Well, there's half a week until CU's MYC (Christian Union's Mid Year Camp) which leaves only half a week of holidays left. YAY.

 

I'm actually looking forward to going back to uni. While the holidays have been good, I'm beginning to get bored, and studying gives me a sense of "I am doing something worthwhile".

 

I think the two most notable changes for me over the holidays are 1) I can ski reasonably now and 2) My political standing is beginning to swing around.

 

Which brings me to my next topic: Peter Beattie and his supposed "Smart State."

Damming the Mary River has got to be one of his most ridiculous decisions ever. And he's made a few over the past two years. The Mary River has been listed as a "struggling" river for over 20 years- doesn't sound like dam material to me. It has high evaporation rates, low capacity, high population displacement, low rainfall, is expensive, and, financially, is an incredibly dumb move. Not only is it expensive, but it is flooding prime farm land and will cost to pump to Brisbane city.

 

For the same price of the dam being built, half the Sunshine Coast could be given rainwater tanks. And- get this- those rainwater tanks would be of the same capacity as the Mary River dam. And you wouldn't need to chlorinate them, or pump the water anywhere.

 

Now I realise the Mary River dam is for Brisbane residents, not Sunshine Coast residents, but if half the Sunshine Coast could be given rainwater tanks for that cost, I'm sure a reasonable chunk of Brisbane could be rainwater tank-ed. And besides, it's not like any less water is being provided. Same capacity. No pumping or chlorination costs. What happened to our Smart State?

 

And then we have the Education system- there is something terribly wrong there. Peter Beattie and his education minister, Rod Welford, have obviously never been teachers, let alone early childhood teachers. No- our lovely Minister for Education used to be a lawyer, no less. Oh yes, I'm sure he knows all about how to run a classroom.

 

My initial objections to the new prep year were that I think the ages of our current preschoolers are quite suitable and don't need to be changed. Our ministers seem to think children need to be six months older. If this was the case when I went through school, then as a December baby, I would have to have waited for the next year to start school. This would mean I would have graduated in 2005, not 2004.

 

I think this is ridiculous for a few reasons. 1) Things are fine as they are. Yes, some children are shy and scared for the first few days- maybe even weeks- of preschool, grade 1, maybe grades 2 and 3. I was. But they will be like that anyway, and need to learn to get over it. I did.

2) If we make children born between July and December wait another year, you'll have 12 year olds in grade 6 AND 7. I think this'd have to be a bit belittling to the 12 year olds in grade 6, when their peers are in grade 7. It's belittling to me, and I left school 18 months ago.

3) Children born in the second half of the year are no less smart than their counterparts who were born in the first half of the year. Born on December 30th, I was in the top 12% or whatever of my grade in the state, with an OP5. And I certainly wasn't an exceptionally bright student.

 

Another initial objection was the increased structure. I'm thankful it still remains play-based, but why should 4 year olds have to sit at desks and wear uniforms? It's ridiculous.

 

I managed to get over my initial objections after some time, though. It still irks me, but I'm not as put-out over it as I used to be.

 

However, there is one inarguably stupid decision in amongst all this.

 

A prep class will have 3 hours of teacher aide time a day. THREE HOURS. Can you imagine having to handle a class of 20 4 and 5 year olds on your own? It can be tricky enough with two teachers. What happens when a 4 year old has to go to the toilet (not in the prep classroom mind you, but in the school grounds)? Do you send him on his own? Or do you take him, leaving a class of 19 4 and 5 year olds on their own? What if you send him on his own, and after 20 minutes he hasn't returned?

What happens when a 5 year old has to go to the sick bay? Send a sick child on her own? Or, again, risk leaving a classroom of 4 and 5 year olds on their own?

 

The prep year won't get their own playground either- they'll be mingling with grades 1-3.

At that age, a 4 year old can't sort out their own playground problems with other 4 year olds. Can you imagine the sorts of bullying and intimidation that could befall a 4 year old having to sort out problems with an 8 year old from grade 3? Parents all over the state are outraged and crushed at the ideas of what could befall their 4 year old in a playground of hundreds of older children.

 

This is what I was talking about in reference to Peter Beattie and Rod Welford never having been teachers. They have no idea.

Today was Janel Schwartz and Tony Brown's wedding, and it was beautiful.

 

The bridesmaids (Heidi, Natalie and Chiara) had these wonderful lavender dresses and the three flower girls (Annalize, Marguerite and Madri Schwartz) had dark purple dresses on and looked absolutely adorable XD

 

And the flowers. The flowers survived over night and still looked good! Yesterday Heidi, Chiara and I spent HOURS putting together the button-hole flowers for the guys to wear (white roses and white orchards), and the bunches of flowers that were table decorations (white roses and purple & white orchards). We thought that after the rough way we'd treated them they'd be looking a bit worse for wear today- but they didn't! They looked great! I was so happy when I saw them all set out successfully on the tables- definitely fulfilling to see :) The hall was just amazing. Heidi, Chiara and I did a great job on the flowers, Geoff did an awesome job on the lights, Heidi and her team did a great job on the table settings- it really did look wonderful.

 

At last night's pre-wedding BBQ we warned Marguerite (6 yrs) at about 10pm that she ahd to go to bed because we didn't want her yawning the whole way down the aisle. Of course, "I won't!!" was her indignant response. No, she didn't yawn down the aisle, but she yawned throughout the whole service :) At least I got smiles out of her and Madri ^_^

 

The choir did an excellent song at the end  which everyone loved from what I could tell- it was really good. The wedding was also a good chance to catch up with people I haven't seen in ages like Skye and Joel. We also established that eleven Schwartzes took part in the wedding in some way. If I remember correctly, that would be Janel (who now USED to be a Schwartz), Andre, Wian, Jako, Heidi, Madri, Annalize, Marguerite, Rudi, and Johann & Liesl who were in the choir. And if you count Janel's mum (who didn't quite participate IN the wedding, except to give her away with her father Andre) then that woudl make 12.

 

We also now know that dresses + bubble mixture = not good. Marguerite and Liesl both spilled some on themselves from what I heard (Marguerite made a point of telling me), and Heidi had spots on her dress from where bubbles had landed on her. The other bridesmaids probably did too.

 

After the wedding Andre (de Jager :P), Joel and myself went down the Strand for a while before Joel headed off to a different wedding reception (Naomi and Alex's.) Joel and Andre had good fun talking about snowboarding before we moved onto Mythbusters. That's an awesome show.

 

So all in all it was a really good day. I can't wait to see Wian's photos (he was their official photographer) not to mention other peoples' snapshots. I forgot my camera :'( I won't next time someone gets married!!! :D

WITH A VENGEANCE!!! >:D

 

State of Origin. What. A . Game. Steve Clark is offifically a loser (I've never seen him ref a good game). The video refs had issues too. I mean, come on...

 

1. Tony Carroll's briliant try was just that. A brilliant try. There was NO strip involved, and Carroll was brilliant. The poor guy TOTALLY deserved that try.

2. Johnathon Thurston did NOT knock-on. The ball was on the ground the whole time, the only time he touched it was with his chest when he fell and rolled over the top of it! You would have to be BLIND to have missed that.

3. Brett Hodgson DID knock on! I can't remember a more obvious knock on, and not only did the video ref not notice, but HELLO, Steve Clark. When something like that happens, you stop play STRAIGHT AWAY. You don't wait for a try then go back and have a look at it.

 

And with all this pathetic reffing, QLD STILL managed to win!! I had to laugh at Phil Gould though. He'd certainly changed his tune. It was so pro-QLD, I am positive someone must have had a chat with him before the game. Like when it was obvious the ref was going to award something against QLD unfairly, Phil's sitting there going "Yep, he's going to give a no try. I can feel it. That was a great try, but he's not going to get it. It's going to be a no try." But it was funny having all the commentators on our side for half the game for a change.

 

And Tate and Thurston. TATE AND THURSTON, YOU LEGENDS. Johnathon Thurston made a brilliant line break, passed the ball neatly to Tate who just sprinted it down the field 50 metres or something to give an awesome try. Wonderful. And Lockyer, Lockyer is just awesome, but everyone knew that. His last try won us the series, and it was such the awesomest try.

 

But you know what the best part was? The look on Buderus's face at the end of the game. (NSW captain.) I couldn't get enough of it, and neither could the rest of the family. We just burst out laughing every time we saw him. Grothe, Mason, King and Hodgson had some pretty heart broken expressions too. But to them, I have one thing to say- "Yes, that is right, you do NOT own State of Origin!!"

 

AND QUEENSLAND TAKES OUT THE SERIES!!! XD

 

Mwahaha- WE ARE BACK.