Missing The Hunt

The hunt for a unit is over. The downside? I miss the hunt.

It was enjoyable to search multiple websites, local papers, home pictorials, real estate agent window displays, etc. Everywhere I saw a “For Sale” sign my eyes fixated like they were a radar detecting anything within 100 metres.

I was surprised by how many real estate search websites there are. I knew of one and then went on to find another six. Of course some cover the same properties while others are exclusive to certain agents. Check them out if you’re in the market:

1. Real Estate
2. Domain
3. Homes Guide
4. Just Listed
5. Home Hound
6. My Home
7. Open 2 View

Rumourmills

Rumour, noun

1. A story or statement in general circulation without confirmation or certainty about the facts
2. Gossip, hearsay

Hearing rumours is really discouraging. Especially to the person who has become the subject of the rumour(s). All it takes is for one person to misunderstand or take a facet of the information they hear too seriously for the situation to become inflamed and for the rumour mill to crank up. Fair enough being concerned for that person, but to show genuine concern for one another we talk to each other and ask how each other are going. Even asking more specific questions in an effort to get the person to open up and vent more about what is going on. Genuine concern isn’t shown in telling others you have concern for someone.

For the ultimate consequence of rumours think about one of Shakespeare greatest tragedies, Othello. Here, Othello’s supposed friend told one apparently insignificant lie relating to the fidelity of Othello’s lover, Desdemona. This lie became an obsession for Othello until he couldn’t live with the thought of Desdemona being with another man. So he smothered her and killed her before he could find the truth that she was indeed faithful.

In June’s Southern Cross Media publication Ainsley Poulos writes about how these destructive behaviours can take effect in our churches. It’s not very hard either. It can be as simple as passing on factual information that is no business of ours. Just because it is factual doesn’t mean the subject of that information wanted everyone to know.

Poulos does give methods of saving each other from gossip. The most effective would be to stop it before it starts. Which means don’t be a party to gossip. If it sounds like gossip it probably is and it should be suggested that they speak to the person concerned. We all should be able to give feedback in the right way and to accept it once given. A bit of tough love perhaps?

The Purge

It all starts with cleaning up one small area. Then all of a sudden you are ordering a mini skip.

For me this week I started by cleaning out a bunch of our ‘old school’ videotapes (that’s right not DVD’s, but videos). I was doing this because the cabinet and TV were coming to my place. A lot of these videos were rarely, if ever, watched and didn’t need to be kept. Thus igniting my culling mood.

Then came the magazines. Firstly in my cupboards, then in the toilet (‘Reading Room’) then my big stash hidden on the shelves above my wardrobe. I shook my head in disbelief looking over the amount I had thrown out. i had to ask myself, "Why did I still have all this stuff?"

Seeing as though I was pulling out magazine boxes I might as well pull out the others, containing High School and Uni notes, and continue the cull there. This was fairly easy, as I knew which subjects would be useful in the future. Plus I have all my assignments on CD so there was no use keeping a hard copy. A lot was chucked sight unseen.

In the end 6 boxes turned into three and I’m still in the culling mood. Anyone know when fete season starts?

Making A Name

Check this out. Spotted by my brother Danny, it is a directory of Blogs from churches and churchgoers. Hammertime is featured as one of the most active bloggers. Also 'Haynes' is on of the list of top searches. From there you find both my Blog and Danny's.

Good to see Toonie Anglican up there as the only church from Australia in the most active list.

Needing A Lift

You would think that able-bodied people would make way for actual patients in hospital lifts. Or better still take the stairs. Unfortunately this is not always the case.

An example happened yesterday at Concord Hospital. The lower ground level is very busy and there are three lifts available but all are very slow. When we arrived there were already about six people waiting. We had a patient on a wheelchair. Soon after us two Ambo’s came with a patient on their stretcher. I asked if they were going up the lifts, they answered in the affirmative. The lift finally arrived. My partner went to hold the doors for the Ambo’s only to see all the able bodied people pile in. He pointed to the fact that there were Ambo’s with a patient but they appeared to take no notice. The Ambo’s graciously said that they would get the next one. Part of me would have liked them to push the issue. We were still able to fit though.

One of the “able-bodies” went on to explain why she didn’t move out of the lift for the Ambo’s. “Usually I’d move but they said they would wait” was the main one. Other points she made were that silly that I don’t even remember them. She was still talking as she exited the lift, wait for it, the next floor up.

She along with her fellow “able-bodies” would have been better off to take the stairs:

1. Would get their quicker in most cases as the lifts there are very slow and the stairs are very accessible, directly opposite the lifts
2. Get some exercise as even people working in hospitals make poor health choices, you’d think they know better

All people need to get out of their dependence on lifts. Fair enough sometimes if you need to go up many floors but one floor like the able body in question is just ridiculous and a waste of space and time.

Meanwhile we walked back down our eight levels carrying our fold out wheel chair after dropping off our patient so even the unfit can do it.

Wilburys Re-Released

The Traveling Wilburys, the super group of the late 80’s have finally had their albums re-released after years of what I understand to have been issue with royalties.

The Traveling Wilburys consisted of:

• George Harrison – the former Beatle, as if you needed to be told that
• Jeff Lynne – from the band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
• Tom Petty – soloist, also performed with The Heartbreakers
• Roy Orbison – need I say more
• Bob Dylan – legendary lyricist and folk singer

Formed purely by chance the five friends got together and in 9 days had recorded their first album aptly titled ‘Volume 1.’ It was magical that five stars in their own right could collaborate on such a project and make it work. The finished product is exquisite.

The package also includes their second album named ‘Volume 3’, a documentary showing the making of ‘Volume 1’, as well as their five music videos, including those of their biggest hits ‘Handle With Care’ and ‘End of the Line’.

Great music, great story, and a fantastic affordable package. I first saw its availability on an iTunes Music Store email but I found it cheaper at JB’s. Do yourself a favour.

Where’s The Justice?

Introducing an organization called Catalyst.

• Catalyst is an advocacy program for Baptist churches in Australia. It enables churches to introduce advocacy as a focused area of local church ministry.
• The concept is simple - a church forms a Catalyst group and this group takes the lead in lobbying government, corporations and the wider community to effect justice for the world's poor and oppressed.

In these small groups they are taught the best methods of approaching governments and corporations in an effort to convince them to give money overseas. To Catalyst, social justice is getting other people to do something and then get credit for that something being done. How noble of them.

What about doing something yourself? At least overseas aid agencies such as World Vision are doing something. But even they miss an important aspect of the big picture.

The facts are that

• Our country does give aid
• Is it enough? It will never be deemed enough by aid organisations
• These countries have wealth
• Problem is that the wealth is distributed to 10% of the nation

Is that the fault of our country?

Why not teach people in the ways of lobbying the Mugabe’s of this world to stop their tyranny and let the nation have some food. Unfortunately it would take a military invasion to stop that, and I’m guessing Catalyst aren’t fans of that occurring. That is as hard as it will be for us to get rid of poverty.

The corrupt leaders of these poor countries have the power to get rid of poverty right now. Do you think they want to do that? Absolutely not. That would mean that they lose some of their wealth and power over others. They don’t want to lose their shiny new Merc that they bought with the last aid cheque.

Life Lessons From Football Coaches

At least do something!! Do!!
Don’t think…..Don’t hope. Do!!!
At least you can come off and say I did this, I shepherded, I played on.
At least I did something.

John Kennedy
Hawthorn Coach 1960-1963, 1967-1976
Premiers 1961, 1971, 1976
Runners Up 1963, 1975

A true innovator of his time. A most respected man by everyone within his football club and from the rest of the competition. An educated man who knew how to get the most out of his players from his words.

The quote above is one that I like to utilise whenever I feel a little down in the dumps and perhaps a little lost and directionless.

I tend to over think things and not act on anything. As a result some opportunities pass me by and I end up regretting my non-action.

At least do something. Don’t get stuck in a rut that will be increasingly difficult to crawl out of. Don’t get stuck too much in a routine that you become inflexible to change.

Any sign of procrastination and I have mum shouting at me, “Just DO something!” So just do something even if it's not quite what you want to be doing, at least it is something.

The Real Football

Introducing phase three of my blog fascination: The Real Football. It's where I plan to "keep it real" about what is happening across all football codes, not just what I consider to be the best code. No prizes for guessing which one it is.

To start it off I have copied some of the footy related content from Hammer Time just to get me started so I can continue to muck around with the layout. A definite red and white theme is trying to come out while being easy to read and having everything where it should is also an aim.

Basically just another reason for me to talk about footy.

Your Car Might Be Red…..

…… but it’s not an Ambulance

It’s always interesting when arriving at a hospital to see whether you can park anywhere, let alone in the ambulance and patient transport zones. Some people choose to claim selective blindness by the looks of it. Parking at hospitals is crazy at the best of times. When it’s raining and there’s only so much shelter it gets even more fun.

Westmead is probably the worst, at the University Clinic entrance. The clinic is a very busy place and the car park is usually full by 9am. This makes it difficult for us as we wait for a line of cars to drop off their passengers and then search for parking further a field.

The mentality is that their relative is the only person needing to be picked up/dropped off from the hospital at that point in time.

But whose fault is it for the all too frequent chaotic scenes? Is it anybody’s?

It’s hard to really knock the mentality of people picking up their relatives as we all care for our family. As a result it can be hard to show empathy to others in the same situation.

Is it the hospitals responsibility to provide excess parking? I’m not sure about this as you would be continuously building more parking at a time when the govts are trying to take cars off the road by building Tways around Sydney such as the one running alongside the hospital at Westmead. That being said, if they built more parking they wouldn’t have to wait long to get their money back.

I would like to see more parking ‘sharks’ around, moving people on and making sure the thoroughfare remains clear and that people park where they should. The downside to this is that the sharks are usually pretty heartless and would have no issue dishing out a fine to Ms overworked-single-mum-bringing-in-her-nanna-for-podiatry-appointment if she were to park illegally.

The powers that be could probably reorganise things so that the public can have their set down/pick up zone and the patient transport vans can still have their dedicated zones marked clearly so that the public know what they are. A bit more shelter wouldn’t go astray either.

New Aldi Opening Soon

As I am on the road every day I have been watching with great interest the development of the new Aldi store at South Wentworthville on the Great Western Highway. Only in the last couple of weeks has it become obvious that it will be an Aldi, although us locals have known since they started laying foundations.

Since it’s inception I have been an Aldi sceptic. That was before I had to buy my own groceries. Now I will probably be more accepting of their philosophy.

I never could get why a supermarket would advertise it’s cheap junk rather than it’s food. In catalogues you may see advertised their prices for fresh produce but then everything else is cheap electrical equipment, furniture, whitegoods, or in the latest catalogue it was snow clothing. I know of at least one person who loves Aldi particularly for these added extras, it’s as if the cheap food was the bonus instead of the other way around.

I visited one the other day at Quakers Hill. I couldn’t explore too much as I was on the job. It was obvious why their prices were so low, no name brands with no fixtures and in bulk.

Aldi at South Wentworthville officially opens Thursday 28th June, no doubting that I will be there.

Not Properly Looking

Now that I’ve bought a place I always find it interesting to hear people whinge about the price of houses these days. It is so hard for a young person or young couple to afford to buy a house they say. A newly married man rang up talkback radio last week saying how he can’t find anything lower than $400,000.

But does he want to buy a house or an address?

This person probably needs to drop his standards a little, not too much. If he’s after the posh address then he needs to get off his high horse and take a dose of reality. The reality is that there are plenty of 2 bedroom units around Blacktown, Parramatta and everywhere in between for around $250,000. Some of these are brand new. There’s also a fair few 3/4-bedroom houses on decent blocks of land for about $375,000. Or go in between and get a 2/3/4 townhouse or villa from $250,000. Especially around Wentworthville.

People who want an address will no doubt struggle to find something decent for less than $500,000. So I recommend that this man grab hold of his $400,000 house as it’s probably as low as he will find.

USA News With Added Funny

For those of us who have may have a slight interest in what’s happening on the other side of the world but find reports from CNN too dull and boring then rest easy, there is an alternative. One that will make you laugh at the same time as informing you of the hard-hitting issues in the USA.

Cable Television has produced two satirical current affairs shows that are bound to inform, educate and split your sides in hysterics. Originally there was The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (pic top right). This was followed closely by its successful spin off The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert (pronounced: Coal – bear Rep – pore) (pic bottom right).

The news is real and correct. The people interviewed are real. The reporters may be fake though, you be the judge. Both hosts offer something different to the viewers. They are very different which is why they run successfully back-to-back in America and on the Comedy Channel here in Australia.

If you are like me and have no idea about what’s going on in the USA then I highly recommend you give these chaps a go and tune into the Comedy Channel (on Foxtel Digital) most weeknights for your dosage.