So tonight I find out that my great-aunt is in hospital following a series of strokes. They're only really doing paliative care and giving her morphine.

Hmmmm. Starting to think I should issue an advisory that it's obviously not safe to be a friend, relative or acquaintance because so many of them seem to be getting ill or dying lately that it's not funny.

Although...

Maybe it's just that there are a whole lot of bad things happening for everyone on the planet. Watch the news and see which part of the world fell off while you were at work, the Middle East's hell in a handbasket stuff, one of my friend's neighbour's kids is missing, another friend's dog got run over, stuff like that. Ugh.

If my doctor told me I had only six minutes to live, I wouldn't brood. I'd type a little faster. - Isaac Asimov.

Holy spider terror, Batman!

Along with raisins, I hate huntsman spiders. And there was a MASSIVE one on the bathroom window last night (huntsman, not raisins, just to clear that one up before you start thinking about grapes the size of the "personal watermelons" appearing in shops near you).

Wandered into the bathroom, was about to flick on the light, looked at the window and there was a sort of odd shadow on it, with the light shining through the window from the neighbour's security light thing. A spider-shaped shadow. A very BIG spider-shaped shadow.

But then it was all good because I realised that the thing was on the outside, not the inside, of the window. That led me to the bravery of putting my hand up on the window to compare the spider to my hand size (about 19 centimetres from thumb to little finger, 17 from palm to middle fingertip).

The spider was bigger than that *shudder*

I'm so very, very glad that it wasn't inside. Had a few very large huntsmans inside last year and there's nothing like the heart-pounding terror of knowing that you have to kill it in one go because otherwise it'll run off somewhere or jump at you.

One of our family friends dropped dead on Tuesday, apparently while he was over working at a neighbour's place. They popped out to do something, came back and there he was, dead.

It was one of those really surprising things to hear from one's Mum via SMS (I can't believe how hardly anyone I know (myself included) rings to share info any more - it's so SMSy - whether it ranges from "I'm going to the shops" to "The dog's been neutered" to "Aunt Mavis died and incidentally her house burnt down," but going off on a tangent there...). He was still pretty young and healthy and everything.

I mean, you know people aren't going to live forever, but it sucks when they die early or young or without a chance to say goodbye. But then it sucks equally when you still have the time to say goodbye and whatnot. One of our other family friends is currently dying of cancer and it's so not nice.

Plus is it just me, or do people or things sort of die in batches? (for want of a better word) (and no, now's not the time to cue jokes about serial killing, 'k?) Just kinda seems like all of these bad things happen in huge clumps and you're just getting over one thing when *whack* along comes another.

Guess it's why chocolate was invented.

Ooooh, it's the career woman! Tremble in fear!

There was an interesting thing on today's Sydney Morning Herald blog, The Anvil, about a guy called Michael Noer who wrote an article telling men not to marry career women.

The original article, published in Forbes, says that women who have careers will be more likely to cheat on their partners, more likely to get divorced and less likely to want to have children. Because apparently even "feminists" want their man to be the breadwinner. Her being smarter and goal-focused will make her unhappy with her hubby.

Ooooooh biscuits!

Forbes later republished the original article and its rebuttal. BlondeSense also has a good response to it :)

But I still say ooooooooh biscuits! I mean, really... Really! Is there anything that you can say to that sort of thing?

Well, maybe, "That's just a wee bit bonkers, Mikey. Maybe it's time you had a bex and a lie down, even though you did manage to say at the end of your article that marriage is also associated with a higher income, a longer, healthier life and better-adjusted kids."

I guess I'm still stunned at the number of men out there who seem to be freaked out by women who want to do well in their jobs and life in general. Plus wouldn't divorce seem more appealing if your husband has regressive attitudes like that?

Why is it that women are still being berated for making choices to be a "career woman"? Is there really something so dreadful about women having a job and an income that will see the apocalypse fast-forward to tomorrow and the family unit implode? Or are there still some men out there who think women are incapable of making their own decisions?

Surprises never end!

I don't generally like the Sam and the City blog on SMH, but today's topic was kind of interesting.

And this reply to today's SatC blog is the BEST post ever, and thus MUST be quoted, because really, it's about time more people were saying it! :)

Alright, this is where I draw the proverbial line! I want to extinguish this resounding belief that residual Paleolithic behaviour is responsible for the way men are. Men cheat because it's a caveman thing. Men chase because it's a caveman thing. Men earn more, get more laughs, are smarter, faster, savvier because...it's a caveman thing. Geneticists have mapped the human genome and nowhere in their research is there conclusive evidence, or indeed any evidence for that matter, that suggests certain aspects of generalised male behaviour can be attributed to biology. And why does it seem so selective? The "caveman" theory only seems prevalent when used as an excuse for justifying anti-social behaviour or shirking social responsibility. What happened to evolution? Oh yeah, we're smart enough to grow skin cells on a microchip, we no longer need our wisdom teeth or our appendix, we can count and write and read and trade but when it comes to the dynamics of a relationship, well...it's a caveman thing.

Can I insert my grunt of discontent here?
Posted by: Foxy Voxy at August 29, 2006 11:59 PM

Why is it the best? Because hopefully that would see the end to the whole darn thing and make them shut up, get over it all and move on. Also, they now have more than 30 blogs on the SMH site. It'll be a fine day when the entire population of Australia has one each...

Glitter my Heart!

Okay, it seems like a lot of the people who are dropping by my blog thanks to doing a google search are doing so in the hunt of glitter hearts, or how to make heart glitter, or something with hearts and glitter.

In the past, I would have said, "Well, obviously you've come to the wrong place..." There were no hearts, no glitter, no combinations thereof. Bereft of glitter hearts, it was probably false advertising. Yes, you'd really come to the wrong place if that was what you were after.

Or maybe not!

Suddenly I realise that this is a niche market that I should be catering to! So thus I unveil my patented "Glitter Heart" technique (which is not for the squeamish or faint-at-heart). You can imagine the appropriate flourishes and fanfares right now, 'k? Right, now let's get all Martha Stewart!

Step One: Take a number of hearts. You can get these from your local butcher or supermarket. Ensure that you don't get heart-lung sets, a la biology/science classes.
Step Two: Pour a good amount of glitter into a tray. Choose whatever colour (or combination of colours) best suits your purposes or is just your favourite!
Step Three: Pat the hearts over quickly with a paper towel, but be careful not to make them too dry.
Step Four: Roll the hearts around in the glitter tray, making sure you cover the hearts entirely with the glitter.

And there you have it! Glitter hearts in four easy-to-follow-at-home steps.

Please note: this blog entry is purely satirical.

~@~look into my eyes~@~

Karina sent me a link for the 9mm sfx website, which features all kinds of freaky contact lenses. Gotta say, I want so many of them!

Shame about the prices, but oh my goodness! How much fun could you have with those kind of things, especially for parties, fetishy kind of things, etc!? They've even got the cat's eye kind of ones, which are like what the woman in Rammstein's Engel clip wears (and I've been lusting after for years - mostly because they'd be fun to freak people out with ;).

And now it's on to teeth.

Join the army, travel the world. Meet interesting people and kill them...

I know, I know, it's old news, but I really can't be bothered to write any blogs on the weekends.

But $10 billion to spend on getting people to join the army? Well, guess it's a sign of where the government's priorities are. I think it breaks down to about $4 million per service person/position they're hoping to create or whatever. Just think if that money could be spent on universities! Or hospitals. Or scientific things.

And I hate it how people go, "Ohhh! UNPATRIOTIC! UNAUSTRALIAN! SWINES! You'll be soooooo sorry when the foreign hordes invade Australia to steal your hard-earned bananas and rape your cats because YOU, yes YOU, do not deserve to be protected or Australian," when people say that maybe the money could have been spent more wisely.

The main reason people don't want to join the army these days is because they don't want to get blow into a million $(#*&*$&*!@ bits. And we've seen what's happened in conflicts before. And what happens in conflicts now - like massacres of civilians in Iraq. Or in Viet Nam. And what happened to returned service men after the Viet Nam war. Plus wars these days seem so confusing - which is the "right" or "wrong" side? Or is it a case of "wrong" and "more wrong"??

Yes, the army can do and does some good things - especially with helping out following natural disasters, providing peace-keeping forces, etc. But getting blown up or abducted and beheaded or involved in an illegal war or two? No thanks...

Mm 'k, have to put a disclaimer on this that I absolutely do not agree with the whole tarot card thing and think they're a lot of bosh, but this quiz thingy killed some time and was interesting enough.

You Are The Hermit

You posses a great deal of wisdom and the ability to see people for who they are. You are always looking ahead at the future, developing visions. A loner, you tend to travel by yourself through life, seeking your own truth. You don't crave material things or fancy titles. You have no baggage. Your fortune: It's possible that there is a unknown guiding figure in your life, ready to help you. All you have to do is find this person and seek their advice. It's also possible that you need to start seeking the meaning of your own life. Either way, there's some deep thinking you need to undertake, and it needs to be done soon.

What Tarot Card Are You?

This is what happens when you get bored on the weekend, obviously... Really, it is time to get back to working on the renovations at home!

Got my dog's ashes back yesterday.

They did end up being in a hand-carved wooden box, which is quite pretty, and has a little gold flower pressed into the top.

PLUS... the weirdest thing happened.

I'd said to Mum that I'd think about getting a pug or a chihuahua to replace my lil' pup. There was a lady in the waiting room at the vet's with a pregnant pug.

She and I got talking and she wants to give away the puppies her dog will have. So I gave her my number to give me a call when the pug has her pups.

We'll see what happens...

If you're not famous at 14, you're finished...

Thinking on the "whatever happened to Aussie TV" thought that I had in the blog below, on my flight to Adelaide, the Dino guy from this year's Big Brother was on the flight.

Don't think anyone other than a couple of people recognised him. And then the funniest thing was that when we were getting off the 'plane at the end of the flight, he was b!tching to the flight attendants (who were looking appropriately sympathetically sychophantic) about how awful it is being a celebrity and how absolutely everyone recognises him because he's famous, etc.

Made me giggle a bit, though, because I don't think "absolutely everyone" had a clue who he was. Ah well, guess it makes him happy! And in the end (no pun intended for those who know that TISM song ;), that's probably the important thing :)

I'm coming up for two weeks of doing a detox thing - yay! I know detoxes aren't things you're meant to be excited about (and no, it's not a drug or alcohol one, thank-you very much - it's a food one ;), but it's been really enjoyable.

Admittedly, it started by default by not eating pretty much anything for a week after my lil' puppy was put down. But I've also been reading a detox book written by the partner of Morgan Spurlock, which has almost entirely put me off of so many foods just by reading it - there's such a lot of really stupid stuff in food.

Some people might sort of think that the healthy food thing is rubbish or just for tree huggin' lefty greenie hippy commies or whatever, but it's not just tree huggin' lefty greenie hippy commies who are saying we should look at the way we eat. Just read an article about a new scientific study that's been conducted on hot dogs* that say the little bags of God-knows-what may contain DNA-mutating compounds that might boost one's risk for cancer, with a 240-fold variation in levels of these chemicals across different brands.

Eww!

Just glad I'm vegetarian (yes, now feel free to go wild with your hippie tree huggin' lefty greenie prejudice right now. Although I do lean somewhat left and think we should work on saving the environment (seeing as we don't have another lying around spare)). But still, even within vegetarianism, there's loads and loads of bad things you can eat...

But to go all Reader's Digest about it, enjoying the detox, have been reunited with my long-lost love of dry roasted almonds, discovered dried blueberries, am smitten with the way biodynamic zucchinis taste when sauteed with caramelised onions and basil, nearly puked when I ate some mac cheese the other night (which was disturbing 'cos I used to love it!) and am thinking maybe there's something to this whole detox thing.

At least it's made me truly realise how much we massacre our tastebuds all the time and that you should so be making your own gourmet food! *lol*

*The food, not the host of any deeply annoying late-night quiz shows that make you wonder what happened to the state of Australia's home-grown tv talent.

My Little Pony vs The Godfather

Grr!

It's starting to get really annoying with the people who regularly ignore deadlines totally. There's one day left before the mag I'm working on is meant to be down to pre-press and yet nothing has come through from two writers.

So maybe it's time to lop the heads off of some My Little Ponies and send them to the writers, Godfather-style (jk!) ;)

I dunno, this sort of thing is just so frustrating, and not just to me, but lots of people who have to work with the mag, etc. Deadlines exist for a reason and it's not just for a whim. If you agree to do something and a time to do it in, it really isn't that hard to manage it. Unless your arms have both fallen off. And your mouth isn't working and you can't use your toes to dial the phone and call and explain why there'll be no deadlines met, with appropriate sobs.

In other thoughts, dried blueberries are AMAZING! :D

Oh my gosh, I have COLOURS!!!

*ahem* So what, I hear you say. Well, so what indeed! It's just that with the Safari browser thingy I was using, hardly any of the features of blogger would appear on it, including all things coloured, font-worthy and all of that kind of thing.

Yay for new browsers :)

Well... Safari as a browser has had some issues lately and wouldn't let me upload photos or anything *smites it* So now I have firefox, which is so cute! And am now able to put up a pic of some strawberries. Which would have been far more relevant if done yesterday. Oh well!

Botheration!

I hadn't heard back from the vet yet about the ashes of my lil' puppy, so I decided to give them a call. Apparently it's not a week to ten days. More like two to three weeks! ARGH! I want my dog back! I swear, the container his ashes come in better be hand-made by Italian craftsmen with delicately applied gold leaf done by the skilled Inca pygmie magicians who only use their toes for the amount of time it's taking.

Just miss him lots... But I guess the time it's taking should give me time to create a little place to put the ashes, seeing as I don't have a mantle piece. Just not quite sure where he'll go yet. And in some ways, I'm scared that I'll not want to see his ashes container because it'll just remind me of how insanely badly it hurt to have him put down and that I should have fought for him instead, no matter what. But that's probably just the selfish perspective.

Should think of the happy times instead.

"I fink so, Brain, but balancing a family and a career? Whew! It's all too much for me!" - Pinky.

Ugh... hate feeling sick at work!

Just want bed, a wheat pack to put on my neck (mmm, warmth) and lots of sleep. For hours on end. Or maybe get the fire lit, grab loads of blankets and cushions and curl up in front of it.

But here I sit in front of the computer. And as I said before, I hate feeling sick at work.

Not many people would have a Lindt bunny in their bathroom, I suppose... Or use old coffee and tea canisters for makeup, but hey, it works.

Bathroom stuff :)

Suddenly I realise the mirror needs a clean!

Fairy-light stuff.

New quilt :) Purple, silky, warm and lovely...

Ugh, I think I'm going mad.

Or more mad. Or whatever it is.

Tonight when I was making dinner, I caught myself calling for Derek to come to the kitchen because I had some left-over stuff I wanted to give him (always used to give him the left-overs...). And then crying lots because there's obviously no more Derek. What am I going to do with left-overs!? :-/

Arrghhh!

Vamos, vamos, mi amor

Wow. How things change in such small amounts of time...

Chatting to a friend on MSN who's serving in Afghanistan at the moment and he mentioned someone he was seeing who wasn't his fiance and I'm like, "Errm, wait... What happened?" and it turns out he and the fiance broke up a while ago. Kinda surprising, but then not when he talked more about it.

Relationships are so fragile sometimes and it doesn't take much to shatter them past the point of repair. But then maybe sometimes that happens for a reason or whatever - I guess each of us will have experienced relationships that have been far from healthy in our lifetime (unfortunately).

But then it sucks when it's a good relationship and you stuff up and make a mistake or freak out because of life just happening and that's the end of it all *insert dismissive, puzzled wave of the hands* Meh. Guess there are lessons to be learned from that sort of thing too, even if it's just about your own stupidity.

New perfume needed... hmm...

I need a new perfume, seeing as the Dior three I currently own seem to make me either get a headache (Addict), want to sneeze (Pure Poison) or wash it off from boredom (I *heart* Dior).

And I'm kicking myself for not buying the Stella perfume that was on sale in Adelaide on the weekend! DAMMIT. But it's so very nice, and I really should have made the most of that 30% off sale. But never mind. Amy sprayed loads of the perfume on one of those little sample cards and I put it in my suitcase. Everything that was in the suitcase smells of it.

Sooooooooooo yummy!

So I think I'll definitely have to purchase it. For a start it doesn't give me headaches or make me want to sneeze (I'm wondering whether it's something to do with the vanilla...). Plus it's a gorgeously light but sexy scent. Oooh... an idea springs to mind! It shall be the reward if I stick to the fortnight of detox. YAY!!!

No wheat, gluten or processed foods for me. Hurrah!

*insert desperate look*

*ahem*

I want my doggie back :(

I should have written it earlier, but my brain's been otherwise engaged.

What I should have written was that I had a fantastic time in SA!!! :D

It'd be great to be back there again, particularly because the Central Markets are just so fantastic ;) And it was awesome getting to catch up with friends again from high school... Of course! I even met up with one of my friends I haven't seen for about five years! Yay! And saw baby photos of another friend's baby. Very cute.

Spent Saturday morning with Amy wandering around and then getting sprayed with a funky Asian softdrink (accidentally... frigging funny, though) and then meeting up for lunch with other friends. Was great to see them all :D Although I forgot to pack Amy's pressies (as well as one shoe from a pair) (suffice to say my mind wasn't on packing on Thursday night), so I'll have to post them.

Also stayed with Kim and Steve, who are loads of fun. Hired DVDs, ate pizza, talked for hours on end, ripped apart History of Violence for it's total lack of ending when it should have to make the strongest point possible, enjoyed V for Vendetta (while pushing, "Vendetta! Vendetta! Vendetta for mi pappa!" out of one's mind).

Plus how gorgeous is the new Adelaide airport?!?!? Absolutely love it! It was fantastic to come back to Melbourne and have that looking like the cattle-market airport rather than the way that Adelaide always used to. Not that I'm biased in favour of South Australia, of course ;)

My God, I would so move back there :)

Derek had to be put down on Thursday night.

He was having massive fits regularly and the vet thought it would be the best thing to do. There was medication he could have tried, but it would have taken three weeks to a month to kick in and there was no guarantee that it would stop the fits. So on Thursday night, Derek went to sleep.

I think I'm still a bit traumatised by it all, because it just wasn't fair. Yes, I know life isn't fair, but Derek's been the most amazing and wonderful little dog in the entire world. I've never met a dog who was anything like him. Losing him has been like losing a partner. There's just a massive part of me that's not there any more and I don't know what to do.

He was 16 and a half and I'd owned him since he was six weeks old. He's been cremated and I'll get his ashes back in the next couple of days (I think it'll cost about $300 or so, but I can't imagine not having that done and not having him always around).

Thanks to everyone who has sent messages of support. Deb sent me this this morning and it's been making me cry, but it's so lovely:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

Author unknown

Awww!

Small child from last week is in the office again today and she made me a birthday card and gave me chocolatey things for my birthday (which is tomorrow). So cute!

Bono, serially annoying git.

The Irish media are giving him a lashing over investing an estimated €194 million in Forbes Media, (which includes the Forbes magazine, which the SMH points out is the "bible of capitalism" and a publication that doesn't look on debt relief in a particularly favourable way). I know you can influence things by being a serious investor, but really, why not invest in something that's already putting in the hard yards?

Roger McNamee, Bono's business partner, apparently says that it isn't selling out and the way to overcome poverty is by giving people the tools to do it. Seeing as Bono is a tool, those living in poverty are most welcome to him.

This all comes a couple days after U2 upped sticks and moved some operations to Holland to avoid paying tax in Ireland. Holland offers a very low tax rate for artists. The Irish Labour Party's finance spokesperson Joan Burton is reported as saying, "Having listened to Bono on the necessity for the Irish government to give more money to Ireland Aid... I am surprised that U2 are not prepared to contribute to the exchequer on a fair basis along with the bulk of taxpayers."

Add to that "U2 Tower" as proposed for Dublin, which residents seem less than impressed with the idea of... The tower would house luxury apartments, recording studios, etc. And towers are apparently phallic symbols. And this would be the biggest in Ireland if it goes ahead.

Hmm!

Oh my goodness!

Totally forgot to write this this morning while I was thinking about it and yes, now I can... but I had the most bizarre dream this morning that Kristin, Becky, Shaz, Chris, Jesus and Taylor were in town and coming to my place for some dinner/cocktails party/soiree get-together sort of thing!

It was so bizarre and funny and awesomely odd :)

Was going to write something relating to Gold Digging: The New Black? by Aasmah Mir, which is a really interesting article, but can't be bothered right now... maybe my thoughts on it will return soon... Still, read the article!

Oh meee-ow!

Seriously, I don't think horoscopes hold a lot of water (other than aquarius probably...). Sorry to all of those who believe it when theirs says they'll meet a handsome stranger or discover money (like five cents on the street).

Today mine says that Mercury and Venus are doing something which highlights relationships and money, surprise surprise! You could just knock me over with a feather... Also... Being in a relationship requires making sacrifices and this is especially true now. You may be paired off with a person who can't handle certain responsibilities. Instead of dwelling on all the work this means for you, blah blah extraneous drivel, stick a star up your nose and be happy (okay, I added that bit), life's too short to spend on a toxic union. If you can't be yourself while part of a couple, the price is too high; is it worth it to submerge your own identity?

That's as good a point as any to make, horoscope or none, really, about relationships and identity and being able to be yourself without having to sacrifice or submerge parts of your personality. But I'm not in a relationship and there aren't really the prospects for it. So there we go. Still, any toxic unions are probably bad things. But all of my friends are fantastic people, so I don't think it's applicable.

Although it would be nice if the money thing were true! But really the planets lining up sort of seems like a universal pokie machine thing... o.0 Put your starsign in and *ching, ching, ching!* You win. Or you don't. Or you see that horoscopes are a whole lot of piffle :)

This better be good!

I cannot think of a single gosh-darn thing to say for my blog at the moment. I think all of my words have gone on holidays. Speaking of, must start thinking about plans for the SA trip, which has the potential to be as much fun as sticking forks into your knees in terms of wondering whether it's all booked and whatnot!

But it will be fantastic to catch up with friends and so on. Altho I still have to organise a place to stay on Sunday night. Remind me about that sometime... hmm...

This news story had me literally crying with laughter a few minutes ago. And for those of you who don't want to click on the link, here's the story in its entirity. I think I've almost recovered from the laughter now...

Deckchair trapped testicles

A Croatian man got a nasty surprise when he tried to get out of his deck chair and found his testicles had got stuck.
Mario Visnjic had gone swimming naked in the sea at the Valalta beach in western Croatia, reports 24sata.
His testicles had shrunk while in the cool sea and slipped through the wooden slats when he sat back down on his wooden deckchair.
But as he lay in the sun they expanded back to normal size and got stuck between the slats.
He was eventually freed after he called beach maintenance services on his mobile phone and they sent a member of staff to cut the deck chair in half.

*wahahahahahahaha*

A rose by any other name?

What's in a name? Apparently, a lot more than you (or I) ever thought there was. Here's what his pet name for you really means.....

Darling -- Depends on how he says it. If he stresses the first syllable, then he's probably done something wrong or wants money.
Dear -- Probably a leftover from his parents. Expect him to wear woolly cardigans, smoke a pipe and prefer a mug of Ovaltine to lager.
Sweetheart -- If it's said patronizingly, it's not so sweet. But when uttered in earnest, it may send your own sweet heart aflutter.
Babe -- Not to be confused with the film of the same name. Check for flares or signs that he's a 70s throwback. He's a bit of a medallion man. Chances are he's got his initials on his chunky ring. Leave immediately if he tries to sell you a second-hand car.
Baby doll -- This type of man will probably require you to wear transparent frilly nighties even in the dead of winter. He doesn't want you to grow up, and obviously can't deal with real women.
Princess -- Never trust a man who calls you princess. You may think you're being treated like royalty, but beware of Prince Charmings - they may be secretly plotting your over-throw.
Sexy -- Fine if you're sexy. If you're not, who cares? He probably thinks you are anyway!!
My girlfriend -- He's honest, open and probably glad to have you around. The next thing you know he'll be using your name!
The wife -- If you're married then he probably thinks he owns you. If you're not, he probably thinks you act like his wife, in which case, he thinks he owns you.
My other half -- You complete the set - he's only half a man without you. But it may make you feel as though you are losing your identity somewhere.
The missus -- See The Wife.
My partner -- He's right on. Probably likes eating tofu and hugging trees.
My significant other -- He's even more right on. Probably thinks it's cruel to eat tofu and that trees need their own space.
She who must be obeyed -- He thinks you're a nag, but probably doesn't lift a finger around the house.

Merci, Sod Work!

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes,
Over the prairies and deep trees,
The mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
The world offers itself to your imagination,
Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting--
Over and over announcing your place
In the family of things.

~ Mary Oliver

Thanks to the lovely Nym for passing on the poem. And, oddly, for encouraging happy silence and reflection by forbidding speech, which would often frustrate me otherwise.

Dream a little dream...

Island
To see an island or dream that you are on an in your dream, signifies ease, relaxation and comfort.
To dream that you are in stranded on a island, signifies that you are in a rut and do not quite know what to do with your life. On the other hand, you may be seeking some solitude. Perhaps you are running away from a situation instead of trying to confront it.

Grave
To dream that you are visiting a grave, indicates that you need to delve into your own unconscious in search of an issue in which you thought had been put to rest. You need to stand up for yourself for no one else can do it for you. Alternatively, it represents something is about to be completed in your life. You are ready for a new start.

Ocean
To see an ocean in your dream, represents the state of your emotions and feelings. It is indicative of some spiritual refreshment, tranquility and renewal.
To dream that you are traveling across the ocean, signifies new found freedom and independence. You are showing great courage.

Water
To dream that you are walking on water, suggests that you have supreme and ultimate control over your emotions. It may also suggest that you need to "stay on top" of your emotions and not let them explode out of hand. Alternatively, it is symbolic of faith in yourself.

Boat/Ship
To dream that you are in or see a boat, signifies you ability to cope and express your emotions. Pay particular attention to the condition and state of the waters, whether is is calm or violent, clear or murky, etc. Are you "smooth sailing"? Alternatively, you may be ready to confront your unconscious and unknown aspects of yourself.
To see a ship in your dream, denotes that you are exploring aspects of your emotions and unconscious mind. The state and condition of the ship is indicative of your emotional state. If it is a cruise ship, then it suggests pleasant moods.

Tissues a-hoy!

I've loved the new series of Dr Who and David Tennant is absolutely gorgeous (even more so when he's got those glasses on... mmmmm... nerdy sexy!).

Tonight's episode, which was The Girl in the Fireplace, was scary! There were these clockwork creatures and I ended up sitting, squished up against the corner of the sofa because I didn't want to be pounced on from behind by some clockwork creature with a souless mask and 18th century French clothes!

Silly, but yes!

And the end of the episode saw me sobbing my heart out, which was like with the Father's Day episode in last series. And the reapers in that scared me too. But oh my goodness, must be getting sappy in my old age!

Had an odd dream this morning that I was in a house in Adelaide talking to one of my exes, who had wandered out of one of the rooms. I was in the kitchen/dining/living room area packing a suitcase.

He and I started talking in the cautious kind of way we skirt around each other if we ever talk these days, but it was kind of funny, too.

Had to head off for whatever reason in the dream when I finished packing, so I did up the suitcase, farewelled the ex and headed down the hallway and out the front door.

I think there were some grasses in pots by the front door and the house was one of those old, nice colonial sort of ones.

Interesting. Obviously a change thing.

Paper dolls and magic tricks

My officemate and I have a small child in our office...

So far we've given her a typewriter to play with, I've run around pushing her up and down the hallwayin a big printer box, had a treasure hunt, we've hidden in various places around the office, searched for her in various places and are now going to play with paper dolls and experiment with making colours with only a few colours of pens.

We've also done loads of magic tricks, which were loads of fun - just basics like working out which cup the liquid paper's hiding under, etc. But fun :)

Small children are not too bad once they've gotten over the shy thing. This one belongs to a workmate who's brought her along for the day. The hide and seek was pretty fun, actually, now that I think about it :) Haven't done that in years.

Still, glad that I got the major important work for the day out of the way in the morning!

Small child's quote of the day:
"I bet sometimes you don't get much work done."

Indeed... ;)

Just saw an article on news.com.au about Q releasing a top 50 guilty secret songs list (not all are named in the article).

Hmm...

Secret guilty songs, eh? I wonder if they're the ones that people like because they're kinda cheerful-sounding, you dance around shamelessly to if you're by yourself when they're on or you grew up with them or something and really liked them before your musical tastes developed?

I'm definitely going to say I own the S club 7 thing. Well, not as in own the album, but own up to liking their songs. They're so infectiously cheerful. And my friend Krystal and I probably traumatised people by singing them in High School for the heck of it.

Well that sucks! Part 2

Amazing how much of a difference talking to someone with a little more information about what you need to know can have. Different secretary on after lunch and she knew all about it and has sorted it out.

YAY!

*happy dance* Now I can get on with the rest of my work :)

Well that sucks!

Today is annoying! To the power of about a billion...

*sigh*

I'm meant to be going back to Adelaide for a conference in a week or two. Been trying to get more information on where we're meant to be staying, etc etc for a week or so now, but people have been out of the office, haven't known what the conference was about, blah blah.

Finally managed to get some info out of a person on Friday (thank God). Things looked to be improving! So today I rang the place where I'm meant to be staying for this conference and they knew nothing about it. Maybe not improving after all... hmm...

It's really frustrating. No-one from the conference organising thing is around - always out of the office or whatever - and seeing as the date is fast approaching, I think I'm just going to get in contact with a few friends in SA and see if I can stay with them. Better than having to find a cardboard box, really.

Hopefully will be able to get something resolved this afternoon, when the people are meant to be back in the office. Fingers crossed. I mean, it probably won't be difficult to solve. Just a matter of getting the information all sorted out and hoping that it falls into place.

From Saturday - 'twas so fun :D

Interesting opinion piece in The Australian (if you still want to read that newspaper after the thing on last night's Media Watch) (ah, just kiddin'... But still, that whole thing is rather a worry, especially if a 'paper can't/won't admit to mistakes it makes):

Populist diatribes pressure our identity by Phillip Adams.

Now with tantrum function!

Well... there's another blog that's been added to the Sydney Morning Herald's stable of blogs, which leads Karina and I to the dual conclusions of a) it ain't hard to get a blog on the SMH and b) when will we get one? (and as an aside c) what happens when the entire population of Australia has one?)

Sam de Brito (Technorati that and you'll find someone with that name described as a third-rate writer and a blankety-blank-NSFW-blank) has a blog there now called All Men Are Liars (Except Sam de Brito). And it looks like another Sam in the City, except with trousers.

Seems like all you have to do is write some cruddy book and voila! Blog time. So maybe it's time we got to writing some cruddy books. Maybe something advice-related. Maybe something that runs along the typical lines of relationships, relationships, relationships, wheel out age-old theory about relationships which is really a load of hooey, relationships, relationships. With a dash of relationships.

*ponders*

So yeah. Karina says she'll write something funny. But it seems like this relationships thing is what's really got us beat. And people are still wondering why others lie (because they just do!) or how soon is too soon to start dating after you've broken up with someone (maybe while you're still kissing them goodbye?).

And I hate to think of how weird a view on life Sam's daughter will have if he tells her: "All men are liars. Any male between the age of thirteen and death who says 'I just want to be friends' wants to sleep with you. Men will say anything to get you in bed and none of them are to be trusted." Which, I'm sure, is a comforting thought for all those males and females out there who were under the apparent misconception that platonic relationships can, do and should exist!

Can I have my SMH blog now?

Please?

And now for something completely different, a headless kangaroo!

The meeting of The Natural Confectionary Company's mini dinosaurs with Haribo's Fantasia mix dinosaurs... Raawrrr! In terms of size, the Haribo ones kick some serious butt. But the NCC mini dinos aren't too bad, actually. And blogger's photo-posting ability now seems to be taking a break, so I can't add the headless kangaroo.

Oh well! Maybe later :D