The last two days I've been doing waste audits with Green Collect, which means sorting though all of the stuff in an organisation's bins to work out how they can waste less.
I took some pictures of the city through the window fo the room where we had lunch today:
And I got Eco to pose for a picture:
I've been thinking a bit recently about how the Australian Dream is apparently owning your own house.
About a year and a half ago I was cleaning a house for this couple who own a fashion label, after they'd had the place rennovated. They had two kids under five, and each of the kids had about ten bedrooms, each full of assorted toys. I couldn't believe it! It seemed absurd.
Last week I was talking to someone I know in Credo, and they were saying that when they get into some new accommodation they want to have a bedroom, a room for books, a room for music, a room for TV and a room that's just full of cushions.
So at the same time that it's becoming harder and harder for Australians to even own their own home, it seems like we're dreaming of bigger and bigger houses where fewer people take up more space.
Yesterday me and Ray and Ben went skating with Mark in St Kilda, because he's going back to Aukland soon. (Today is our new director Gordon's first day in the office.) 
A couple of months back Steve Said wrote on Advoc8 asking people about what they do for work and why. I mentioned that one of the things I do is clean offices:
I don’t know much about the companies whose offices I clean, but I don’t think I agree with some of the stuff some of them do. But my job is just cleaning, and I don’t have any problem with doing cleaning. However, I am bothered by the fact that when I take the rubbish out I have to chuck everything out, even stuff that’s recyclable, because they don’t have any recycling bins, and I can’t really talk to them about it because I don’t have any way of communicating with them.I’ve been thinking a bit recently about how we’re often willing to do things for a company that go against our own personal ethics. (They look at that a bit in The Corporation.) Today I decided that I’d leave a note at the main office that I clean, who chuck out an awful lot of paper, saying that it could be recycled. I also left the number for the recycling company that picks up our paper.
Got two more messages from Simon today:
The seven in the base have been found. Pray for them.
Scratch that. Only four of the seven have been found. June is among the four. Pray for them and the three still in the base.
Just found a video of some of the protestors who are up at the Talisman-Sabre wargames, on YouTube. (Jess is in it)
I got this message from Simon a few hours ago:
We managed to shut down samuel hill air base for 1 and a half hrs and play frisbee with the soldiers. Now charged with tresspass & out on bail. God was with us.Simon and a number of other people I know are up near Rockhampton in Queensland, protesting the Australian/US wargames that are going on there at the moment.
I've been reading Colossians Remixed, a book that attempts to interpret Paul's letter to the church of Colossae in it's original context, and in the context of postmodernity and the global economy.
Early on in the book the authors write about how postmodernity and globalisation work together despite seeming incompatible, because both see people primarily as 'units of consumption for whom choice is the defining characteristic.' (p32)
I came across this advertisment the other day, and I think it demonstrates this idea quite well:
Ruth, who's been doing a consultation with the Baptist Church about what they could do with the front steps, asked me to paint something on her van, so that it doesn't look like just another white tradie's van. (She said she didn't want it to look like a hippy van though!)
I got a call from Ray earlier asking if I knew anything about the shooting in Collins Street, because she was at work and one of her friends had messaged her asking if she was okay. I said I didn't know anything about it, but I came down to the office to check the news, and Mark said someone had been killed and someone else had been injured up near the Rialto (the other end of Collins Street) and that there were helicopters everywhere trying to find the gunman, and the street was blocked off.
Thursday night we launched a DVD of people from the Credo community telling their stories. (We're going to be using it internally for our education work.) In the laneway we set up a whole heap of televisions playing bits of the DVD, for people to have a look at as they came in to Credo for the launch. (I was actually outside for most of it, looking after the equipment.)
Got this from Jess during lunch:
Small fines all round. 1250 for jim less for others.And now they're heading up to Queensland to protest the Australia/US wargames at Shoalwater Bay.
'Four found guilty over Pine Gap break-in' - Sydney Morning Herald
'Four convicted of Australian defence facility break-in' - Radio Australia
'Four Christian pacifists guilty over Pine Gap break-in' - ABC News Online
Just got this from Jess:
Guilty verdict on all counts. sentencing hearing today but she'll rule at 11:30 tomorrow. Crown asked that they all do time!
Jess SMSed me this about an hour ago:
Court adjourne til 9 tomorrow. Judge has 5mins left of summation, then jury goes to deliberate. Please pray. Love jess
Jess reckons the Pine Gap case is going to be finishing today, and says that yesterday the Pine Gap Four's defences were ruled as inadmissable. (I don't really get what that means though.) Jess's written about it here.
Also:
'Break-in was reasonable, Christian pacifist tells court' - ABC News Online
'Pine Gap invader cries in court' - ABC Radio Australia
State Youth Games was on the weekend, and I didn't go, but my old shoes did.
Click here to find out why Marcus and Chris would want to take all our shoes to Warragul for the Queens Birthday weekend.
Actually, no, read this bit first.
I've just been skating on the top floor of the carpark where I often go to skate.
When I was coming out of the carpark, this guy who was driving out leaned out his car window and yelled, 'You do realise the carpark closes at midnight.'
I thought that was a funny thing to presume, and I answered, 'I haven't got a car parked here.'
He said, 'Well what are you doing in the carpark if you don't have a car parked here?'
I said, 'I've been skating.'
He said, 'Well you shouldn't be skating here, it's not safe and you won't be insured if you have an accident here.'
I said, I've been skating here for about a year and haven't had any problems. Are you from the church?' because it's the Scots Church carpark.
He said, 'I'm not from the church, I'm from Wilson's Parking.'
I was pretty annoyed, because I have been skating there often since I got back from Sydney last year, and the security guards have never said anything about it. Anyway, I guess I'll have to find somewhere else to go skating again.
I'm having a non-busy weekend for the first time in a while.
This afternoon I went to the NGV to see Video Resurrection, 'cause one of my friends reckoned I'd be interested in it. It's an exhibition of experimental films from the 1970s, to do with the body and identity and stuff.
Some of it was a little bit disturbing, but it was interesting.
When I was walking back home, past City Square, I noticed a new art installation in one of the trees - heaps of flourescent pink birds. Someone had added a couple of pairs of shoes to keep them company.
Update (June 18): There's a website about the Pink pigeons here.
I often make jokes about getting punched by people, or people punching each other, but today I actually did get punched by someone. It didn't hurt much physically (last year I got punched a lot harder by someone who thought they were just being friendly, when they were drunk) but it was still quite upsetting, particularly because the person who did it refused to admit that they had punched me. I said that if he was going to punch me he'd have to leave, and he left rather than admit that he'd punched me.
Saw this ad in the window of the Body Shop this morning, when I was walking around town seeing what was going on:
It made me wonder whether we can actually spoil ourselves without spoiling the planet, seeing as human beings appear to be a fairly significant part of the planet. It's funny how we tend to see ourselves as being seperate to the rest of creation.
I've been realising that I haven't been putting up much pictures, so I'm putting up some pictures of candles. (Because I like candles.)
Today me and Simon and Simon went to the US Consulate to meet with vice-consul Maya Dietz, to talk about Pine Gap. We weren't really expecting to get a meeting with anyone there when we asked for one. I'm glad we asked for a meeting though, rather than just presuming that they wouldn't want to meet with us. Fits well with what I was saying the other day about loving our enemies (or those we think are our enemies).
I got a few photos of the three of us, considering none of us normally dress up 'nicely':
