These Days - Powderfinger

It's coming round again
The slowly creeping hand
Of time and its command
Soon enough it comes
And settles in its place
Its shadow in my face
Puts pressure in my day

This life well it's slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like i had planned

It's coming round again
The slowly creeping hand
Of time and its demands
It settles in its place
Its shadow in my face
Undignified and lame

This life well it's slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like i had planned
Control well it's slipping right through my hands
These days turned out nothing like i had planned

Soon enough it comes
Soon enough it comes
To tie us down

Who doesn't love Homer?

"Mmmm ... 64 slices of American cheese ..."

"So i said, 'Look buddy, your car was upside down when we got here, and as for your grandmother, she shouldn't have mouthed off like that."

"You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college."

"Extended warranty! How can I lose?"

Zach

Zach and his family could use some love and support right now. Please stop by and say hi!

Mother of the Year

Overheard tonight at Safeway:

Mum: "Ethan! You are irritating the BEJESUS OUT OF ME!"

Someone is ready for the end of school holidays ... Too bad there's another four weeks before school goes back.

I have spread my dreams beneath your feet.
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
W.B. Yeats

The Impression That I Get - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

Have you ever been close to tragedy
Or been close to folks who have
Have you ever felt a pain so powerful
So heavy you collapse
I've never had to knock on wood
But I know someone who has
Which makes me wonder if i could
It makes me wonder if
I've never had to knock on wood
And I'm glad i haven't yet
Because I'm sure it isn't good
that's the impression that I get
have you ever had the odds stacked up so high
You need a strength most don't possess
Or has it ever come down to do or die
You've got to rise above the rest
I've never had to knock on wood
But I know someone who has
Which makes me wonder if i could
It makes me wonder if
I've never had to knock on wood
And I'm glad I haven't yet
Because I'm sure it isn't good
that's the impression that I get
I'm not a coward,
I've just never been tested
I'd like to think that if I was,
I would pass
Look at the tested and think there but for the grace go
I might be a cowards,
I'm afraid of what I might find out
I've never had to knock on wood
But I know someone who has
Whoch makes me wonder if i could
It makes me wonder if
I've never had to knock on wood
And I'm glad i haven't yet
Because I'm sure it isn't good
That's the impression that I get

Another year over ...

I know, I know. Bad blogger. Baaaad blogger.

This is only my third entry for the month. How the hell did that happen?!

I actually had every intention of updating before Christmas, or at least on Christmas day to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I'm not sure what happened to those intentions, somewhere along the way they got lost I guess ...

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas, anyway. I was at home, with the family and we actually had a great day. It was very low-key, but nice. There were no fights, I didn't break my brothers nose at any point during the day ... Yep, it was a good Christmas.

Things in the World of Snappz have actually been humming along quite nicely.

Christine and I have well and truly settled into the house, and are loving living together. We seem to have fallen into quite an easy, relaxed routine that leads to no stress, and no fights.

Jersey is still known as Devil Dog, and shows no signs of leaving his "puppiness" behind anytime soon. We are constantly saying "NO!", because he continues to do everything from dig massive holes in the backyard to pinch stuff from the bin inside to wreck stuff to whine incessantly when he's left outside alone for more than 30 seconds. Actually, the whining has toned down a notch, which is good, and we have managed to train him to sit and wait before he comes in the back door. Everything else though? He's driving us mental. The last few mornings we've gotten up to discover the concrete in the backyard covered in dirt, and holes everywhere. It's getting old. He actually dug out half a garden bed about an hour ago, and he'd only been outside alone for a little while. He's seriously testing the patience of both Christine and I.

The Buckley Bunny/B-Man/Buck-Miester/Buckster is doing well. He ended up at the vets again a couple of weeks ago, after he came out with big red spot type things on his back. Our first suspicion, since they looked like blood, was that Jersey had somehow managed to get to him, but it turned out to be a sun infection - something about the sun interacting with what he'd eaten, and upsetting the bacteria under his skin, which then turned bad. It was upsetting, and I felt guilty. I should have known better to let an all white rabbit live outside in the sun. So he's been an inside rabbit for the last couple of weeks while he gets better. To help him get better, twice a day I have to wash him with this brown stuff, then wait 10 minutes and put cream on him. He was on antibiotics for the first 14 days, but they've stopped now. I got some shadecloth to go over his cage, and probably at the end of this week I'll get some more to put on the fram at the back of the house. Today he went back into his outside cage - once it was properly covered, of course! Can't really afford another $150 at the vet! - and he already seems much happier. His cage inside is only small, so he doesn't have that much room to move. Hopefully by the end of the week his back will be all healed, and I'll have the rest of the shadecloth up for him.

Work is going well - really well. Devil dog and I sometimes go for walks at night, and we walk up past work - about a 50 minute walk all up. Last week I found myself smiling and laughing as I walked past work, unable to believe how happy I am there, and how much I love the place. Honestly, it's just awesome. Somewhere, somehow I must have done something good to get this gig. The office is closed for two weeks over the holidays, but I'm working right through in the nursery part. The best news I've heard lately? That they're considering taking me out of the nursery, and putting me in the office full time. I don't know if it will happen, but I think I might actually bust with happiness if it does :-)

I'm hoping to spend some time on here tonight, updating this page and making it look a bit newer. It's all a bit same old/same old. I haven't changed much on here in months. Might have to update my links and fix up the "Currently Reading", as well as find some new quotes for the page. Maybe some song lyrics ... Maybe some new pictures ... Hmm, we'll see how I go.

Ok, before I go, I have two things to share ...

Pictures of 2008: This is our world. Amazing. You can find Part 2 here, and Part 3 here.

And ... Some song lyrics.

I love Christmas. These two songs I've been playing non-stop all week, simply because I find them beautiful.

*****
Snow's falling down as you step out of your car
Presents in your arms and you've traveled far
Someone opens the door with a smile on their face
And you know you've come to the right place
Family nestled by the fire
Christmas hopes to inspire
Loved ones by your side
You know you'll kiss your babies goodnight
At Christmas, Christmas
No matter who you are, how far you've come
This is where you belong
At Christmas
Memories 'round the Christmas tree
Are the sweetest ones that remain with me
It's a comfort deep inside, though you can't stop the race of time
To know that Christmas will always be
Family nestled by the fire
A Christmas hope will be inspired
Loved ones by your side
You know you'll kiss your baby goodnight
At Christmas, Christmas
No matter who you are or how far you've come
At Christmas
Can't you feel it changin'
Sense the anticipation
You can tell we're almost there
Precious time we're takin'
Memories we're makin'
There's a Christmas in the air
Now this is what Christmas means to me
Being together with your family
And the wise men who have followed that star
To where our baby Jesus lay
Family nestled all around
Baby Jesus asleep so sound
And His star shined so bright
On that very first holy night
At Christmas, Christmas
No matter who you are or how far you've come
this is where you belong
At Christmas, Christmas

*****

Everything's different
But nothing has changed
Are we going in circles
It's Christmas again
Can't you hear the sleigh bells right
All our voices unite
And look up the the heavens
See the stars shining bright
Everybody needs a little lovin'
around Christmas time
Somehow you got to know you're going to be all right
Do you remember how it used to be
Sitting under the Christmas tree
In your heart you'll
Find the season
We've been blessed by the children
black, yellow, and white
They believe in the things
we try to deny
So throw down your weapons
But continue the fight
And let's love one another
On this Holy night
Everybody needs a little lovin'
Around Christmas time
Somehow you got to know you're gonna be all right
Do you really remember how it used to be
Sitting under the Christmas Tree
In your heard you'll
find the season
O reach down inside your heart
and see all the love
O in your heart you'll
find the reason
Everybody needs a little lovin'
Around Christmas time
Somehow you got to know you're gonna be all right
Do you really remember how it used to be
Sitting under the Christmas tree
In your heart you'll
find the season

*****

...

How silly for me to punish myself in the present moment

because someone hurt me in the long ago past.

Just the highlights ...

... Here goes ... Fastest update ever.

Work ... Busy. Flat out, actually.

Finally have more than a single day off at a time ... At the end of this week, I'm going to Melbourne for 4 days to see my sister and nieces.

On Friday, my nephew turns 4. It kills me that I can't see him, give him a birthday hug, or even talk to him on the phone.

Buckley-Bunny is good. Loving the new house, the bigger cage and the freedom to run around in the backyard for a while each night.

Speaking of the new house, things are still going really well. No fights so far, having heaps of fun.

I hate hayfever. I haven't been able to breathe properly in weeks. It's getting worse. My specialist appointment isn't until January.

It's 12:23 ... Have to be up at 7 to get ready for work ... Should go to bed. Peace out.

I swear I didn't mean to start ranting!

Really ... Just never know how to start these entries.

So, things here are humming along nicely.

Chrissie and I have settled into the new house, and hit upon a nice rhythm - she does the housework when she's not working, I do it on my days off, and it's all good. The Buckmiester is loving his new cage, and he gets to run around in the backyard (providing it's not too cold/wet) at night. If it's too cold/wet for him to run outside, then he gets to run free in the spare room for a while. Jersey is not too impressed with us at the moment, as the house has a doggy door, but we've blocked it :-) So now he gets inside when we say he's allowed inside. He can still get out if he needs to when he's inside, but the door only goes the one way now - thank you, dad for fixing it!

Speaking of it being too cold/wet, what the hell is with the weather? It's NOVEMBER. It's almost the end of November. November = HOT WEATHER! Yesterday it was like 10 degrees. Seriously. And last night was FRIGGING FREEZING. Today the wind was like ice, going straight through you. I had on a singlet, a long sleeved tee, and my work shirt. And at times, I was STILL cold. Bring it on, SUMMER!

What else has been happening ... Work has been good. Busy as all get-out, but fantastic. I worked an extra day this week to make up for missing a day last week when I was moving. It amazes me that I get to have so much fun at work, that I can laugh and joke all day, and I don't get in trouble from the boss for it ... Actually, it's usually the boss that starts it :-) I'm thrilled with the location of our new house, because it's about a three minute drive from my work. So now I get like an extra 30 minutes of sleep in the mornings :-)

Neither Christine or I have finalised everything that needs to be done at our old places yet. We thought we had - we both cleaned our arses off, and left the places a hell of a lot cleaner than when we moved in - but on Thursday we both got letters stating that if we wanted our bonds back, we had to go back and do shit like "dust the heater" and "clean the bath plug hole" and "scrub the tiles in the kitchen". I had 17 items on my list, Christine had 21. What really pissed me off? The fact that there were items on my list such as "clean out garden shed" (whatever is in there isn't mine! I never used it, didn't even know I had access to it.), "clean oven knobs" (1: it wasn't done when I moved in, the oven was filthy. 2: it's not 'dirty' that you can change/fix, it's stained/baked on. you can't get it any cleaner! I know, I tried!), "wash curtains" (they were washed! TWICE! once by mum, once by me) "replace broken bedroom mirror" (it's not broken! it had just slipped down behind the dresser!). I was the one who got "dust heater", and if they'd looked properly, they would have realised that it's not dust on the heater, it's age stains. Honestly, I've never been more wild in my life. They were so nit-picky and unreasonable it made steam come out my ears. Christine was even less impressed with her letter, which was even more nit-pickier (shut up, it's a word!) than mine. Grr, even just thinking about it is making me angry again. It really feels like they're just making us run around in circles to get our bonds back, which is fucked. We were both good tenants, never caused a problem, always reporting maintenance issues, keeping the places clean, and this is how they repay us??? Get f***ed, DCK.

Anyway, now that I've raised my blood pressure a bit, just thinking about DCK, I should probably go to bed and relax a little! :-) Did have some news and other stuff I wanted to write about, but maybe I'll leave that for later. I've had my rant, so now I'll toddle off to bed. I'm out :-)

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

See if you can possibly guess who I'm pissed at ...

Yeah, I'm still hanging around :-)

It's been a long, exhausting, internet-less week!

(Yeah. Thanks heaps, Telstra. Had to make us wait AN ENTIRE WEEK for our wireless internet, didn't you? FUCKERS ... ) (Yes, I have issues with Telstra now. I DO NOT LIKE THEM)

The move went well, everything made it to the new place. We still haven't unpacked all the boxes yet, because, well, we're slack :-) But we're getting there.

The rabbit and the devil-dog have been sharing the same backyard, sort-of-peacefully, and no one has died, lost any fur/hair or gotten into a fight, so that's gotta be a positive sign, right?

Both the Buckmiester and Jersey-dog made it through traumatic days at the vet - Bucks was desexed last Friday, and Jersey went in yesterday.

Work has been crazy-busy. Taking work home with me most nights still, since there isn't enough hours in the day. Yesterday, I emailed work to do at home to myself, forgetting that I didn't have an internet connection at home, even though Telstra WILL bill us for it. Yep. FUCKERS.

Anyway, I'm tired, (and way cranky at Telstra, hid it well, didn't I? :-)) so I better head to bed. Real update ... Coming soon :-)

One last time ...

So, two hours ago, I was planning an entry about how this will be my last entry from my King St home ever, as tonight I pack up the computer, so the removalists can take the desk tomorrow.

Two hours ago, my mental list was something like:
- pull apart bed
- clean fridge, ready to be switched off in the morning
- do one final load of washing, then disconnect washing machine
- do dishes on sink, then pack them
- get good nights sleep, ready for the big move tomorrow.

In the last two hours, all I've done is item number one. Why? Because I went to pull apart the bed, and realised that *someone* (*thanks, mum ...!) had packed the spanners I needed to pull my bed to bits. So, having no idea where they would be, I started ringing friends. One didn't have one. One had no idea what i was talking about. A few weren't home. Finally, I found someone with a spanner set ... Out in Raywood. Yeah. 25 minutes out of town.

So, I went for a drive.

So now, it's 10:30, and all I can say is ... Stuff the long, witty blog entry I had planned. *snort* I still have items on my list that need doing, and it's getting late. So ... Goodbye, King Street. Next time I update will be from the new house. Yay.

That's all!

The Bunny Rules

I found this online and thought it was kinda cute :-)


The Bunny Rules


- The bunny is not allowed in the house.
- OK, the bunny is allowed in the house, but only in certain rooms.
- The bunny is allowed in all rooms, but has to stay off the furniture.
- The bunny can get on the old furniture only.
- Fine, the bunny is allowed on all the furniture, but is not allowed to sleep with humans, on the bed.
- OK, the bunny is allowed on the bed, but only by invitation.
- The bunny can sleep on the bed when-ever he wants, but not under the covers.
- The bunny can sleep under the covers by invitation only.
- The bunny can sleep under the covers every night.
- Humans must ask permission to sleep under the covers with the bunny.

Oh, the ... Packing.

So ... Moving day is next Tuesday. TUESDAY! That's like, FOUR days away!

My plan for today (my first day off in seven days) went something like this:

- Pack
- Change address at VicRoads, Medicare, RACV, Ambulance Victoria, etc.
- Arrange phone/internet/gas/electricity disconnection, and connection at the new place
- Phone real estate agency to organise last rental payment
- Clean walls, curtains, floors
- More packing!

I did not plan for:

- People turning up to look through my house (which, as you can imagine is a disorganised mess at the moment) (P.S. Thanks for the warning, DCK!)
- A sick rabbit who clearly needed a vet (lucky I was able to get Buckley an appointment this afternoon)
- The stupidity of Telstra - Seriously, I spent like 40 minutes on hold, spoke to FOUR different people and the last one finally told me that I can't plan my internet disconnection in advance - I have to ring back on the day I actually want it disconnected. You couldn't have told me that THREE PEOPLE AGO??!!

I think that I got most of my mental list done though. I still have to change my address at the bank, and I still have some cleaning and packing to do tonight/tomorrow. I have tomorrow off as well, and then I go back to work Sunday/Monday/Tuesday. Tuesday the removalists come to do all the big stuff, and Wednesday dad is coming down with his ute to do boxes and small stuff. Because Wednesday is Bendigo Cup day here, I get the day off work. Woo hoo!

As I mentioned, The Buckmiester ended up at the vet today. This morning I noticed that he hadn't had anything to drink all night, which is unusual for him. He was also constantly trying to pee, although nothing was coming out, and (hope you're not eating as you read this) had incredibly runny poo (which was all over him). He was so quiet, and not moving much at all, so I knew he was unwell. So off we went to the vet - first time for him! It wasn't a very pleasant experience - he had a thermometre shoved up his you-know-what, got four needles and was prodded all over. He has a UTI and some kind of tummy upset, so we came home with some antibiotics, and a recommendation for Yakult, which has a lot of good bacteria in it and will help his tummy. I gave him some Yakult via a syringe before, half of which he spat back at me. I'm keeping a pretty close eye on him, and if I haven't seen him have a drink by about 9 p.m., I'll give him some more Yakult and some water through the syringe. I also booked him in next Friday to be desexed, and to have all his vaccinations. So, next Friday will be a big day for him!

Anyway, I probably better get going and do some more cleaning ... and packing. My god, the packing. Why did I buy so much shit?!

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

Let's declare today a Public Holiday!

Big day in the House of Snappz today.

The Buckmiester, who's been having a run outside twice a day since the weather has warmed up, DUG HIS FIRST HOLE TODAY.

Yes folks, Bucks did the rabbit thing and dug his very first hole!

Seriously, I could not be more proud of my baby!

Buckle up ...

Yeah, I know. It's been ages.

There's been a bit happening though.

I haven't written in a while - to be honest, I've barely even looked at this site in a while. But tonight, I wanted to check on some sites I link to, and I couldn't be bothered to type in the address so I figured I'd just check on here and click. And then I realised that my site counter thingy is going up ... And I haven't updated in ages. So that made me feel guilty. So here goes ...


I'm in the middle of packing up my place. Christine and I move in about three weeks. We let the real estate agents that we're currently renting from know last week that we'd be moving out, and so far, I've had two inspections from the real estate people (wanting to check out anything that might need fixing after I move) and tomorrow I've got a guy coming to look at the carpet because the landlord is talking about replacing it, so they've arranged for a guy to come and do a quote. Not to mention I've had my agent calling to make appointments for prospective renters to walk through and have a look at the property.

The packing is going well. The week before last (? I think) I had two days off in a row, so I cleaned out a heap of stuff and did a lot of packing. Yesterday my mum was down for the day to start cleaning walls and stuff. So far I'm feeling like I'm pretty well organised. It looks like we'll be moving boxes and small stuff on the Thursday, and the removalist will do the big stuff on the Friday. I've got that weekend off work, so Saturday will be unpacking, and Sunday I'll be back at the old place, doing the last of the cleaning.

I haven't said a lot about the new place .... It's beautiful. It's three bedrooms, nice kitchen/dining, a sunroom which is awesome, a storage space under the house, a good sized yard (with a brand new fence so the dog can't get out!), just been recently painted, ducted heating and cooling, huge laundry, good carpets ... And I love it. It's about a 3 minute drive from where I work, which will be awesome. (I'll be going home for lunch a bit!) Christine and I both fell in love with it as soon as we looked at it. I think living with someone again will take some getting used to (we've both been living alone for like two years) and I'm sure there will be some adjustment with Christine being my "landlord". She's already said Buckley is to become an outside rabbit, which is fine, but I've said that when it's hot in summer, he'll be coming inside. I know it's her house, but rabbits aren't great in heat, and Bucks doesn't handle the heat too well. He spent most of last summer inside (in air conditioned comfort) and he still seemed to wilt most days. I've put on layby a new, double story cage for the Buckmiester, and I'll be putting up some kind of little fence around it so that Jersey can't get to him. My biggest fear is that Jersey will get into Buckley's cage while Christine and I are at work. I'll just have to do whatever I can to make sure that doesn't happen :-)


Speaking of Jersey, he doesn't seem to be settling down. At all. He's destroyed two phones in the last couple of weeks - Christine's cordless home phone and her mobile phone. The home phone is still usable, but the mobile had to be thrown out. He got them both while she was sleeping on the couch during the day after doing night shift the night before. He also destroyed her One Tree Hill Season 4 box set, a torch and a book. Yeah, I'll be buying some kind of lock for my bedroom and locking all my shit in there when I'm not at home! Seriously though, I've been thinking of paying for obedience school for him for Christine's birthday, which is coming up in a few weeks. Something tells me it would be money well spent.

I went into the cafe last week and told my boss that I was finishing this weekend. I've had enough, and weeks ago I said I would finish up, and what happened? Nothing. She kept putting me on the roster, which I'm sick of. There was another reason for doing it though ... I've picked up an extra two days a week at the office. WOO HOO! So I'll now be doing 4 and a half days a week there, which is terrific. I still love it there, and I'm thrilled that they offered me some more days. This weekend will hopefully be my last weekend at the cafe - providing that my boss doesn't keep rostering me on when I'm not at the office. I've told her that I don't want that, but she clearly doesn't listen to me, does she?

Today I went to visit a friend who lives about 20 minutes out of town. She is pregnant, and I haven't seen her in a while. She's grown heaps, and things are looking good. Her little boy, who is two has also changed heaps. It was amazing to see. We had a good chat, and have decided to organise a baby shower for her. Neither of us has organised a baby shower, or even been to one, but do you think that's going to stop us? Hell no, watch us go!

What else has been happening ... I think I'm out of thoughts. I've got an appointment in Echuca with the miracle man next week for my back. I was meant to go on Wednesday, but (ironically) my back was too bad and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle an hour in the car to get there. The 10 minute drive on the way home from work was enough to give me nerve pain up and down my legs. I think it's because I haven't been walking as much (thanks, winter) and because I've put some extra weight on (thanks, Maccas). I'm back into eating salads and lots of fruit though, so hopefully that'll make a difference.

Anyway, it's getting late, and I'm working at the Cafe tomorrow, so I better take off. Have a great night guys, sorry about the delay in updating ...

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

Edited to add - if you have time, please visit Henry and his family at http://henryschallenge.blogspot.com/. They've just been told that Henry's cancer is back. Please send lots of love and good thoughts.

Short, and sweet. Eh, not so sweet actually. I talk about bloody stumps at the end ...

My week so far:

- 4 weeks until moving day. Decided to start packing last night. Had fun for the first 20 minutes, then got bored and gave up. House now messier than ever. And still haven't organised a damn thing for the move.

- The cold that I had the other week? Turned into one hellacious chest infection (coughing up blood, not being able to sleep because lying down made it impossible to breathe, sleeping about 16 hours a day for something like 5 days straight), which I'm still trying to get rid of. What's with that?

- Have been told four times since Saturday that they'd love to make me a full time employee at the office/that they can see me becoming full time/that I'd be great all the time in the office/that they'd love to have me in the office all the time. Fingers crossed that it happens, I think I'd freaking explode with happiness!

- Things with my dad aren't great. He's still not well, and he's still not himself. He's still so quiet. He had a doctors appointment yesterday, and he had some follow up tests today. Hopefully something will show up and it can be easily fixed. Please, please let it be something that can be easily fixed.

- The Buck-miester is getting a new cage. I've put a layby a $250, double story wooden hutch for him. Since he'll be moving outside when we go to the new house, I wanted him to have a bigger, nicer cage. And this one is pretty sweet. Hopefully I can pay it off in the next few weeks so that when we move, he can move into his new digs too!

Ok, I'm out. Getting late and I'm at the stupid, i-hate-the-place-with-every-freaking-breath-in-my-body, depressing, awful cafe tomorrow. Ugh. I'd rather shoot myself in the foot with some kind of high-powered riffle and then pour salt into the wound and finish by hacking off my foot with a pair of blunt, useless scissors and walk over hot coals on my bloody stump to go to the hospital ...

I have some news: We have a house. It's pretty cool. It's about a 3 minute drive from my work - it would probably take about 20 minutes to walk though (down the road, around a corner and then down a loooong road). It's 3 bedrooms + a sunroom, a nice backyard and it's in a quiet street. We move in about 6 weeks time. I better start packing ...

... On to what I wanted to write about tonight.

Today, I went to mum and dads for the day. Dad wanted to do an oil change on my car, and mum had a heap of boxes for me so I can start packing.

My dad was ... quiet.

Last weekend, he lost one of his best mates to an aneurysm. Out of nowhere, and shocking to all.

He's been unwell lately - shocking headaches that no one can explain.

He was forced into retirement last year, and is in the middle of fighting for compensation because of the unfair IR Laws that brought about his retirement. The IR Laws have now been overturned, and WorkChoices is dead, but dad still has no job. Of course, his previous employer is dragging out things out.

I felt like crying when I saw him today. In fact, I am crying now, thinking of him. I don't know why. He seemed ... Lost, I guess. I was sad for him. I hurt for him. I wanted him to be normal, but he was so far from normal. I'm scared for him. The work thing is worrying him, and stressing him out. I feel like screaming at his old bosses. He worked for them for 19 years. Never called in sick unless he had to. He only took holidays when he had to - if he had built up too much leave and had to use some of it up. He'd work nights if there had been an accident and he was needed. 19 god damn years, and this is how they treat him? How is that fair? How is that right?

Bob's funeral is tomorrow. Mum and dad will go, as will many others from the town. He was the type of bloke who would do anything for anyone. He and dad had been mates for years. They used to drink together, and work together on weekends.

I don't know why I have this sadness tonight. I can't really explain it - but something about my dad, so quiet, so lost, so not-himself today, has really gotten to me. The tears don't want to stop, which is making typing hard. I think I'll go have a bath, and cry in there for a while.

Just random!

Lather, rinse, repeat.

I freaking love my job. I'm not sure why - I don't do anything amazing, or special. It's just fun. Every day is slightly different, but similar ... If that makes sense :-)

8:30 - 8:50 - Leave home and head to work. Swing by the Post Office on the way, check our PO Box and mail off anything from the office.

8:55 - Arrive at work with the mail. Get myself organised.

9:00 - 9:30 - Open mail and distribute. Go through the docket summaries from the day before and bank cash, organise checks etc.

9:30 - 11:30 - Spend the morning drowning in paperwork. Answer the phone 75 times, transferring each call, and laughing at the rude morons after I've hung up.

11:32 - Offer a bribe (money or a slab of beer) to the first person who can "break" the phones for me. Get myself some morning tea from the tea room and spend a couple of minutes chatting to whoever is around.

11:40 - Consider shredding paperwork, then realise that's probably not the best idea. Get back into it.

11:45 - 11:55 - Get into an important financial discussion with Meg. Mutually agree that the extra money that has appeared in the til (a couple of hundred dollars, and no one knows where it's come from or why the til is now up) should be put into the Social Club to make one hell of a Christmas Party. Decide the best way to sell this to the guys is to translate it into the number of beers the money could buy at said party. Guys? Guys, if we put the extra money from the til into the social club, then we could get an extra 85 pots of beer at the party! Woo hoo!

11:55 - 1:45 - Finish important financial discussion and put aside paperwork for a while. Fold 150 newsletters. Laminate some stuff. Send out some price books to people who want to have a look at what we have, but can't be bothered to come in. Get a list of what's needed and organise a stationary order. Fire Publisher up and make up some signs. Read through minutes of the last meeting, and print off blank minutes sheet for the next meeting which is coming up. Make a note of what still needs to be done before the next meeting. Leave post-it notes for those who haven't finished their tasks.

1:45 - 2:15 - Eat lunch. Hop up and down about 35 times and answer phones, transferring calls or taking messages. Thank god there's a phone in the tea room, so I don't have to keep running back to my desk. Wonder how pathetic it would make me seem if I started eating at my desk to save time ...

2:15 - Pull out paperwork again. Get my list of figures, and start the monthly graphs. Swear at myself, the desk, the phone and the computer as I realise that somehow our drivers have managed to stuff up their sheets. Either that, or they've gone back in time. Mumble under my breath and screw up my nose as I get more and more annoyed. Seriously, have they got a freaking time machine in their trucks?

4:30 - Consider pulling out hair. Cause fear and chaos when I announce to the office that the next driver who goes back in time/stuffs up their sheet will have to deal with me.

4:45 - Start packing up for the end of the day. Organise paperwork into piles of what's done, what needs to be done, and what can't yet be done. Tick off what I've finished, put in M's office to get signed off on. Count til, put in safe. Close and lock all windows. Make sure all split-system heaters are off.

4:55 - Yell "Are you kidding me?!" when M hands me more driver sheets to do tomorrow. Roll my eyes and tell him he's lucky it's almost knock-off time, otherwise I'd so kick his arse.

5:00 - Pick up mail that needs to be sent off in the morning. Grab my bag, make sure I've got all my crap from the tea room. Check milk supplies and see if I need to stop on the way to work tomorrow morning. Take some paperwork home with me, to see if I can get a head start on tomorrow. Answer one last phone call, take a message.

5:05 - Time to head home.
5:15 - Home!

Baby Smurf

I'm a germ-filled miserable walking headache ...

So, I've been struck down with the cold.

It's not that shocking, I guess, when you consider that both my nieces, who I spent four days with last week/weekend, and almost everyone at work, has it.

I honestly didn't realise how shitty a cold could make you feel. Now I totally get why we've had so many people at work call in sick with the cold.

I've never had headaches like this before. Ever. I woke up at 5 a.m. this morning, and not even 15 seconds later, I was crying from the pain. I took three Panafen (Ibuprofen and codeine) and didn't move for an hour and a half. Finally they started to work, and it didn't hurt so bad to move my head. And this has been happening for three days. I've been taking tablets every two to three hours, day and night.

I've been drinking about 5 litres of water a day since my throat is so sore, and I constantly feel like I'm dehydrated. I've been waking at 2 or 3 a.m., drinking a 750 ml bottle of water and going straight back to bed.

I can't figure out if I'm hot or cold, so my heater is either on high, or I have my front door open so the freezing cold wind can come in and cool me down.

I've been through an entire box and a half of tissues in two days.

And, oh yay, in the last three days I've had about 8 asthma attacks, which has just added to the fun.

Hopefully, the worst has passed. I still feel crappy, and I'm just about to have (another) early night in the hope that some sleep might help, but today I think I felt a little bit better than yesterday? Maybe? A little bit?

Ugh!

Me. Tonight.

Sorry about the length ...

I don't even know where to begin ...

I've been in Melbourne for the last few days. I went to see my sister and my nieces. I went to have a relaxing few days, chilling out, playing with the kids. I went to do some shopping.

It didn't quite go to plan, though.

Firstly, I decided to drive to Melbourne. Which I've never actually done before, but I figured it's only two and a half hours, how hard can it be? Usually I take the train, which takes two hours to get to Melbourne, then I get onto another train out to my sisters, which takes another hour and a half (if Connex hasn't cancelled services. Even if they have, the trains are usually packed.). So, I went "stuff it, I'm driving". I got directions off whereis.com.au, and left early on Thursday morning (6 a.m.).

Seriously? It would have been faster to take the freaking train.

I got lost. Somehow, somewhere, I must have taken a wrong turn. I ended up at Essendon (about 45 k's from my sisters) and I had no idea how to get back to where I needed to be. Add to that that it was freaking peak hour in Melbourne, bumper to bumper traffic, which I am not used to, and throw in the fact that everyone in that damn city drives like morons, and I was a little stressed.

Eventually, after running up a huge mobile phone bill on whereismobile.com (and visiting suburbs such as Tullamarine, Bayswater, Nunawadding, Donvale - none of which are really on the way to my sisters, might I add), I found my way. I got to my sisters a little after 10:30 a.m. FOUR AND A HALF HOURS OF DRIVING! FOR A TWO AND A HALF HOUR TRIP! The first thing I did? Take myself off to Knox City (big shopping centre) and spend a ridiculous amount of money on a GPS for my car. Considering I can barely pay my bills at the moment it probably wasn't a terrifically smart move, but oh my god, does it make things soooo much easier. Coming home today was about a thousand times less stressful, because all I had to turn was "turn right in 500 metres", and "turn left in 100 metres". Seriously, it was worth every single cent, and I'll be using it when I drive to my sisters again.

So ... Thursday I went to Knox with my three year old niece and we did some shopping. Obviously I tested her patience a little too much though, because once we were done shopping, and were on our way out, she started crying. And she cried the whole way home. She cried at an old man who asked her name, she cried at the bus driver who gave her a free ticket to cheer her up, she cried when we stopped at traffic lights ... And she cried when I started laughing at her. I know! Seriously, what kind of meanie laughs at a crying kid?! It was funny though. She was just over-tired, and no one was going to make her happy!

Thursday night, I was exhausted. Driving for hours, shopping and a loooong day had tired me out. I crashed at about 11 p.m ... only to be woken up at 11:30 by my sister, upset and yelling, because my brother rang (drunk, of course), threatening to kill himself.

Oh. My. God.

Then he hung up, and wouldn't answer his damn phone again. Hello, stress levels. A few minutes later, one of his ex-girlfriends, who is good friends with my sister, was banging on the front door, upset because he'd rung her to say goodbye, since he was nothing but a disappointment to everyone, and he couldn't handle this anymore ...

Oh. My. God.

So, my sister keeps ringing him, and finally he answers and they find out where he is. Olivia, his ex, goes to pick him up and take him home so he can sleep it off.

Nup.

He gets in her car, only to start crying and then jump out at traffic lights, saying he's going to kill himself, yada yada yada. So Olivia, not knowing what the hell to do, rings the police, and asks them to look for him. Meanwhile, my sister and I are still awake, worried, and not knowing what is going on. Eventually the police ring to tell us that they've found him and they're going to keep him for a few hours until he sleeps it off.

Finally, bed time?

No.

Baby Smurf, that gorgeous little niece of mine, decides to wake up. Screaming. Doesn't want a bottle, doesn't want to crawl around on the floor, doesn't want to do anything but scream because she's reallllly unhappy, and she wants the world to know it. We finally managed to get her to sleep just after 4 a.m.

Ahh, sleep.

I got just over 2 hours before little Bug Eyes, my other niece was up to start the day.

Needless to say, I was not at my best on Friday. We did some shopping at Knox, and spent the afternoon at home, hanging out. My sister rang my brother to tell him she'd had enough and that he's not welcome at her house anymore, she's sick of the lying and manipulating. He could only swear and carry on about being picked up by the police the night before.

Friday night, Baby Smurf was again the unhappiest kid in the world, and wouldn't take her bottle, which was a bit of a worry. She'd had nothing since Friday morning and my sister was worried about her dehydrating. This went on Friday night and Saturday morning, so she rang Nurse on Call, who advised her to take the Smurfette to the hospital to get her checked out. Six hours at the hospital showed up ... A healthy kid! A close examination of her mouth did reveal a white spot ... She's got a tooth coming in! So the nurses gave Amanda a syringe to shoot the milk into Smurfette's mouth :-) Saturday night she drank a full bottle this way, although she was still very unsettled.

She woke us at 2 a.m. this morning, still cranky, but she had another full bottle via the syringe. It was perfect timing, because it meant that I got to watch the end of the Storm game which was on Channel 9. What a freaking amazing finish! 45 seconds to go and the Storm won! Baby Smurf couldn't figure out why she wasn't the only one yelling in the loungeroom! :-)

Eventually, (a little after 3 a.m.) we all went back to bed. And this morning? Guess who woke up all smiles, with a brand new tooth poking through the gum?

Yep! She did it!

And she was like a totally different kid. For the last few days all she's done is cry and scream and cling to whoever's closest, but today? All smiles. And giggles. It was so awesome to see her feeling so much better!

So, after hanging out with the girls for a while, and cooking pancakes for breakfast, I started packing up to head home. I was so, so tired, (in the last 3 night I would have had maybe three hours each night) and I figured I'd better get going before I realised just how tired I was. As I'm packing, however, the phone rings.

My sister had given her MIL the rent money. And MIL was ringing to say that the rent money was $50 short.

It appears drunk, dickhead brother helped himself to the money last weekend while he was visiting.

Seriously. What next???

So then my sisters boyfriend cracked the shits and they had a screaming fight, which ended when he walked out. Ugh.

I stayed a while longer, helped bath the Smurf and talked to my sister, then I took off.

And now, I'm home. Tired, and just about ready to cry. It just feels like one thing after another, you know?

And my brother. What the hell?

I know I haven't spoken to him in a year and 9 months, and I didn't think that I cared about him that much, but the worry inside me at the moment is just ... Huge. I'm scared. So scared.

And the thing that scares me, and pisses me off, is that he won't change. He's had so many opportunities and he won't change. He keeps drinking and stuffing up and manipulating and lying and what the hell can be done? He's going to end up dead, because we can't frigging do a thing to make him realise that he's wrecking his goddamn life.

Where do we go from here? I'm not speaking to him. My sister isn't speaking to him. Dad has had enough as well. Mum is still trying, and he's breaking her heart. And he doesn't give a fuck, he won't CHANGE.

I don't even know what to say.

Linkapalooza.

So, Collingwood are out of the finals ... :-( I don't know what the hell happened. How could we lose to ST KILDA??! Seriously. I mean, they're a great team and all, but ... ??!! We were playing for a spot in the semi-final, and we couldn't beat them? Disappointing, Pies, disappointing.

I worked today and yesterday, at the cafe/ice creamery. We had a couple of good days, as the weather has been beautiful. We were meant to get rain today, which meant we were planning a quite day, but so far it's been sunny (although very windy) all day. Ahh, spring! :-)

Anyway, I better go cook me some dinner ... Er, heat up the takeaway from last night. I actually just came to share some new sites I've found, so here goes.

Nick, the Xray Photographer ... This is strangely fascinating.

Fail Blog ... Is pretty freaking funny.

Cosha's ... This could be considered a little ... err ... dirty. Don't say you weren't warned!

DatingFun.com ... Random trivia.

Disapproving Rabbits ... How friggin gorgeous! And so funny! I'm only pissed I didn't discover it sooner :-)

I can has cheezburger ... Not usually a cat person, but this is pretty cool.

And, as always, new secrets are up at PostSecret. Check em out!

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

13/09/2001.

Hey Mel,

So, it's been seven years since you were last here with us. September 13, 2001. And here I am, writting to you again, continuing the tradition that I started in 2002. I gotta tell you, it sucks. This is not the tradition that I would have wished for, ever, but here we are anyway.

It doesn't get any easier, you know. I might laugh more when I think about you and I may cry less ... But it doesn't really get any easier, knowing that you're not here, and you're not coming back. It still hits me at the strangest times - it's like I forget and then - wham. Mel's dead. The realisation takes my breath away and makes me stop cold for a minute. How? Why? Mel?

You give me smiles at the most random times. All it takes is a song on the radio that we played at your funeral, or an expression that someone might say that makes me automatically think of you, and I'm smiling. Sometimes I'm having a bad day, or I'm upset about something, and it turns everything around. It's like you're watching over me, and it rocks, dude! Keep it up.

It's weird - so many times this week my thoughts have gone to you. On Tuesday night, I dreamt of school, and of Kelly. It was the strangest dream I'd ever had - it made no sense, but I woke up knowing that you gave that dream to me. And then at work, one of the guys started whistling one of the songs that your mum played at your funeral. Out of nowhere. On Wednesday, I heard another song from the funeral on the radio, which I haven't heard in months. Today, I was out house hunting. We ended up at Adams St (!!!!), looking at a place. Thank you.

So, we've made it through another year without you. We share our stories. We see your face. We hear your laugh. Quietly, you live on within us. Your smile stays in our minds, because you were Mel. Who could forget you?

Miss you, Miss Melody.

If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call to make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

22 degrees!

Spring has sprung. Thank freaking god, because I'm sick of cold, rainy weather.

Right now, it's sitting on 22 degrees, and I've actually got my house open to air it out a little. Outside is a little cloudy, but it's waaaarm. Woo hoo!

Of course, with spring comes hayfever. Yesterday I went house-hunting WITH A BOX OF TISSUES. Yeah. I couldn't stop sneezing long enough to go anywhere, so we ended up leaving with the tissues. I looked like shit. And today is a repeat performance. I'm going to have to go to the doctor to get a refferal to a specialist. I've tried every tablet/nasal spray/natural remedy out there. Some work, but usually only for a couple of days. Ugh. And I can only imagine how bad it's going to be at the office this summer with all the dust and pollens floating around. So I should probably get onto it before it gets worse.

So, yeah. I haven't done an entry for a while. Last week I worked all week - my usual two and a half days at the office, as well as Wednesday afternoon and Thursday as the other girl was sick. She was back on Friday, which was great for me because it meant that I didn't have to cancel my appointment to get my car fixed in Kerang. So, Friday morning I was up early and when I got home, dad took my car to the mechanic and mum and I hung out at home. Saturday and Sunday I worked at the cafe, (yes, I'm still there - don't ask) and as usual, it was not fun.

This week I worked Monday, was off Tuesday sick, and worked my usual half day on Wednesday. Yesterday I went house-hunting with Christine, which was fun. There's about 4 that we want to check out a little more - two that we really like. Hopefully we'll make a decision in the next couple of weeks and get the ball rolling soon. I swear, this will be the LAST time that I move ... Ever. *lol* Just looking around my place, realising how much crap I'll have to pack up gives me a headache :-) Not to mention, we'll be putting devil dog (Jersey) and Buckley in the one house, and throwing in my birds and Christine's fish (who are at constant risk of being eaten by Jersey). And Buckley will become an outside rabbit ... Don't know how he'll like that ... He's used to be inside. (Yeah, he's spoilt rotten!) I've already said that he'll be coming inside when it's too hot (32+ degrees) because as a rabbit, he's got no way to release heat (rabbits can't pant like dogs) and summer outside could easily kill him. So, we've got it all planned out. We just have to find *the* house :-)

What else ... That's about it, really. I've been very boring. Today I spent the day cleaning the house, doing washing, and cleaning out the bunny and birdies cages. Oh-so-fun. Now I'm going to go cook me something to eat, and listen to some music. Ahh, what a nice end to a day off :-)

Catch the Cowards

This? Disgusting.

What fucking cowards.

Wanna smile?

Check out Torrie's blog, and watch this video. It reminds me of the way Bug Eyes used to dance when she was younger. She'd dance to any and all music, and it ALWAYS made me smile.

Work ...

From work ...

B: "I'm having a bad sock day, ok? You wanna make something of it?"

Big Boss:"Oh yeah, the chicks totally dig it. The wife isn't too impressed though!"

~!~

Don’t worry about the future; or worry,

but know that worrying is aseffective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that

never crossed your worried mind;

the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,

don’t put up with

people who are reckless with yours.

Remember the compliments you receive,

forget the insults;

if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters,

throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry,

maybe you won’t,

maybe you’ll have children,

maybe you won’t,

maybe you’ll divorce at 40,

maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…

what ever you do,

don’tcongratulate yourself too much or

berate yourself either –

your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body,

use it every way you can…

don’t be afraid of it,

or what other people think of it,

it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own..

Dance…

even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines,

they will only make you feel ugly.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but,

be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia,

dispensing it is a way offishing the past from the disposal,

wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts

and recycling it for more than it’s worth..

Is it really any wonder ...

That this guy has never been married?

Can I put my pants back on now?

Big headache tonight.

Had today off work, so I didn't do much. Slept in, went for a couple of long walks, did some reading, listened to some music. I also did a bit of shopping - got a Fathers Day present and put my sisters Christmas present on layby.

So ... I finally did it. I told my cafe boss that I wanted to finish up. I can't work there anymore. To be honest, I hate it. I don't feel comfortable there, and I have never felt comfortable there. When she opens her new cafe in November, I know she's only going to go back to super-stressed-out-mean-cow-boss. And, I like her as a person. As a person she's pretty cool. As a boss she sucks, but as a person she's nice.

So, I'm going to walk away now, while we're on good terms. She's happy to see me go - the fact that I had the office job pissed her off, I think. She had to "work around" the fact that I couldn't work on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday, which I don't think was that big of a deal since she only wanted me for mainly weekend work ... Oh well. Whatever.

The office has been GREAT. Seriously, I hate Wednesdays because I have to leave half way through the day. It sucks that it's not full time, but maybe it'll turn into full time if I'm lucky. They guys are always funny, and I love being in such a relaxed, fun environment. I work my arse off for them, because I want to. I dont feel like I'll get yelled at for taking five minutes to joke with the guys or like I'm being forced to work, you know?

What else has been going on ... Well, not much actually. Looks like I'll be moving sometime in the next few months - Chrissie and I are going to move in together. Which means that demon dog and I will actually be living together ... That's a scary thought! Living with Chrissie will be fun though.

Anyway, it's getting late and I'm working at the cafe tomorrow for a few hours so I should probably get some sleep. I'm out.

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

Dear Angel Valodia Matos ...

Seriously, dude. Not cool.

Totally not what the Olympics is about!

P.S. Go Matthew Mitcham! You rock!

My dad.

I went to mum and dads for the day today. Dad wanted to get my car checked out because he thought there was something wrong with the brakes (He was right. It's going to cost me heaps to get fixed too. Damn it!). Anyway, while I was there I noticed a certificate that had my dads name on it. It was some kind of commendation, in recognition of the work that he did last year during the Kerang train accident.

See, during the days after the train accident, my dad worked all kinds of hours, directing traffic, and helping out. It was nothing out of the ordinary for him - it was just work. He just did it. He worked days, went home for a while and slept, then went back and worked until 3 in the morning, then he went home and slept for a while, and got up and did it all again.

See, that's what my dad does. He just does it. Whatever needs to be done. No fuss - just get on with it. It doesn't matter what needs to be done, or who needs him - he's there. I've never really thought about it before, but he's awesome. If I was ever in trouble, I'd ring my dad. He's there for anything and anyone. He spends his weekends cutting firewood for people who need it. He helps out some older people in Kerang who can't mow their own lawns (that one is totally for him though, I think he just loves to use his ride on mower :-)). He's always helping out, doing stuff at people's houses that they can't do themselves for whatever reason. He'll help friends move, put up fences, looks after pets when their owners have gone away, even helps out my mums friends when he's needed. The list goes on and on.

When we were younger, we lived in the "not-so-great" part of town. My dad worked his arse off to get us into a better area, then worked to eventually buy a house. He worked hard for everything that he wanted for us. We didn't miss out on anything important when we were kids, because of him. Mum didn't have to start working until I was 12. We never had everything that we wanted - but we always had everything that we needed, and then some. My dad has given me so many awesome memories from when we were young. On Sundays, he'd be gone all morning doing stuff around Kerang. But when he got home? It was lollie time. He'd always go to the milkbar before he came home and get something for us. A bag of mixed lollies, a chocolate bar, a giant snake ... It didn't matter what it was. Every weekend we'd have a bbq. Didn't matter if it was summer or winter. If it was the weekend, we'd have a bbq. Dad would cook, and us kids would "help" mum get everything else ready. On Christmas morning, we'd always take all the presents into mum and dad's room to open them. As soon as we woke up in the morning we'd start carting presents into their room, sorting them into piles so we could rip into them. So many memories.

He may have had a quiet life - he hasn't done anything spectacular, he hasn't made the news, or hasn't made millions of dollars, but every day, he makes me proud to be his kid.

The following sentence was written on one of our time sheets at work as an explanation for why the driver took so long making a delivery:

"Did a bloody map flap, didn't I."

Hahaha. How Aussie is that!

Christiaan Scholl to face trial for Kerang crash.

*****

So, it's Monday which means that I spent the day at the office. Totally love that place. Today, Rob, gave me the giggles after this little exchange:

Rob: Oh, Snappz, could I please have some stamps?
Snappz: Sure, how many do you need?
Rob: Oh, I need quite a few. I need stamps so I can send out my emails.
Snappz: (trying to keep a straight face) You need stamps for your emails?
Rob: Yes, please.
M: Rob, you realise what you're saying, right?
Snappz ... Giggling like a little school girl.
Rob: (Looking very confused) Ok, well I'll just go ask Julie for stamps then.

And yes, he was serious. He had no idea what M and I were laughing about.

In other news ... Well, I don't have much other news. My sister has set a date for her wedding - January 16, 2010. Now all I have to do is avoid her for the next 18 months so that I don't go crazy listening to her talk about the wedding, wedding, wedding ... :-) I am going to visit her next month though, and stay a few days. I'll start the avoiding thing after that ;-) I'm looking foward to hanging out with my nieces, I haven't seen them since June, and I bet they've grown heaps. I miss them like crazy!

I'm cooking roast lamb and spuds for dinner tonight, and it's almost ready, so I better get going. Peace out.

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

Too good not to share ...

Some people are W.E.I.R.D.

Prepare yourself, it's gonna be a long one, folks ...

Well. Here I am. With the ability to type, and think. Yet, for some reason I haven't done a proper entry in a while ... Not sure why.

Has anyone noticed that the Olympics are on? It's only be on the tv non-stop, and all over the news. I've become - like many others - an instant expert in many sports, and have been judging every event I've watched. I'm happy to report that for the most part, the "official" judges have gotten it right ... :-) Australia has done well so far, especially Jessica Schipper, and Stephanie Rice, our swimming superstar, who was also a part of our golden 4x200m relay team. Brenton Rickard and Eamon Sullivan have also done Australia proud, both taking home silver medals.

Beijing 2008 hasn't been without it's fair share of controversy though, with a couple of "faking" scandals - both involving the opening ceremony. There was criticism when it was revealed that the little girl in the red dress who was singing at the opening ceremony ... Wasn't actually singing. And some of the fireworks were digitally inserted into the opening ceremony ... Interesting. While I think it's sad that a child can be left out because she "looks wrong", I guess it says a lot about China. The stories of cenorship that are emerging from the Olympics say much about a country that has a long way to go.

Today I worked at the cafe for three hours. The cafe is in the middle of Bendigo, right near the Bendigo Courts. When I got to work, there was people everywhere outside the Courts, as well as many cameramen and Police. Today, Christiaan Scholl, the truck driver in the Kerang Train Crash, faced a commital trial. On June 5, 2007 Mr Scholl was driving a truck that hit a train near Kerang, which derailed, killing 11 people. What happened that day seems to be nothing more than a terrible tragedy. What I was digusted with today was the news people, chasing Mr Scholl, and witnesses that were called to give evidence in the committal hearing, down the street or across the road, as they walked from the Courts. Those people have to live with what happened that day - being chased from court, and seeing themselves on the news must only make things harder for them. Mr Scholl now has to live with the fact that 11 people died because the truck he was driving hit that train. If the committal hearing finds that there is enough evidence, he will be sent to trial over charges arising from the accident. Even if the committal hearing finds that there is not even evidence, don't you think that he has put himself on trial every single day since that accident? For the rest of his life, he has to live daily with the fact that 11 people died that day. It was an accident - but he will forever be "The driver of the truck in the Kerang Train Tragedy". Give the man some dignity - he does not deserve to be chased from Court when he's been through as much, if not more, than everyone who was there that day.

Has anyone else seen this story? How freaking hilarious is it! Basically, "A scorned woman has literally aired her husband's dirty laundry on a global scale by auctioning his mistress's knickers on eBay. In a spiteful listing on eBay Australia, the jilted Queensland woman is auctioning off a pair of lacy black underpants "size humongous" and an empty condom wrapper "size small" found in her bed after her husband allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair with a woman named Kylie." (Taken from heralsun.com.au) I don't know why anyone would bid on an item like that ... Maybe for the entertainment value?! The full ebay ad can be found here.

I know this entry is bouncing around like crazy ... So let's skip from news to Blogs I've been reading. As always, I've been hanging over at Not Quite What I Had Planned, otherwise known as Kristies place. If you've never checked it out, head over there now and thank me later. I've also been reading Katie's Overflowing Brain. Unlike me, Katie actually updates daily! And she's sarcastic and funny. I've been keeping up with my CaringBridge Kids, and if you want to know what I'm on about ... Check the right hand side of the screen, there's a long list of links there. I'm also still a big fan of PostSecret and Dan, as well as Tori over at I Pretty Much Hate Everything.

What else can I ramble about tonight ...

Well, in family news Baby Smurf, my gorgeous 9 month old niece, had a huge week last week, and not only starting crawling but also cut her first tooth! Rock on, my little Smurf. No longer toothless and now able to get from A to B. What more could a Smurfette want from life? And my little Bug Eyes, well, she just gets smarter and smarter every week. Usually when my sister and I talk on the phone I say hello to Bug Eyes, and each week she says a little more and sounds a little smarter. I'm hoping to get down to see them sometime soon since it's been a couple of months, and I'm sure the girls have grown heaps.

My sister is still in the middle of Wedding-Planning-Madness. Sadly, it'll stay for a while as she's not getting married until the end of 2010. I have to head down soon to find a bridesmaid dress, which will be oh-so-much-fun, I'm sure ... :-P

Gus the fighting fish has floated to that big fishbowl in the sky. It was very unexpected, and happened overnight. I'm thinking of getting another fighting fish and naming him Fergus ...

Last week, I looked after devil dog overnight while Chrissie worked. It was actually a quiet night in terms of destruction - he ate a cube of Post-It notes (about 150 of them) when I fell asleep on the floor while studying, (serves me right!) and broke the clip of my MP3, but other than that things were ok. He sulked pretty much non-stop, and spent most of the night trying to "bury" stuff in my carpet. The next night he stayed at home while Chrissie worked because I was too tired to look after him ... And he chewed a hole in her washing machine hose. Whoops ...

I'm so changing the look of this blog ... It's just shitting me. I'll do it after I finish this entry. I guess I haven't been on here much, so it hasn't annoyed me too much. But now that I look at it ... It's got to go.

Anyway, that's about it from here. Might think of some other stuff to blog about tomorrow ... If not, see you sometime next week!

You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin special.

In one of the stars I shall be living

In one of them

I shall be laughing

And so it will be as if all the stars

were laughing

when you look at the sky at night

*

Tonight ...

I am ...

Missing you, Mel.

No rhyme or reason for it ...

Just missing you.

"To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children;



...to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or ...



To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—



this is to have succeeded."







That person is a success who has lived well, laughed often and loved much;

who has gained the respect of intelligent people

and the love of children;

who has filled his niche and accomplished his task;

who leaves the world better than he found it,

whether by an improved poppy, a perfect poem, or a rescued soul;

who never lacked appreciation of earth's beauty

or failed to express it;

who looked for the best in others

and gave the best that he had.

R.I.P.

Thoughts tonight are with Tyler's family

www.caringbridge.org/ga/tylercopley

Decisions, decisions.

So, today I was a busy little bee.

Up early, (well, early for me on a Sunday ... :-P) I moved my computer and desk from the bedroom into the lounge room, then rearranged my couch and tv/tv cabinet (to make room for the computer and desk. Probably should have done that before I moved the desk...). Then I started cleaning out drawers and cupboards and throwing out stuff left, right and centre. I cleaned out the animal cages, vacuumed everything, and disinfected everything in the house.

I also made a decision today.

When I left Safeway, in March of last year, I also deferred uni. Everything was getting to me, and I was failing the units I was doing because I just didn't care. So, I told everyone that I'd go back "someday, when I'm ready".

Today, I pulled out all my uni stuff - textbooks, notes, essays, study guides, readings. I'm thinking that maybe I want to go back. Maybe. At the moment, I just want to do some reading, maybe work my way through the study guides, see how I feel. I'm going to have to save up some money and pay for the units that I want to do -at least to start with. Because I failed the last 6 units or something, I can't put anything on HECS for a while. I figure by the time I save up some money, it'll be the end of this year, and I'll be ready to go back at the start of next year.

Maybe ... :-)

Random Pics ... 2 ...

Random Pics ...