The sound of bells...

Well, I suppose as most of you who read this would have heard, the sound of wedding bells will soon echo through our families. The better half and I will be tying the knot next Spring, after having spent the last 7 years together. For the romantics out there, I proposed at a lookout overlooking the floodlit Three Sisters.

And now, we have moved full swing into operation wedding - good thing I'm doing project management this semester... Who would have thought there was so much to organise, or that the fellas actually had a part to play in the whole shebang! From bonbonneres to my personal favourite: bridal lingerie haha. But already the planning has come along in leaps and bounds: the reception and ceremony venue has been decided, located on the banks of the Murrumbidgee - well not quite on the banks but close enough - the caterer is just about decided on, photographer booked and celebrant chosen. And they say you need a minimum 12 months to organise a wedding ha! Tonight saw me trying on suits, shirts and vests, while the coffe table is buckling under the weight of bridal cattledogs, magazines and sample invitations.

But onto other things; uni is the usual mongrel it always has been, work is pretty good too and I'm slowly taking on more responsibilities which is geat. We had a good drop of rain over the Anzac weekend and the farmers are starting to get into sowing full swing.

It's funny how everything in the country has such a greater meaning. Up in the Mountains, while rain was good, it didn't have a whole lot of meaning; and for anyone in Sydney it seems it's just a royal pain in the arse. But out here you know that every drop that falls from the sky has the potential to yield an income for the farmer, bolster the spirits of the community and ultimately to provide food and produce for the country.

Of course it isn't always like that - get rain at the wrong time of year and it'll be the end of a good crop and during summer it primes weed growth which requires big $'s to control.

It wasn't a huge fall, only 20mm total, but it was just so good to watch it fall, hear it on the roof and literally watch the landscape green up. I went to Gundagai on the Friday and then again on the Sunday. The difference in 'greeness' was noticeable. Pretty incredible really.

Let's just hope there's a lot more where it came from. Some private forecasters have even had a gamble that the Murray and Darling Basins will see a turn around - let's hope so.

Ciao

Living in a small town...

This morning I heard the unfortunate news that a young local fella had been killed in a single vehicle accident just outside town last night. I didn't know him.

Yet I can't help but feel down about it; you know that most of the town will be feeling this loss and being such a small and relatively tight community the impact will be far reaching. And it truly is a loss for the town. What many don't realise is how valuable a young person is within a small town. As I said, I didn't know him, but if he was typical of the young fellas around here his life was probably already deeply woven into the workforce sporting and social communities; pretty much the three foundations of any small town.

But this is part of living in a small town; it brings life into sharp relief. It's raw and there's no hiding behind any little wall you try and put up to block these things. You feel - in this case - the downs the entire community feels, though by the same token you also feel the highs.

RIP

I think one of the hardest things about blogging is coming up with a meaningful, entertaining - hopefully even witty - title that doesn't, to put it bluntly, suck balls. It has to be the biggest block, but perhaps that's just me...

Anyway, it's pretty lonely here at the moment. Nic is off up the Mountains visiting her family and I'm at home supposedly catching up on uni work - well I am, I knocked off an assignment... It's just so hard to get motivated to do something when you're alone. This feeling of "couldn't be arsedness" kind of overwhelms you... And then suddenly the day is gone. Tomorrow will be different!

For some reason only one arm is peeling (sunburn) despite both arms receiving an equal amount of sun and follow up aloe. The non-peeling arm cops the sun when I'm driving so I'm assuming that is it.

The sunburn is from our day on the water with Simo - fishing charter extrordinaire who couldn't help it if the entire maratime population of the eastern sea board - save a few kamikaze flatties and red rockies - decided to go on a hunger strike. Still, it was a great time away and good to just relax and not really give a flying potato about anything...