streams of conscience

13 october 2008
streams of conscience/
stream of consciousness

Blah
I’m at home. Sick. On the couch. It’s windy and overcast outside. My body mimics the conditions inside. So I’ll take a break from work for a day (it was only a half-day in any case) and sleep, recoup and maybe write something. I felt it coming on for the last 3 days - a dry cough, general dis-ease and a need to relax. As always its timing couldn’t be worse - I’m off to Brisbane on Saturday for mixed nats.

Borndays
It was my birthday last week. Julie says Bornday. It was a good day. On my way to work I passed some cyclists on the cycle path. One of them said “Good morning Gareth.” It was Jess, a frisbee friend, who recognised me as we sped past each other. Starting to feel like I belong a bit more here in Canberra.

At work over lunch I was asked how old I was.
‘26’ was my reply.
Boss Barry recalled where he was at 26, and was frightened at the recollection.
‘I wish I was as wise as you when I was 26’ he remarked.
What a graceful statement. Hmm… yes. Thank you.

Again, at frisbee training that night, I was seen. Larissa saw my birthday on the afda website and brought honey cakes and rum balls for after training. I don’t like being the centre of attention. I like being the centre of attention.

Internet grace
Facebook is not something I’ve spent much time on lately, but last week I was thankful for it, and the way it reminds me of my full life. Friday morning I read through my facebook happy birthday messages. From close friends and distant faces.
Thank you, thank you.

Skype joined in on the internet birthday grace on Thursday. I spoke to 5 of my 6 family members. Parents and sisters are all well in Jo’burg. Mom sold 5 paintings at a recent figure studies exhibition in Melville. There were a few hundred people at the opening. And as a naked man.

[Naked man
‘There’s a naked man here!’ Tash shrieked to my parents.
He was naked, and clothed.
He had been body-painted. Tiger stripes on his upper body. Grass over his belly button. Olive green legs. Some men were shocked. A (conservative?) Afrikaans man captured it perfectly:
‘Daar’s a tier in die kamer, en ‘n slang in die gras’
‘There’s a tiger in the room and a snake in the grass’

I laughed!
I finished working at Fox Antiques on Friday. Having our beer at 5 after work we spoke of nakedness again. Barry sharing stories of co-ed saunas in Holland, topless beaches in Germany and Australian prudishness]

Family (ctnd)
Bronwen got a new job teaching reception class. Vicki is waiting for Uni to start. Jane is in Cape Town getting ready to lead a DTS. Dad told me that derth is spelled with an ‘a’. Dearth. I laughed.
I hung up with them at 11pm, warmed by the conversation. As if by grace Matthew came online from London, so we spoke for almost an hour.

Mat
is almost finished his London adventure. Told stories of Slovenia, poker and my aunt. I said he must add the Lake Districts to his Scotland trip in a few weeks. I miss him. There’s a photo of him and Gra mooning the camera, jumping into some lake in Slovenia!

Blogging
is rather taxing on me. I find myself thinking about what I should write, the opening line that will draw people in, and show off my deft use of language. As with many of my well intentioned ideas, I never get around to it. I have 5 unfinished posts in my drafts folder. If I wait long enough they will be so outdated that I’ll delete them. And delete the minutes they filled up running around in my head. For nothing. Making me agitated.

But then, sometimes, I’m sick in bed, and I write. Freely. Mostly.
I still try to show off (is any writing completely devoid of ego?).
I still censor. That’s okay. I’ll keep trying.

Julie
is beautiful.
Studying for her UNISA exam today. She’s next to me on the couch:

‘G. Guess what’
‘What?’
‘Women work 65% of the world's working hours. And guess how much of the worlds salaries they get paid?’
‘20%?’
‘No, 10%
And they own less than 1% of the worlds assets.’

The exam is on Theological Ethics: Human rights, values and social transformation. At the SA High Commission at 2 today. It’s a big white Cape-Dutch style house near to Parliament here in Canberra. I’ve been there once. They weren’t very helpful.

stream of consciousness
and conscience
to get out all the half-post I’ve been thinking about over the last weeks. I should try it again.

What else is there to say?
started a garden
got a black eye from a frisbee
got some good wine from Adrian & dad
saw Utopia: the Genius of Emily Kame Kngwarreye yesterday. Profound artist and messenger. What is the message?

This week
No more Fox antiques. 3 days with the ALP IP, 2 days with the ACC&C. Make that 1 day with the ACC&C - today I’m off sick.
I stopped working at Fox on Friday. The ALP wanted more days from me, and the work was too tiring.

I’ll miss:
the sweet smell of the wax we polish the antiques with,
the casual banter in the workroom,
the lunches out on the pavement in the sun opposite the Belgian Beer place.
I won’t miss:
the dirty dish-clothes
the heavy lifting.

Global economic crisis.
Crap.
I’ve not paid it much attention. (still have to study my Masters of Development Economics)
But I read this article today. It helped to outline what’s going on, and why this could well be the end of the current economic system as we know it. That’s a good thing - in my mind. However, as usual, the poor will feel it first and worst.

One last stream:

Clergy Gentrification
(what!?)
I heard about it at last weeks’ conference. Which went very well by the way. Maybe I’ll write about it. Or, more likely, I’ll plan to write about it. Work out some sentences, and then not write.
Back to the clergy and how they are like buildings.
Clergy are well educated, get a salary, their children then go to school, go to university and get an office job. After a generation or two you have a wealthy, educated clergy of and for the bourgeoisie, the status quo, those in power… with no connection to the working class any more.

Just a thought.

That’s maybe why liberation theology (take the text back to the poor and let them interpret it) and feminist theology (reading from the margins and the underside) make sense to me. Me - someone with no natural connection to the working class, though trying to follow/understand a Jesus of the poor?

End

I
am okay.
and happy.
and am not a poet.
(yet?)

Thankful for all the streams that have made, fed and changed me.
Got to take Julie to the High Com to write.
Okay bye.

my workplace diversity (religion,politics&woodwork)

For the last two months I’ve been filling out job application essays, and have often come across the terms ‘workplace diversity’ and ‘participative management practices’. Once I worked out what they were, I had to think up ways to prove to the recruitment people that I practiced/believed in/followed these cool terms. Thankfully, I don’t have to do any more proving, as I’m employed! Hooray. And… what’s more – I didn’t just find one job, but three! I’m workplace diversity all in one!

These three jobs are all tasters/testers for now, and I guess I’ll have to pick one sometime, but for now I rather enjoy the variety and exposures. So, here then is what keeps me busy during the week in Canberra:

First up (monday & tuesday): Religion with the ACC&C
(Am I taking Jesus’ words ‘seek first the kingdom’ too literally here?) ;)

It’s a big title, but as the Global Network for Public Theology Officer, basically all I’m doing is organising a conference (something I’ve done before). My employer is the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, where I work with Julia Pitman and James Haire. Julia is of the opinion that James is the top theologian in Australian. I don’t know too many theologians yet to make that call, but the impromptu lectionary commentary and exegesis we get each week at staff meetings is phenomenal. It’s really hard not to want to record all that he says!
Anyway, back to work – the conference I’m organising is in October, and entitled: The Christian Mission in the Public Sphere. It’s a mixture of public theology and mission studies – both areas of interest to me. And, would you guess, the keynote speaker is Prof Nico Koopman from Stellenbosch! He was on the board of the SACC Parliamentary Office in Cape Town where I worked last year, and is the chair of the Beyers Naude Centre for Public Theology! It’s a small world! The actual conference logistics aren’t that exciting, but the papers seems promising, and the contacts valuable. (Oh, and the centre where I work is on a beautiful site overlooking lake Burley Griffin, with a labyrinth and a Bible Garden and outdoor chapel!)

Moving on to the secular (wednesday): Politics with the ALP IP

I’ve just started one day a week working with the Australian Labor Party (the folks in power) in their International Projects office. Development work is really big here in Canberra, and something that I looked into quite a bit when I arrived. All the development work here in Aus is focused on South East Asia (an area I know nothing about), but I’m keen to learn and see where it takes me. So I work with the director Michael Morgan and help out where I can. As funds become available, and the work increases, this job may expand. The IP office has a $1 million a year democracy building program in SE Asia, as well as historic links to the ANC and trade unions in South Africa (not to mention close ties with the UK Labor, and the Democrats in the US). A good place to be I think!

And to round the week off (thurs&fri), a bit of manual labour: Woodwork with Fox Antiques

When I was in SA I googled a few job pages in Canberra and saw an advert for an Antique Furniture restorer at Fox Antiques. I didn’t apply for the job, but kept the idea in my mind. After a failed attempt at being a waiter at a restaurant, I thought that if I were to do some low paying physical task, it may be in an area that I enjoy (I was top woodwork student at high school, and have done some restoring as a hobby) So I went to see the folks at Fox and asked to work, It’s been 3 weeks so far, and I’ve enjoyed every day. The pay ain't great, my hands are really dirty, and there’s a lot of heavy lifting, but it’s not every day that one gets to play around with 19th century French antiques. I’m learning a whole bunch, and getting my hands dirty with beautiful woodwork. And, on Friday after work we all have a beer (corporate bonding) and a chat. It’s not theology or politics, but good old labourer conversations!

So... that's what keeps me busy.
Add to this mix Frisbee 3 times a week, and I’m a full and happy man. Just have to find time to garden and read (and maybe blog)! This full-ness is probably not sustainable, so after the conference in October, I’ll have a look and choose one of these jobs. Or perhaps something else – I’m talking to a local Uniting church about a community faith development position that seems very exciting. So, that’s my diverse workplace. And I’m very thankful for it.

sigh

It’s over…
I’m tired,
satisfied,
and sad to leave.

The Design Indaba Expo has been and gone. Read about it here and here and hear, follow the blog, or watch a video or two too.

Was it worth it? Yeah, I’d say. Once I got over the crazy hours, the stress on the floor and being sworn at by irate exhibitors, it was a good experience. I’ve realized that events management isn’t just about making flowers look good on tables, there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes. The skills needed range from people skills, organizing, conflict resolution, teamwork, creativity etc. It’s all there. Some of the things on our checklists even included 24hr armed security for the AngloGold and AngloPlat stands, as well as co-ordinating interviews for Top Billing and Nolene and her 3Talk crew. As I said, a lot going on!

The Indaba even made it onto dezeen.com here, here and here. Not surprising considering the dezeen founder is a speaker at the Indaba. My "Most Beautiful Object in SA" stand, was a hit, with votes coming from the floor, as well as from online. The entries are all here, and the winner is...

I also enjoyed having 4 days to roam around the floor, interact with the exhibitors and watch some of the fashion shows. I was inspired by the creativity and visions of the people there, especially young folks my age who had the guts to put their designs into production. Grandt Mason is one example with his neat shoes. There were many others. I think its about time I re-look at some of the sketched of lights and chairs I’ve done in my more creative moments, and begin to make them!

So, that’s about it. Would write more about the Expo, but today’s my last day here at Interactive Africa, and I need to do some reconciling of invoices and expenses etc to hand over. Unfortunately the office is rather empty – most of the folks are still busy with the Design Indaba Conference – but I’ll say goodbye to whoever I can find here.

As for me…
I have a weekend to prepare for my next chapter:
CPE.

From the front line..

This is just a quick note from the Ops room here at the CTICC where hall 1b, 2 and 3 are being transformed into a creative's dream. Today and tomorrow are build up days for the 260plus exhibitors and their stands. It's amazing to watch a vast empty hall grow into a maze of paths and booths. There are cherry-pickers (cool tall crane machines) with people hanging banners from the ceiling (18m up), carpenters galore building stands, electricians putting up plasma screens... all very exciting for a handyman wannabe like me. And... all this work to create SA's premier design expo - opening in two days time. Already looking interesting are the stands for Carrol Boyes, Mini Cooper and Men's Health Lifestyle Magazine. I'm sure there are many more coming. A month ago i didn't think we would do all the prep to actually get here, but here we are - on site, watching it all come together. Pretty cool, aint it?

design a new economy

An apt punt for the Design Indaba Expo on budget speech day. If you are in CT come along. Heck, i may even be able to get you in for free via our organisers office ;)

I've been managing "The Most Beautiful Object" competition. There are 10 really creative and beautiful objects entered. The winner is by public vote, so come and see the entrants and vote (you could win lots of Woolies vouchers).

Design Indaba’s Most Beautiful Object in South Africa (MBOISA) asks our diverse country: “What is beauty?” While some may consider it an aspect of taste and others know it on sight, beauty becomes far more profound than a visual sensation when design characteristics such as social significance, economic impact, aesthetic value, humanist intuitions, lifestyle functioning and sustainability are thrown into the mix.

What will the country’s consensus be? Will luxury, making life easier, basic human needs, entertainment or even sheer folly be triumphant in the ultimate beauty contest?

on my way to work today...

...i saw a zebra!

and i thought, "in what other country can you drive to work with a big city and harbour on your right, and a zebra grazing placidly at the foot of a mountain on your left?"
tell me. Where else in the world?

PS. I'm not sure if 'placid' works with zebras, but it sounds cool. Maybe if the zebra knew it was in a reserve it wouldn't be so placid.

PPS. This spectacle is not just true for Cape Town. If works in Pretoria too (less one harbour). When driving to high school and varsity, just as you get off the N1 at Eufees there is a hill in front of you that is part of a reserve. I think it's linked to the Great Stone Toaster on the Hill (Voortrekker Monument) site. If you are lucky you can also see zebras and blesbuck grazing (placidly?) on the hill.

new job

Hello. This is me. I’ve been a bit quiet because… I’m at a new job! I finished up my contract with the SACC in style last week – completing a 40 page narrative report on the Child Rights Symposium that we held in last year. I’m hoping the report will be put up on the SACC website soon, as it is a great resource document. This month sees me helping out a friend with the Design Indaba Expo here in CT, before I move on to CPE studies at Groote Schuur Hospital in March. The Design Indaba is a really high profile conference and exhibition, and I’m excited about this insight into the SA design scene. So, things will get manic here this month, I’ll see if and when I’m able to put some thoughts up here to share with you. I’ll also look for links to some of the inspiring art and design that emerges from this Expo.

children can't be beaten

Children are people too! Hooray!

Keith (my boss type guy) is busy with the annual report of the Parliamentary Office at the mo. He asked me to scribble down a few lines summary of the Child Rights Conference that I we organised all by myself in November. So, if you want the official low-down on the conference, have a read. If you don’t really, then make yourself a cup of tea and read one of Ed Monkton’s interesting thoughts instead. I'll understand.

Low-down below:

SACC hosts Child Rights Symposium

Following the leading of our constitutional democracy, which seeks to advance the rights of all, the SACC, in partnership with Save the Children Sweden, hosted a Child Rights Symposium in Cape Town in November 2007. The two day conference brought together a significant number of legal, religious and psycho-social academics as well as children’s work practitioners in order to charter a way forward for the end to corporal punishment and the promotion of positive discipline. Twenty resource people were joined by representatives from seven provincial councils, twelve member denominations as well as civil society organisations. The 100 strong conference delegates engaged well and were bold in seeking to create a culture of dignity, respect and equity for our children, and desiring alternative discipline models to that which we have inherited from our apartheid and colonial past.

The comments during the closing session of the conference brought home the valuable discussions that had taken place. Delegates had their thinking around corporal punishment, discipline, and parenting changed, and were moved towards restorative justice and positive discipline alternatives. A moving moment was the brave comment from a church leader who informed the meeting that he was going to call his son and apologise for the times when he had beaten him, thinking then that that was the best form of discipline. The concluding commitment was to take the gleanings and discussions back to the delegate’s local constituencies, as well as advocate on a political level to ensure that the Children’s Bill gets passed in its entirety.

mundane Monday

So, this is me. Back in cape town, back to work, back at my desk on this boiling hot Monday day.

First off, some political commentary. Tired of the analytical and ‘objective’ coverage of the US primary election race that fills up the pages of South African newspapers when there are more pressing issues to speak about? Well, here’s a great, humorous take on all the contenders, their foibles and contradictions by Moby:

everyone’s a pundit

(Yes, Moby the musician, not the whale. He has a rather poignant blog worth reading if you want.)

So, with that international politics low down, back to me in the office. Still boiling hot here in Cape Town where for once the wind is not blowing. Umm… yeah, welcome back! I had a great holiday in Jozi - catching up with my family, saying farewell to very close friends off to Thailand, England and Aus, meeting people for coffee, and having others over for dinner. Good times, good times. Sorry if I missed some of you, I had to find a balance between spending time with my family or time on the highways driving the full extent of Jo’burg.

For now I’m still working at the SACC PO until my CPE course in March. I’ve already been to a meeting today trying to mobilise a Right To Food coalition between the EJN, Black Sash, Cosatu, the SACC and other players. Looks interesting and promising. The question of Food Security is not really an issue I’m fluent in, but can already see its importance. Bread prices are set to rise another 40c already this month, making the high unemployment rate here (estimates between 29% and 40%) even more critical. So, watch this space as I work with advocacy people on this issue, as well as finish up a publication from November’s Child Rights Conference.

Oh, lastly, at Aiden’s recommendation, I bought and have started reading Andrew Feinstein’s After the Party. With all the current news about Selebi and Zuma’s corruption charges, I doubt this book will lift the sombre atmosphere much. One cool thing is that, having worked with PMG in Parliament, I can imagine the scenes he describes all the more vividly.

Back to work. It's still hot!

Hott in Denmark

Here’s the story:
When I arrived in CT I needed some cash. So, one seemingly simple way was to take advantage of the advertising and movie industry here. Armed with oodles of optimism I duly went searching for casting agencies and sent a copy of my voice to a voice-over artist company. The voice-over idea didn’t work (not enough variation) , but the casting peeps liked the look of me and asked me back to shoot a portfolio. That was about four months ago. Since then I’ve been an extra once for a Tiger Beer ad. Thankfully I found a real job (link) so I didn’t starve, but my hopes for fashion stardom were waning.

So why I’m blogging all this then? Well, on Saturday I was requested for a casting for a Danish company Intersport who are in town shooting their catalogue. Saturday morning, armed with a lot less optimism, I popped in to the studio, they took some pics, I spoke about Frisbee and then left.

And…on monday they called me back ! Hooray! I’ve just finished a two day shoot on Clifton beach, at the yacht club and a sports stadium sporting big name brands. Hanging out with four Danes, taking funny pictures, being in the sun and sushi for lunch all make for a great two days of ‘work’. And this is not to mention the handy pocket money that will go some way to buying a scooter. I’m still laughing at the thought that I will help pretty Scandinavian blondes in choosing their wardrobe for the summer! So, if you find yourself in Copenhagen needing a fashion make over, be sure to go to Intersport and grab a catalogue. I’ll even sign it if you want ;)

Good times, good times.

Hooray for denmark and their knowledge of B-B-Q!
NOTE: This is NOT an example from yesterdays shoot, but me wearing the only denmark shirt i possess. It has a picture of Africa with the words 'Denmark knows B-B-Q' on it. Random!

Conference + finished!

Phew.

Time to catch up on sleep. spend time with Julie, call home and move out of my apartment. (Oh - almost forgot - and to write an autobiographical essay for CPE).

The SACC Child Rights Symposium is over. I can finally breathe, relax and enjoy my pay-check. Three weeks ago I wasn’t so sure it would be pulled off, but the good news is that it was. The only hiccup was two delegates stranded in Jo’burg with no accommodation and three people from Free State who didn’t get on their flight (still have no idea what happened there). I’ve been to the airport and back 11 times in three days, and now have to collect invoices and account for R200 000! Thankfully I have five years of theology degrees to equip me for all these tasks! Teehee.

I wish there were a website or something with all the info and papers presented, as there was very good stuff that was said, but there isn’t. Part of the budget is for a publication to follow the Symposium, so I’ll be doing that for December and maybe can make it electronic. (I’ve added the programme for the two days here if you want to see what we covered). What made it all worthwhile were the comments during the closing session. People had their thinking around corporal punishment, discipline, and parenting changed and were moved towards restorative justice and positive discipline alternatives. Hopefully they will take their gleanings back to their local constituencies, as well as interact on a political level to ensure that the Children’s Amendment Bill gets passed in its entirety.
My highlight was when a senior minister from a rural area actually said that he was going to go home, call his son and apologise for the times when he had beaten him, thinking then that that was the best form of discipline. Joan Van Niekerk, the head of Childline SA responded in tears saying one of the most healing times in her life was when her father apologised to her for the way he had disciplined her as a child.

So - don’t smack your kids, apologise if you did, and help us to end corporal punishment and promote positive discipline!

Umm.. yeah that’s about it. Not too much news else. This conference has been all consuming and I’ve neglected quite a few things that I’ll have to catch up on next week (in between the accounting). First though - time to sleep!

the SACC Parliamentary Office: Mr Researcher

So, I finally have a job, as of last week Thursday. I’m quite enjoying the structure (or bondage) of office hours, and still enthralled by the trains and working in the city centre. My official title is something like researcher or intern at the SACC PO (South African Council of Churches Parliamentary Office) and it’s a two month position for now. I was hoping to do some research and follow some Bills in Parliament, but it looks like my job spec had changed to office administrator and conference planner. Hmm...

I’ve been rather stressed out because I (with all my realms of event co-ordinating expertise) have to plan a conference for a 100 people, accommodation, speakers, flights and a big budget IN 3 WEEKS TIME!!! Keith (the PO director, and as such my boss-type guy - who isn’t really around much) thinks it can be done. No, rather, says it MUST be done. So, it will happen, and hopefully I’m still sane when the date comes around!

If any of you happen to be in Cape Town, and interested in the current Children’s Amendment Bill concerning the banning of corporal punishment in homes, please do come along! Here’s our flyer that I’ve just emailed to the heads of 26 denominations in the country:

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Symposium on Children’s Rights
28 & 29^th November 2007
Cape Town, SA

An Inter-disciplinary Dialogue on Children’s Rights
to engage various perspectives on the abolition of corporal punishment
and for the promotion of positive discipline.

“Creating space for the important conversation between the fields of Law, International Human Rights, Child Work, Theology, Politics and Psychology concerning the current Children’s Amendment Bill, in the hope of harmonising international norms with current religious beliefs and traditional practices in South Africa.”

Hosted by the South African Council of Churches, SACC Parliamentary Office & Save the Children, Sweden

For more details or to reserve your seat, contact:
SACC Parliamentary Office – Gareth (021) 423 4261
SACC Head Office – Theresa (011)241 7813
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Teehhee - what a nice little rant from an office desk! I need to play Frisbee soon to clear my mind!