Author: Amanda Viviers

Place: In Bed

Poison: Milk Duds

Favourite Things: Cable TV

We went to the movies this afternoon, ($1.50 later!!) after spending the morning sorting stuff out for work and watched a quirky movie called ‘Stranger than fiction’.It ended quite a thought provoking piece!

The movie followed a character, played by Will Farrow, who was the main protaganist in a novel being written concurrently with his life. I won’t tell you the ending but this flick had the same sort of essence as the cult movie ‘Adaptation’.

What I am thinking about, post flick, is that all of our lives have a narrator, but are we aware of it? There are many stories that have unfolded on this trip that are unbloggable, times of testing, stretching and one even includes being asked to leave a plane! Yes! I have officially been kicked off a plane.

But what has been running through my mind in these past few weeks is, what am I supposed to be learning here and how am I responding to what is being thrown at the plotline of my life?

I know I make my own decisions, but what about the things that have come my way that I absolutely have no option but to take head on and see where the plot ends afterwards. Is there a narrator to my story and how do I listen carefully to learn from the wisdom given by its perspective.

Life does have a intro, middle and end. Most have a prelude and an epilouge as well given by familial context.

I want to live my life heavenward, listening for the cheat notes and finding out the sub-plots, mini dramas and the twists and turns. I want to live my life large and leave a novel that entices the reader to want more…

Milk and cookies anyone?

Guitar fender or bland?

Baker with tattoo’s or a hat?

Space camp or tax office?

Watch the movie to understand these questions…

Perplexed?

Think so.

A

Place: in bed

Poison:twislers

Favourite Things: white linen

I am not sure I feel like I am the same person who woke up this morning. I know that is a big statement, but today I went to Disneyland for the first time and it really is a place where dreams come true. Aside from remembering footage, photo’s and presents of when my mum and dad went to disneyland when I was a little girl, I can’t say Disney was high on my priority list of places to go in the world.

But in a few hours my opinion has been so changed and I cant wait to bring my family back here and experience the Disney kind of creativity that takes you to a whole new world!

I watched the Aladdin show, which was full of so many technical feats, I screamed my head off on California Screaming. I ate a leg of turkey, popcorn flavoured jelly beans and a churro! I laughed right in the very depths of my belly at the Space Mountain ride with Chilli Peppers evading all my senses.

The inner child in me melted in the arms of Winnie the Pooh, ooohhed at the Chip n Dales, I was shot 45miles in the air on wall of terror, I skipped down the main street to ‘Its a small world after all’. I missed my tea cups as I spun around in one.

The attention to detail, Snow Whites Castle…The lights, Captain Jack Sparrow. The Indiana Jones ride was unbelievable. The Hollywood Hotel took me on a ride through the Twilight zine leaving my stomach sitting in the roof of the hotel, then thrown to the depths of the boiler room.

We roared in Tarzan’s forrest and ate fresh pinapple icecream as we walked past the Missisippi River full of Jazz laced boats.

The stars, the characters, the fairy floss, the haunted house of horror!

This is event management, creativity and production at its finest, and to think I thought it was all a buit over the top and corny!

I’m converted!

Who wants to come again with me sometime soon

Disneyified!

A

Place: Mark and Ali’s beautiful house

Poison: Lindt Chocolate

Favourite things: Vanilla Candles from Walmart

The chocolate and candy in America is sooooooooooooooo FULL ON! The chocolate, the take out, the marketing, the vibe. Everything is over the top, intensely vibe-full and so yummy.

I have found ‘milk duds’ and I think I will never be the same again. I have got my clothes back from a laundry called fluff and fold and the smell of my pjs of linen smell is overwhelming. But milk duds, are the newest and greatest sensation on my small list of things sweet that I love.

After a cinnamon scroll from IKEA, yes I was working at IKEA today, to my cherry pie for dinner and the overwhelming call of Milk duds. Thank goodness I am not here to stay as my weight would be severly impacted by the call of Milk duds. I am in sugar overload and not sure how long my ADHD personality can cope.

No the coffee here may be starbuckafied and there is no ‘MILKD’ here, but there is MILK DUDS.

I am changed forever

DUD!

A

ps- I am going to disneyland tomorrow (God help Disney!)

Place: In Bed

Poison: Chardonney

Favourite Things: Doublemint chewies, the long ones and Walmart

Today was another day of extremes. Started the day with a meeting and creative development of whats happening here in OC and finished it with 45mins at Knottsberry Farm and a couple of hours at WALMART.

USA is the country of extremes. We went to Knottsberry farm and it took everything I have in me not to throw up after 8 rides in 45mins as the theme park closed down due to rain. The rides were unbelievable, my favourite being the accelerator, where the g-force nearly ripped my earrings out of my ear lobes from the sheer force of the acceleration. I’m very glad that I left my haviana’s on the ground before the ride took off, because my aussie icons could have given linel something to cry about. Knottsberry Farm is the home themepark to snoopy, charlie brown, linel and the gang!

With God Bless America, billowing through the speakers and every type of Candy available in the world, my non american attuned stomach was struggling. We were dissapointed that the park was closed early due to rain, but I had enough of Snoopyland in the time we had and was excited after a burger from in and out, to go to a themepark indoors- WalMART!!

Walmart is so hilarious, I spent hours upon hours walking down and up the crazy aisles of plastic, consumerised, intensley crazy stuff. Not one candy aisle, but three, full on, crazy options, full of too much choice.

Anyways, ready for a new day of work tommorrow, But I miss MILKD cafe, I miss a place of limited choice, I miss my washing machine and most of all my beautiful friends and my office.

America’d out!

AMP

Place: Hotel

Poison: Long Black

Favourite Things: Jacuzzi’s!

This weekend I went to 3 different churches in three days, one being Saddleback Community Church, second being the soon to be Riverview Church OC and then Newport Beach Christian Church.

In the land of everything large, everything branded and then everything super plastic these three churches are making an amazing difference in the community they serve. All very, very different, but all amazing in their own way.

Saddleback- a huge, rolling, ranch of a church with an amazing facility, with heaps of different forms of worship reaching out to the cultural groups that call its church home. From Aloha; hawaiian style worship, to elevate; a service designed purely for singles, to traditions a hymn enhanced traditional style of service. From the start we arrived, we were embraced by hosts and people who helped us find our way through the miles and miles of buildings and facilities.

Then Destiny People, soon to be Riverview Church. They meet in a movie cinema, with free popcorn for the kids, worship lead by our very own Mark and Ali Cullen and the people encouraged and supported by the amazing Wes and Ellie Bevis. It was so inspiring.

What inspired me the most is the people working on the ground who have faithfully served for years and years. Guys like Deni, who sets up the complimentary tea and coffee (and doughnuts- yes aussies this is the land of krispy kreme!) to Terri the amazing woman who sets up the decorations on the welcome table as people arrive. Then there is Mike, who is a technical guru, who sets up and packs down all the technical equipment with style and finesse. Then there is Kim who looks after our kids, with love and faithfulness. I could keep going and going. The team of people are purely inspiring and it is a privelege to come along side them and continue to grow this community in Los Angeles the city of Angels.

(I took this at Newport Beach today)

Lastly we went to Newport Beach Church, right in the land of OC central. The big cars, the plastic clothing and the fake smiles is not just a TV fantasy, its true and an Aussie couple Jonothan and Di Wilson are doing a superb job right where the action was.

The building they meet in is so funky, its Denis Rodmans old nightclub. Totally BLING CENTRAL! Chandeliers, Gold frames, Wide sweeping windows framing the beach in all its glory. Despite the fantastic venue, what inspired me the most was the passion of the people. The church service was breathhtaking. From the minute we beat the parking meters and found the parking, to the point we walked away from the doors, we were surrounded with 16-30 year olds who were defiantly reversing the OC culture and living life large. Stay tuned for more updates on this church it was jaw dropping.

Thats me so far… Missing my friends at home, even though I am up for some Universal Studio and Disneyland action. This is truly the business end of the trip and have a week spotted with meetings and catch ups.

Big toasts to the people on the ground in these amazing churches. In this day and age, church is so not what our culture and media portrays it to be and here.

Signing off from the land of consumerism and LARGE, I am inspired by the aussies that are making a HUGE IMPACT

 

A