I’m afraid I have again gotten into a bit of a rut at work. I guess this happens when I don’t feel like I am getting on top of things no matter how hard I work. There is just so much to do and while I enjoy and don’t mind it (by and large) the constant sense of playing catch-up sometimes gets to me. When it does it makes me throw my arms up and say “why bother” and quickly then get into a rut. Unfortunately for me when that happens it usually takes me a while to get out. This is probably the third occasion for me…

 

Things have settled into a grinding rhythm recently, and nothing exciting seems to be happening. Sure we got a new car recently but I have been thinking about getting that car (a Nissan X-Trail) for so long that I sort of knew what to expect so the novelty doesn’t really grab me. It is a very nice car however and I am very happy with it but I wouldn’t say it’s an exciting event. Fun yes, but not quite as exciting as say, Tress’ parents visiting or us going to Malaysia for a holiday, or moving house or Kiddo getting into a new school… On the other hand, had we gotten Ferrari or Lamborghini that would have been quite different?

 

Last Saturday we met up at Alex’s for dinner again (after a hiatus of maybe a month) to catch up with old friends (JM and Vivian) from Klang church. JM and Vivian have been here for a number of years but have recently decided to return to Malaysia to help Vivian’s family with the family business. They go back in a few weeks.

 

After dinner we came home to catch United’s game with Boro.  It was already 0-2 up for United with about 30 minutes to go when we got home. Giggsy and Park (“J Sparks”, according to my Malaysian supporter friends) scored. It was the Chelsea v Fulham game after that but I was too bushed to follow proceedings. Chelsea is likely to win comfortably anyway (as was later proven). Liverpool was also likely to walk all over Newcastle (as was also later proven) so the win was more a relaxing re-assurance than something to get excited about. That shouldn’t take anything away from J Spark’s fantastic finishing to a really good attacking move by United. At this stage however, it’s the points which matter and I don’t care if they are bumbled over the line like those in Spurs’ game last weekend or beauties like Giggsy and J Spark’s on Sat. In that sense, it’s a business end nature of ensuring we stay ahead of the competition. Business ends don’t usually make for great excitement.

 

I had woken up early for a Saturday earlier that morning, to quickly work on the church board minutes. The board was meeting later that arvo and I had not circulated the previous month’s minutes. We were also supposed to drop kiddo off at church for a band meeting as well as catch up with CH and GV for brunch. These are old Malaysian friends who came over about 1.5 years ago and we have not caught up with them for a while. CH was a partner in a big 4 accounting firm, came over to the Aussie ops but recently gave that up and went into a power company. GV was in corporate finance with a major financial group in Malaysia but is quite happy to settle for less “exciting” work here. They’re good company and so it was a good brunch.  

 

Between the minutes, brunch and chauffeuring kiddo, and before the board meeting started Tress and I found a little slot, while waiting for kiddo, to just have coffee and chatted. It has been a while since we had coffee at Coffee Beans and the outlet in the southern end of The Glen served really strong stuff. I didn’t enjoy it but it was great just sitting down with Tress over a cuppa. Kiddo called about an hour later and we had to leave.

 

The Board meeting took up the most of the arvo and I went home to help with the tail end of the prep for a chicken dish we were taking to Alex’s. Neither the meeting nor the dish was exciting fare – more essential, “business end” stuff. More relevantly, both were grinding essentials. The meeting was to go over BAU items with only 1 item for substantive consideration and the chicken dish was boiled chicken breast which was then shredded as finely as possible. It was to go into a laksa dish which Alex and LH were preparing. Neither are interesting let alone exciting, but both essential stuff.

 

I don’t know “business-end” activities are necessarily to be shunted. It takes a lot to focus on these and excel in them. It is easy to shy away from this sort however and we often do that. They are the bread and butter stuff and are therefore important. The exciting bits are often the icing on the cake or the gravy on the meat – it makes the meal nicer but we cant and don’t live on them.

 

Yesterday we had a worship expert providing the sermon. LS is related to a famous Aussie artist so it was a little exciting. He gave us some exciting bits to chew on and they were very refreshing. My view however is that it was icing on the cake or gravy on the meat. We can’t live on them. He advocates uninhibited worship, that which involves movements anywhere and everywhere in the premises and dancing around jumping all over. He wants everyone to do it, all the time. I’m not so sure. Not so much because I think it is wrong (although I think it can be if it actually interferes with worship by others) but because who comes on a Sunday morning all fired up to jump around? I just want to sit at my usual spot and worship God and not feel like I’m either in a gym or a dance club where I feel compelled to get into all these hyper activities.

 

I don’t think I have to worry though. I’m pretty sure this excitement would remain an exception rather than a norm. Most people would remain more inert than hyper and if there are others dancing around, it would be the same small group of people who do it anyway regardless of any LS sermons. It’s in their natural make-up, or they have become accustomed to such form. It won’t be because of their theological conviction. One would have to see the benefits and need for less than exciting grind and not draw on excitements too much.