Snarchives re-made, re-vamped and re-posted

With the creation of Lawman and the existence of all things F, James and I were beginning to wonder what would become of The Snarchives.

And so in our wanderings we have stumbled across a brilliant new idea. My nickname for it is "His Post, Her Post". Call it whatever you want ~ we seek not just to enlighten our readers, but to entertain as well.

And so you will begin to see posts here based on topics in which James and I have (sometimes vastly) differing views. Some of these views may be gender-related, others cultural. Whatever the case, our aim is to have some fun, engage in some playful banter, and show the world that not only can opposites attract, they can also disagree and still get along!

The Adventures of Law Man

I have stumbled upon my blogging muse. I have sat here for the last ten minutes starting blogs and then realising they were hopelessly boring (or at leastly mildly unentertaining) but now I have my inspiration. I have stumbled upon an idea for a blog, a blog so big that I don't know if this place called cyberspace is ready for it. A blog bound to be so blogular that it could change the face of the universe (or my suburb) as we know it. This blog will serial the Adventures of Lawman!

That's right, James Snare may appear to be a mild mannered campus pastor but for 28 weeks out of the year (plus exams) he becomes Lawman, a part time university student. He is an undercover agent, walking the fine line between minister and student, delving deeply into both worlds . His life is a tangle of ministry appointments and academic assignments constantly requiring James to change back and forth from passionate pastor to the ever studious Lawman, inevitably leading him to question his true identity. Is he Pastor James or is he Lawman? Can these two parts of his complicated psyche ever be reconciled or will they be in constant war with one another? What will the result be for Fiona, his loving wife, bound to this heroic, yet oh so complex soul?

To answer these questions you must stay tuned to the all new Adventures of Lawman. His motto? "Whether by God's grace or man's law... there will be justice for all."

Giant Gelati

On Tuesday, James and I went out for dinner to Sofia's in Camberwell with some of his friends from uni.

After some delicious pizza - which in my opinion is much nicer than the pizza at La Porchetta, and ever since I discovered Sofia's over 2 years ago I haven't been back to La Porchetta - we perused the dessert menu.

Sofia's serving of Gelati must be the hugest in town:

The multiple spoons in James and my gelati demonstrate that this was probably supposed to be for more than two people to share. I think it could easily feed a family of four, and possibly even six!

Needless to say, long before we finished I had to stop eating, as did Sarah (pictured right with Chris). The serving was so huge that James and Chris might not have finished it off either, if it weren't for Chris' challenge to James to a race to the end.

Priced at only $5.50, this is beyond a bargain. And it didn't taste like low quality gelati... which leads me to wonder, how much of a profit margin are most ice-cream and gelati stores making out there?

Blogger in Beta

I can be such an impatient person sometimes! I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the day that my blogger dashboard tells me I can switch my account to Blogger Beta. I created a Beta account months ago and started a blog there to test it out. It has since become my main blog to write in because the publishing function on Blogger Beta is so much more efficient.

I love Blogger Beta. I know that the superb Google team is working hard to get things switched over, and I just can't wait. I am even subscribed to the Blogger Buzz blog through my Google Reader, just so I can get the updates as soon as they come through!

Yes, and the rest of you think I'm some crazy psycho addicted to the internet. Truth is, I'm actually addicted to anything Google. I am currently using or testing many of their services (thanks to their wonderful "technology playground", Google Labs), and they all rock.

I am also proud to say my influence must be rubbing off on people a little - not too long ago I received an invite in my email inbox from a friend's Google Calendar. This particular gadget is so awesome! I not only can access my calendar from anywhere in the world online, but I can manage RSVPs with it.

Just the sort of thing that rocks MY world!

Personality Profiles

At the recent Every Nation South Pacific Leaders Conference we all participated in a personality profile called the DiSC test. It is by far the most insightful personality profile that I have ever participated in. Despite the fact that it was an incredibly brief run through, it was still a lot of fun and very informative.

There are four main types of personality that the test identifies, Dominant, Inspirational, Stability and Conscientiousness. These are loose descriptions of what each personality is like and of course there many different combinations of the different personalities. I am a dominant/ inspirational and fit one of the classic profiles calles the "result-orientated" person.

Some people don't like personality profiles because they don't like being "boxed" in, or they don't like being "labelled". To be honest I think that this is a slightly pridefule perspective. God has given each of us a unique personality and created each of us differently from one another. He has also used different experiences and environments to shape us along the way. This does not mean that there are not similarities between us.

Similarities and common basic styles of perspective can be empiracally proven to exist. Personality profiles do not rob us of our individuality nor take our ability to choose how we live. They can give us an excellent understanding of how God made us and what our strengths and weaknesses are. They don't mean that we can't change nor that we can't adapt and behave differently in different situations. In fact, understanding more about ourselves can enable us to adapt more effectively in different situations.

What I like most about the DiSC profile is that it helps you not only understand yourself but also how others can perceive you. For example, as a dominant-inspirational I can come across as uncaring or angry in pressure situations. Knowing that means I can work at not coming across that way.

The important thing to remember is that just because I have a particular personality type doesn't mean that I can use that as an excuse, "I'm a D-type and thats just the way i am. Deal with it." for example. Rather I have to work on my strengths and my weakness together.

So if any of you get the chance to participate in the DiSC test I highly recommend it. For those of you that know Nelli Atiga, it was actually his new wife Tina, who took us through it :)