As is customary

Just wanted to do a quick update and wish everyone a great New Year's Eve. Hope you all have a great night, whatever it is you might be doing, whether spending it with others or by yourself. I think I've outgrown the "get wasted" aspect of NYE a few years ago and I think the night is no big deal really, but I hope you all enjoy it and stay safe :)

Will update again in 2006!

Street Crime

Yesterday I felt a bit like Homer Simpson: "Look kids, street crime". Except that I had no kids to say this to, and didn't actually say it out loud. Apart from those glaring differences, I was just like Homer, dammit.

I was going across to Target on the corner of Rundle Street to spend a gift voucher I'd received for Christmas. Standing at the pedestrian crossing, waiting for the lights to change, I hear yelling behind me so I turn around to see this guy of about 18 or 19 years old running, tripping and falling on the ground. Behind him comes running this 50+ year old guy, so the kid gets up and bolts it across to Rundle Street. The older guy, running out of breath, yells out for someone to stop the kid. No one really knew what to do. The kid had slowed down too, having time to turn around and call the man chasing him a c**t. The crowd, including me, watched on bewildered, as if things were happening in slow motion.

Eventually I heard someone else call out to the older man, "What did he do?", to which the man replied, "He's wrecked our shop! Where's the police when you need them?" That seemed to get the kid running again, only this time he was chased down Rundle Street by about 3 onlookers.

I don't know whether they caught him or not, but it's hard to know what to do in a situation like that. What could I have done, tackled this guy to the ground and held him down until the police arrived while dodging kicks and punches? I know the right thing to do is to try and help out, but at the same time, you also don't want to be involved. When I returned to work and told the few people in the office here what had happened, there were varying stories, some where people stayed well out of things they'd witnessed and others where they'd gotten involved (one guy had tales from both sides). I guess you just assess the situation at the time. I know when I was in Berri and heard my neighbour beating on his wife I got involved indirectly, by calling the police, because that felt safe. Anyone else have a similar tale to tell?

Loser!

What the bloody hell am I doing at work today? Why the bloody hell didn't I book some leave like everyone else in the city? Even the place I normally go to for lunch is closed this week, so my routine is completely out of whack! Karen and I are the only losers sitting down this end of the building. I was the last loser to leave last Friday night. Silly, silly me.

I was hoping it would be quiet and I was right to a point. The phone has hardly been ringing today and our licensing applications are few and far between but lo and behold, I have been given a fair chunk of work today with regards to water meters. By golly, it sucks the wang. On the plus side, the day has gone fast.

On the down side, I have had chest pains all day. I wonder if I stretched some muscle I shouldn't have with the Pilates I've been doing in the mornings lately, or whether I'm having a long, slow, drawn out heart attack. No time for that, desperately need to go grocery shopping tonight after the closure of supermarkets for 4 days. Ah well, better to shop in some sort of desperation than to stock up on at least 6 litres of milk beforehand like Wendy :)

Phew, another Christmas over

I hope everyone had a happy and safe non-denominational holiday :)

After all the madness that comes before it, I am a little sad that Christmas is already over. I love the decorations, the Christmas cartoons and movies, the days off, spending time with the people I love, generally I just love Christmas, but with the sadness does indeed come a sense of relief, even for someone that loves the season like I do.

On Friday night Ivan and I had a pretty interesting time. We decided to finish off The Sopranos and have a bit of a late night as we had 4 episodes left to watch. So partway through one episode, we get a brown-out (the lights dimmed, some things turned off completely but others didn't). Because we had a bit of light we decided to play some poker and wait it out. About an hour later, the power came back on so we resumed our DVD watching. With only 10 minutes left of the final episode, a total blackout occurred. It was around 2am so we decided not to wait it our anymore, fumbling around for a torch so we could get ready for bed. Silly storms.

So, on to Christmas. On Saturday we went to Grandma's like we do every year. Usually, towards midnight we head to Mum and Dad's to exchange presents with them but due to Dad thinking he had to work early Christmas morning, we went to Mum and Dad's first, then went to Grandmas. It was a nice afternoon/evening actually, and as is tradition, us girls made Grandma happy by singing some carols with her. Even though Maria and I got the giggles, but never mind.

On Sunday morning I went to church with Mum, Grandma and Emil's Mum. Ivan and I then went to see his parents and Grandma after lunch. We stayed there for a few hours than headed home. Alex came around and stayed for a few hours, and now I have two days off with no plans, and I love it. I'm planning to get a bit of gaming done and some reading, and am trying not to do very much housework at all.

So, now to worry about New Year's...

Long weekend Eve

Today is indeed a glorious day, although it doesn't seem like many of us here in the office are getting much done. Unfortunately no one planned any afternoon drinks and I have a meeting at 2pm, so any chance of drinking the afternoon away and going home early has gone out the door, but never mind, I'm still overjoyed that after this afternoon I have 4 days off, yay!

Tomorrow we will be heading to Mum and Dad's mid-afternoon than we all go to Grandma's for our traditional Christmas Eve get together. I'm hoping it's a nice, calm relaxing day, but you never can tell with my family. Christmas day itself will be another nice quiet day. I might go to church with Mum but not sure yet, as we'll be going to see Ivan's parents and the timing might be off. The other two days are currently free, but there are definitely things I'd like to get done at home. Maria wanted me to go up and see her one of the days but I'm not often at home so I have to learn to say no.

Anyway, as this is most likely my last post before Christmas, I hope you all have a safe and happy Christmas and enjoy the time with loved ones! I will post again in a couple of days.

Seasons Greetings!!!

Facelift

When I first started using Blogger a couple of years ago, it didn't contain any Comments software at all, so I set up my Blog using an external comments source. This had its ups and downs, the downs being that the service was often unreliable, sometimes down for a couple of days at a time (although admittedly, that hadn't happened recently). So, last night I finally made the decision to use Blogger's in-built comments system, thus wiping all of the comments I've had over the years. Kinda sad, like losing old letters or deleting old emails, and for a sentimental Cancerian such as myself, a tough decision to make.

Because I had had my Blog for a while and manipulated the template so much, I couldn't get the comments to work. I decided to start off completely anew with a brand new template. Again, back when I started using Blogger I think there were 6 templates to choose from, but now there are around 20. I narrowed it down to 3 and Alex helped me choose this one. Green isn't my favourite colour but
a) they had no purple templates, and
b) this template has a sort of "nature" feel to it which personalises it for me a bit.

So, the rest of the night was then spent adding things into the template and formatting it to make it my home again. I'm quite happy with the result, the boxes make the site look a bit more neat, but I'm sure I will come up with some thing I'd like to change here and there in time.

So anyway, the facelift was a small success.

Delirium

Due to a lack of sleep lately, I have gotten over the cranky mood I was in yesterday and have today entered Phase: Delirium. I do like this phase, it makes the workday go faster, the lunacy of other colleagues more amusing and generally just makes things a lot more pleasant.

During my walk at lunch today I noticed there seem to be a lot more pigeons in the city lately. On several occasions I've had to adjust my steps so as not to step on one that's lingering at my feet. Today, particularly, was rather amusing, as I witnessed a lady walking along, pigeon in front of her, but then suddenly the pigeon took flight, turning as it did so and fluttering in front of her face. The poor woman let out a shriek as she tried to dodge and weave this bird of no intelligence. And all I could do was find it very amusing, not laughing in front of the poor woman but having a chuckle as I tried to tell Karen back at work. Ah yes, good times indeed.

PS After much pressure and annoyance at my comment system, I'm thinking of moving them, but then I'll lose all the comments made up to this point on my blog. This saddens me a bit but does it really matter what people commented in the past?

Roar!

Last night I went to the Mammal Club Christmas party which was a small gathering on the banks of the Torrens behind the zoo. It was great to see everyone before we start meeting again next February, especially Lydia as she hasn't been very well lately. It was a nice night, a slight breeze cooling down a warm day, and as the sun was setting you could hear a lion roaring in the background. I'd enjoy hearing that sound in the distance every night I think.

Today is a return to Summer weather as it's going to be 36C, and for the life of me I don't know why I'm wearing pants instead of a skirt today. The thought didn't really occur until I was halfway to the train station this morning. It's a bloody hot day, my legs are suitably defuzzed, and yet I'm wearing pants like some idiot. Good job, Mel. (Random Rambling #288)

I had a very productive day at work yesterday so today is a little quiet until I find something else to do so I'd better go and make myself look busy...

Oh Christmas Tree

I can't believe it's less than a week until Christmas. Unfortunately our office doesn't close and I haven't booked any leave but the public holidays will still be nice. I'll be filling in for Sandra which means a little extra money, which will definitely come in handy after the Christmas spending. I haven't gone too crazy with the spending though - I'm trying not to use my credit card and we're still saving for a house. This is probably the most organised I've been though, as normally I wait to shop until a couple of days beforehand. This year, pretty much everyone is taken care of except for my Dad, but I'll be getting his one night this week.

Anyway, so on Friday we had our work Christmas party at a pub across the road. Unfortunately, after 2 hours we had to pay for our own drinks which made the numbers thin out a fair bit, so it was a good way to wind down the afternoon but finished pretty early. On Saturday Maria came and picked me up and we went to Mum and Dad's to put their tree up and decorate the house. We decided to do the traditional thing and put on Boney M's Christmas album, like we used to when we were kids. It was quite a fun day actually. There were the inevitable arguments about how the lights on the tree should be placed and whether the tinsel on the curtains was even, but we had lots of laughs and it's done for another year.

Saturday night was a quiet one, just pizzas at home and DVDs after the guys decided not to go and see King Kong after all (didn't bother me at all, I must say). On Sunday I did a little more Christmas shopping for Maria but that was about it. Hope you are all enjoying the week leading up to Christmas and will at least have some time off to relax.

My Big Friday Night... and more!

Boy is my life exciting! So much so that the best I can come up with on a Friday night is the following tale. Ivan had his work Christmas party which couples were not invited to (extremely bloody rude I think) so I was made chauffer for the evening. It started off with me just having to drop him off, but ofcourse, then there was the question of whether the guy at the door would let him in with the shoes he was wearing or not, so I had to drive the block to make sure he wasn't stuck outside. Delightful to do in Friday night city traffic!

Anyway, he was only going to stay for a couple of hours, but then after a few hours he called to say he was having a good time and wanted to stay longer. That's cool, I don't care how late he stays out but it sucked he didn't take his house keys. No way I'd be able to sleep leaving the front door ajar for him or something. Anyway, so I used the time to watch some DVDs (Adaptation being one of them - not too shabby at all). It was lucky I stayed up because although his workplace had provided them all with Cab Charge to get home, he was unable to actually get a cab, so I went to pick him and Alex up at about 1:30am. Dropping Alex off, around the corner from his house, I was made to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting a koala sitting merrily in the middle of the damn road. Poor thing, I missed it by inches and must have scared it big time. There was no way I was going to approach it to get it to move (crazy scratchy things) so I reversed and had to go around it (it had left the road when we were driving home). So that was my super cool exciting happy mega Friday night. Top that!

Saturday we had a LAN which wasn't bad but finished relatively early since we were pretty tired from the night before (and Ivan slightly hungover, hehe). On Sunday Maria and Steve picked me up and we went to Mum and Dad's for lunch, just to catch up a bit.

That's been about it until last night, when Ivan and I went to Mum and Dad's for dinner. My cousin Lewis lives in Sweden but the rest of his family lives in Queensland so he's been in Australia visiting them for a few weeks. Him and my auntie decided to come to Adelaide for a couple of days so he could see the rest of the family, so they flew in yesterday and last night was the only time I could see them (they fly back to QLD tomorrow, very short trip). It was so good to see him, it's been at least 5 years since I last had, and we were quite close when we were younger.

Anyway, now that I've brought you all up to speed on my gripping life, I'm gonna go and have some lunch, then get back to work. Ciao.

Boredom to the max

Oh man, I am so unbelievably bored at work today! That's right, if I told you, you wouldn't believe it. So just take my word for it.

All of the Managers are at some conference thingy (as the official invite called it, I'm sure) today which is indeed a splendid occasion but the lack of incoming work today makes the day completely drag on, and that is definitely not a good thing. There are only so many websites I can visit (largely due to work blocking most of the interesting sites), but I can point you in the direction of something, no pressure ofcourse.

If you felt so inclined you might like to kill some time by perhaps nominating my less-than-exciting Blog here for the 2006 Australian Blog Awards. I really don't want to nominate myself so instead of being a complete loser by doing that, instead I'm only a partial loser by advertising the fact here. I'm thinking of the categories of Best South Australian Blog and/or Best Australain Personal Blog (can be up for both categories if I should be so lucky). And no, I'm not sure I'm actually worthy, but hey, this is the best this site is probably going to get.

Now that the shameless advertising is completed, I can ramble to fill up some time. I bought Ivan's Christmas present yesterday and I want to give it to him now but that would defeat the purpose a bit. But seeing as it's one of the few presents I've bought for people this year (funds are tight) I suppose I shouldn't ruin the surprise. I also got a little brooch for my Grandma to wear when her carer takes her out to lunch, as she likes getting dolled up for those things these days. I only really have the ones for my parents left to get so I'm a lot more organised this year than I think I've ever been before. Exciting stuff!

Hallelujah, I've just been given some work to do. It's a Christmas miracle!!!

A Day on the Green and other stuff

Well and truly time to update, methinks. The weekend was aces! On Saturday morning I drove up to Angaston where I was staying with Bron's parents, as Bron and I were heading off to A Day on the Green, which if you haven't heard of was an outdoor concert with The Audreys, Mia Dawson, The Whitlams and Pete Murray. The concert didn't start until later that afternoon so we went for a bit of a drive to the shops in Nuriootpa to stock up on bad food for the day.

The concert itself was pretty good, with The Whitlams being my favourite for the day. I've wanted to see them for years so finally got the chance, and they didn't disappoint. In total there were 14 of us but the only other person I knew was Bron so I was a bit overwhelmed but it wasn't too bad. I'll post some photos of the day if I think of it later. Pete wasn't too bad but didn't get into it until towards the end of his show. Still gorgeous anyway.

On Sunday we looked around Angaston a bit (very nice town) and then went into Freeling to the Gungellan pub. I don't watch McLeod's Daughters but apparently that's the pub in the show. Anyway, there were only 6 of us meeting there for lunch so I enjoyed myself a lot more that day. From there I headed back to Adelaide, had a day off Monday to do laundry and that was the weekend! Better get back to work now...

The age-old problem

Or perhaps it should be called the old age problem? Whatever you call it, I'm not liking it. Allow me to explain. It's only while I'm here at work that I noticed something quite upsetting. The light in the bathrooms here is quite bright and is at just the right angle that when I look in the mirror, this one gray hair strand I have stands out, being incredibly obvious. I didn't even know I had any strand of gray until seeing it in the mirror in the bathroom here. How depressing! I'm only 26, I'm not supposed to be getting gray hairs yet. Although, my sister started going gray at a young age, but I was hoping I'd take after Mum who didn't seem to go gray until she hit the 40's. Thank goodness I get my hair coloured regularly and have an appointment on Friday!

In an effort to make me feel young, Karen (bless her) saved me a chocolate crackle and a cornflake cupcake thingy and presented them to me the other day. She had made a whole bunch for her friend's child's birthday party and put a couple aside. I haven't had those since I myself was in primary school and I'd forgotten how yummy they were. But more importantly, they made me feel young again. It's really something that should be served at adult parties I think. Stuff the cakes and savoury snacks, just make a tray of chocolate crackles and everyone will love you for them.

The season of spending

I love Christmas, I always have. I love decorating the Christmas tree, catching up with the family, and have been known to sit staring into the Christmas lights for ages, just thinking. I must admit, I also love spending money, so when it comes to Christmas it can be a bit troublesome. Not only because I buy gifts for other people, but I inevitably see things I'd like for myself but which I know nobody else will buy for me, so I tend to treat myself over Christmas, too.

On Wednesday night I went to the Dymock's Booklover sale where we members got a sneak peek at the new catalogue. Yes, I bought a present for someone else but inevitably also bought myself 3 books, and saw something in the catalogue they were out of stock of, so ordered it. Probably not the best idea, what with trying to save for a house at all, but hey, if you can't treat yourself over Christmas, when can you?

In other news, I recently switched desks here at work, and although I got to keep my computer, the monitors didn't get changed over. That's cool, they're the same model, but the last girl who sat here was a vegetarian and she's placed stickers on the monitor. One says "Meat's no treat for those you eat" and the other has a picture of a chicken and says "I am not a nugget". I feel bad removing them there but it's also hypocritical of me to leave them up, especially on those days I'm eating my lunch at my desk. As a plus side though, I now have my purple intrays to match my purple folders (not all of them though, have 3 more trays to trade).

I'm so happy it's Friday, I just wish it was Friday afternoon. Hardly anyone is here today, I wish I had been a bit smarter and booked a day off too. As I was walking to work from the train station I passed so many people on their way to Adelaide Oval to watch the cricket, I was green with envy - I know where I'd rather be.

Anyway, back to it I suppose...

Warnie V's Leslie

This morning Ivan and I were discussing Michelle Leslie and comparing her case to Shane Warne's own drug case a couple of years ago. There are, ofcourse, some similarities as well as major differences aswell, but here's a comparison.

Shane Warne
- Was given the drugs by someone else (his mum).
- Claims he didn't know the drugs were of the banned variety.
- Didn't actually commit any crime, but a sporting offence.
- Was banned from playing cricket for 12 months as a result.
- Did all he could to avoid the media in the aftermath.

Michelle Leslie
- Apparently a friend left the drugs in her bag.
- Claims one day that she thought they were her prescribed meds, then next day she admits to being an occasional Ecstacy user.
- Committed a crime in Indonesia, and it would also be a crime in Australia.
- Given a 3 month sentence, with time already served concluded, so she's already home.
- Wants to profit from crime and sell her story to the media.

Isn't there something inherently wrong when a person committing an actual crime does less time than a cricket player who did something a bit stupid? Yes, I love Shane Warne so perhaps I'm biased, but it does seem a bit backwards to me.

Any other comparisons I've forgotten about?

I wish

Oh, to have the weekend still here! It's just been one of those mornings - until 11:30am I wasn't able to log into my computer. I may aswell have slept in or just sat at my desk reading. Oh well.

The weekend was really good but a bit tiring. On Friday after work I drove up to Maria's. We decided to get some pizzas for dinner, then later on she made me some rice pudding which I haven't had since I was a kid. After Survivor we were pottering around, not sure what to do, before we switched over to Foxtel and found The Sound of Music was on - something neither of us can watch with our other halves. So we watched that, singing along as we always did. It's funny, I've seen that movie so many times but it seems like each time you watch it, you're effected in different ways. Guys just don't get it. Anyway, Maria and I were sharing a room but she kept me awake with her incessant snoring, so I have no idea what time it was but sometime during the night I went into the lounge to sleep on the sofa. So, I was heaps tired on Saturday.

Mum and Dad drove up to Maria's at around 11am on Saturday, then we all had lunch together when Steve got home from work. I made my way home, then Alex came to pick Ivan and I up for dinner at Eric's (I was tempted to write nothing about this part of the weekend just because Eric wanted to read it but I couldn't help myself). Eric has the most gorgeous dogs (not that I remember the breed). I possibly liked them so much because they didn't leave fur all over you. Anyway, Eric made some spaghetti bolognese which was really yummy, not a shabby cook at all! While Alex tried to fix his computer we watched a bit of Pulp Fiction then for some strange reason we were forced to watch Evil Dead 3. Funniest "horror" film I've ever seen! Oh, and I raided Eric's book collection, borrowing 11 books, so that should cover my next few months worth of reading (bless him).

On Sunday I woke up feeling sorry for myself after drinking a bit the night before (and not having drunk anything substantial in a while). I made my way to Grandma's at 1pm, having a bit of a chat and giggle until the rest of the family arrived for a late lunch. Last night I was pretty stuffed so just watched TV and read. Karen comes back tomorrow and I want to have finished reading Dracula so I can return it to her and get into one of these books from Eric.

Oh, this just in: work sucks.

Bloody Rumsfeld

Is this man really worth all this security in Adelaide? Is he worth closing main streets for and blocking some pedestrian paths for? I truly believe not, if someone really wanted to hurt him I'm sure they could get to him. Instead the general population of Adelaide, who possibly despise the man but who are not psychopathic people, have to suffer.

I knew there would be roads closed and bad traffic, and don't normally drive into work but since I'm going to Maria's straight after, I had to. So even though I only live 10-15 minutes from the CBD, I gave myself 45 minutes to get to work. Apparently, so did everyone else. As I moved along at a snail's pace and arrived at work 15 minutes late, I came to the conclusion Rumsfeld is an arse who does not warrant road closures.

One of the guys that works here walked the same way to work he walks every morning, but got stopped and asked what he was doing there today, ID checked and everything. A 50 metre pedestrian path that shortcuts besides a bank on one side and a fitness centre on the other was protected by a security guard today so those of us already running late had to detour from our normal paths. Was Mr Rumsfeld perhaps sitting on a bench there having a smoko with Downer? Me thinks not. Unnecessary bullshit. And then I heard about someone yesterday running off the train to try and catch their bus only to be tackled to the ground by police thinking they were some terrorist. Good work. I look forward to the man leaving and life in our city returning to normal.

Busy Busy

It's been a while since I've written and it doesn't take much for me to try and avoid doing some work so here I am to provide you with a quick update.

The cold I had a few weeks ago came back with a bit of a vengeance last week and knocked me out for a few days. My NaNoWriMo project has pretty much fallen in a heap again this year, which is a bit disappointing but this is the most I've ever written so that's a step in the right direction I suppose. I haven't looked at my novel for a while now (I think 10 days or something) so it's really fallen through, well and truly, unless I happen to get a whole bunch of free time and motivation all of a sudden. But I'm ok with it, and I'm going to keep it going, even if it takes me a year or more.

Last weekend was pretty quiet, mostly just family stuff on Saturday and that was about it. This weekend is a bit more full-on but nothing too strenuous or anything. Tomorrow I'm driving in to work so that straight afterwards I can go up to Maria's and sleep over. Steve works every Friday night and usually Mum sleeps over there but this weekend we thought we'd have a bit of a girly Friday night, maybe watch some corny movies and have some rice pudding and stuff. On Saturday night Ivan and I are off to Eric's place for dinner. I can't wait because Eric used to work at a publishing house and apparently has boxes full of books I can borrow. Oh, and I look forward to Eric's company too, ofcourse :P On Sunday I plan to finally meet my feelow Adelaide NaNoWriMo participants and then I'm off to Grandma's to spend the afternoon with her a bit.

I promise* I'll come up with something interesting to post here soon :P

*with my fingers crossed

Should have taken the day off

I don't know whether it's this weather or there's some cosmic alignment but it's only Tuesday and already I've dealt with so many idiotic people on the phone this week it's enough to make me dread coming to work. No kidding, this morning I was thinking I should stay home because the damn phone yesterday drove me insane and this morning has been no better.

Yesterday a man kept me on the phone for 20 minutes while he complained about every thing under the sun, most of which had nothing to do with any actual water-related issue, like the government has plenty of money as they're spending it on these ridiculous trams which will disturb traffic in the city (guess he doesn't know trams have been running in the city for decades) and how if God Almighty knew what us people were doing with his natural resources, etc etc.

There must be an abundance of people out there who have lost their medication this week...

NaNoWriMo

Inspired by reading Dracula by Bram Stoker, I've decided to write a vampire novel for NaNoWriMo. Not very original I know, but if by some miracle I manage to get to 50000 words by the end of November it'll only be my first crappy novel anyway. I started by writing a Chick Lit novel first but failed miserably on day 1. So I had to scrap that idea on day 2 and so far this new idea is flowing an awful lot easier. But with the poor start I'm a day behind, so need to write about another 2000 words today to catch up on it. Don't want to give up in the first week like I did last year...

We have a weener

It's the Melbourne Cup today (that's a big horse racing event for you non-Aussies, they call it the race that stops the nation). As is usually the case, the only betting I ever do on the thing is the office sweep. A few years ago I was lucky enough to come first and win some money, but ofcourse, the general format is that I get a crap horse or two who finishes somewhere in the middle so I win absolutely nothing. This year was no exception to the rule.

I suppose it's been a week since my last update so I'd better... update you all. Yeah.

I was a bit unwell last week and ended up only being at work for part of Tuesday, then Thursday and Friday. I'm still not 100% but I feel a bit better so there's no more excuses for having days off (unfortunately). The weekend was really good. On Saturday we went to Darren's for a LAN. I came second in the F.E.A.R. deathmatch competition and won a CD holder thingy which is kinda cool. Daylight savings started so we lost an hour somewhere during the night, so we ended up going to bed at around 3:30am. On Sunday I went to Belair for the Friends of Belair 20th birthday party. Nothing overly exciting but we had yummy roast for lunch and the weather was gorgeous so no better place to be on such a lovely day than a national park methinks. I had yesterday off as a Flexi as it was Mum's last day at home before going back to work after the operation so we got to spend a few hours together. So today feels like a Monday a bit.

Today also marks the beginning of NaNoWriMo, something I failed terribly at last year but have decided to give it another go. Although, I don't know why I'm giving it a go. Last year I at least had an idea and the time to write whereas this year I have neither. I have to write at least 1667 words a day and today all I've got is 261 (so far). A terrible start. Damn work...

Arse

That is how I feel today. I thought this was the usual, seasonal hayfever, but yesterday I realised it's probably not. It was raining outside and yet I'm the only hayfever sufferer still sneezing and blowing one's nose? Not likely. So I had yesterday off. And today I'm here but I feel like arse and want to go home. Perhaps I'll leave early. Mum and Dad are meeting me for lunch today so I don't see much point to sticking around too long after that's over. My boss is also sick (and was sick yesterday too). I was hoping to ask her for next Monday off, so perhaps I shouldn't push my luck with the leaving early today. We'll see.

Dad has to go to the tribunal today, something to do with his workcover not being paid by his previous arse-hat employers. You know, the ones that sacked him before Christmas. The lawyer believes the hearing is merely a technicality as his work shouldn't be allowed to do that, so hopefully she's right and the hearing will go smoothly today. God knows my parents could use some good luck. Centrelink is a bloody joke and haven't helped my Dad at all, but that's a whole other blog entry.

Maria was in a car accident on Friday. Nothing serious, but I think she's just had enough of the idiot drivers, as this is the third time she's had an accident and each time it's because of some other person who shouldn't have their licence. She was pulling out of a petrol station and had to wait for the traffic to pass, and some woman didn't, and plowed into the back of the car. Up there for thinking. Like I said, nothing major, but now Maria has to get the car repaired which means dealing with insurance companies, which seem to be an extension of the morons at Centrelink.

Anyway, not in the greatest of moods to write today but at least I've had a bit of a whinge.

Purple

I recently bought a new mobile phone and decided to try out the inbuilt camera. I couldn't figure out how to get the pictures off the camera but thankfully Alex set me straight. Thus, I present to you my work folders, ordered in my favourite colour.

Nothing!

Wooooo, it's Friday! WOOOOOOO! And better still, Friday afternoon, with me leaving in about 15 minutes!

What's even better is that this weekend I'm doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! The last few weekends have been chockers with all the camping and field surveys so I cannot wait to do anything but the following this weekend:
- read (4 magazines to catch up on as well as dozens of books)
- watch tv/dvds
- play on the computer (Dungeon Siege 2 and/or Black and White 2)
- eat
- sleep

Ok, so I do need to do a little grocery shopping and I promised Mum I'd go to church with her on Sunday but those things DO NOT COUNT!

Mid-week woe

Argh, it's only Wednesday, and only part-way through Wednesday at that. Sandra and Vicki are both at a training course for the next couple of days, and Natasha called up sick, so I'm on my own and feeling a tad swamped. Plus I was asked to fill-in at the front counter for an hour (which I'm doing right now) which I despise. Thankfully only two people have come in (a man selling roses and a woman dropping off a birthday card for someone) and the phone hasn't yet rang at all, although there's still about 10 minutes left so I'd better not jinx it.

Last night I went to the Griffin's Head Hotel for dinner with Tash. It was a good night and I had schnitzel for the first time in aaages. I'd parked on Rundle Street and walking to the parking lot, I noticed a man sitting on the corner wearing a mask to cover his mouth and nose (like people in Asia wore when the SARS thing was going around). He pulled a xylophone onto his lap, and started playing. When I got to Level 4 of the carpark, I could still hear the xylophone. A strange feeling, but very relaxing.

Hayfever sucks and blows!

Far out, this bloody hayfever is driving me crazy! I'm getting very little sleep as a result and am not a happy chappy at all! I suppose it doesn't help that I like being outdoors but I take those pesky tablets which help to a point, but are not completely effective. Anyway, that's my complaint for this entry.

The weekend was great apart from not much sleep due to hayfever. On Saturday I was at Mt Bold Reservoir for the final weekend of the NCSSA Annual Spring Survey. The number of people attending had significantly dropped off so for the morning trap check it was only Peter and I. We caught some more bush rats as well as a house mouse but little else. Apparently they'd caught a Southern Brown Bandicoot on Friday, shame I wasn't there then as I haven't had a chance to see one since finishing my Honours.

In the afternoon, Peter left so Misch, Tim, Leanne and I did the afternoon trap check and then collected them all and started packing the sites up. We then had dinner and I decided to stay for some spotlighting, so I got home just after 10pm.

Sunday morning wasn't as much of an early start seeing as all that was left to do was a truckload of cleaning. It also meant the day wasn't as long, so I got home and vegged out, completely stuffed. I was aiming to get an early night but then I started playing Black & White 2, and before I knew it, it was 2am. I love that game, and have a cow as my creature. It's so cute, it loves to dance for the villagers.

Yesterday I took a Family Leave day to spend some time with Mum. She's at home for 2 more weeks but is always doing better, and has a checkup at the doctor today so hopefully all goes well. I've loaned Mum a bunch of books to keep her entertained while she's at home and she recently read The Da Vinci Code so we spent about an hour discussing religion. It's so nice to be able to sit and talk to Mum about anything, I really value our relationship. The rest of the afternoon was spent helping her with some laundry and then we sat down and watched a video before I came home.

Tonight I'm staying back in town to catch up with Tash and have some dinner with her. Haven't seen her since before Christmas so it's bloody long overdue. Ofcourse, my eyes have been watering all morning and my nose has been dripping, so I look absolutely stunning for the occasion!

Christmas comes early

Last night Ivan gave me my Christmas present early - a Samsung mp3 player. It's even purple, my favourite colour! It's soooo small and cute, Karen here at work wants one too. It not only stores mp3s but also images and text files, can pick up FM radio and is also a voice recorder. Although I love reading, it was so refreshing this morning on the train to be able to listen to the new Franz Ferdinand album. It make the trip a lot more boppy and I arrived at work in better spirits. Coolest Gift Ever!

Free time? What is that?

I know I haven't updated since returning from camping but work has been absolutely INSANE lately. It's been non-stop, with me deciding today I really needed a breather so have decided to update my blog as part of that. Sandra is on leave so I'm filling in for her, but then the other Licensing Officer is on leave too so I'm doing two jobs and barely staying afloat. Vicki felt so bad for me today she bought me some flowers, so they're brightening up my workspace a bit.

The weekend absolutely flew by. On Friday night Alex came over and we had some Chinese food and watched a bit of the cricket before being joined by Eric who seemed to have some computer problems. Always nice to see the lads anyway.

The weather was pretty miserable on Saturday so I spent the day indoors catching up on some reading and DVDs (nothing overly great). Thankfully the weather cleared up on Sunday because it's the NCSSA's Annual Spring Survey at the moment so I was off to Mt Bold Reservoir at 7am for that. I got to spend the day trap checking and opportunistic searching with Peter and Ian, joined by a couple of different people throughout the day. It was a really nice day and I ended up getting home at around 6:30pm, and since then it's been non-stop work. I'm heading out there again this weekend and might stay for some spotlighting, should be good.

Anyway, suppose I had better go and get back into it before I lose all motivation. Dad's meeting me for lunch today and hopefully if Mum's feeling well enough she'll join him so if I can just make it to lunchtime...

A return to the normal routine

Well, after a week off work I'm back here today and so very pleased to be here, let me tell you.*

The camping trip was excellent but I'm still tired as a result. With Thursday off work as well last week I spent the day packing and then went to Mum and Dad's to see how Mum was doing and to collect a few last minute things. I left for Mt Boothby on Friday morning, stopping at Coonalpyn on the way and getting there just before noon. After pitching the tent and unpacking, I went for a drive with Rodney, Graham and Jill around the conservation park to see where to set our traplines. We went to the summit of Mt Boothby aswell which was a little disappointing and more closely resembled a small mound.

By Saturday morning several other people has arrived so we set out early to start digging the pitlines. Thankfully most of the sites were sandy so the digging went relatively quickly, and we were finished by lunchtime. The afternoon was then spent doing a bit more driving around and sightseeing, and a bit of reading while sitting in the sun. So lovely and relaxing.

On Sunday we checked the traplines in the morning. We were lucky enough to catch some pygmy possums which are smaller than mice and have the cutest little faces! We also caught some Silky Mice as well as the damn House Mouse which seems to be all across the country. After lunch I went out with Peter, Cheryl and Aaron to do some opportunistic searching for reptiles and managed to find a bunch of skinks and a couple of species of geckos and some dragons. Always plenty of reptiles to find :) On Sunday afternoon I went for a drive to Messent Conservation Park with Graham, Rodney and Cheryl and we spent a bit of time checking that out but didn't see anything too exciting.

Monday was packup day, so after a check of the traplines again in the morning, we collected them all, packed up our camping equipment and went our separate ways. I got home around 2:30pm very tired and smelly, and enjoyed that shower like you wouldn't believe. Ivan had heaps of TV shows for me to catch up on as well as a couple of movies so I spent the rest of the day lying on the couch frying my brain with television.

Tuesday was declared washing day, with not much else happening besides that. Very exciting stuff. But the night was a bit more exciting because it was Alex's birthday, so we went to have dinner at Spargo's and then went to the movies to see Serenity (a must for fans of the series Firefly). And yesterday I spent a few hours at Mum and Dad's and didn't do too much else. I could so get used to the idea of staying home and not going to work, so long as I got some money for doing so. Ah well. Better get back to work now I suppose :(

*May or may not be true.

I forgot to tell you where I'm going camping

The Mammal Club I'm in is holding a field survey this weekend just outside of Coonalpyn, at Mt Boothby Conservation Park. So that's where I'm going camping. And it'll be real camping too, with no running water, no dorms, and no (eek) real toilets. It's gonna be great! A field survey basically means that on the first day we set up some traps at various sites and then on the other days we check the traps regularly to see what animals are around. I've been through but never stopped in the Upper South East (or Upper Limestone Coast as it's known these days) before so I'm looking forward to checking out the scenery. Unfortunately, it looks like the weather's gonna be crapola. I think as well as my sleeping bag I'd better take another blanket. And I don't mind if it's cold while we're out during the day, so long as it doesn't rain. But it can rain at night while I'm cosy in my tent. Got that, weather gods? Good. Only today and tomorrow left of work this week, yay!

Nah, I don't need to buy anything

It seems inevitable that whenever I get invited to something like a makeup or perfume party, despite me stating that I won't be buying anything, I end up going home with a receipt for some purchase or other. Such was the case on Saturday afternoon. Maria was holding a Mary Kay party, and when being invited I warned her I wouldn't be buying anything, but lo and behold, they had this hand care set I just "had to have". Ah well, my intentions were good.

In other news, Mum got out of the hospital on Friday morning, despite a scare about a wound being infected. On Saturday morning I went to my parent's house and did a bit of housework and cooked them a stir fry at Mum's request. She's looking really good, hopefully her body keeps healing this well.

On Sunday, despite it being perfect weather for staying tucked in bed (cold and rainy) I went to a workship in Belair for the NCS spring survey coming up in a couple of weeks. Got home at about 2:30 and did little else for the rest of the day. I do love going out sometimes but I'm turning into a boring old person, preferring to stay home mostly. Working all week makes weekends sacred so I prefer to do nothing sometimes. Very boring, I know.

Today's day at work seems like a waste, but I'm only here for a couple more days this week so I shouldn't complain. I'm off camping over the long weekend and I can't wait, since it's been about 2 years since my last camping trip. So I suppose I can last at work until Wednesday :)

All is well

With a Family Leave day booked at work yesterday I had the whole day to, well, spend with the family, surprisingly. I got to Dad's at 11am and spent a bit of time with him. He was doing some gardening so he asked me to go to the shops to get us some lunch. I went to what is these days called Stockland or something, but back when I was younger was known as Parabanks.

Seeing as I don't want to see 95% of the people I went to school with ever again, a trip to the local shopping centre can fill me with a touch of dread. Now that I live about 30 minutes from where I grew up, the possibility of facing dickheads I went to school with is minimal. But I ventured onto their turf nonetheless. The trip to the shops was, I must say, most uneventful. It was interesting to see the new shops opened and the older stores soldiering on, but I wasn't there for very long.

After lunch Dad and I went to the hospital to see Mum. It was so good to see her, it definitely put my mind at ease. The doctor was very pleased with not only how smoothly the surgery went, but also how well she was recovering. She looked really good and was in happy spirits, so I spent a couple of hours there before going home. Methinks I'll pop in there tonight after work too for a little while.

As is usually the case, little else has been happening. A somewhat quiet day here at work, which means I have a little time for web browsing and other not-too-interesting things. Bloody hell, I need a coffee.

Mondays suck and blow

Mum isn't even in hospital yet and already I'm worrying. I called her this morning and she seems more calm than me, that's for sure. I was going to go and see her tonight but she said that was silly, as she'd only just be waking up from the anaesthetic and wouldn't really want to see anyone. I have tomorrow off work anyway so I'll be able to spend more time with her then, so a phone call from Dad telling me how things went will have to suffice.

We had a nice weekend together to celebrate her birthday (except the Crows losing their match didn't make her happy). On Saturday we all went to Mum and Dad's to have a birthday lunch, then yesterday I went to church with her and Grandma. The church was raising money for flood victims in Hungary so after the service they held a lunch, so we were there for a fair chunk of the afternoon.

And before I know it, it's bloody well Monday again! Work has really been ticking me off lately (moreso than usual) and I can't wait to go camping next weekend. I'm only taking 4 days off but I haven't been camping in almost a year so I'm extra excited. I just have to remember to look through my camping gear well beforehand, as I think I may have packed some of it away at Mum and Dad's. Don't really wanna drive 3 hours away to find I don't even have a torch or something. Anyway, the break will be good, if the weather improves.

As one final rant before I get back to work, I tell you, I never thought I'd be one of these people to say this, but the young people in my neighbourhood piss me off. Every week, the train station is repainted to get rid of the graffiti, and every weekend the kids are back out there scribbling. It's so disappointing to see the new scribbles every bloody Monday morning. It's not even remotely artistic, it's just a bunch of scribbles in black or red texta. Pains in the asses!

It's gas isn't it

Whoosh! Another week gone, just like that. Work has been nuts so I've had very little time to web browse let alone update my blog. Plus, nothing much has been happening. I bought a new mobile phone. It has a camera. That's been about it.

Mum's birthday was on Tuesday so this weekend we're doing the family thing to celebrate. Buying her a present was a trial, let me tell you. First off, I spent one lunch hour walking around stores aimlessly, looking for a great present to jump out at me. No such thing occurred. Instead, I had to ask Mum what she wanted. Thankfully she gave me a few options. With her going into hospital on Monday she wanted some new things to take with her, so problem solved.

But methinks I must have had my invisibility cloak on. At one store, I was patiently waiting in line and some woman just simply pushed in front of me. And got served. Then at the next store, the checkout next to the one I was in line for was free, so the checkout girl actually looked at me, then asked the lady behind me if she wanted to go through her checkout. Piss off. Ofcourse, I said nothing, because I am WEAK! Instead I was late back from lunch by about 20 minutes and was left fuming. I really must speak up to rude asshole city people. Bloody rude women.

So, that's been my adventurous week. Oh, last weekend Dad and I went to Hahndorf which was cool, as I've never been there during the day and it's a gorgeous town. We did a little window shopping before the bad weather arrived, then we went up to see Maria and Steve, and pick up Mum. One good thing about Dad being out of work (possibly the only good thing, because it depresses him) is that we get to spend more time together. I got to have lunch with him again today and I really like that.

Fridays are aces

Hooray, the end of the week is here! I'm in such good spirits because of it, or perhaps it's because I'm overtired and therefore a bit zany. Whatever the reason, it's a Friday, and that can't be a bad thing.

Dad has finished his contract and so has returned to the unemployment line. I fear he may go through some depression again, so I'm trying to spend as much quality time with him as possible. This morning he's driven me to work (that was his suggestion, not my crazy idea of quality time) and we're going to catch up for some lunch. Tomorrow he's picking me up and we're heading up to see Maria and Steve and having some lunch at their place. They've bought a whole bunch of new things with some of their wedding money which I haven't seen yet so I wanna check it out. The rest of the weekend looks like it might be a bit quiet but that's perfect, especially considering the rain will be returning.

I've really gotten into the cricket, which a few years ago would have definitely not had happened. In fact, the excitement of the cricket (or lack thereof) used to be quite a family joke. But I'm really enjoying this Ashes test, and although I try and stay up for a lot of it, it's just not possible (like last night). Perhaps some late nights will be in order this weekend.

The office is in the spirit of the football showdown this weekend. My manager is a big Crows fan and her manager is a big Port fan, so our end of the building is being decorated in a sea of blue, yellow and red. She's brought in a whole bunch of her Crows merchandise so that everyone has something on their desks. Facing me is the cutest teddy bear, draped in a small scarf and beany. I'd like to take it home really, it's so cute. And there's a scarf draped over my partition. Oh, and I just noticed someone pasted a 'Go the Crows' sign on one side of my partition. I'm hoping that today will just be a bit of a bludge. That's why I'm blogging, hoping to avoid work today as much as possible. You understand.

Time killer

I really must start compiling a list of what people type into a search engine, and somehow it pops up with my blog. I have no idea how the association between a lot of these things happen. For example, someone has recently done a Yahoo search for "dungeon accomodation" and my site was in the list of hits. What the...? Each time I think I've seen a weird one, another one comes along to keep me entertained.

Father's Day

I can't believe Father's Day has already been and gone. Is it really September already? Crazy how quickly the year has flown.

Anyway, the weather was gorgeous yesterday (as opposed to Saturday where it was poo) so Dad and I went to the Royal Adelaide Show to celebrate Father's Day. We always have a good time there together as we tend to like the same things. Time was a bit short, so we didn't get to see the fashion parade or the precision driving team, but a nice day was had anyway.

My favourite place to visit is the dairy food pavilion. For someone that has been labelled a "big mouse" the endless free tastings of all sorts of cheese is the best place to be. It's inevitable that we'll buy some cheeses. Oh well, at least I didn't buy any useless showbags this year.

That was about it for the weekend. I was supposed to go to a Friends of Belair meeting on Saturday but wanted to stay cosy and warm inside so didn't end up going due to the poo weather.

And yet, there was no weather problem yesterday, yet last night we lost power for just over an hour I think. Cooking and eating dinner by candlelight was quite nice, and we killed the time by playing a "how well do we know each other" quiz. Interesting results ;)

Friends of Parks Forum 2005

Well I can't believe the weekend has been and gone already and I'm now back at work. Bummer!

So I got into Victor Harbor at about 3:30pm on Friday, a little earlier than I thought I might as the drive went really smoothly. I was staying at a place called Villa Victor with two elderly ladies, Betty and Shirley (so cute, the even have 'old people' names) but I was the first to arrive, so I went for a bit of a tour around Victor while I waited for them. After the arrived we went and had dinner at Albert's Place then headed to the Forum venuw for the opening night's events.

On Saturday morning, despite the idea that Villa Victor was meant to be a B&B, we had to get our own dinner, but thankfully Betty and Shirley came prepared for such an event. After the morning forum we hopped on buses for a tour of the Waitpinga cliff line. The weather was gorgeous and we took roughly a 3 hour walk along the Heysen Trail, and the views were spectacular. On Saturday night was the Forum Dinner, which was held at Hotel Victor. The Environment Minister was there as a special guest which was pretty cool, because I like John Hill, not that I personally got to meet him. The food was yummy and I got to meet some people from other Friends groups and it was a great night :)

On Sunday morning I was up bright and early, packed up my car and made it in time to the cooked breakfast that was being supplied for us. After that, it was back to the forum topics and discussions and some more guest speakers (including the CEO of the place I work for) and then the weekend was over and it was time to drive home. I really enjoyed it, considering it was my first forum, and I gor to meet some cool people. Next years is up at Echunga so no need to be away from home as that's not that far away, bit of a bummer really.

I hadn't been to Victor Harbor for about 8 years. The place hasn't changed in some ways, but in other ways it's changed heaps. For example, there are so many new houses along the shoreline than there used to be (and apparently they're a hell of a lot more expensive).

I had yesterday off work just to catch up on washing and stuff, and I'm glad I booked an extra days leave because over the course of the weekend I lost my voice due to this cold I picked up. It's back now, just has moments of squeekiness. Last night we had the Le Cornu footy tipping awards dinner which we went to as the whole family's in the footy tips there, but alas, no luck for any of us (although, not surprising).

Anyway, the workday is almost over so I'd better wrap things up here. Until next time.

Weekends are aces

Just like that, too much time has passed since my last post. It's the fault of Dungeon Siege 2, as most nights are spent playing a co-op game with Ivan. And when we're not playing, we're watching old DVDs of The Sopranos, starting from season 1 and working our way through them.

Anyway, so apart from that the highlight of the week was probably last weekend, when Cathy and Buster were in Adelaide on their way to Perth. They'd already been through Brisbane, Gold Coast and Canberra, and they were spending a few days in Adelaide so we got to meet up with them. Alex and Mick also came along to help show them some SA hospitality.

On Friday after work we started off with drinks at The Grand, not realising they were doing renovations. Needless to say, it wasn't very cosy. We headed off down to the marina to try and find another pub. We eventually found it tucked away, but it was pretty full and there was nowhere to sit, so we headed back to Jetty Road. We had dinner at Hog's Breath and then went to the Jetty Road Hotel for some after dinner drinks before we wished them well and said our goodbyes. They're such lovely people, it was great to catch up. The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, I just went to Mum and Dad's on Saturday and that was about it, due to the crappy weather.

This weekend looks like it'll be gorgeous and I'm glad because I'm off to Victor Harbour for the Friends of Parks Forum. I've never been to one before so I'm looking forward to it. Betty and Shirley, two sweet old ladies, are letting me stay in a place with them so our accomodation is pretty cheap. I'll be leaving in a few hours and arriving back some time on Sunday, so I'll have to do an update on my return.

Suppose I'd better go and do some packing now...

Balance restored

On Monday morning when I went to catch the train I discovered that over the weekend almost ever brick at the station had been covered in graffiti. This morning there was a man painting over it all, thus restoring the balance.

As I walked past Borders today at lunch I noticed a bunch of gothic teens sitting outside. Perhaps at lunch tomorrow there'll be a group of old ladies wearing fluorescent colours outside, thus restoring the balance?

Interesting theory...

Rest in Peace

Late last week my grandma's sister (who I met when we went to Yugoslavia) died. She has been unwell for a long time and had really deteriorated over the last few years, so rather than a sense of loss the family feels a sense of relief. A relief that she isn't suffering anymore, as she wasn't really "living" lately anyway. For a long time now she's been bed-ridden and needed everything done for her. Before it got that bad, when she was still able to move around, she'd often wander off because she forgot who she was. Things have been really sad there for a while, and so my grandma and my parents (who grew up with her around) are doing ok.

I was 3 years old when we moved to Australia, so if it weren't for our 3-week holiday in Yugoslavia 8 years ago I wouldn't even remember her. So, I don't really know what to feel, to be honest, because I didn't really know her. I remember I really enjoyed her company. She was so much like my grandma, their mannerisms were so alike. My grandma thinks of me as her kindred spirit, so it made our holiday in Yugoslavia a lot easier, because it felt like I had my kindred spirit there. So, I will miss her, but I have fond memories and I won't let those go.

Sending lots of good wishes to my family in Yugoslavia...

xxx

Don't defy the salad

Every day I have salad for lunch. I'm a regular at Leaf and Ladle and would be lost without them. But today, it's so cold that I felt like something different. I had cravings for some yummy Ravioli Bolognese, and being that I now work in Adelaide, it's piss easy to find a place that has what you crave. However, I should not have gone against Mr Trusty Salad. 'Why?' you ask. Because it seems inevitable that I would slop the sauce on my nice white shirt, thus staining me for the rest of the day.

Seems to be a week of weird stuff. I have my ears pierced but for some reason yesterday when I put in a pair of earrings I was half asleep, not having one lined up right, and thereby stabbing myself with the earring. I started bleeding, for goodness' sake. People don't even bleed when they get their ears pierced, but for some reason, I find a way.

My dreams have been extremely weird lately. It seems I didn't have a dream for a long time and now all at once I'm having really weird dreams every night. Last night I dreamt that Michelle was getting married (even though she already is) and for some reason to get to her wedding we had to go through several airports around the world and have big communal showers. Yeah, that's not weird AT ALL! And when we got to the church for some reason she was sitting in amongst the crowd, not up the front with her hubby.

So anyway, not much aside from mad stuff has been happening. I haven't been logging on during the evenings this week and I tell you what, not logging on after work sure frees up your time! I've done so much reading and catching up with other stuff this week, it's very refreshing. No doubt I'll tire of all this free time soon.

Oh ffs, wish Sandra had turned off her mobile phone before she went to that meeting. This is the 4th time it's rang since I started typing this. SHE'S OBVIOUSLY NOT ANSWERING, LEAVE A FREAKING MESSAGE!!!!

Anyway, had better dash. Hey if you're reading this Jun, update your blog (unless you have in the last couple of days)...

Go the Goose!

It's been a bit of an up and down week. I really need to make more of an effort with writing here because it seems like a lot has happened (not anything any more interesting than usual though).

Having that Friday off a week and a half ago was great. But as is always the way when I have a day off, I'd planned to do lots of things and instead spent the entire day watching Dr Phil and playing Battlefield 2. It was a really nice way to relax though. On that weekend Mum and I went shopping and I bought a few clothes, including a couple of pairs of jeans as my other ones were getting too big (yay! usually it's the opposite). That night Alex came around and I ate lots of pizza, thus negating my newly purchased "mid-weight" jeans.

Last week was ok, work as usual except I had a couple of days off mid-week due to a) laziness, and b) really bad headaches. Not sure what's causing the headaches as I think I'm getting enough sleep, only bought new glasses a few months ago, and think I'm eating well, but bought some multivitamins anyway. Not that they're helping the headaches much. Might have to go to the doctor and get a blood test. I'll try to have one without almost passing out this time...

Last Friday was our 6 year anniversary (we got there eventually) so to celebrate we went and had dinner at The Greedy Goose. Unfortunately, Justine had the night off (possibly saving me the embarressment of gushing over a reality TV personality) but we had a really nice time. The food was great and the staff were lovely, and we went home with our bellies satisfied. If I must find a complaint about anything it would be that it felt like I was sitting closer to the people on the next table than I was to Ivan, the tables were a bit close to each other. But that'd be my only complaint.

On Saturday I went and did my tax return (I'm being bloody robbed!) then we went to Mum and Dad's for Dad's 55th birthday. It was a pleasant day and we finally got to see Maria and Steve's wedding photos.

Sunday I did shit all except read and watch X-Men cartoons, and today I'm back at work, with only this to say...

Go the Goose!!

Definitely time to hibernate

I agree with Shane's comments in my last post - all this lack of energy and motivation is probably a result of needing to hibernate. Poor Ivan has not been well the last few days, spending most of his days in bed, so methinks his body is a little worn out. I'd previously booked tomorrow off work and all this week I've been counting down the days, anxious for a bit of a sleep in and a day without having to go out into the cold or rain. Although, I must admit, the fog in the city was absolutely gorgeous this morning, I'm glad I witnessed that.

This post is just to kill some time really - work has been flatout but now there is some calm before another storm. Our database is offline for some financial processes until some time this afternoon, after which time I'll attempt to get through this backlog of work that's been piling up on my desk. The files are now in 3 piles, and I don't want it to grow any more.

Last night we watched Madagascar and I really enjoyed it. It's a bit more childish than something like Shrek but some parts really made me laugh. I loved the penguins, funny little things.

Dad's birthday is coming up and I have no idea what to get him. Mum and I are going shopping on Saturday for it, so I hope she has some ideas. It's hard to know what to get my dad, he has pretty much every power tool, plenty of shirts and socks (the old traditional gift) and never ever tells us what he actually would like. So hopefully Mum's sussed something out.

In other news, I am still loving Battlefield 2, despite the annoying things that can happen in a server. I just wish I had more time to play. I don't understand how people can hold down a job, a relationship, and look after a home while still getting enough sleep, and still find time to play it every night. I do have a TV addiction I suppose. But I find that on nights when there's nothing on the TV, like last night, I get carried away with playing the game and the thought of "I'll just play for like an hour" is quickly thrown aside and I end up playing for several. Oops.

Anywho, I suppose I'd better go and find something else to do to look busy. I wish there was some way I could incorporate reading Harry Potter into my workday without it looking suspicious...

251 low-quality posts and counting!

Once again it's been a while since my last update but things have just been busy lately and time seems to run away from me.

Work has been pretty flat out, as I've been relieving for my Coordinator for the last two weeks. This week I'm back to my normal duties, then I'm relieving again for another 5 weeks. It's been really interesting and I've learned a lot, but it's just meant I'm too busy to surf the web and update my blog.

During my evenings I've been doing the usual - either going to a club meeting, watching oodles of television, or playing BF2, although I've not been playing much in the last couple of weeks.

Maria and Steve return from their honeymoon today, so after work tonight we're catching up. It was Maria's birthday while they were away, so we're having an informal dinner at Mum's tonight to give her her gifts and catch up.

The Saturday just gone Ivan and I went to the football with some of his workmates as his work have a Corporate Box there, and this time they offered the Box to staff. It was a completely different experience to how it normally is at the football and it was aces. We got so much food and drink, and even though it rained we hardly noticed the weather in our protective shell.

I can't think of what else I've been up to but there ya go, a bit of an update :)

Recent happenings

I don't have much time to write at the moment because work is hella busy today, but wanted to let everyone know that in the last 24 hours Ivan and I have worked things out for the time being and are giving it another go. It's very much conditional and a "last chance" effort so there are no guarantees, but the relationship is worthy of the effort, I believe. This'll be make or break now.

Anyway, better click "Publish Post" before my boss catches me!

No title can summarise

I realise it's been a couple of weeks since I last updated, and for that I'm sorry. My birthday was nice, I got to catch up with my friends and family and just like that, another birthday was gone. Then work got really busy with the end of financial year, so I didn't get time to update. On June 30th I was at work until 10:15pm.

Last week I was only at work for a couple of days because I took some time off for my sister's wedding which was on the weekend that just passed. So I had a few days beforehand to prepare and do the last minute things, and then yesterday off to recover. Her day went off without any dramas and she looked beautiful and happy. They left for their honeymoon yesterday and are gone for 2 weeks, so hopefully they'll get time to relax.

It was a very emotionally draining time, and the last place I feel like being is at work today. While my sister gets married, my own relationship is pretty much over, and my days are mostly spent with tears stinging my eyes. I don't want to talk about it too much in great detail except to say this has been the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Now it's time for me to look for somewhere else to live, and so tonight I'm off to an inspection on a unit. It's made worse by the fact that we're both still in love with each other, but these underlying issues can't be solved or compromised on. So that's all I've got to say about that. I will most likely not be in the mood to write for some time.

A great day!

Today is my Birthday, yay!! I only have to work half a day today, yay!! And Battlefield 2 was released today, so I get to go home and install and play it, yay!! A great day indeed!! :D

Sleepy Smurf

Once again I seem to be going through a patch of little sleep during the night. I'm not sure why - perhaps the late nights over the weekend threw my body out of whack or something, but for some reason over the last couple of nights I've been waking up at 5am and not being able to fall back asleep, so I'll either lie there until my alarm goes off, or get annoyed and get up. Anyway, no biggie, just that I wish it was the end of the workday already (more than usual).

Tomorrow is my birthday and it seems Ivan and I have had no luck trying to book a place for dinner. The Greedy Goose is booked out for another month and the other place I wanted doesn't do dinner on Wednesday nights so it might end up being a quiet one at home (not that I mind that). I'm only working half a day tomorrow as I'm taking a Flexi for the afternoon, so it'll be nice not to have to be at work for the whole day.

Yesterday I went and spent some of my birthday vouchers. I bit the bullet and pre-ordered the next Harry Potter, and also bought The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Third Day, The Frost. Have I mentioned how much I love books?! I still have another voucher to use at Target but I'm not sure, perhaps I'll put it towards another winter jumper or something. Today is freezing!

I also went and got my stitches out yesterday afternoon and got my biopsy results, and everything is all good, so thankfully, that's all over!

Anywho, that's about it for today, more another time!

PS Did anyone else think it was hilarious that Tom Cruise got squirted with water during an interview? Chuckles galore!

Weekend of gecko woe

Well, the time since I last updated has been a bit stressful to say the least, all to do with my new geckos. I noticed on the first night that the little one, Geckotron, had a bit of a strange walk, with her front legs looking a bit rubbery. I finally called the person I bought them from (let's call her 'S') on Friday to see if she had noticed anything before selling them. She said she hadn't (to which I though 'bullshit') and we discussed the possibilities of what it might mean. We came to the conclusion that Geckotron has a calcium deficiency, and S conceded that it probably occurred when she put both geckos together and didn't make sure Geckotron was eating properly. So, I've now inherited a sick gecko, and needed to get her some calcium drops. They've been ordered and will hopefully be here by tomorrow so I can start administering it.

On top of all that, the two girls have been fighting. We'd noticed a bit of aggressive behaviour with the big one chasing the little one down, but on Saturday night it seems Geckotron finally fought back, taking a chunk of skin off Merckenschlager. This happened at about 1:30am, so I called a 24 hour emergency vet for advice, then tried to find a chemist that was open to get some Betadine. We discovered there aren't chemists open 24 hours in Adelaide any more. Joy. That night I separated the two by dividing their tank with cardboard.

On Sunday morning I ummed and ahhed about what to do for a good hour before calling S. It was cruel to keep them both in a small divided aquarium, so I thought I'd just have to get rid of one. Not an easy decision as I'm already attached to both of them. When I called S and told her what had happened she suggested separating the two until Geckotron grew to full size (about a year away). I told her that's great but my tank is too small for them like that, so she offered me a tank that she had spare for free. Lifesaver! I went and picked it up on Saturday morning (a 100Km round trip) and thus my plans to do nothing on Sunday fell through. They're both set up now, divided so they can no longer fight and should have enough room to be happy while I wait for the little one to grow. Crisis over!! Now I just need to cure this calcium deficiency. Hopefully it's not too late...

Apart from gecko woe the weekend was pretty good. On Saturday we went to Mum and Dad's for a family birthday lunch and it was really nice. I got vouchers galore (spent them today) and a pair of diamond earrings and was generally spoiled (as is necessary on one's birthday :D).

I'm leaving work in just under half an hour as today I get my stitches out. This is a good thing as I am no good at short showers. Hopefully this is the last I'll see of this doctor (although I guess that's dependant on the biopsy results).

I'm tired. The girls upstairs were arguing again last night. It's really not normal, if you hate each other so much why would you stay living there? And with them being the drama queens that they are, they don't simply yell at each other but also slam doors, which is just lovely for us people in the same block of flats. And then this morning at 6am they continued. I can't wait until we buy our own house...

Could time possibly drag any more?

It feels like it should be time to go home by now and yet there is still two and a half hours to go. I don't see how that's possible. I would very much like to walk out right now, but I won't, because it's not the right thing to do. Today is just so boring and non-constructive. I've even already cleaned out my email, and although I don't normally take a lunch break, I went for a walk for lunch today to kill some time. It appears to have not had any effect.

I really should stop going into Borders at lunch time as it's inevitable that the list of books I want (nay, need) just gets longer and longer every time I visit a bookstore. Not that I have an official list, the list is just in my head at the moment. Perhaps I should really jot it down somewhere...

There is less than a week until my 26th birthday and although I'm not doing anything to celebrate, I still can't wait. I already have my gift from Ivan (which was gecko stuff) and know he'll be taking me out to dinner next week (to the Greedy Goose, yay!) but I do love surprises and love being spoiled so am looking forward to the weekend when I get to spend time with some people I care about to celebrate my birthday.

I'm still trying to kill time, as I think you've no doubt realised by now, so let me try to find some other things to ramble about...

What is it with those idiots on Big Brother using the word "confliction"? There's no such thing, you twats! It's really starting to piss me off because they're trying to sound intelligent... I think I may be going off BB *gasp*

Because I'm a geek, I've also been thrilled lastely by the release of the Battlefield 2 demo. The game *should* come out next week and I can't wait to get my copy! I haven't had a great deal of time to have a look at it but from what I've seen I loved it, apart from a couple of things they need to iron out, but that's the way games go. It's times like this you realise just how old your body has become. It used to be that I could spend several hours a night playing a game but now I need to be in bed early enough or I can't get out of bed the next morning. 26 is great but I wouldn't mind the stamina I used to have...

Ah bugger it, I'd better go do some work. And will possibly leave early at the rate I'm going...

Pictures of my baby girls!

Geckotron strikes a pose :)

I have a captive! Muhahahah!

Merckenschlager's the big one

I love my darlings, they're so cute!!

The long weekend hangover

Not that I actually have a hangover, it's more a figure of speech. You know, it's that usual sluggishness you feel after a long weekend when you wake to your alarm to get ready for a short week at work.

The weekend was excellent and lazy and very rejuvenating. Saturday was a bit nuts though, with a lot of running around to be done. I started the day with a facial, but in hindsight probably should have finished with it instead. I then went for a drive to Lonsdale to get the gear for my geckos - some sand, a thermometer, a water dish and some crickets. On the way back into town I popped into Home Hardware to get some plywood, then the search for the polystyrene began. Bloody hell, who would think it would be so difficult to find a sheet of polystyrene? Thing is, I needed the heat mat to sit on it for insulation, and so I needed a heat resistant grade. When I finally found a place that had a sheet, not only would they not cut it to size for me but they didn't know if it was heat resistant. "Oh, you should be ok". I should indeed. I bought the stuff anyway after another hour and a half spent trying to find a place that could at least be helpful. Conclusion: my geckos' home is complete! I pick them up tonight and can't wait!

Saturday night was Maria and Steve's faux Hen's and Buck's night and it was quite good. It was nice to finally meet Steve's family and we had more fun than I thought we would. I think we were the first to leave though, but them's the breaks. Apparently there was one incident, where one of the guys decided to get a tree from next door to throw onto the bonfire rather than use the wood that Steve had in his backyard. Needless to say the neighbour was not pleased one bit, and Maria and Steve had to pay her $150 to replace the tree. Let's hope they get that money back. Must be a guy thing - I didn't find it funny but Ivan did.

Sunday and Monday were so lazy I can't quite believe how little I did on both days. There was just the usual washing to be done, and the rest of the day was spent doing a lot of reading and a lot of nothing. Very rejuvenating!

In world news today: Michael Jackson was found not guilty of all 10 counts against him. Wonder how long it'll be before someone else lays charges...

As a long weekend approaches

Hooray for Fridays! Hooray for long weekends! Hooray for hoorays!

Not that the insane cheering has passed, I shall provide a brief update of what's been happening the last few days, shall I? After all, this blog is more of a diary of events than anything else (although I'd like it to be so much more) so let us begin.

Work this week both sucks and blows. I'm not really sure what it is, just my usual "I'd rather be curled up at home" mentality, but there you go. So, how do I combat that? I apply to relieve for a supervisor so I can be given more responsibility and more reason to complain!

One of the Coordinators here is going on Long Service Leave at the end of this month so I applied for the relief work. I really would like to move up in the Department, and need more experience, so thought it's best if I apply. Myself and another girl here have pretty much the same skills, and rather than choosing between the two of us, they've asked if we wanted to split the role. So I'm doing the first 4 weeks, and she's doing the second. I don't mind sharing, I'm more interested in getting the experience really, and a little extra pay will help.

All of this mole removal and stuff seems to be costing way more than I thought it would, as I received a bill I wasn't expecting for it yesterday, and am expected to still fork out $200 for the privilege of feeling the doctor slice up my back. I know Medicare covers some of it but I still feel as though my life is just one big bill and my credit card will eventually wither and die.

Anyway aside from giving my money to other people, the evenings have been busy lately. On Wednesday night I went to a Field Naturalist's meeting. I've been a member for a couple of years now and have never gotten to a meeting, so it was nice to attend and very interesting actually. I dare say I'll go more regularly from now on.

Last night I met Maria and Mum at the bridal store for Maria's second dress fitting. It's really coming along beautifully and she only has one more fitting to go before the big day.

Tonight should be relatively quiet but tomorrow will be hella busy. In the morning I have a facial, then I need to go to one end of the city to get some polystyrene for insulation for the heat mat, then head to the other end of the city to get some sand for the geckos, then head to Bunnings. Finally, during the night we're going to Maria and Steve's for a BBQ. Neither of them are into strippers or shenannigans so they're not having official Bucks or Hens nights, so this BBQ is pretty much it I think, their last event before their wedding.

I plan to spend the rest of the weekend relaxing.

I guess that's about it then! I really want to write some personal stuff here but will refrain I suppose...

Time to sulk

Hey if I can't sulk here than where can I sulk? Yesterday I went to the Dermatologist to have 2 moles removed and a biopsy done on another one and I'm in a bit of pain at the moment. Note to all: Panadol doesn't do very much at all really. The one on my arm doesn't hurt at all but the two on my back are painful. Not so surprising considering the local anaesthetic didn't work on the mole he did the biopsy on because the skin was too thick and I got to feel him slicing, but no matter. The stitches get taken out two days before my birthday and I can't wait. I'm not worried now that it's all done, the only thing that concerns me is that I'm to take "short showers". That does not compute!

In other news the week has been crazy as hell. Last Thursday night after work I went shopping with Maria, Kay and Dianne for bridesmaid's dresses and shoes and thank goodness, we found something that suited all of us towards the end of the night. I have to find some time this week to go and collect the shoes since we had to order some from another store, and then we need to get our dresses adjusted a bit as they're too long for all us shorties so somehow we all have to get together again.

The weekend absolutely flew! On Saturday I went to a Friends of Belair meeting then Darren came over and we went out for dinner, then on Sunday all I did was go to visit Mum at work and then clean the house and before I knew it, Monday was upon us again (the day I felt sharp stabbing pains in my back).

Only one week until I get my geckos, and I've decided on the names: Geckotron and Merkinshlager. Fine names indeed.

Recovery

Well I'm back at work after two days off, delighted that with this new web blocker thing they haven't blocked Blogger (yet). I actually feel worse today then I did yesterday, but really can't keep taking time off. With the end of financial year approaching there's a lot to do and little time to do it all in, so here I am.

Although, I must admit, today has been pretty uneventful. And I'm leaving early, because Maria's wedding is in only about 5 weeks and we haven't yet got the bridesmaids dresses, so we're going shopping tonight. I really hope we find something that we all agree on and that's in our sizes. Time is not on our side and if we don't find something tonight I'm not sure when we will.

This is week two of Dad's new job and he's still so happy. It's a shame it's only a 3-month contract, but you never know, he might get extended. He's been hearing lots of positive feedback so the chances are pretty good, so long as they have the money to keep him on.

In other news I have a home organised for the two barking geckos I'll be getting! I already had an aquarium, and yesterday as an early birthday present Ivan got me the heat mat and thermostat I'll need to keep them nice and warm! I should be getting them on the 14th, can't wait to bring the little cuties home. One has already been christened Geckotron, but I have no idea what to call the second one. Any suggestions?

PS My stats counter is cool because it tells me where people come from to get to my site, like if they did a search or came through a different site or whatever. But lately there've been a lot of Blocked or Hidden Referrers. Shame on you people, you completely spit on my stat counter! Also I'm secretly jealous, because I didn't know people could do such things...

Ohhh, I guess that's why

So I think I figured out why I had two days off last week for feeling run down. Apparently my body was trying to tell me I was about to get some cold thingy. Today I am feeling dreadful, with a sore throat and a nose that constantly drips. Joy! I hope Michelle's kids don't come down sick :-/

I had one of the nicest weekends, very relaxing. On Saturday I did a little shopping then went to Steve's place for his birthday. It was just the family and a BBQ and was a nice night. On Sunday I went to Michelle's to celebrate her birthday as well as Alisha's and Jacob's. Today is her and Alisha's actual birthday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY to them! Almost her whole family was there and seeing as they're like my own it was lovely to see them. Today I'm here at work, feeling sorry for myself, especially because I have an hour to go and the last hour has dragged something chronic.

In other news, I've had songs from the movie Annie in my head all day. The sun will come out tomorrow....

***

Weight lost this week: 0.4 Kgs
Total weight lost: 7.0 Kgs

Damn it

It appears my comments are borked again. I'm not sure how long to give it. Last time I gave it three days before contacting the place that hosts them, and then got a completely useless response of "It works for me", not a "Oh, thanks, we've found the problem and it's fixed". So you see, they're not my favourite people to contact.

Anyway, so I'm at home today. My plan was to sleep until about this time, but alas, the phone rang at 8:45am and I've been up since, wasting away the day. I feel quite run down and am longing for a night where I sleep solidly, without waking up for no reason. It's been so long since that's happened.

Work has been full-on lately so I think I needed a break from that too. On top of that, they have a web blocker installed now and so I can't access my Hotmail from work anymore. I'm also scared to visit a lot of the sites I usually visit incase I'm being monitored. I'm applying for a temporary relief position, one pay level higher, and the last thing I want is to get in trouble over something silly. But it makes the days longer and more tedious.

The weekend wasn't too bad. On Saturday I had my hair coloured and then went to help Misch set up for her 40th birthday party. It was about 50 Kms away, at a property up past Wistow, so I was planning to spend the night. Anyway, got there at about 2pm and it was a madhouse with nothing having been done. People started arriving at around 4pm and we were still chopping mountains of vegetables for dinner. Thankfully, the other guests chipped in and we were able to relax a bit. It wasn't a bad night, it was a good mix of people, but by 11pm all I wanted to do was come home to my comfortable bed. So I did. Sunday was just a day of recovery really. I played this game called Still Life for most of the day, I'm completely addicted. It's a bit like a CSI game but a bit more dark and gruesome. Oh and I put on 0.1 Kgs too, I guess it's my own fault for snacking too much at Misch's birthday :-/

Long time readers may remember my desire to get a barking gecko to keep as a pet. Well, now that I'm back in Adelaide I've been having serious discussions with one of the ladies from SAHG and she has not one but two she wants to sell! I mean, just look at how cute they are!

May the force be with you

Last night, Ivan and I went to see Star Wars Episode 3. We'd pre-booked our tickets for a session after work here in the city, and Alex was supposed to come with us but he's sick so it ended up being just the two of us. We collected our tickets, went and got some dinner at Pasta Palace, then headed back to the cinema to settle in for a few hours.

Best Star Wars Movie Ever! It is definitely my favourite film out of the 6. I won't give away any plot stuff because there might be a few people who haven't seen it yet who still want to but it was so amazing, my words here don't do it justice. It's a very dark and sad story, and George Lucas has redeemed himself in my opinion. My only complaint is that a lot of the lightsabre duels were panned in too close so you couldn't really see what was happening (apart from the Yoda battles, they were done well). But it's hard to pick a fault with any of the story. INCREDIBLE!

We were lucky enough to get into a session where the cinema was only half full. Unfortunately, there was some idiot who occasionally had a brain fart and decided to yell out during the film, swearing quite badly too. A good example of why drugs are bad and arrests in Bali are good...

Forget me not

I can't believe it's already Wednesday. Being Wednesday is, indeed, a good thing, because it means another weekend is almost upon us again.

We had a Public Holiday here in Adelaide on Monday so the week has gone by faster than normal, and after the crappy couple of days I had at the end of the week last week, it can only be a good thing.

The weekend was great and relaxing actually. On Saturday I went and had a facial, then Mum and Dad picked me up and we went to the football. Having spent last year in Berri, it'd been quite a while since I'd been to a football match so I was looking forward to going. We got there early, so we went to the Crows Shed beforehand as we waited for the rain to subside. I'd forgotten just how loud Mum gets at the football - it was no wonder Dad bought his headphones. It turned out to be a really nice night, and nice to spend some time with the family.

On Sunday, Ivan, Darren and I went to play golf at Patawalonga. I am still absolutely appalling. My score was atrocious and some of my shots made me cranky but I left thinking I'd try it again and look forward to the next time we go.

On Monday I'd planned to do a lot and ended up doing absolutely none of it. With Star Wars Episode 3 coming out tomorrow, Ivan and I decided to watch the first 2 movies again, to remind ourselves of what happened, so that took up all of the afternoon really. We're seeing Episode 3 tomorrow after work, I can't wait.

That's been about it really!

***

Weight lost this week: 1.1 Kgs
Total weight lost: 6.7 Kgs

You have to be kidding me

It has been confirmed today that I am losing my mind. The confirmation came this morning, as I walked out the door to catch my train, ran my tongue over my teeth and thought, 'Hmm, they feel a bit furry'. Ladies and gentlemen, I'd forgotten to brush my teeth.

How in the world does a person simply forget to brush their teeth? It's akin to forgetting to wipe one's arse. Normally, people don't simply forget to do these basic acts of hygiene. I realise some people choose not to brush their teeth on a daily basis but, dear readers, I am not one of those people. I choose to brush, I just simply forget. Astounding...

The day has not improved since that strange start. My days at work seem to be spent waiting for other people. Today has frankly been a bit of a waste. I mean, I've gotten a few things done, but it still doesn't feel like a very productive day, and there's still an hour and a half to go.

In other random ramblings, the 5th series of Big Brother has started and I am once again hooked. I'm not yet as bad as last year, in that I haven't stayed up to watch the Up Late show, but I'm sure in time I'll be doing that too. It's only been a few days and I'm already loving this series. The whole twin/imposter thing is pretty cool to watch.

Finally, what is it with all the freaks in town lately? Seems a person can't go to work without confronting someone a little out of it and announcing this to the world. Yesterday a man was having a frightfully loud conversation with himself. Dude, people don't need to hear yelling at 8:30am, and sometimes there's just not enough room to take a wide berth.

Wow, an hour and 30 minutes to go. Awesome.

Strange days

It's been an interesting few days here, and therefore a long blog post to come, so feel free to skip through it (although I'd forever think of you as rude and uncaring).

I had Friday off work and went to the Friends of Parks AGM at Cummins' Historical House. I'd never even heard of the place but it's a nice place to visit, built in the 1800s. We had some morning tea, then the meeting got underway. As is tradition, the meeting ran a little late but then we had lunch and were taken on a tour of the house which was really nice.

On Saturday Mum, Maria and I went shopping, although it wasn't easy because I'm kinda in-between sizes at the moment so most things were either too big or too small. I ended up buying a couple of pairs of shoes, a handbag, 4 workshirts and some pants. Not bad considering it was hard to find clothes that fit I suppose.

Sunday was Mother's Day so, ofcourse, I went to have lunch with the family. It was an interesting lunch indeed, resulting in Dad taking wire cutters to one of my earrings. You see, I've been trying to take them off for months but wasn't able to figure out the clasp that kept them on. Mum tugged at my ear (causing intense pain, mind you) for a good 10 minutes before we resorted to the wire cutters. After one earring was cut, Dad figured out how to work the clasp. The result - one broken pair of earrings, sore ears, and a few giggles at my expense.

Yesterday I had the morning off work to go to the dermatologist. Not knowing where it was but thinking I knew the suburb, I got off the train station and proceeded to find my destination on foot. Little did I know I'd be walking for 45 minutes, causing my poor feet to ache in my new shoes and making me late for my appointment. There wasn't a chance in hell I was walking back to the train station after my appointment was over, so I had to call a taxi to get me to work. What an idiot. I felt the most stupid when I was walking past the main road I live off. I may as well have walked from home. Note to self: Next time, drive.

So, those were my strange days. They say things come in threes but I'm really hoping I get through today without me being a total idiot...

***

Weight lost this week: 0.1 Kgs
Total weight lost: 5.6 Kgs

Theme of the week

Well, today is proving to be a waste of time so far too, with nothing planned for me to do today. Either things will stay dull and today will be a total waste or everything will hit all at once when the people in charge finally decide to show up. Perhaps I will spend the day playing Solitaire or something, but then, I have no idea exactly what or how they monitor our computer use here...

I left my swipe card at home this morning which is going to be a total pain in the arse because the lady on the front counter tells me she isn't allowed to hand out spare cards to staff who have forgotten theirs, so every time I go to the toilet I'll have to bug someone for their card. Total Pain In The Arse.

On top of all that I'm still pissed at Ivan for his attitude last night, but hey, that's why I need a private Blog I guess...

I just want today to be over, one of those 24 hours I guess. Tomorrow I get to relax at the Friends of Parks AGM with no work and a long weekend, and I can't wait.

Sorry for the negativity today :(