Colin Warren: the blog

The last couple of weeks have been hectic and I’m making myself sit down to write a short post to help get some sign-off from what’s been happening.

The wedding was a great day, everyone looked beautiful, the weather was perfect, and we had a wonderful service & celebration. Very good to enjoy the day with loved ones, family & friends and to catch up with everyone. Lots of nerves of course (the first one where we played the role of parents), but once things got under way, we were all swept up in the moment and the plans all went smoothly.

Then it was off to Brisbane the next weekend to catch up with family and attend a youth club reunion. During the 70s we lived in Toowong and attended the Reformed Church there and went along to the youth club. It was a pretty amazing day to catch up with people I hadn’t seen for over 30 years and here the stories of their lives over that time. Marriages, children, work, travel, illness, parents, and lots of laughs reminiscing over old times and adventures had as young adults. It was a pity the time was so short, as it’s difficult to catch up so much time in a few hours over an afternoon. Maybe I’ll get along to it again if there’s another one next year…

So, taking a breath now and very glad that I don’ have any big commitments for a while. It’s time to slow down and pick up that book I was reading, watch those DVDs we’ve been planning to see, and get back into some exercise…

We’ve got a very special event happening in one week’s time. The first one of our sons is getting married! This time next week we’ll be sitting together at a wedding feast celebrating the beginning of R&C’s new life together. Wonderful!

The first cousin got married a couple of years ago, so nice for lots of family to come together and enjoy the day.

The young couple have been together for quite a while (just about childhood sweet hearts) and the planning for the big moment has been going on for a while, and been thorough. Bucks & Hens nights have been had, and rehearsals have been organised. The only thing that can’t be planned is the weather, so were hoping that it will oblige on the day.

This has all sort of snuck up on me because we’re so used to seeing them together and the planning has been going on for so long. They have a place to live so Mr23 has recently moved out and been busy setting up their home. With the busyness of the new year, and other things to keep us otherwise occupied, I was surprised to suddenly realise that the wedding is only 7 days away. It’s going to be great and we’ll be very proud parents.

I better go and dust off the bow tie.

I have just returned from a trip to Queensland where I attended the Learning Technology Conference 2009 in Mooloolaba (you can read more about that here), I met up with old friends whom I hadn’t seen for 30 years, and caught up with some of my family in Brisbane. The weather was warm and not too muggy and I even enjoyed a swim in the ocean (where the water’s much warmer than what we have in Victoria).

The conference enabled me to meet some old friends (from last year) and also connect with some other friends who I’ve met on line, but had not yet met face-to-face. I also met some new friends with whom I’ll keep in touch online. It’s great to talk & share with like minds about what we do professionally. So, my Personal Learning network (PLN) has been consolidated and extended.

As well as ‘networking’ at the conference I was also able to meet up with friends that I hadn’t seen for thirty years! Great to hear about each other’s lives, marriage, work, children, travels, etc. etc. The best thing was that it all felt easy and natural, no pretence and easy laughs. Wonderful. Also catching up with closer family and being comfortable at my home away from home. It’s always nice to touch base, and get a sense of how live is going for them. Lots of food, stories and laughs as well. We are social beings and those connections between family and friends are important – good to be able to share, encourage and support others who are meaningful to us.

It’s not always fun to be away from home and the family, but I felt very comfortable when visiting, as my hosts were generous and kind. It does make a difference when you can feel at home at someone else’s place.

The travel was fairly straight forward with web check-in making airport procedures quick and it easy trip back – it was very nice to get home.

Oh, and did I tell you how easy it is to eat too much?

Dear reader, it’s been a while, the postings haven’t been very regular, and it is that dreamy, lazy time between years, but I thought I’d better make start on my blog for 2009. Hopefully with this beginning I’ll feel like I making some headway. 

On the home front, we’ve had a great holiday with two weeks down on Cape Otway. Nice weather and great to spend time with the family – had the boys down, Dad & Emmy (who had done a bit of a road trip and driven down from Qld), brother Andy and family, as well as Trynda, James & Samuel. Enjoyed sitting around in the bush and relaxing. I even managed to read a couple of (largish) novels – Snow Crash by Neal Stepheson and Matter by Iain M Banks, both science fiction. Also trips to the beach (picnic at Blanket Bay for Christmas day), walks through the forest and some hard yakka cleaning up around the place. Came back to go to work and then went back to the bush for weekend to chat to a tree lopper as we’re getting closer to building and need to clear a few more trees. Don’t really like doing this, but we need to make way for a house and make sure nothing will fall on it later. Highlights obviously the weather, food, drink, books and company, as well as spotting a couple of Twany Frogmouths hunting in the dark – very cool. Overall and excellent adventure and good for the soul.

 

And now it’s mid January already! I’m finding that a little difficult to comprehend but it’s true. I’ve been back at work for two weeks and gradually getting up to speed. There aren’t a lot of people around (it’s good time for academics to get their recreation leave entitlements down) and students don’t come back on campus till second week of March. Well, that’s not completely true. We’re running a Tri-semester 3 (instead of a Summer semester) and have quite a few students doing that but they are mostly off campus. Things for me so far have meant getting ready for Tri-semester 1 and covering the fort till other support staff come back from leave. So, been dealing with some business and catching up with people after the break. Looking forward to doing some writing and research this year and thinking about a research question that might sustain me during the time it would take to do a PhD…

So, that’s fairly up to date with a fair bit of computer tinkering over this weekend. New operating systems on three laptops and restoring software applications and data. Wendy’s HDD failed and I needed to go to 10.5 and then Reubs wanted to as well. I suppose we’ll find out the week what we still need to do when things don’t work or we can’t find something. Oh, and we’re saying goodbye to Ash as he heads back to Europe for a while (at least 9 Months). He be heading to France (Lyon) to catch up with Pip who is studying there. It will be cold. We might be heading over that way too, and spend some Euros on the continent later in the year – we’ll see how things pan out.

It has been a while dear reader, no excuses will be entertained, so it’s on with some writing…

Monday morning, cool and overcast. We’ve had a some rain earlier and it was nice to wake to the sound of it on the roof. I imagined (just for a moment) what it might be like sitting/lying in a tent, listening to the same thing…

Well, It will be August in a couple of days and I can’t believe it! Where has this year gone? It’s been busy that’s for sure. The family are all doing their own thing both study/ work wise, and we all seem to be fulfilled in that. I’m now 6 months into my new job and still learning stuff. That’s a good thing and my knowledge base has grown considerably. Focussing more on the academic side of things has been stimulating and the operational stuff keeps me grounded in the day to day practicalities of working with/in the system. I’ve been reading a bit and discovering new technologies (social media/networks) that will lend affordances to what we do as educators. Just have to work out how we might implement some of them in an institution that is fairly strong on standardisation and locking things down. So, I don’t mind going in to work every day which can only be a good thing.

So as well as work, there’s been plenty of church stuff to keep me busy along with a few things on telly sports-wise. The Cats are going great guns, the Wallabies are winning, Cadel did well in Le Tour and there’s a small break till the Olympics. I’m also enjoying Deadwood (TV series by HBO that screened a couple of year ago – but not in Oz) that I watch an episode of when I’m on the exercise bike. That (the exercise) and changing some eating habits has helped my to lose a few kgs and I’m happy that I’m keeping fit. Annual check-up recently confirms I’m a healthy specimen.

So, now it’s off to work (just as the sun is breaking through – just love that sunshine) and knocking over a few more jobbies and keeping the customers happy.

to post or, not to post (is that a question?) It’s been a while and seeing as I’m kicking back enjoy the end of the (birth)day, I thought I’d share a little with my readers. I thought celebrating another year (past and future) might be an excuse to jot a few words down, but it’s not really is it?

Anyway, don’t want to reflect too much on the significance of birthdays and the like, just wanted to say something about family (friends are great too and very important but I’ll talk about them another time). So, great to have flesh and blood close by to remind you of your place as son, brother, husband, father, uncle etc. etc. Wonderful to share together: food, gifts, stories, hugs and laughs. As we’ve grown older the relationship’s changed but that’s good. We’ve grown/evolved together and have been part of each other’s ‘circle of infulence’. In that circle you find love and support and plenty of grace that overlooks your weaker moments. How good is that! I’m blessed.

Gifts you ask? well,a couple of books, some product, and a nice new set of ‘old fashioned’ tumblers that I’ll be trying out with some single malt soon. Do you have any spare USB ports? I did. My last one got filled by a gift from son#2 & friend – a USB missile launcher controlled directly from the desktop! Cool – (been trying to shoot my best friend in the other room) and even found some Mac software for it.

Had a nice evening last night – dropped into the city on the way home from the Burwood campus and met son#1 for a drink and then the family for some Shanghai dumplings before going to a gig at the State Library with sis in law and nephew#1.

“Shaun Tan in conversation
Hear award-winning illustrator Shaun Tan in conversation with Chris Wallace-Crabbe, discussing Shaun’s work, including his new book, Tales from Outer Suburbia. Shaun’s previous books include The Red Tree, The Lost Thing and the acclaimed The Arrival (2006). In 2007 he was named Best Artist at the World Fantasy Convention.”

It was great to look (thy showed some illustrations) and listen, and I really enjoyed the talk about creativity, language (text and images), story, silence, dreams, the suburbs, inspiration etc. etc. They were recording it so will look out for any publication of video or audio.

It has started raining, and as usual, it sounds great. Hope it lasts all night.

ps. Had some Belgian Waffles (with cream, maple syrup, and stewed berries) and a coffee for breakfast. Yum!

Its late on Saturday evening and I’m feeling fine (the Cats have won again). Now that’s two nights in a row of nice dinners and pleasant conversation. It’s probably been a while since we’ve actually been able to do that. It’s been good to sit around the table with family and friends and enjoy each other’s company while taking our time over a nice curry last night and an african bobotie this evening. Also enjoyed a Warrenmang white (2004 Bazzani Chardonnay) and red (2005 Bazzani Shiraz Cabernet) with affogato for desert. Getting some shuteye will be next and a slow Saturday is on the cards….

Anyway, all this got me thinking about conversation/s and how they work and I reckon they play a key role in how well the evening goes. It all depends on the people sitting around the table and what stories they’ve got to tell. A lot depends on what experiences people have had and how often they may be able to add to or enhance and develop the conversation. Have you ever sat back and wondered just how much you might be able to control the ebb and flow of the talk for a whole evening? It might take some energy and some planing but I reckon it might just be possible. It could actually be fun, enough of a temptation for you to try it sometime?

oh, I wish…

It’s been a bit crazy lately with professional, home and church life getting a bit hectic. There seems to be something to do every night and I just want to put my feet up and relax a little. I’m getting tired of always having something to do. I could probably deal with it all a little better if I quarantined things a bit more, but I seem to be very aware of what still needs to be done. I don’t mind being busy but I often feel as if I can’t come up for air. So, the idea of an extra day to chill, or use it to spread the load, sounds good. Or, maybe I just need to work on my priorities a bit, or ask others to do a bit more.

Anyway, after a busy day I’m starting to kick back a little tonight. Writing this post and waiting for the footy to start. Might indulge in a single malt later and hope that the game is good. (The Aussies did give the Kiwis a hiding in the Centenary Test (rugby league ) last night – but I didn’t get to watch much…)

Mother’s Day tomorrow and managed to get things organised, so we’ll make sure Wendy has a good day. It’s nearly four years since mum died and we’ll miss her. To all you fantastic women out there who have brought children into the world, have a great day – I salute you!

Last Friday night we went and saw the play The Arrival by Spare Parts Puppet Theatre based on the book The Arrival by Shaun Tan. It’s quite an amazing book and I was wondering how it would be interpreted as a play. I thought it was well done, a fairly simple set, clever projection/animation and music, to create some amazing images/ landscapes and atmosphere. I came away uplifted and with a deeper understanding of what my parents, and many of their generation may have experienced when that came to this country.

A review of the book captures it better than I can:

Tan captures the displacement and awe with which immigrants respond to their new surroundings in this wordless graphic novel. It depicts the journey of one man, threatened by dark shapes that cast shadows on his family’s life, to a new country. The only writing is in an invented alphabet, which creates the sensation immigrants must feel when they encounter a strange new language and way of life. A wide variety of ethnicities is represented in Tan’s hyper-realistic style, and the sense of warmth and caring for others, regardless of race, age, or background, is present on nearly every page. Young readers will be fascinated by the strange new world the artist creates, complete with floating elevators and unusual creatures, but may not realize the depth of meaning or understand what the man’s journey symbolizes. More sophisticated readers, however, will grasp the sense of strangeness and find themselves participating in the man’s experiences. They will linger over the details in the beautiful sepia pictures and will likely pick up the book to pore over it again and again.—Alana Abbott, James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CTCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

It’s at GPAC in Geelong on May 31 as part of a national tour. Catch it if you can…

on a more sombre note…

An aunty of ours passed away after a short illness and much discomfort, just before Christmas. Very sad indeed. We had stayed with her for a week and benefitted from her gracious hospitality in July when we were in Holland. Our eldest happens to still be in Europe/Holland celebrating Christmas and New Years with family and managed to get to the funeral to represent us. A bit difficult for him as his Dutch is very limited but some cousins were able to help out. We’re thankful that he was able to tell us about the day, what happened and who was there.

I’ve also picked up on recent bereavements through other sources, and was thinking about our reactions to the loss of a loved one. While the experience may seem to be a common one, we all deal with it differently. I think that’s a good thing. But coming from a small family myself, the experience is a rare one. It’s not that I’m ‘happy’ to have had the experience, I have grown from it, and can now empathise (in some way) with others who are going through the grieving process. It made me think again that any change brings with it some sort of grieving/taking leave, and this is healthy aspect of life. It’s part of how we work as human beings and we need it to become more complete individuals.

All this made me think about a book I’ve just taken back to the library without reading (just didn’t get round to it), but I am going back tomorrow to re-borrow it. I was on my way to drop some books in the slot and had a quick glance at the jacket text and then the first paragraph and thought this should be read. It was Another Day of Life (scroll down in the Amazon site to read the reviews) by Ryszard Kapuscinski which chronicles the first few months of the Angolan Civil War. (I thoroughly enjoyed another of his books, The Emperor, which is an analysis of the decline and fall of Haile Selassie’s regime in Ethiopia).

These stories are about life and death, about politics and war, about stupidity and waste and they remind us of the human spirit, about hope and resilience, about love and devotion. So, dear reader, while the facts of life include death, we would do well to live each day like it may be our last, and to love each other a little more…