~!~

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 ...