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Hey guys,

I am excited to announce that I am currently in the process of forming a sub-committee of PAN Inc for a new event to be run for the youth of the pagan community.

In the time I have been involved in the pagan community I have noticed that there is not a lot available for the younger generation, therefore I want to put together a weekend of workshops for new interested youth in our community.

My aim is to give them information on the path and the variety of practices including the extremes they may come across. The aim is to educate them so that they will be safe and informed on all aspects of what they may encounter in the Australian Pagan Community. This will be a weekend hopefully to also be able to lead them in the right directions of where they can go for further information and teachings, where they will not be taken advantage of. As we are all aware there is good in bad in every walk of life, and unfortunately the pagan community in no exception to this. The only way to help this problem is to educate our younger generation and help them find what it is they are looking for within our community.

I have had some great responses to this weekend and already have many people who believe there is a need for this and are wanting to have a part in it. I am asking if you are interested and would like to take part in this event please contact me ASAP.

PLEASE NOTE, THAT AS THIS IS AN EVENT WHICH WILL BE DEALING WITH UNDER 18'S, ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER OR PRESENTERS WILL HAVE TO UNDERGO POLICE RECORD CHECKS AS WELL AS BE CLEARED TO WORK WITH CHILDREN BEFORE YOU WILL BE APPROVED TO TAKE ANY PART IN THIS EVENT.

ALSO I WILL BE ASKING MANY QUESTIONS AS TO WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO BRING TO THE EVENT AND ENSURE THAT YOUR INTENTIONS ARE IN FACT THE SAME AS THE ORGANISERS. THIS IS NOT TO BE DISCRIMINATING IN ANY WAY HOWEVER IT WILL BE TO ENSURE THAT WE ALL HAVE THE SAME GOAL AND FOLLOW THE SAME DIRECTION.

As you can appreciate we are working with young and possibly vulnerable already damaged people and there for we need to be sure that all parties involved with the event are doing so with the intention of protecting our younger community, and working to protect them from possible situations which may be questionable or put them at risk.

In saying this I am sure you can all appreciate my excitement and understand why I would love to have as much input from as many people as possible for the event.
Lets work together in helping our younger community find it easier then we have in the past.

I have some personal experience in this area dealing with a family who never quiet understood what it was I did, therefore parents will also be encouraged to join us to help them better understand their children's interests and to help them understand the Craft and the path their children may choose to follow.

I hope that many of you are as keen as I am and I look really forward to hearing from anyone with your expressions of interests for this event. Please email me at kellygarland13@optusnet.com.au

Regards
Kelly Garland

I know, I'm hopeless about social networking. I don't mean to be, it just happens. I get busy, distracted, Goddess knows what. I've been crafting a lot, preparing for Christmas. Living south of the equator is a real bitch sometimes. This month theres Litha on the 22nd, full moon on the 24th then Christmas on the 25th, I practice solitary, so it's not like I'm running out on anyone (though if I could I'd feel better belonging to a group. Even just one that went out for tea.) because I'll be at one of the other homes our family has, the one in Eugowra that belonged to Nanna Douglas. I'm going out there to help my Aunt, she has cancer and when she comes home I've taken to going out to help her, and since it's nearly Christmas, it'll be busier than normal. I don't know how much I'll get to be online, but they do have internet.

 

My Uncle (My sick aunts brother) and his wife will be out there too, I believe. Thats going to be annoying, Joan and I don't get along, but hey. I try. I'm also going to see how many issues I have with my pagan supplies that I'm taking with. My Uncle and Aunt leave well enough alone, but I don't know what Joan will do. Oh well.

 

Wish me luck. 

And thus after much ado I shall explain my (regretable) absence. 

 

In the last, uh, month or so my life has been odd. Centrelink, the social security network in Australia, from whom I get my youth allowance has offically decided to cut my pay, for no apparent reason. Then we had to go shopping for supplies for going to Queensland for a long needed vacation in april. My wife (Read: Best frind) has been stressing out and I worry about her a lot. We almost could be a couple, as it is. My little sister has been more horrid and unhelpful then usual, I had to work at the Salvation Army Family store (which, inevitably ended in shopping xD cheap altar pretties ahoy), mums friend then decided I needed to stand outside the town hall handing out freaking who you should vote for (state level) election stuff.

 Joy brown, and old friend of the family declared paganism devil worship, I, who only puts myself forward as a person who loves philosophy was a little bit more than offended. but I just said they(we), for the most part, don't even believe in the devil. I use the term devil, but not in the literal sense. The devil has such poitency in literiture and culture that it is sometimes nessicary to use such names to get ones point across.

 

Of course, she did assure me the devil controls the air and the media.

 The media I might agree with her on xD but the air?! And she thinks that Jesus camp lady has the right idea. (bear in mind Joy is one of the main child ministers here in my town)

All in all that was a crappy day.

 I had a nice calm mabon, I made wreaths outside in the garden until it started to rain. It was fun.

Lately I've been doing craft and mum said I can make part of the garden into my own space, so yay! It's a decent sized space too, big enough to make a circle big enough for maybe seven to ten people. Possibly more. Gardening suggestions (remember, southern hemisphere) would be loved and treasured. 

Yesterday was Daddy (grandfather)'s birthday, I miss him but I dunno. I've felt content (though, sad at times) of late, I'm not used to it. It's nice. 

I'm still alivw, too tired to explain my absence and I appologuise for the disapearing act. will explain in the morrow <3

Last night I had a sleep over, two of my best friends Keira and Nicole came over for the night and we had some fun, I read their tarot (and, much to their amazement it made sense) and made some candles and crafts and such with them (the candles work, but I hadn’t planned on making them and thus are a little wonky to look at) and we went for a walk, and I saw a ghost of a girl for some reason but Keira isn’t used to living in town (she lives about half an hour west of here) and was afraid of the dark so Nicole and I, both townies, brought her home before she freaked too much. (The fact we could see at least one street over at all times didn’t seem to make much of a difference, but hey.)

We hung out in my room and were making fairy houses and talking and first we played ‘Fuck, Marry, Kill’ a game in which you say three names to someone and they say which they’d sleep with, which they’d marry and which they’d kill. Then we nearly played ‘I Never,’ but as that’s a drinking game and I wasn’t in the mood to explain to Keira’s mother how she ended up playing one we ended up playing truth or dare.

Yeah, I know, shouldn’t play that game, right? On principle I always pick dare, because there are things I’d prefer to keep to myself and with my friends I can really bold so most dares don’t bother me. I’ve only ever kissed two people, and it was because of this game, both of them my best friends.

So we had some fun, got into some *ahem* interesting situations, but nothing too bad. Most of the guys around here I wouldn’t kiss if they paid me, but I’m wondering, what is it like to kiss a guy?

There is a guy I really love, but he’s one of my best friends so there's no way I want to tell him, we get along really well, he’s my old riding instructors son and he’s my age. We hang out whenever we can and we used to go horse riding together and he’s told me all about his past without prompting, we’re both comfortable around each other I suppose. He really is lovely…