Crime and punishment

A mum and her son board the bus and take a seat in the priority seating area in front of me.

"Do you want a drink of juice?" inquires the mum.

"Yes please," replies the little boy. He has an olive complexion with short, dark curly hair. The mum is caucasian, but judging by the child's appearance, the father was probably african.

The boy sucks on the bottle for a few seconds. "Mmmmm orange juice - my favourite," he says. In a way I think he knows that he is slowly becoming the centre of attention - and generally that would be enough for me to lose interest in someone, but he is just so adorable that I allow myself to remain amused.

He pulls-out what appear to be his two favourite toys - Spiderman and Superman figurines. He starts playing, prompting his mum to take the role of Spiderman while he assumes the personality of Superman.

"Spidey, we've got to save Mary-Jane from Venom," yells Superman.

How cute. He's even gotten his superheroes mixed-up. It seems Lois Lane has been shafted for the time being.

"Spidey, let's go to Venom's house and rescue Mary-Jane," commands Superman.

* Ding dong *

"Oh hello, Viper. It's me - Superman. I haven't seen you in a long time," says Superman.

At this point, it seems poor Spidey is just an accessory - taking no formal role in the rescuing of Mary-Jane.

"Why are you such a bad man, Viper?" asks Superman.

"Well I just don't know, I try my best," he replies.

"Here, I'll take you out of prison - I want you to be a good person," says Superman.

I smile at the child's perception of right, wrong and redemption.

Can the act of freeing someone from unfavourable circumstances that are completely as a consequence of their own actions instigate change? Can it encourage reformation?

It can. But only if there is a price - such that there is some form of value associated with it. A sacrifice has to be made - a sacrifice that the reformed will be able to remember and be forever grateful for. A sacrifice that is so great, that the reformed cannot repay it, but can only say the words, "Thank you" over and over again.

The lyrics of a song from Kids Church come to mind:

Jesus you're my Superhero

You're my star

My best friend

He took me out of prison and gave me a brand new start. May I never forget that.

We approach uni and under instruction from his mum, the boy jumps back into his pram - ready to continue his adventure sometime later.

Whoever hates his life in this world will find it.

OH&S rebels

So we decided against waffles.

Marie: "They'll take too long"

Me: "How about pancakes?"

Marie: "Sounds good ... but how do we make them?"

Me: "On the sandwhich press?"

So we decided it was worth a shot. And what better occasion than for my 21st Birthday to have our pancake day! We've actually been planning our pancake day for like two years, but it never actually eventuated .. until today.

Talking across the bench to Nishe and Marie in Micro about our pancake party earlier in the week sparked a few people's interest - Brittany offered to bring the cake, Katie said she'd bring bananas and a few others would simply come along and help celebrate.

And dude, what a great party it was! I feel privileged that I was involved in the first party ever held in our common room. I don't think it will be the last either - other ideas such as omelettes and bacon and eggs were being thrown around. Next week we're playing board games during our Friday break.



And of course the cake:



Katie and Julie bought some new posters to decorate the common room with, and I being the tallest person in the room at the time had the kinda dangerous task of putting them up!



Patience. Love. Peace.

For the fellas

A poem I found on one of the blogs I follow. I'm not entirely sure who wrote it, but it really struck a chord with me. It's a tad lengthy, but I encourage you to read it all.

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me?
I said Amen - I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think.

But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not entirely sure, can we just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say, Amen - a bit.

Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you want to follow me, I said, Amen - tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You say that I will need to joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say Amen - tomorrow.

He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit,
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said Amen - I quit.
I’m very sorry Lord I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.

Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry?
When nails break your body-are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again?
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.

Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen; Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

Aliens that break your heart

"Turn around - the girl behind us in pink", says Mila.

I discretely turn around and spot the girl in pink and guy in red sitting about 5 metres behind us on the lawn outside the library. She's crying. And not the kind of polite sob ... but like fully crying. She's pretty upset. Trying not to eavesdrop, we take a stab that there's a break up in the process.

It's very awkward indeed. Is the highly populated lawn outside the library really the best place to break up with someone? Is there an ideal place to do such a thing?

Just before we get up to escape the girl storms off in tears, leaving the guy sitting there, head in his hands. A pretty sad thing to witness. To lighten the situation we amuse ourselves by imagining what was really happening. He was an alien allergic to fimbriae, of which she had heaps, forcing them to have a long distance relationship which was just too difficult as the mobile phone reception on the mothership was a lot to be desired of.

Heh.

Later in the afternoon on our way to the Careers Fair (which we ended up missing - it finished just as we arrived), we stop by the ANZ ATM to grab some cash (which we didn't get to use because the girl at the front of the queue got her card stuck). The queue for the ATM goes along the International Students Office, and the lady at the desk closest to the window is counting down until she leaves to travel around Europe.

Well, she was, until some punk came along and altered her sign a tad:



I must admit, it was pretty darn funny. Some students have way too much time on their hands, but do keep the rest of us ammused.

Trust. Obey.