There and back again

I just got back from mum's last night. Chris and I had a nice relaxing time up there, on Thursday his parents and sister came up, we had a lovely lunch together with my mum at one of the cafes in Castlemaine, Then Chris and I took his mum to see the hotel that they used to film the exterior shots for Blue Heelers at, before heading back to mums to see the Christmas decorations. It was a very quick tour of the house due to his mum's cat allergies, then we all moved outside for a cuppa and chat before they left to go back to Melbourne. They have now gone back to Townsville.

On Friday Chris and I went to see the latest Bond movie at the Castlemaine Theatre Royal, which is this gorgeous old theatre that has been running since the 1850's. It still has a stage and hosts live concerts and shows as well as movies, with cinema seating up on the balcony and tables and chairs downstairs for those who want to wine and dine. Admittedly the screen size is less than ideal for those who have grown accustomed to cinemaxx style movie theatres, but the place definitely has its charm. After the movie we went for a short wander through town and had a coffee before heading back to mums. That night we went to the Five Flags Hotel for open mike night. The entertainment was somewhat varied, and included mum and her belly dance teacher getting up for a couple of dances. The food was good and the drinks kept coming, so one can't complain.

Saturday was mum's birthday, so the three of us headed over to her friend Robyn's for afternoon tea. It was a very pleasant afternoon, Robyn's place is beautiful, and has spectacular views. The food was wonderful too, especially given that my allergies are not easy to cater to. I even had cake specially for me for the first time in ages. Mum and family friend Maz discovered a cafe in one of the neighboring towns that caters specifically to special diets, and Maz apparently insisted on buying me a couple of little cakes. The one I tried yesterday was carob and walnut, and was very moist and rich. I actually struggled to finish it because I'm not used to that kind of thing anymore, but it was very yum. After we left Robyn's we headed back to mum's for dinner, and then off home.

Today got off to a spectacular start with me burning my wrist trying to get the bread out of the bread machine. The burn was sufficiently bad to send me to the chemist for advice on dressings, but I will live. The burn is 6cm long (going by the dressing length which only just covers it) and about 3cm at it widest point, and puffed up very nicely. As I am prone to scarring I will be taking very good care of it.

The day has improved since then, I walked up to The Glen for a bit of grocery shopping. It is about 2km each way but preferable to finding parking on a Sunday 8 days before Christmas (yes, it is that soon), and besides, it is a nice day for a walk. On return I made lunch for Chris and I, and went to pick him up from work for his lunch break. Lord help me, I've gone all domestic. Bah. Anyway, usually we would eat out but we have been doing that far too much lately and both need to start watching the money. Besides, on a Sunday the only options are pub meals which, while good, are pricey around here, or going somewhere in Chaddy, which this close to Christmas would take most of his lunch hour to find parking. So little ol' me made ham, salad and (for him) cheese rolls and (for me) mountain bread wraps, and dutifully picked him up and took him back to his place. My Nonna would be proud. Those Italian make-sure-your-man-is-fed-a-proper-homemade-meal-at-all-costs genes must be coming through. I'd better watch out, next time I might find myself *gasp* cooking for him. Well actually I do cook, but cooking specially to take it to his work is very different than cooking when he's here, or taking leftovers, mind you the main reason for making something cold was that we hadn't decided where we would go to eat it.

Sorted

Well my house mate and I have sat down and had a good chat, sorted our issues out. She apologised profusely for her behaviour last week and admitted that she had been avoiding me since then out of embarrassment. She also said that she had been thinking about the whole smoking thing from my perspective and realises that her smoking in her room is to me what someone else smoking pot in her house would be to her, not to mention the reaction if the landlord or real estate agent found out. She has assured me that it will not happen again. We have also sorted out the housework. We figured out that she really hates doing bathrooms, while my most hated task is vacuuming because it puts my back out. Wish we'd figured that out sooner! We now each have our own tasks to do once a week, and have agreed to clean up mess in the kitchen as we make it. Hopefully this will work now, of course only time will tell. She is still planning on moving out early next year, and will give me notice as soon as she knows when, but as long as this plan works we are fine.

Final Christmas photos

Finished up the decorating today and cleared up the larger debris. The lounge room looks like a glitter bomb exploded, but the place was due for a vacuum anyway. I am not about to vacuum as I am off work due to my back and neck playing up, so we will see how long it takes to get done. Probably until my back feels better. Anyway, have some photos to look at.

We'll start at the beginning with the front door. Not the worlds classiest wreath, but it suffices. From there we move into the entryway, decorated with swag and the decos that didn't make it onto the tree because I went with the silver. You can also see some of the tinsel in the kitchen, used mainly because I had it. From the entry way we move into the lounge room, and finish with some gratuitous cat photos.





This last one of Suki wrestling with the tinsel monster may well end up being this years Christmas card

The humans are losing it!

[edited]

I knew something strange was going on when mum took us up to visit nanna, there were strange things all over the house; tall green prickly things covered with odd shiny things, strange little old men in red bathrobes with funny hats, and long snaky things that made scary rustling noises and shed sparkling hairs everywhere. That was just the beginning of the weirdness. I was sure nanna had lost the plot, but was assured by old ginger that this insanity was just a temporary madness that infected the humans once a year. I wasn't sure if I believed him, after all, he may not be as mean as the tortoiseshell, but he is still the enemy. When we returned home I was relieved to see that mum didn't seem to be affected by the madness, the strange things hadn't invaded our home, so I dismissed what the ginger had told me and soon forgot all about it.

Then today it happened, the madness set in. First there was a long box with strange prickly things stuffed in it. Mum pulled these out so that I could investigate the box (as it happens it was a very nice box), and the next thing we knew she had turned all the little green things into one of the tall things I had seen at nanna's! She didn't stop there though, and soon it was covered in the strange shiny things. Mum had a couple of the odd little men too, but thankfully not as many as nanna did. There was also some of the strange snaky stuff, which Suki and I beat into submission to make sure it wouldn't attack mum. Once we were satisfied that it was safe, we sat back and kept an eye on the proceedings.

Sumi

About time

Well today I was finally home for long enough to get the tree up, along with a few assorted Chrissy decos. Besides the stuff in the photos I also have a foot high table top Christmas tree which I've lent to Chris since he doesn't have any Christmas stuff, and a wreath on the door with a Santa sitting in it. At the moment the tree just has a little star ornament on top as I don't have any tree toppers, will have to do something about that. Shame about the blah curtains but ah well, just one of those things that goes with renting, maybe I can dress them up with tinsel or something. Also need to change that table runner on the corner table (hint hint, mum!), but other than that its looking ok.

I saw my house mate for the first time all week, she came out of her room just as I was finishing up the tree and was actually quite friendly and enthusiastic about the Christmas stuff being out.

Updates

Well yesterdays post was pretty short cos I was on a time limit, so now that I have a bit more time on my hands I shall endeavour to satisfy your post cravings.

I got my Evanescence tickets on Friday, we general floor tickets, which means that on the off chance that anyone decides later on that they want to join us, they will be able to (provided that it hasn't sold out). I'm listening to Ev's latest offering 'The Open Door' as I type this. At the moment I still prefer their first album 'Fallen', but this is definitely growing on me. Singer Amy Lee's voice has an ethereal quality that lends an incredible depth to every song she touches. This is not music for simply listening to, this is music to lose yourself in. Most of Ev's music emanates despondency, with many songs giving off strong jilted lover vibes, yet for all the anger in the music, it is beautiful.

My house mate finally paid last months rent on Friday, after I left her a message telling her if I didn't get it that day I was serious about her getting out this weekend. I have allowed her a bit more time to move out, but she had better be gone by Christmas. She still hasn't lifted a finger around the house, I ended up cleaning my wok after she left it sitting out for over a week, and the floors are in a disgusting state. At least she doesn't seem to have been smoking in her room again. If she does, she will be out the next day. I feel incredibly uncomfortable in my own home at the moment, and cannot wait to be rid of her.

Welcome to the Big Smoke

Melbourne has been under a [very low] cloud of smoke the last couple to days. Couldn't smell anything yesterday but today it quite noticable, and you would swear that the fires were local instead of in the country. It is like a thick fog, except that the sky is faintly orange. Apparently several of the fire fronts have now joined together, and todays temp (37C) is not going to help matters. Quite scary, especially considering that we are less than 2 weeks into summer! A great welcome to our *ahem* fair city for the boy's family, who among other things were planning on taking a trip up to the SkyHigh observation point in the Dandeenongs. Not much point now. On a fair day the view from up there is stunning, but it would just be a layer of white now, possibly with grey and red bits in the distance.

Going to Evanescence *does the dance*

Chris is taking me :D.

Don't know how much it costs yet, so hopefully it isn't going to be one of those ridiculously overpriced concerts, but as I very rarely go to concerts I can splurge, assuming no-one wants to pay my way. Anyway the ticket pre-sale starts tomorrow so I'll post back when I have my tickets.

Found out yesterday that Killing Heidi are playing at the Zoo Twilight Concert the day after Evanescence. Twilight concerts are only $30, and $22.50 for students, including Zoo entry. I think I'll invite everyone to come to the zoo instead of having a party, and anyone who's inclined to can stay on for the concert.

In other news, Chris and I had dinner with his family last night. They all seem really nice, and I can see where he gets his sense of humor from. We went out for coffee afterwards than his parents went back to the hotel and his sister and brother-in-law came back to his place to play cards for a while. A very pleasant evening!

Somebody take me to Evanescence for my birthday

Ok, so subtlety is not one of my strong points, but I just found out they are in Melbourne 2 days before my birthday and I really really really wanna go (preferably with friends, will stick to things like cirque du soleil and theater with mum). I'll pay for my own ticket, just need someone to go with. Several someones even. I'm not picky. C'mon guys! just pay for a ticket for yourself and you get out of buying me something for my birthday! No need to point out which would be the cheaper option, that's not the point. This way you are treating yourself too. Everybody wins!

Anyway, its bin a while since I've posted so here's a quick rundown of whats bin going on.

The biggest news is that I've had enough of my housemate and have told her I want her gone by the end of the week. Its bad enough that she doesn't lift a finger except to create mess. I can go away for a week and when I come back every pot and pan she used the night before I left will still be sitting on the bench, along with the marks from every spill. I also don't think she's used the broom or vacuume cleaner the entire time she's been living here. The final straw however, happened last night. I got home at 8pm and knocked on her door to ask her to come switch the cars around, as she gets up early and neither of us will park in the street because of vandals. She proceeded to hurl abuse at me, which I will not repeat here. When she eventually came out she apologised (still in a snarky tone of voice) and defended her actions by claiming she was under a lot of stress. As I would not speak to my worst enemy the way she spoke to me, I don't particularly care for excuses. I also caught her smoking in her room again after having had to tell her 4 times not to. She knew when she moved in that there was not to be any smoking in the house. So, having already been debating whether to kick her out, she has made up my mind for me. As she hasn't given me last months rent yet I doubt that I will see it, let alone this months, but right now I just want her out.

On a happier note I have gotten back in contact via email with one of my best friends from my childhood, the earliest friend I can remember. It was great to get back in touch with him and hopefully we'll be able to meet up sometime. We haven't been in regular contact for easily 10 years so it could be interesting to see where our lives have taken us.

In other news the boy's family are visiting for his birthday, I met his sister and brother-in-law today and they both seem really nice, meeting the parents tomorrow which I'm a little nervous about, but I'm sure they'll be lovely. It's just I've never done the meet-the-parents thing before; my ex's parents lived in India and I haven't been with anyone else long enough for it to get to that stage... sure it will go fine though. Anyway they are down for 2 weeks so I will have a bit of time to get to know them. They are actually coming to mum's for a day next week which should be good.

Well, that's enough for now. I'll try not to go so long between posts next time.

A wedding, uninvited guests, and a head start on this summers tan

I went to my cousin's wedding reception at the Royal Botanical Gardens on Friday night. Mum and Dave came to my place earlier in the afternoon, we got ready together, and headed out, dropping Chris off home on the way.

This is my sister in law Christina and the bump formally known as peanut. Considering that she is due in 5 weeks, there isn't very much there, She had to put her hands underneath to emphasis bump for the photo.

This photo is of Chris and I, he didn't go to the wedding, but had spent the day at my place and was chief photographer.

Mum, Dave and I left the reception just after 11, mum dropped me off at home then headed back to Castlemaine, and I pottered around for an hour or so, wide awake and restless. At 1am I got a call from Ross, asking if I wanted to come round to Fi's place for drinks, as they had just gotten back from a 21st. Problem solved! I quickly changed out of the formal gear and headed over. At about 4am we decided it was bedtime, so Ross and I took Fi's bed and she took her sisters.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny so the three of us decided to grab fish and chips and head for the beach, where due to lack of beach gear we ended up in our undies. We headed back to Fi's around 2 and were glowing pink by the time we got there. Ross headed off after about half an hour, and I dropped Fi off on the way home to have a cold shower and slather on some aloe vera gel before heading to the boy's place. My sunburn continued to develop for the rest of the evening, but thankfully is not particularly painful except when I scratch myself on something, and is already starting to settle down into a tan.

Today has been comparatively quiet, Chris has a long shift today so I joined him for lunch at the hogs breath café, then home briefly before meeting my sister-in-law at Knox so she could give me invitations to her baby shower. Chatted with her and her mum for a while then headed home, where I have just fumigated my car with half a can of fly spray as I have squished about 10 baby huntsmans in there since yesterday afternoon, and I don't want to risk any of them reaching adulthood. Babies I can deal with, but those buggers can be very aggressive once they're grown and they have a nasty habit of hiding under sun visors or in air vents and startling people into running off the road.

It's A Conspiracy, People!

We have a Cadbury's fundraiser box at work at the moment, and I've come to the conclusion that the chocolate is emitting subliminal messages to make people buy it. I don't know whether it's something in the packaging, or the box, or even in the chocolate itself (well, really, who knows whats in all that processed stuff?) but it's happening. Seriously, its an evil conspiracy. I'm allergic to chocolate yet I still had to have some, something in that box completely sapped my willpower and told me to just give in. It's not just me either, everyone says they shouldn't have any, or that their favourite isnt there, yet the box is already half empty and they only arrived yesterday afternoon! Even as I type this I can feel something emanating from the box behind me, I swear! its like when you can feel someone looking at you. It's trying to convince me that one more couldn't hurt... but I know better. Try your evil mind control somewhere else, Cadbury! I'm on to you.

Seriously that stuff is gonna bug me all night, and I can't even make scones instead cos there's no pumpkin. Chocolate is much easier to resist when you have something else to munch on.

Where did that come from?

As you may have noticed, my mind can work in rather peculiar ways, and I am subject to coming out with rather odd comments...

[Watching a movie, following an ad break]
Jase: Where are they now? What happened to the woman?
Fi: They've switched back to the guy
Ross: Nuh she just had a sex change operation during the break
Jase: Aw they cut out the good bits
Me: Isn't that the point of a sex change?

These sort of comments tend to lead to one of two outcomes: either nobody gets it or, as happened on this particular occasion, everyone has hysterics for 15mins, leaving me to wonder if everyone is allright. Afterall I was only saying the first thing that popped into my head, glad you found it amusing but isn't it time to move on?

Isn't it Ironic, Don't You Think?

A bit of background: my ex did his masters at Monash and now runs his own computer business. He builds them, maintains them, does networking, the works. So naturally he set up my system, and networked my housemates and my computers.

My internet goes down regularly, and my ex's explanation was that it was a fault with the technology and nothing could be done. He also had endless trouble networking the computers, and ended up using a second router, which, as it turned out, he left exposed to hackers. Chris enters the picture, at the end of his first year at uni, and promptly figures out both the problem with my net disconnecting and simplified the network, cutting out the extra router. Maybe its just me, but I find that extreamely funny :)

After Effects

Exersize really isn't good for you, you know.

I'm sitting here with an uncomfortable tight feeling thru my belly and stiff shoulders, which I've decided is a delayed reaction to the fact that I actually made it to the gym on Saturday for a one hour class. Body Balance is a mixture of tai chi, yoga and pilates. Sounds nice and relaxing yes? HA! it is actually a great deal more demanding then a straight yoga or pilates class. Low impact yes, slow and controlled yes, but very demanding, expecially if you push yourself, and if you havn't been for a while, you know about it. The class is set to music, with a different track for working different parts of the body. Some parts I find very comfortable, even verging on too easy, like those involving flexibility (I can quite literally bend over backwards for someone), others, like the stomach track, are murder.

Balance is my favorite class, although I am having trouble getting back into it. Prehaps thats because the atmosphere is so different to what I was used to at my old gym. The room there was much more appropriate. It was carpeted, and as zen as a group exersize room can be. It was designed specifically for the balance, yoga and pilates classes, with a separate room for the aerobics style classes. The room at my current gym is a general-purpose group exersize room, it's bigger, with wooden floors and harsher lighting, which you notice during the relaxation track at the end. Also I liked my old instructors style. Plus there is the difference between going with my mum, complete with a stop off at the cafe afterwards with whoever saw fit to join us, compared with going on my own.

Whinge and aches and pains aside, I am going to another class tonight, body combat this time, which is a martial arts style non-contact aerobics class, with lots of jabs, hooks, punches, kicks, etc. I will probably be very stiff tomorrow, but if I don't stick with it, my body won't adjust. I still havn't bin to the gym for a standard solo workout yet, really should try to get into it. I had a schedule all worked out when I signed up, and then started going out with Chris and my plans all went out the window.

Busy Busy Busy

Well this is the first time I've actually had a chance to sit at the computer for a few days so I guess its time for a decent length post.

Last Tuesday was Melbourne cup day. I didn't win anything. I also didn't bet anything, so that works out. I wandered up to Fi's to collect my car just before 2, and spent an hour hanging out with her at her parents cup day party before heading to work. What an exciting life I do lead. Ah well. Public holiday pay rates on a day that I don't really celebrate works for me.

Thursday after work I had my chiro appointment, which has now been dropped down to once a week instead of twice. Yay! my back's only half dodgy now :). After my adjustment I went to collect the boy, and we went to knox ozone to see 'boytown' and then had dinner. Was hoping to see my very pregnant sister in law (a manager at the cinemas there), but she was doing interviews. I really want to see how big she's gotten but oh well. The movie was pretty funny in parts, but not worth seeing again. As I'm not into boy bands I probably missed a lot of the stuff they were making fun of.

Friday morning the boy actually chose to get up at 9am, which is unheard off, so we decided to make the most of the nice weather and went for a drive through the dandenongs to skyhigh observation point. The view from up there is fairly spectacular on a clear day, you can see the entire city and port phillip bay, and in the distance the Mt Macedon, which you drive through to get to Castlemaine and Bendigo, and the You Yangs.

After we'd had a wander around SkyHigh, we drove back down the tourist route looking for somewhere to have lunch. As we'd already driven past the nice looking places by the time we saw them, and those we stopped at didn't have a particularly appealing menu, we ended up having a nice pub meal at the hotel near my place, which being on a hill facing the dandenongs and overlooking jells park, also had rather nice views. We finished up in time for me to drop the boy off at the train station and get to work without being rushed. Naturally having had such a nice relaxing day, it was Murphy's law that work would be an absolute shocker. By the end of the night I was about ready to tear my hair out, assuming it didnt fall out on its own from stress. GRRR. Ah well. Went over to the boys place briefly to unwind, then home to sleep for my 7am start on Saturday.

Saturday I worked til 4, went to the gym for Body Balance at 5, then home to freshen up and off to the boys. We were supposed to go ice skating with some guys from his work but that didnt end up happening so instead we went out for a nice dinner. Sunday I dropped Chris off at work at 1pm then Fi and I went back to my place, we grabbed fish and chips, and Fi dyed my hair. Ross came over after lunch and the three of us had a nice girly day. At 6 we headed off to leave my housemate in peace, picked Chris up on the way through and went to his place for drinks. I dropped Fi and Ross home around 11, and that pretty much sums up my week.

Melbourne Cup Eve

Gatecrashed a cup eve party tonight. Well, not really. It was a friend of a friends party, which Fi asked me to and then thought, well really should find out if thats ok. It was, so all good. Not the most exciting party on the planet, Fi, Ross and I spent most of it out the front, chatting with assorted people who were coming and going. Everyone went home by 1.30, which isnt particularly late for us but oh well, as I said it wasnt the most happening place to be. Luckily it was only about a km or so from my place so I stumbled home and will wander back up tomorrow to reclaim my car.


If nothing else, the party was a good excuse to get dressed up. These photos were taken with my phone, so they arn't the best, but you get the idea. The point of the party was to dress as you would for the races. Obviously I wasnt about to wear one of my good dresses to some little party for someone to spill on or burn, so I went for a gorgeous red top that I've been waiting for an excuse to wear, coupled with an asymmetrical 3/4 length black skirt and black heels. Hotness! :D. Ross looked very spiffy in his suit, complete with pink bow tie and cummerbund, and Fi looked great in her black dress with red heels and accessories. We ended up complimenting each other quite nicely, which was totally unintentional.

Anyway, I should probably get myself a glass of water and try to sleep. I have to go to work in 12 hours. Ah well. Its public holiday rates, so can't complain. Night night!

Procrastination as an artform

I always meant to join the procrastination society, but I just never seem to get around to it. Seriously though, have you ever noticed how somethings only ever get done when you should be doing something else? When I was at school, the only time my room would ever be spotless would be when assignments or exam dates were looming. Everything would have to be absolutely perfect, or I couldn't study. Once I ran out of things to clean, and all my papers were perfectly ordered, I would get my oil burner and some music going to help me focus, then spend the afternoon playing with the candle. I would go downstairs regularly because I felt the need for human contact, when at other times of year I would be perfectly content to do my own thing.

The reason for bringing this up is that my housemate is studying for an assessment at her work, and she makes my procrastination skills look poor by comparison. We've spent the afternoon chatting about absolutely everything, from music, past pets, cars, stupid people, and everything inbetween. I would go outside to keep her company on a smoke break, and we'd end up out there so long it would be time for her to have another smoke. Some evenings she's even brought jigsaw puzzles out of her room, shoved all her study material to one side and we've sat there doing them, the only time either of us stick with the bloody things. I have now come into my room so that she can actually get something done because I know she won't ask me to nick off.

Its a good thing that we share similarly eclectic taste in music, given that she studies with rather loud 'background' music. I don't know how she does it, I'd be wanting to stop and focus on the music. The stereo is in the lounge room, which is sort of inbetween the kitchen, where she is, and my bedroom, where the puter is, so its up louder than either of us would want in the room but at a good volume for where each of us is. I'm quite happy to listen to it so thats all to the good. Don't recognise all of it but I quite like what I'm hearing. Might have to knick some of her cd's at some point to put on the puter.

Think I'll go annoy the boy at work now, he finishes in half an hour anyway.

Exciting stuff

Just thought I'd hop on here quickly while I'm waiting for one of my best friends and my bf to get here. I did end up going to Nonna's for lunch, only gave her 2 hours notice though, so all (!) she had time to make was soup, pasta, prawn skewers and calamari. It wasn't even home made pasta (well, the sauce was, of course), so she must have been rushed. Trust me, with my nonna its best not to give too much notice, had I let her know yesterday that I'd be coming over, there would have been at least twice that much food.

After we finished lunch, Nonna made coffee. Real coffee. Coffee that makes the stuff from your average café look like dishwater. It's served in a demitasse (those teensy little cups), and even so a couple of serves will keep you up all night, and 3 will have you swinging off the chandeliers. I've never been game to try more than 3, that would probably lead to heart palpitations or something. That said, it is beautiful stuff, and not to be turned down, at least not in small quantities.

On arrival home, armed with leftovers, I discovered a care package from mum in the letter box - my phone charger, shirt and a sock that had been left at her place. Thanks mum! I knew she was sending the charger, the other stuff could have waited til the next time I'm seeing her but it's good to have it back.

Once in the door I took one look at the place and decided it was time for a clean up. I get on well with my housemate but she is sevearely lacking in the housework area, even in little things like wiping off the cutting board and putting it away, or giving benchtops a quick wipe. Things that should be done automatically. It is usually a case of who cracks first, which is generally me. Grrrr. Anyway. The house is now (kind of) presentable, and the guys are on their way. I mopped, but haven't vacuumed, even though the place desperately needs it, because I refuse to do absolutely everything. I know most of my friends arn't really fussed about the state of the place, but I like my home to be presentable, and the standard since my housemate moved in gives me the absolute irrits. ah well. *end whinge*

Hooray for the wet stuff!

We had rain yesterday. Actual rain, not that drizzle that evaporates before any good is done and doesn't achieve anything besides making the weather just dreary enough to keep you indoors, or those quick downpours that just wash everything away before the sun comes out a minute later (do they get those anywhere else?). Mum got rain up in Castlemaine too so sounds like there was decent coverage. Hopefully some got to the catchment areas, though I wouldn't count on it. Honestly Melbourne should be relocated to the catchment areas and new catchments set up aound the centre of the city, that would solve the water crisis, and leave us to enjoy the sun.

Meh

Something very strange is going on. Its Friday, and I have no plans for the weekend. I know, I know. How could this happen? Ok. Breath. Focus. Its ok, you've had empty weekends fill up at the last second before. Who makes plans anymore anyway? Plans are over-rated. The best fun to be had is the spontaneous sort, but that still requires getting people together, not much use if most of the guys are otherwise occupied. I guess I can persuade someone to go to the movies or something. Yeah. Movies. Movies are good. Not quite as entertaining as getting a group together for general shenanigans around the fire bin, or spontaneous moonlight skinny dipping (whats a little hypothermia amongst friends?), Ah well. Will have to check out whats on, see if anyones free. If all else fails, I should really go see my nonna anyway, and go to the gym. Exciting stuff, and of course there will be time spent with the boy, when he's not working. No actual plans, but its a start I guess. He's sitting his last exam at the moment, will have to do something to celebrate, but what? Bah, who can think about such things in the morning?

I think I'll go make scones.

Up past my bedtime

Well, here I am, working hard on my fortnightly all night shift. Not long now, things should start getting interesting soon, 7am til 8am is the busiest part of the shift and then I'll be off home to bed just as my housemate is leaving for work. She has one of those strange 9 til 5 jobs, don't know how she copes really.

Seriously though, I've bin working hard. Got here at 10pm, talked to my boy for a while til the phones battery went dead then did a couple of hours housework, made lunches, cooked some pumpkin and zucchini scones and cleaned the fish tank, then settled down for a few hours of Ab Fab dvds, with bed checks between every other episode. Shortly I'll be starting assisting clients in getting ready for day placements. Tough gig this.

Yesterday (which to my sleep deprived brain still registers as today) was spent sleeping as late as possible (1.30pm), then mundane stuff like housework, cooking and shopping, then a couple of classes at the gym, which I figured would either wear me out totally, or leave me invigorated for my night shift. It was a risk, but it paid off, with the result that after the class my upper arms were buggered, but I was the most wide awake I had been all day.

Anyway, time to get back to work,

Til next time

Nadie

The power of language

I have been trying to teach my bf to use words to communicate. I have developed a certain knack for expressing myself with a variety of non words (eh, meh, bla, flobadob-blib-blob-bleep, etc). Don't get me wrong, I can be eloquent, sesquipedalian even, on those occasions where I choose to string multiple syllables together. Not intentionally, I just happen to know what a lot of big words mean and use them where appropriate, occasionally to cries of 'smart arse' from my friends. My bf however, takes it to a whole new level, imbibing a simple 'mmm' with a variety of meanings simply by varying the intonation.

We actually had a quite interesting discussion on the difference between the meanings and appropriate use of 'meh' and 'eh' with my mum. Yes, thats right. they have appropriate uses. 'Meh', as it happens, is the more mature and eloquent version of the teen dismissive 'whatever', in other words, 'don't really care, move on', whereas 'eh' can also be an affirmative (as in Lilo and Stitch), an expression of effort (Scrat in Ice Age), or pretty much whatever connotation you choose to associate with it.

Here endeth the lesson

Here we go again

I don't know why I'm doing this. All my attempts at blogging, forums and the like tend to die in the bum after a few months of crazed posting... ah well. Perhaps mum's post-a-day habit will keep me going. Just as well its not an expensive addiction, you could do worse.

Went back to work today after over a week of paid R & R. Drove up to Ballarat with a friend last Saturday via mum's at Castlemaine (not exactly on the way) to drop the cats off, spent the night then said friend got a lift back to Melb while I headed back to mums for the week. Much sun worship, coffee drinking and general mooching ensued; inbetween communing with goats and shingleback lizards, and settling skirmishes between the opposing cat tribes. Tuesday was spent wandering around the centre of Bendigo while mum was teaching a class, and on Wed my boy caught the train up. We went back Friday night as he had to work Sat and so, I thought, did I (remembered after I got home that I had actually swapped out of that shift some weeks before - even better!).

What better way to round off my first post then with the obligatory gratuitous cat pic, an extra special one as it is evidence of the power of food to settle all differences. From the left we have Sophie, my cat who went to live with mum because my first rental wouldn't allow cats, and who was most offended by my duplicity in daring to get new girls; big red is the more easy going Oakley, whom I believe simply takes the tack that my girls couldn't possibly be any worse then Sophie. Then we have mum Sumi and offspring Suki, rescued from Castlemaine RSPCA complete with numerous bad habits but lovable nonetheless.