Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

A Christmas message which the lawyers will enjoy (it arrived in my inbox from my Dad this morning):

From me ......................................................("the wishor")
to you ........................................................("the wishee")

Please accept without obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious,socially responsible, politically correct, low stress,non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the summer solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a financially successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2005 , but with due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures or sects, and having regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting you are bound by these terms that:-

*This greeting is subject to further clarification or withdrawal.

*This greeting is freely transferable provided that no alteration shall be made to the original greeting and that the proprietary rights of the wishor are acknowledged.

*This greeting implies no promise by the wishor to actually implement any of the wishes.

*This greeting may not be enforceable in certain jurisdictions and/or the restrictions herein may not be binding upon certain wishees in certain jurisdictions and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wishor.

*This greeting is warranted to perform as reasonably may be expected within the usual application of good tidings, for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first.

The wishor warrants this greeting only for the limited replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wishor.

Any references in this greeting to "The Lord", "Father Christmas", "Our Saviour", "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer" or any other festive figures, whether actual or fictitious, dead or alive, shall not imply any endorsement by or from them in respect of this greeting, and all proprietary rights in any referenced third party names and images are hereby acknowledged.

This greeting is made under Australian Law, and only actionable under the laws of the said land.

Dated this 24th Day of December 2004



And since this will be my last post until next year, a 2004 retrospective, as stolen from Retro-Boy:

What did you do in 2004 that you'd never done before?
Heaps of stuff. Went on numerous blind dates is probably the one that comes most to mind since it's the one thing I'd never done before that I did a lot of this year.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I can't actually remember what they were, so I'm not sure. And yeah, I'll make more for next year. I always do and then I always forget what they were.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yep - T gave birth to her and S's baby.

Did anyone close to you die?
No - but someone close to someone I'm close to died.

What countries did you visit?
Scotland, England, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland and Japan.

What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004?
That someone special in my life (sorry for the sappiness - it is Christmas after all when all single people feel far more single than usual)

What date from 2004 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The date I arrived back home and saw all of my friends and family for the first time in months.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Paying off my car in 7 months after coming back to Australia dead broke.

What was your biggest failure?
Being stuck in a secondment where I was bored.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yep - many.

What was the best thing you bought?
The full catalogue of Buffy DVDs (all 7 seasons) - yep, I know I'm sad. ;o)

Whose behaviour merited celebration?
My nephew - but really only because he went from being very shy around me to being delighted to see me, which makes a girl feel great! Not because his behaviour was objectively wonderful.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
My niece - I know it's mostly not her fault, but she really can be a real brat.

Where did most of your money go?
On the car, CD/DVD purchases, stuff for the house

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The birth of T&S's baby

What song will always remind you of 2004?
I still call Australia home? I don't know. I probably won't know until a couple of years down the track.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? happier
thinner or fatter? not sure - probably a little thinner since I'm drinking less Guinness
richer or poorer? way, way richer (I was dead broke in Europe this time last year)

What do you wish you'd done more of?
Travel.

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Stressing.

How will you be spending Christmas?
With my family (and possibly verbs).

Did you fall in love in 2004?
No, but I developed a couple of new crushes.

What was your favorite TV program?
CSI

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
*ponders* I don't think so. I don't hate anyone I can think of. I probably like a few people a little less than I did this time last year, but I honestly can't think of anyone there either.

What was the best book you read?
World of Chickens - Nick Earls (but only because Naylor's Canberra is unfinished *g*)

What was your greatest musical discovery of 2004?
Oooh. Tough one. Probably Wesley Davidson or The Meadows. Everyone else wasn't really a discovery, more of a re-awakening.

What did you want and get?
Many, many consumer goods. A promotion.

What did you want and not get?
Same as for "What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004"

What was your favorite film of this year?
Somersault probably. I actually haven't seen that many.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Arrived back in the country from Europe. I was 30.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Same as for "What would you like to have in 2005 that you lacked in 2004" (am I starting to sound like a broken record? I'm pretty happy being single, but I pretty much got everything else I wanted this year).

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2004?
Same as always. Whatever is comfortable and doesn't require ironing.

What kept you sane?
Family and friends. The free therapy represented by this blog.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Well, I think we all know by now that I have a little crush on Guy Webster...

What political issue stirred you the most?
The intolerance of people for the political views of others.

Who did you miss?
My Dublin friends.

Who was the best new person you met?
I can't think of any people I met this year that had a big influence on me. I rekindled some very old friendships that have changed my life though. The cutest would have been T&S's baby.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2004:
Sometimes it's better to let go of a friend than to hold on out of guilt.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
"A clock is ticking, but it's hidden far away safe and sound"
This year was a year of me putting things on hold - more travel, buying a house, progressing my career. I know I should do something about them all soon, but I'm still procrastinating.

I found this post on Unfogged about the torture of prisoners of war in Iraq really interesting. I agree with a lot of what John says.

And also via Unfogged, Project Honey Pot looks interesting. It was developed to identify spammers before they send spam to you. To quote from their blurb:

Using the Project Honey Pot system you can install addresses that are custom-tagged to the time and IP address of a visitor to your site. If one of these addresses begins receiving email we not only can tell that the messages are spam, but also the exact moment when the address was harvested and the IP address that gathered it.

Spread the word.

Listening to: the Christmas CD of the girl across the way from me.

QMusic gig

Last night was one of the best gigs I've been to in ages.

The line-up was supposed to be george, Dave McCormack, Giants of Science, Intercooler, Andrew Morris, The Ninth Wave, but the order got moved around a bit and I think a couple dropped out and a couple were added in.

The actual line-up that I saw was: Intercooler, Andrew Morris, george, Dave McCormack, Pete Murray and there was another band on after that, but I didn't hang around for it.

I went with the Tall Guy, the Childhood Friend (CF) from last Saturday night, and his "friend" (reading between the lines, I think she's a fling). It was fantastic to have a real catch up with him - we chatted about everything and nothing. He started on the Brisbane music scene 17 years ago in a band whose members had been around for probably 10 years before that, so he's incredibly knowledgable about who came from where and how it's all developed into what it is today. He loved the selection of bands that QMusic has put together and said that Release by george was worth the $20 entry fee in itself. I think that To the Void would blow his mind - and told him so.

And thinking of george, I have no idea that Katie Noonan was pregnant (due in May next year) and that she and Isaac had just got married! I must be out of it lately.



Anyway, I'll do a brief run-down of the bands:

Intercooler - sort of a rock/pop with great harmonies and melodic songs. Very nice. I've seen them a couple of times before, but they don't get me the way some other bands do.

Andrew Morris - the folk end of country/folk, he was still a little to country for me. But he and his band did what the did very well and were certainly impressive.

george - did a laid back accoustic set that was beautiful but lacked that rocking power that I love about their early stuff. Nick was hidden behind the curtain which was a shame, but as per usual, I couldn't take my eyes off Katie Noonan as soon as she started to sing.

Dave McCormack - the Polaroids had obviously gone home, but instead he had 2/3 of the Sensitive Side of Gentle Ben behind him. It was a good gig, but not as good as Saturday night.

Pete Murray - I've never seen him live before and only knew So Beautiful from the radio. He's very impressive live - can hold your attention with just him and a guitar and puts a lot of feeling into his songs. A true Aussie troubadour and I'm thinking I'll be out there buying his album soon.

All of the sets were very short to get through all of the bands in the time. Thankfully, the teeny-bopper crowd mostly dispersed after george. As I said at the time, they probably had to meet curfew.

There was apparently another band on after Pete Murray, but by this stage it was midnight, I'd almost lost my voice and I knew I had to work today. So I bailed and we all left the Tall Guy there on his own. I'll have to ask him who the last band was...

Listening to: nothing - still no sound card

teeth

I went to the dentist this morning for the first time in about 5 or 6 years. Other than the fact that they needed a good clean to get rid of some plaque build up, apparently they are "beautiful" and "perfect". Always nice to hear.

I think part of the reason why I am so bad about looking after my teeth is because I've never had any problems with them. I've never had braces or a filling. The only dental surgery I've had is getting my wisdom teeth out. When I was a kid, my baby teeth hung on so hard that sometimes I had to get them pulled so that the adult tooth had room to grow into the spot (otherwise I ended up with a double row of teeth for a while), but I've never had to have any emergency proceedures.

It's probably genetic. My brother has even better teeth than me - he's lucky in that he doesn't have any wisdom teeth and he lost his last baby tooth when he was well into his teens (at 16yo if memory serves). Or maybe it's because Mum fed us fluoride tablets when we were kids.

I don't floss. I rarely go to the dentist (the time before the one visit 6 years ago was probably 4 years before that). I brush my teeth every morning but rarely at night (I tend to forget).

Maybe this is like that favourite uncle that everyone talks about who smoked a pack a day, drank whisky like water and was as healthy as a horse, finally dying at 99yo when he was hit by a truck. Or something like that.

Listening to: nothing: still have a busted sound card (but I have Darron Hanlon's Hiccups on repeat in my head

Australian Blog Awards

I went back to Will Type for Food after discovering on my ecosystem details that he/she had linked me.

And found out about the Australian Blog Awards. After my whinging about the last awards I found out about, I figured I'd nominate some of the blogs I like for these ones. And since I've mostly nominated people who read me, I figured I should tell you about it.

I've nominated:

Best NSW Blog - Mrs Hardly and the case of the spotted blog - http://mrshardly.blogspot.com/

Best Victorian Blog - Infernality - http://infernality.blogspot.com/

Best Queensland Blog - Ignorance is Bliss - http://digallagher.blogspot.com/ (this was very hard - I like all of the Qld blogs I read, but Di's is consistently interesting and frequently amusing - and I like her photos)

Best Northern Territory Blog - Troppo Armadillo - http://troppoarmadillo.ubersportingpundit.com/

Best Overseas Australian Blog - courting disaster - http://www.reallyquiteunlikely.blogspot.com/

Best Humourous Australian Blog - Beer O'Clock - http://beeroclock.blogspot.com/ (also very difficult to pick, but I figured a nomination for each of the hubby and wife team may make for a more happy household! ;o))

Best Australian Personal Blog - Diary of an Average Australian - http://www.toxiccustard.com/diary/

Best Australian Political Blog - Troppo Armadillo - http://troppoarmadillo.ubersportingpundit.com/

There is also a Best Post on an Australian Blog category, but my nomination for it may take a little more time. I have to really think about who has written a great post. And I'll probably pick someone I haven't already nominated. Any ideas?

I didn't nominate anyone for a lot of the categories - I don't read any blogs in WA for instance and I couldn't think of any stand-out designs. Again, I'm open to suggestions.

Update 22/10/04: Holy sweet mother of.... You want to get heaps more hits on your site? Just say nice things about Troppo Armadillo so someone there says nice things about you and get a referral link from there on Robert Corr's weblog. I usually get around 20 hits a day on this thing and yesterday I got over 70! And nearly all of them were referrals from one of these two sites. Actually, I think the first 4 words of this update sum it up nicely...

Listening to: nothing - I think my sound card might be buggered

Mix-taper

I think I've talked before about the concept of being a mix-taper. I was asked about it again on the weekend, so I thought I'd clarify. The concept comes from this quiz:

I am a mix taper!




How indie are you? test by ridethefader

You're really enthusiastic about the music
that you like. You attempt to discover your new
favourite band every week. You continually try
to get your friends into the music you like, which
annoys the fuck out of them, but you don't know it.
At least you're not arrogant about it.


And thinking of the weekend:

Friday

I met The Vegetarian and the Tall Guy in at Rics to see Tylea. She was on with a whole bunch of others. First up was Dane from Charles Foster Kane - he seems less arrogant solo than with the full CFK line-up, but I still think that the keyboardist Andrew is more crush worthy - it's the whole naughty choirboy thing. Anyway, he did a good set, a couple of covers, some of his own songs and some CFK stuff, but I was too busy being annoyed by the very drunk city boys in pinstripe shirts and suits who kept on pushing the table into my back and yelling "Play something we know" at Dane to truly enjoy the set.

Thankfully, they left before Tylea came on. I'm a fan and I don't think she ever does a bad set, but this one was perhaps less brilliant than usual. She has a very folky, intimate style that works best when the place is pretty quiet and the audience is actually listening. The crowd was still really disrespectful and there were two guys sitting right in front of her that chatted through most of her set. She had hecklers and I have to say that I loved the way she handled them. The two guys right in front actually came out right at the end and asked her if her knees were glued together! I couldn't believe it! That's a comment along the "Show us ya tits" lines of unacceptable behaviour! *shakes head*

From there the evening became slightly surreal. The funny thing was that I didn't really think so until I thought about it afterwards. After Tylea had finished her set, she ended up sitting next to us. As I'm never too sure whether someone kind of famous wants to be bothered when they're being part of the audience, I pretty much left her to her own devices, but she was on her own a lot (her hubby was standing a little way away) and so I ended up chatting to her a bit during the next couple of sets. She's really lovely - it was a pleasure to talk to her. I chatted to her about my work a bit and we talked about the crowd - nothing earth shattering, but certainly pleasant. It was just like talking to anyone else in the crowd, with the exception of the fact that when she asked me my name as we were leaving, she didn't have to tell me hers... I've got her CD (and am listening to it now) and most of my male friends have a slight crush on her. As I said, slightly surreal.

Anyway, next up was Tim Steward. He's one of those Brisbane artists who have been around forever (mostly as lead singer and guitarist of Screamfeeder) and I like his stuff without being bowled over by it. Another great set anyway - I think many of the obnoxious crowd were there to see him (which is nothing against him, he seems nice enough) - at least they listened to him more than to the others.

The second last band were Deloris, a Melbourne band who said that this was their first ever Brisbane gig. To be honest, I can't remember much about them. I was starting to really drag and long for my little bed by this stage and think I just spent most of their gig half asleep. I do remember thinking that they had nice harmonies and catchy songs though.

After that, I said goodbye to Tylea and we went on home.

Saturday

Woke late. Bummed around home all day.

That night, I met up with the Tall Guy and a bunch of his mates for a beer or two before we headed into The Zoo for Dave McCormack. We arrived part way through the first support, The Little Lovers. They were alright - nothing to write home about, but entertaining enough. I was a little distracted though by the fact that the lead singer looks like a much younger version of The Ex. I couldn't take my eyes off him all night - he even had the same manner of speaking and gestures. It was uncanny.

Next up was Gentle Ben and his Sensitive Side. I've made my feeling about these guys clear before I'm sure. Like the Sensitive Side and the songs, hate the lead singer. I think they would do far better with someone else on vocals. And of course, Dylan is a bit of a cutie.

And then there was Dave. And the Polaroids. I find it difficult to understand how anyone can stand still during one of their sets. I danced my butt off. I laughed at the onstage antics and between song banter. That Dave is a funny bloke. I do appreciate his sense of humour. He's weird and quirky. Two things I really enjoy. And they did a cover of Wham's Last Christmas. It was just beautiful. Almost as beautiful as the cover they did a while back of Britney's Baby One More Time. I just love these guys.

Sunday

My Sunday morning plans had been cancelled, so I spent the morning doing the housework I should have got done on Saturday. Then I headed off to meet verbs for coffee. My first meeting with a reader of my blog (and whose blog I read). I'm sure he would agree with me that for the first hour or so, it was a little strange. The conversation was very stop and start (probably not helped by my focus on my hot chips and the volume of the muso in the pub next door). But I think we'd settled into it a bit by the end. I have invited him to join my family for Christmas since he was going to be on his own and I did the "Awwwww" thing. My mum knows that I've invited someone that I don't know very well up for Christmas Day, but she doesn't know that it's someone I know from my blog - I think that would freak her out and make her think "Mad stalker!". I'm quite happy to tell her the truth after the event though. I think she'll like verbs and will forgive me my little deception in the end. She thought me meeting people I'd met via music mailing lists was weird too, but now half of my friends are from those lists and she seems to be reconciled with it. I'm still not sure whether verbs will take me up on the invite though - I can see his point of view. Joining someone's family for Christmas could be a little intimidating. It's what I would do though - for me, Christmas is family time and I just couldn't imagine spending it on my own.

Sunday night I was supposed to meet up with some of the crew I'm going to Woodford with, but I bailed and slept instead.

Listening to: Tylea and the Imaginary Music Score

A sense of achievement

I wrote a big rant about my colleague on Wednesday night, but I'm calmer now, so I decided to write over it. I still think he's lazy, disorganised and practically incompetant, but I'm not longer interspersing all of that with the f word. Yep, definitely calmer.

I was on a course today and, in the breaks, was chatting to some of my non-legal colleagues. It turns out they dislike him for much the same reasons as I do. Always nice to know.

I had promised to get three jobs done before I left this section next week. I've got two of them done and expect to get the last one finished on Monday, so I'm feeling rather chuffed with myself at present.

I gave T&S and their bub their Christmas presents last night - all three were suitably impressed and the bub was even distracted from whinging (he's teething) for a whole 5 minutes, so that was a success. When he's no longer teething, he'll hopefully enjoy it even more. It was his first Christmas present and we had to teach him how to rip the paper - by the end of it he was having as much fun with the paper (and of course, the box) as he was with the present. It's nice to be first with kids.

I also received my first Christmas presents this week. The Nymph gave me a little bag she'd bought overseas (she's just come back) and some stuff from the Body Shop. I felt very guilty since I hadn't bought her anything, as I don't exchange gifts with most of my friends, so I bought dinner for us. Hopefully she doesn't think I'm a scrooge...

And T&S gave me a bamboo plant and a tupperware container with a packet of "Frog Prince" lollies inside. She knows me so well. I tried kissing all of my frogs but none of them turned into a prince. Maybe because I ate them.

Listening to: Augie March - Sunset Studies

moves are afoot (again)

Well, it looks like I might be going on another secondment - it's at the same pay level as my current secondment, but doing the work of my usual (substantive) position.

I will have to apply for it, but I gather that chances are I'll be the only applicant since it's going to be restrictively advertised. So I've been working on my selection criteria - they're pretty crap, but hopefully they've got enough in them to get me to interview and I can work on impressing there. I'm supposed to be having lunch with the supervisor this week, so that will hopefully improve my chances also.

Basically, my boss's boss has asked me to apply for it. He agrees that it's a great opportunity not only for me, but for the organisation for me to get experience in that area. The only slight downer is that, for his agreement to release me for the secondment, I've had to give him a guarantee that I won't apply for any positions outside of my organisation while I'm on secondment. But it's a guarantee I'm happy to give. I can't see me going to another permanent position when I'm really quite happy with the quality of work and the people I work with here. And I know from experience that not all work places are as good. It's why I like secondments - that whole "try before you buy" thing. It's always possible that the secondment will continue (but I doubt it will) and I haven't guaranteed that I wouldn't stay over there if given the opportunity, but chances are, I'll be back, and I'll bring that extra expertise back with me.

Now all I have to do is actually get the job!

Listening to: Augie March - Sunset Studies

2004 Weblog Awards

I was referred to the 2004 Weblog Awards by The Fish, whose blog has been nominated for Best Design.

While there, I checked out the nominations for the Best Australia or New Zealand Blog award. Frightening! The only Aussie one that I would even consider voting for is Will Type For Food, the others are just far too political to even consider (except for the one that was just too dumb to consider). And not good, reasoned, thought-about-both-sides political either. One-eyed, "just because" sort of political. And that was all figured out from spending approximately 1 minute on each blog. *groans* Where are all the sassy, smart blogs from Oz?

And since I'm also too lazy to do a 100 things list:

I am: me, just me, and no-one else (no matter how much my mother wishes it were different)
I love: my family, including my mother; my friends
I hate: insincerity, olives (I don't even like the taste of olive oil)
I fear: spiders, snakes and storms
I crave: right now? Hot chips with gravy... yummm... how long is it 'til lunch?
I regret: I don't believe in regrets. You always make the best decision you can with the available information at that point in time. It's just that some decisions have to be revised very quickly.
I cry: whenever I have PMS
I care: too much. About everything
I always: laugh a lot
I feel alone: when my friends can't come out to play
I listen: to music by bands no-one else has heard of
I hide: nothing (unfortunately); my identity on my blog; in my bed whenever I'm sick
I drive: an old station wagon; like a rally driver on dirt roads
I dance: whenever I hear music (and apparently well)
I write: the same way I talk; poetry and lyrics when depressed
I play: many musical instruments, none of them well
I miss: being able to play a musical instrument well
I know: a lot of useless trivia (for example, that yak's milk is pink); nothing of significance
I say: whatever comes into my head
I wonder: what life is like for other people
I want: a hippopotamus for Christmas... */song* Actually, there's not a lot that I want - maybe to meet a fabulous guy that thinks I'm fabulous that I could have a fabulous life with? *shrugs*
I have: everything I need; a close family; a bunch of great friends; enough money to live comfortably
I give: to charities I believe in, never to beggars on the street
I feel: the need, the need for speed... */quote* Probably "whimsical" comes closest
I need: nothing (see "I have" above)

Stolen from Di, who stole it from someone else.

Listening to: Machine Gun Fellatio - Paging Mr Strike

the weekend

It must be the silly season. I didn't actually do that much on the weekend, but I feel like I did.

Friday

Friday night, I was going to go to Butterfingers at The Zoo, but I went shopping after work and was far too buggered (and wet) to bother by the time I'd finished. I bought a bunch of Christmassy stuff, since I don't have a tree and my wrapped pressies just aren't doing it for me. I bought one of those flashing stars, a santa sack and a little santa wind chime - it all looks much better now. I also bought a bunch of plates, since half the ones from my set are missing - maybe they were broken ages ago but I forgot.

Saturday

I was supposed to be having brunch with T&S and a mutual friend on Saturday morning, but the friend texted me the following on Saturday morning:

I was abducted by space aliens last night and forced to drink and drag home a boy... I can't wake him so will have to cancel today... I will call later

He didn't. Call that is. So I'm yet to hear about the boy. This is about the 3rd time he's cancelled on me because he's had too much to drink the night before and has picked up. It's a little disappointing.

Anyway, I called T&S when I got the message to let them know and see if they wanted to reschedule. They did, so we're getting together this weekend instead.

So I spent the day vegging out in front of the TV (mostly watching DVDs that I'd bought in a sale on Friday night), and gardening, which consisted of spraying weed killer on the weeds coming through the pavers and pulling weeds out of the grass.

Saturday night, the Vegetarian came over for dinner before we headed in to Keep Off the Grass at The Zoo.

The best way to describe this gig, is probably just to quote the blurb from The Zoo's website (with some typos corrected):

In 1993 six Brisbane bands were brought together by local promoter Christine Goebel to form a collective known as KEEP OFF THE GRASS, in order to present a series of showcase performances. The first couple of shows were so well received that the project quickly snowballed. In late 1994 the plans for the CD project came to fruition and the collective independently released one of Australia's most eclectic and successful compilation albums of unsigned artists, also entitled "Keep Off The Grass". Since that time many of the artists involved have gone onto even greater success, some becoming Brisbane icons along the way. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the album's release and the Zoo's 12th birhtday, the collective reunites to perform separately and together, the best of this music and much more
for one amazing night only..

The line-up was:

7.30- 8.00 FRIENDS OF THE IGUANA/ISIS
8.15 - 8.45 ONE STRAW
9.00 - 9.30 HOT POTATOES
9.45 - 10.15 PLEASURES FOR 6TH SENSE
10.30 - 11.00 FABULOUS NOBODIES
11.15 - 11.45 NATIVES OF BEDLAM
12.00 - 12.30 TOOTHFAERIES

I can't remember what time all the bands came on, but the Toothfaeries didn't finish until after 1am I'm sure.

It was stinking hot on Saturday night, The Zoo doesn't have any air-con and the gig sold out. So you can imagine what it was like inside. We arrived early (just as well, since we didn't have tickets) and I (briefly) caught up with a childhood friend who was in town for the gig. It wasn't too bad at that stage - there weren't many people there so, though it was hot, it wasn't absurdly hot. That came later. Once the venue filled up and the place was pumping with hot, sweaty bodies, it was like a furnace. We went outside between the sets to get some fresh air and walking back in, the wave of heat as you came up the stairs just hit you. It was like walking into one of those industrial sized freezers, but in reverse.

Despite all of that, I had a ball. I don't think any of the bands have played together for about 5 years prior to rehearsals for this gig. Most of them I didn't remember the names, but once they were on stage, I knew the band. Or knew members of the band. Or just knew the faces. The crowd was like a who's who of the Brisbane music scene. I kept on seeing faces I knew from other stages elsewhere. From a bit of research I've done, I think it's this little bunch of bands that has since made the Brisbane music scene so incestuous - they've all played with or currently play with members of other bands from the original Keep Off The Grass and other big Brisbane bands like george. It's a bit like the six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon with movie stars.

The music was pretty varied, but all had a folky basis I guess. Friends of the Iguana and Isis are both pretty much laid-back folk. One Straw have a trad folk sound, but play originals. Hot Potatoes are sort of folk/pop. As are Pleasures for the Sixth Sense and the Fabulous Nobodies (though FN also have a slightly reggae feel). The Natives of Bedlam and Toothfaeries are folk/rock. I hate describing bands because you never seem to be able to capture their sound in a generic category, but this is the closest I can get. Lets just say that the first 3 all had beautiful melodies that made me smile and feel at peace, and the last 4 still had the beautiful melodies, but also got me up on my feet and dancing my arse off despite the heat.

I also caught up with the childhood friend (CF) part way through the gig. We were talking about the bands that were playing and I mentioned that I was very impressed that, other than all the great bands I knew were playing, to find that Guy Webster was also in one of the bands (the Fabulous Nobodies). Which led to the "Oh, do you know him too?" from CF and my "No, I'm just a bit in love with him" reply from me. The great thing though (and the part I'm still smiling to myself about) was that CF completely understood the whole crush thing. He even raised the point of having to have at least 2 or 3 crushes at once, just in case you get disillusioned with one of them. I also prefer to have my crushes at arms length - there are a number of occasions when I would have had the opportunity to meet one of them (Guy Webster being an example - the number of times I'm almost spilt my beer over him... and I know people that know him), but I always seem to lose the crush a bit, or even completely, when I discover that they have faults. And of couse, all real people have faults, so it's just so much easier to keep them in the realm of fantasy. I'm very fickle when it comes to my crushes, so the whole arms length thing means I don't have quite such a quick turn-over.

Anyway, I'm hoping to catch up with CF again in the week before Christmas. I really enjoyed talking to him on Saturday night, but didn't have much of a chance to do the catch up. It's weird, we were both sort of on the outer of the group from those days. The group consisted of my brother and I and the kids of my parents' friends, so we didn't really have that much in common with each other, except that we were similar ages. But the boys all picked on CF because he was clumsy and a bit of a nerd. There were only 2 girls, so we were both on the outer a bit I guess, but the other girl was always much cooler than me, so I was more on the outer than she was. But I think CF was even more on the outer than me. I was the youngest, so I think allowances were made by the others for that. Now of course, I think that CF is the only one I really have anything in common with anymore. The rest of the boys are bigger geeks than I am, except for my brother, who is now a complete suburbanite (wife, dog and 2.5 kids). The other girl is now part of the jet-setting movie crowd and way too cool for me. I think she's fascinating (being the geek that I am) but I suspect the feeling is not mutual. Sad that - we stayed friends for a long time, despite it all (the "all" mostly being me and my general dagginess). From nappies until we were in our 20's, but people change and we all move on. *shrugs* Now I get more excited about seeing her parents than I do about seeing her.

Anyway, back to the tale of my weekend...

Sunday

I tried to sleep in. I really did. But it didn't work.

So instead I watched Rage and Video Hits for a couple of hours as that was all my poor little hungover brain could cope with.

Then I headed off to buy myself a camp cot for Woodford. The one I got looks like this:



It's pretty easy to put up, seems really comfy (I fell asleep on it Sunday arvo, so that's a good sign), and was less than half price in a sale. So I'm happy.

Then in the afternoon, it was off to The Fairy's Christmas party. I was the first one to arrive, so I got to catch up with her and her boy for a bit (and their houseguest) before anyone else arrived. Oh yeah, I refer to his as "her boy" and not as "her fiancee" because they're no longer engaged. Still together, but not engaged. Apparently, this has caused some difficulties with his family, but I can't say that I'm unhappy about it. I always thought it was a bit quick.

But I must say that I do like him more than originally. I still think he's a bit pretentious and pretty unforgiving about other people's ideas, but I no longer think he's a prat, so that's a definite improvement. I managed to get into a conversation with him and Phil (a friend of The Fairy's) and actually didn't get annoyed with either of them. I generally find Phil an interesting guy to talk to, but he's a bit out there with the conspiracy theories as well, so I wasn't sure how I'd go with the two of them together. But it was fine. Interesting and enjoyable even.

The Ex was also there. He turned up late, so I was feeling pretty relaxed by the time he got there and was making conversation with strangers. He's still annoying, but The Fairy's houseguest seemed to be pretty impressed by him (I think he might be in there *g*), so maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's just that The Fairy's houseguest was obviously very young and so at his mental age level. *evil chuckle* Hey, if I can't be bitchy about The Ex on my blog, where can I?

The party was still going strong at 5pm, so I guess that counts as successful. I left then because I was starting to be eaten alive by bugs and really wanted to go home and nap. Which I did. In the cool of my air-conditioning. It was good.

This mini-novel has been brought to you by boredom at work, an interesting weekend, and the number 8.

Listening to: Guy Webster - self titled; The Informants - #1

social status

After Lushlife's comment on yesterday's post, I thought I'd put up my full results from that quiz:

You scored as alternative. You're partially respected for being an individual in a conformist world yet others take you as a radical. You have no place in society because you choose not to belong there - you're the luckiest of them all, even if your parents are completely ashamed of you. Just don't take drugs ok? alternative 62% Upper middle Class 62% Middle Class 54% Lower Class 33% Luxurious Upper Class 17% What Social Status are you? created with QuizFarm.com

So, as you can see, I actually scored equally for alternative and upper middle class. As I commented on Di's blog, I think the main reason why I scored lower on alternative and higher on upper middle class is mostly because I place high regard on family. I admit it, I want marriage and kids, preferably in that order, but the kids part is the most important part for me. Money is not particularly important to me, but I like having enough to live comfortably and be able to do the things I want to do - like travel, and going to gigs etc. My stuff is not that important to me - for example, I like a car that runs well, but I'm not that concerned about what it looks like; and when I was broken into in 2002, the only things I was upset about losing was a Christening cross that was a family heirloom, and the files and photos that were on my laptop (not the laptop itself).

I'm not especially concerned about financial security - the only asset I have is my car and I'd happily sell it again to pay for a trip I really wanted to do. I guess a large part of this is that I know that I can live on a lot less money if I have to and I also know that, in my profession, I would never be out of work. If all else fails, I've also worked in a number of other jobs which may not have been as interesting, but would still bring in the moulah. So that's probably a large part of my lack of concern.

On the "alternative" side, I'm not really part of main stream society, personal appearance and people's perceptions of me matter very little to me, my politics are liberal, I don't mind being considered different or strange, and my sense of self identify is very important to me. I spent my childhood trying to be something I wasn't and, once I found my sense of self, I was determined to hold onto it to the extent that I can be extremely stubborn and almost defensive about anyone trying to impose their ideology onto me.

Oooh! And has anyone else noticed that my little weatherpixie has a Christmas tree now? Isn't that cool? I know, I know - I get all excited by the littlest things...

Listening to: nothing - my computer karked it yesterday and so I lost all of my music and didn't bring any CDs in with me

A comment about comments

I'm sort of copying Di here, but sort of not. Hers was commenting on comments on her blog, mine is on comments I've made on other people's blogs.

I've commented on a few people's blogs that I don't socialise with other lawyers. This post of Rufus' is partially why. I hate schmoozing - I can do small talk (as I commented on this post of SwissToni's), I'm friendly when approached (I just don't do the approaching), and am usually interested enough in a person to get past an introduction and an awkward silence.

But, as I've commented all over the place, I don't play well with other lawyers. I only have one lawyer friend, and she's a friend from uni that I don't really have that much in common with anymore. I do have a couple of law student friends, but I guess time will tell whether we stay friends once they're in the work force. I don't socialise with the lawyers from work outside of work. I'm friendly with other lawyers from work functions (like CLE), but I don't tend to become really friendly with them.

The problem is that I'm just not your normal lawyer - maybe it comes from being in government. I have friends of friends who are lawyers, and the lawyers I come into contact with for work, and in comparison to them, I'm just, well, different. I don't see income or assets as being a measure of success. I'm a lot less conservative. I hate the lawyer pubs - actually, I tend to avoid the city scene full stop and am very much a Valley girl (in the pre-GPO etc sense). I rarely wear make-up. I get a hair-cut about once a year and never get it dyed, permed or otherwise chemically treated. Outside of work (where I wear suits), I dress in a very 90's-style hippy way and never wear high heels. I wear no jewellery other than a watch, necklace and earings. I have a racially significant tattoo which I hide for work as it would not be considered appropriate in my conservative workplace.

I also commented on The Ultimate Olympian's blog in response to a comment from SwissToni asking "how do (I) explain the fact that Australians are so good at so many sports?". It's on an old post, so I'll reproduce my response here in full:

Well, having spent some time in both London and Dublin, I can honestly say that it's because we do more of them. I was your average neighbourhood kid - I played soccer, netball, cricket, tennis, tag, and catch & kiss. I also swam a lot, and ran "fun runs" from the age of 9, and did gymnastics and ballet. There are very few Olympic sports that I can think of that I have not tried at some stage of my life - shooting, boxing, wrestling and weight lifting are the only ones that come to mind. Ask me about any other obscure sports and I'll let you know.

But the notable thing here is that I really was your average Aussie kid. Nothing really extraordinary about the amount of sport I did.

None of the kids I came across in either London or Dublin did this much physical activity. A couple of my friends from Europe that I talked to about this have put it down to weather - it doesn't seem to rain as often here, that's for sure, and it doesn't get as cold - it does get a lot hotter though, and that prevents running around outside more effectively than the cold does you'd think.

But maybe in the end it just comes down to places like the Qld Institute of Sport and the Australian Institute of Sport - we find the talent and nurture it. The Americans do the same thing and they also seem to be very good at sport (though they also have a much bigger population to select from). I don't know if the UK does this also?

A semi-serious answer to a probably-not-serious question. ;o)

- OLS

But then I started later thinking about this again. Maybe it was just the neighbourhoods I lived in where the kids would get together and play cricket? Or just the schools I went to where there was an afternoon of sport once a week? Did every kid have to participate in at least one event at everyone else's sporting carnivals?

I found this list of Olympic events on Yahoo:

Archery - home (we used to have a target set up on a block of land we owned)
Badminton - home (we used to have a net set up in the backyard)
Baseball - primary school (learnt it with softball)
Basketball - high school (I was hopeless - too many years playing netball)
Beach Volleyball - home (we played on the beach during holidays)
Boxing - not done
Canoe - primary school and home
Kayak - primary school and home (though I was more into surf skis)
Cycling - home
Equestrian - home (I did pony club from age 11 to 13)
Fencing - home (learnt from the friend who used to do pentathlons)
Field Hockey - high school
Gymnastics - primary school & high school
Judo - high school (also did karate)
Modern Pentathlon - never done shooting, done the other 4 (a friend of ours used to compete)
Mountain Biking - home (I'm from the era of BMX bikes - those babies went everywhere!)
Rowing - uni
Sailing - home and high school (I learnt the basics from my Dad but only learnt the rules of competitive sailing when I was on the school team in high school)
Shooting - not done
Soccer - home (my brother was on the local team - he taught me)
Softball - primary school
Swimming - home (used to compete in primary school)
Diving - high school (since I was good at swimming and could chuck somersaults on a trampoline, this sort of followed naturally)
Sychronized Swimming - high school (once again, since I was good at swimming and gymnastics...)
Table Tennis - home (we had a table in the rumpus room)
Tae Kwon-Do - not done
Team Handball - primary school (though I'm not sure we played to the same rules)
Tennis - home (the only sport my parents play)
Track & Field - primary school & high school
Triathlon - home (actually used to compete in local competitions throughout high school)
Volleyball - high school
Water Polo - high school (since I was good at swimming and netball...)
Weightlifting - not done
Wrestling - not done

Those I've listed as "primary school" and "high school" I learnt through the school. The "home" ones were sports I learnt through some method other than school - whether it was the neighbourhood kids, a friend, or my parents that taught me.

Of those that I've not done, I had the opportunity to try boxing and shooting, but was never interested. I think Tae Kwon-Do just wasn't that popular in Australia when I was a kid (I know lots of kids did Judo or Karate).

For the track and field events, I've taken the following list:

* Track - 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, 10,000 meters, 100 meter hurdles, 400 meter hurdles, 4 x 100 meter relay, 4 x 400 meter relay

I've done all of these. Hurdles I only learnt in high school. Every kid in school had to run the 100 metres in both primary and high school unless they had a medical disability.

* Jumping - high jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump

I learnt high jump and long jump in primary school, the pole vault from a friend, and triple jump in high school

* Throwing - shot put, discus, hammer and javelin

I learnt shot put in primary school, discuss, hammer and javelin in high school

* Heptathlon and Road Events - marathon and 20-kilometer road walk

I started doing marathons when I was in primary school, but it was really because I had friend in Road Runners, which was a local marathon group. I'm not sure I've actually walked 20km, but I learnt the how to do "the walk" in high school. One of my mates from high school competed in it up to national level.

Anyway, that will probably do me for today. I might comment on my comments some further another time.

Update: Look at all this nice rain the eastern coast of Australia is getting at the moment -



Though I doubt the Gold Coast is thinking it's as wonderful as I am, since they've been experiencing flash flooding.

Listening to: The Meadows - We could be somebody else

Geography Olympics

After seeing this story, I just participated in the Geography Olympics. I didn't do very well - I only scored 40% and so reduced Australia's overall score, which is just over 50%. Geography never was my strong point - I dropped out of it in Grade 9 to do Music - but I thought I would have done better now that I know where most of the European countries are - but surprisingly enough, I didn't get Iceland (always confuse it with Greenland), but I did get Tunisia. And I was lucky that one of the few obscure countries that I know about, Bahrain, was one of my 10 countries.

Ah well, maybe I'll have to study up my maps and try again. African countries and ex-USSR countries are usually my downfall. I know the general area, but not the actual country - however, now that I know that they flash when you're wrong, I may do better.

And because I know you were all just dying to know, I've finalised my mix CD that I posted about before.

This is the final listing:

speedstar - Good morning saviour
The Frames - Lay me down
Matthew Sweet - Devil with the green eyes
Charles Foster Kane - Lucky ones
The Kerbs - I know
The Informants - I know you know
Belle & Sebastian - There's too much love
Wesley Davidson - All kinds of trouble
Machine Translations - Love on the vine
Screamfeeder - Above the dove
Ben Kweller - Different but the same
Shifter - The cigarette song
Darren Hanlon - Hiccups
David McCormack - Liquor store
Guy Webster - Lucky man suffering
Tylea and the Imaginary Music Score - Blow me away (like smoke)
Damien Rice - Older chests
Tamas Wells - When we do fail Abigail
Kieran Waters and the Young Casuals - Knuckles of white
Women in Docs - Fade Away

Total time: 1:18:06, so I just made it within the size limit.

And thinking of Damien Rice, I followed a link from Ex Mea Sententia to a trailer of the movie Closer, and discovered that Damien's song The Blower's Daughter features quite heavily. There's even a link to the video clip with scene's from the movie in it. Wow! Yet another musician I follow who is getting huge. Maybe it's me? I wish!

And Closer looks like my kind of movie. Nice cast too - Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen. Mmmmm.... Clive Owen...

Listening to: my mix CD

Christmassy things

It didn't really feel like Christmas-time until the weekend. The decorations are up at work, the shops are pushing Santas and the like all over the place, but it still didn't feel like the silly season until Saturday night when I saw the Teacher's decorations all up.

Anyway, to go back to the beginning:

Friday

The Vegetarian came over and we had Indonesian and beer for dinner with gelato for dessert. Yum.

We went to see Dan Brodie at the Troubadour. Which was both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing was that Shifter were the support. I haven't seen them in ages and had forgotten how brilliant they really are - they aren't just great musicians (if you like pop-rock, which it happens I do), they're also great performers. They really get into their music and it's entertaining in every sense of the word.

The bad thing was that I'd been told that Dan Brodie is more pop-rock these days, but this gig certainly wasn't. It was the country end of country-rock and I really didn't enjoy it. I'm sure it's very good for what it is, but country is just not my thing and every twang of the guitar had me restlessly looking around the room. The crowd were very entertaining though - they were also the country end of country-rock, down to the boot-scooting style of dance and "just left the farm" style of dress. The Valley tends to allow for pretty much everything when it comes to style - it was more that you don't usually see this sort of crowd outside of the sports bars in the City, and never in these sorts of numbers. I was very amused.

I was also amused by the dress-sense of the band - Dan Brodie himself was 80's cock rock in a singlet, tight jeans and heeled boots; his brother was pure country yockel in a stud-pocket shirt and badly fitting cap; the bass player was 90's grunge in oversized t-shirt and slacks. I can't remember what the drummer was wearing. But it was almost like they were trying to cover all the bases of their fan profile. Actually, I wonder if they were?

Saturday

I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I was very impressed with myself when I slept in until 11am on Saturday morning. I did wake up once, but I went back to sleep again almost straight away. This is unheard of for me!

It did put a bit of a dint into my big plans for Saturday though. I did go into the Valley Markets, but didn't achieve either of the things I went in there for (though I did buy a very funky pair of pants).

Then I shopped for Saturday night's entree - my contribution to dinner. Thanks to QM and Lushlife for their suggestions by the way. I decided to go with the antipasto option. I bought pickled gherkins, sun-dried tomatoes, stuffed olives, red & yello capsicum tapenade, garlic & mediteranean spice cream cheese, a mediteranean salsa-y type thingo, parmesan and pepper bread, and a Turkish bread. I also had a selection of olive oils (including pepperolio and limonolio) and aged balsamic vinegar. It was quite a feast and my mouth was watering by the time I got over to the Teacher's place since I hadn't eaten lunch in preparation for the dinner.

The Teacher had a Christmas wreath up on the door, her Christmas tree complete with lights and presents underneath, and the table was all beautifully done with Christmas crackers and all. I started to wish I could go home to Mum and Dad now and spend the next couple of weeks until Christmas with them just to recapture that feeling of excitement I used to get as a kid in the lead-up to Christmas. I used to love Christmas - I think I was one of those kids that liked giving presents as much as I enjoyed receiving them. I always put a lot of thought into my presents - got people things I knew they'd like or that related to a particular aspect of them, even if my taste was a bit off. And this goes back to when I was 3 or 4 years old, and lasted until quite recently. I still put a lot of thought into my presents and still enjoy giving them as much as receiving them, but that magic isn't there anymore. Maybe because last year was my first Christmas away from my family, and I haven't put up a Christmas tree this year because it's still in storage? I don't know. Something has been missing anyway, but Saturday night got my excitement going again.

Anyway, the main course was turkey and roast veggies, and a creamy broccoli and cauliflower dish that unfortunately I couldn't eat much of because it was far too rich for me. Dessert was put off for a while after that because we were all too full to even contemplate it.

I think it was still the highlight of the meal though - the Teacher has found a recipe for Claret Jelly, ie jelly made from red wine. It was beautiful - obviously still alcoholic (you could really taste the red wine) and a deep burgundy in colour with a thicker consistency than normal jelly. She served it with chocolate covered ice-cream balls and vanilla ice-cream. The combination of flavours was just devine.

Between the beer, the red wine and the jelly, I was in no fit state to drive (as expected) and stayed the night.

Sunday

I got home about mid-morning Sunday and set about doing my chores. T&S came over about midday and checked the place out and their bub is crawling! He started on Thursday apparently - he's not all that mobile yet and is still pretty tentative, but there's definite forward movement there.

After they left, I fell asleep and completely forgot about the Law Student's choir thing. It was also rainy and miserable that afternoon, so I'm sort of glad I didn't go - but I would have made the effort if I hadn't forgotten about it. Anyway, woke up again mid-afternoon and went off to do the shopping I'd forgotten about on Saturday (I wrote out a list, but had left it at home).

I was going to buy this little fibre optic Christmas tree which looked really cute, but they only had one left, which had been on display, and they couldn't find the box for it. It was going from the sublime to the ridiculous, so I decided not to get it and figured I'd look for one this afternoon instead.

I just had to buy a colour cartridge for my printer so I can print out my Christmas newsletter - it cost me $95!!! I can't believe it! I had expected it to cost over $50, but not nearly double that. I still got it anyway - I really want to get this newsletter out and I don't have access to a colour printer anywhere else. Thank god my black cartridge is nowhere near that much.

And that Christmas comes but once a year... even if it does last a month.

Listening to: Matthew Sweet - Time Capsule

new email address

Thanks to Sherry, I have a new email address... or more specifically, a new Gmail address at observantlittle@gmail.com! My template is being changed as you read, but I thought I should point this out to those who do email me privately.

Now if I can just get another one for my online dating...

Thinking of which, when I checked my email last night, I'd got an expression of interest (pick the lawyer huh?) from a 23yo boy.

This I don't get. Why would a 23yo boy on an online dating site be interested in a 30yo girl? I mean 7 years is a bloody big difference, especially at this age when life experience tends to play a big part, and he looks like he's pretty cute from the photo, so I don't imagine he's so hard up that he needs to go for "the older woman". But then, I guess I have close friends who are only 23 or 24... but they are all girls and I think of them like little sisters in some ways... I mean The Ex was only 2 years younger than me and he was far too young emotionally... *sigh* I just don't get it. I'm still trying to work out how I'll reply to him.

The weekend

This weekend, I was half thinking of heading up the hill to my folks place, but somehow this week, my weekend has filled up to the extent that I'm wondering when I'm going to get my housework done. Tonight, the Vegetarian is coming over for beer and take-away and then we're going to head into the Valley for a gig. Not sure which one yet. Tomorrow I really have to do some shopping for the house (curtains are way up there on the "must have" list right now) and I have to do some grocery shopping and buy an entree for Saturday night.

Saturday night is a Christmas dinner with Genie, the Tall Guy and the Teacher - we are all contributing something to the dinner in lieu of Christmas presents for each other, which I think is a brilliant idea since the Tall Guy is the hardest person on my list to buy for. Unfortunately, I have no idea what to get for the entree though - I can't really cook anything since most of my kitchen stuff is still in storage at my parents' place and I won't be picking it up now until Christmas. So it has to be something I can just buy and then put together easily. I was thinking about maybe getting some fancy bread with dips and spreads and cheeses like you get in restaurants? That will also sop up some of the alcohol. But it sounds a little boring. Anyone got any better ideas?

Anyway, so that's Saturday night and I'm staying over at the Teacher's place since I'm sure I'll be in no state to drive home. And then the Law Student has another performance with her choir on Sunday afternoon and I've said I'll go to that as well.

All in all, it makes for a very busy weekend.

Listening to: Darron Hanlon - Hello Stranger

The Never Never / 16 days of activism against gender violence

Yesterday, I told Milbarge from Begging the Question in a comment that "you'll never never know if you never never go" - you know, after that ad from a couple of years ago featuring Daryl Somers.

So I got thinking about the phrase "The Never Never" and how it came to be associated with the Northern Territory.

And so hence begins the lesson...

The phrase "The Never Never" initially referred to anywhere in the Australian outback. It became associated with the Northern Territory specifically thanks to the book "We of the Never Never" by Mrs Aeneas Gunn, which was later turned into a movie. Both the book and the movie are considered Aussie classics, and are set in outback Northern Territory (though it wasn't called that back then), hence how the entire territory (no it's not a state, it's a territory) came to be referred to by that name.

And how the ads came to feature the phrase "never never" in them as a play on words.

Warning: blatant promotion of pet cause to follow

On a completely different topic, we are currently in the middle of the 16 days of activism against gender violence. Prevention of violence against women (especially in countries like Iraq, Afganistan, Sudan and Bosnia-Herzegovina) is a pet subject of mine.

I was surprised to see Canada on Amnesty's hit list though. You don't tend to think of a country like Canada having a sufficient problem for Amnesty to get involved.

I mean, I know Australia has it's problems, but you don't expect to see us getting active campaigning from Amnesty either. Apparently, we were the most progressive country in the world in terms of women's issues and prevention of violence against women in the 1970's but have slidden back somewhat of late.

Anyway, you can support this campaign by wearing a white ribbon (though White Ribbon Day in Australia was on 25th Nov). Or of course, by getting active with any one of a number of organisations around Australia, like Unifem (or it's international equivalent).

(/blatant promotion of pet cause)

And on yet another note, I've been a very social little being lately. Last night my upstairs neighbour at my new place came down to introduce himself. This has never happened to me before! I was very surprised. I've only ever had neighbours come over to introduce themselves before when I've done something wrong and they wanted to complain at me before I did it again. But this guy just wanted to introduce himself and let me know if I ever needed anything... He didn't seem to have any ulterior motive at all. Not even to meet the new single girl on the block since I think he's gay (big surprise in New Farm). It was really nice.

And this morning I had coffee with an old family friend. She's actually a friend of my parents who has known me since I was 18 months old, but, like many of my parents' friends, I have felt since late teenager-hood that they were equally my friends as my parents'. We caught up on the goss, discussed investments and travel (she's way cooler than my parents that way), and talked about the above pet topic. I haven't seen her in about 2 1/2 years, despite the fact that she and her husband live in Brisbane, so it was really nice to see her and I'm hoping to catch up with her again soon.

Listening to: Snow Patrol - Final Straw (told you I was going to buy it... *g*)

quizes (again)

Yep, the time has come for me to post more quiz results.

First, a couple of semi-serious ones:

What is your ecological footprint?

YOUR RESULTS:
Food Footprint: 1.2 hectares or 2.9 acres
Transportation Footprint: 0.4 hectares or 1.1 acres
Housing Footprint: 0.8 hectares or 2 acres
Other Footprints: 0.9 hectares or 2.2 acres
Total Footprint per person: 3.3 hectares or 8.2 acres

IN COMPARISON:
Your Eco-Footprint measures 32.4 % of an average American Footprint.
Worldwide, the biologically productive space available per person is 2.2 hectares or 5.4 acres.

You Are a "Don't Tread On Me" Libertarian

You distrust the government, are fiercely independent, and don't belong in either party. Religion and politics should never mix, in your opinion... and you feel opressed by both. You don't want the government to cramp your self made style. Or anyone else's for that matter. You're proud to say that you're pro-choice on absolutely everything!

What Is Your Learning Style?


You are a Visual Learner. You like to see things for yourself, read the directions, and study the diagrams. You learn well through reading, and seeing pictures, models, and visual demonstrations. You notice minute details and are fascinated by the intricacies of the world around you.

Actually, I'm more an auditory learner, so it's not entirely accurate.


What is your 4-mat learning style?


Like Monica on Friends, you are a type two, an intellectual learner. Your strengths are creating concepts and models. You do research and collect data before making decisions. You like to memorize facts and develop coherent theories. As a child, you organized your crayons according to the rainbow. Your favorite question is WHAT?

Learning Styles

You are Concrete Sequential. You are very hardworking and conventional, making yourself a stable and consistant factor in other's lives. People admire your ability to complete tasks and attention to detail. You can sometimes be a little more negative than others, and perhaps a little impatient, but your productivity counter balances that. You learn best dealing with real items and in an orderly way.

I think I'm more Abstract Sequential


And now some fun ones:

You're an appreciative fan

You've got nothing to prove. You like exploring new music. Your remarkably creative point of view lets you enjoy all sorts of tunes - whatever makes you move and groove. You're passionate about music but you like to have a life outside of it. You don't chase fame but if you do meet a band you can easily charm them with your open, personal style. You're the kind of fan that bands love buying them beers. Hell, they might even spot the odd one back your way. Just don't tell them about your passion for plaster casting private parts and you'll be fine. Your score: 26

What type of musical elitist are you?


Your elitist claim to fame is that you prefer local or obscure bands that have yet to be discovered. You love to be the first person to introduce a new band to your friends. You frequent all the mom and pop record stores, read all the indie music publications, scour the internet and keep on top of all the latest. You generally don't respect what mainstream music has to offer, and thats why you like independent artists to work with smaller record labels so they have more creative control. You generally like bands with small fan bases, but you wouldnt abandon your favorite if they happen to make it big. You look to music to express your desire for social change. You like artists that write music about politics, relationships and our culture. Some important artists for you might be: Afghan Whigs, Radiohead, Wilco, Pavement and Liz Phair.


I am 28.00789% geek, which makes me a Total Geek.


What Muppet are you?


You are Kermit the Frog.
You are reliable, responsible and caring. And you have a habit of waving your arms about maniacally.

FAVORITE EXPRESSIONS:
"Hi ho!" "Yaaay!" and
"Sheesh!"

FAVORITE MOVIE:
"How Green Was My Mother"

LAST BOOK READ:
"Surfin' the Webfoot: A Frog's Guide to the Internet"

HOBBIES:
Sitting in the swamp playing banjo.

QUOTE:
"Hmm, my banjo is wet."

Which Biological Molecule Are You?


You are glucose. People feed off of you. You are sweet, caring, and a source of energy for everyone around you. You can inspire others with your creativity and depth, and you can keep people alive when in times of famine. People love you...or at least the way you taste.

What season are you?


You're an Autumn. You're much more laid back than most and you're very comfortable in new situations. You'd rather let things go with the flow than try to change them. You have a lot of close friends who love you because you can help them with their problems. You're a very patient person and it take a lot to get you rattled. You're definately a lover not a hater.

I think The Ex would disagree with the "patient" part.

Which Star Wars Character Are You?


You're considered very attractive by many, but don't allow it to go to your head. On the contrary, you're very humble, and though you sometimes dress to accent your beauty, you think little of materialistic possessions and value the humanity in people. Your intelligence propels you in the world. Your tolerance and patience are virtues and you stick by your loved ones no matter what.

I wonder if the character Padme was named after the padme part of the Tibetan mantra?

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

You are 67% Aquarius

How sketchy are you?

You are 65% Sketchy

What Planet Are You From?

You Are From the Sun
Of all your friends, you're the shining star. You're dramatic - loving attention and the spotlight. You're a totally entertainer and the life of the party. Watch out! The Sun can be stubborn, demanding, and flirty. Overall, you're a great leader and great friend. The very best!

What's your Hippie Chick Name?

My Hippie Chick Name is: Wintersweet

How scary are you?

You Are a Little Scary
You've got a nice edge to you. Use it.

Listening to: Dave McCormack - Candy