Friday 31/7/2009
Dennis & Wendy are up in Brisbane for their friends' wedding (not Ray & Rachel, but other friends of theirs). So a few of us (Nigel, BT & myself) caught up with him. I was out shopping in Brisbane CBD/city with a few Clay friends for Edith's surprise birthday present. I had to cut short the shopping in order to rush home, get ready & head out. We picked Dennis up from Parkinson, & then went to that Oishii Japanese restaurant in Sunnybank Hills for dinner, where we met Nick, Dennis' old friend. After that, we went over to Runcorn Tavern for some drinks. Patricia joined us there, & Nick only stayed a while before leaving.
We chat about lots of stuff, but mainly looking back at our days gone by in YF. Aaaahhhh, memories, those were the days. And goodness gracious, we were men behaving badly. Me less so, as I drunk less than the others because I was the driver for the night. But Nigel was the worst off among us lot! Not only was he so loud at the tavern, he managed to spill some beer on the table (some of which soiled my jeans), & he was also loud in the car, sounding as if he was releasing suppressed rage. At times, I was so worried that him & BT would throw up in the car. Thankfully, those fears were well unfounded, & we arrived home just before 2am.
Saturday 1/8/2009 (daytime)
My church friends Ray & Rachel got married this morning. The venue: Broadwater Road Uniting Church, the venue for a few weddings in the past. Hey, if/when I do get married, I might consider this as a possible venue. Anyway, Ray the groom looks as relaxed as any groom I've seen - always smiling, with absolutely no hint of anxiety or nervousness. Perhaps it's because he is assured that God would thoroughly bless this big day. Indeed, He did. Everything went by smoothly. Pastor Ben's speech was funny, & thoroughly enjoyable. The one thing that struck me is how similar Rachel & Jess (her sister & maid of honour) looked as they entered the church.....they looked a lot more similar to each other than I've seen before. For one split-second moment, I looked at Jess' in the purple dress & thought she was Rachel! Duhhhh!!!
There was plenty of food, too. They were delicious. In fact, I was so carried away with eating that I forgot to take some pictures!!
Anyway, congratulations to Ray & Rachel. May God bless your future together.
Saturday 1/8/2009 (nighttime)
I picked up Ivan C (from his rented unit along Coronation Drive) on the way to Edith's surprise birthday, at the Blue Smoke BBQ restaurant in New Farm. The surprise birthday dinner was organised by Ed, & a few people at our Clay study group were invited. Not all could make it - for instance, a handful had Ray & Rachel's reception dinner the same nite.
Ed & Edith came along with baby Jadon. Edith did not seem all that surprised when she came & saw us. Maybe she figured it out from all the calls that Ed kept getting on the way to New Farm....or maybe because she saw some of our cars in the car park. This is my second time at the restaurant, & this time was as good as it was the first time I was there. It is an American restaurant, & the jazz music which played throughout the nite might have given some people the impression that they were in New Orleans. The meals are truly authentic American BBQ, & the portions are huge. I had the BBQ ribs, & it was superb. A few others also ordered the ribs. Even fewer dared join me in dabbing some portions of the meat in the super-spicy Texas chili sauce. I gave the "I'm from Malaysia" reminder to explain my ability to withstand extreme spiciness.
I was full at the end of the meal, but my stomach managed to make some room when the ice cream birthday cake was brought out. There is always room for dessert!! It was very nice. And soon it was time to bring out the birthday gift that a few of us chipped in for. We got Edith a 7-inch digital photo frame. Edith seemed delighted with the gift.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable nite.
Sunday, 2/8/2009
At church, Pastor Ben gave a sermon on Deuteronomy 2-3. These chapters talk about a second chance. They remind us of the failures of the previous generation of people, & remind us also God's grace & second chance are not to be presumed on. God will not keep giving second chance, e.g. God declined when Moses begged Him for a second chance to be let across the river in Deuteronomy 3. After hearing the sermon, I began to wonder when is it that I will "clean up my act" & truly embrace on the second chance that God has given me.....
Anyway, after church, I had lunch with Ivan C & we went to the Chermside Shopping Centre for some shopping. I bought myself a GI Joe Tour of Duty set of DVDs.
Well, that's it!!
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