Find Me On Facebook

June 28, 2011
by Rodney Olsen
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Today I’m revisiting a post I wrote some months ago. The following is the post I published to explain why I created a ‘Facebook Fan Page’.I thought I’d throw it out there again for anyone who missed it the first time around.

How do I explain this without sounding arrogant. Well maybe I don’t. Not that I want to sound arrogant but when you set up your own Facebook ‘fan page’ it does seem somewhat cheesey and self serving. I get that, but that’s not what it’s about. I’m not looking for fans. I’m simply wanting to stay connected with a wider group of friends.

So why would an ordinary bloke ask people to click the link that says they ‘like’ him? Over inflated ego? Umm … no. A deep cry for acceptance? No again.

The truth is that I jumped on board with Facebook some time ago and have built up quite a number of Facebook friends. Some are family, some are close friends, some acquaintances, some are old school friends, while others are those I’ve ‘met’ online.

I’ve been torn between wanting to accept every friend request I receive and keeping Facebook for those I know personally. Having a wider group of friends means I sometimes can’t share as much as I like, while keeping a very closed Facebook page means I can’t share stuff with as many people as I’d like.

While it’s not a perfect solution I’ve decided to set up a new Facebook page that’s completely open to everyone. You don’t even have to make a friendship request, just click the button and add yourself as a friend.

I don’t really know how this will all work. I may only end up with a handful of friends at the new page but I’m hoping that it’ll get a little busier than that.

If you’re already a Facebook friend and you feel you’d fit better with the new page, feel free to ‘unfriend’ me and join the new page. You’re also welcome to stay connected through both pages.

I’ll still be posting a lot of the same content on both pages but the ability to share things a little differently will allow me to protect my privacy and especially my family’s privacy a little better.

Thanks for your understanding. I hope to see you at my new Facebook page soon.



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Mark Simpfendorfer 1964 – 2009

September 7, 2009
by Rodney Olsen
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Mark.jpgWords really don’t come close to describing how I feel right now. On Friday night this world lost a generous, caring man who I was privileged enough to call friend.

Mark Simpfendorfer left this world for a better place following a massive heart attack. He was a director and producer working in film, television and corporate video. His 3D IMAX movie, Red Crabs: Australia’s Christmas Island, is set for release later this year.

My head is full of thoughts that race through my mind, only stopping for an instant before continuing on their journey. Thoughts jump between what was, what could have been and what the future looks like without Mark. I really haven’t slept well over the past couple of nights as my mind keeps racing and trying to come to terms with what has happened. My heart aches for his family, especially his four children, for other friends and for the friendship I’ve lost.

Mark was there for some of my most memorable life experiences. We travelled half way across Australia together in 2003 as he videoed a team of cyclists I was leading on a marathon fund raising ride from Perth to Hobart. He later created a short documentary on the ride that was shown on Australian Christian Channel.

Earlier in 2003 we had travelled to India together. Mark was there to capture my ride from Agra, home of the Taj Mahal, to Delhi. It was an amazing experience for both of us. Neither of us really knew what to expect when we set off for India but we loved our time there and were more than happy to return two years later with a small team of Aussie cyclists. We were talking about returning next year around the time of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.

The last time I saw Mark was at our new home just a couple of weeks ago. He dropped in to capture some video for a project he was completing and we shared a Limca, the lemon lime drink that we enjoyed so much in India. Several months ago Pauline had found a shop nearby that imports Limca from India so when I knew that Mark was to visit I made sure there was some ice cold Limca in the fridge.

Mark was also a major part of one of an extremely significant day for Pauline and me. He agreed to video our wedding back in December 1992. The resulting video, as expected, was spectacular.

Even though he’d been through some deep waters in recent years, Mark always stayed upbeat and optimistic. In many ways things were looking up for him and he had such great plans for the future.

Mark’s legacy will live on in his remarkable children.

He taught me a lot about life through what he said and especially the way he lived. I know that I certainly won’t be the only one who will miss Mark. He was a great friend and I look forward to catching up with him when my time comes to leave this life.



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Does Marriage Change Friendships?

February 28, 2008
by Rodney Olsen
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friend.jpgSteve left an interesting comment on the previous post regarding friendship. I’m hoping that we can get a discussion going to provide a few answers.

In part, this is what he had to say:

Here’s a question I battle with everyday. I could be generalising here too; Why do single friends phone and come over your place every weekend and then once they get married, you never hear from them again.

Does marriage make life too busy? Does your partner refuse you to still have your single friends?

Steve was part of the church I grew up in many years ago. It’s been a long while since we’ve caught up. 

I left a lengthy reply in the comments section of the last post but I though it’d be worth getting some other perspectives? Are you a married person who no longer hangs out with your single friends or a single person who is losing married friends? Have you found that things stayed pretty much the same after marriage?

Here are some of the thoughts I shared in my reply.

Relationships certainly do change after marriage. I know that in some relationships one or the other partner will ‘forbid’ their other half from getting together with some of their friends. I’d hate to be in such a relationship. I would never dictate such things to Pauline and she would never dictate such things to me.

I think it’s right that a greater emphasis is placed onto building the marriage partnership than on other friendships. Things can’t remain the same forever. On the other hand I think it’s wrong to become so insular in a marriage relationship that you break long term friendships. Even married couples need to remain as part of a wider community.

Friendships are based on a lot of things including shared interests and proximity.

I think marriage does change your interests somewhat, even more so when you add children into the mix. A single person will often have different interests to a married person.

As for proximity, Pauline and I are now living across the other side of the city from where we used to live so there are many people, both married and single, that we no longer see as often.

I think that friendships begin, change and end for a variety of reasons. We all go through various ‘seasons’ in our lives. Things change, we move on.

I’d also have to say that it’s not all down to those who are married. It goes both ways. A number of our single friends stopped staying in touch after we married. While scheduling is sometimes an issue we’ve never said ‘no’ to an invitation to get together with a single friend.

So what do you think? Have you felt hurt when a friend has moved to a different phase of their life? Have you noticed this phenomenon in your own life?



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Once in a lifetime

December 19, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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You only ever reach 40 once.

I did it around four and a half years ago. Scott Vawser has reached that milestone today.

Even if you’re not familiar with Scott or his blog, how about helping him celebrate by dropping in and leaving him a birthday greeting.



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Love Song

September 3, 2007
by Rodney Olsen
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It was a gutsy effort.

We went to a wedding on Saturday afternoon and as part of the ceremony the groom grabbed the microphone, looked into the eyes of his bride, and sang to her. I don’t think he was aware of anyone else in the room because he just looked directly at the love of his life and sang his heart out.

It was one of moments that had all the women in the church going ‘Oh – how romantic’ and all the guys going ‘Has he got any idea how much trouble he’s causing?’

In that one moment when he opened his mouth to sing he raised the bar way too high for all the rest of us blokes. I know that as soon as the ceremony was over, women all around the church were asking their husbands why they hadn’t sung to them on their own weddings day.

What he did was courageous. He created a romantic moment that will live on in the hearts of everyone who was in the church that day.

Pauline’s heard my singing voice so I don’t know that she would have wanted me to sing to her on our wedding day. I feel that I showed my love for Pauline by not singing on our wedding day.

The guys I felt sorriest for were those who are still single. If their future brides were there, they’ve now got no excuse when their big day comes.

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