Pulling a muscle

In more ways than one...

It's true, Wii sports is dangerous... I've pulled a muscle - how unfit am I? But it's totally addictive... especially if a young person has beaten your score and you know you can do better!

And laughing too hard... Mike McIntyre is hilarious! You know how your sides ache... He's someone I'd really like to see live... he's really clever and Live at The Apollo is so much better... I didn't like Jack Dee... he's far too dry.

This week has been good, I haven't been in school as much as normal, due to lots of things going on for other people.

Tonight we're out celebrating a birthday of someone who is very dear to me! I'm quite excited, we haven't been out as a group for ages, we get to spend a lot of time together which is great!

Also this week, a member of the same family got engaged to her long term boyfriend. I cried, I'm so happy for them!

Youthwork: The Conference

Spending a weekened in Eastbourne, wet, cold, windy, by the sea, in a hotel which bearly had a sea view...

The highs and lows of youthwork. Above the lows. Below the highs (does someone feel I'm doing this the wrong way round?)

Ok lets start with company... I joined the youthworkers of Luton on the retreat day after spending some time with my sister in Luton, we travelled down together and shared in a 24 hours of being fed, both spiritually and physically, in a lovely church called All Saint's. Luton youthworkers are great... very funny and they do get on with each other really well. It was good to spend time with people just chatting and chilling.

The rest of the weekend was just right, I took time out, I listened to seminars all of which was helpful to me. The worship from Ben Cantalon was brilliant (if in my old age it was a little loud at some points) and I've got some good resources to read and use.

I absolutely love the 'We love our youthworker' which is a new charter for churches and youth workers, which helps youth workers and gives them a voice...

More when that comes into the fore during 2009! More when I've reflected some more!

Good clean fun...

Just watching some of the Children in Need programme from last night... It's a fundraiser for children in the UK who are disabled or struggle with life in some way.

It's good clean fun, there's nothing that's close to the mark or controversial... Terry Wogan is always a laugh and they focus so much on English bands and artists, it's nice to see the stars of our small screen enjoying themselves (newsreaders, soap stars and lifestyle shows)!

(Unlike Comic Relief/Red Nose day, which is just cringe worthy i.e. Tim Westwood pimping some old people's minibus - they don't need DVD players installed! and Ricky Gervais' sketch that was just wrong)

Personally, I spent the day collecting money from people, at a fundraising concert and with the young people of Christ Church, watching the evening unfold.

Last night alone £21.9 million was raised, I don't know when the final figure comes out, but I'm sure it will be a lot higher than that, for a start, I've got to add £20 to it!!

Something less fun was shopping in Basildon for a birthday present... so many people around, the Christmas lights were switched on this weekend and it seems that people have started to panic a bit about Christmas being just around the corner... 5 weeks 5 days....

Playing with fire

Well, not quite fire, but definitely sparklers. And not really playing with them, more watching the young people to make sure that they didn't attempt to hurt each other.

For something that happened and we weren't quite sure of how it would go, all of the leaders were positive at the end of the night... 20 young people from two youth groups... sparklers, food and a uni-hoc game...oh and some indoor fire works that set off the fire alarm (which reminds me that I don't know where the smoke alarm is or how to shut it up). It was a good night and we've been invited across town to the christmas party in a month or so.

It's saturday, yeay!! I've almost got rid of my cold, after spending a lot of today in bed...

Going to Come Dancing at church this evening... Should be interesting, I always enjoy learning new things and raising money at the same time. There will be photos!

Where do we go from here?

This is a question that haunts me. It's one that is always being asked...no doubt there's one man who's asking it more than everyone else.

If you've slept for the last 18 months or so, you won't know that the American election has happened and the new president of the free world is Barack Obama. I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I ended up watching the BBC results programme for two hours. They talked and talked about how much McCain was like President Bush, and were absolutely sure that he wouldn't be in power when the presidency changes hands in January.

I guess one of the reasons I couldn't get to sleep was because I'm worried (as well as being ill). I'm worried about how Mr Obama will put in to practice the ideology that he's talked about for so long. I'm worried that if it doesn't work out (in my very English way of not trusting politicians) there may be a horrible backlash and America will take some steps backwards (dare I say, more steps backwards).

I saw a postsecret that said 'It's only a matter of time' - a postcard of famous political faces who had been assassinated, people who wanted change. You can take that two ways, either as a threat or as someone who is worried for safety. I'm the latter.

I want to see this world get better, in so many ways...

I'm praying hard for the government that is going to surround this man.

We're also asking the question about our alpha group...but we haven't come up with any ideas yet!

At it once again...

Ok, so when did I last blog? An hour and a half ago...?

Guess what my little brother is doing again...yes, drinking soup and eating as noisely as he can... do things not stick in peoples minds? Does being told off, or warned against something not make an impact in the minds of teenagers any more?

I know the answer to the last question, there is no impact to be made, no matter how many times...

Here he goes again...

Youth Alpha talk is going well so far...blogging and facebooking takes my mind off it temporarily, so that I can refocus and get it done for tomorrow evening.

There's doing things quietly

and then there's doing things noisely...

I'm complaining quietly about my brothers noisey soup drinking...don't get me started on how annoyed I am today...

I had to ask him to do what he was doing quietly (or I would've taken his soup away from him) and he gave me a dirty look!! It's rude to slurp at the best of times, but least of all while I'm quietly stewing about how the next couple of days are going to turn out.

I've always been concerned for safety, for good teaching and for everyone to have a good time. So to be told that I've got to be careful with the sparklers that I'm going to give to my young people next friday annoys me a little. I've had all three things drill into me since I was very young. I know the rules inside out, and I will be passing my knowledge on to the young people who will be holding the sparklers so that no-one gets hurt and everyone can have fun.

I don't make up the rules as I go along and everyone will get a fair chance - those who play up will feel the consequences. I've got a mobile phone and I will have all of the young peoples names and emergency contact details so if anything goes wrong there is a plan.

I really don't know what else to say...some poeple are helpful, others not so. That's life and we give thanks in all circumstances - so thank you Lord, that there are people who are concerned for my safety and thank you that they haven't completely scuppered all of my plans as the new youth worker in town.

I'm sorry that's the wrong answer

I'm always facinated by how things work, how they are made and what drives the people to create things that can make our lives easier, or more fun.

Finding out the answers to my questions though is sometimes a little frustrating - big companies like to keep secrets.

Take walkers for one - they pretty much run the snack empire in the UK at the moment, so they can reinstate crisps and the like at their will. They've brought back monster munch, quite successfully, which leads me to me first question - How is monster munch made?

Being internet savy that's where I'll always go first. Type in whats in my brain and see what happens...normally I don't get the answer straight away, because my mind seems to work slightly differently from those who add to the internet daily. But I keep searching and eventually get some sort of answer...however, there's nothing online, so I went to 118.com, because they've got an 'ask us anything' policy, so I did - guess what? They haven't got the answer either. ARGH...so I'm going to suffer for a little longer. I don't understand the snack world and I probably never will!!

And I'm trying to find out the background song to the new Rimmel London advert with Sophie Ellis Baxter - no joy there either, the other problem with the internet is that you can always find outdated information...I won't tell you about the time that I asked about a job only to be asked where I found the ad and that the position had been filled for over a year.

Talking of outdated...I need to update the CCYM website!

(P.S. Kate Moss looks awful on the Rimmel London website - how is having your mouth open in a photo ever attractive?)

I had an interesting day yesterday...it started with purchasing tickets to see Take That in concert on Saturday 4th July 2009. Fastest ever sell out tour, it took 9 excuricating minutes for me to get on to See Tickets to buy tickets, but here I am, still alive and very happy that I won't have to take a day off work to see them, and I will be taking all of my best friends with me.

The rest of the day was taken up with prep for the Club night at St Marys, a very successful night, and we're hoping that it will grow and grow in the coming years!