Sunday, August 28, 2005

A Standard Old Saturday

My lovely C made dinner for us tonight - a lovely spicy sausage casserole. While he cooked, I read him excerpts from the book "Boy", a novella of Roald Dahl's memories from his school days. It is completely delightful. Mental note: Read more of his books, after getting through the following list of the best novels of the twentieth century. All this reading will take me through to the twenty third century. And then there will be another couple of lists to read through!
C set up his music computer today and we spent part of the afternoon mucking about with his midi composer and warbling into the headset - we all had a go and it was a fair bit of fun. I bought a new keyboard for his computer earlier in the week, and it turned out that the "W" stuck, so we took it back to the shop this morning. I completely embarrassed myself by poking the shop man in the arm quite hard while he was demonstrating the faulty w, saying "See, see it does stick". C calls this my stage mother persona. I regretted it as soon as I had done it and slunk away to another corner of the shop. I was lucky he didn't punch me, I reckon.
We also had an adventure to our local Mitre 10 hardware store and bought various electrical fittings, laundry baskets, garbage bins and the like. A completely riveting shopping trip.
After we came home I had a glorious 2 hour sleep - I love the fact that C doesn't mind me having a sleep on the weekends. He works at home and often doesn't get up till late and has naps whenever he feels like it. I stay up later at night with him in the computer room during the week. By the time Saturday comes around, I'm pooped. A Saturday morning sleep-in is not a possibility as the midget has early-morning ballet! 9am on a Saturday is criminal! So my weekend naps are just the best kind of luxury. The midget is becoming more and more independent and can amuse herself. C keeps an eye on her and they often do stuff together.
Our ever-growing guinea pig family welcomed the arrival of 5 (!) new babies on Wednesday. Despite their cuteness, I was quite peeved at this. After the last set of arrivals (3 live, 1 still-born) I said no more babies!! Boys and girls completely separated. However C's sister thought that she knew better because they looked lonely. It only took an hour, and the cycle of life continues. Yesterday the three older offspring made a journey to the pet shop, and on Monday, the firstborn, Joel becomes the class pet at the midget's school. And then we go back to having two adults and five babies.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Useless Stuff

Does anybody out there own lots of useless stuff?
Before Christmas sometime I bought a food processor. I had lay-by'd it months earlier and carefully paid it off with the remnants of the household budget.I thought this thing would revolutionise my life. It can do backflips for chrissakes. I also thought it would inspire in me a love of cooking.
I cant believe that I actually forgot I bought it. I found it in the computer room on the weekend under a bunch of junk. I haven't even opened the box.
I want to take back all the useless stuff I have ever bought and get refunds. I would then have enough money to buy a fairly decent house or a yacht or somethin, outright.
I liked the idea of that food-processor so much. I had vague ideas that I would love the results, but detest cleaning those blades. When you chop an onion with a knife, you only have to wash the knife and the chopping board. When you chop an onion with processor, there are blades and tiny bits of onion in every nook and cranny.
Then there are the boxes of books that I bought to sell on e-bay. To C's chagrin they are lying around everywhere. When I wasn't working last year, selling stuff on ebay became a bit of a hobby. I was making money out of it too, but only a couple of hundred a week, not as much as my working wage. I bought loads of old books and postcards wholesale at the best auction house I've ever been to. Unbeknownst to me I actually bought some rare items. I sold one book for US $130 - and I bought the four boxes of books that held this book for AU $60. I put this decrepit old library book on ebay for $3, and it sold for $90.00 - it turns out it was a rare first edition of a book about the IRA. So you just never know.
However, I just cant be stuffed at the moment.
If I ever became a millionaire (this is extrememly unlikely as I do not even buy lottery tickets) I'd love to be an antique dealer. I just love old stuff.
We are off to netball soon. A very late game - 9.40pm. C's dad will be here soon to watch the midget. Wish us luck. It would be so nice to just win one game.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

A Multitude of Topics

AUSTRALIAN YOUTH CHOIR

Well thankfully the Australian Youth Choir were polite enough to send an emailed apology. It makes me feel slightly better. The midget has pretty much forgotten about the incident as I thought she would. We have looked into another local choir, and it is now up to me to give them a call. I'll add that task to my multitude of lists of things that I am procrastinating about.

A YOUNG INNOCENT VISITS IRELAND

The lovely young Olivia formerly of my workplace is now on the Irish leg of her world tour. I wailed liked a banshee when I read her latest email. This is a direct quote:

"The first night we arrived in Ireland the people we were staying with took
us to the pub for a drink. They ended up inviting some of their friends back
to their house and they kept us up drinking til 5 in the morning. I wasn't
drinking much so my 1st impression of the Irish I will probably remember
forever - they were all sitting around the kitchen table, hands joined and
waving in the air shouting some old Irish folk tune. Crazy crazy."

I have similarly bizarre memories. I warned her.

MARY HAS A BABY

Another lovely workmate, Mary had a baby boy yesterday. Aaah the pure joy of a new arrival. The midget and I had much fun this morning choosing a gift, and we will visit them in the hospital tomorrow.

NERVOUS BREAKDOWN AVERTED

I'm feeling much better now thank you.

CRANKY YANKY

Been reading this blog on a regular basis. Can't stand the man, but also like him a lot too. Hate his views on guns, Iraq, women. Admire his soft underbelly (dont ever insult his mama!)! Like his humour. This bloke has more than 2,000,000 hits on his blog. I have just made 500. Probably 100 of those are myself and another 50 would be Serge. The rest have mostly done searches on "muffin tops" (I'm thinking about taking that post off) or "Morticia Adams". Fairly sad. A recent visitor found my blog by doing the following search - "girls caught bean bad"- You've just got to love people who cant spell. No porn here sunshine.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

The Bitterness of Disappointment

Oh I'm cranky. Bloody Australian Youth Choir. We turn up today with a very excited little girl in hand to be told she is ineligible to audition because she is two months too young. NOWHERE does it say this in the literature. It also wasn't mentioned to me when I enquired about the auditions over the phone.
She was so disappointed. She cried softly in the back of the car all the way home. She had been practicing singing and was very excited. I've sent them an email, lets hope they have the balls to answer me back.
Memories of my own personal disappointments came flooding back - aaach. I've been like a bear with a sore head all day. Its just so unfair to her. She sobbed, "Why does there have to be such a thing as age?" Oh the sweet poppet.

Saturday, August 13, 2005

What's the Meaning of it All?

I've had a very busy week at work, and today I felt the strain. After not having had a lunchbreak all week, and working back most nights, I decided I needed to get out of the office for lunch today.
I sat at the food court tables in the local shopping centre and watched the people. Hardly a smiling face to be seen.
I feel like I might have read too many depressing blogs lately. The ones that spring to mind are the ones written by women who suffer from bouts of soul-sucking depression. Seemingly extremely intelligent women, yet emotionally fragile.
I remember seeing an old woman walking along, hunched over and looking at the floor, her clothes tatty and mismatched. And then as I was taking the escalator down to the exit, the shopping centre staff were rushing a screen around an old lady who had collapsed, right there in the food court. I think she may have just fainted, but she may have had a stroke, I dont know. Thankfully the ambulance was on its way.
I got to the bottom of the escalator and was hit with this overwhelming rush of sadness. I think it's the closest I have ever had to a panic attack in my life. I felt so distraught, I thought I was choking with tears.
Am I close to a nervous breakdown? It feels more and more like it every day.
I want to live in one of those fantasy wholesome communities where you know all your neighbours, you share their lives, and they look after you, and there are kids running around every where and generally a good time is had by all. I seem to remember that sort of thing before the cyclone in Darwin. But I dont know if that was my parents perspective on it all. It seemed great at the time.
As I was writing this I managed to spill C's cup of coffee all over the computers and ground and his legs. Bloody hell. Computers still going so far. Floor reeking of cofee. C not burnt - all OK. What a goober I am.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Me Me Me

I've never done one of these online quizzes before. I like the idea. They reveal interesting things about a person. I also think they could possibly inspire further blog posts. I'd do anything for inspiration ha!
1) First name: Not Edna. A saint's name starting with C. My mother was going to call me Jane, but that rhymed with my surname and sounded very silly.
2) Were you named after anyone?: Not intentionally, I believe. However recent family history research shows a long incidence of this name for many generations, including both my grandmothers, although neither were known by the name.
3) Do you wish on stars?: Nope. But my little girl does, and I like to go along with that.
4) When did you last cry?: Yesterday. I cry a lot. I am a woos. From fragility, uncertainty, sometimes an ephemeral sense of happiness.
5) Do you like your handwriting?: Yes! I'm quite proud of it in a stupid pedantic way. When I ocasionally have to do old-fashioned accounting ledgers in long-hand, they look quite beautiful (if I say so myself).
6) What is your favourite lunch meat?: I love the chicken that they do at Rumpole's Cafe at the Supreme Court in Darwin. I'm not sure what other ingredients are in it, but it is divine (mind you I haven't had it for six years).
7) What is your most embarrassing CD?: Madonna - Erotica
8) If you were another person, would you be friends with you?:Hmmm. I'm definitely hard to get to know. The best friends that I have in my life knew me before certain events changed who I was forever. I actually seem to be able to make friends with men easier than women as I'm not so good with typical "girl-talk". I would persist with me, get a hint of my searing wit, and want to go back for more. Jeez I'm modest.
9) Do you have a journal?: I bought a beautiful journal from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam last October. I was completely inspired by visiting Anne Frank's house . However the inspiration lasted exactly two weeks before the "lazy-cowness" overtook the inspiration and the journal writing came to a screeching halt. I also bought another beautiful journal in Vienna in the hopes that the first one would be filled very quickly. I ended up giving that one away as a birthday present. Since then, this blog has been a little like a journal for me.
10) Do use sarcasm a lot?: Definitely. But my friend Salome is the sarcasm master.
11) What are your nicknames?: Bub, Mumbo Jumbo
12) Would you bungee jump?: Yep
13) Do you untie your shoes before taking them off?: Never. I am one of the laziest people alive.
14) Do you think that you are strong?: Not at all
15) What is your favourite ice cream flavour?: Licorice
16) Shoe size?: 8
17) Red or pink?: In my youth, definitely RED! Now a nice salmon pink is just loverlly
18) What is your least favourite thing about yourself?: My complete and overwhelming disdain for housework and cooking
19) Who do you miss most?: Mum, Uncle Brian
20) Do you want everyone you send this to, to send it back?: I'm not going to send it to anyone, but if anyone I know reads it I'd be interested to read their responses.
21) What color pants and shoes are you wearing? Black trousers - still got the corporate suit on. Have brown leather clogs and socks on my feet - tis very cold in this house and they are my favourite house shoes.
22) What are you listening to right now?: A guy named Carus. He supported Dave Matthews at the Palais in Melbourne a few months ago and we bought his CD- just a guy playing guitar singing his heart out - love it.
23) Last thing you ate?: Slice of tasty cheese and before that Combination Satay at our local Japanese/Chinese restaurant.
24) If you were a crayon, what color would you be?: Dark blue or purple
25) What is the weather like right now?: Fairly cold (winter in Victoria) about 8 C outside.
26) Last person you talked to on the phone?: C's sister. A fairly uninspiring conversation about guinea pigs, believe it or not
27) The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?: Teeth, smell, eyes
28) Do you like the person who sent this to you?: No-one sent this to me, I found it on a nice blog "Yes, YelloCello"
29) Favorite Drink?: Diet Coke. Can absolutely not get through the day with out it.
30) Favorite Sport?: Participating - netball. Watching - gymnastics or swimming
31) Hair Colour?: Dark brown with an alarmingly increasing number of greys
32) Eye Colour?: Green
33) Do you wear contacts?: Glasses. Have never gotten around to getting contacts - I told you I was lazy.
34) Favorite Food?: Pasta, licorice, musk sticks, mandarines, crumpets with honey, mango, hot cross buns, raisin toast, and I could go on....
35) Last Movie You Watched?: Herbie....uggggh...see previous post. Last movie unaccompanied by 6 year old, The Devil's Arithmetic
36) Favorite Day Of The Year?: A tie between the midget's birthday and C's birthday.
37) Scary Movies Or Happy Endings?: Definitely happy endings
38) Summer Or Winter?: I like spring and autumn - bugger the extremes - neither is too pleasant
39) Hugs OR Kisses?: Can't choose. Hugs are very nourishing, and kisses can be yummy.
40) What Is Your Favorite Dessert?: Pavlova
41) Who Is Most Likely To Respond?: Maybe Serge - I'm hoping Yaksox for a laugh....
42) Who Is Least Likely To Respond?: Too hard
43) What Books Are You Reading?: Isabel Allende's latest - I cant remember the name of the story - very enjoyable so far.
44) What's On Your Mouse Pad?: No mousepad - optical mouse
45) What Did You Watch Last night on TV?: Dont have a TV!
46) Favourite Smells?: The smell of rain approaching before a tropical storm, Chanel No 5, C's skin, mangoes
47) Favorite Sounds?: The midget's uncontrollable laughter, C's excitable geeky laugh, music from the past
48) Rolling Stones or Beatles?: Definitely the Beatles - no contest
49) What's the furthest you've been from home?: London, Vienna, New York, all about the same distance away from home.
50) Do you have a special talent?: Avoiding housework
51) What is your ring tone?: I detest mobile phones - mostly I am uncontactable except when I am at home or in the office - the rest of the time is my time and everything else can wait....

Monday, August 08, 2005

Migraines

This is a boring and way too technical topic for a blog post. However I'm going to entertain it for a little while, however it may not entertain you.
I've just had a migraine that has lasted for three days. And it was just bloody awful.
I started getting these headaches about two and a half years ago. I thought they were something to do with an old filling that I thought had fallen out of my tooth and exposed a nerve. At this point I hadn't been to the dentist in 17 years. I had post-braces dental trauma and morbid fear of dentists.
However, I braved a visit to find out that my filling was completely intact and I didn't have a single cavity, just a whole heap of tartar. The dentist did enquire though, about the status of my wisdom teeth. A little x-ray later, and a clearer picture emerged of wisdom teeth with nowhere to go and roots growing straight into the roots of all my other teeth.
A year ago last Friday I had my wisdom teeth removed, all four in one go. What a freakin' nightmare. 49 weeks ago I got the worst migraine that I had ever had. Hence, wisdom teeth had nothing to do with migraines. Aaaaargh.
Then I had a brain MRI. No tumour. No abnormality. (Alzheimers has not set in yet, no matter how dazed I feel at times).
Hence no explanation for the migraines. Could be a food allergy, stress, etc. Who knows. However, they are just awful.
My good friend Salome used to get migraines, I'm not sure if she still does. I know that she sourced some of her migraines as being allergic to cinnamon (!) which was a real blow to her given to her predilection for pastries. Now she just eats shortcrust pastry dough. Yuk.

On a different note, I have been getting a lot of hits on my site by people referencing "muffin tops" on search engines. All the hits have been from the USA. What the??? Has the muffin top syndrome just emerged there? One dude left a comment on my muffin top post saying he though they were very sexy (and I think he was quite upset about the negative tone of my post). To each his own. If I wanted to I could generate some very fine muffin-top action of my own. The difference is I have self-respect and just choose not to.

On a funnier note, somebody from Israel found my site by doing a search on the words "hasidic breasts". How funny is that?

Monday, August 01, 2005

Change is Not Loss, It is Only Change

Have been on a blog hiatus for a few days. I have been feeling unmotivated for the four millionth time this week so I'm attempting to make amends.
The whole landscape of my work environment changes tomorrow, and I feel quite unsure about it. I'm not one of these people who cannot deal with change, but the two nicest people in the place (apart from the boss) finished up on Friday. Young O's traineeship finished and on Thursday she flies out to London for the adventure of a lifetime. Big M is three weeks off having her first baby, and I will miss her gentle serenity madly. The other M is on 3 weeks leave, so the administration corps consists of myself, J the old battleaxe and J the junior, during the busiest time of the year. It's time to sink or swim!
It's been a very quiet weekend, and I have had far too much time on my hands to think.