A bit sick

I'm letting my average down here, previously averaging one post per week & now not posting anything for a month. Well I've been a bit sick with a cold for the last week & a bad cough every since the family camp (going on two months). I actually knocked myself out momentarily blowing my nose the other day, fortunately I was in a chair at the time so I didn't fall over; it nearly blew my eardrum out. The coughing has worn out my side muscles and because I'm particularly prone to cramp because of CFS I was getting about half a dozen bad side cramps a day for a few weeks. This has all taken its toll at a time when I'm living by myself again.

I've been working on my web site, adding a little bit about doing a web page. So far my site is edited versions of stuff I had posted up in 1996 except for the 'About Me' page & my Blog. It is my ambition to but a whole heap of stuff about the physics of sound, it's relationship to music, music theory & stuff about bass & guitar playing up; as well as stuff about creating a web site & using various operating systems. One problem is that apart from the loss of physical energy associated with CFS, it has also sapped my mental energy so my concentration is shot. I was getting better but I've gone backwards a little bit for the last couple of months. As a result I haven't got past whacking up an old page with a bit of editing from time to time as I realise what I said all those years ago could still be useful to someone. I still have a couple of articles on using ResEdit on a Mac I haven't put up because I don't think it would apply to anything past Mac OS 8 (& even then I'd be dubious, they were written for OS 7.1 & work under 7.62).

Well mum headed back up to Crescent Head a few weeks ago & I won't be headed up that way until July for the July 3rd Beranghi meeting. In the meantime I'm here by myself which would have been really great if I hadn't gotten so sick. Even so at least I'm having a few good worship sessions, but I've gone back to using the nylon string guitar & it's really hurting my hand making it stretch accross the neck (a nylon string guitar generally has a wider neck than a steel string or electric guitar), so they're generally fairly short. Like my web site, there's a whole heap of stuff in my head just waiting on a long season of not hiding in my room to keep out of people's way because the house is so small & not having too many problems with my hands because of RSI & not being too worn out with CFS or colds & coughing to practice.

I did make it to a protest about the treatment of refugee children in detention on Thursday at the Sydney Town Hall, so at least I haven't come to a complete stop in my efforts to do something about the treatment of refugees. I've gotten a bit behind in writing to one I keep in touch with in Baxter & I haven't been back to Villawood since that failed visit in March. There's another protest meeting to end mandatory detention in Hyde Park north at 1pm Sunday the 20th of June, World Refugee Day, & marching to the Sydney Town Hall in case anyone's interested. Unfortunately I have a meeting of the Gracepoint worship team at that time but I'll try & leave as early as possible & get there even if I'm running down the street to join the end of the march. This is another area where I'm waiting on the energy to do something more substantial than I'm able to do now.

Other things waiting on some energy are reading. I'm slowly getting my way through Mudrooroo's "Us Mob" (Angus & Robertson publishing, 1995), a brilliant book for anyone who would like to understand Kooris, Murris, Nangas, Nyungars, Gooris, Booris, Yolngu, Yamadjis & Anangus (indigenous Australians) [however it turns out Mudrooroo is not one of them despite his claims to be but is the son of a couple of African Americans]; but I have several shelves of books waiting for my concentration to pick up. When I'm on a roll I can read a book a day but I've been working on "Us Mob" for over a month and it's only a small book. On a related note I've been keeping up with Tamarack Song's email list which has opened my eyes to some very different views on education. Here's a quote from him:

"I personally have found much value in our institutions of higher education -- I have gathered delicious wild foods around the peripheries of their sporting fields and the ornamental plantings of their well-manicured grounds provide excellent cover for relieving one's self."

On another positive note I've finally started making it to my church's prayer meetings for the first time in a few years. At least between church, lunch after church, pizza & wine at Bill & Judy's on Sunday nights, Tuesday lunchtime prayer in the city, homegroup Tuesday nights, walking around Centennial Park with Rebecca & Friday night prayer meetings I'm not just sitting at home on my own playing computer games all the time. Apart from this I will be assisting in the Elijah House school about to be run at Gracepoint (probably as Ian's assistant on sound) & we have been meeting on Tuesday mornings to prepray the school. Between all this and the occasional regional prayer meeting, Sunday school, refugee protest march or community meeting I'm about as busy as I can manage at the moment.

Finally I've started on a massive reorganisation of my study which will precipitate a major clean up & reorganisation of the house, hopefully in time to bomb the place for cockroaches when I go to Crescent Head in July. This is not only waiting on my health & energy but I've reached the point in the reorganisation where I will need a couple of people to help me. Hopefully the next month will be one of good health & much activity.

Blessings,
Joe :-)