plus everything else etc. I felt that I needed a new computer as my present one is getting a bit old. This new one has full multimedia capabilities, which will be useful I am sure.

I do feel that I got good value for my money.

My 58th Birthday

I turned 58 today.. Happy birthday to me. I am pleasantly surprised about how many emails I am getting wishing me happy birthday. That is cool.

Sunday January 15th

At church this morning, Pastor Simon preached about sex and sexuality. Very interesting. A prophetic word was given for all the church saying that "2012 will not be like 2011. You have one job to do. Seek me, like you have not sought me before, says the Lord."

Internet woes and victories

I have just got the internet reconnected. Today, I signed up with Telstra and got myself a Telstra 4G mobile internet connection. I took it home, installed it and it has been working real good. It is fast and has so far given me no dropouts.

I had to get rid of my ACN mobile connection as it kept dropping out. I ordered an ADSL2 connection from ACN. It arrived on Monday evening but for the life of me I could not connect it properly. It said "Connecting" but it would not let me browse. So I cancelled it and got the Telstra connection instead.

I saw my doctor on tuesday. I told him that I am concerned that I might be developing another hernia. He referred me to see a surgeon. I may need another operation. Oh poo!!

I don't like being operated on...

A new ADSL connection

I just received my new ADSL modem from ACN. I connected it, but could not get it to browse. I contacted ACN and asked them to switch my home phone back to a full contact line to see if this fixes the problem.

I also visited my doctor this afternoon. I am starting to have Hernia issues again and he has arranged for a surgeon to examine me. I hope it is nothing too severe.

Back from Brisbane

Today I returned to Bendigo from Brisbane. Pauline and Mum dropped me off at the airport. The flight was was mostly smooth, but a bit choppy as we came into land. I caught a train back to Bendigo. It was 39 degrees here. There seems to be a heatwave on at the moment. It is good to be back in Bendigo.