Seven Quick Takes

Jennifer over at Conversion Diary is doing Seven Quick Takes on Fridays. I've decided to play along!

1. Australia

In just ten more days, I leave for Australia. Yesterday I went to one of the banks to get a little Australian money for the trip. I was surprised that the exchange was just about on par with Canadian money. I'm not taking a whole lot with me because our prof told us it is cheaper to just take the money from an ATM machine when we get down there. Mind you, he said not to use it to take ten or twenty dollars at a time, but take large sums. The reason is that every time we take money out, we'll be charged a fee; so it's better to take larger sums, that way you aren't being charged as many fees. He also said it was cheaper to do this than even exchange money at the airport or a bank down there. I've also got a little American money to have on hand for when we make our 12-hour stop at LAX. This way I'll have a little money on hand to get something to eat or if I see a little trinket to buy to represent my "trip" to Los Angeles.

I haven't started packing yet. That will come next week. I did go shopping the day before yesterday to get a few articles of clothing for the trip. I'll have to make a list with what I'll need to take with me so that I don't forget anything! Although, if I do forget something, I'm not too concerned because I'm sure I will be more apt to find what I'm looking for in Australia than when I was in Korea...

2. Bon Jovi

Tomorrow is the Bon Jovi concert. It's one of the "big" concerts planned for the city this summer (the other is AC DC but I am not a fan of theirs0. I like Bon Jovi's music, but I'm not going to the concert. I don't live overly far from the site, and I'm sure I just have to open the windows of the house and I'll be able to hear it - or some of it.

I plan on staying in tomorrow (or at least just around the house). Traffic is going to be horrible at this end of town. People can only drive so far, and then they have to park their cars and either walk or take a bus (I believe they are going to be charging $7) to the concert site.

I think it would be nice to see Bon Jovi in concert, but I don't want to deal with the crowds. I must be getting old. Also, there are a lot of rules for the concert site - no umbrellas, no lawn chairs, no food, only allowed to take a 1 Litre bottle of water in...there are other rules, but I don't recall them. The reason there is no food allowed, and only 1 Litre of water is because the vendors will be selling items there (with the prices jacked up no doubt).

3. Police Check

I had to go today and get my police check done. This is for our trip to Australia. My prof called me this afternoon to say he'd been going through the files of those who are going on the trip, and he was getting documentation that he'd need for us Down Under. He said there was no police check for me, and I'd need to get one.

We were supposed to have this done before we started the Education program, but I was in Korea at the time, so it was rather difficult for me to get a police check done. The school told me I could wait until I got back from Korea and do it then. When I got back, it was the last thing on my mind since I came back three weeks early because of my dad being diagnosed with terminal cancer. I was able to spend one week with him before he died, and getting a police check was the last thing on my mind. Needless to say, getting this done never entered my mind again...OK, that's a lie. I thought of it once, but it was during class and by the time class was over I had forgotten about it. Since then, it never entered my mind again - until my prof called this afternoon.

The policeman told me it would take about a week for them to get the results and send it to the school. Hopefully they will get it in time - otherwise I don't know what will happen. I'm praying that it works out and won't be delayed for some reason.

4. Michael Jackson

It's so sad about Michael Jackson dying. The world has lost another musical icon; he was a big influence on so many musicians throughout his career.

I was a huge fan of his in the '80s and had his posters plastered to my walls, played his records all the time, and I even had a white "sequined" glove. In recent years - probably since the '90s, I hadn't listened to his music as much. I was quite surprised when I heard about his death - thought maybe it was a rumour because when the story first broke, there wasn't really anything online. Only after an hour after I first heard, did the reports start coming in that he was in a coma, and then he had died.

5. Romans

I have begun reading the book of Romans. I had read some of the Psalms, some of the prophets, a little in Ephesians, and 1 Peter. I've decided that maybe I need to read Romans for the reminders it holds, like "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 6:23, NASB).

I have been realizing lately that I've gotten quite off the beaten track in my relationship with the Lord. My Bible reading and prayer life is certainly not the best - in fact, it lacks a great deal. I need to do something before I backslide too much. Mind you, I haven't lost my faith or my beliefs, but my relationship with Jesus lacks. I know He is there, waiting for me, but I need to take the proper steps to get back into the relationship. I'm so glad that at these times, He doesn't wander off ahead of me or forget about me.

Thank you Jesus for being with me even when I tend to ignore you. Please forgive me!

6. What now?

Wow, I must have no life - I'm finding it difficult to come up with seven things to talk about. Any suggestions?

7. Changes

After reading Jennifer's post over at Rachelle's the other day, I am going to attempt to revamp my three blogs (this one, Kitten Knits yarn, and Ink Scrawls) and make them more user friendly so I can get more comments and traffic to them. She has a lot of great ideas! So, bear with me as I make the changes, and please keep coming back and commenting. If you are lurking, please leave a comment - I'd like to know you're out there!

OK, I guess that's it for my Seven Quick Takes. I hope to take part again next week! Have a blessed and Christ-filled day!