Sabblog - week one

Sabbatical/Study Leave week one...



A few weeks ago a sabbatical veteran gave me some advice... "If you're spending most of your sabbatical 'on site', as soon as possible after it starts go completely away just for a few days. It makes a break with your previous pace of life and gets other people used to your not being available."



So... c/o some generous friends, I've just got back from spending a few days in their cottage in a little village called Ravenstonedale, about where the Yorkshire Dales blur into the Lake District. No internet connection, no mobile signal. Nice to have 48 hours with no phone calls, emails or callers to get me started into what is intended to be a different pattern for the next six months. Quite a contrast coming just after PeaceWeek etc. Not that I'm shutting myself off entirely, by the way, but space has to be made for the other stuff lined up for this S/SL, including of course some rest.



While away I walked (through wind, rain and MUD!!) to an amazing Victorian Railway viaduct, now disused but restored about 15 years ago by the Northern Viaduct Trust.







While wandering around an unbidden thought popped into my head. (I've known this to be God speaking in the past - though this time it could be a blip from a mind affected by damp and 90 minutes walking). Just like the viaduct links two sides of a valley, so I have been placed between two cultures or groups - local community and local church. And, like the viaduct, mostly disused(!), However, it is important to stay there as a potential crossing point. Does that make any sense??!! The comparison should not be pushed any further thankyou (jokes about age and restoration etc..!)

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HBT me

Cusp #2 is reached. Such a landmark when one reaches the changeover of the 10's digit in age. Apparently. Not surprisingly I feel no different from yesterday. Nice to indulge in some PRESENTS however!!



Also sabbatical day 3, which I have decreed a day off. It's my birthday, I'm allowed.

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Sabblog, part 1

OK. Today is Sabbatical/Study Leave (S/SL) Day One. I made it. These last few weeks, taking in preparation for PeaceWeek*, PW itself, and a whole stack of loose end-tying and "could you just before you go" jobs, have left me somewhat exhausted. I don't know if it's linked but I also have developed a red (though thankfully non-itchy and non-contagious) rash over most of my upper body in the last 10 days. Anyone know what it is? My GP doesn't! He gave me some cream to rub on it which I think could be re-packaged toothpaste for all the difference it's making so far.



(*interrupted by preparation at 48 hours notice for a visit to these parts from Rt Hon Tony Blair involving two meetings which Street Pastors and Carisma were asked to facilitate. As I'm involved in both...)



The websites I've linked to just there have more about PeaceWeek and the PM's visit. Both went well.



I'm told that the first while of the S/SL will be detoxing... winding down, clearing up a few more loose-ends, but most importantly Making The Break in terms of daily pattern, don't expect too much too soon. So, on some advice from a Sabbatical Veteran I've booked a few days away next week. And a few more the week after. And a few more the week after that, this time with Judith.



More about the plans for the next few months anon. My plan is to use this space for some random thoughts, prayer requests (a big hello to members of my Monthly Email Prayer News which this will be replacing for a while) and to log stuff I want to remember from what I'll be reading. Responses very welcome.



Now for Cusp #2...

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more Freeezelog

5/3/07: I've just timed Firefox at 2 minutes to open a web page - admittedly with a lot of graphics on it. Photoshop and InDesign also running, plus a few smaller progs like iCal and Address Book. I'm sure there is a memory issue - as time goes on opening and closing applications it just gets more and more sluggish. Restarting.



7/3/07: Working in Cubase - several other progs on like InDesign. Clicked an OK box and... freeze. Everything stopped except the mouse pointer. Force Restart.



...and the same again about half an hour later. Force re-start and now running Cubase straight from restart with no other big progs running. No problems so far.



8/3/07: More weirdness. Firefox won't load. Address Book will load but can't be accessed - i.e. click on a field and nothing happens. Everything very sluggish to respond. Restart.



9/3/07: Spinning beachball in the right hand side of the menubar is back, time frozen at 07:34 - i.e. when I 'woke up' the Powerbook this morning (i.e. woke the screen. I still have sleep setting at Never due to 17/2 problem). One of the effects of this problem is I can't print. Restarting Yet Again.



Now PeaceWeek is behind me and the website updating is done, this sick laptop is definitely going in for repair Monday or Tuesday.

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A time of Cusps

This all started as a bit of foothering with Firefox add-ons and a need to give vent to my frustrations with some persistent faults with the laptop I'm typing this on. Well, actually I'm typing on an external keyboard and reading off a monitor plugged into it, but you get the idea. Said monitor is the only reason the laptop is still here and not off getting fixed as one of the faults is a randomly flickering screen. That will change once I get through this busy period, also known as PeaceWeek 2007 which I'm somewhat involved in, and the "could you just sort this before you go" period before I go on sabbatical/study leave on March 10 (one week today!).

Anyway... I'm just wondering if there is anything else I can do with this online diary thing. Being on the cusp of a sabbatical, and on the cusp of a SIGNIFICANT birthday, maybe I can record some stuff as said events work through.

Something I realised the other day... I have sort of been blogging for years in that I write a monthly news email for a select bunch of people who support the work I do and pray for me. Maybe I should roll that into this, or tell them about this.

Is anyone reading this I wonder? (taps screen) Anyone who is will be well-confused as I have said very little about myself. You know I have a sick laptop which I have to limp on with for a while longer as I need it for something called PeaceWeek. You know I used to play in a band and I have people praying for me. Hmm. I'll keep you in suspense a while longer (he said imagining a world hanging on with breath bated) as it's time for tea.

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Freeezelog part the next

Already a long gap between entries... It's been a busy week. Again this backdates to just after the previous post.

24/2/07: Photoshop - trying to open a jpg..."Could not complete your request because of a program error".

Just re-opened to add... after adding previous entry and saving, quit TextEdit... 12 seconds of Spinning Beachball.

26/2/07: More flashing display. Cannot do without laptop this week as it's PeaceWeek (www.carisma.me.uk) and I'm updating the website at least once a day.

27/2/07: Meeting in London. Normally I'd take the laptop and get several hours work done on the train. But due to the randomly flashing display... I can't.

2/3/07: Just re-started after incredibly sluggish session with several progs open. Spinning Beachball everywhere. Next week also busy - maybe get it in for repair week after.

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