I went to see Smokin' Aces today with David. It wasn't nearly as violent as I thought it'd be. With an R rating for violence I was expecting something that'd be difficult to watch. But it wasn't too bad at all. There was lots of shooting and stuff, but it wasn't all that gory.

As a film it was pretty good. Nothing earth shattering or anything, but it passed the time well and the last scene made me want to be a film maker. I love it when films make me want to make films. It's this bug that gets inside you and you have scenes shooting through your head and everywhere you look you see a good shot, and you want to be able just sit down at a computer and type and magic will come out. Sadly, it can't, but one day I'm going to get that a bug and there'll be a film at the end of it. That'll be fun.

For Lent I've been vaguely convinced by Gemma's suggestion to not buy anything new. But I was at Westfield today and I remembered I really wanted to get The "Born to Run" 30th Anniversary Special Edition Box Set. It's got a Concert DVD, a Making Of DVD and a remastered version of the album. So nice. Unfortunately being on de-consumerised Lent, I couldn't buy it. Plus I'm broke.

But David's back, and David hadn't bought me a Birthday present, so without prompting, David bought me a birthday present. Now I have a sexy box set, and I haven't bought anything new. Yeah. Thanks 'Vid.

I love The Boss.

Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
`Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run - Bruce Springsteen

Welcome home David and Ryan. It's good to have yous home.

We got David from the Airport last night and promptly stuffed him full of Thai. Ryan woke me this morning by shouting at me as I slept. He's back to his old tricks.

And I just got to speak to Jem on MSN which was good fun too!

Now I'm off to hang out with some of the lads and lasses in Hornsby land.

We went back to Beacon Hill tonight to do the last of principle production for the film. I got there a bit late because I was packing up at church. When I arrived they were just working on the jib.

When the jib was half done someone looked across the vast view of the Northern Beaches and beyond and said "I think that's rain coming". And sure enough it was. We spent the next half hour or so holding umbrellas over all the equipment till we packed up and went home. It wasn't really the planned outcome. Maybe we'll get it shot next time.

It was filming again today. It started at about 5:30am as I wandered hundreds of metres down my street to find my car buried in the rabbit warren of streets. This is the issue of getting home too late ore too early to get a park if there is a show on at the Enmore.

Anyway, we (Helen, Jon and I) made it to church late to meet the others. We got on the road and after a few shenanigans and stops to buy tape and breakfast we all made it all to Budgiwoi Beach, location one for the day.

We spent the day filming at the beach with a 3 metre high structure stuck in the sand and and a dingy on the beach. People kept looking at us as if we were a little strange. One kind surfer warned us that it'd be stupid to launch the dingy in the surf. Which is true. Had we tried to launch the boat we probably would caused someone or something a large amount of damage. It wasn't a particularly friendly see today.

It was slow work today for some reason. We did two shots in the water with a water proof camera case. They were pretty fun. It's hard work trying keep steady while the wave pound you and the the ocean is trying to suck you out to sea. Matt stood with me and kept me steady so I didn't drown. I did managed to get dumped in the shallows with the camera, it was extreme! And I was recording it all too! I'm sure it all looks fab!

In the middle of the day we got a large break while the special effects crew worked some magic. I slept in the beach tent. Brilliant!

When it was time to shoot again angry clouds were threatening and the whole thing had gone overcast. We moved fast and tried to make everything look the same. It was hard. Sea spray was covering everything and the lenses were misting up. But we got it all done.

Then, only 3 and a half hours behind schedule, we headed back to Sydney. We were planning on shooting again tonight, but alas the storm set in and we couldn't do it. I figured this was probably a good idea because we would have been filming on the top of a look out with a big, metal jib. I doubt the lighting rod thing, while looking cool, would have done much to advance the overall benefits of the production.

So we headed home. I came home to find the street full again and absolutly no where to park, so I took refuge at Jon and Helen's till it was safe to come home again. That was fun. Though I think we were all rather stuffed and sun burnt. They were kind to take me in in my hour of need.

I look forward to my rest tonight.

Today my job meant that I had to spend two hours playing laser tag and two hours eating Thai food and ice cream. I couldn't say this work doesn't have its perks.

People fight in the street here a lot more than they did in Hornsby. Must be the pollution.

Went to see Damien Rice tonight. Man, he was good. And Lisa (who I thought was called Sarah) she's fantastic. I'm finding it hard to find words to describe it, it's music the makes you want to melt. As long as melting is a good thing.

I love concerts.

And it was good fun to go with Luke, Ashleigh and Pip. They were good concert going companions.

I've still got me to be your open door,
I've still got me to be your sandy shore
I've still got me to cross your bridge in this storm
And I've still got me to keep you warm - Damien Rice

Ok loyal readers, here is your chance to make Jem an internet celebrity!

Now that Tabitha is working on YouTube, watch the video, rate the video, and link to it on your blog, tell your friends, stick it on bulletin boards, do all the rest. Of course this is a shameless push to get Tabitha seen but it'd be way cool if she got famous I reckon!

If you do this I will love you forever. At least, I'll love you till I make a lot of money and then I'll forget you, because I plan on forgetting the little guys.

I can hear the Queens honking their horns.

I went and saw the Queen Mary 2 today. It is rather large. Very cool boat I thought.

I did just learn that vacuuming your monitor is a quick way to dust it. It's also a quick way to scratch it. So don't bother.

I have a room that is almost clean. It's very odd.

"To be near Jesus is dangerous. It offers no prospect of earthly happiness, but involves the fire of tribulation and the test of suffering...only through fire may the kingdom be attained." - Joachim Jeremias "The Parables of Jesus"

I do sometimes wonder when I see quotes like that if perhaps I'm having too much of a good time here on earth. I really do genuinely enjoy my life. And it's not just an enjoyment of the goodness of God. (Although I do enjoy that.) I enjoy other things a lot. I enjoy Pataks Butter Chicken frozen meals, I enjoy my iPod, I enjoy cds, I enjoy Coke, I enjoy friends, I enjoy games, and I enjoy jokes. I do love to sleep, and sleep in.

Of course there are things that are hard, frustrating, sad, annoying, and distressing. But on the whole I'm having a good time.

So maybe I'm not near enough to Jesus. Maybe I'm not taking up my cross enough. Maybe I'm not giving up myself enough. Maybe if I was a good disciple of Jesus people would like me less and life would be less fun.

I figure I'll do my best to aim to be a good disciple of Jesus, and if life gets harder, so be it. I'd rather follow Jesus. But while my limited success at discipleship still allows me to eat Pataks Butter Chicken and listen to my iPod, I will. Hopefully even if I get slowly martyred for my faith, Jesus will still let me have frozen meals.

I was sitting in Staff Meeting today and we were getting told by one of the Wardens about the process for appointing a new minister. Basically what happens is the 5 nominators who were elected by the church, go and meet with 5 nominators from the diocese. The people from our church are meeting with the Parish Council in a few weeks, and I think they're working closely with the Wardens.

Anyway, the Warden told us, that the nominators would probably want to talk to us staff members too. At least talk to the Assistant Minister.

It was around then that I started wondering "How important are we in this process?" Basically, the Anglican system is set up so the the Senior Minister has almost all the power. He can delegate that power if he wants, and he does, to the Wardens, to the Parish Council, to the Staff, but in the end the buck stops with him.

When a Senior Minister leaves all the power reverts back to the Wardens. At least responsibility goes to them and the people in town (Bishops and stuff). In Anglican law, as far as I can tell (though I haven't done much research) the Staff aren't really factored in at all.

So I'm sitting there in Staff meeting wondering how important I am and it occurs to me that actually I'm not. All this power going to the people of the church, not the employees of the church, puts us in our place. We're not really the ones running the show. Maybe in the day to day, we run things, but in the end I am just a servant of the people. I'm employed by the people, I'm payed by the people, I work for the people.

At first, when I realised this I was a little bit miffed. In the old days it probably wouldn't have bothered me at all. But the past few months I've been groomed as "Senior Staff"*. I've been told I'm a leader in the Church. The Senior Minister, the Assistant Minister and I, we were the Big Three.

But now the Big One is going and I'm not so big anymore.

I thought some more though, and this is the appropriate arrangement. I am just a servant of the Church, and of this Church in particular. I maybe a leader, but only with the authority given to me by the people who are not employed by the church. The youth ministry, it's not my ministry, it's the church's. The new minster, he may be my boss, but he's much more the Church's minster. If I'm consulted, that's nice. But it's not my right, and it's not a requirement.

I guess this just means that I should be thankful for the input I get and the rest of the time I can get on with serving the church.

*Let me just say I'm not sure why anyone would ever consider me mature or important enough to be called "Senior" but hey, you take the title you're given.

I went out with the Little today. We went to an internet cafe and played Need for Speed against each other. That was heaps of fun. But he's a better keyboard driver than me. He won most games. Although I'm a better drag racer. I know how to change gears using "shift". It made me want to go drive fast cars fast for real. I think I'd be better at that. Although if I drove into a lamp post it wouldn't just bounce out of the way like in the game, it'd probably kill me.

I came home and bummed around a little. I uploaded a Tabitha video to YouTube, which doesn't seem to be working yet. And then decided it might be time to head off to Matt and Beck's Engagement party.

I realised that getting to Clareville Beach from Enmore, is like getting to Newcastle from Sydney, but less pleasant. Especially when you're stupid enough to take the Spit Bridge. I arrived fashionably 2 hours late. I was the most fashionable person there I reckon. Except perhaps for the hair cut.

But the party was fun. I managed to avoid talking to most people. I don't think I was in party mode today. I did enjoy myself, I probably wasn't the best contributor to the socialisation of the party. I had fun play fighting with some little cousins I found. It made me look good with kids, and I didn't have to talk to adults! Yip! Everyone wins. Actually, I win twice, which is even better! Plus I like kids.

Tonight I hung out and at Thai with Jon and Helen. I know why I'm friends with them, 'cause I like them.

Update: Tabitha is working now. You can watch her here.

So I went to the Dentist again. He wanted to put a cap on some other tooth I have. He said it looked funny. I said "No". He wanted to make one of my other teeth whiter. I said "No". I'm standing up to my Dentist. None of this cosmetic dental stuff. God made me with one tooth missing. And he made me miss one tooth and kill another. As long as my mouth is functioning I'm still happy.

I went to work, and worked fast, and hard, and ran two small groups. Which were both good. Differently good. One snappy and quite contained. The other intense and all over the shop. But both good.

Had Anmol's party. Happy Birthday Anmol. Lots of food. Nice people. His parents are champs! Lots of food.

Last night I spent all night dreaming about driving a Bugatti Veyron. Shame the clip got taken off by the BBC. Chill out I reckon folks. "But who am I to ask you lick my sores?", who said that?

Good night.

This video made me squeal with delight! Bugatti Veyron going at 407 km/h. Yeah baby!

I'm not a real big fan of Valentine's Day (apart from this day when I must have been in a good mood). This may be because I'm bitter. I've never gotten anything for Valentine's Day, except for one flower in year 11, which was given by Kaia and Jemma and they gave one to everyone in our group, so it wasn't like they were being romantic*.

Then again, I've never given anything. Except for once I gave with some friends to the girl in our class we thought would like Valentine's Day the least. We got someone to sing "In the Ning Nang Nong" to her. We thought it was pretty funny. I'm not sure now if it was mean or not. We weren't trying to be mean.

So really I haven't really gotten into the day much at all. It was always filled with hope at school, only to be dashed when my crush didn't send me a flower. These days I don't really wonder if anyone is going to send me anything because that's my job to send stuff. I've learnt that now. If you've got a crush on someone you send them something, they don't instinctively know just to do something. But I wouldn't do anything these days, because I'd be so embarrassed to declare my love for someone on Valentine's Day. It'd doom your whole relationship to a future of pink cards and taking Richard Mercer seriously. It'd make me want to vomit. Even more than normal.

So let me just say to all you potential girlfriends, wives and pash pals out there: You will never get anything from me on Valentine's Day. I'll give you something the day before, and the day after. But Valentine's Day is a romance free zone! Cause you can't break tradition can you?

*They were being friendly and it was fun to get.

I have new computer at work. Woo! It has a 19" wide screen LCD monitor, 512MB ram, Duo Core Processor of some unknown speed, a removable USB hard drive (though I think that might be just on loan while I get my old stuff off it 'cause it seems to have most of my old computer on there, and it's only pretending to be 8GB large) and other bells and whistles. It's pretty fun having a new computer. I've spend a bit of time making it how I like it. No more silly XP blue and green for me!

Now I don't have to steal Nathan's computer to check my emails.

Tomorrow is Day One of the a new year with a new Year 6 Scripture class. Hopefully it'll go better than the last three years. Please God.

I did a photo shoot today for BBBS. Me and my Little, and another female Big and Little went out with a photographer into the depths of the City to look good and put our images to good use.

First it was the girls' turn for a cheesy milkshake shot. I got to hold the reflector thing.

Then we got our turn to stand on a crowded street and laugh and point at things with a small depth of field. I looked like a doofus. I think I need less hair on my head.

We got bought a burger and drink each as props and rewards. That was good. I like to eat. But the eating and drinking were only a quick distraction, because it was back to being photographed reading the paper together (I think it was JB Hi-Fi ad) and running around in the park. Then we got to go home.

It was pretty fun. I would like to be a model. I'm going to get some cosmetic surgery and make it my profession. It was a good way to spend an afternoon with my little brother. We're both pretty good looking.

Weeping may remain for a night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 30:5

The camp was good fun. Nothing exceptional really. A camp like many camps. Except it wasn't Christian so there were no Bible talks, no one said (or sung) grace, and there was no worship anywhere to be heard (or seen, or practiced). Strange, it was like "We're on camp, but if there's no Jesus, what are we doing here?" I guess I feel like Jesus and the pursuit of the kingdom are a better reason for a camp than team building activities. But I did enjoy myself, and I did enjoy the team building activities. Hooray for High Ropes! It was good to spend a weekend with the "little" as they're called.

I made it to church tonight too. Youth group was fun. We had a record number of people turn out of the retirement village today. We usually get about 10, today we got 28. That was cool! Unfortunately the residents didn't know we were coming and there were only 6 of them. The exact opposite problem of last time. But still a good problem to have.

Youth stuff is going off at the moment. It's great. God is doing stuff.

I'm off to BBBS camp. I'm sure that'll wake me up!

This Blog is cool. Most blogs are interesting because you know the person it's about. This one is just interesting. I'm hooked.

My iPod arrived. At least, he arrived with the TNT man, then left with the TNT man, cause no one was home. So I had to go to Mascot to the big TNT depot (which was cool) and get him.

I've named it "Poopy the Pod", so it must be male, because you can't call a girl "Poopy".

It should be fun. Hooray for Birthdays!

I went out on the town with Mil and Gemma today. We went to see Stranger than Fiction which was pretty good I reckon. It made me laugh, Will Farrel did a better job at toning himself down than I've ever seen from him. And it had good things to think about, like death, and sacrifice, and literature, and art, and probably other stuff. I did enjoy.

We also ventured to sushi train and a dancing machine. The girls did alright at the dancing, I on the other hand am not what one would call skilled. Maybe unco would be the word.

We parted company around then, I ventured off into the wilds of the Botanic Garden to plant myself among the pashing couples on the grass and read, pray and sleep. Then I came home and watched the special features on Superman Returns and ate Pad Thai.

We watched Ten Canoes tonight. It was good and funny. I didn't expect it to be funny but it was. I guess there was humour in Australia 30,000 years ago too.

Top marks. See it.

For my birthday my lovely relatives (Mum, Dad, Jo, Grandpa and maybe Hannah) banded together to give me lots of money to buy a swanky iPod. So I did. I bought an 8GB iPod Nano, with a Nike+ Sports kit and an arm band.

The idea is to use the gadget to encourage myself to get fit. I'm really excited about it, cause Nike+ gives you graphs, and stats and everything. I love statistics! So I reckon I might start running again. Maybe I should make a deal to pay $5 to my blog readers every time I fail to run three times a week or something. That'd motivate me. Though probably not a very good idea.

Happily though, if I don't ever get fit, I will listen to lots of music. Yeehaa!

I got my iPod engraved too. That was fun. It says "I'm a Happy Consumer. This is my iPod"

The Sopranos is awesome. Bacardi Breezers, on the other hand, are not. Ajak and Atem brought some orange ones over two weeks ago, and I've been the only person in the house willing to drink them. So I've been slowly working my way through them. They're horrid, disgustingly sweet. I don't know what teenage girls see in them. Drink Fanta.

As you all know I've been single for a while. Finally someone has done something about it, and as a very special birthday present, Howie has created a website just for me! Maybe now my dream girl will come along.

If you wanna check me out (and perhaps fall in love), go here: singlespeakers.com.au

Update:Oh look. Just there below, Howie has already posted this for me. Thanks Howie, always looking out for me.

Finally a place where peoplc can really get to know me for who I am.

Officeworks don't make very good Post-it notes.

I've been having a few meetings lately. They've been leader get togethers for various ministries. And I've had a really good time. I think a month of not doing ministry and just talking to people about doing it has tired me out. Now we're back. Youth Group starts tomorrow and I'm excited. It's good to be doing what I enjoy most.