So, it may have been a little more obvious to some than it was to others that I'm kinda in need of some help. So Self-Help it is.
I'm working myself through a relationship book - I'm up to the part where I have to finish 42 sentences and then I'm guided through my answers. I'm a little apprehensive about this - I don't think that my relationship realistically needs rescuing, but I know I need some clarity... what if the book tells me to abort, Abort, ABORT? I really don't want to.
From skimming through the book, it's also becoming clear I have some self-esteem issues (who? me?) that are affecting me and the way I behave. Yeah, it's all so obvious now!
I have another book I'm picking up tomorrow - gf1 was lovely enough to track down a copy for me that was in stock and at a discounted price. The second book is to focus on myself and my anxieties, which will be pretty interrelated to the book I'm currently reading.
Anyways - hope you're all enjoying the week... and if you're not following along at w-e-e-igh, there's no time like the present!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Wow - way to leave that last post hanging...!
In other news, I got a mark back for one of my units this morning.
You may/may not be aware, but uni has been pretty much THE bottom priority for me this semester - I am not proud of anything I've handed it in. If there was a way for the tutor to detect the embarrassed and ashamed look on my face as I slid my plastic sleeves into the box, I would have gotten a good talking to.
The unit I had this morning has been one of my favorites in my whole degree . It basically describes how a lot of things in my area should be done - meaning I understand a lot of it, I am able to act like one of those annoying mature age students that hogs the participation marks because pretty much everything in the unit is related to my job, and I enjoy seeing just how poorly my area is being run so that I have some vitriol come staff survey time.
Last week, the tutor told us that 30% of students in his tutorial had failed the recent assignment - my calculations had this at 3 - 5 people in each of his tutes. I scanned the room and came to the conclusion that all of the other people in the class seemed like the type to be trying in the unit, leaving me in a poor position. He went on to mention that some of these fails were due to not referencing and because I know I referenced I asked him to clarify how much of the 30% failed because of that - his answer: half. He then went on to mention some people had assessed scorecarding in their assignment, which was wrong. I had referenced scorecarding in my assignment . In what was probably another poorly though out manourver, I asked if we needed to pass the assignment to pass the course - his answer: no. This hasn't made the stress of the last week any easier to bear - I've woken up from a dream where I got the assignment back with a mark of 4%. Then all of a sudden it was 51! Then 23 and so on and on.
This morning we were due to get the assignments back. He reiterated there had been a high fail rate, that you didn't need to pass the assignment to pass the course, that he wouldn't hand them back until the end of the tute so that things don't get thrown at him, and that he wouldn't be speaking to anyone about the marks until at least 24 hours later, so that people had time to calm down. I spent the next 90 minutes getting clammy and awkward - I'm sure it wasn't my imagination, the room was having ice cold then humid warm air pumped into it alternatingly.
He handed my paper to me.
20.
'What is it out of?!' I squawked.
"30."
Praise the Lord.
You'd think this would serve as a kick-in-the-head warning that I have totake uni seriously, with exams being two weeks away, but we all know how it is likely to turn out*.
*Then again I rushed around like a madwoman yesterday getting my car back out of the repairers so I could get to uni at 3 to practice for our 3:30 presentation for another unit, only to find out a message was posted on the website at 3:45 stating all classes for that unit were cancelled for the day. So perhaps I only owe one unit some effort....
You may/may not be aware, but uni has been pretty much THE bottom priority for me this semester - I am not proud of anything I've handed it in. If there was a way for the tutor to detect the embarrassed and ashamed look on my face as I slid my plastic sleeves into the box, I would have gotten a good talking to.
The unit I had this morning has been one of my favorites in my whole degree . It basically describes how a lot of things in my area should be done - meaning I understand a lot of it, I am able to act like one of those annoying mature age students that hogs the participation marks because pretty much everything in the unit is related to my job, and I enjoy seeing just how poorly my area is being run so that I have some vitriol come staff survey time.
Last week, the tutor told us that 30% of students in his tutorial had failed the recent assignment - my calculations had this at 3 - 5 people in each of his tutes. I scanned the room and came to the conclusion that all of the other people in the class seemed like the type to be trying in the unit, leaving me in a poor position. He went on to mention that some of these fails were due to not referencing and because I know I referenced I asked him to clarify how much of the 30% failed because of that - his answer: half. He then went on to mention some people had assessed scorecarding in their assignment, which was wrong. I had referenced scorecarding in my assignment . In what was probably another poorly though out manourver, I asked if we needed to pass the assignment to pass the course - his answer: no. This hasn't made the stress of the last week any easier to bear - I've woken up from a dream where I got the assignment back with a mark of 4%. Then all of a sudden it was 51! Then 23 and so on and on.
This morning we were due to get the assignments back. He reiterated there had been a high fail rate, that you didn't need to pass the assignment to pass the course, that he wouldn't hand them back until the end of the tute so that things don't get thrown at him, and that he wouldn't be speaking to anyone about the marks until at least 24 hours later, so that people had time to calm down. I spent the next 90 minutes getting clammy and awkward - I'm sure it wasn't my imagination, the room was having ice cold then humid warm air pumped into it alternatingly.
He handed my paper to me.
20.
'What is it out of?!' I squawked.
"30."
Praise the Lord.
You'd think this would serve as a kick-in-the-head warning that I have totake uni seriously, with exams being two weeks away, but we all know how it is likely to turn out*.
*Then again I rushed around like a madwoman yesterday getting my car back out of the repairers so I could get to uni at 3 to practice for our 3:30 presentation for another unit, only to find out a message was posted on the website at 3:45 stating all classes for that unit were cancelled for the day. So perhaps I only owe one unit some effort....
Sunday, May 25, 2008
nude
From possibly the most beautiful Radiohead song written yet:
Sometimes I amaze even myself in the manner I can switch from one end of the pendulum to the other so rapidly.
And when I catch myself on the swing - I try to stabilize. So many times I have gotten ahead of myself and been disappointed that I make the extra effort to be realistic.
So the shock hits twice as hard when I'm wrong and I've thought that this time I wasn't.
So sure am I of what I want and who I am and where I'm going. But one misstep, one question of caution, is enough to throw everything in the air again. Leaving me to swing, aimlessly.
Left foot, right foot; breathe in, breathe out; pause and think.
Don't get any big ideas
They're not gonna happen
You paint yourself white
And fill the holes
There'll be something missing
Just when you found it
It's gone
Just when you feel it
You don't
It's gone forever
And when I catch myself on the swing - I try to stabilize. So many times I have gotten ahead of myself and been disappointed that I make the extra effort to be realistic.
So the shock hits twice as hard when I'm wrong and I've thought that this time I wasn't.
So sure am I of what I want and who I am and where I'm going. But one misstep, one question of caution, is enough to throw everything in the air again. Leaving me to swing, aimlessly.
Left foot, right foot; breathe in, breathe out; pause and think.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
All coming together?
Things have been going well lately.
Things have been coming together.
In typical enny style, it probably means that things are about to go pear shaped, but I think that this time it's bigger than that.
It's just a lovely time to be.
(Apologies for the lack of content of late- I'm more distracted with our w-e-e-igh site than I though I would be!)
Things have been coming together.
In typical enny style, it probably means that things are about to go pear shaped, but I think that this time it's bigger than that.
It's just a lovely time to be.
(Apologies for the lack of content of late- I'm more distracted with our w-e-e-igh site than I though I would be!)
Monday, May 19, 2008
Found: One real life grownup
Did you know I'm a real live grownup now?
Last week: The Hun and I inspected a house. TO BUY.
I know. Mental, isn't it?
I stalk allhomes at least once a fortnight and usually just point and scoff at the deluded property owners. What?! $380,000 for a house in Gilmore? Who on earth would do that to their walls and carpet?! What makes you think you can get that much money for a tiny 3 beddy with a carport?! What a rort!!!
But then, a house stood out to me amongst the others. A house in a suburb we are chasing, new floor and kitchen, big yard, 3 bedrooms with separate lounge, dining and family room. I called The Hun and asked him to have a look at the ad, to ignore our savings target for a moment and to seriously consider what could be a great deal - something that might be worth borrrowing the extra money that we were already hoping to have before we bought. And he said yes.
Of course, he was cautious. You may have deduced that when I want something, I want it now, Now, NOW and that I don't always take the time to think things through. This is bad news for the man who will be entering the property market when properties are exorbitantly priced out of our realistic range.
We met outside the house last Thursday and walked through. The photos on the site were taken using a fishbowl lens, making them appear much larger than they actually were, but they were still fair sized rooms. The kitchen was beautiful but meant the only space for a fridge was accross the room in the family area. The yard was big but had a large block of concrete in the middle and was on a bit of a slope. The bathroom was in good condition but was shared ensuite style with the rest of the house. There were two other rooms but only one had a (tiny) BIR. The house felt cosy and homey but the carpet needed to be replaced and all the walls had marks and chips.
Sensible me decided we wouldn't persue it any further (and the agent who called me the next day remarked that I seemed like a very independent woman who had it all under control) and I think The Hun was pretty surprised.
It was really good to get out there and look at something. I'm keeping my eye on the market and critically evaluating all the houses before I decided whether or not to add it to my watchlist, let along go see it.
Rumour has it that house prices will rise by 40% in the next five years. Rumour also has it that Canberra house prices will drop 30% this year. At the current market rate, we will have enough money to cover 10% deposit, legal fees and stamp duty (WHAT A RIP THAT IS) in November this year. Who knows - we could be buying sooner.
But for all the hard work, it's quite exciting to be a grownup!
Last week: The Hun and I inspected a house. TO BUY.
I know. Mental, isn't it?
I stalk allhomes at least once a fortnight and usually just point and scoff at the deluded property owners. What?! $380,000 for a house in Gilmore? Who on earth would do that to their walls and carpet?! What makes you think you can get that much money for a tiny 3 beddy with a carport?! What a rort!!!
But then, a house stood out to me amongst the others. A house in a suburb we are chasing, new floor and kitchen, big yard, 3 bedrooms with separate lounge, dining and family room. I called The Hun and asked him to have a look at the ad, to ignore our savings target for a moment and to seriously consider what could be a great deal - something that might be worth borrrowing the extra money that we were already hoping to have before we bought. And he said yes.
Of course, he was cautious. You may have deduced that when I want something, I want it now, Now, NOW and that I don't always take the time to think things through. This is bad news for the man who will be entering the property market when properties are exorbitantly priced out of our realistic range.
We met outside the house last Thursday and walked through. The photos on the site were taken using a fishbowl lens, making them appear much larger than they actually were, but they were still fair sized rooms. The kitchen was beautiful but meant the only space for a fridge was accross the room in the family area. The yard was big but had a large block of concrete in the middle and was on a bit of a slope. The bathroom was in good condition but was shared ensuite style with the rest of the house. There were two other rooms but only one had a (tiny) BIR. The house felt cosy and homey but the carpet needed to be replaced and all the walls had marks and chips.
Sensible me decided we wouldn't persue it any further (and the agent who called me the next day remarked that I seemed like a very independent woman who had it all under control) and I think The Hun was pretty surprised.
It was really good to get out there and look at something. I'm keeping my eye on the market and critically evaluating all the houses before I decided whether or not to add it to my watchlist, let along go see it.
Rumour has it that house prices will rise by 40% in the next five years. Rumour also has it that Canberra house prices will drop 30% this year. At the current market rate, we will have enough money to cover 10% deposit, legal fees and stamp duty (WHAT A RIP THAT IS) in November this year. Who knows - we could be buying sooner.
But for all the hard work, it's quite exciting to be a grownup!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
My gift to you: Erica & Enny Weigh In
So - things around here (my middle) have been getting broader, and it seems it's not only happening to me. Chatting at work the other week, myself and two others decided we would start a bit of a healthy team bonding thing, and work together to lose weight/get fit.
Monday 19th was designated the start date (as one of us is going to Sydney to shop/binge all weekend first).
I was talking to Erica about this and it ended up she was keen to start too - Monday 19th became her 'start' date.
On Tuesday evening I came home and messaged her that we should totally co-blog our efforts to keep ourselves motivated - not 10 minutes later she'd whipped up a site and an awesome header! We have some basic rules - we're planning to post every day if we can; and if we have only negative things to say, then we have to back it up with two lovely things; and we'll weigh/measure in each Monday.
So.
We present.
Without further ado.
To you.
Erica and Enny Weigh In.
If this is coming to you via reader - PLEASE click through, just to see how awesome that girl can be with a glass of wine and her super awesome art skills.
Laugh at our lame jokes.
Call us out when we're getting lame.
Motivate us to keep going.
Join in!
Comment!
Share the love!
See you soon :o)
Monday 19th was designated the start date (as one of us is going to Sydney to shop/binge all weekend first).
I was talking to Erica about this and it ended up she was keen to start too - Monday 19th became her 'start' date.
On Tuesday evening I came home and messaged her that we should totally co-blog our efforts to keep ourselves motivated - not 10 minutes later she'd whipped up a site and an awesome header! We have some basic rules - we're planning to post every day if we can; and if we have only negative things to say, then we have to back it up with two lovely things; and we'll weigh/measure in each Monday.
So.
We present.
Without further ado.
To you.
Erica and Enny Weigh In.
If this is coming to you via reader - PLEASE click through, just to see how awesome that girl can be with a glass of wine and her super awesome art skills.
Laugh at our lame jokes.
Call us out when we're getting lame.
Motivate us to keep going.
Join in!
Comment!
Share the love!
See you soon :o)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Hairy Horrors
NB: This post may not be for guys!
My cousin and I sat on the edge of the pool, our feet dangling in the water. I would have been in year seven or eight. The hair on my toe caught bubbles of air and we laughed. Then I wondered why her feet weren't doing the same.
This is a shout-out to the other hirsute women out there, ashamed of something that is out of their control.
Puberty beat me with it's cruelest stick. Lanky and gonky and stringy, I starting developing hair under my arms in primary school. I have near black eyebrows and dark brown hair, so it was never going to be a downy, soft, peach fuzz. Invited to only one party with the 'popular' clique, I wore my best party outfit to the blue light disco. I hadn't been able to shift any of the hair running the scissor blade under my arm before my parents dropped me off, and I still remember the disgusted stare I got when I momentarily lifted my arms too high.
I started to steal my fathers navy blue disposable razors and guessed my way through what I thought I should do. I was too scared to ask my parents to buy me some of my own, so I would reuse them until the hairs were sharper than the blades.
The mole on my lip made me self conscious about people looking to closely at my face - it would sprout dark and strong hair that tickled my lip if I folded my mouth in the right way. When I got my first boyfriend I decided to do something about it, for fear he would say something or notice my man-mustache. Of course, this bought anxiety about other areas of hair that needed to be tended to. I had no idea what was normal, what it should look like, what people did and what was normal. I spent many a week fretting about going into the chemist to see what I could do - in the end, I bought a depilatory cream and just melted everything away (That might explain a bit my relief at getting that lip mole removed/minimised).
Gf1 and gf2 were over at my place a few weeks ago when gf1 mentioned she had access to a good deal on Intense Pulse Light hair removal - before she even finished her sentence I jumped in and told her to sign me up straight away.
Last Wednesday I had my first session and I can not put into words the amount of relief I felt lift off my shoulders just by walking through that door. I stood at the counter and confirmed I was there for the bikini/underarm package. I took a breath and told her 'I know this is gross. But I was wondering how much it would cost to get my feet zapped too'. She looked up at me and laughed 'Why would you think that is gross? That's fine, it won't cost any extra'.
It took less than ten minutes for all three areas to be zapped. She put me at ease as she asked me to lift my arms so she could have a close look - a big deal for someone who goes to great lengths to hide her automatic 5 o'clock shadow. She made small talk and joked as she zapped at my toes and the top of my feet. She was patient and understanding as I awkwardly shifted my underwear around so she could do what she needed - the first person to be anywhere near there since I was a young child (under non-romantic circumstances!).
She relayed a story of a girl who approached a different clinic because she was embarrassed about her hair problems - only to be met with a look of disgust from the receptionist girl. The hirsute girl finally got the nerve to come to this clinic to have her embarassing problem remedied, almost in tears again as she explained what had happened to her last time she had vulnerably reached out for help. It was towards the end of the story and the end of the session as she realised I was the same as that girl. 'You'll be so happy you've done this', she told me.
It will 8-10 months before the process is completed, the dark hair that has cursed me may be a blessing in disguise - the darker the hair, the more successful the treatment is likely to be - and everything looks pretty much the same. But inside, I feel so much better. So much lighter. So much more 'normal'.
I will no longer be the victim of my hairy insecurities. I will no longer feel guilt for something that is not my fault. I will not be ashamed of what is, really, only natural.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Friend dilemma
I'll give you the friend dilemma first, because I was stupid busy today (seriously, division planning days are such a time suck) and wanted to make sure I fully explain myself when chatting to my hairy sisters out there.
So.
Friends.
More specifically, best friends. Or, best friend.
I don't have one.
I have (on occasion) some hypothetical wedding stuff going on in my head - please, (adam!), don't freak out. This time it is very well controlled and includes discussion with The Hun (rather than diatribe at The Hun) and we do adult things like discuss the importance and talk about our feelings and priorities and numbers and dates. So I have some good reason to be thinking it. And all this hypothetical wedding stuff leads me to thinking about who I would have to assist me. In my head, I have three people who I would have as my collective. But I don't have someone who I
would say is my best friend, a person who would in term pick me as their best friend.
You may be aware that I'm not very good at the one on one conversation thing. Actually, the notion of being alone with one person for a set amount of time sends me into a bit of a freak out - the only person I look forward to one on one time (from a social retardation perspective) is The Hun. The only people who I can handle the prospect of one on one time with are youngest bro, magf and gf2. You may note mumsy and dadsy are not on this list - I am that girl.
I spend a fair amount of time with youngest bro to and from martial arts (less so now that he has his own car), and I would often drag him along shopping with me - he came to have something to do. So I can cope with him, just fine. Obviously, he wouldn't be my maid of honour, but also - he wouldn't pick me as his best friend. And I don't think he'd really qualify to be mine either!
I spend a fair amount of time with magf at martial arts, we share rooms when we go on camps, we go to the gym together and there was stuff we did for her wedding too. I was her maid of honour, so she might seem like a logical choice for my best friend. But, if her other friend weren't
overseas, she would have probably chosen her. And there are things that she says or does that makes me think that no, she's not my best friend. She may be the best one that I have, but she's not really 'best friend', if that makes sense?
I overcame my fear of one on one time with gf2 when we went up to see Regina Spektor in Sydney last year (probably around this time, and probably the last time I also whinged about being friendless!) and I would have said that up until this point that yeah, she is my best friend. But through emails that have been going around over the last week or so (and from earlier ones that I just didn't really think about until now), there is a lot of talk that goes on between gf1 and gf2 that doesn't include me. They know all these things about each other and have had all these discussions that I just didn't know about. They have a lot more in common than I realised. So, I might pick gf2 as my best friend, and gf1 would probably also pick her for her best friend. And gf2 would probably pick gf1 as hers.
Of course, when I relayed all this to The Hun, he told me that he would pick me. And he told me that the fact I said he can't pick me because he is obviously so much my number one that it's not even worth answering is just me trying to upset myself over something that's not really that important.
I know that this is fairly similar to mick's post of a few weeks ago, and I know that at least he feels pretty similar to me.
Do you have one best friend?
Would they pick you as theirs?
Are you single?
Does that make a difference?
Do I need one?
Does it matter?
So.
Friends.
More specifically, best friends. Or, best friend.
I don't have one.
I have (on occasion) some hypothetical wedding stuff going on in my head - please, (adam!), don't freak out. This time it is very well controlled and includes discussion with The Hun (rather than diatribe at The Hun) and we do adult things like discuss the importance and talk about our feelings and priorities and numbers and dates. So I have some good reason to be thinking it. And all this hypothetical wedding stuff leads me to thinking about who I would have to assist me. In my head, I have three people who I would have as my collective. But I don't have someone who I
would say is my best friend, a person who would in term pick me as their best friend.
You may be aware that I'm not very good at the one on one conversation thing. Actually, the notion of being alone with one person for a set amount of time sends me into a bit of a freak out - the only person I look forward to one on one time (from a social retardation perspective) is The Hun. The only people who I can handle the prospect of one on one time with are youngest bro, magf and gf2. You may note mumsy and dadsy are not on this list - I am that girl.
I spend a fair amount of time with youngest bro to and from martial arts (less so now that he has his own car), and I would often drag him along shopping with me - he came to have something to do. So I can cope with him, just fine. Obviously, he wouldn't be my maid of honour, but also - he wouldn't pick me as his best friend. And I don't think he'd really qualify to be mine either!
I spend a fair amount of time with magf at martial arts, we share rooms when we go on camps, we go to the gym together and there was stuff we did for her wedding too. I was her maid of honour, so she might seem like a logical choice for my best friend. But, if her other friend weren't
overseas, she would have probably chosen her. And there are things that she says or does that makes me think that no, she's not my best friend. She may be the best one that I have, but she's not really 'best friend', if that makes sense?
I overcame my fear of one on one time with gf2 when we went up to see Regina Spektor in Sydney last year (probably around this time, and probably the last time I also whinged about being friendless!) and I would have said that up until this point that yeah, she is my best friend. But through emails that have been going around over the last week or so (and from earlier ones that I just didn't really think about until now), there is a lot of talk that goes on between gf1 and gf2 that doesn't include me. They know all these things about each other and have had all these discussions that I just didn't know about. They have a lot more in common than I realised. So, I might pick gf2 as my best friend, and gf1 would probably also pick her for her best friend. And gf2 would probably pick gf1 as hers.
Of course, when I relayed all this to The Hun, he told me that he would pick me. And he told me that the fact I said he can't pick me because he is obviously so much my number one that it's not even worth answering is just me trying to upset myself over something that's not really that important.
I know that this is fairly similar to mick's post of a few weeks ago, and I know that at least he feels pretty similar to me.
Do you have one best friend?
Would they pick you as theirs?
Are you single?
Does that make a difference?
Do I need one?
Does it matter?
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Hairy Friends
Hey!
Wassup!
I've spent most of today procrastinating (yeah! me! how unlikely!) so I'm not going to be able to put up a proper post tonight as planned.
However, you can get involved.
I'm planning to publish tomorrow night, but I can't decide which to write first.
Do you want to hear about my friend 'crisis'?
OR
Do you want to hear a shoutout to my fellow hairy girls (accompanied by an uplifting tale)?
Better let me know ASAP (and thanks for the patience).
Wassup!
I've spent most of today procrastinating (yeah! me! how unlikely!) so I'm not going to be able to put up a proper post tonight as planned.
However, you can get involved.
I'm planning to publish tomorrow night, but I can't decide which to write first.
Do you want to hear about my friend 'crisis'?
OR
Do you want to hear a shoutout to my fellow hairy girls (accompanied by an uplifting tale)?
Better let me know ASAP (and thanks for the patience).
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
I don't like what the paparazzi does...
...(especially to poor Britney!), but seeing these pictures of the usually stunning Mischa Barton make me feel a little better about me:
Sunday, May 04, 2008
I bought myself a 200sx after I got permanency at my job - a celebration of being single, having a good wage, and knowing it was probably the only time in my life I could waste copious amounts of money driving a fuel-guzzling attention stealer. I loved driving with the windows down and the sunroof open, I loved flicking the accelerator so the blowoff valve would flutter, I loved the deep rumble of the exhaust and I loved, Loved, LOVED the way heads would turn.
When I was persuing The Hun, many years ago, I sent him a few emails. There was rumour at the time that his parents had just bought him a new Subaru RS, a little silver bugeyed number, and I was very jealous. Turns out that that his dad had actually bought it for himself (gotta love the Canberra rumour mill), but it gave me an opportunity to brag about my superbeast of a car and offer to take him for a drive sometime. Yes, I realise how wanky that sounds - but he has reread the email since then and realised it should have been obvious I was pursuing him. We're both just as bad as each other.
The Hun got his license a year or so after we started going out, and purchased a lily white Suzuki Cino off a friend of his that was moving to Japan. I sold my 200 just over two years ago and got my little Swift - a sensible little runabout, black to look a little cool and already stickered to make it 'mine'.
Last week The Hun's dad bought himself a spiffy new WRX. A beautiful car that he won't let me buy a blow off valve for, as insistent as I am that his birthday is coming up anyway. As a result of this purchase, the silver bugeyed number has been sold on to The Hun, and as a result of that purchase, the lily white Cino has found him/herself a new home with youngest bro.
The moral of this story?
There is nothing sexier than a man in a REAL car*.
As you were.
*Obviously, I am talking about The Hun. NOT THE HUN'S DAD. THAT IS WRONG AND BAD. SHAME ON YOU.
When I was persuing The Hun, many years ago, I sent him a few emails. There was rumour at the time that his parents had just bought him a new Subaru RS, a little silver bugeyed number, and I was very jealous. Turns out that that his dad had actually bought it for himself (gotta love the Canberra rumour mill), but it gave me an opportunity to brag about my superbeast of a car and offer to take him for a drive sometime. Yes, I realise how wanky that sounds - but he has reread the email since then and realised it should have been obvious I was pursuing him. We're both just as bad as each other.
The Hun got his license a year or so after we started going out, and purchased a lily white Suzuki Cino off a friend of his that was moving to Japan. I sold my 200 just over two years ago and got my little Swift - a sensible little runabout, black to look a little cool and already stickered to make it 'mine'.
Last week The Hun's dad bought himself a spiffy new WRX. A beautiful car that he won't let me buy a blow off valve for, as insistent as I am that his birthday is coming up anyway. As a result of this purchase, the silver bugeyed number has been sold on to The Hun, and as a result of that purchase, the lily white Cino has found him/herself a new home with youngest bro.
The moral of this story?
There is nothing sexier than a man in a REAL car*.
As you were.
*Obviously, I am talking about The Hun. NOT THE HUN'S DAD. THAT IS WRONG AND BAD. SHAME ON YOU.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Words words words
There are so many said, and so many left unsaid.
The things that I want to say to him, to try to put into words exactly how I feel and why it is all so important to me.
The things he wants to say to me, the 'I told you so' and 'I hear you but I'll never feel the same'.
The things she wants to say, to explain the hurt and a plea to just listen.
The things they want to say, that it is all too confronting and painful to discuss, now or ever.
The things unsaid to them, an explanation to prevent it happening again.
The things that we think to ourselves.
The curt smile, the rolling eyes, the crossed arms.
The tears for a friend that passed.
The straying hand reaching for the body that is no longer there.
The eyes showing they know they won't be here forever.
The things that I want to say to him, to try to put into words exactly how I feel and why it is all so important to me.
The things he wants to say to me, the 'I told you so' and 'I hear you but I'll never feel the same'.
The things she wants to say, to explain the hurt and a plea to just listen.
The things they want to say, that it is all too confronting and painful to discuss, now or ever.
The things unsaid to them, an explanation to prevent it happening again.
The things that we think to ourselves.
The curt smile, the rolling eyes, the crossed arms.
The tears for a friend that passed.
The straying hand reaching for the body that is no longer there.
The eyes showing they know they won't be here forever.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Seven Deadly Sins of Relationships
I set dadsy up with Google Reader the other week so that I had someone to share all my awesome websites with. He likes gadgets, so I set him up with Boing Boing. He likes personal development, so I set him up with The Positivity Blog. He likes puppies so I set him with I Has A Hotdog and Daily Puppy (thanks Desci!). He likes religion so I set him up with A Buddhist Perspective. He likes making fun of mumsy, so I set him up with Postcards from Yo Mama.
This week he sent me a post that he got from Zen Habits (that I've now added to my feeder) that he liked and thought I would like, that I did like and that The Hun dismissed as rubbish, that I am now sharing with you.
This week he sent me a post that he got from Zen Habits (that I've now added to my feeder) that he liked and thought I would like, that I did like and that The Hun dismissed as rubbish, that I am now sharing with you.
Take it as you like. I'm going to take it and print it and stick it to the fridge.
“Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.” - Emily Kimbrough
While I can’t claim to be the world’s foremost expert on relationships, I do know that my wife and I have a very strong marriage, and have never been more in love.
I’ve failed at marriage before, but that’s helped me become better at it. I’ve learned the deadly sins of relationships, and how to recognize them and avoid them.
A reader, newly married, asked me to share my tips on how to make a marriage work. I wish I had a magic formula, but here’s a simple list of tips:But just as important as what you should do is what you shouldn’t do — and I’m sure many of you have stepped into these pitfalls yourselves. I know I have. I’ve learned from my mistakes, and have learned to recognize when I’m making a fatal error, and how to correct it.
- spend time alone together;
- appreciate each other;
- be intimate often;
- talk and share and give.
If you can avoid these seven things, and focus instead on doing the four things above, you should have a strong relationship. I’m not going to guarantee anything, but I’d give you good odds. :)“I felt it shelter to speak to you.” - Emily Dickinson
- Resentment. This is a poison that starts as something small (”He didn’t get a new roll of toilet paper” or “She doesn’t wash her dishes after she eats”) and builds up into something big. Resentment is dangerous because it often flies under our radar, so that we don’t even notice we have the resentment, and our partner doesn’t realize that there’s anything wrong. If you ever notice yourself having resentment, you need to address this immediately, before it gets worse. Cut it off while it’s small. There are two good ways to deal with resentment: 1) breathe, and just let it go — accept your partner for who she/he is, faults and all; none of us is perfect; or 2) talk to your partner about it if you cannot accept it, and try to come up with a solution that works for both of you (not just for you); try to talk to them in a non-confrontational way, but in a way that expresses how you feel without being accusatory.
- Jealousy. It’s hard to control jealousy if you feel it, I know. It seems to happen by itself, out of our control, unbidden and unwanted. However, jealousy, like resentment, is relationship poison. A little jealousy is fine, but when it gets to a certain level it turns into a need to control your partner, and turns into unnecessary fights, and makes both parties unhappy. If you have problems with jealousy (like I once did), instead of trying to control them it’s important that you examine and deal with the root issue, which is usually insecurity. That insecurity might be tied to your childhood (abandonment by a parent, for example), in a past relationship where you got hurt, or in an incident or incidents in the past of your current relationship.
- Unrealistic expectations. Often we have an idea of what our partner should be like. We might expect them to clean up after themselves, to be considerate, to always think of us first, to surprise us, to support us, to always have a smile, to work hard and not be lazy. Not necessarily these expectations, but almost always we have expectations of our partner. Having some expectations is fine — we should expect our partner to be faithful, for example. But sometimes, without realizing it ourselves, we have expectations that are too high to meet. Our partner isn’t perfect — no one is. We can’t expect them to be cheerful and loving every minute of the day — everyone has their moods. We can’t expect them to always think of us, as they will obviously think of themselves or others sometimes too. We can’t expect them to be exactly as we are, as everyone is different. High expectations lead to disappointment and frustration, especially if we do not communicate these expectations. How can we expect our partner to meet these expectations if they don’t know about them? The remedy is to lower your expectations — allow your partner to be himself/herself, and accept and love them for that. What basic expectations we do have, we must communicate clearly.
- Not making time. This is a problem with couples who have kids, but also with other couples who get caught up in work or hobbies or friends and family or other passions. Couples who don’t spend time alone together will drift apart. And while spending time together when you’re with the kids or other friends and family is a good thing, it’s important that you have time alone together. Can’t find time with all the things you have going on — work and kids and all the other stuff? Make time. Seriously — make the time. It can be done. I do it — I just make sure that this time with my wife is a priority, and I’ll drop just about anything else to make the time. Get a babysitter, drop a couple commitments, put off work for a day, and go on a date. It doesn’t have to be an expensive date — some time in nature, or exercising together, or watching a DVD and having a home-cooked dinner, are all good options. And when you’re together, make an effort to connect, not just be together.
- Lack of communication. This sin affects all the others on this list — it’s been said many times before, but it’s true: good communication is the cornerstone of a good relationship. If you have resentment, you must talk it out rather than let the resentment grow. If you are jealous, you must communicate in an open and honest manner to address your insecurities. If you have expectations of your partner, you must communicate them. If there are any problems whatsoever, you must communicate them and work them out. Communication doesn’t just mean talking or arguing — good communication is honest without being attacking or blaming. Communicate your feelings — being hurt, frustrated, sorry, scared, sad, happy — rather than criticizing. Communicate a desire to work out a solution that works for you both, a compromise, rather than a need for the other person to change. And communicate more than just problems — communicate the good things too (see below for more).
- Not showing gratitude. Sometimes there are no real problems in a relationship, such as resentment or jealousy or unrealistic expectations — but there is also no expression of the good things about your partner either. This lack of gratitude and appreciation is just as bad as the problems, because without it your partner will feel like he or she is being taken for granted. Every person wants to be appreciated for all they do. And while you might have some problems with what your partner does (see above), you should also realize that your partner does good things too. Does she wash your dishes or cook you something you like? Does he clean up after you or support you in your job? Take the time to say thank you, and give a hug and kiss. This little expression can go a long way.
- Lack of affection. Similarly, everything else can be going right, including the expression of gratitude, but if there is no affection among partners then there is serious trouble. In effect, the relationship is drifting towards a platonic status. That might be better than many relationships that have serious problems, but it’s not a good thing. Affection is important –everyone needs some of it, especially from someone we love. Take the time, every single day, to give affection to your partner. Greet her when she comes home from work with a tight hug. Wake him up with a passionate kiss (who cares about morning breath!). Sneak up behind her and kiss her on the neck. Make out in the movie theater like teen-agers. Caress his back and neck while watching TV. Smile at her often.
- Bonus sin: Stubbornness. This wasn’t on my original list but I just thought about it before publishing this post, and had to add it in. Every relationship will have problems and arguments — but it’s important that you learn to work out these problems after cooling down a bit. Unfortunately, many of us are too stubborn to even talk about things. Perhaps we always want to be right. Perhaps we never want to admit that we made a mistake. Perhaps we don’t like to say we’re sorry. Perhaps we don’t like to compromise. I’ve done all of these things — but I’ve learned over the years that this is just childish. When I find myself being stubborn these days, I try to get over this childishness and suck it up and put away my ego and say I’m sorry. Talk about the problem and work it out. Don’t be afraid to be the first one to apologize. Then move past it to better things.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Crime Spree
Well - we had an exciting night last night.
Eldest bro and his gf came past to pick up The Hun and I to take us to mumsy and dadsy's. My aunty was celebrating her 40th birthday at a pub out in whoop-whoop and eldest bro would drive himself, his gf, The Hun and I and middle bro would drive himself, youngest bro, mumsy and dadsy because that's just the way you have to roll when you're invited places as a pack of eight.
We played some Mario Kart first (if you or a friend of yours has a Wii then you MUST already know this!) and I got my lose on, before we realised it was 6pm and time to bundle off for the long drive out. Eldest bro only had a quarter tank of petrol in his gf's car, so we went to the local service station, filled up and waited for the other car to turn up. It didn't. A call from middle bro told us that they couldn't find dadsy's car keys so we decided to come back to the house and wait there.
Cue a scene of eight people looking in every possible place for at least one of two sets of keys - youngest bro was sure he left them on his desk in the garage (his computer is in the shed as he is a young adult and the KFC wrappers, coke cans and empty bottles of beam were drawing mice into the house. Problem solved - put him in the garage with the cars).
Youngest bro was the first to decide the keys had been stolen. The garage door was left up, the computer screen was illuminating a few things, the sensor light wasn't on - someone must have just snuck up the driveway and knicked them. "What about those guys standing two houses up the middle of the street? They were there when we left to get petrol and they were still there when we came back?" - so dadsy, middle bro and eldest bro headed up the street to talk the three youngish looking men. I'm not sure what they asked exactly, but they told them that some keys had gone missing and had they seen anything? The guys responded with no they hadn't, had the car been stolen?, and that they were just there waiting for a friend so they could all go to a party. Then they started walking up the street.
Dadsy, middle bro and eldest bro came back to the house then middle bro and eldest bro headed back out with a torch, sure that the guys on the street had them and hoping that they'd chuck the keys now that they were onto them. They reasoned that they must be lying because they weren't waiting for their friend, so they snuck off after them with a torch, scanning the street from a distance and eavesdropping on what the guys were saying: 'Do you have any transport?'.
Back at the house, mumsy called her sister to let her know we wouldn't be able to make it, and sorry that they'd know have eight empty seats - unluckilly, her car decided to stop working earlier that morning and two visits from the NRMA had shown that it was just f*cked and needed to be towed - it was sitting in the garage with the keys in the ignition. While mumsy was on the phone, youngest bro was relaying his reasoning for the keys having to have been stolen - earlier that night he'd put some DVD's in the back of dadsy's car and put the car keys on the desk next to where middle bro had put the other set of keys earlier that night. As he put the keys down he saw another DVD he wanted to watch (dadsy's car is a big commodore thing he got through work that has a wanky DVD player in the back seat). He picked it up and went to put it in the car, realised it was locked, was too lazy to go back to get the keys so left the DVD on the roof of the car and went back into the house where we all were. The car was now unlocked. Someone had to have touched the keys.
This was enough to convince dadsy to call the police (Thanks ACT police! Thanks for NOTHING!) and a locksmith - one of the sets of keys had all the housekeys on it as well. We decided that as the meal was meant to be at a pub that night, we'd get some pizza and some grog and watch a few movies. Mumsy placed the order and I begged eldest bro to take me down to the groggo while we picked up dinner. There are two groggos at the local shops - one near the pizza place and one near the woolies - eldest bro wanted some snacks, so we headed up the woolies groggo.
On the drive into the shopping centre eldest bro told me about what he had planned to say in the confrontation - I had no idea what I would have said. His tactic was to explain that to put their mind at ease could they please empty their pockets, and if they couldn't then they would call the police - they really didn't want to take it that far, but they needed some peace of mind. We were discussing the events of the evening as we walked past the fish and chip shop and saw some guys walking out. I was thinking to myself how terrible the youth of today are, whilst eldest bro recognised them as the guys from the street. He didn't say anything, but as we walked towards Woolies we were talking about how shady it was - they weren't going to a party, they'd walked up for fish and chips. Something was fishy (pun half intended).
We got some biscuits and soft drinks, then headed into the groggo. I picked up some double strength cruisers (lemon and lime! yum!) and then we headed to the counter to pay for them - there were a few woolies staff standing around the entrance, looking serious and chatting animatedly. "Surely you'd notice if you dropped your keys!". Hrm! We stood at the counter and as one of the guys got ready to scan our drinks I asked him if someone else had lost some keys tonight as we'd lost some as well. He looked at us cryptically and we eventually told him that we'd had two pairs of keys stolen from our house and that the guys that had been hanging around our street that we think stole them had just walked out of the fish and chip shop. This is when the shop guy started acting really weird (perhaps he didn't want to incriminate anyone) and told us that we should call the police and let them know that our stolen keys may be related to an 'incident' that had occured earlier that night. He said that they had a pair of keys in the safe, that they had prints of the guys,that they had photos of at least two of the three guys that had been in the shop and that the takeaway across the way would have clear photos of their faces.
'Wouldn't it be exciting if it were them! Then they could get caught!'. We gave dadsy's details to the shop guy and he promised to call them in the morning. On the way out we saw that there was a camera outside the fish and chip shop, that centre management would be able to see the footage of eldest bro and I walking in, and those guys walking out.
Dadsy received a phone call this morning - yes, it was our keys. Those three guys had tried to steal some grog from woolies. They also stole grog from two houses up - the house they were standing outside. How much of a fluke is that?!
$750 later for lock changing, dadsy has to stay home tomorrow to get the car keys changed - the guys still have one set of keys and have not been caught.
Just who are these fearless types of people that steal grog from a house, stand outside to drink it, steal two sets of car keys and wait near the house to rob it, try to steal some grog, get caught and go to another shop in the centre to get dinner?!
Eldest bro and his gf came past to pick up The Hun and I to take us to mumsy and dadsy's. My aunty was celebrating her 40th birthday at a pub out in whoop-whoop and eldest bro would drive himself, his gf, The Hun and I and middle bro would drive himself, youngest bro, mumsy and dadsy because that's just the way you have to roll when you're invited places as a pack of eight.
We played some Mario Kart first (if you or a friend of yours has a Wii then you MUST already know this!) and I got my lose on, before we realised it was 6pm and time to bundle off for the long drive out. Eldest bro only had a quarter tank of petrol in his gf's car, so we went to the local service station, filled up and waited for the other car to turn up. It didn't. A call from middle bro told us that they couldn't find dadsy's car keys so we decided to come back to the house and wait there.
Cue a scene of eight people looking in every possible place for at least one of two sets of keys - youngest bro was sure he left them on his desk in the garage (his computer is in the shed as he is a young adult and the KFC wrappers, coke cans and empty bottles of beam were drawing mice into the house. Problem solved - put him in the garage with the cars).
Youngest bro was the first to decide the keys had been stolen. The garage door was left up, the computer screen was illuminating a few things, the sensor light wasn't on - someone must have just snuck up the driveway and knicked them. "What about those guys standing two houses up the middle of the street? They were there when we left to get petrol and they were still there when we came back?" - so dadsy, middle bro and eldest bro headed up the street to talk the three youngish looking men. I'm not sure what they asked exactly, but they told them that some keys had gone missing and had they seen anything? The guys responded with no they hadn't, had the car been stolen?, and that they were just there waiting for a friend so they could all go to a party. Then they started walking up the street.
Dadsy, middle bro and eldest bro came back to the house then middle bro and eldest bro headed back out with a torch, sure that the guys on the street had them and hoping that they'd chuck the keys now that they were onto them. They reasoned that they must be lying because they weren't waiting for their friend, so they snuck off after them with a torch, scanning the street from a distance and eavesdropping on what the guys were saying: 'Do you have any transport?'.
Back at the house, mumsy called her sister to let her know we wouldn't be able to make it, and sorry that they'd know have eight empty seats - unluckilly, her car decided to stop working earlier that morning and two visits from the NRMA had shown that it was just f*cked and needed to be towed - it was sitting in the garage with the keys in the ignition. While mumsy was on the phone, youngest bro was relaying his reasoning for the keys having to have been stolen - earlier that night he'd put some DVD's in the back of dadsy's car and put the car keys on the desk next to where middle bro had put the other set of keys earlier that night. As he put the keys down he saw another DVD he wanted to watch (dadsy's car is a big commodore thing he got through work that has a wanky DVD player in the back seat). He picked it up and went to put it in the car, realised it was locked, was too lazy to go back to get the keys so left the DVD on the roof of the car and went back into the house where we all were. The car was now unlocked. Someone had to have touched the keys.
This was enough to convince dadsy to call the police (Thanks ACT police! Thanks for NOTHING!) and a locksmith - one of the sets of keys had all the housekeys on it as well. We decided that as the meal was meant to be at a pub that night, we'd get some pizza and some grog and watch a few movies. Mumsy placed the order and I begged eldest bro to take me down to the groggo while we picked up dinner. There are two groggos at the local shops - one near the pizza place and one near the woolies - eldest bro wanted some snacks, so we headed up the woolies groggo.
On the drive into the shopping centre eldest bro told me about what he had planned to say in the confrontation - I had no idea what I would have said. His tactic was to explain that to put their mind at ease could they please empty their pockets, and if they couldn't then they would call the police - they really didn't want to take it that far, but they needed some peace of mind. We were discussing the events of the evening as we walked past the fish and chip shop and saw some guys walking out. I was thinking to myself how terrible the youth of today are, whilst eldest bro recognised them as the guys from the street. He didn't say anything, but as we walked towards Woolies we were talking about how shady it was - they weren't going to a party, they'd walked up for fish and chips. Something was fishy (pun half intended).
We got some biscuits and soft drinks, then headed into the groggo. I picked up some double strength cruisers (lemon and lime! yum!) and then we headed to the counter to pay for them - there were a few woolies staff standing around the entrance, looking serious and chatting animatedly. "Surely you'd notice if you dropped your keys!". Hrm! We stood at the counter and as one of the guys got ready to scan our drinks I asked him if someone else had lost some keys tonight as we'd lost some as well. He looked at us cryptically and we eventually told him that we'd had two pairs of keys stolen from our house and that the guys that had been hanging around our street that we think stole them had just walked out of the fish and chip shop. This is when the shop guy started acting really weird (perhaps he didn't want to incriminate anyone) and told us that we should call the police and let them know that our stolen keys may be related to an 'incident' that had occured earlier that night. He said that they had a pair of keys in the safe, that they had prints of the guys,that they had photos of at least two of the three guys that had been in the shop and that the takeaway across the way would have clear photos of their faces.
'Wouldn't it be exciting if it were them! Then they could get caught!'. We gave dadsy's details to the shop guy and he promised to call them in the morning. On the way out we saw that there was a camera outside the fish and chip shop, that centre management would be able to see the footage of eldest bro and I walking in, and those guys walking out.
Dadsy received a phone call this morning - yes, it was our keys. Those three guys had tried to steal some grog from woolies. They also stole grog from two houses up - the house they were standing outside. How much of a fluke is that?!
$750 later for lock changing, dadsy has to stay home tomorrow to get the car keys changed - the guys still have one set of keys and have not been caught.
Just who are these fearless types of people that steal grog from a house, stand outside to drink it, steal two sets of car keys and wait near the house to rob it, try to steal some grog, get caught and go to another shop in the centre to get dinner?!
Thursday, April 24, 2008
ePen's eBay eXcite
Well - colour me addicted!
I put four items up for sale last week - three Nintendo DS games and a Sony PSP game. I snooped around a little, looked at what people where charging for postage, photographed my items on my good white pillowcase, ripped off Jen's layout for the ad and started them low at $9.90 a cartridge. It wasn't looking too exciting, with two of the games sitting at about $11 each (what I would have got for trade-in anyway), one sitting at the reserve and one with zero bids on the morning of the last day. However, the last hour? Total excitment!
The two that were at about $11 ended up at $14.50 and $15.50.
The one at reserve ended up at $ 17.59.
The one with no bids ended up at $19.45!
That's over $67 total!
I was stoked - totally casino style with the rubbing of the hands and the chanting of 'more! More! MORE! Pappa needs some new shoes!' - whilst The Hun could only look on his madwoman with a combination of intrigue and embarrassment.
I have received money from two people and mailed their items (postage was only $2 and I charged $6!), one has payment pending and one is yet to get in touch with me. Which is fine. Because I am TOTALLY fine with advertising all over again.
Now, should I do some jewellery or shoes next...?!
I put four items up for sale last week - three Nintendo DS games and a Sony PSP game. I snooped around a little, looked at what people where charging for postage, photographed my items on my good white pillowcase, ripped off Jen's layout for the ad and started them low at $9.90 a cartridge. It wasn't looking too exciting, with two of the games sitting at about $11 each (what I would have got for trade-in anyway), one sitting at the reserve and one with zero bids on the morning of the last day. However, the last hour? Total excitment!
The two that were at about $11 ended up at $14.50 and $15.50.
The one at reserve ended up at $ 17.59.
The one with no bids ended up at $19.45!
That's over $67 total!
I was stoked - totally casino style with the rubbing of the hands and the chanting of 'more! More! MORE! Pappa needs some new shoes!' - whilst The Hun could only look on his madwoman with a combination of intrigue and embarrassment.
I have received money from two people and mailed their items (postage was only $2 and I charged $6!), one has payment pending and one is yet to get in touch with me. Which is fine. Because I am TOTALLY fine with advertising all over again.
Now, should I do some jewellery or shoes next...?!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Pedal, Pedal, Pedal
Tonight, for the first time in a few years, I will be participating in a cycle class. RPM to be more precise.
I'm a little more than terrified.
I loved it when I was doing it most weekdays at the gym across the road from work - sure, I wanted to vomit everywhere then nestle down in it and die after the first class, but after the first few weeks my butt was immune to the pain, I wasn't panting like a St Bernard as soon as it started and the gross amounts of sweat I put out were finally a medal rather than something to feel embarrassed about. But the thing that I loved most about it was that I was often the best in the class at it, or least one of the top performers.
I'm really hoping I can get back into the groove with it - I'm hoping to make it three times a week and still go to a pump class as well. I'm hoping my clicky knee doesn't give me grief and allow me to just give up. I'm hoping I'm not intimidated by the people who will be in there who will most probably definitely be fitter than me. I'm hoping these giant man legs I've been 'gifted' with will come in handy... Wish me luck, ppl!
I'm a little more than terrified.
I loved it when I was doing it most weekdays at the gym across the road from work - sure, I wanted to vomit everywhere then nestle down in it and die after the first class, but after the first few weeks my butt was immune to the pain, I wasn't panting like a St Bernard as soon as it started and the gross amounts of sweat I put out were finally a medal rather than something to feel embarrassed about. But the thing that I loved most about it was that I was often the best in the class at it, or least one of the top performers.
I'm really hoping I can get back into the groove with it - I'm hoping to make it three times a week and still go to a pump class as well. I'm hoping my clicky knee doesn't give me grief and allow me to just give up. I'm hoping I'm not intimidated by the people who will be in there who will most probably definitely be fitter than me. I'm hoping these giant man legs I've been 'gifted' with will come in handy... Wish me luck, ppl!
THEN go wish the amazing Mr Adam a very happy birthday!!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Making chocolate babies
I saw this quite some time ago now and left it in my tabs so I'd remember to post it.
Question: would you eat it?
Question: would you eat it?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
3 year annivesary / 21 in dog years
Three years and ??? posts later - I like to think I'm getting only better with age, but I guess I can never be sure (you probably can).
Without further ado, allow me to continue the traditions of 2006 and 2007 by wrapping up the third year of 'Welcome to the Enny-Pen':
17/04 - The previous wrapup post
24/04 - Update from Thailand
30/04 - Update from Japan
09/05 - Holiday wrapup
10/05 - Toilet talk
11/05 - Wakeup calls
13/05 - Happy Birthday and anniversary middle bro
16/05 - Busy with uni and vegan popcorn
17/05 - Uni ramblings learning about kg/mgb
19/05 - Talking in code to the watchers
22/05 - Lazy dinner pasta recipe
26/05 - Considering job applications
27/05 - Joined MySpace
29/05 - More coded ramblings
01/06 - Submitted job application
04/06 - Photoshopping mole removal
05/06 - Funny day in the life of a vegan
07/06 - Knee mole deemed harmless
08/06 - 100 things about me
11/06 - Exam study makes tumbleweeds
13/06 - Exams are finished
14/06 - Of religion and trained beliefs
17/06 - 400th post: Awarding my readers
19/06 - Meme: 8 random things about me
20/06 - Flu and Lolcat
24/06 - More flu and almost house inspection
26/06 - Buhbye face moles!
28/06 - Thoughts on the new face holes
30/06 - Hypothetical proposals
03/07 - Dotpoints: No proposal, moles or landlord, Facebook and uni results
07/07 - Billy Bragg lyrics 'Must I paint you a picture'
08/07 - Lame 21st party
10/07 - Facebook off video
12/07 - Regina Spektor show
15/07 - Potentially engaged friends and more Regina Spektor
17/07 - Ski trip!
19/07 - Canberra blog competition
22/07 - 80s night and meeting Mick
24/07 - Still no house inspection
26/07 - No piercings or Qld holiday
28/07 - Please read this to see why I am vegan
31/07 - Moping on being left behind
02/08 - Practicing my ANTM walk
04/08 - LG15 finale
05/08 - Dotpoints: Idol, Simpsons Movie, Suits, Shoes, Elvis and Karma
08/08 - My Pa's Car
12/08 - Another day, another diet
14/08 - More on the diet, milk traces and detox
16/08 - Planning a Melbourne meetup
21/08 - Dotpoints: Weightloss, tattoos, shoes, bags and cookbooks
23/08 - Melbourne and Canberra blogmeets
26/08 - Melbourne wrapup
28/08 - The Huns infamous Voldemort mole joke
01/09 - Dotpoints: Uni, Ratatouillie, No Reservations and Club Med
02/09 - Ben Stiller vs Vince Vaughan
04/09 - Startling truth (burp)
06/09 - Ironly, need and want
09/09 - Martial arts camp
10/09 - Humbling smiles
15/09 - Flower Day!
16/09 - Uni cram
20/09 - Another lame apology
22/09 - Cancer in my friend
25/09 - Dexter yum
27/09 - Bjork announces tour, Angus & Julia Stone, Muse, Homebake & Big Day Out
30/09 - SuperBad at Dendy Premier Lounge
03/10 - Prepping for dress advice
04/10 - Request for dress advice
07/10 - Musicals, Moscato and Flowering Dogwood
09/10 - Boxing and bagging Rebel Sport
10/10 - Buying Big Day Out tickets - ugh
12/10 - Feeling good about uni (for once!)
14/10 - Angus & Julia Stone at the UC Bar
16/10 - Hypotheticals in traffic lines and lanes
20/10 - Dot Points: uni, running, doctor, bike, magazine, book, Qld and pretty
21/10 - Parents looking for blog
23/10 - Spicy curry too damn spicy
24/10 - More dress advice please
25/10 - Shocking fast, exam and porn
28/10 - Two weddings
30/10 - Seeking help on voting
01/11 - Almost dotpoints: Uni, weddings, running, blood tests, books and festivals
06/11 - Intermittent explanation
06/11 - Blue Mountains wedding update
07/11 - Bjork ticket fiasco
08/11 - Meme: Five question interview
11/11 - Body image issues
13/11 - More on Skinny Bitch
15/11 - Vegetarian Dadsy!
18/11 - Muse wrapup
19/11 - More info on election voting
20/11 - Meme: Five question interview (again!)
22/11 - Dotpoints: Veggie parents, Tupperware, 21st, ho's, Max the dog, Wii and Old.
25/11 - Homebake timetable
27/11 - Tired of feeling tired
29/11 - Max is feeling unwell
02/12 - More on Max
03/12 - Max in Sydney Vet
04/12 - Using Google Feeder
05/12 - Max has passed
09/12 - Back from Sydney
10/12 - Dotpoints: Cuzmas, Max, WWED, Homebake, Hash Browns, Bowling, Acrylics and Books
13/12 - Work Kris Kringle
14/12 - Passing of a friend
18/12 - 'Joy of living'
19/12 - Charity gift giving
21/12 - Happiness testing
24/12 - Half nekkid Christmas men
27/12 - Dotpoints: Christmas, Gifts, Wii, DS, Thongs, Coast, Grandparents, Puppies, Vegas and Bjork
30/12 - Resoluations that wont, might and should happen
02/01 - Dotpoints: New Years, Darjeeling Limited, Golden Compass and DS Games
04/01 - Meme: Wrapup 2007
07/01 - Requesting questions for the 500th post
09/01 - My reader wants me to read me
10/01 - Come on in the checkout line
12/01 - Meme: Eight things
14/01 - 24 lonely hours in the life of enny
16/01 - Big Day Out timetable
17/01 - Dotpoints: Bro's are back, Riding, Charting, Juno, Work, Tickets and Wii
19/01 - 500th post - you interviewed me!
22/01 - Ready for Bjork
26/01 - Sydney: Bjork, Big Day Out and Zoo
28/01 - Toilet cleaning question
30/01 - Spiffy Queensland apartments
01/02 - Meme: Archives post
04/02 - Intermission
05/02 - The Amazing Adverntures of Diet Girl!
07/02 - Beautiful shoes for a wedding
10/02 - Family Tea and naughty ear cleaning pleasure
12/02 - Pigeons with arms
14/02 - War Child Charity Fundraising
17/02 - Going public and Meme: CD Cover
19/02 - Feeling stupid: Bike, shoes and cars
20/02 - Eye test and Queensland
27/01 - Queensland wrapup
01/03 - Meme: 15 movies
03/03 - Itchy ITCHY!
05/03 - Bad jobs and conditions
06/03 - I'm being copied!
09/03 - Smells like baby
11/03 - Dawsons Creek finale
13/03 - Musing on the ex
16/03 - Look at all my shoes!
18/03 - Trying to re-blurb the blog
21/03 - National Folk Festival Day One
22/03 - National Folk Festival Day Two
22/03 - National Folk Festival Day Three
23/03 - National Folk Festival Day Four
24/03 - National Folk Festival Day Five
26/03 - Happy (early) Birthday poetry
28/03 - Birthday wrapup
29/03 - Crazy nude dream
31/03 - Foot tattoos
02/04 - Cajon drum
04/04 - Spiffy new hair!
06/04 - Thinking grounded
08/04 - Whinging dots
10/04 - Not as whingy dotpoints
13/04 - Headache
15/04 - Broken Wii and eBay
Hooray!
Without further ado, allow me to continue the traditions of 2006 and 2007 by wrapping up the third year of 'Welcome to the Enny-Pen':
17/04 - The previous wrapup post
24/04 - Update from Thailand
30/04 - Update from Japan
09/05 - Holiday wrapup
10/05 - Toilet talk
11/05 - Wakeup calls
13/05 - Happy Birthday and anniversary middle bro
16/05 - Busy with uni and vegan popcorn
17/05 - Uni ramblings learning about kg/mgb
19/05 - Talking in code to the watchers
22/05 - Lazy dinner pasta recipe
26/05 - Considering job applications
27/05 - Joined MySpace
29/05 - More coded ramblings
01/06 - Submitted job application
04/06 - Photoshopping mole removal
05/06 - Funny day in the life of a vegan
07/06 - Knee mole deemed harmless
08/06 - 100 things about me
11/06 - Exam study makes tumbleweeds
13/06 - Exams are finished
14/06 - Of religion and trained beliefs
17/06 - 400th post: Awarding my readers
19/06 - Meme: 8 random things about me
20/06 - Flu and Lolcat
24/06 - More flu and almost house inspection
26/06 - Buhbye face moles!
28/06 - Thoughts on the new face holes
30/06 - Hypothetical proposals
03/07 - Dotpoints: No proposal, moles or landlord, Facebook and uni results
07/07 - Billy Bragg lyrics 'Must I paint you a picture'
08/07 - Lame 21st party
10/07 - Facebook off video
12/07 - Regina Spektor show
15/07 - Potentially engaged friends and more Regina Spektor
17/07 - Ski trip!
19/07 - Canberra blog competition
22/07 - 80s night and meeting Mick
24/07 - Still no house inspection
26/07 - No piercings or Qld holiday
28/07 - Please read this to see why I am vegan
31/07 - Moping on being left behind
02/08 - Practicing my ANTM walk
04/08 - LG15 finale
05/08 - Dotpoints: Idol, Simpsons Movie, Suits, Shoes, Elvis and Karma
08/08 - My Pa's Car
12/08 - Another day, another diet
14/08 - More on the diet, milk traces and detox
16/08 - Planning a Melbourne meetup
21/08 - Dotpoints: Weightloss, tattoos, shoes, bags and cookbooks
23/08 - Melbourne and Canberra blogmeets
26/08 - Melbourne wrapup
28/08 - The Huns infamous Voldemort mole joke
01/09 - Dotpoints: Uni, Ratatouillie, No Reservations and Club Med
02/09 - Ben Stiller vs Vince Vaughan
04/09 - Startling truth (burp)
06/09 - Ironly, need and want
09/09 - Martial arts camp
10/09 - Humbling smiles
15/09 - Flower Day!
16/09 - Uni cram
20/09 - Another lame apology
22/09 - Cancer in my friend
25/09 - Dexter yum
27/09 - Bjork announces tour, Angus & Julia Stone, Muse, Homebake & Big Day Out
30/09 - SuperBad at Dendy Premier Lounge
03/10 - Prepping for dress advice
04/10 - Request for dress advice
07/10 - Musicals, Moscato and Flowering Dogwood
09/10 - Boxing and bagging Rebel Sport
10/10 - Buying Big Day Out tickets - ugh
12/10 - Feeling good about uni (for once!)
14/10 - Angus & Julia Stone at the UC Bar
16/10 - Hypotheticals in traffic lines and lanes
20/10 - Dot Points: uni, running, doctor, bike, magazine, book, Qld and pretty
21/10 - Parents looking for blog
23/10 - Spicy curry too damn spicy
24/10 - More dress advice please
25/10 - Shocking fast, exam and porn
28/10 - Two weddings
30/10 - Seeking help on voting
01/11 - Almost dotpoints: Uni, weddings, running, blood tests, books and festivals
06/11 - Intermittent explanation
06/11 - Blue Mountains wedding update
07/11 - Bjork ticket fiasco
08/11 - Meme: Five question interview
11/11 - Body image issues
13/11 - More on Skinny Bitch
15/11 - Vegetarian Dadsy!
18/11 - Muse wrapup
19/11 - More info on election voting
20/11 - Meme: Five question interview (again!)
22/11 - Dotpoints: Veggie parents, Tupperware, 21st, ho's, Max the dog, Wii and Old.
25/11 - Homebake timetable
27/11 - Tired of feeling tired
29/11 - Max is feeling unwell
02/12 - More on Max
03/12 - Max in Sydney Vet
04/12 - Using Google Feeder
05/12 - Max has passed
09/12 - Back from Sydney
10/12 - Dotpoints: Cuzmas, Max, WWED, Homebake, Hash Browns, Bowling, Acrylics and Books
13/12 - Work Kris Kringle
14/12 - Passing of a friend
18/12 - 'Joy of living'
19/12 - Charity gift giving
21/12 - Happiness testing
24/12 - Half nekkid Christmas men
27/12 - Dotpoints: Christmas, Gifts, Wii, DS, Thongs, Coast, Grandparents, Puppies, Vegas and Bjork
30/12 - Resoluations that wont, might and should happen
02/01 - Dotpoints: New Years, Darjeeling Limited, Golden Compass and DS Games
04/01 - Meme: Wrapup 2007
07/01 - Requesting questions for the 500th post
09/01 - My reader wants me to read me
10/01 - Come on in the checkout line
12/01 - Meme: Eight things
14/01 - 24 lonely hours in the life of enny
16/01 - Big Day Out timetable
17/01 - Dotpoints: Bro's are back, Riding, Charting, Juno, Work, Tickets and Wii
19/01 - 500th post - you interviewed me!
22/01 - Ready for Bjork
26/01 - Sydney: Bjork, Big Day Out and Zoo
28/01 - Toilet cleaning question
30/01 - Spiffy Queensland apartments
01/02 - Meme: Archives post
04/02 - Intermission
05/02 - The Amazing Adverntures of Diet Girl!
07/02 - Beautiful shoes for a wedding
10/02 - Family Tea and naughty ear cleaning pleasure
12/02 - Pigeons with arms
14/02 - War Child Charity Fundraising
17/02 - Going public and Meme: CD Cover
19/02 - Feeling stupid: Bike, shoes and cars
20/02 - Eye test and Queensland
27/01 - Queensland wrapup
01/03 - Meme: 15 movies
03/03 - Itchy ITCHY!
05/03 - Bad jobs and conditions
06/03 - I'm being copied!
09/03 - Smells like baby
11/03 - Dawsons Creek finale
13/03 - Musing on the ex
16/03 - Look at all my shoes!
18/03 - Trying to re-blurb the blog
21/03 - National Folk Festival Day One
22/03 - National Folk Festival Day Two
22/03 - National Folk Festival Day Three
23/03 - National Folk Festival Day Four
24/03 - National Folk Festival Day Five
26/03 - Happy (early) Birthday poetry
28/03 - Birthday wrapup
29/03 - Crazy nude dream
31/03 - Foot tattoos
02/04 - Cajon drum
04/04 - Spiffy new hair!
06/04 - Thinking grounded
08/04 - Whinging dots
10/04 - Not as whingy dotpoints
13/04 - Headache
15/04 - Broken Wii and eBay
Hooray!
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Wii intermission
This will only be a quickie - we found out the fine lines we were seeing in some of our Wii games is a video card overheat thing, so I spent the best part of half an hour this afternoon trying to find the receipt.
Pro: I'm a pack rat.
Con: This means I have LOTS of receipt looking papers.
Pro: It was bound to be somewhere.
Con: Lotsa pack ratting means lots of pack ratting places (filing cabinet, memory boxes, bedside drawers, current handbag pockets, current purse pockets, old handbags old purses...).
It was in my organiser (of course! Why didn't I look there first!) and I found the box as well so I'm all ready to take it back tomorrow and hopefully get us a brand newie *fingers crossed*. Bummer is that we forgot to get our Mii's and I lose my Guitar Hero progress.
While I was talking to the friendly shop gentlemen I asked him how much I could get for my much beloved DS games (no longer needed) were I to trade them in. Answer: Nintendogs Daschund and Friends = $11.
$11?!
So tonight, I foray into eBaying.
Heaven help us all.
Pro: I'm a pack rat.
Con: This means I have LOTS of receipt looking papers.
Pro: It was bound to be somewhere.
Con: Lotsa pack ratting means lots of pack ratting places (filing cabinet, memory boxes, bedside drawers, current handbag pockets, current purse pockets, old handbags old purses...).
It was in my organiser (of course! Why didn't I look there first!) and I found the box as well so I'm all ready to take it back tomorrow and hopefully get us a brand newie *fingers crossed*. Bummer is that we forgot to get our Mii's and I lose my Guitar Hero progress.
While I was talking to the friendly shop gentlemen I asked him how much I could get for my much beloved DS games (no longer needed) were I to trade them in. Answer: Nintendogs Daschund and Friends = $11.
$11?!
So tonight, I foray into eBaying.
Heaven help us all.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Headache
I woke up with a headache yesterday - something that is not as uncommon as it used to be. When I was younger I'd only get the occasionally, but I'd be able to sleep them off - they'd be gone after a nap or the next morning. These days, not so much.
When I gave blood on Thursday I was asked if I'd taken any pain medication in the past seven days - I realised I'd had ibuprofen (it's in Nurofen, but I take it in Herron Blue because it comes in a handy handbag pack) on Monday night and Saturday night. She told me she hoped it wasn't for the same headache and I reassured her that no, it wasn't.
As I lay in bed with a dull thumping behind my right eye I counted the amount of ibuprofen I had taken recently: 2 last Friday, 2 on Saturday, 2 on Monday, 2 on Thursday, 2 on Friday, 2 on Friday night. Hrm.
I decided (and The Hun insisted) that I perhaps give it a break. Obviously the headache couldn't have been withdrawals (having taken 4 in the past 24 hours) but it can't be very good for me. At all.
I must say, yesterday was a sh!tty day. I drove over to The Hun's mechanic friends place so his car could get serviced, I made Hash Browns for breakfast (ZomgSoGood*) and then I lay about on the couch for 5 hours moping and pouting and napping and considering just taking the tablets. At Jey's suggestion I heated up my wheatbag for my neck (all headaches seem to come with some neck pain for me) which didn't really help but felt lovely and cosy. At another of Jey's suggestions I nagged The Hun for a neck massage which was nice, but also rather unhelpful. The fixer? Heading over to The Hun's parents for dinner with his grandparents - 2 vegan sausages, a turkish roll, a baked potato, some fruit, some cashews and tonnes of those Rosemary and sea salt biscuits.
So, first step is going to be trying to cut out the ibuprofen. I'm hoping it's not too much of a big deal, but if yesterdays headache had occurred on a weekday I'd have been completely useless (or more so).
Then, I'm going to try to cut back on processed foods. Which really, won't be too big a deal - mainly my snacks and my redeye (Sob! Goodbye love!). But, no rush - gradual might be the way to go (those caffeine withdrawal headaches are going to be a total b!tch without ibuprofen!).
*Hash Browns:
- Grate a small onion into a bowl and grate three peeled potatoes into another bowl.
- Heat a frypan on medium and add half a tablespoon of olive oil and half a tablespoon of Nuttelex.
- Cook a third of the onion.
- Squeeze one third of the potato between paper towels to get out as much of the juices as you can, then add to the frypan and squoosh flat with spatula.
- Cook for roughly five minutes until the bottom side is cooked then remove.
- Add half a teaspoon of olive oil and half a teaspoon of Nuttelex into the pan and put the uncooked side of the hash brown down into the pan.
- Cook for another five minutes until you're happy, remove from pan and cover in salt, exclaim to all a sundry how fantastic it is.
When I gave blood on Thursday I was asked if I'd taken any pain medication in the past seven days - I realised I'd had ibuprofen (it's in Nurofen, but I take it in Herron Blue because it comes in a handy handbag pack) on Monday night and Saturday night. She told me she hoped it wasn't for the same headache and I reassured her that no, it wasn't.
As I lay in bed with a dull thumping behind my right eye I counted the amount of ibuprofen I had taken recently: 2 last Friday, 2 on Saturday, 2 on Monday, 2 on Thursday, 2 on Friday, 2 on Friday night. Hrm.
I decided (and The Hun insisted) that I perhaps give it a break. Obviously the headache couldn't have been withdrawals (having taken 4 in the past 24 hours) but it can't be very good for me. At all.
I must say, yesterday was a sh!tty day. I drove over to The Hun's mechanic friends place so his car could get serviced, I made Hash Browns for breakfast (ZomgSoGood*) and then I lay about on the couch for 5 hours moping and pouting and napping and considering just taking the tablets. At Jey's suggestion I heated up my wheatbag for my neck (all headaches seem to come with some neck pain for me) which didn't really help but felt lovely and cosy. At another of Jey's suggestions I nagged The Hun for a neck massage which was nice, but also rather unhelpful. The fixer? Heading over to The Hun's parents for dinner with his grandparents - 2 vegan sausages, a turkish roll, a baked potato, some fruit, some cashews and tonnes of those Rosemary and sea salt biscuits.
So, first step is going to be trying to cut out the ibuprofen. I'm hoping it's not too much of a big deal, but if yesterdays headache had occurred on a weekday I'd have been completely useless (or more so).
Then, I'm going to try to cut back on processed foods. Which really, won't be too big a deal - mainly my snacks and my redeye (Sob! Goodbye love!). But, no rush - gradual might be the way to go (those caffeine withdrawal headaches are going to be a total b!tch without ibuprofen!).
*Hash Browns:
- Grate a small onion into a bowl and grate three peeled potatoes into another bowl.
- Heat a frypan on medium and add half a tablespoon of olive oil and half a tablespoon of Nuttelex.
- Cook a third of the onion.
- Squeeze one third of the potato between paper towels to get out as much of the juices as you can, then add to the frypan and squoosh flat with spatula.
- Cook for roughly five minutes until the bottom side is cooked then remove.
- Add half a teaspoon of olive oil and half a teaspoon of Nuttelex into the pan and put the uncooked side of the hash brown down into the pan.
- Cook for another five minutes until you're happy, remove from pan and cover in salt, exclaim to all a sundry how fantastic it is.
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