Blog neglect

Wow, things just got majorly crazy here since I last wrote and this is the first chance I've had to sit down and do an update. Sorry, Blog readers!

In fact, my last blog seems so long ago I'm having trouble remembering exactly what I've been doing so I guess I'll just rattle off some things. A couple of days after my last entry I believe, I did something to my back again and took a couple of days off work. Normally days off work are great because I get to catch up on gaming or something but it hurt to sit at the computer so I did little but lie down both of those days.

A couple of weekends have been and gone, and I can't remember what I've been doing except that Saturday just passed Mum took me clothes shopping as my Christmas present which was heaps good. I got 4 tops for work that are summery, 2 skirts, 1 pair of pants, 1 pair of shorts (although I'm now wondering why), 4 pairs of shoes (ok, so I have a shoe problem), a new handbag (it's pink!) and a purse to match. Oh, and I got this necklace, ring and earring set free from Rockman's for spending so much money there, hehehe. I really needed some decent summer clothes for work, I was feeling very blah and it's been pretty damn hot in the last week.

So, apart from that, I guess the thing that springs to mind is that I haven't been in Berri for a week and looks like I'll be in the Adelaide office up until my Christmas holidays. They asked me to come and work down here to help with this new system, to get all the metering data sorted as that's pretty much my role in Berri, so I have been mega busy since I got here, hence the little time to write. I'm heaps happy to have been asked to help them out, and am hoping it's a mini-test to see how I'll go for this job I've applied for back here, but I shouldn't get too excited, I might not even get an interview for that yet.

It's been great to spend all this time with Ivan again but it's a little awkward, not knowing exactly how long I'm down here and all, because half of my stuff is in Berri and half of it is down here. But I won't complain, because this is where I want to be.

The Adelaide staff are all very friendly, although I'm getting mixed vibes from a couple of the girls here, I don't think they like me. Not that they've done anything, it's just that feeling a person gets. But it's ok, because you get people like that everywhere. Although people here are really nice I'm just not sure I fit in back here. All the girls are very beautiful (men must love working here) and I just feel like a fatso. Ah well.

Anyway it's almost time for me to go and catch the train back home, so I'd better go finish up on a couple of things. Sorry for not updating this sooner, I've really just been frazzled.

Hope you all are well.

News flash

I'm about to go down and do a heap of filing (800 individual files) so thought I'd do a morning blog before I head downstairs into the abyss.

Last night was the final ever Sex And The City and I'm really going to miss it! I suppose I'll have to just stick with re-runs and watching old episodes on DVD but it's just not the same. But I have to admit, I felt a little empty watching the ending. So many people wanted Carrie to end up with Big but I didn't, the guy was a jerk, and the only time I felt any emotion in the episode was when she saw her friends again. I guess it always happens when a show's been around so long and you expect too much from the big finale, but yeah.

On the weekend Ivan and I watched a couple of movies - The Incredibles and Team America. Both of them were very funny for very different reasons. The puppet love scene in Team America was one of the funniest things I have ever seen, although it makes you shake your head and go "oh geez..." :)

So, as you can tell, this update was merely to waste time, because I'm really not keen on all this filing but it's inevitable after the big mailout last week :(

End of a dry spell

I can't believe it's been a week since I updated, it's been a while since I've been so slack. Thing is, I have several reasons for not updating:
1) I had a massive mailout to do at work, which takes up a lot of time.
2) I had to get that job application done and sent and geez those things are hard to write.
3) Nothing interesting has been happening and this blog has been mega-boring.
4) Anything that has happened would probably not interest the one or two readers I have left.
5) Like I said above, I have lost a lot of readers so the inspiration to write about stuff is gone.
6) I presume I've lost readership, I can only presume because people aren't commenting (note the use of emotional blackmail).

That's all I have for the list really.

So, yeah, work has been a bit busier and I had to get my job application sent off. Aside from that Mum, Maria and Grandma got back from QLD, I was in Adelaide on the weekend, there were more family dramas, the usual really. The weekend was quiet, I'm preparing myself for the Christmas rush of catching up with people and spending too much money by doing as little as possible on these weekends. The weather has also sucked so I'm not motivated to leave the house.

I saw the video from Linda's wedding on the weekend and it was quite a nice ceremony. They ended up having it inside because it rained but everyone looked really nice and happy. The thing is though, they played my most favourite song ever for when she was walking down the aisle - Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley. I'm guessing they only chose this song for the title because if they'd listened to the words they'd see it's not a happy song at all (I've blogged about this before). My interpretation of the song is it is about the death of love, and I don't mean the death of a loved one but the death of love itself, love dying in a relationship, etc. So, them walking down the aisle to it was an insult to me because they picked my favourite song but seemed to have no idea what the song was about! Anyway, apart from that, the ceremony was nice. And I'm allowed to have a rant, even if I'm being silly and selfish, ok? :P

Oops-a-daisy

Well I did absolutely no writing on Friday or over the entire weekend so my novel is pretty much dead and I've discovered I'm a terrible National Novel Writing Month participant. Ah well, there's always next year :)

So the weekend was absolutely freezing and all my plans were thrown into disarray. On Saturday night Dad and I were going to go to Speedway City to watch some Sprintcar Racing but we decided to cancel that because not only was it cold but it was raining and the race most likely would have been cancelled. Plus it's no fun freezing your ass off at a racetrack. During the day on Saturday I was going to go to a BBQ at Belair National Park, where after the BBQ the Friends of Belair were having their monthly meeting. I had planned to go since I haven't gotten to a meeting in about a year, and knew that the BBQ was under cover and the meeting was in this hall. But when I got to Dad's on Friday and he suggested we go out for lunch somewhere, I figured I'd rather be warmer than at some BBQ in wintery conditions.

So, Friday night was the usual quiet, catching up on TV shows I'd missed day. On Saturday we had a sleep-in and then Ivan and I met up with Dad at Best Mix, this Chinese restaurant on Anzac Highway and had a yummy lunch. We got home around 1:30pm and then Ivan basically said the rest of the day was up to me, as a thankyou of sorts for the amount of travelling I do and stuff. It was a lovely thought but it was too cold to do anything, so I preferred a day inside in front of the computer. Hehe, geekiness wins!! We were going to go out for dinner but I wanted Fasta Pasta, and the closest one was too far away in the cold (hahaha I was so lazy on the weekend), so we went to Captain Chicken and got yummy yummy takeaway. Sunday was a lazy day again (although it usually is), I just went and saw Dad on my way back to Berri and that was about it.

Does anyone remember the shows Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High? Well I absolutely loved them and seeing as they've not been released on DVDs, and probably never will, when I saw them online I just HAD to get them. So Ivan put them onto discs for me and I watched a few episodes last night before bed. That was about it!

Work is still boring, but what's new :)

An update for the sake of it

I truly have not a thing to say but I am so bored at the moment so I thought I may as well blog and infect the internet with my boredom. We've been told we can start using the database so have to sort out this backlog of work and see what the best order to do things in is. But even that hasn't gone to plan, because it's 2pm, I'll be going home to pack in an hour and a half, and I still haven't been given the jobs I was supposed to be given because the boss isn't ready yet.

You'd think I'd be happy, because it would give me time to write but I've been putting it off and haven't even written a single word of my novel today. I set myself a goal of 2200 words today. Fat chance!

So yeah, a really boring day. It's so windy, cold and wet outside, it would have been a perfect day to sleep or read in bed. Ah well :)

Bear with me

When things are bothering me I sometimes turn to this blog to let those feelings out, because I think of this sometimes as a personal diary, even though other people read it. So if you're one of those "friends" (and I use the term loosely, you know who you are) who can't handle that sometimes I get upset about things (and it's not always about you) then now is the time to stop reading.

So, basically, my dad is a real asshole sometimes. Today Mum, Maria and Grandma all leave for QLD so I spoke to them last night on the phone to wish them a safe trip, as you do. As soon as Mum got on the phone I could tell there was something wrong, and when I asked what it was she just started crying. She couldn't talk, because Dad was there still swearing at her in the background, but basically he was drunk again and treating her like shit, again. I called her this morning, after he'd left for work, and that was pretty much the gist of it.

You know, as close as I am to my father, I really hate him sometimes. He's had a drinking problem since we were frigging kids (oh yeah, some great childhood memories thanks to Dad) and I wonder when the hell he plans to take any responsibility and act like a grown man for fuck's sake. Excuse the swearing but clearly I'm upset. He goes through these phases where even though he drinks daily, most days he won't drink so much to the point of getting drunk, he'll just have some alcohol with dinner and stuff. But then he gets these bad patches.

This is one of those bad patches. On the last few occasions I've seen him he's been drunk. Sometimes I'll feel guilty for getting angry at him. Like, I'll think to myself 'oh, well he's on holidays from work, he can indulge himself', or 'it's the Footy Grand Final, he's allowed a few beers', and so on, making excuses for his behaviour. Well, I'm tired of making fucking excuses. It's not normal to drink that fucking much. And what's worse is he's a real prick when he's drunk so Mum cops so many arguments.

I know, I'm 25 years old, you'd think I'd have learned to deal with this by now, but why the hell should I learn to deal with this? He's a grown man, he has a steady job, a loving wife, two daughters who do ok for themselves, what gets him so frigging stressed out that he needs to drink every fucking day and night?!? GROW UP! Putting your children through this sort of thing is just not warranted. Kids should not have to yell at their dad, console their mother, or cry their childhood away because of their parent. Enough is fucking enough!

Countless (and I do mean countless) events that are supposed to be happy were ruined by him, and it's still going on! Rather than Mum be excited about a week holiday in QLD with her sister and other family members, she got to cry herself to sleep last night. Good work Dad. Last year my birthday was a fucking write-off. Good work Dad.

And then he'll realise, when something happens, that he needs to change his behaviour. The number of times I've heard him say "I've been drinking too much lately, that's going to change", and I try and take some hope with that, and then a week (and I'm being generous, I was originally gonna say 2 days) later he's back at it again. So many broken promises. Now that Mum and Maria are away and he'll be at home by himself he'll probably be worse, even though I'm going to try and call and see him as much as I can. I shouldn't have to be sitting at home, wondering if he's ok!

***

Anyway now that I've vented a little bit, I do have some more normal news today. The jobs in Adelaide have finally been advertised. There are three of them and they close in two weeks, so I have to get my Resume in order and send off an application and cross my fingers.

My book is stuck. I'm supposed to somehow write 1850 words today if I want to stay on target but my mind is a mess and I can't focus, so methinks this will be another failed project. Oh well, I'll try but I just don't think I can get into it today.

That's about it, time for lunch now. Oh, and blah at half the American voters, but enough people are writing about that.

Hmph, hurry up

Remember that show, Mr Squiggle? Well, imagine the above title spoken in the voice of Blackboard.

Anyway, so this day is dragging. I was trying to hold off blogging until the results of the US election were in but my goodness, that could take ages. I was hoping to do a celebratory dance around my blog, but it's not yet been confirmed who the winner is, and if it's Bush, then I sure as hell won't be dancing around my blog, or anywhere for that matter. I went home for lunch so I could watch the broadcast and get an idea, but after the debarcle in 2000 no station wants to make any early predictions so almost all the states at that stage were at the "we don't have enough data" stage.

Apart from what's been going on overseas, my mind is all mush at the moment! I've been sitting here at work, working on my novel because there is nothing else to do. I was hoping to get to 5000 words today but I'm strapped for ideas again, and with my mind now being mush I won't be achieving much. And I still have two hours of sitting here to do, joy!

So, anyone that's been watching Survivor will know that last night they voted the last decent looking guy off the island, dammit. No eye candy for us girls now!

Hmm, what else can I prattle on about to kill some time?

Oh, I despise the show but I've been playing this Law and Order game on the computer in the last couple of days and it's really good! It's pretty cool to look for clues and interview witnesses. I have a long way to go before I have a case to take before the courtroom though, so that will probably keep me busy in the next few evenings.

I really need to try and get to sleep a little earlier though. Moving the clocks forwards an hour on the weekend has stuffed my body clock up a bit, and it's only an hour! How pathetic, hehehe.

Oh! What the heck is up with spam? It's bad enough we get emails selling us stuff we don't need, now my comments are starting to be infiltrated! I was going through some blog entries from a couple of months ago earlier becaise I am SO BORED and was reading comments people had left, and then all of a sudden there's these random spam comments by some random internet bot thing!!! They were all from different IPs so there was no point IP blocking, so I just deleted the comments and thought "Piss off, spam bots!!!". Sheesh, is nowhere safe?!?

Dammit, this only took up 5 minutes. Oh well, I suppose I should try and reach this 5000 word target. Or browse the internet. Or fall asleep at my desk. I have a lot of options at the moment.

We're all a bit stuffed!

Well I ended up going to touch football last night and I'm glad I did, because it was so much fun! Everyone seemed to be at the same skill and fitness level so there were heaps of laughs at people dropping the ball (not just me) and lots of rest breaks (sometimes unscheduled when someone would just lie down on the field). Today we've all pulled up a bit sore though. Both my knees are a little tender (not just my busted one) and I have a bruise on my arm, but I think others got off worse. Greg, the boss, accidentally got scratched by me and smashed into me twice but faired worse off, because he copped my elbow right in the ribs, hehehe. We all had a great time though :)

Here is a link to my novel for anyone that might be interested. Please note the paragraph up the top. I have heaps of work left to do on this and there'll be stacks of editing to do once it's all done, so what you're seeing on that site is my rough work, spilling out words as they come into my head. It will take a lot of rearranging and bulking up to be any good, which is something I'll work on once the month is over and I've rushed the words out of me. Comments and criticisms are welcome, as well as other ideas, but no comments on the editing side of things please (not yet) :)

Today is the Melbourne Cup, not something I really get in to personally. Only reason I've ever watched a race is to see how I fare in the workplace sweeps (last year I got the winner, this year I doubt I'll be that lucky again). Generally I think horse racing is cruel but yeah, it's the race that stops the nation and all that. Work is having a luncheon for us at 1pm which should be good. There's some best hat competition but I'll be damned if I'm wearing a silly hat :)

In other news, why don't people comment anymore? Well, I know why a couple of people aren't, but what of the rest of you? Is anyone still reading this? It's a mystery ;)

Can't touch this

Excuse the random title, but this afternoon we're supposed to be starting our work Touch Football social game, and I am sooooo not keen at the moment. When Ken first came up with the idea I was all for a bit of a laugh and something fun to do after a day at work, and now I'm dreading having signed up for it. I've never played Touch Football in my life, have the rules printed out but can't quite remember them, and I have always been uncoordinated when it comes to sport. The last time I caught a ball was a few years ago, and that was a nice round netball, so I probably won't even be able to catch the damn thing. I can laugh at myself quite well, but there's a certain level where you cross the point and reach total humiliation. That's where I think I'll end up if I go along. So, as you can tell, I'd like to get out of it on the one hand, whereas on the other I still think it could be fun. I think if I don't show up though I might get a damn good thrashing from Bron and Ken. Decisions, decisions!

In other news, National Novel Writing Month starts today! I have started my novel but have already hit a block I'm hoping to get through soon, because I'd still like to write another 1000 words today. I will eventually post a link to the blog where my novel will be put up, but truth is I'm scared of letting other people read my work, which is a pretty stupid thing to feel, because what's the point? I'll have to put a Disclaimer up the top of the page I reckon.

So, how was everyone's weekend? Mine was quite nice indeed :) On Friday when I went to Mum and Dad's, Steve was over so that was pretty cool. On Saturday morning I had a facial (at 9am, way too early I think) and then the rest of the day was really lazy and quiet, which was perfect because I was really tired, felt like reading, and I wanted a day without having to go anywhere (the facial doesn't count since I lie down for over an hour, hehe).

This Thursday Mum, Maria and Grandma are flying to QLD for Linda's wedding, so I wanted to see them all before they left (they're only going for one week but I still like to say goodbye before anyone flies anywhere). So I decided to try and see everyone on Sunday before coming back to Berri. Mum was working so I popped into her work and had a coffee with her for half an hour or so, then drove to Grandma's and had a coffee with her for just over an hour. After the caffeine overdose (hehe, I hardly ever drink coffee) I went to see Dad and Maria who were at home. We had a late lunch together and then, before I knew it, it was time to drive back to Berri.

I got in to work at 8:30 this morning, which is the earliest I've been in for quite a few months, so the day seems out of whack a bit. The rest of the afternoon will probably be spent trying to write with a little work thrown in now and then. Exciting stuff!