Return to life as we know it

I'm home from Townsville and will be back at work tomorrow. I'll write more soon but just wanted to let people know I was back and hadn't forgotten about blogging :)

A quarter of a century passes in the blink of an eye

Happy Birthday to me,
Happy Birthday to me,
Happy BIRTHday dear me....
Happy Birthday to me!
:D

Birthday Weekend 1.0

With me going to Townsville this coming weekend, the weekend just past was a chance for me to see my family and close friends for my birthday. As usual I arrived in Adelaide on Friday night and it was a pretty quiet one, just catching up on TV shows Ivan had taped during the week for me and then playing some Battlefield online until the wee hours of the morning (despite feeling tired by 11pm).

It's like with me turning 25 I've wanted to reinvent myself in a way. I've been looking through old photos and have found that I look pretty much the same as I did when I was in high school, so it's been high time for a change. So a few weeks ago, getting my ears re-pierced was a start, and then on Saturday my hairdresser came over to give me a brand new style. It's funny, I've gone through stages of different colours like blonde to different lengths, but in the end I've still ended up the same. The style she gave me is not altogether different, just a few layers, but she has given me a fringe for the first time since I was... I don't even know, maybe 10 years old? I remember by Year 7 I didn't have a fringe but I don't know when I grew it out.

After she left Ivan and I went to do a bit of shopping and then his mum popped around briefly. That night we had dinner at the Liberty Diner with my parents, sister, grandma, Michelle and Craig, and Tash. I had such a good night, it was so good to see all the people I'm closest with in one room and I had heaps of fun. I am still the master of the chocolate mousse, sorry Craig :P Plus I got some really lovely, personal presents, things I'll treasure for life, which was beautiful. We left there just after 7pm, and Tash came back to our place for a coffee and a bit of a chat and I think it was about 10pm by the time she'd left. The rest of the night Ivan and I lay on the lounge watching this animated movie called Osmosis Jones and then this special on Stanley Kubrick that had been recorded for me during the week. I can't believe I still haven't bought that box set of his movies after all these years, geez I'm slack!

Sunday was pretty much nothing except driving back to Berri, unpacking and vegging out. My intray at work has hardly anything left in it so I should get everything done before my Annual Leave starts on Wednesday afternoon (and it gives me time to update my blog). There is lots to do tonight though.

Tomorrow is my actual birthday, and it's worked out pretty well because Tash has training in Renmark, so after work she'll be coming over to my place and staying the night. I'm looking forward to it :) But yeah, it makes tonight a bit busier, since I'll need to get most of my packing done, as well as a bit of work I'll have to take home with me since the office doesn't have the software I need to do it. Lots of things to look forward to this week though :)

When pelicans attack!

There's a man who works here who has worked for the Department for something like 35 years. He is generally in good health but suffers from a degenerative eye condition which means his eyesight will get worse and worse and eventually he'll be completely blind. In the last year or so it has gotten to the point where he is now considered "legally blind" and is therefore not allowed to drive anymore. But every 5 years one of his tasks was to go out to various sites around the place and take photographs of the vegetation to monitor change over the years, and this year was one of those years. So, last week I drove him on a half-day trip. I don't mind, I have lots of work to do in the office but I need to get out every now and then, and being the chauffer gives me the opportunity for me to see a bit more of the Murray. Yesterday was his last day of photos so I spent the whole day out, and something funny happened I thought I'd better share.

We were heading out to Mypolonga which is about 2 and a half hours away, and on the way we stopped at Mannum for some lunch. Last week when Bron drove Ross to Mannum and had lunch by the River, she was attacked by a pelican and her lunch was stolen. I was cocky and thought "that sort of thing could only happen to Bron!". So I bought a chicken yiros and Ross looked at me in a funny way when he asked "you sure you want to eat that outside?" and I replied, "yeah, we'll be fine!".

We go down to the Riverbank and sit on the benches and I tuck into my delicious yiros, enjoying each mouthful. Unfortunately, by the fourth bite, Ross noticed 3 pelicans walking towards us, so he suggested we just walk back to the car. We headed off and I turned around to see the pelicans not only following us, but actually gaining on us! When I looked again one had actually started to take flight, lifting itself off the ground. It was at this time I got scared and dropped my yiros and ran, to prevent being attacked. The damn thing snapped it up in no time and Ross laughed himself crazy as I sheepishly went back and picked up the paper the pelican had left behind.

We headed back to the car laughing at my expense, and just as we got there an old biddy (that's a polite description) stopped us thinking we had intentionally fed the pelican a plastic bag or something. No, you nosy cow, it was my lunch, and there was no plastic, and I picked up the paper. Rather than thinking the pelican was innocent, she could have just offered me some food for the love of god!

Hehehe, anyways, was a fun afternoon... Next time we'll take the Department of Environment guy from downstairs to shoot the friggin thing and give the biddy something to really complain about :P

Even my blog is ageing!

In yesterday's hastened blog I forgot to say Happy 1st Birthday to my blog! It turned 1 on June 11th :) I'm so proud to see the little tacker grow up :D

In other news, I need some ideas for a book I'd like to write. It isn't a good start when you can't even think of what to write about! Only serious suggestions though, please...

Quick update(tm)

The weekend just gone was one of the best I've had in a little while, and it wasn't that anything exciting was done, it was just that it was a long weekend and so I had a little more time to relax without having to drive home before I knew it.

Friday night was the usual "watch the TV programs Ivan has taped for me" night with a little time spent online inbetween. We've really gotten into this show called The L Word which, it doesn't sound too good, but is basically about a group of friends who happen to be lesbians and the relationships they have. I think Ivan likes it for the perve factor but I love the show too! Almost every episode lately has made me cry because the characters are so good and the relationship issues they have are relevant to all of us. Um, yeah, so that's my TV recommendation for today :)

Saturday morning mum and my sister picked me up and took me shopping to get me some clothes as an early birthday present. It comes in handy actually because my trip to Townsville is in just a week and a half and I needed a few new things. It's only for 4 days but a girl likes to be prepared :) By 4pm we were utterly exhausted and I'd managed to find most of what I wanted so they dropped me off, and Ivan and I prepared for a rare night out. Living in Berri I tend to crave the things we don't have here and so I was craving Fasta Pasta, so we went there for dinner first and then went to watch The Day After Tomorrow. Neither of us went there expecting much in terms of character development, being one of those "disaster" movies but I did enjoy it actually. We got home and later that night there was a big thunder and lightning storm and me, being the wuss I am, got scared after seeing that movie, hehehe!

Sunday I didn't get up until after 11am which was fantastic, and then we didn't do much except play Sacred and Battlefield. Tried to stay up to watch the Canadian GP but it didn't happen.

Monday was housework day unfortunately. The place in Adelaide is having a routine inspection this Thursday, so I had to clean that (because the man is lazy, hehehe), then drive home and do my own place because I've got an inspection tomorrow. Fun fun! Ah well, all that's left for me to do tonight is the bathroom and then tomorrow morning I'll pull out a few weeds. There aren't many but, um, the ones that are there are as tall as me, so, it could be fun :D

Yeah so just a quick dull update for now since I'm about to leave work. I'll write something more interesting when I have a bit more time.

PS Only one week until I am a quarter of a century, eek!!

Is this journalism?

If you know me, then by now you know I despise censorship in any shape or form, and today I was sent this ridiculous article written by someone who claims to be a journalist. Certainly not an unbiased one who isn't trying to push his beliefs on his readers, that's for sure.

If you don't want to read through all the drivel on that awful link I'll give you a quick rundown. It's basically about video games coming out or that are out now that he has labelled "pornographic". So, now, uptight people such as this have moved on from complaining about violence in video games, to "pornography".

Now, I haven't seen any information on the other games he mentions, but I have played and enjoyed playing the game Singles he speaks about. I'm betting that this guy hasn't even looked at the box of this game. The way he writes, I'm betting he's never even used his computer for anything more than typing the bullshit we've been subjected to.

Yes, the purpose of the game is to pair up couples. Yes, they have little cartoony genitals. Yes, you can eventually get your couple to have sex. Yes, it is an adult game. So they're selling it online now, so if a kid has access to a credit card they can buy it despite its adult rating. This "journalist" must see children as super geniuses, because he says the kids can "trick" mum or dad into getting this game for them. Err, excuse me? The game is called Singles. What would mum and dad think it was about? And if you were involved at all in your kids lives and were so friggin protective then surely you'd research stuff before you bought them a game. And if you couldn't trust your kid not to steal your credit card details, then you've probably not done a good job anyway.

Okay, so I don't have children of my own yet but I'd like to think that I have thought about certain issues and how I might address them with my child. It isn't sick or wrong for a kid to want to know about sex. It's a natural, healthy thing, and wouldn't you rather them feel that they can come and talk to you about anything then to go out and find things out the hard way? Ok, so I probably wouldn't go and buy them Singles, it has an adult rating after all, but The Sims 2? You can't be serious this guy is complaining about that. A couple giggling and tickling each other in bed is not throwing sex into the kids face.

What used to happen back in the day before video games? Well, back then, there were magazines. I guess this guy doesn't know about magazines. Well, lots of dads have magazines lying around. Kids find them. Their friends might come over and flick through the magazine and have a good giggle over it. Are these kids going to grow up perverted? No (unless they actually have some mental problem ofcourse). Are their minds now tarnished for life? No. Might they instead develop a healthy attitude towards sex instead of thinking it's something we should never ever talk about and is only to be kept secretive? I hope so. When I have children, I want them to be able to talk to me about anything. I may look over what they do (I'm not going to go out and buy my son porn when he turns 12, I'm not that retarded) but I won't lie to them or hide them from the world.

Parents need to think for themselves. Your views may be different from mine and I respect that, but please don't read crap articles like the one mentioned here and take the censorship side. Make the decisions, and then take the responsibility for them.

Censorship leads to repression, which can lead to resentment and unhealthy relationships. Ofcourse, these are only my views, but this article has really fired me up...

I'm still alive!

Things have been so busy here lately, I kept meaning to update this and just haven't found the time, so I'm doing this on my lunch break.

Because it's the end of the financial year coming up and I'll be going to Townsville a few days before it officially ends, work has been absolutely nuts and there are so many things to do with that same deadline. It's good in a way because the time goes really quickly, but I don't get time to do things like my blog :)

So yeah, work has been taking up a lot of my time lately, but besides that the weekends have gotten a bit busy again. Last weekend was Michelle's, Alisha's and Jacob's birthday so a busy time at that household!!! Well, Jacob's was a day later but a combined BBQ/birthday party was held at their place on Sunday which was nice. I'm not being biased (I swear!) but they are the cutest kids I've ever seen.

This weekend is Rosanne's wedding, an old high school friend who I haven't seen for a few years I think, so it's a bit weird going to her wedding when it's been so long, and I haven't even met her fiancee. I've come down with a bit of a cold, too, so not sure how the day will go, may have to play it by ear and perhaps leave the reception early or something. It'll be good to see Holly again too, but I have no idea who else will be there from school.

Hahaha, yes Michelle, I'm updating this as we speak :D

Sorry, bit of an interruption there :P Just kidding Shelly :)

I've been mentioning a bit lately about how I always wanted to be a writer and that this is like my only outlet at the moment. Well a good friend also loves writing and plans to write a bit of a series throughout his life, and has kindly asked me to offer some of my own thoughts to the story! I can't tell you how happy this makes me, although, it will be a challenge for me, I must admit. I haven't really written anything since things I had started and never finished many many years ago, and I've always found writing to be something a bit personal, so stepping out of that comfort zone and challenging myself to be creative and expressive again is going to be tough. Even if everything I suggest is rejected and not ideal for the story, it'll still be good because I'll be challenging myself.

That's it for now, more later :)