The Eve of a New Year

Just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy new year, hope you all have a good night tonight and don't get yourselves into any kind of trouble.

A cousin of mine passed away a couple of years ago on New Years Eve and so we don't have a big party, but I do plan to have a few drinks with some friends tonight and have a good laugh.

Aside from that, I've continued spending money, so thank goodness I start work on Monday (at my new job, w00t!) and money will be coming in again. I now have a mattress and sofa bed so the rest of the stuff I need to get is small stuff which can be taken care of after I've moved in.

In terms of moving here in Adelaide, we checked out a place Monday which was really nice inside but rather like a box, but we applied for it anyway. Checking out another one on Friday, so we shall see.

Well I had better go and have some lunch and then start drinking. Happy New Year to all, heres hoping 2004 is the best year ever! :)

Aftermath

Christmas was nice for me, hope it was for the rest of you too. Although my family can annoy me sometimes, the night at Gran's went without incident and finished a little earlier than normal, so we got home earlier than expected. I got some great pressies for when I move to Berri too, which will make the move a lot easier. The kitchen is pretty much set, with a microwave, kettle, toaster and plates etc all sorted out. I also got a nice quilt cover set and a bed, just have to get a mattress now and that room will be in order too.

On Boxing Day Ben picked me up bright and early and we went to see Return of the King, and even though we got up and some abnormal hour we were in the third row, but it was still ok. The movie was awesome, better than the other two and the time flew by so quickly because of all the battles and things that happened. Got home about 1:30, then Krista was over for a bit which was cool, and then I went to mum and dad's as dad and I were going to Speedway City for the World Series Sprintcars. When I was younger we went quite often but as we got older and life got busier, dad and I don't get to go often, so it was nice. There were lots of accidents and other exciting things so was a good night :)

Saturday we went to mum and dad's for lunch, and grandma, maria, nick, and nick's mum were there. Was a bit exhausting really. Today I was supposed to go to Berri with the family but it's gotten really hot so we postponed it, considering it's always a couple of degrees warmer in Berri. So I took advantage of the day to myself and went shopping for things for the move while these sales are on. I bought myself a vacuum cleaner (because chicks like vacuum cleaners), a laundry basket, some towels, bathroom scales, a dishrack and a dvd player. Ivan and I thought it wise to test out the DVD player, and it's cool because it can play pretty much everything, but unfortunately it doesn't plug into my old crappy tv so I'm going to have to do something about that now. The DVD player also came with a karaoke disc and microphone - now that's asking for trouble!

The rest of the day is being spent inside, avoiding the heat. Only a week of holidays left :(

Merry Christmas!

I'd like to wish my two readers a safe and happy Christmas (you know who you are). I'm getting in a little early because the next few days will be busy. Traditionally, because I come from a European background, my family gets together on Christmas Eve so later today we'll be going over to Gran's for dinner and staying there for many hours. Then we leave gran's, and go to mum and dad's to open presents, then arrive home some time after midnight. So today I just finished wrapping the presents and then Ivan and I went to look at a couple of rental properties. Out of 5 there were 2 that we really liked, so it would be great if we could nab one of those and not have to worry about things anymore. Will have to wait until after Christmas to see though.

Tomorrow, Christmas Day, for once we have nothing planned, and it's going to be lovely. If the weather's nice we might go to the beach, otherwise we'll stay in and just have a nice day. Looking forward to the relaxation.

On Boxing Day Ben and I are gonna go and see Return of the King at 9:30am, so that will be an early start for me. Nothing planned for the rest of the day except probably watching the other two LOTR movies repeatedly.

Saturday we're going to mum and dad's for lunch. For some reason, despite seeing them at Christmas, mum wanted to spend a separate day with us. I guess it's partly because my cousin John died a couple of years ago on New Year's and so she likes to have the family together.

Sunday I'll be driving up with Mum and Dad to Berri to do a bit of the tourist thing and check out the town, as they've never been there and I've only been there for the interview. Will probably pick up a local paper and check out a couple of properties while we're there.

Earlier today I got a phone call from Greg about the job actually, just confirming my start date and time, telling me what sort of things the training will involve, and basically offering to help me with the moving as much as he can. He said he'll grab local papers, scan anything that might suit me and email them through, and if I want him to go and check any places out for me he will. That's gonna be a huge help!

Anyway, had better get going, might try and lie down a bit, damn early mornings, I'm not used to them now. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas, and I'll update again soon :)

Happy Birthday Jun!

First off I'd like to wish my friend Jun a Happy Birthday! I've known Jun for a couple of years now and I hope he gets all he wants for his birthday :)

So, now the formalities are out of the way, will update on what's been happening aside from the having to move debarkle. I've had one week of holidays already and have totally wasted them. I've spent some time catching up with friends and getting ready for Christmas, but mostly my days have been spent sleeping in, watching The Two Towers repeatedly, or anything to do with Lord of the Rings really, and catching up with people before Christmas day.

Yesterday I went and got a facial (love going to the Beauty Salon, feel so special) then went to see Michelle, Craig and the kids to give them their presents. Those kids are growing up so fast, every time I see them they look bigger. And I fed Alisha some baby food and with the bottle which was a first for me. Poor Alisha had more food smeared over her face than in her mouth, gonna need some practice if I ever have a kid. Ivan and I went to check out some places quickly yesterday too. There's not much available at the moment and all the places yesterday sucked, except one which wasn't too bad, but still early days yet. Hope we find something soon though.

Today we went to Ivan's parents' place for lunch, since we won't be seeing them on Christmas Day. Was pretty good actually, his Grandma was over there too and she's so sweet, and we got some cool pressies :)

Now we're home, I have a headache and Ivan is lying down. God we're old. But Jun's not, even if it is his birthday :)

GAH!

A quick update to let you all know how pissed off I am. Received a letter today saying that our lease here won't be renewed. Why does this always happen to us?!? We pay our rent on time, we keep the place tidy, why do we keep getting annoying landlords who wanna move their kids in? This guy's moving his son in. Well Merry bloody Christmas to us then, stupid kid can't get his own place without dad's help or something? How can people do this and feel good about themselves? I'm so angry, upset, annoyed, etc etc. Now, again, we have to spend our Christmas and New Year trying to contact agents that'll no doubt be on holiday because they don't have a care in the world and find another suitable place. It's not that easy for us to move because Ivan has his business and there's lots of stuff to think about. Plus all the damn hassle of letting everyone know our new address, which we just did 2 years ago for god's sake. And our date to move out is right about the weekend I'll be moving to Berri too, so double whammy. Why not eh? Why did I even think this new year was going to be a great one? Stupid me for thinking things in life could run smoothly for once. GAH!

Overdue update

I am so sorry, I was getting so good at updating this regularly too! I've given up on the "trying to write something about my Cogs friends" thing because I sat here and thought of the names of people I regularly chat to, and then the people I chat to every now and then who wanted to be included, and decided it was all too hard :P Sorry.

So what have I been doing? Well, on a daily basis it seems like a lot but then when you tell someone about it it basically translates to "nothing much at all". Let's see, the weekend.... I can't even remember the weekend, dear oh dear. Oh, that's right, I'll build up to it. Suspense and all of that. Yeah. Last Thursday night I went to Mum and Dad's to say hi to them and to talk a bit about my moving and the things I'll need, small things they can get for me for Christmas that will help, etc etc. I am so so excited about this new job. So excited, so so so very excited. And do you know what's even better? Tomorrow, after 9 long drawn-out years, will be my last day ever with Bilo Supermarkets! w00t and all that!!!

But now I've jumped ahead of myself. Saturday I had a Friends of Belair meeting which was cool, and Sunday I went up to Monarto. The Nature Conservation Society was releasing the report for the Biological Survey they did in the area last September that I helped out with. They had a BBQ on afterwards and I was going to stay but ended up going and getting Subway on the way home because it was all meat stuff. Sigh. And, to top it all off, Randall spelt my bloody name wrong in the report. Twit, my name's an easy one to spell, my surname contains only 5 simple letters and he couldn't get it right. I shake my fist at him and curse his name!

Oh, I found my Honours thesis online which was pretty exciting. After doing that Google search for the girl's name I was talking about a few entries ago, I wondered what came up if I did a Google search on my own name. And I found my thesis had been converted into pdf and uploaded for anyone to gain access to it. That's pretty cool I reckon, except I forgot I put in an ugly, but amusing piccy of me my friend Chris took after I fell over. I shouldn't say fell over, as there was nothing to actual fall "over", I just fell. And it was funny. And she took a picture while I laughed myself silly. And I'm wearing my daggy bushwalking clothes with my hair crappily tied back so I'm immortalised as being ultra uncool. Ok, so maybe my thesis being available online isn't such a cool thing :P

Let's see, what else. Tuesday night I had the Christmas BBQ for the Herpetology (that's reptiles and amphibians) group I'm in, and that was a really good time. Mel got a little tipsy, but just enough to be happy, not over the top, and I had a great night. And they had stuff other than meat which was good too (helps when you're on the committee and you can ask for such things :P)

Yesterday Ivan surprised me by giving me my Christmas present early, which he kinda had to do because if he hadn't I would have gone and bought the Two Towers Extended Edition DVD myself. And I got a new keyboard, and I love the noise it makes when I type, which might be why this entry is so bloody long. I'm outta control, somebody stop me! Bloody Jim Carrey, ruined that line forever. So started watching it last night, but when it got to 2am and they were only just starting the battle of Helm's Deep, I thought I should really get to bed and finish it another day. The extra scenes made me so excited, there were a couple that I really thought should have been kept in the theatrical version but the rest were fine to take out. I'm sure Peter Jackson is so relieved I give him the thumbs up. Right. So I might go watch the rest now actually. OH! And today I got me ticket for the Return of the King, 9:30am on Boxing Day, w00t!!!!

Ok ok, I'm going!

Funneh stuff

Today I was bored and was sifting through the PC at work and came across the funniest note I've ever found. It was from the ex-manager, who it looks like was about to go on holidays so was leaving a note for the other managers to tell them what to do. But he didn't just write the tasks, he made it damn funny. So funny, in fact, I had to print it out and bring it home and I'm gonna post some of it. Unfortunately, the best one I can't post because it contains the full name of this one guy who gets paid out extensively in the paragraph. But here's some of the other stuff:

"The Nestle coconut milky bar in the box on the floor does not contain coconut! First the cut wages, then head office shuts, then they cut the coconut out of the chocolate.... next thing you know, Saddam's running for Parliament. Crazy world we're livin' in people!! Crazy shit. See what happens when you put kids in charge... F__k'n Charlie, never should've run that chocolate factory... bloody kids running shit... crazy, crazy stuff."

"Please murder the Arnott's rep - Dippers are still out of stock after 4 weeks. Take the tickets off and tell her to incredibite my reduced fat."

Gold! I wish I could post more, but better not. In other news, my start date for the new job has been pushed back to after Christmas, so starting here in Adelaide on January 5th for 4 weeks, and so won't have to move to Berri until early February. I have 3 weeks off in between old job and the new job, my first Christmas off in 9 years, so I'm really happy. Hope I don't spend all my Long Service Leave money, kinda need that to move :P

Censorship

Today I heard that one of my entries of a less favourable variety was found by an online search for the person's name, which surprised me a little because the person has an extremely common name, and I didn't include their surname. I heard this while I was at work and then spent the last hour of my shift wondering if I should remove any nasty posts I've made on here and refrain from posting what I feel. But that's censoring myself, which is what I asked Squash not to do on his blog just because people he was writing about found it. I want to be able to write what I want on here, but at the same time I don't want to make matters worse between me and said person, nor do I want to make them feel bad just because I can't get along with everyone I come into contact with. What do you guys think? Should some thoughts just be kept to myself, or should I just write whatever I want? Some deep, personal thoughts will never be revealed here, this is not that type of a blog, but what about this other stuff? Do I ignore arguments or disagreements and just write happy thoughts?

As it turns out, I've done a Google search on the name and in three pages of results could not find any reference to my blog, so I don't know where this other person was looking. I'm not gonna say the name again for fear of ending up on some random search engine. So, opinions? Thoughts?

Emmy

This'll be very short, because I don't even know Emmy but if I don't mention his or her name I'll never hear the end of it. What did you expect me to write? All I know about you is that you watch All Saints, which I've replaced with CSI. Um, so yeah, that's Emmy done.

Paragon

What can I say about this guy? Paragon is very cool, and I mean that in the suave, James Bond kind of way. He has a way with the ladies but seems to be able to mould himself around the people he's with. I mean, he seems to be able to approach a group, suss them out, and then join in the conversation comfortably in a short space of time. I guess I admire this quality because usually around new people I am quite shy, and it often takes a person like Paragon to make me come out of my shell. He's a people person, for lack of a better way of saying it. But watch out, this guy can flirt, but I can't say it bothers me :)

And, he shares a birthday with SuperSammo, so two of my closest online friends have even more in common. Hmm, it seems when I thought about what I'd write for Paragon I had more in my head, but I'm afraid that for now, this is all I could remember. Don't ever change mate, you're great the way you are.

Burra - a hole one day, not so bad the next

This weekend it was time for me to revisit Burra, a place I'd labelled a hole after my last trip there involved a boring drive, shocking hayfever which developed into a flu, and backing my car into the only pole in all of Burra. I was determined this time around to enjoy myself, and returned to Burra armed with all the hayfever drugs a human being could take in one sitting.

I left on Friday shortly after work, and popped into Mum and Dad's on the way as they did my camping food shopping for me. There was enough food to feed an entire family for a week I think, but I took it all with me anyway. This time I went a different way and not only was the drive shorter but it was also a bit more scenic. This time the group had a Threatened Species Grant so we managed to book some caravans with the money, so it was more of a holiday then the camping trips I've become used to. I got there with about half hour of sunlight left and discovered everyone was across at the pub getting dinner. I'd already eaten but thought I'd go across there anyway and have a drink with them. On the way there, there was this big commotion at the Town Hall, very unusual to get more than 10 people in the one spot at Burra I think. It seems the local high school were having their formal and the entire town had come out to see the kids arrive at the hall. It was all very exciting. So I got to the pub, chatted and had a couple of drinks, and then the night was called to an end pretty early, with us retreating to our caravans at about 10pm. Doreen was the girl I was sharing my caravan with and she was really nice, so that was good. Ofcourse, the town hall was just across the creek so we were kept awake by the DJ for a while, but it wasn't too bad.

The next morning we got up and got ready and a few more people had joined us. At 8:30am we all hopped in cars and went to begin our Pygmy Bluetongue search. I love going to these things because I always get to meet new people, and so I hopped a ride with Chris so we could chat a bit. I'm on the committee with most of these people and don't even know them, so on these trips that's what I try and do. Anyways, we searched at various locations for 10 hours with no luck. 10 hours without a toilet sucks, and usually when you go camping a girl can find some alone time to take a squat behind some trees or something but this was Burra - grasslands as far as the eye can see with the ability of seeing anyone within, well, some distance. Anyway, that was my only real dilemma, but by the last hour my hayfever tablet had worn off and I was starting to get pretty bad, but thankfully not as bad as last time in Burra.

And I think my fear of spiders, while still present, fades somewhat when I'm put into situations where if I don't do something about them myself, no one else will help me. After our last site we were driving and I noticed a spider on my knee - it wasn't a big one but wasn't small either and had a fair sized body. Without even thinking, I slapped it into oblivion then flicked it off my knee, all casual-like. That is so not me. Perhaps I've improved, yay!

That night Zoe joined us in the caravan, I don't know how I feel about her. She can seem nice and then she'll make some curt remark, but I've learned not to bother with those people too much so I just acted normal around her. Except to bitch about it in this brief sentence, hahaha, guess it did bother me a little.

Anyway, better go, glad to be back. But yeah, Burra's not so bad, in the end.

SuperSammo

I've decided (perhaps the decision was forced upon me, I can't remember) to write a little something about each of the people I've met in the Cogs gaming community and have gotten to know a bit. So I might do a couple a day, or just whatever I feel like at the time, and so this entry will be about SuperSammo.

He's like my best Cogs friend, even though that does sound really lame. I think it's because we both have such a wierd sense of humour that we can just be silly and laugh. At the same time though, he is also very mature, and I often have to remind myself how young he is. He's someone I can have a serious conversation with as well as lots of laughs, and I think that's what's really cool about him. Ofcourse, living in Canberra, he's probably the coolest thing there, hehehe.

Aww damn, I made this one a bit soppy. But I can't say anything bad about Sammo. Oh wait, yes I can. Why must he always be the one to kill me in battlefield? Why??? Why can't he miss with that damned Bazooka every now and then? It has gotten so bad that I can't stand being on the opposite team anymore, and if I am, and I manage to kill him, I congratulate myself for about 5 minutes. It's just not right! Curse you, Sammo :P

Oh, and some time last night I had my 1000th visitor, w00t!!

Xy

Xy asked why I failed to mention him (her?) in my blog, so this brief update is so that I can mention Xy in all his (her?) glory.

Xy is a wicked battlefield player and a great guy (girl?) too. We've had lots of funny and meaningful discussions and I have nothing but good things to say about Xy, despite what he (she?) thought I was going to write. If Xy gets a job next year as planned and leaves the battlefield community, I'll be missing a friend. (insert violin music here).

Enough of an ego stroke Xy? :P

You rawk.

Good news Mark II

So, it was about 1pm at work when my mobile rang, and as soon as I saw the number I could tell it was a phone call from Berri, but nice and calm, I answered the phone. The polite "Hi, how are you?"s followed, and I tried to sound as relaxed as possible, knowing this call could have been the "we appreciate you coming in but unfortunately...." type of call I've gotten so many times before. And then he said the magic words - "We'd like to offer you a job". I was already sitting down but I still felt like I was gonna fall, my heart was pounding and a massive smile spread across my face. I forgot about trying to be all calm on the phone and let the guy know how happy I was. So, after 9 long years, I can finally hand in my notice at Bilo. I haven't yet done that, but I'll have done it by Friday, and I can't wait to do it.

So, this job is in Berri, around 3 hours away, so I'll have to move a lot of my stuff there and live between two places. My week-long rental at Berri, and my weekend place here in Adelaide. On the way home, after being all excited initially, I guess the shock started sinking in and I got really sad and emotional. All of a sudden, I just got so scared of what might happen, being all alone, etc etc. Bloody women and their emotions. Since then I have realised that, in terms of other positions I've interviewed for that were located in Canberra, Berri is probably ideal. Some time on my own might be just what I need to branch out and extend beyond my safe little bubble. Going to a place where I know no one will enable me to come out of my shell, to make new friends, to reflect on the things I already have and am grateful for, and perhaps appreciate life a bit more. All of the reasons I was so eager to find a job outside of Adelaide. And it's a double bonus, because it's inevitable that I will get homesick occasionally, and so being a simple drive away from home will make me feel better. I mean, I've gone camping on weekends further than what Berri is, so it'll be a breeze. And the time I spend with loved ones will probably be more quality time, because I'll cherish seeing them more. I think this is exactly what I need, and so I go into the New Year, for the first time in my life, with a sense of hope. Above all else, I hope for some clarity, to de-clutter the thoughts in my head. Who knows what this de-cluttering will mean, but at the end of the day, it'll be decisions I've made while having the time to reflect on them within myself, with no outside influences.

The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I think of the little things, like setting up my new place, buying new furniture, going for walks around a new neighbourhood. No doubt I'll be lonely at nights, but I intend to set up an internet connection (even though it will only be a 56k, not the high speed i'm used to) so that I can talk to people. My clan duties will have to be restricted to playing on weekends though, so I'll miss that, but the nuts and bolts of it is I'm extremely excited.

So this weekend I'm going camping at Burra - the place where I got really sick last time. So this trip has to be an improvement on the last. This time we're staying in caravans so it won't really be camping at all, rather a civilised holiday. And I'm going prepared with eyedrops, nasal spray and, well, an entire drugstore almost, to ward off the evil spirits that live in Burra. This time I'm leaving on Friday afternoon, leaving work a little earlier.

Anyway, best get going. Not that I have anything else to do, so I will resume sitting here staring blankly at the screen.

Good news

Well, the interview last week went better than I thought because I got the job!!!

I intended to write a lot more, but it's TV night tonight so will leave it for tomorrow :P

But yay!!!!!

RIP Jonathan Brandis

I just read this and I can't believe it, I am in total shock. I used to love this guy :(

Wow.

Past and Present

Yesterday Mum, Maria and I went to visit Michelle and the kids because Mum hasn't seen little Alisha yet. It was nice to see them and catch up again, and Mum was so happy, she commented on several occasions afterwards how well-behaved Jacob was and how Michelle is naturally a good mother. She really is. I don't know how she does it, but she just knows what to do, and I guess it stems from just loving her kids and spending time with them. I hope I'll be a good mum like that one day.

Afterwards we went shopping at Marion for my Union Christmas dinner which was on that night. I really didn't think we'd find anything that I looked ok in but good old mum always finds something, so I had my outfit set for the night. We had a quick lunch then I had to dash off for a facial. So, now, fastforwarding to the night.

I wasn't really looking forward to this dinner because this girl I used to work with at Modbury, Sarah, was going to be there, and last year we had a bit of a falling out. The details are kinda sketchy and hard to remember let alone tell someone else about, but basically, she was blatantly flirting with Ivan then when she found out I got upset by it basically accused Ivan of spreading stuff about her or something. Anyway, at the time I tried to sort it out but she never returned my phone calls so stuff her. So yeah, didn't really want to see her. But, we decided to go anyway because we very rarely go out and I do like getting all dressed up occasionally, as most girls do.

So anyway, the dinner was at the Adelaide Convention Centre which has stacks of different rooms, so in the foyer there about four different signs pointing people in the directions of their parties. And one of the signs pointed in the direction of the Salisbury East High School formal! I was so excited even though the kids graduating weren't even in Year 8 when I left that school, but it was still kinda freaky. And because there was so much going on, some people are idiots who can't read so there wre ushers directing people aswell. And, although Michelle is the only person that will know this name, Rebecca Walker was one of the ushers. I think it was just sheer coincidence that she works at the convention centre on the night her old high school are having their formal.

So anyway, we had some drinks in the foyer and played the "avoid Sarah" game. Thankfully Julie was there and she saved seats at her table for us. Apparently Sarah asked to sit with her and Julie told her she couldn't, because she was gonna sit with us. To which Sarah replied that I was the one with the problem, not her. Utter bullshit, I sent no nasty emails and I wasn't the one who didn't return the calls. Anyway, felt like I was actually in high school myself, was rather childish. As always happens when you go to such posh places, the food is not only in tiny portions but often disgusting. It was lucky Ivan and I planned ahead and ate a hearty meal before we left. The main course was pretty good but the rest sucked. After dinner we stayed and chatted for a bit and then pretty much left, although by this time it was already 10:30 or something. As we were walking through the foyer we noticed the Salisbury East kids were getting their photos taken, and even though I didn't know anyone, I just had to stay and watch for a while. They all looked so good, the boys never looked so handsome at my formal, I'm sure of it. I tried to look for teachers I might recognise but didn't even have any luck there.

So was an interesting night, glad it's over. Yeah, it's fun getting all dressed up, but I'd rather go to like a wedding or at least dinner where I know I'd have a decent meal with people I actually want to see. Today has been a lazy day, and I dread work tomorrow as usual. Nothing changes.

Portrait of a Lady

When I was younger and trying to impress the boys (it never worked, the message here is never try), I would try to avoid summer days where I'd have to wear shorts without having shaved my legs. For a time while I was still in my early teens my mum would forbid me from shaving my legs too often, but once I got a little older she could no longer stop me, and so there'd rarely be stubble on days when I wore shorts.

These days I no longer shave because my skin has gotten all sensitive and used to break out in rashes, so now I wax. But in between waxes, the hair gets fairly long and so I keep it hidden behind pants or long skirts. But lately we've had really hot days here, so wearing cooler clothes has been essential. And then I realised how my attitudes had changed over the years - I had stubble but didn't care. I still went out shopping and everything and didn't care. Does age do this to women? Because sometimes my mum really lets herself go and doesn't care, and I was always embarressed for her. Anyway, thought it was rather amusing so forgive me for my "different" blog entry today. Let's move on.

Tuesday was my interview and I underestimated how long it would take to get there so I arrived 10 minutes late. I thought "Well, you're screwed Mel, may aswell turn back and go home", but I guess it's something that happens often because they totally didn't care. First I did this computer exercise and it was really easy thank goodness - was just testing to see if you knew how to do formulas and charts in Excel. Then the interview - 3 completely different personalities. When they set up these interviewing panels, do they do it so the people have different personalities or different work backgrounds, because I'm starting to wonder. One guy just joked around a lot (and sometimes stared at my chest, how rude), the second guy was just a nice friendly guy, and the third guy was so straight-faced the entire time I couldn't read whether he liked my answers or wasn't even listening. Interesting combo. But yeah, the interview went ok, I hate when they ask you something, you answer it, and then they say "Is there anything ELSE that...." because you obviously haven't given them the answer they wanted to hear. That happened once or twice, but the rest of it went well I think. One good sign in my opinion was afterwards one of the guys showed me where my office would be and stuff. But yeah, am trying to just stay centred and not think anything positive because chances are I won't get the friggin job so I don't want to be disappointed.

Apart from that I haven't been up to very much. You know what I've really missed when life got so busy? Reading. I never had time to read. Occasionally I could get through a book but my books have been piling up lately, being bought but not getting read. I guess one good thing has come out of working at Arkaba - the TV doesn't work so well in the staffroom so instead of spending lunchtime watching Jerry Springer, I now read. I've just finished The Hobbit and have just started reading the Diary of Anne Frank, and it's so good to read again! Yesterday I ordered a book online that you can't get here in Australia, Michelle will find this funny - it's written by Wil Wheaton, hahaha!

Anyways, have embarressed myself enough. Will people please comment again? I feel so unpopular (oh my god, I'm in high school again!).

Rush rush rush

I have to cook dinner before my Mammal Club meeting tonight so I haven't got heaps of time but wanted to write. Firstly, Michelle, you were absolutely right in your guess on why exactly I got upset after reading that list of names - you got it in one. Perhaps if she was actually a nice person it wouldn't bug me so much, but never mind.

So, tomorrow is my interview, so I have to try and get an early night tonight. I think I'm as prepared as I can be, perhaps tonight I'll just read over a couple of things but aside from that there's not much more I can do. And after today at work, I am desperate for a change. The day was great until the last 5 minutes when Grant decided to have a go at me about us running out of change on the weekend. The problem was, I was sick early in the week and no one thought to order any change, so we had to wait until this Wednesday for our next delivery. So there wasn't even anything I could have done about it. But somehow, I was made to be the one in the wrong. And I guess the reason it pissed me off so much is because I like to think I do a good job in there - if we ever got audited I make sure everything is the way it should be, and instead of hearing positive things I get a bit of a blasting about something I shouldn't even be accountable for.

Aside from that today, things here have been pretty good. I had my last Grass Identification workshop on Saturday and then mum, Maria and I went to Harbourtown to do some shopping. Mum and Dad wanted to buy me some new clothes for Christmas so we bought a few things. Harbourtown here is tiny compared to the one in QLD, but they're still developing it so in time it'll get better I hope. I was hoping to find a nice dress for our christmas dinner this weekend but it didn't happen.

That night Darren, Christine and Alex came over, and while the guys played computer games Christine and I watched some old dvds. Was a pretty good night actually, and Sunday was recovery day. I love recovery days.

Anyway, had better get going. Tomorrow is gonna be hell.

Mundane title #63

Well, went back to work on Wednesday and as expected, was a real mess. Today I caught up on all the paperwork and so tomorrow I have to squeeze in everything else. The couple of days rest did me good but made me realise how much I love staying at home and not having to do anything, hehe. I'm feeling a lot better now, just a bit nasal but aside from that better.

So the last couple of days haven't been very exciting, I have just been getting back into the swing of things. I've been called up for a job interview next week, for a job I applied for back at the start of September I'd forgotten all about. The interview is all the way up at Berri though so most of the day will be spent driving there and back, but no matter. So this weekend I have to study up on the Water Resources Act and prepare myself for god knows what. I'm not going in with any confidence, been disappointed too many times, so am just gonna take things as they come. I'll still give 110% in the interview, just not gonna make a big deal of things yet.

Today I went to the old SchoolFriends website and read some stuff people have updated. Sorta made me sad. There was one update in particular by this guy who I only chatted to a little, but he'd basically gone through a list of people he'd recently run into. So, made me realise, not much has changed in my life, and I don't really keep in touch with people from high school anymore. The note for me would have read something like "Melinda - nothing's changed, she's just a bit fatter".

Yep, I'm in another one of those moods.

So, what happened?

I've done something that's a big no-no when you work in Admin at Bi-Lo and that's taking a Monday off. I am just so sick, which gives you a pretty big clue as to why my camping weekend was so crappy. Last night I went to bed at around 8:30 and had to get up at 5am to call them and let them know I wouldn't be in. Eventually fell back asleep and had the biggest sleep I've had in ages, about 10 hours in total. I really needed it.

So I suffer from hayfever on a regular basis, but was prepared for the trip away because I had some tablets I could take. So Saturday morning, I'm up, packed and ready to go, and take a tablet before I left. Was a beautiful morning, perfect weather for a drive. I stopped in at my parent's place on the way for some breakfast then arrived at Burra a couple of hours later.

The drive up there was really boring, that area has been drastically cleared for farming and there were hardly any trees or roadside vegetation. We were staying about 25Km south of Burra at Burra Creek Gorge which was quite nice. So I got there about 9:30 and everyone had already left to start their work for the day, so I set up my tent, read The Hobbit for a while, went for a little drive around the place and managed to reverse my car into a pole. Great start. I forgot to mention that almost as soon as I got out of the car my hayfever hit me something fierce, even though I had tried to prevent it from happening. From this point on for the next two days my nose was like a running tap.

They still weren't back at lunch time so I had some lunch then lay down for a while. I fell asleep but then awoke when I realised my tent had become like a sauna and I was burning up. Eventually they all got back around 3:30 and we headed out again to one last site before dark. It was about this time, digging pitfall lines and setting up traps that I got a mild case of heat exhaustion, but was ok when I sat in the shade and drank heaps of water.

That night we had a bit of a campfire and I took some Sudafed to try and get some sleep without my nose flowing all night. The next morning I woke up in a terrible state. My eyes had become extremely puffy and were bloodshot. I had also developed a cough and so realised this was more than just hayfever. But I felt bad for Katie who had all this work to do so headed out with them. We were half way through one site and I just couldn't do anymore, I felt so sick. All I wanted to do was come home. Usually I go on these trips and don't even think about home because I'm having such a good time, but this time it was all I could think about. Because I had to get a lift with someone who had a 4WD I had to wait until the work was done before I could get back to camp to pack up, so didn't get home until about 6pm. By this stage I was in quite a state, hence the early night last night. But the eyedrops and medication haven't seemed to help, and I have a doctor's appointment soon so I'd better get going.

But yep, work are gonna hate me. Especially considering I have a feeling my doc will give me tomorrow off too. Ahh stuff them, I've done my share of filling in for other sick people. Fight the power.

Worst. Weekend. Ever.

I am not feeling up to writing at the moment but wanted to let everyone know I got home ok, but had the crappiest time camping I've ever had, and hope never to repeat it.

Will fill y'all in when I am up to it.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

On the road again

Tomorrow I leave for Burra, just going for the weekend but thought I should update this before I go. I've never been to Burra before so I'm looking forward to it and the weather is set to be beautiful, yay!!

The other day I was talking to Squash, who is still in high school and was just listening and offering a bit of advice when he said something that shook me up a bit. "It's so good to get an adult's perspective". An adult. I have never been called an adult before, I mean I go to the movies and pay adult fares and all that but have never had anyone I actually know refer to me as an adult before. After the initial shock and heart failure, I realised it's not such a bad thing. Thinking back to what high school used to be like for me and hearing Squash go through some stuff I'm glad it's all over. I mean, yeah, those times were often fun and back then I didn't need to worry about things, and those days probably shaped me into the person I am today, but I'm so glad I'm over the whole awkwardness of it all. At the same time though, just because I am officially called an adult doesn't mean I'm suddenly wiser to the world. I still mess up, still do silly things, still take those chances that sometimes only young people take. Age is a state of mind, not a number, and I guess my own feelings show that.

So anyways, what have I been up to? Let me think. Yesterday I took a day off work and went to visit Michelle. Jacob and Alisha have just grown so fast and are so cute. Then after that went to see The Matrix Revolutions with Ben, my movie buddy. And, despite what some people said, I really liked it. Not gonna give away any spoilers but I really think people shouldn't listen to what other people say and go and see it and make their own minds up about it.

Aside from yesterday the week has been the same as usual, working, the odd conservation meeting, and now another busy weekend is here.

Anyway guys, hope you have a great weekend, will see you in a couple of days. I suppose I had better pack some things, too....

Happiness

On days like today when I've had little sleep and am feeling a little emotional, I like to think of the little things that make me happy. Thought I'd share some with you.

- rain, and the smell when it first hits the pavement
- my pot plants flowering
- lying in bed and hearing birds chirping outside
- spring days
- bushwalking
- a deep and meaningful chat
- hugs
- a good book
- getting dressed up
- romance
- offering advice
- seeing happy little kids

These are a few of my favourite things...

Weekends that fly

Yesterday was a really busy day so it flew by. Went and picked up Misch in the morning, got to Belair and dropped her off at her building and went on to the Native Grasses Workshop. We seem to keep having these on horrible cold days so we spend our time inside instead of outside actually looking for grasses. I almost fell asleep, and then it stopped raining for a bit so we went outside for about 10 minutes to look around. The last class is in a fortnight and I have to try and find some grasses at home to identify. All well and good when you live in the hills but I'm in the city and live in a flat. We have lawn out the front but that's it. One type of grass. So may have to plan my own little excursion or something. Anyway, after that we had a BBQ, and I was naughty. There was nothing vegetarian, so I ate a pork sausage. Sorry vegos :-/

So then after the BBQ we had a meeting and that finished a bit early so I went for a half hour walk before I went to collect Misch. At home when I go for walks there's like maybe 3 large Eucalypts to marvel over, but out there there are hundreds. I think maybe I wanna live in the bush.

After that went to visit mum and dad, and finally arrived home extremely tired at about 7:30pm. Michelle logged on again last night, it's like our friendship, even after all these years, has developed into an even closer one. I am so grateful and lucky to have friends like her.

I was hoping to sleep in today, got up at 10am but when you've gone to bed at 2am it's only the 8 hours you need really. Went for a walk, and now just having a veg session. Mum and dad are coming over later. Have a great week all.

Mel's blog, October 31....point 2...

I really need some sleep. Going to try and get an early night tonight but something tells me that probably won't happen. I was really looking forward to a bit of a sleep in tomorrow, not having to leave the house until 9:30am, but good old Mel went and gave herself more to do so have to leave the house by 8:30am now. Good onya Mel.

It's gonna be a full-on day, when I'll be spending more time driving I reckon then anything else. If it weren't for things being so far apart from each other the day mightn't be so bad. Have to drive to the other side of town to pick Misch up in the morning then go to Belair National Park which is about an hour from her place. Have a grasses workshop in the morning, then a BBQ, then a meeting, and then taking Misch home and visiting my parents, so will be home about 8pm. Just a quiet day, lol.

Ok, so I'll sleep in on Sunday, that's not so bad. I got a phone call from my old store, gonna do a couple of extra shifts there next week. Excellent because a) I get to see my old mates, and b) I need the money badly right now.

Hmm, gonna go do some stuff before bed. Apologies for the vague update, but trying to update this more frequently even if it means there is nothing good to say.

Is that the time?

Whoops, was meant to update this hours ago, and then I got sidetracked, and now it's almost 1am and I'm not going to be able to get out of bed and consequently be late for work again. Whoops!

A few nights ago I had a bit of a chat with my oldest friend Michelle, and it was one of those chats we haven't had in a while, and I was so happy afterwards. One of the things we talked about was how we hadn't gotten together and had a good "gossy" session, not where we got together and gossiped about others, but you know when you're younger and you have sleepovers, and you stay up until all hours of the morning discussing your deepest darkest secrets. Got me thinking. Why is it that as we get older we share less of ourselves and bottle things up more? I think everyone does this. It's like when you're younger you don't care so much what people will think or say so you tell people everything. Someone suggested to me that perhaps it's because people get burned by others in their lives. Perhaps they told someone something once and got betrayed or looked at differently, so they stop sharing with everyone. Maybe that's true to a certain point, we all become a bit more opinionated and tell people what we really think as we get older. Makes me think that maybe when people tell me stuff, rather than offer advice or pass judgement, I should just listen. Who knows. We all seem to lose that innocence we had when we were kids.

I miss being a kid, I really do. Having to worry about relationships, finances, jobs, is all a little too much for me and sometimes I just want to curl up and wish it all away.

On a lighter note, tomorrow is Friday and I shall rejoice. Thank goodness this week is over and the weekend is almost here, although I do plan too much on weekends and perhaps need a quiet one soon.

The conversation I had with Michelle the other night makes me smile when I think of it. She reminded me how I always wanted to be a writer (this is true, even started a couple of books I never finished many years ago). Michelle was going to be the singer, and I was going to write her songs. Well, my dear, it's never too late to start I say. We can still be the female Savage Garden, but I swear those guys are gay so maybe not.

In the famous words of Eric Cartman, "Follow your dreams, you can reach your goals". Edited because the rest of the sentence wouldn't make sense right now.

Oh god, 1am. Goodnight! OH! And see the links on the right there? Squashland is a great read from a great guy. hint hint.

Melancholy and the infinite madness

I seem to go through these waves of emotion sometimes. Like, I can be happy, then someone will say or do something that might be nothing really but will totally ruin my day. Is this normal, or am I just mad? Like yesterday, someone (sideways glare at Ivan) made a comment in regards to my eating chips that I, in hindsight, completely overreacted about. Anyway, went on this walk to cool off and it started getting a bit drizzly and all I wanted it to do was absolutely bucket down with rain so I could do some twirls as if I was in a Carefree Tampons advert. I then realised that I am, in fact, probably insane. Abnormal is perhaps a better word. Sharing this with my readers is for their own good.

So, as you may have guessed, I haven't got much to write about but figured I should update this because it's been over a week. Perhaps a shameless link. One of the reasons I got into blogging was because of this guy, and his latest entry is hilarious so go and have a read. Some may remember him from The Next Generation as that irritating little shit Wesley we all wanted to eject out of the airlock, others might remember him from Stand By Me (my favourite film ever incidentally), but he's a great writer and his page rocks, so yeah.

Let's see, what have I been up to that's kept me away from my blog this past week? Hmm, well, my new workplace sucks, I really miss my old store and the people in it. I had the last office running like a well oiled machine, and this one's rusty as hell and will take a while to get going. At first I liked the challenge, but now, into my third week, I'm ready to throw in the towel. Every day there's something new. Like today, I'm trying to file the monthly reports and cannot find a fucking thing from her previous filing attempts. I call them attempts because clearly, the job was started, but never actually followed through. I mean, a spider has made his home quite happily between two of the filing boxes. I just left everything in a pile, named him Frank and left the room.

I'm still up with all the environmental groups and things. I started a Native Grasses Workshop on the weekend which runs over the next few weeks, and almost every weekend in November is tied up with more camping trips or days out. In two weeks I'll be spending the weekend camping in Burra, then will be back there a fortnight later. I love it :-)

Well, needless to say I didn't get the AQIS job I interviewd for. Not in the least bit surprised, like I said, the interview went well but I thought they wanted someone with more experience. Guess I was right (for a change). Haven't sent off any more applications for a while either. Not sure if I've given up subconsciously, or maybe there's just not much out there at the moment. I think maybe I've given up a bit. So disheartening to have almost gone a year after graduating without getting any work. Don't know where else to look, what more to try, etc. So if anyone hears anything, let me know. Am willing to relocate!

Okies, enough. Cyas next time for another dull installment.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

The above title is courtesy of Sammo due to my writer's block. I, infact, have nothing to blog about but am bored and waiting for time to pass. Why, you ask? Because I am a geek. That's right, this fact has been confirmed by my behaviour in the last 24 hours.

It's all thanks to a little game called Tibia, a highly addictive MMORPG (I think that's how it went, hehe). When I went out today to a housewarming, I just wanted to come home and play Tibia. When I experienced my first death this evening, I was so annoyed and upset at all the cool stuff I'd lost, I lashed out at Ivan. Yep, you know you're a geek when it's gone beyond a "just a game" mentality.

Today, someone even asked if I'd be their Tibia girlfriend. I guess there are some people worse off than me.

The curse of Mel

I wanted to tell you about a strange phenomenon that occurs every day of my life. I call it The Curse of Mel.

The curse involves railway crossings. Now, I don't know whether I'm sending out some strange electrical impulses or just some train-attracting vibes, but The Curse of Mel means that, whenever I'm driving a car, sometimes if I'm the passenger but not as often, I get stuck at a railway crossing. This is rather annoying because on the way to work I go through two of them.

Some might say it's because I'm travelling at the same time every day, but to those people I say "HA! You fools! The Curse of Mel is far more powerful than that!". You see, my roster is different every day, so it's not as if it's because I am following the same schedule.

Let me give you an example of the power of this curse. When I went away recently for the long weekend, I was driving home, in Adelaide for little more than 10 minutes, before I got caught at a railway crossing. On a public holiday. When the trains run like once an hour.

On other occasions I will be coming home from a meeting at, like 10pm, from the city which is only 10 minutes away, and get a train at the only single frigging crossing I go through. After 6pm. When the trains don't even run that often.

So you see, this curse is here with me and maybe talking about it will wash some of the vibes away. Or, maybe, the vibes will just weaken and I will get only one train at the one crossing instead of 3 (yes, my readers, that has happened several times too).

Fear The Curse of Mel! Muwahaha!

News just at hand

Don't be fooled by the title, this is old news I forgot to mention before today.

I've been hoping for some kind of promotion at work to give me extra money and develop my skills until I find work in my own field. So, I got a phone call from John, the Area Manager, who asked me to move to the store he's based at so, on top of my regular duties I can work with him and the State Manager more closely. Sounds good, I thought, and so agreed to the move. Later as I thought about it, I realised there will be no extra pay, no extra hours, just more responsibility, so it's not a step forward at all. So then, I regretted my decision, but it's too late, as I'm moving on Monday. Is getting rather sad actually, I'm gonna miss some people heaps, and they've already started with the "Aww, don't go Mel", which makes me feel worse. Plus, everything in my office is set up how I want it to be since I was there when the store opened, now I gotta do it all again and risk ticking off other people. Oh well.

So today I went in to have a look around and meet some of the people I'm going to work with. They seemed ok. My office is MUCH bigger then the one I have now which is a bonus. I could frigging do laps of it if I wanted, not that I would ever want to mind you. I start at 5am on Monday, YUCK! Because it's a bigger store, more to do, so early start. YUCK!

So anyway, another thing I forgot to mention here was I had an interview with AQIS last week, as a Quarantine officer at the airport. Is only part time but would be an awesome job. I was surprised they'd called me in for an interview at all since I didn't really meet all of their criteria. The interview, I felt, went really well. I thought I answered their questions well, but I got the impression they wanted someone with more experience, so probably another job down the toilet. On that same day, I got a phone call back from another place I had an interview with as a feedback call. Seems I did well in everything except one part of the day, which was a large group activity because I "let myself be cut off by other people". Geez, you have to be bloody perfect to land a decent job.

Well, I say, I embrace my imperfections! They make me "me" dammit!

Yeah

Ups and downs

Well, got back from my trip away yesterday absolutely stuffed so didn't hang around to write something about it yesterday. I did, however, check email to find that out of 42 emails, only 1 wasn't spam. Hmm, a serious case indeed. Anyway, about the weekend.

I left Saturday at 7:30am for the long drive to Penola. I was expecting the holiday traffic to be awful but thankfully wasn't too bad. Stopped off at Tailem Bend and Padthaway along the way to stretch my legs and have something to eat. So funny, with country towns. Some are actually quite big and busy, and others are so quiet, you wonder if anyone actually lives there at all or if someone just dumped 3 houses and a general store along the street and left.

Anyways, got to the campsite at about 12:30 and started to set up my tent. No one was around, they all seemed to be out doing stuff, but it wasn't long before they returned for some lunch. I was ultra happy when I found out Nerissa had been and gone, and that I didn't have to put up with her for the weekend. So, set up my tent, unloaded the car then sat reading for a while. After an hour or so caught up with Peter, Kate, Jo, Brad and Spencer and we went foraging for reptiles. The old lifting up rocks and logs trick. We found a few skinks, which made me happy, as Peter showed me how to identify them and I managed to hold them without them escaping from my clutches. We went to check the trap sites, got back, had dinner, then had the campfire going. After a while, we decided to go spotlighting in Penola Conservation Park, it took about an hour and was excellent. Saw lots of beasties.

The night was freezing, and is the only downside to camping in my opinion. Oh, no, not the only downside, it gets annoying after a few days to squat going to the toilet, but anyway. Woke up so many times so bloody cold. When I eventually crawled out of bed, it wasn't long before we were off to start the day again, checking trap sites and such. I got to see my first wild echidna and sugar glider, yay! In the afternoon Peter brought out all the reptiles we'd caught so far (including a baby brown snake) so people could take photos of them. I really have to get a decent camera, was so annoying. That night was a bit more fun around the campfire, but no spotlighting or anything.

Now, the last morning, here's where things get wierd. We all woke up, packed up our stuff then started heading out to pick up all the traps. We did one site, went back to camp and someone thought "Howard's sleeping in a bit, better check on him". So they go to his tent, call out, no answer. So they have a look inside and are met with a really shocking site - Howard had actually passed away during the night. He was about the age of my dad, so no one would have ever expected it, but when the police came, they found lots of medication in his belongings so it looks like he had heart problems. Was a real shock. That was the first time I had met him, so it didn't effect me as much, but still was just so unexpected. So, after the police were done and we packed up some more traps, I took off and got home about 4:30pm, totally exhausted.

Back at work today, and tonight, I have a committee meeting. The fun never stops!

So yeah, was a good weekend that ended strangely. How was yours?

This one time, at band camp...

For those I haven't already told, tomorrow morning I'm going away camping until Monday. I love long weekends. It's for a biological survey with the Mammal Club but should be a heap of fun. So, only going for two nights, but the amount of food I bought, I reckon I could survive a week out there. We're going to this place called Penola, just between Naracoorte and Mount Gambier, and I haven't been that way for so long, I don't even remember it. It's about 5 hours away, which is the only real pain in the ass, because I'll be going up by myself and it'll be so boring. Plus, there was a head-on collision on that very road today so that scares me a little. And, I'll have to pitch the tent by myself, and that sucks too. Hope it's not too windy. Anyway, this week has been nuts, had an interview too, but will write more when I get back (may even have a new photo or two). So, have a great weekend everyone. Any random SMS's are always welcome too, should you get bored.
Ciao.

PMS is a bitch

Am feeling really emotional today, and yes, it's probably PMS. That, coupled with the fact I have put on almost a kilo this week despite doing way more exercise than normal. My fat self is so pathetic. That, tripled with having to travel from one crappy job to the next for the next few days. Oh, and Gavin, being our old store manager, is working now at the place I'm relieving at, and you know what the first thing he said to me was? "You still haven't got another job yet?" and then he scoffed! Bastard. Way to up someone's self worth. So, there's that, quadrupled with the reminder that I'm no longer involved in some people's lives. If it weren't for mutual friends I'd have no idea what has happened with them lately, and it's sad that, one person in particular, used to contact me a few times a day and now nothing. Sad to see good friendships go the wayside. That, whatever the fifth multiple is, multiplied by knowing that Ivan has had a bad day too and doesn't want to talk about it, which makes me feel bad because I worry about him. And finally, icing on the cake, I really never wanted to get this emotional so publicly but was gonna burst.

But yeah, I'm sure it's just PMS.

Toadie rules

Been a busy couple of days. I've gotten over my cold now and the weather has been beautiful so I've been trying to make the most of it while it lasts.

Now that the finals are here for the footy I've been getting into it a bit more again. On Saturday we had a couple of friends over for the games, had some pizza, beer and just a great time. I went and picked my car up that morning so was in a great mood to start with. So good to have it back!

My sister is in a group called Project Dolphin Safe and they were doing some tree planting and rubbish removal around the Port River on Sunday so I went along to help out. The guy that plays Toadie in Neighbours, Ryan whatever, was there and Maria and I got our photo taken with him. Not that either of us are really into the show but just for a bit of a laugh. Apparently he's a committee member, not that he lives in the state or anything, and my sister has certainly never seen him at any committee meetings. We wondered whether he'd actually do any work or just stand in the shade of the tent all day, but after our morning break he did actually get his hands dirty and helped out. More than I can say for his chick though, lazy sod. Anyway, Maria and I had a great day, I reckon together we planted about 80 trees, the whole group doing over 1000 they said. On the way back home we stopped off at a couple of places along the Port River to see if we could spot any dolphins but had no luck. Port Adelaide is a really weird place to visit for me. Being a Port there's a lot of industry around there and it has so much tradition it's almost like stepping back in time. I can picture myself there 100 years ago waving off steam ships and the like. But then, I'm a freak, so never mind.

Then the weekdays arrived, and it's back to work. And this week, because Bilo is so wonderful at planning ahead for when people go on holidays, I've gotta fill in at another store and travel between the two. It means a little extra money but a hell of a lot more hassle, so not really worth it. Meh. Stupid Bilo. As down as I am about it, still been filling in lots of job applications last few days. Can't give up I suppose.

Oh, and how good was the Brownlow Medal last night?!?! 3 winners, what a treat! My main reason for watching the Brownlow is to see what the player's wives and girlfriends are wearing. Nathan Buckley's wife is hideous, I don't see the big deal about her. I think we women like awards shows because we imagine being on the arm of someone there. I asked Ivan if guys imagine being with the girls there, and he said they just imagine undressing them afterwards. Probably a true realisation.

Anyway, had better go, bored you long enough as it is. This weather has been so nice lately, it's inspired me to get my fat ass away from the couch and go for walks. So please stay, nice weather! Mel needs you!

Unwanted

I'm just going to copy and paste a conversation had with my friend Jun tonight, sums up perfectly how I'm feeling at the moment and I won't need to type it all out again. So here goes, and, for those a little slow on the uptake, we're talking about job applications.

[20:43] Jun: still looking at the apps?
[20:44] Mel: yeah, i have a lot of them to do this weekend
[20:44] Mel: i don't know why i bother
[20:45] Jun: because....
[20:45] Jun: you want work that actually uses your field of study?
[20:45] Mel: well yeah, but sick of rejection letters
[20:45] Mel: i obviously suck
[20:45] Jun: no
[20:45] Jun: it's just that
[20:46] Mel: is hard to think you're good at something when all you hear is how you're not good enough
[20:46] Jun: your field is a rather narrow and underfunded one, you know?
[20:46] Jun: populated with bean counters and desk jockeys
[20:46] Mel: at first i told myself that, now i've given up
[20:46] Mel: the amount of time and energy i put into these applications i could be doing something useful
[20:47] Jun: but it IS useful
[20:47] Mel: no it isn't, gets me nowhere
[20:47] Jun: like what else are you gonna do?
[20:47] Jun: watch TV?
[20:47] Mel: exercise, get skinny, go for walks, plant a tree, anything
[20:47] Jun: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
[20:47] Jun: at night?
[20:47] Mel: read a book, i love reading, never get time
[20:48] Jun: hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
[20:48] Jun: I like reading too
[20:48] Mel: i don't just do these at night :-(
[20:48] Jun: but I only read trash novels
[20:48] Jun: so big waste of time there
[20:48] Jun: look
[20:48] Mel: heh
[20:48] Jun: once you get a job,
[20:48] Jun: then you can do all those instead of writing
[20:48] Jun: apps
[20:48] Mel: IF i get a job, you mean
[20:49] Jun: WHEN you get a job, I mean
[20:49] Mel: excellent, in 5 years time i'll get to read, if i'm lucky
[20:49] Jun: I have faith in the Melness
[20:49] Mel: i don't

SOMEONE HIRE ME FFS!!!!!

*sniff*

I just can't shake this damned cold. At least my throat isn't sore anymore but now I sound even more nasal than I normally do. Can't stop sneezing or sniffing. Yesterday was my rostered day off but today I rang up sick, just didn't fancy sneezing and spluttering my way through the day. We already have a lack of customers, didn't want to drive any more away with my germs.

But I've vowed to not let the entire day be a waste. I plan to complete some job applications today and get them sent off. Even though it looks like work is going to give me a promotion soon, I'm gonna keep looking for something else. Haven't studied so many years to stay at a supermarket. In the meantime, hey, if they want to pay me more money that's great, but it's not going to entice me to stay. So will at least spend an hour or so doing that, so as not to waste the whole day.

The only thing that sucks about throwing a sickie is having to go to the doctor for a certificate. I remember the good old days when the Medicare system actually worked and you didn't have to pay up front to see the doctor. I know within a couple of weeks most of it is sent back to you, but when you're on a very strict budget like me, being out of pocket for two weeks sucks.

Anyway, enough ranting and raving like a lunatic. Anyone would think I was stricken with fever the way I'm carrying on.

*sniff*

Happy Birthday, Mum!

Today is my Mum's 49th Birthday, and even though she will never see this as she doesn't even know how to turn a computer on, I wanted everyone out there to know how much she means to me and I wanted to say Happy Birthday publicly.

I will admit I have gotten frustrated and annoyed with my parents from time to time, but they both have done everything just to make our lives better. They flew us across the world to where they didn't know the language to give us kids a better life and more opportunities than they had, they made sure we were well fed before they got food for themselves, they worked their asses off to get us not only a decent roof over our heads but to buy us kids anything we desired. The list of things they've done for us is phenomenal. Even today, when we're all grown up and independent, and I'm living away from home, they do everything to help us out. Meals, money, anything to make our lives easier. They know I love them and appreciate them, but maybe I should do more to let them know how important they are to me.

So, on days like today, I think a lot about what they've done for me, how they've shaped me to be the person I am, and I try to make their day as happy and loving as I can. So, to cut a long story short, I love you Mum, and hope you have a great birthday.

Commence preparations

My car finally goes in to the mechanic's tomorrow to get fixed, although he reckons it will take a week and a half, which is a bit dodgy but hey, it's a mechanic. And I'm not paying for it, so I don't care.

But because I have no car, Ivan has to take me to work, which means getting up before midday, which for him, is a huge feat. To ease some of the early morning suffering temper tantrums that will no doubt occur, he has been trying to teach me to drive a manual so that I can drive myself to work using his car on those especially early mornings. Well, been wanting to learn for a while, but now is a good time to. Only had one brief lesson so far, and I certainly won't be driving myself anywhere, but we have commenced preparations.

I intended to write much more but it has taken me an hour to write this little piddly blog as it is, due to chatting, so will say stuff it and come back another day.

Worst. Entry. Ever.

Remind me

Remind me never to do certain things again. Like, looking through the pantry, deciding to clean it out and so having something gross for dinner. I bought this pack of felafel mix a while ago to give it a try. I've had felafels before and thought they were great, so in a very unwise move, thought a packet mix could be just as good, if not better. What should have happened was that I should have left it in the cupboard so it was past its use-by date and then I could have just thrown it out without subjecting myself to its hideous flavours.

By simply making up the mix, I should have known something wouldn't be right. The smells of all the spices should have been a warning. But no, I persevered, stinking out the house in the process. Once cooked, I took a bite and thought 'that wasn't so bad'. Until I swallowed and the after-taste hit me. Ok, well, I needed something to eat for dinner, and these were already cooked so I had to try and drown out the taste. Well, the tomatos and cream cheese just weren't powerful enough. The result? Felafels go in the bin, Mel is still hungry but is feeling too sick to put anything more in her mouth.

Remind me never to do that again.

Theme of the month

It appears that in all of my entries I have nothing much to discuss, this is again one of those times. I don't know what it is with me lately, but I'm feeling very unimaginative and uncreative. I tend to think of things to write about when I am stuck in traffic or daydreaming at work or something. Mostly it's things I've observed, I am a big fan of observing other people. I like to see the way people behave, how they treat other people, etc. I think this is one of the reasons I like reality TV so much lately. Used to hate it more than I hate, well, something I loathe (couldn't think of an example). My latest show is the Amazing Race, on a bit late for my liking but really interesting to see how couples/friends/workmates treat each other under pressure. Then I think about when, the other night at dinner, mum's schnitzel arrived a little late and that was the end of the world as far as my parents were concerned. A hot "debate" followed where dad reminded mum she was not the only customer that night and mum retorted by, well, no retort, just yelling. Would love to see those two trying to decide which plane would be the best to take and who does which task a-la The Amazing Race. Now that would make interesting viewing.

So moving on from that, here's something I hate. When a so-called support person replies to your technical question with an answer that belittles you, removing all blame from them and basically pointing out that you must be a raving lunatic. Let me explain. After 4 days of my Comments on this site being broken, I emailed said support staff at the site that hosts the comments. When I load up IE the next day, lo and behold, it seems to be fixed. So I check my email, telling myself how brilliant I am for notifying them of the problem and how surely I must have received some wonderful gift. Alas, no. The email waiting for me said only this, and I quote - "I have just been to your website and your comments seem to be working fine". Apparently, there has been nothing wrong for 4 entire days. Apparently it was all in my head. And yes, if you noticed it too, apparently it was all in your head. A simple "We apologise, there was a problem with our [insert technical garb here] which has now been fixed" would have sufficed. But no, these people apparently have never heard of customer service. Ok Mel, breathe deeply, calm down....

And, right this second, just got another rejection letter for a job in my email. Yep, life is grand. *sigh*

Could this be the end?

I feel like I'm in T3 with all this computer bizo going wacko. Yo. The site that hosts my comments has been down for 3 days and counting, and blogger seems to be stuffing up a wee bit too so not sure if this will work.

Work. Yes, work has been really crazy lately. And this weekend, well, this entire next week, is going to be crazy aswell. My cousin and his wife from QLD (the pair in the snake photo) are visiting for a week or so and we're catching up with them a little, as well as other things, all at once.

Well, nothing interesting to say, don't even know if this will update properly. Use the force, Mel....

Funny news stories

The other day I read a short article in the newspaper which, while tragic, made me laugh, so thought I'd share the gist of it here.

Basically, it was about this teenager who was fishing with his parents, I forget where, and was holding this fish he caught. It slithered out of his hands, jumped into his mouth and lodged into his throat. Unfortunately, the kid died from suffocation, because the fish had these spines which meant it couldn't be dislodged. I know, this is tragic, and I am awful for finding it funny, but it some way it just seemed so incredible that it's funny.

Ok, so I'm twisted. Now you know, don't act surprised if I say something crazy to you next time.

So, moving right along. This hasn't been updated so much lately because I haven't been feeling the best and spend a lot of time asleep it seems. And then, when I am online, it is rather limited and this isn't my top priority anymore like it was when it was new and exciting. Forgive me, oh great internet gods. I prmoise to be more faithful in the future.

Ok, time for sleep again.

"Friends"

No, this entry is not about the TV sitcom.

Lately I've been feeling that I have what some people term "toxic" friends. I don't like to use the word "toxic", it makes it sound as though these people live in Chernobyl and have three eyes. I know it's supposed to refer to the way the people poison your soul and crap like that, but the people I'm thinking of don't do that. Perhaps a better term would be "part-time" friends. I mean, people that, at first, are like your best friend, then slowly they drift away, and then you find they only contact you if something's bothering them, they need advice, etc etc. You know, people that use your good nature basically. You're great if they have a problem, need a different perspective on things, stuff like that, but in general day to day hellos and how are yous, they can't be bothered.

I think everyone knows people like this. I just hope that I'm not unknowingly like that with some people.

I don't know what made me think of this, I guess I'm just in one of those reflective moods after going out for lunch with the girls. After 24 years, I really don't have many "real" friends. Maybe a person doesn't need a whole heap, just a few wonderful friends. Meh.

So, anyway, how funny was that episode when Joey put on all of Chandlers clothes and did lunges?

God hates me

Why is it that life just can't seem to run smoothly? You know, just when you're in a happy routine and all seems well, something's gotta happen in your life to stuff you around.

Yesterday Ivan borrowed my car for a very short trip to the post office because it was at the back of the driveway, and it doesn't matter how careful you personally are on the roads, there are always other idiots about. He's coming home and some idiot pulls out of a carpark straight into the side of the car. Luckily Ivan is fine. The damage to my car isn't as bad as it could be, I'm lucky I can still drive the car around and there is no engine damage. But I'm just upset and worried. This other guy seems a bit dodgy and I'm afraid he'll do a runner. I mean, my insurance company should, in theory, be the ones to track him down, but a similar situation that happened to Ivan a few years ago resulted in the other person successfully getting away. And, while it's not so bad, I'm upset because this is the first car I bought on my own. It was brand new just two years ago when I bought it, and I haven't even finished paying it off yet. I'll just feel so much better when it's fixed and paid for. Fucking life.

On Tuesday Ivan and I had our 4 year anniversary, but, get this, we both forgot. Yep, both of us. In fact, I wasn't even home for most of that day. Maybe I've joined too many committees when I don't even see my boyfriend on our anniversary.

Apart from the crap yesterday, the week was looking not too bad. But I just can't seem to stop worrying about it, even though I know I shouldn't because it won't help in any way. But it's my nature to worry. Tomorrow: tax accountant. Let's hope the government have found an error in all my previous tax assessments and realised they actually owe me $50 000 or something. Why did I pick that amount? Well, asking for any more would be too much of a dream, so maybe, hoping for less, it will actually come true. Hmm, think not.

Drive safe, people, and give way when you're supposed to! Word.

Ricky Fucking Martin

Oh God, Ricky Martin is in the country. God help us all.

Must he be on every television show I watch this week? And I don't watch that much tv, he just pops up everywhere it seems. And he's sooooo boring in an interview! As if we need to hear about how creative he apparently is and how he dares to be rediculous. Ugh.

Anyway, enough about that loser. I'm glad the weekend is here, feeling sick and going to work are not a good combination. Mind you, won't get too much rest this weekend, what with birthdays and dinners. And Pokemon on the Gameboy emulator. So very addictive for a girl that loves her Pokemon. Gotta catch them all....

Quick update

Nothing much to say, feeling a bit sick lately and so I haven't bothered writing. Nothing exciting has been happening anyway. Just working and doing job applications. What a gripping life I do lead. I love that line.

Oh, I did plant some trees for National Tree Day, hope you all did too. Lungs of the earth, after all. I think, deep down, I am a hippie. I mean, apart from their drug use, compulsive behaviour and free love, I think we're identical.

When pets are better looking than their owners

Take a look at the gecko I want to buy. Aren't they cuties??? Look at that cute little face, and that cute little tail, and those cute little spots! Can you tell I want this gecko really badly? I've found out I don't need a permit to keep one, but now I need to actually find one for sale. I've spent the last hour researching and emailing people who can help me. Probably not a good thing to put more energy into finding a gecko than finding a job, hehehe.

Oh, speaking of jobs, for those I haven't told, I got another rejection phone call on Monday. I hate those. But am feeling much more positive about things now so don't want to dwell on things too much.

The last few days have been great because I haven't had to go to work. I've had Trade Union training, yay! I love it because we get a free lunch and a fun time. Tomorrow is the last day, back to work on Friday unfortunately. I love gossiping and have had a chance to gossip about old workmates too, so it's been great all round :-)

That's all for now - geckos rule!

/Me wants reptiles!

And no, I don't mean a trouser snake.

On Friday night I went out with my friend Misch to a property near Strathalbyn, where we met up with a few other people and walked around in the dark listening for frogs. We waded in the creek, caught a couple just to see what they looked like (let them go, ofcourse) and then went back to the house and drank wine and relaxed. The lady whose property it is has a reptile house where she breeds and releases Murray Darling Carpet Pythons, so she let us in to have a look. I was in heaven. Wall to wall of Vivariums and Aquariums with not only Pythons but other snakes too, leaf insects, lizards and geckos. I realise it could be a while before I could ever keep a snake, but keeping a Gecko is much easier so that is now my goal.

Misch brought me home at around 11pm and stayed until 1:30am chatting and drinking coffee. Was a damn good night.

The rest of the weekend has been a normal weekend. There must be something in the air though because today I am doing a major clean. Aside from that, dreading work tomorrow as is usually the case.

So, apart from telling you what I've been up to the last few days, I don't really have anything exciting to write about, in terms of thoughts, observations, etc. Oh, but I will say this. How cool is it in the country looking up at the stars? The sky is just full of them, you can see tiny ones so far away. Never get to see things like that in the city. If only the country wasn't so boring and so far away from any broadband connection, it might just be okay.

Annoyances

If I hear one more thing about Delta Goodrem getting cancer on the news or radio I'm gonna go over there and beat her into remission. I know, anyone getting cancer is awful, but do we really need to hear about how the Neighbour's writers are gonna have a hard time? Do we need to hear a song of hers every hour (and she doesn't have that many) so we can hear the same dickhead at the radio station sending their best wishes? Perhaps it would be ok if at work I didn't need to listen to crappy easy listening. And no, this is not a case of the Mondays.

And then I got annoyed because the stupid censorship board has banned Ken Park and I still can't find a copy of it online to download. I really wanted to see this movie, and censorship of any form annoys the crap outta me.

Aside from that, traffic today sucked and it was cold and windy.

How was your day?

Bring on the weekend

What a busy week!

Have had to fill in at another store again this week, and on top of that had two job interviews on Tuesday, so my mind is a little frazzled. Plus, good old conservation meetings, where Mel quite often humiliates herself by saying stupid things. I think there is a blonde in me somewhere sometimes.

I'm finally gonna go and see X-Men 2 tomorrow night, yay! Ivan doesn't like the same movies as me so I have to rely on Ben, my movie buddie. And he's had the chicken pox so I've been waiting and waiting. So tomorrow, I will have to wait no more, yay! Except, well, when I get up in the morning, I'll have to wait for night to roll around, and so on, but you get my point.

Today I ran into an old customer from back in my checkout days when I worked in a store on the other side of town. He used to come in every Saturday with his daughter who's about my age and come through my register. Was so wierd to run into him, and he remembered my name too - I must have been a really polite person back then. How times have changed, har har.

Hmm, what else? Oh, remember when you were younger and you had a crush on a movie star or something who was around your age? But then, years later, when you watch those same movies, it's creepy to say you think they're hot. Here's an example. When I was 12 Terminator 2 was my favourite movie and I thought Edward Furlong was the hottest thing. He's a year or two older than me so liking the adult version of him is still cool. But watching Terminator 2 now, and seeing him when he was that young, you just feel icky perving on them. Like Kirsten Dunst is gorgeous now, but if you perve on her in Interview With The Vampire, it's kinda creepy.

Think about it sickos! :-P
I need sleep.

Random Ramblings (will they never end?)

I don't really have anything to write about today but just wanted to update so that the pictures weren't staring me in the face each time I looked at my site. So if you don't want to read any mindless chatter, then click here instead and go have some fun.

I bought the new powderfinger CD today and got a free Bonus DVD with it, w00t! I love those guys. Even if the album isn't that great, the DVD makes up for it.

Hmm, what else have I been up to? Been getting into the conservation meetings again now that my First Aid course is all finished and I haven't been for a while. Note to self: Write a letter to the Environment Minister about closing the Environment Shop (bastards).

Further note to self: Get on the exercise bike a bit more.

Final note to self: Only write when you have something meaningful to say.

Warned you to click on the link, didn't I?

Shield your eyes!

This is my favourite pic because the shadows hide everything quite well, hehehe. This was taken at Australia Zoo, and it's a kangaroo, not a wallaby, Jun :-P

The guy in the middle is my cousin Viktor, and the woman on the left is his wife, Germaine. Anyway, this was taken at Australia Zoo too, about the time I was freaking out. My sister took this photo, but there was a photographer taking another photo that we could purchase. ANyway, she took one photo, during which time I was very calm, then she needed to change her roll of film. The snake got restless and so did I.

Belated Birthdays

I've been slack in this last week of holidays. So slack, that my mind couldn't even think of anything interesting to write about, but I did wanna say Happy Birthday to Paragon and Sammo for the 27th. Sounds like you guys had a blast (some, perhaps, had too much fun? ;-P) and I wish I could've been there to share your day. Hmm, sounds like something you write in a Wedding card. No matter.

So what have I been up to? Nothing! What a gripping life I do lead. Spent most of this week just catching up with people I haven't seen for a while, so that was good, but you know, nothing really worth writing about. Hopefully by the end of next week I'll have my photos back and I'll put some of the better ones on here. Then you can all point and laugh heartily.

Watched some old video clips last night. It's great that certain songs like Mickey by Toni Basil and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper never age. But my god, their filmclips certainly do. Random rambling #353. :-P

Gotta go to bed. Off to the hell hole otherwise known as work tomorrow. Damn, 3 weeks just flew by :-(

Insert comments!

It seems the novelty of my blog has worn off and people don't come here and comment anymore, so I'll spice it up with some naked photos. Hehehe, no way.

So my birthday sucked, largely due to my parents. Damn families. Not gonna go into details here, but it wasn't good. Thank god Ivan was around to ease the stress. Hooray!

Have nothng interesting to write about today, my brain is fried from the interview session I had today. I hate the feeling of thinking you've prepared for all questions and then they pull one you'd never expect. Meh

No point writing when no one reads this! :-P Just teasing.

Happy Birthday to me!

24 today. Oh. My. God.

Early mornings begone!

A 5:30am start to the third day of my holiday - can you believe it? Had to catch the first train into Nerang, rediculous. So we were greeted at Nerang by my aunt, went back and had breakfast, then went to the cemetary. You see, my cousin John died a couple of years ago on New Year's Eve and I never went to his funeral, so wanted to see his grave for some closure. Pretty sad, I know, but was kinda nice. After that we went for some retail therapy at a place called Harbour Town, which is like all these factory direct outlets in the one mall. I went nuts on the shopping, and had to buy an extra bag because i knew all the stuff wouldn't fit in my luggage. Went to bed quite late, considering the early start, and then couldn't get to sleep because at my aunt's I had to share a room with my sister - not good. My sister snores. Very. Loudly. And I had to share a bed with her too, which was even worse. She is very restless, and on more then one occasion I was woken up by her kicking or whatever the hell she was doing. And don't think dirty thoughts and be gross!

So had a sleep in on Day Four, and when I mean a sleep in, I mean I got up at 8am instead of 6am. Joy. My aunt loved having us girls there, we spoilt her a bit and made her breakfast and coffee, was nice. Another day of retail therapy was in order, this time at Pacific Fair, but today I limited myself to only a few purchases. My aunt bought me this really cool vase for my birthday too. Afterwards we went and had a picnic lunch at Broadbeach then went for a HUGE walk along the coastline. Was super nice. When we got home, my aunt and I took their dog, Lexie for a walk at the local park, so did stacks of walking. You'd think I could sleep a little better but no, not with Miss Snores-a-lot beside me.

Day Five was Seaworld Day, and since it didn't open until 10am, we got to sleep some more. Took stacks of photos, may put some up on here when I have the time, and I won't bore you with all the Seaworld chat right now. It's a theme park, it was fun, no need for nitty gritty details. Except to say the polar bears were gorgeous. I took almost a whole roll of film just on them, and know that when I get my photos back I will wonder why I took so many photos of the same freaking bears. Hehehe. My aunt and uncle said they'd teak us out for dinner, went to some place called Ashford (Aston?) Rd Seafood & Steak or something, so I thought "Excellent, I can order something healthy". So I order the grilled fish with sauce on the side, being good, then my aunt announces that the three of them will be sharing one meal - my meal for myself would have cost more than the three of theirs. So ofcourse, I felt really bad, and scrapped my order to share their fat-filled battered fish platter thingo. I was so pissed off. And quite rightly so, turns out I put on over a kilo while away, grr! Stupid fat loving family. I can't convey through writing how annoying the situation was.

The final day was spent at Robina Shopping Centre, just window shopping this time, and us shouting my aunt some lunch. We then packed, got on the train to the airport, hopped on the plane and got home a few hours later. The plane ride home seemed to last forever. I had a great holiday (despite my rants here), but next time I would prefer to go where I have no family, and also to go either alone or with my man. By the last couple of days, possibly due to lack of sleep, I was really quite annoyed with the family and wanted to be alone from them.

Here's an example of a typical conversation with my sister, but just as some background info, I dislocated my knee last August and it flares up on occasion. Ok, so we're at Seaworld, been walking all day, and we're about to leave but the souvenir shop at the exit doesn't have some stuff we wanted so we decide to go to the other one on the other side of the park. That's fine, I wanted something from their too. So, as we go, this is the basic conversation:
Maria: "If you want, I can go by myself and you can wait for me here"
Mel: "No, I want to go with you"
Maria: "But what about your knee? I'm sorry for making you walk so far"
Mel: "Maria, I'm fine, if I wasn't fine I would stay here and wait"
Maria: "I'm so sorry, sister" (she never calls me by my name, always calls me sister)
Mel: "I'm not gonna repeat myself, stop apologising and let's go"
Maria (about 30 seconds later): "But I feel so bad for your knee!"
Mel: "For fucks sake, I'll say it again - I'm not going to repeat myself again, I am FINE!"
We finally head off to the shops.

Day Two - Thar be pythons!

You know it's a bad thing when you're on holidays and you're getting up earlier than when you're going to work. On the plus side, you get to do more things, but it just throws your body clock out of whack. Viktor and Germaine live in Kenmore in Brisbane, and we were heading out early to go to Australia Zoo, so I asked to be woken up at 6:30. But damn if Maria didn't get me up at 6am, so as you can imagine, Mel's grumpy side came out to play.

Anyway, we headed off and got to Australia Zoo by about 9am. Let me tell you, this was the best place they could ever have taken me. I am really into conservation, love Steve Irwin, and LOVE reptiles, so I was in heaven. I really liked the zoo because it wasn't like a zoo at all, meaning there were few bars and it felt really open. We saw the usual shows and things and then my favourite part of the day came - getting my photo taken with a reticulated python. Viktor wanted to hold it too so we stood in line together, and then just as she went to give us the snake, Germaine jumped in too, so the photo is with the three of us. Maria was too scared, hehehe. I'd scan it and upload it if I wasn't looking so awful in it :-P

So when they finally managed to drag me away from Australia Zoo, we went for a huge drive to the Sunshine Coast stopping at several lookouts along the way. My stupid memory means I can only remember us going to Gerrard's Lookout, driving through Montville, and stopping at Coolum Beach (where we saw some dolphins, w00t!). We went all the way to Noosa and had afternoon tea at Noosa National Park - what a beautiful place! I couldn't get over the beach in front of us with scrubland behind. Then we went for a walk down Hastings Street, bought an ice cream then went on the beach to eat it. I have decided that next time I travel, I will spend my time at Noosa.

After the long drive home we got some pizza, hired the crappy movie I Spy and then had an early night. Question - why do people who have spent so much money on a large TV and good DVD player have crappy little speakers? What's the point? And why do these same people not even know about watching things in Widescreen? When I asked them if the picture didn't seem stretched out to them at all they said no, so obviously they have never even heard of the concept of widescreen. What a waste! Oh, and while I'm in the "Tell it like it is" mood, here are a few more things I'd forgotten about QLD:
- People drive like maniacs! My cousin and uncle especially. At least 20kph above the speed limit, weaving through traffic, you know, the type of driving where you literally have to hold on for dear live. My aunty, ofcourse, is the complete polar opposite. At least 20kph below the speed limit, holding up traffic in the fast lane, not indicating at roundabouts, braking early and braking often. I tell you, I don't know how I survived the days. Methinks a hire car is in order for future trips.
- Traffic - gah! If I ever lived here I would take public transport to work I think, as peak hour extends over two hours it seems.
- On the good side though, it IS a beautiful green place. There's always somewhere nice nearby to go for walks.

Well that concludes Day Two I think. The last four days were full but not of anything overly exciting, so will probably write them all up in one go.