I just returned from seeing “Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King”.

Wow!

I think that’s got to be the greatest story of all time, without a doubt. No other movie has ever been able to bring out such wide variety of emotions in me. Tolkien is a master. The movie really was everything I expected and more. I could write for hours on all sorts of different things in relation to the movie, but I’m so gob-smacked at the moment that words escape me.

One thing I will talk about though are the characters. The final development of Samwise and Aragorn was inspiring to say the least. I think these are my two favorite characters of the trilogy. The ending of the film was spectacular, I had to stop myself some giving a standing ovation a number of times, I really didn’t want to wreck it for anyone. I hate it when people are disruptive in movies.

While “The Matrix Revolutions” left a lot to be desired, “Return Of The King” fulfilled every twist and turn of the plot so completely that I can’t remember a movie being tied up so well. All through the movie I kept thinking about the relationships of the characters in the film compared to those of in my own life, and I found a lot of parallels. If I were playing the part of Frodo, Dan would be my Samwise. No other person in my life could I count on to go with me to the ends of the earth, just because. If I were playing the part of Aragorn (oh to have such fortitude of character) Mellissa would be my Arwen. No other person would give up everything, just to be with me. If I were to shape my character around anyone in this tale, a mixture of Samwise and Aragorn would be it.

I truly can’t imagine any other story being better than this, except perhaps the conclusion to time itself, all our history rolled up into one story. Anyways, although this was after all just a film, it will be one of the greatest days of my life. Not quite to the extent of the big stuff like marriage and the birth of my future kids, but still up there. It’s truly wonderful to be able to let yourself be captured in a movie, when for a while your own life doesn’t even exist, and you too are part of the story.

Favorite scene from the movie: When Eowyn slays the dragon to save King Theoden, and Merry stabs the Witchking in the back just as he is about to kill Eowyn.

“On earth we are wayfarers, always on the go. This means that we have to keep on moving forward. Therefore, be always unhappy about where you are if you want to reach where you are not. If you are pleased with what you are, you have stopped already. If you say, ‘It is enough’, you are lost. Keep on walking, moving forward, trying for the goal.” – Augustine.

:five:

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
Getting married

2. What was your biggest disappointment?
Moving into the house we are in now, it looked so good at first, but we’ve had nothing but problems

3. What do you hope the new year brings?
Entry into the Airforce, more sleep and winter.

4. Will you be making any New Year’s resolutions? If yes, what will they be?
What’s the point of making a resolution to do something you probably already should have done by now if you really wanted to do it in the first place? I think New Years resolutions are primarily for procrastinators. If you have to wait for New Years to provide a good enough reason to do something, maybe you should move on to something else, like perhaps a self motivation course.

5. What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?
Hanging out with my wife and mates, perhaps a bit of light drinking, some fire twirling and If I have time, taking over the world ………….. Just kidding on the fire twirling

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope your holidays are going well.

Ok, we made it back safe. Our trip to the coast was great. We had a wonderful time down to Mum & Dad’s place, and the airconditioing there was a lovely bonus! It really was great being able to spend time with the family.

Didn’t do a great deal yesterday afternoon after we arrived, but this morning we got up early and went to see Mum and Dad’s new house, and how the buiders are coming along with it. It’s absolutely huge! It’s also only a few hundred metres from the beach, which is hella cool! We took time out to take Gypsie down to the surf to see how she’d go……. well she went, right there in the surf. First I thought she was sitting like a good puppy, but then I realised what was really going on.

After our time at the beach we headed back home to share gifts. Melly and I got some wonderfully presents from the family, very useful ones too. Thanks guys! Mum cooked a roast lunch for the family which was spectacular, roast veggies, turkey, ham…… and for drinks, my favourite CREAMING SODA!!!!

Unfortunately Dad had to work at 2:30pm so we didn’t get to see anymore of him from that point. During the afternoon most of us slept or read, I played xBox. Mum and Dad gave me “Mortal Combat – Deadly Alliace” for xBox, so I took advantage of the situation and relaxed infront of the tv for a few hours.

We left for home at around 7pm, and arrived home safely not long ago. It was such a lovely thing getting away from Toowoomba for a few days, It did wonders for my stress levels.

Before I go I’d like to thank my God and saviour Jesus Christ for coming into this world to save my soul from the consequences of my sinful nature. Beyond anything else in this world, your gift Lord means more to me than any possession money could buy. Thank You so much!

Where’s about to head off to the sunshine coast for xmas with my family. Should be really good because Mum and Dad have airconditioning, and it’s been bloody hot around here lately.

Melly’s not really looking forward to the trip down, she doesn’t do well in long car trips, but we have my sister Beth coming with us, and Gypsie in the car too, so hopefully things will keep her preoccupied.

Nothing much new on the home front. I caught up with Dan L and Ian last night who I hadn’t seen in ages, they were back from Townsville and Adelaide. We played some xBox, went for a walk, and did a lot of talking, as per usual. Got home around midnight just as it started to rain. Because we’d just washed Gypsie for the trip to Mum and Dad’s I had to bring her inside and keep her company until the storm was over so she wouldn’t get muddy. This means that Josh hasn’t had much sleep.

I’ll hopefully be able to post again from my folks place tomorrow sometime, or perhaps when we get home in the evening. Until then I hope everyone’s holidays are going well, and you are all having a good rest. For those of you who are working over xmas (Rob, Pete, Ric)…………….. suffer! Only kidding. I hope the customers arn’t to crazy for ya guys.

Cheerio……

Ok, what a day. Got up at 5 am. Got ready for work, went to work, worked for 5 hours, left work. Went down town to pick of some photos which were put in on friday to be picked up saturday but couldn’t because they had been forgotten about and hadn’t even been processed. The told me to come back in 30 minutes which I did, and then they hadn’t been developed properly, so I had to come back in another 30 mintues. After the photos were finally done…. properly…. I payed for them (with a discount…..BONUS!), then headed over to my Great Grandma’s place and gave her her photos, fixed her airconditioner, hung some washing out for her, then had a drink and left. Next I went to my grandma’s place to drop off her photos, and after that I came home. After arriving home and bringing my stuff in it was back in the car to go do the grocery shopping.

People are so lame, you’d think the average joe would be able to muster the mental strength to correctly manouver a shopping trolley in a way that didn’t obstruct everyone else around him. I sware shopping aisles should be wider.

Anyways…..did the shopping, came home and unpacked the groceries with Melly. We had showers to cool off (it was so hot!), then went out to her mum’s place for our family gathering.

Ahhhhh, rest. This would have been the first time I had stopped all day, and damn did it feel good! It was great seeing the kids again, Lily and Zane are soo cute! It was great seeing the kids having so much fun and spending time with the family. We left around 9pm, and after getting home I went over to Dan’s place to hang out, but Dan was pretty tired, so not much hanging out got done. So it’s now midnight, and I’m still awake. I think maybe I’m so exhausted I have become restless. I probably should try to get some sleep soon.

I was just reading :heather:’s blog, and came across a link to a site called grouphug.us. It’s basically a anonymous confession website where people can share their biggest and darkest secrets without the fear of judgement.

I must have spent about 4 hours reading various peoples confessions, it really made me quite sad. Mostly because it gives you a real insite into how many people are silently suffering out there in the world, yet play this little game of masquerades to cover up their real feelings. So many of them really just need understanding and someone to listen. It gave me a slight hint as to the omniscience of God, and how he knows all the crap that’s going on in everyone’s life. I can’t fathom exactly how huge that is, but I get a better understand of why we need, and why he gave us, a saviour.

On the flip side, despite how screwed up I think I am, I apparently “have it together” a lot more than the majority of people commenting on this site. I say this not to gloat, but rather because I am thankful. It kind of puts into perspective some of the things you have to deal with as opposed to how much other people have to deal with in life. Hooray for perspective

Ok, So I have three really cool things that need to be said.

Firstly, I was looking around for free mp3’s the other day and found a wonderful aussie site called mp3.com.au. They have heaps of free mp3’s by bands that arn’t afraid to get their music out there into the public. All major music styles are represented, and some of it’s really good! This is really good for me as I get to listen to new music with out having to pay for it. Considering how broke I am at the moment this site really is heaven sent.

That’s not even the good bit. When I was browsing around the site I found that one of my favourite punk bands, ANTISKEPTIC, have released some songs on there. Now, I’ve been following this band since it was launched a few years ago, and they’re starting to make a real impact. They have a style similar to BodyJar, and they are believers which is nice. I really like it when believers get out there and make their stand in the real market, instead of hiding in the christian music industry, which very few, if any, non-believers actually know exists. ANTISKEPTIC have a new single out, which is really cool, it’s called “Clear To Pass”. You can download it here!

Secondly, the other day doodie-head next door was ordered to remove his annoying dog. I called his realestate agent on Wednesday to complain about the dog. Apparently he didn’t have permission to have the dog there in the first place, so the estate agent told him to get rid of it! You have absolutely no idea how great the sense of relief was that swept over me when I heard this. The dog was taken away today, and moved out to a farm where it can actually run around and have fun, instead of being abused by it’s arsehole owner. Melly and I are rather excited, because tonight will be the first uninterupted night’s sleep in months. YAY! Prayer answered

Lastly, Melly’s site, PsychoKitten, is back up and running. I moved her blog over to a new server and things are as good as ever, if not better. Unfortunately all previous posts and comments were lost, the last server just shutdown without notice. Hopefully this new server will see better days than the last. For those of you wondering about Rob’s site, that was in the same boat as Mel’s, but Rob’s in the process of getting his up and running as we speak.

That’s all for now, stay tuned for more ……… sometime

Ok, so Erica left this link in my forum (Which you all read right?) to this guy’s website, he calls himself Maddox, and damn he’s funny! I’ve been reading it for hours, very entertaining.

One thing I found particularly interesting was this. Anyone who knows me well knows I HATE forwarded emails. One that’s been floating around for a while, I’m sure everyone’s seen it, is the “Twenty-six things a perfect guy would do”. If you’re anything like me your whole body revolts when seeing something like this in your inbox. Maddox’s comentry on this email is quite the contrary. This would have to be the funniest thing I’ve read in ages. If you want a good laugh check it out……don’t take it too seriously though

:five:

1. List your five favorite beverages.
Creaming Soda, Mountain Dew, Vanilla Coke, Mango Juice, Milo.

2. List your five favorite websites.
:tiff:, :dan:, :wendy:, :heather:, :rob:.

3. List your five favorite snack foods.
Chocolate, M&Ms, Cherry Ripes, Cheeseburger Toast, Tim Tams.

4. List your five favorite board and/or card games.
500, Up the River Down the River, Uno, Gin Rummy, Warlords and Scumbags.

5. List your five favorite computer and/or game system games.
Warcraft 3 (Frozen Throne, PC), Counterstrike (PC), Diablo 2 (PC), Enter the Matrix (xBox), Mortal Combat Deadly Alliance (xBox).

Argh!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The pain!!!! I …… am …….. so ……… tired ……..

I just finished a 2 km run. Now, I knew I wasn’t it very good shape, but I didn’t have quite so rich an understanding as I do this very second. Gypsie came with me, she had a ball. For me though, I feel like I need a lung transplant, and I don’t even smoke.

My intention was to start out on a small run, seeing as I am unfit, and then increase it a little each day til I get up to speed. Starting out on what I used to consider a small run, I flunked it……BIG TIME! I need to be up to scratch before my testing for Airforce entry, and I do indeed have a long way to go. On the positive side though, If I hadn’t gone for a run tonight, who knows how close it would have been to the testing before I would have worked up enough motivation to start up again. Maybe I should start rollerblading again first, then work up to running…… nah, I shouldn’t wuss out. Be a man Stan!

At least I know my dog is fit. But then again, she is a sled dog after all.

Some people I know talk about their faith in a way that is very buddy buddy with the big fella above. I can see that they most likely deal with the same kinds of emotions toward God that I do, but instead of calling God’s bluff and struggling with them honestly, they seem to try and organize their thoughts in a way that won’t offend Him.

Maybe I’m incorrect in my next assertion, but I believe that God is way bigger than that. Personally I don’t feel that living life tip-toeing around God is any way to have a relationship with him. So, as my usual m.o. goes, when things are not going according to how I think they should I struggle with Him, usually on a very emotional level. I yell, I cry, I talk, all depending on the severity of my emotions. Yet in all this I feel that God understands this side of me. If after all he is all-knowing, then regardless of whether or not I actually say how I feel, he knows it anyway. So as I see it, there’s no point trying not to offend him, and even less point trying to hide how I feel from him.

This is where I am at right now. Things are going on in our life right now that are trying us to the point of breaking. I understand that many people are in a very similar situation, hence why I think there will be some level of understanding here. It’s nothing unfamiliar. Copious bills, not enough work, noisy neighbors, low stability, dissatisfying job, little down-time, tense work situation, bla bla bla…….. I can guarantee that most of you will understand the situation, and if not, I’m sure you could imagine.

Continue reading »

Yes, it’s finally done……….well the blog anyways. More will happen in the near future, but for now Dan’s new blog, “Antithetics“, is up and running. He’s moved over to Movabletype from blogger, so you’ll notice a few extra goodies at your disposal, such as a better layout, easier navigation, and better archiving.

Have a look and let him know what you think.

My little sister Beth was in a car accident tonight. Luckily she is ok but her car is a write off. Please keep her in your prayers, she now has no car and her financial situation isn’t very healthy.

For those of you who are wondering what’s going on with the PsychoKitten and Glass Half Full blogs, they are currently down due to server maintenance. Hopefully they will be back up within 3 days or so.

Not much on the home front today. Melly and I went out this morning and I spent the afternoon/evening/morning helping Dan on his new website. Will be well worth having a look when it’s finished!

Hope to post something more meaningful tomorrow.