Happy Birthday Blogger - 100th Posting

For my 100th posting the topic of choice will vary amongst three.

Firstly why do I find myself cringing at so many Christian groups and people of the Church when I see how they behave in public? I just keep bumping into people from Church who are science nerds, who laugh at everything and are useless at sport? Per capita New Zealand Christians in Dunedin must be the worst at sport (real sports which are ball sports). They are great at rock climbing and orienteering, but as far as "proper sports" we suck.

Secondly has anyone else ever been in an uncomfortable situation with a female work mate not wearing a brasseire and wearing a tight blouse with buttons undone/missing? Thought I would put my afternoon tea story onto the blog!

Finally another loss for Redemption FC at the weekend. Our heads seems to drop when we start losing. It has to be said though that if the referee is useless it is better that he calls less fouls than more. We were on the receiving end of some really bad calls which didn't help us. WE lost 2 nil but had a couple of goals disallowed whilst they got some very generous free kicks! Went down 2 nil.

Bought My Ticket

Today I finally bought my ticket on the trip of a lifetime to the UK. Whilst it is disappointing for Redemption FC it is so exciting for me. I will attend Dagsey's wedding and visit my brother in Sweden and then stay on and try and get my break in the UK job market.

I decided that if you really want to test your faith you have to get out of your comfort zone. I have been stuck in my ways in Dunedin for about nine years, so it is time for change. I fly out on July 3rd.

Christian Pick Up Lines
Christian Pickup and Dumping Lines
Top 10 Christian Pick-up Lines
I just don't feel called to celibacy.
Did I tell you that my great-uncle was a personal friend of Billy Graham?
I don't see it myself, but people tell me I look like Michael W. Smith.
What do you think Paul meant when he said, 'Greet everyone with a holy kiss'?
You have the body of Amy Grant and the soul of Mother Teresa. (DO NOT get this confused!)
You know, I'm really into relationship evangelism.
I'm pretty flexible--I don't think a woman should be submissive on the first date.
Before tonight, I never believed in predestination...
Just looking at you makes me feel all ecumenical.
And the number one Christian pick-up line...
I hear there's going to be a love offering tonight.

Top 10 Lines Christian Women Use to Break-up
I'm sorry, I've found someone more spiritual.
I'm sorry, it's just not God's will.
I feel called to the ministry_very soon and very far from you as soon as possible.
I'm sorry, it could never work. I'm a sanguine and you're a phlegmatic.
God loves me and must have a better plan for my life.
You know, I feel like I'm dating my brother.
At least I got a lot out of our Bible studies together.
You need someone with lower standards.
I think we should just be prayer partners.
And the number one break-up line...
I do love you, but it's just agape now.

More Christian Pick-up Lines
Just when you thought there weren't any other ways to start a conversation with a member of the opposite sex, here are a few more Christian pick-up lines that somebody sent to me. Enjoy!
Nice Bible
You know Jesus?! Me, too!
God told me to come talk to you.
I know a church where we could go and talk.
How about a hug, sister?
Do you need help carrying your Bible? It looks heavy.
Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?
What are your plans for tonight? Feel like a Bible study?
The Word says, "Give drink to those who are thirsty, and feed the hungry." So how about dinner?
You don't have an accountability partner? Me neither!
You want to come over and watch "The 10 Commandments" tonight?
Is it a sin that you stole my heart?
Would you happen to know a Christian woman that I could love with all my heart and wait on hand and foot?
Nice bracelet. What Would Jesus Date? Oh, I mean "Do."
Do you believe in divine appointment?
Have you ever tried praying at a drive-in movie before?
You know, they say that you've never really dated until you date a Christian.
Excuse me, I believe one of your ribs belongs to me.
Christians don't shake hands, Christians gotta hug!
Oh, you're cold? Maybe we should read Ecclesiastes 4:11
I am here for you
My friend told me to come and meet you, he said that you are a really nice person. I think you know him. Jesus, yeah that's his name.

Redemption Forever

This year ANZAC Day will go down as the day that Redemption FC reached new heights and that the huge lack of depth in Southland Soccer was exposed. The 4th Grade Redemption team travelled south to face my childhood club Old Boys in Invercargill. To get a perspective on things, we are 4th Grade in the Otago league and they are the third best Southland team. We left the rain in Dunedin and it is still coming down and headed south in the YFC Van driven my team man Sammy Callander.

We won the toss and thanks to some weather watch on SKY Weather Channel 58 which said showers and wind increasing, I knew we had to go into it first half and we did. They were all over us like a cheap suit during that first half, but desperate defence from the Redemption back four and some poor finishing saw us hold on. The first goal went the way of Gav Jones. We had far more pace up front than their backs and it took its toll as some pressure applied by Jones saw a wayward back pass snapped on and tapped past the goalie. We were up one nil pretty much against the run of play. But we grew in confidence from that and the game was even going into half time.

We came out second half with the wind at our backs and the game got really scrappy in midfield for a while. It was like we were only just hanging on. Then they did the unthinkable and slotted a goal taking it to one all. We were aware of the tendency of Redemption to drop our heads as soon as we concede a goal. But we kept knocking the ball long and forcing their defence to play it out for a throw in or corner. Eventually one of these corners taken by Gav Jones was a stunner. It blew in towards the goal, the keeper missed it and one of their defenders handled it to stop it going in and was subsequently sent off. James Murray got his name in the Southland Times by getting the direct shot in and we were up 2-1 with ten to go.

All hands on deck as Old Boys tried to throw everything at us, but lacked the youth, speed and shooting accuracy to make it count. They would have posted twice the shots we did, but who cares. Redemption had played out of their skins, with only one sub, away from home and come away with the win 2-1. This gives us a first round Chatham Cup clash against Waihopai who are a 2nd division team we are fourth. We have nothing to lose and they don't know much about us. We are now one of the top 128 football clubs in the country!

I felt sorry for my old club as one of my old coaches was playing and so were a few others I knew. They were nice guys and their worlds and fallen down around them by a bunch of gutsy, God fearing, city slickers from 4th grade.

Follow the link to the Southland Times article which mentions our game!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/southlandtimes/0,2106,3648120a6439,00.html

The Beautiful Game

Have you ever noticed that life seems so much easier for attractive people. It is something I have experienced first hand as people bend over backwards to help a good looking gal and sometimes these species of attractive people do come into council! It is just human nature. People are helpful if you are old, injured or great looking. Actresses can get away with fledgling singing careers or get their own tv shows. Look at the likes of Carmen Electra and Pamela Anderson, believe me these gals can't act. There must be other benefits like people buying you drinks, chocolates and flowers. Businesses also prefer to hire a beautiful belle than a wart ridden troll. I believe the media has plenty to answer for with music videos and society in general dictating that women especially must live the dream by being beautiful, meeting prince charming and living happily ever after. This makes it tough for blokes trying to maintain pure thoughts when the average quality of women is steadily rising. Hayds my old flatmate doesn't watch much tv these days because of what he calls Increasing Lust Levels. As guys we usually rely on visual stimuli, making keeping the Lust Levels Low, difficult to achieve.

The real beautiful game occurs tomorrow with Redemption FC captained by yours truly, travelling down to Invers to play my old club Old Boys in an ANZAC Day special. So if you have nothing to do, make the trip and watch Redemption FC take the beautiful to the next level. Kick off 2pm at Waverley Park.

Taking Responsibility

I have learned in the last while thanks to the inspirational Sammy Callander that when we lose there is no point making excuses. I find it easy to blame other players, referees, the cheating opposition, when in actual fact it is a matter of taking responsibility and realising that complaining won't change the result and that it may only hurt the already low confidence of team mates who are already hurting on the inside after defeat anyway. The result is in the paper as they say. This is in reference to a moment I had on the field with my team against a team of older, bitter and more skillful opposition than ourselves. They won 3-2, but one of my defenders who is a nice guy was feeling down because he put the three goals conceded down to slight mistakes from him. I told him to not worry about it. I hadn't exactly been in the right myself with these goals, but twice I deflected shots which happened to go his way and whilst they potentially could have been stopped, it wasn't like he had a shocker with them or all day. It just was at the wrong end of the field.

This is not only the case on the sports field, but in life. We can go around making excuses about everything, chances that have slipped through our fingertips, but it doesn't do you any good. As the 1980s song goes "No one in your life is with you constantly, no one is completely on your side". No one else is going to make the tough calls in your life, because they have their own lives to live. It rings true. We are only around for a short period of time, it is stupid to make excuses. We need to stand up and take responsibility!

This sounds like The Word for Today Bible Reading Notes!

"So it's not just me then?"

Has anyone else discovered the following provide great advice summed up in a succinct manner?

Song lyrics
Proverbs
Well known phrases
Bible Verses

These provide all sorts of insight into life and can provide hope in tough times, or just advice when you need it?

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" This verse from the Bible is so inspirational when you are going through tough times.

Other ones that spring to mind are "If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you've always got. This helps me think about potential life changes.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush- Hard to say exactly what this means, (some people have totally different interpretations which I can't repeat!). But when I got offered my job there was also another job coming up, so my brother used it to describe a job in the hand (offer).

I don't want to bore you with any others but there are heaps. What are some that keep you guys from wondering away from the straight and narrow?

Football
This weekend we play soccer against Green Island at 12:45pm at Bayfield Park, and on ANZAC Day we travel to Invercargill to play in the Chatham Cup against my old club top side Old Boys. It promises to be a great weekend/early next week!

The Easter Break

What a time I had. It is amazing how you feel so refreshed after getting a change of scenery. I firstly went to Soul Sessions on Thursday night as my flatmates were playing. They were better than expected considering it was their first gig.

On Friday I wasted the afternoon travelling to Invers on an overcrowded two storey bus. It took almost four hours for a 2.5 hour trip. Never mind, it was a great chance to enjoy the shopping at Peggydale (Balclutha) and relax. I arrived for my Swedish niece's first birthday tea. It was more of a roast than anything and it went down a treat. I then began to realise how most of my family has settled down. The world of parenting kids is a totally different lifestyle to students. They love getting attention and were constantly wanting it at all hours.

The Saturday was another cracking Southland day and my sister and myself went shopping in Invers. The Easter specials were plentiful and I had a field day. It is hard to know whether the prices of sale goods is psychologically enchanced by the bumping up of regular prices or not. Also making money helps when it comes time to hit the shops. Invers has most big city stores but with less other people purchasing, so you can get your hands on some great stuff. I bought some jeans, a top, a nice shirt, thermals and a training jacket. All at half price, or so they claim!

My rag tag side won soccer on Saturday also. This was great news because I felt guilty leaving town and managed to find different players from different groups of mates to cover.

The rest of the time we spent eating chocolate and watching SKY whilst dosing off to sleep, between quiet spells with the kids. It left me thinking that it isn't so bad being a man of mystery for a while yet.

The Presbyterian church was attended on Sunday and this reminds me of why I have given up on the whole Pressy side of things. The old aged congregation with the hymns are ok in small doses, but like Council tends to suck your will to live after a while.

I returned with my sister for soccer on the Monday and we played University and won 3-1 in a real character building performance. This was such a buzz and a great cherry on top of the weekend. My sister and I went out to the Albert Arms for a pub meal. Life for her is quiet in Invers and I fear falling into the same trap if I don't break out soon!

Today was a rude awakening at work. Some of the ladies have been telling me off at times. It starts wearing you down after a while. There is quite a bit to remember but yet somehow when I make a mistake they think it makes them look bad. It is a mentality which irks of hypocrisy as when they make the same mistake I don't make the same fuss. Maybe it is a women thing as the building inspectors out the back don't seem as concerned about it. I guess for most of these ladies this job is their life. Maybe this is why they have never had a guy work as an Admin Officer there!

P.S. The sun always shines on the mighty Southland! Well it did at the weekend!

Today this openly gay guy at work was trying to get a Liquor Licence fast tracked for his club "Bodyworks". This provided a few chuckles around the work place. Especially since they have these full moon parties! The mind really boggles! It also brought back memories of hearing Ritchie Winter talk about being hit on by some guy at work. While Ritchie was being a mate by inviting him down to his house down south to saddle up together and ride motorbikes, this guy was getting the wrong idea. Anyway I dug this article up from the annals of literature about a current All Black. Any truth to the rumour? Is there anything wrong if he is gay?

Here is an article from
www.nzherald.co.nz/index. cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10340620

All Black fronts on gay issues
13.08.05
Was it a case of an All Black being outed as gay, or just a magazine doing what magazines do to pull in the readers? The latest issue of the gay magazine Express has "The All Blacks' first EVER gay interview" alongside a picture of utility back Aaron Mauger. In smaller print below, it says "Aaron Mauger speaks out on homophobia in schools and encourages gay kids to play rugby". The fortnightly magazine approached the All Blacks to ask a player to help encourage gay youngsters to participate in sport. But its cover treatment could give the impression that Mauger is gay. Jim Tully, head of Canterbury University's journalism school, said the way the headline was worded was ambiguous. "Given the photo and the words, I would think most people seeing that would assume the subject was gay. I'm sure nine out of 10 people would take that view. That in itself is not a problem unless the person involved is not gay." Mauger, who is in Australia for tonight's Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations match, is married to Amy and has a son, Felix. He was not available for comment. Express editor Oliver Hall denied the wording was ambiguous and said there was no insinuation that the player was gay. It was big news that an All Black had agreed to speak on gay issues and this warranted front-cover treatment. "It's huge that he's done this and the All Blacks should be applauded, so obviously we would make a big deal about it," Hall said. "We haven't tried to suggest he's gay in any way and anybody who has seen Express before would know that." Hall's view is backed by Auckland University film, television and media studies lecturer Dr Misha Kavka, who said any reaction to it would be purely sensitivity over any connection between sport and homosexuality. "It might be sensationalised, but there are plenty of headlines that are potentially misleading, in most magazines and papers," she said. "Express does not 'out' people or put straight people on the cover to imply they are gay. It's either because they are talking about gay issues or are of interest to gay people. You don't have to be gay to do that." Hall said Express readers had seen Paul Holmes, Helen Clark and Don Brash on the cover. Mauger says the All Blacks are inclusive in a story describing rugby as the final frontier of Kiwi masculinity.

Easter Weekend and a Good Bastard
http://ia310119.us.archive.org/3/items/My_Blog_2/Bloggertime.mp3

This weekend I will go down to Invers to celebrate my Swedish niece Amanda’s birthday. I am pretty sure it is her first birthday but it may well be her second. It shows what a poor uncle I have been. She has lived in Sweden and so I haven’t seen her or her brother William much. They provide some variety with their brand of English/Swedish language. I will return on Monday for soccer against the top team in our grade University , who hopefully will be below strength with Uni holidays. I will miss playing the easier game against Mornington the4th Division perennial strugglers. I hope we have enough players. It is only the 3rd or 4th game for Redemption I have missed since the inception of the club in 2003 without being injured.

It was raining steadily today for practice which has to start at 5pm as light dictates. Sammy Callander picks me up from work and we head along. Sammy is a great acquisition for Redemption as he is a good bastard and all round team man. He is the best Jonah Lomu player I know, although not good enough at the weekend going down 5-2. The beauty of his marital relationship is that Sammy and Rach are one of the most sociable married couples I know. Usually couples become reclusive and live the hermit lifestyle for a while.

Finally I am trying to boost visits to my site, so I will get some hot gossip going in a blatant gutter way. If you have any rumours or inside info feel free to post them here! My first juicy gossip is that Laurie Mains for all of his prestige of being an All Black coach, is an interesting man of grouchy proportions. He rang me the other day at the Council and although consents are his life GJ Gardener Homes is his puppy, he still struggles with Consent process. Stay tuned to find out about gay All Blacks, drunken celebrities and who is in God’s army!

Phil Leishman

Most people have dreams of meeting exotic Hollywood stars, hot singers stars or even meeting the Stags. But I had a dream last night involving none other than TV host Phil Leishman of the Golf Show and Wheel of Fortune fame. He was reading my blog and reckoned I should get my sports writing published. I was asking him how? But then he disappeared, into the dust.

Many amazing things have occurred in dreams and have shaped a nation or world. Usually it is someone like the great JC who appears or an angel, but Phil Leishman!

Hard to know what to read into this unusual situation.

Soul Sessions

Got out and about and loved the Soul Session last night at the Metro. Unfortunately I arrived too late to hear the velvet voice of the Jeremy Callander. Jeremy is a deep thinker (unlike myself) and was famous for his MC performance at the fairytale wedding of the year a few months back. The main act was the Monica Yeoman Band with the likes of Em and Jono Conway. The crowd was full of the southern sort of soul/ apos scene. It was great knowing heaps of people and chewing the fat with celebrities like Sammy Callander and Project X. The temperature was hot and the crowd was vocal. Even the Cherni Chernis were there. Next Thursday night my flatmates are playing.

Just after the dust settled on a first up Redemption win for 2006 and another balmy Dunedin autumn day, the floodgates opened on a week of turmoil for extreme blogger Donaldson. The stomach bug which has destroyed mere mortals struck on Sunday afternoon and the effects were felt until now with carnage enveloping The Opoho Street Ghetto. The minute consolation comes from three days off work, a chance to take it easy and recharge the batteries and hang with my other sick flat mates (it was army hospital for a day!). This rest is needed after the fireworks engulfed the bathrooms and left an unsatisfying sense of lethargy on my aching bones. It provides many great stories of battle wounds and the one that got away!
These events occur so infrequently that it takes time for the body to recover, so I decided to err on the side of caution and take three days off it is now a matter of being re-entered into society. Most people struggle to lose an appetite; I am still getting mine back!

It is amazing how life has changed in the past few days. I decided to try my hand at walking into University to check what is happening in cyber space. Usually when I am in using the University computers after work (my flat mate’s password) I never see anyone I want to like Project X or anyone. The walk to University left me shattered and feeling like a fish out of water. The raucous noise streams of students, a far cry from the solitude of lying in a snug bed on a grey autumn day sleeping. I just kept either bumping into people or seeing friends, mates, colleagues and or special Project Xs. The irony of the situation! After holding a conversation with a guy named Tom (I was battling with the bug), I saw about three people I knew in the distance. (This is my gift which Dom, Jon and Matty Dalman there own of!) My gift saved me from showing my pasty skinned, malnourished ass to people of genuine importance like Project X and others who I feel I should look respectful to. So I ended up walking straight home dejected. Another chance meeting with Project X quashed. I could have played the sympathy card, but I didn’t’t.

Being sick has also made me wonder how I used to fill in my days on the doll. I guess it is different when you can’t physically do anything because you are sick. I find myself sitting outside getting some Vitamin A listening to J2 on SKY. It is a very inspiring and thought provoking atmosphere. From here I can write down my thoughts as to where I am at with God, other people and how my life long plans of success and world domination. I had actually organised to meet with my Boss to get a general consensus on what role Council has in my life? I better bottle this fresh air (I haven’t seen much in days!) and save this to my flash drive and take it into Uni tomorrow to put on my Blog, this stuff is gold!

I am back at work and after initially ruing living with noisy students who play music until midnight I realized that I was once there, not playing music but watching TV etc. I would like to offer a huge apology to Josh Woodside and Tim Borrer who were working when I was flatting with them and would’ve had to put up with me amongst others keeping them awake. I am in the equivalent bedroom to Josh this year above the lounge and he without complaining suffered through me, Stevo and Sammy playing Jonahs until the wee small hours and Hayds playing guitar. What a star!

Today I actually had a chance meeting with one of my bosses who told me of a few areas I need to pull my socks up in like showing up to work before 8:30 and working faster before the end of April if I am to get a pay increase. These are two areas of constant struggle for me not being blessed with the fastest dexterity (I think that is why we mainly have females) and I usually arrive at 8:30 but you have to be ready at 8:30 and it takes time to log into the computers. The irony of it all is that I thought I was being paid fine. The craziness of the situation is that if I am to go up a scale I would be one level below the maximum 100% pay for the position. But this meeting provided me with an opportunity to tell her of how I am feeling about potentially moving on. She said that her son is the same age and doing the same thing. She said I could contact HR and potentially get like a 3 month sabbatical. I will look into it. The only problem is can I get out of it if I find myself the ideal job overseas?

Check out the latest weapon added to my armoury. Down the right side of this blog is a comments post. Awesome!

The Chosen Ones Remain Unbeaten

The Chosen Ones defeated some Pacific Islanders to win our eighth consecutive game. Last time we played these guys it resulted in a 4 all draw, but this time we had all of our regular players. That makes a huge difference in a season when the same player turn out game after game.

It is really aparent that we are a great allround team without the explosive Hayden "Martine" Luke we still managed to out score a good team 7-5. We were showing the ball and finding gaps in the opposition defence with ease. I finally realised why my role is becoming increasingly of a support nature in play. It is because there are so many gamebreakers in the side, that I don't have any responsibility to make it happen. This is a stark contrast to the DCBC Superstars where I feel obliged to get moves going.

Our reward for winning every game was playing against a team of referees, most of whom were star players. We kept them scoreless and scored about four or five tries including a double of intercepts for me, my first for the season, in the last game. This proved that The Chosen Ones are a force to be reckoned with. It is just the experience factor that we have gathered from several years of suffering. There were also less awesome teams than usual!

Redemption FC

I am extremely sore from playing the first game in the 2006 season, an away win 6 nil over Northern A played in hot and dry conditions at Prospect Park. We went into the game without several players from last year including Matt Dalman, James Miller, Aaron Thomson and Matt Coyle, but we scrambled together a team well and still had our core of experienced players. The first half was a Gav Jones special with a double. We turned tired at halftime and two nil up after playing into the sun. The second half was a benefit as Northern struggled to handle the Murray and Jones speed upfront and couldn't get there finishing on target. Sammy Callander and Luke Arkapaw slotted goals from lobbed shots, whilst great individual efforts from James Murray and Vince Frank (brother of Justus) saw us record a six nil win. Both sides got very fatigued by the end as the twenty degree heat took its toll. Some sore bodies today, I would imagine!