Firstly, happy new year to everybody! Reading your blogs over the last year has been wonderful, I feel like I've been included in so many lives by doing so, and I hope we all continue to influence each other (for the good, mainly) for at least another year.

Now...We had torrential rain in the few days before Christmas, with hailstones as big as half-bricks and flash-floods just about everywhere. Fortunately we have a drain in the driveway area, but even with that cleared we still had a couple of inches of water on the concrete for a while. That was fun! (I had to walk home from the train station in that rain, a good 15 minute exposure!)


This was our Christmas lunch. Lovely and simple - black pepper salmon, and baked wedges with sour cream and sweet chili sauce. It is, perhaps, not quite traditional... but that's a good reason to do it, don't you think? If something's been done the same way for hundreds of years, it's about time for a change!

And this was Boxing Day lunch at Aidan's cousin's house. Kim is fixated on feeding people, there is always far too much food, but it is always extraordinarily nice and tremendous fun to go there. They're wonderful people, they're really adopted me into their family and I just love them to bits. It is probably quite nasty to say that I wish my own family were more like them, but it's a little bit true!

I'll do another post soon-ish about the days following Christmas... the resort, the new computer, the shopping trip... this will do for now :)

All the news that's new and approved! Actually just a very quick update. Aidan has been home for a good little while now, and I've gotten used to tripping over his boots again. Christmas was, happily, spent at home with no guests. My parents were unable to come down for a visit due to my mother's unfortunate back injury, however she's recovering now and they should be down next weekend. Boxing Day was spent at a family/friend/gathering place thingie, that was a lot of fun. We then spent a very lovely night at a golf club/resort courtesy of Aidan's parents as a Christmas gift. We now have a nice big powerful new computer, too. Don't ask me specs, I haven't paid much attention to the world of IT for a good few years now so it no longer makes sense to me! It's stinking hot and I'm sweating like a pig - however a few days before Christmas we had thunderstorms and torrential rain. Typical Melbourne. Anyway, now we're going to do something. I want to make a few cocktails (since I finally got a Boston Cocktail Shaker for Christmas) and get squiffy, but we'll see about that.

Pictures relating to the below post, in no particular order...

The lovely Princess Theatre, which I'm sure I've been to but I don't remember what for.

A photo of Aidan taking a photo of a beach near our house - well, 3km down the road.

Looking back at the city from along the Yarra.

Flinders St Station (the sprawling orange thing), with Grollo's tower, well, towering to the left.

Things I Will Miss About Melbourne
(in no particular order)

1. The, I don't know, 20 or so theatres in or near the city centre. Melbourne is the place for theatre, musical and otherwise!
2. The goths at Flinders St Station, particularly on a Friday night. Their presence is such a fact of life, it is hard to imagine the city without them! Same goes for all the other subcultures, they give layers and depth to the city.
3. Flinders St Station itself. Somebody once told me a magnificent story which I'm quite sure isn't true... she said that an architect was designing a train station for Melbourne and a palace for India at the same time. She said the plans got mixed up, and our train station ended up beautifully ornate while the Indian palace looked an awful lot like a train station!
4. History! Sure, we've only been here a couple of hundred years... but we have our share of ghosts and murders and other grizzly stuff. I've been in the old Cobb & Co coach depot a few times (now a carpark), it is meant to be one of the most haunted sites in the area... it does feel sort of creepy, but I've never seen anything.
5. The bands that visit Melbourne. Nobody goes to Canberra! Well, hardly anybody.
6. Beaches. I don't go to beaches very often, but the fact is that Melbourne is a lovely bayside city while Canberra is inland. I'll miss knowing the beach is there.
7. Grollo's cigarette lighter/penis extension/tower. Sure, it's awful. It completely dominates the Melbourne skyline. But I know it, and my friends know what I mean when I refer to the cigarette lighter.
8. The Yarra River. Specifically, being able to say this ditty: If I were a bird, I'd like to be a sparra - so I could sit on the Westgate Bridge and help to fill the Yarra! But I also like watching the rowers on the river... I suppose Lake Burly Griffin has people rowing on it too, but it's not the same!
9. The relative lack of spiders. I recall Canberra as being unbearably spidery. I hate and fear spiders above all else. (Having said that, I just had to kill a nasty big one in the kitchen, yuck!)
10. The simple and happy familiarity that comes from living in one city for several years. I'm comfortable here! That's not to say that change is a bad thing, necessarily, but I do like knowing where I am and how to get where I'm going.

I think ten things is enough. At some point in the future I'll try to come up with ten things I can look forward to about moving!

I am listening to music from Les Miserables. It's been a good long while since I have done so, and I'd forgotten its effect on me. I have shivers running down my spine, and I dearly wish I had the vocal range to sing every part. I sometimes wonder if I could/should attempt to sing for a career, but I fear my talent falls far short of requirements. How I would love to, though! Imagine being poor wretched Eponine - loving so desperately one who never sees her until too late, finding understanding and compassion only in her dying moments. In truth I would love to have a man's voice. Not for me the wussy women roles, I would be Val Jean or Javert! Or in Jesus Christ Superstar, I would be Jesus! Not for the vanity of being the central role... but because these roles have the most powerful songs, the most beautiful music, and the most moving stories. Imagine singing "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" to a full house... poor poor Marius, bereft of his beloved friends, the only survivor of the ill-fated revolution. It is my strongest desire, to have a voice worthy of these songs... I say perhaps I just need more training and practice... but how and when and where, and how to afford training? How to afford to dedicate myself to music in this real world of bills and rent? It is a pipe dream. I know that. But such a very nice one...

All else has been overshadowed by the news that one of my favourite authors of all time is ill. Terry Pratchett, creator of the Discworld, has a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's. I find it fascinating and a little scary how one can feel a closeness and affinity with somebody one has never met - like authors. For me a good book is like heaven, and Pratchett has provided so very many good books.

I remember when Douglas Adams passed away due to a sudden heart attack. I cried, and carried a towel around for a day (you'd have to be a fan to get that).

I can only hope, firstly, that Pratchett and his family are coping with the news, and secondly (selfishly) that he has a few good books left in him yet.

Every year, RMIT puts on a "kid's play" at around this time of year. As my very good friend Andrew has been heavily involved in the theatrical scene at RMIT for several years, we went along to the gala night last night - an adaptation of Roald Dahl's "The Witches"!!!

It was tremendous fun! There weren't actually that many children in attendance, for a kid's play, but I'm sure the adults enjoyed it just as much - I know I did!

Yes, I saw Spamalot with Andrew last night! It was sooooo funny! Loved it. I won't say too much in case I give anything away. But if you get a chance and you haven't already seen it - see it.

The speedometer on my scooter is broken. So I can't ride her until I get it fixed, but I can't get it fixed without riding her somewhere. It's a conundrum, and anyway I haven't got around to calling this guy I need to call about it yet.

In other, much more exciting news: I'm seeing Spamalot tomorrow night with Andrew! Yay! More on that afterwards.

Recent musings: Half the people I consider good friends are people I've never met. Most of them are probably reading this now. You oughta know who you are. I've never been too good at socialising, making small talk, all that guff. I'm getting a bit better, but sometimes I wonder if I want to. It stands to reason that the more people I know, the more disagreeable people I'll know. I don't feel that I'm really missing out on anything. I think that I've made up for quantity with quality. My friends are the best I could imagine having, even though there's not too many of them. I'm including both bloggers and normal people (?!) in this summation. I've been very lucky in coming to know some wonderful people. I think I can safely say that if you're reading this, you're likely to be one of them - unless, of course, you've just wandered in and I've never heard of you before! So if you're one of them, and you certainly should know if you are, thank you for being who you are.

I'm really tired and need to get to bed. I would have continued the above theme, but my mind just crashed- it was like an error message saying "No more thinking permitted until after sleep". Night night.

Well, what a weekend. As well as Aidan being home, we also had his two young cousins over all in weekend - in turns, the young 'un from Friday night, then swapsies for the big 'un on Saturday night. We took them shopping for their Christmas presents, and both of them were surprisingly easily pleased. We also had Andrew over on Saturday night, which was fun. Everybody's left and I've cleaned up, and now I'm all alone and tired. Anyway, here's a couple of pics of the cousins.

My big strong husband lifting Katie with ease! He can do that with me too.

Steven looking rather apprehensive about being photographed! He's wearing the t-shirt we got him for Christmas, it's some band shirt but I forget the name of the band.


Aidan and Andrew doing what they always do, playing chess. Andrew's not a cousin, by the way. He's a mate who has managed not to be put off by me in the 10 years since I've known him. Impressive!

Thank you all for your kind comments below. I feel a bit better about the whole thing now.

Now for some good news: Aidan is coming home for the weekend! He should be here in about... six hours. Yay!!!

I have just received news of a very distressing nature. My dog, Ebony, pictured above, is to be put down in the next few days. She has been a faithful and much-loved pet (and friend) of my family for over twelve years. She is going deaf and blind, she has arthritis, and she has a tumor of some sort on her side. I will miss her very much, even though I haven't lived with her for a few years now. It must be harder for my parents, who are still used to her being there in the house every day. But it is better for her to be put down than to continue living in pain and confusion. Apparently she spent most of today lying still and whining. That's no kind of life for a dog, or for anybody. She has had a good life; she's been as much a part of our family as I am. She has her personality, her quirks, as do we all, and we all love her. I've already bought her a Christmas present... perhaps I could lay it on her grave? I'm sure she'd appreciate it more than flowers, since it's edible and she is a Labrador after all. So anyway... this is my farewell to a creature who has sometimes seemed more human than humans. Goodbye, Ebony, may you go to Doggy Heaven and eat all the compost your heart desires.

My bedroom smells like petrol. There is a reason for this, and it is embarrassing, but I'm going to blog it anyway.

I rode my scooter to work today. Upon arriving back at home this afternoon, I realised her tank was very nearly empty. So what with one thing and another, it was just easier to walk down to the petrol station with a jerry can, fill that up, then come home and fill the scooter up from the can. However this plan had two major flaws:

Flaw #1 - being still rather new to this "having a vehicle" thingie, I am not yet up to speed on exactly how to use a petrol pump. Fortunately the young chappie at the petrol station was very helpful in that respect, so not too much damage there. (But I will try to do it on my own next time!)
Flaw #2 - the spout of the jerry can didn't quite work properly. Uh-oh. I'm glad I got a little too much petrol, because if I'd gotten just as much as I needed it wouldn't have been enough!

So I got fuel on my shoes, which then soaked into my socks, and then I came inside and into the bedroom where I took off my shoes and socks... and now my bedroom smells like petrol.

I've just woken up and it is already not my day. The earache I had last night has not gone away, although it has abated slightly. And the ants have gotten into my cereal. What will I do for breakfast?! I wonder if I'll have time to grab something on the way to work. Maybe if I wasn't wasting time blogging, I'd have time for breakfast!

There's only one not-so-good thing about last weekend... I caught this cold off Aidan! I keep coughing and blowing my poor nose, not so great. I'm having to take a couple of days off work. Oh well. By the time I see him again, in a couple of weeks, hopefully we'll both be all well!

I have returned! I'm sure you've all awaited this moment with baited breath. Or not. We had a very lovely anniversary weekend, thank you all again for your kind wishes. Lots of walking, the National Gallery, and dinner in a beautiful Spanish restaurant.

Aidan is looking really well and healthy, he's shaved his head again to try to look macho! But I know better :) He's getting even fitter than he was before - I know it's hard to believe, how can somebody who habitually cycled 50km every day get any fitter?! But it's true. We're hoping that in a couple of weeks time he'll be able to come home for a weekend, which will be a great change from me going up there! I miss him already and we only parted company five hours ago...

I'm going to Canberra again tomorrow for the weekend. It's our first wedding anniversary on Sunday! It's also the election on Saturday, but I already voted. So, come next week, I'll have two reasons to celebrate! The honeymoon will be officially over, and Kevin Rudd will be our Prime Minister. Our actual wedding date, 25th Nov 2006, was an election day too - state, not federal. Politics hound our special occasions!

I'm really really hungry, I think it's spacing my head out a bit. I'm going to eat. See you on Monday, have a nice weekend folks!

Well, I've joined the Dark Side and created a Facebook profile. I'm sorry. It's so cliched and popular, and all the things I'm not. It was peer pressure that got me in the end. Thanks, Emily. Oh well. Anyway, the whole thing seems an awful lot of trouble to do very little... although I did stumble over a few people from my Old Life that I don't mind catching up with. (Plus a few more I'd love to torture for a few days before letting them die of starvation and/or blood loss, but they're not on my "Friends" list.) It's a little weird being told "Emily is now your friend", when I could have sworn she'd been my friend for about ten years. Who else isn't really my friend until our profiles are linked on Facebook?!

I'm going to see Richard III tonight. A bit of Shakespeare to brighten up this weary, rainy day. I only vaguely know the story, and for some reason every time I try to read it I end up getting distracted. I tried a couple of days ago, but ended up reading Bret Easton Ellis' "Lunar Park" instead. I'm sure I'll pick it up... it's pretty much Richard killing everybody, isn't it?

I need to find some shoes, always difficult although I have a cupboard full - my previously waterproof hiking boots are a little old, and my right foot got very wet today. I've got some spray-on stuff, I can fix them up, but not tonight. Too lazy.

There have been possums living in my walls and ceiling for several weeks now. I assume they're possums, they might be pixies for all I know. They keep me awake at night. I've gotten to a point where I don't really get tired - well, not at night. I get tired at work, then I come home and wake up. I think my body just knows there's no point trying to sleep with all the scratching and banging and screeching from the wall behind the computer. Going to bed has become habit, for sleep is rarely forthcoming. Of all the houses to live in, I would have thought mine would be the least desirable - or do possums like punk rock?

In the leadup to the election, I am once again contemplating the creation of my own micronation. I can't help but feel, no matter who wins this one, very little is going to change or improve. Surely the path to happiness lies is owning your own country? Imagine making all the rules - or not making any rules, as the case may be. Wouldn't it be nice to feel pride in the country you live in, rather than shame?

Where does one start, in the creation of a country? I imagine I would need to own land first. That could present a problem, since I don't own land and can't afford to right now. So hypothetically, if I owned land, would next? A letter to the present Prime Minister, I suppose, announcing my intention to seceed. At some point I'd have to create a proper policy statement and maybe some laws, citizenship requirements and so forth. I don't know if I'd bother with stamps and my own currency, not unless the micronation really took off and they appeared necessary. Maybe I should try contacting Prince Leonard of Hutt River Province to ask for advice.

Here's a few raw unprocessed ideas for policies, laws, ideas, social structures... bear in mind this is all off the top of my head:

Putting the environment before the economy as much as is practical, preferably at all times
Gay rights including marriage and adoption
Acceptance of refugees and asylum seekers, and providing them assistance in training and job-seeking
No religion will be recognised by the state, but citizens have the right to pursue all their beliefs and customs provided these are with peaceful intent
Every permanent resident will be expected to spend one hour a week doing community service or assisting the government (this extends to visiting citizens who are residents elsewhere) - mainly because I don't really have plans for a public service, so somebody has to get things done! I might even pay them for it.

Well, who wants to join my potential micronation? Should I begin accepting applications for citizenship?!

I'm such a slacker. Look at me, I haven't blogged for, like, five days. I've been ill, I've got this cold. I'm ok now, mostly better, but have had to restrain myself from getting on here and having a nice old whinge! It's a funny thing, but I feel like very little is happening in my life right now... and yet, my "social calendar" is about the busiest it's ever been - so much to do with so many people! So little time before Christmas!

Now is probably a good time to have my annual anti-Christmas rant. There are so many reasons to dislike, discourage, not celebrate, and generally complain about Christmas. I don't know where to start.

1 - Historical Innacuracy. It's generally acknowledged that Jesus Christ was not born on Christmas day. He wasn't even born in the right year. Some say the date was hijacked from a Pagan festival pre-dating Christianity, which seems likely.

2 - Lack Of Meaning. Even if it was Jesus's birthdate, why does that matter to me when I'm not a Christian or religious at all?

3 - Marketing-driven Myths. I object to the premise that Christmas is a time for giving and loving and family. Surely these things should happen all the time. We shouldn't need to be told to set aside this one particular day in the year to see our families and to give presents (as if money ever bought love anyway, pfft) and to extend the hand of friendship to every man and his dog.

4 - Consumer Driven Buying Frenzies. Everybody has swallowed the marketing hype put out by retailers (or anybody who wants you to spend your money on their products), so a simple trip to the supermarket becomes a battle past every other shop overflowing with people wanting to buy their relatives' affection.

5 - Religious Intolerance. Yes folks, Christmas is all about intolerance. If you don't celebrate Christmas, you're weird. Try telling somebody you don't believe in Christmas, see if you can count the miliseconds before they say "That's weird," or "Why not?" or "Dude, that's so screwed up, you won't get any presents".

The only reason I've done Christmas at all since I got old enough to choose is to keep my family happy. They're not religious, but they're traditionalists. Christmas is a time for family. It's other people's expectations that keeps me perpetuating a ritual I feel no association with. I wonder how many others out there feel the same? We should start an anti-Christmas society, banding together so as not to disappoint each other by not buying each other gifts or sending cards.

Sadly it's too late to start boycotting Christmas this year. I've already bought several people's gifts. But next year... oh boy, bring on next year.

So much for my picnic. I've spent my day pretending to be a hardcore rocker, dancing around and singing to artists including but not limited to: Bad Religion, The Who, Free, Judas Priest, Black Sabbath, Frenzal Rhomb, Green Day, and Deep Purple. I also watched School Of Rock, which always seems to make me wish I was a punk rocker (without flowers in my hair). I think I missed my calling, I should have learnt to play the bass. Is it too late?!

I went to see Bad Religion last night. It was so good! I'm not such a fan that I own all their albums and know all their songs, so a lot of it was new to me but I think I suddenly want to own more albums and know more songs. I was debating going, since Aidan obviously couldn't go with me, but I did and I'm glad I did.

In other news: I have no other news. I have no plans for this weekend, and nothing is really suggesting itself. I can't just spend another whole two days inside reading, not when the weather is so gorgeous. Perhaps I should pack myself a picnic lunch and walk down to the beach... with both my cameras: dad's old Minolta, and my new digital Canon. That could be nice. Ginger beer, cheese and crackers, fruit salad... hmmm this sounds promising. Lunch or dinner? Dinner would mean I could watch the sunset. But lunch would mean I could start organising it right now. Both?! Maybe. I am pretty lazy, it might never happen. But the idea is good.

I should definately do some housework first. I'll have a shower, put some washing in the machine, put on my Bad Religion CD and wash some dishes. Cool.

I've been very lazy with my posts these past few days. And lazy I continue. I have some pictures I was going to upload here, but do you know how much work that is?! Here I am, tired from work and with a headache, and you want me to upload pictures?! Well!

With my impending move to Canberra and complete change of life, I am also tossing up career changes. One of the many which keep returning to my mind is nursing. I'd love to feel that I was helping people in a real and tangible way; I can handle blood and stuff; I can keep calm in an emergency unless there is also a spider present in which case I panic until somebody else kills it. No other career path seems quite as rewarding and challening to me. Also the opportunities of travel, working with aid agencies and so forth, beckon to me. The concept of charity work in third world countries also greatly appeals, but you don't get paid for that, so if I could nurse my way there instead that would be amazing.

Look at all my pipe dreams. Who am I kidding? I have no doubt I'll end up in a boring office wearing a suit and saying "yes, sir" to some fat sleazy bastard who makes a trillion dollars a day whle paying me a pittance.

I got home last night. I'm so tired, you have no idea. It was a lovely trip though. Five whole days away, it was a mini-holiday! So wonderful to see Aidan again. Although, with our seperate hotel rooms, it was kind of like dating again - "Your place or mine?"

Due to a lack of food and the fact that I forgot to go shopping last night, I'm having rice for breakfast. I haven't had rice for breakfast since our honeymoon in Singapore. It's a little odd, but nice enough.

I'm so very tired. I wish I didn't have to go to work today. But I do. Turns out the poison in the roof hasn't gotten rid of the possums, they're still scrabbling and screaming in the walls and ceiling all night.

Anyway, I'll write in more detail later. Yawn.

I feel like Annie. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'm flying to Canberra, tomorrow!!! So that means tonight I have to do dishes, wash clothes, buy some shorts for Aidan, remember to pack all the things he's asked me for, and double-check my flight and hotel bookings. I'm all excited! I have five days up there! At least two of them we'll be able to spend together! If I keep typing I'm going to be late for work!

What a loooovely day! I'm going to a wedding this afternoon and I think it's going to be outdoors, so they got lucky with the weather! The wedding is somewhere called Emu Bottom... it takes a certain kind of person to get married somewhere with a name like that! Then again, I got married in Fitzroy Gardens despite the negative connotations of the word Fitzroy! (I think you have to be from Melbourne to understand that one.)

I think I need to take my scooter out this morning. It's been a good three weeks since I've ridden her, and that can't be good for her or for me! I might ride into Black Rock for a cup of tea or something. Perhaps in a couple of weeks I'll ride her down to Aidan's parents' place again, that was a great ride. I love the feeling of liberation that comes with a good long ride on the open road. That's why I didn't keep riding to work - tried it once, and peak hour traffic just makes it a nightmare! It took over an hour, for what should be roughly a 25 minute drive. It was 25 minutes on the way home, because I don't leave with the peak. I love working part-time! Humph, that's something to enjoy while it lasts, I'll need a proper job before too long!

I can't believe how life goes by...! Aidan and I are moving, talking about investments, tossing up buying a house, talking about kids for goodness sake! Exciting stuff, if a little bit scary. Not to worry, it's all one big adventure!

I'd better go and have a shower and make myself presentable, at least a little bit. I'm so excited about this wedding today - I knew the guy before he met his almost-wife, and I saw the change in him she caused, and I've seen them grow together and all that stuff... wonderful! Off I go!

This is the plane I flew up in...

And this is my husband looking healthy and happy...

This is the sunburn I got...

While looking at these cute ducklings!

Remember teachers asking for essays about "What I Did On My Holidays"? This is what I did on my holidays! Essays be blowed, pictures speak louder than words anyway. I'm going up there again in ten more sleeps! I have some time off work so I'm spending five whole nights up there!

It's so nice to know that I can see my husband again... I was so worried that I wouldn't see him until Christmas and then not again until March. But it will all be ok, and time will just fly past until it's all over!

I know all I'm blogging lately is about Aidan, and me being on my own here, and all that... but that's mostly what's going on in my head. "What do I do with myself now?" and "When will I see him again"? ... all that stuff. It's probably quite pathetic! But I wouldn't have it any other way, because that would mean I wouldn't be so very much in love with him. *gag* I know, I'm sorry to be soppy!

I'll try to think of another, more interesting, topic for tomorrow.

Hello hello, I'm home! Aidan and I had a wonderful weekend, although it was stinking hot and we both got sunburnt! It was really great to see him. It's made it seem like he's so much closer, knowing that I can get there if necessary and it's only a couple of hours travel time away. Previously it felt like SUCH a LONG WAY. I've got some time off work in a couple of weeks, so I'm going up again for longer. But I won't be able to keep going every couple of weeks, it would just get too expensive. Oh well, I'll still go and visit as often as I can until I have to move up there anyway!

Zippity doo-dah, zippity-day! I'm going up to see Aidan for the weekend! Flying up tonight after work, coming home Sunday night. Yay yay yay!!!

You are what you think you are. Your state of mind determines all that you are. Appearances are deceiving. Despite currently wearing blue track-pants, tonight I am thinking goth. I know that by watching certain movies or hearing certain music, I will change to hard rock or punk mentality. I am endlessly influenced by what's around me, it effects my state of mind and therefore effects what I am or what I think I am. Actually I don't think I've ever known who or what I am. I am an empty vessel awaiting fulfillment which may never come. I am a purposeless leaf blown by winds beyond my control. I am a pawn in the chess game of life. All of which implies a belief in a greater power, which is strange because the one thing I am certain of is that there is no God. I know that some may say the things I've written here show a desire or need for religion or God, but I also know I could never accept such an explanation for life. I am governed by myself, but I am not very good at it. My father tells me that I have brains, and maybe he's right, but I don't think they'll do me any good until I know how to use them. I know I'm not a scholar, university is not the place for me. What, then, can I do with my brains when I cannot or will not achieve a piece of paper saying I've got them? Anybody searching for a reason or answers in this blog post will not find them. This may very well be the most disjointed thing I've ever written. What kind of God would create a Grand Plan which involves me? I would not care to belong to a religion that would accept me as a member. In my week alone, I have come into the knowledge of what fills the hole within me, and it is love. Human love, nothing supernatural. I crave nothing more than my husband and a very few caring friends. But mostly Aidan. Until we were apart, I didn't know how much our togetherness meant. It is Aidan who directs the course of my life, and such is my love that I am content to let him do so. Is that how people feel towards God? I happily make the sacrifice of my independence to a finite and tangible being; to do the same to something ineffable must be a terrifying thing. What makes a person do that? What great need must lie within an individual to make them relinquish control and submit to something they can't see or hear or know in any way? How can they know they are being loved in return? I guess that's why it's called faith. You just have to believe. I can't believe in that. Something else will have to fill this empty vessel, some other wind must blow this leaf. I suppose in a way it could be said that Aidan is my God. I have faith in him and in our future together, I love him and know myself to be loved in return. That seems to cover the rudiments of religion. I think I have been constantly cold since he's been away. I just can't seem to warm up. Maybe I should go and find some romantic comedy to watch. I finished watching season 7 of The X-Files, I hadn't seen it before. Mulder is abducted and Scully is pregnant, what kind of malicious person (Chris Carter!!!) ends a season like that? I'll have to go out and buy season 8 tomorrow, because I can't handle this suspense! I know I'm years out of date and every other X-Files fan in the known universe already knows what happens. I'm slack, what can I say. I think I'll go and watch School Of Rock, that's one movie guaranteed to lift a mood.

Aidan's parents sent me a card, which I got in the post today... They're so very sweet, I just love 'em to bits.

(Names erased for security purposes)

It has been a long week. Home has been lonely and empty and quiet, work has been strange and sporadic, and this morning's typical Melbourne rain was the type that depresses rather than washing troubles away. The other day I spent ten minutes standing in the kitchen staring at the salt. I don't know why, it was just there and I didn't have anything better to do. Or at least, nothing I could be bothered doing.

On the plus side, I did have a very nice afternoon out with Andrew yesterday, despite the drizzle and his tartan umbrella! Although most of the time I spend with Andrew is light-hearted and fun, there is something solid and dependable about his friendship that seems to make everything ok, at least for a little while. So thanks Andrew, we'll have to do that again a few times before one or both of us is gone.

Things are going to get very strange before too long. Aidan and I will both be living in Canberra by March next year. Other friends are already scattered around the country, and overseas. Still others are intending on moving away from Melbourne in the forseeable future. A once-constant group of friends is slowly but surely being split up, and although I know that's just life and these things happen, I'm not at all sure I like it. God knows I'd stay in Melbourne if the choice was mine alone. The things you do for love, indeed.

I'd better stop. I'm getting salt-water in my tea, and that's a crisis far worse than any outlined above. I'm a tea-purist - no milk, no sugar, and certainly no salt!

I am feeling considerably better today. I sold my Muse tickets to my husband's cousin's wife's brother, so he popped into the office today to complete the transaction and it was really nice to see him. He's a lovely chap, very cheery. I've spoken to Aidan a couple of times, and it sounds like he's really enjoying himself and having a great time which is good. I've also heard from his parents quite a bit, they're being really supportive and lovely.

I walked into the city from work this afternoon, for no particular reason. However it was half an hour of brisk excercise, which I think gives me ample excuse to eat a little bit badly tonight! I also got a few nice photographs of the city on the way in, proving once again that Melbourne can really be quite a nice city when it wants...

I'm at work by myself today. The boss is interstate. I rode my scooter here for the first time, arrived late thanks to peak hour traffic, and then I had to make a trip to the ATM before I could afford a cup of tea. I suddenly feel exhausted. It's not yet 10am, and I feel utterly defeated. It all seems too much. Maybe I'll feel better after my tea, but right now I just can't seem to motivate myself to do anything. There just seems so much. I have to pick out orders, invoice them, call a bunch of people about overdue accounts. I also have to do something with tickets for three concerts that Aidan and I had planned on going to. I only want to go to one of them, so I have to find people who want one ticket to Bad Religion, two to Muse, and one to Machine Head. It all just seems so much to do, so much effort, when all I want to do is sleep for a year. I have to pull myself out of this self-indulgent wallowing. Anybody want to hear a joke? What's squishy and red and blue and has twenty tentacles? I don't know, but it's crawling up your back!

Now I'm alone. I'd love to joke about it, and I probably will tomorrow, but right now the lonliness is sinking in. His parents just left me at our house, after taking us to the airport this morning. I think today is a good day to stay inside alone so nobody can see me. I'll start trying to figure out what to do with myself tomorrow. In the meantime, here is a pictorial representation of our final two days together...

On Friday we re-visted one of the first places I ever dragged Aidan. It's an alley in the city which is full of odd little signs with psuedo-proverbs. I found it shortly before we started dating, and I knew Aidan would find it as fascinating as I did.

We went to see Marilyn Manson on Friday night. It was alright, I had fun, but there was a long gap for costume changing and stuff between songs, no real continuity, and a lot of show-boating. It didn't really have a great vibe. Still, as I said, I did have fun. (Although I think Aidan was fairly disappointed.)

We spent Friday night in a hotel in the city, which made getting "home" an awful lot easier than usual. It was also really nice to have no cooking or cleaning or anything at all to worry about. We just wanted to chill out and relax, since it was to be our second-last night together.

Saturday morning we went to see Stardust, which is based on the book by Neil Gaiman. It was quite different from the book, but I thought it was extremely well done and a highly enjoyable movie. I might buy it on DVD when it comes out - it's very much a feel-good, cheer-up sort of movie. The sort of thing I'll need for a little while.

We then scoured the city for an M&M biscuit and some tea (coffee for Aidan, of course)... it only took us about an hour to get to the one place we knew for certain would have exactly what we wanted.

Then it was time to go home and pack his suitcase, snuggle for a while, and watch X-Files. We ordered in pizza for dinner, and drank guiness. Aidan very thoughtfully didn't want to leave me too many dishes to wash today, and pizza acheived that intention very nicely.

And then our alarms awoke us at the ungodly time of 5.15 am so we could get ready to go... Aidan's parents arrived at 6.30 to take us to the airport, and so off he went... yes, that's him on the right, waving very half-heartedly. I cried, even though I'd promised I wouldn't. I didn't even get up to hug him goodbye, because I knew I would only get his suit all wet and salty. Besides, we'd said our proper goodbyes last night. He called me to say he'd touched down safely, before I even got home! It's not a long flight. I was glad to hear he's doing ok already, and has made a friend.

Now what? A good book, I think, perhaps some wine, and a simple dinner. We've stocked up on food which can be stored long-term, so I've got loads of pasta and stuff - I won't even need to leave the house. No doubt I'll cry some more, but I will do my utmost not to wallow in self-pity. I will need my friends - and by that word I am including all of you reading this - because although misery loves company, company dispells misery. Cross your fingers for us, and hope that I get the chance to see my husband at least once or twice before Christmas!

Well folks, I've just done my longest scooter-ride yet. From home to Aidan's parents' place and back again, 70km each way. I was a tad nervous before both trips, but once on the scooter I felt pretty relaxed and cool about the whole thing. It was pretty windy and gusty, and it rained a little on the way home, but I think I handled it quite well, it felt good. I now know that my Bella goes up to 90km/hr quite comfortably, although I probably wouldn't want to push her much more than that. Aidan, of course, rode his bushbike and probably averaged 60km/hr, so he should be home soon. Now I'm knackered, I think it's time for a nap!

Supermarkets in Australia have done a wonderful job in promoting the use of re-useable bags instead of plastic. In the express lanes, you don't get a plastic bag at all if you buy three items or less. They have signs up telling you how many plastic bags are used on average each day, and it's a nastily high number. They have Green Bags for sale for only $1 each next to the check-outs. All of this is fantastic.

The next thing to combat is receipts! A receipt is printed automatically for every transaction, no matter how small. And lets face it, how many people think of recycling receipts? A receipt should only be printed if requested. Let it be the customer's onus to ask for one if required, otherwise save the paper!!! Ditto with the bleeding fuel vouchers! I don't want 4 cents a litre off fuel, because I don't drive. Ask before printing that out on more paper which could be saved for something useful! Yesterday I went into Big W and bought 2 DVDs. The receipt for these two (2) items only, is 39 cm long. That's about 15 or 16 inches, I think. It's also 8 cm wide. Three hundred and twelve square centimetres of paper to demonstrate that I purchased two items, and to offer me a discount I won't use.

Shall we, for the moment, assume that most people go to Big W for a few specific things. Nobody does their grocery shopping there, or buys more than about 5 items at once. Lets say 5 items will take up 40 cm in length, 320 square centimetres, that's 64 square cm per item. It can't be just me who finds that excessive!

Big W makes about 3.5 billion dollars in annual profit. Lets forget about overheads for the moment, and work with this figure (but bear in mind their real intake of money and therefore useage of paper will be much larger). Take an average item cost of $50. That comes to seven hundred thousand items sold, at 64 square cm of paper per item. Ten thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven point five square centimetres, or 109.375 square metres, of receipt paper, most of which gets thrown straight into the bin. Don't even get me started on the ink!

So who will join me in my spur-of-the-moment campaign against receipts?! God, how would we even start? Should we write to Big W, Woolworths, Walmart, and so on? Perhaps a letter to the editor of a prominent newspaper. Or will this simple blog piece get the message out there? No matter, my minions, go forth and refuse receipts!!!

Some stories require more backstory than simple narration. This is one such story.

I grew up in the bush. Really in the bush. The kind of area where you learn about snakebites and changing tyres before you learn about Nintendo 64's - not that we had a Nintendo 64, but a kid down the road a bit did. To get to my primary school, which was also in the bush, my mother would drive me over dirt roads to a nondescript crossroads in the middle of nowhere. From this crossroad, the school bus would pick me up, along with a few other kids from the area, and take us the rest of the way to school. The school itself, when I started, had just three buildings: the permanent classroom, the portable classroom, and the sports supplies shed. It wasn't long before they took the portable away and we had to divide the so-called "big room" into two. We only had 27 pupils, so one class consisted of prep to grade three, whilst the other class was grades four to six. However even that 27 rapidly diminished, and shortly after I moved away from the area the school was closed down. They haven't done anything with the property or buildings yet, it's all still there just like it used to be, and that's where I dragged Aidan on the weekend! I had to see the old place again before they demolish it.

I swear the entire grounds and buildings have shrunk to about half their previous size. The play equipment is all wussie plastic now instead of metal. It's a short walk to the back of the property instead of the long run it used to be. But despite those things, I still feel that the place is exactly like it was. So many memories! I can't believe I'd forgotten all about Trog the Dog - beloning to our prinicpal and becoming something of a school mascot. And the time some of us convinced ourselves that the place nextdoor was haunted, and we spent ages staring at it petrified that something might prove us right! I remember a girl called Amanda hogging the swing all lunchtime, probably because nobody would play with her. I remember us girls being taunted if, when upside down on play equipment, our underwear should accidentally become visible - and our standard response to the boys: "It's only a piece of material!" Oh, how young we all were, and how naive!

I hope they find a use for the old place - it's been suggested that it become a meeting place or serve some function within the community, rather than demolishing it. It would be sad to see the old school gone. Particularly as it comprises approximately one-quarter of the buildings within the "township"! (Fire station, community hall, general store/cafe, and school. All the residences are in what you might call the outskirts, eg farms.) So I'm glad I dragged Aidan all the way there, over unsealed roads in our rented car, despite the hassle it was to get there. Just to see the place one last time, to say goodbye.

Does this even require a caption? What on earth is "demonlation"? This is an actual sign which I actually photographed with my actual camera. Tut tut, what is the world coming to?

Has anybody had a look at Blogger Play yet? I'm staring at it now, it's so funky! It scrolls through images currently being uploaded to Blogger by little people like us. It makes me want to upload a picture!



Fun! I'd better not get too distracted or I'll be late for work...

My hair is orange. Oops. I tried to dye it red yesterday, but since I was starting with purple and blonde streaks, it wasn't simple. I had to bleach it first, and it went tiger-stripey (as usual), then dyed it over that which usually works just fine. I think perhaps I've dyed my hair one too many times - it's rarely the same colour for more than a couple of months. So now it's orange. It looks rather weird, but since it looks like I did it deliberately I think I'll leave it for at least a couple of weeks. Orange is one colour my hair has never been, except for those in-between bleaching and re-dyeing moments. I've certainly never been seen in public with orange hair. So this will be something different.

It's strange to see how I've reacted to this and how I've changed. In a previous hair-dyeing incident when an unexpected colour resulted, I was mortified. I cried, and wouldn't leave the house - Aidan had to go and buy me a new dye. However, this time I looked in the mirror and went "That was unexpected... kind of cool, though." I have certainly gained confidence over the last couple of years, and I'm a lot happier in myself. I think there is one major reason for that, and I think you can all guess who it is. (It's Aidan, if you didn't guess.)

There seem to be babies everywhere right now. Kids, pregnant people, toys, and all things child-related just won't leave me alone! I confess, I'm getting clucky. How do you know when the time is right for children? I look at my life and realise that Aidan and I are unsettled in terms of our jobs/careers, our house (rented), and there's still so much we want to do in the way of travel and stuff. But babies!!! It must be some female hormone thingy saying, "Come on Stace, you're 24 now, start squeezing 'em out!" But another part of me says, "I'm only 24!!! I'm a baby myself!"

For now, I must content myself with looking at other people's babies, and playing with the toys in K-Mart myself. But one day... one day!

I spend an inordinate amount of time contemplating spiders. This is largely because I am terrified of them, and have an unjustified paranoia of coming across one of the larger, hairier varieties of arachnid at any moment. I was not always scared of spiders, and in fact I can very nearly pinpoint the moment at which the fear began to creep insidiously into my life. One day I was carrying eight-leggged hairy things around on sticks to frighten my classmates; the next our emergency teacher told us the story of a lady who was bitten by a particularly nasty breed and whose hand subsequently rotted away. Bingo, there it is, the source of my phobia. Mr Falkner, a primary school replacement teacher. Of course, follow that up with years of hearing that Australia is home to most of the world's deadliest snakes and spiders, and the result was inevitable. I now worry if there will be a spider in the letterbox when I check the mail. If I step into the backyard, the knowledge that it is full of hidden arachnids is in the forefront of my mind. Even the smallest, least offensive spiders are a source of concern to me. The only ones I don't mind are the daddy-long-legs, because I can blow them away or wash them down a plughole. Although I still find it unnerving if they walk straight towards me. Shudder.

So there it is. My confession. What are you afraid of?

I'm sorry I haven't written much, or managed to comment on other blogs, of late. Things just keep happening. You know how it is... you turn on the computer, intending to blog, and instead you end up playing The Curse Of Monkey Island literally all weekend. And then you get up on Monday morning and realise that you can't be late to work because if the other guy gets there first he'll have nothing to do until you print something out for him, etc etc etc... ok, ok, I'll shut up.

Happy birthday Nana!

I've started an online dream journal. It is here if you'd like a look!

Ahh, what a lovely weekend it was. On Saturday we went out with Andrew to play laser war games and mini golf and pool and arcade shooting games - none of which I'm much good at, but I still enjoy! And Sunday I sat in the sun - yes, the sun shone!!! - and did cryptic crosswords, then watched The Wedding Singer with my dinner while Aidan was out. But now I have to return to the real world and go to work.

As I watched the microwave countdown to my breakfast this morning, it struck me that everything occupies Time. I felt Time almost as a tangible thing, marching onwards no matter what small and trivial thing I did. You wouldn't think that you could measure the tiny amount of Time taken up by getting a spoon out of a drawer, but it was four seconds. That's four seconds of Time which will never happen again, that Time is gone. And yet, upon further consideration, Time is a concept dreamed up by humans to keep track of our mundane lives. What time is it? Do we have time? Time is running out! The world has it's own measurements, ignoring our little seconds and minutes and hours. The world has day and night, and seasons, and these seem to have no relationship to the seconds ticking by on my microwave. However you measure time, use it well. It will not happen twice.

I just wrote a lovely long rambling blog post, and then I deleted it.

My favourite appliance is the electric heater in the bedroom. I especially like when Aidan has to work an early shift - the earlier he gets up, the earlier he turns on the heater, and the warmer the bedroom is by the time I get up!

Yesterday was my wonderful husband's birthday! It's always hard to know what to get or do for him, because he always just says he doesn't know, doesn't care, or suggests things he doesn't actually want such as going on a ferris wheel! However, I got him a pump for his bike tyres and a t-shirt with Gumby on it and we smoked a cigar together last night. I've never done that before, it was kind of nice although I couldn't finish the whole thing - a bit too much! Maybe next time. So he's a quarter of a century old, and I'm not too far behind (March 8th, make a diary note). That makes me feel old!

I feel even older since I've decided to stop or limit my drinking. Again. I've given up drinking a few times in my short life, but I think this time I mean it. I invariably end up having a little too much, and the illness and dizziness just aren't worth it! I'm a person who doesn't hold alcohol very well - female, for starters, with a small build... whatever it is, my system just doesn't handle it as well as I'd like.

For me, the dizziness associated with excessive alcohol consumption has sinister overtones: several years ago I suffered with a virus which I probably can't spell - labrynthitis. It effects the inner ear, the little hairy things which control your balance and co-ordination. The upshot was, I spent a considerable amount of my time dizzy to the extent of being unable to move or even stand up. So now, being dizzy is something to be wary of, or almost scared of, with the ever-present possibility of recurrence. It's been quite a while since my last episode, but believe me: once you've had something like that, you never forget it!

Anyway, I have digressed. Happy birthday to my beautiful wonderful fantastic sexy husband! May the next 25 years be 25 times as happy as the first 25!

I just went for my first scoot! Round and round in circles for most of it - we have a big loop near my house, like a very large square roundabout, so I rode round that a few times, then out by the industrial estate and stuff and then home. Just a short ride, nothing taxing, a little traffic to deal with of course... Actually I was surprised how easy and comfortable it was. It felt a lot better than the scooters I rode during my training. Here I am, coming round the corner, look!!


Photo courtesy of Aidan, thanks honey! In my dorky but oh-so-safe helmet, and my father-in-law's old motorbike jacket! It's a good thing I don't ride for vanity. Actually the helmet's pretty cool. Here it is on the couch. I know it belongs on my head, but I find it hard to photograph my own head, it was easier on the couch.


So anyway, I had fun and now I know I can ride my scooter! (I mean, I can scoot!) I was a little nervous - since it's been a good few weeks since I've ridden at all, and that was in a supervised training environment, and I've never ridden this scooter at all. I was kind of supervised this time - Aidan got on his pushbike and came along with me! We'll have fun fun fun till my baby takes my Bella away! (Sorry, Beach Boys!)

Me and my scooooter!!! It got delivered this afternoon! Yay!!!

Ok, I've been tagged by Jewel to do something called a meme. This has never happened to me before, so lets see how I do:

8 Random Things About Me

I drink my tea strong and black and with no sugar. This gave waiters in English cafes heart attacks while we were over there.

It was in Rome that I originally fell in love with scooters - over 18 months ago, and I finally went and paid for mine today and it will be delivered tomorrow!

Aidan says I'm cute.

I still want Hagrid to knock down my door, tell me I'm a witch, and bring me to Hogwarts. Either that, or some old friend of my father could tell me I'm a Jedi Knight.

I wear hiking boots almost everywhere, including to work.

Every time I see a giraffe I think of my mother. She collects them - statues, pictures, clothing, you name it.

I can't stand using a damp towel. It can't dry me if it isn't completely dry!!!

I like Marilyn Manson and Emmylou Harris. Can you get any more eclectic?

Ok, now I'm meant to give the names of 8 more people to post 8 Random Things About Them. Aidan, Within Without, and I really can't think of anybody else who would actually do this! How about I tag everybody, and then you can all do it if you want?!

One of my favourite words in the English language is draw.

To draw tea is to steep it.
To draw the curtains is to close them.
To draw lots is to select an item at random.
To draw a race is to finish at the same time.
To draw close is to get nearer.
To draw money is to take it from the bank.
To draw water is to take it from a well.
To draw out is to extend.
To draw a picture is, well, to draw!

What kind of mongoloid language has that many meanings for one tiny little word?

This is about to be my scooter! My father-in-law procured it and got an extremely good price for me, through his numerous (seemingly never-ending) contacts! Is there anything this man can't do? I'm so excited! I'm going to be a scooterer! Now I just need a helmet and gloves and some practice, yay!

I was looking at finance options last night, and I couldn't believe it: my credit card has a better interest rate than any loan I could get from anybody. To get a decent interest rate on a personal loan, you've got to borrow about $30,000. No good, I only wanted to borrow about $3000, and nobody gives a good rate on low loans! Who'd have thought that a credit card would turn out cheaper?!

Anyways, I'm really hungry. I just got back from my jog - I didn't do so well this morning, I had to stop to tie a shoelace near the end and I just couldn't start jogging again after that. So I walked about 200m further than usual. I've got to find something to eat.

I have started jogging. Saturday, Sunday, and today, I ran 4km and walked 1km. That's in addition to my usual walk to and from the train station and whatever else I do. Let me tell you, I should have started small. My legs are killing me - but I'll be doing it again tomorrow! It's kind of fun.

Well, I've put up a few of my earrings on Ebay - click here to have a look! Unfortunately Ebay's picture uploader didn't work for me, so I had to upload my pictures elsewhere. It meant I couldn't put the pictures in the search results, so a potential buyer has to actually click on the item to see the picture. Not so good, but there's not much I can do about it. Incidentally, if any of the items shown take your fancy, or if you want anything specific made, let me know and I'll have a crack at making it for you - and I'll even do "mates rates" if you promise to spread the word on where you got it! (Hey, it was worth a shot!)

I finished the Deathly Hallows in about seven hours yesterday. Boy it's good! Couldn't put it down. I queued for an hour to get it, and midway through my queueing I was joined by Andrew who went to a quieter bookshop and got his in under ten minutes. Then we went and drank lots of tea and read together! I won't tell you anything about what happens or who dies, and I'll try not to gloat too much that I know.

However I am now feeling somewhat lost. There is a profound sense of having finished with something the like of which I will never see again. I now don't know what to read, as very little seems to have the same appeal anymore. It's odd that I was so easily satisfied before, knowing the last Harry Potter was still to come, and now no other book really seems worth reading. I'm sure this feeling will pass - it must simply be the realisation of the event anticipated for so long. For months it was "on the way", for seven hours it was "reading it now", and now it's "all over".

In the aftermath of Potter, I picked up something I haven't read for a long time: Isobel Carmody's collection of short stories, Green Monkey Dreams. I had forgotten how intriguing and otherworldly her stories can be. I sometimes think she is like me: the world as it is isn't enough, or is too much, and must be pushed away in favour of fantasy and dream worlds. She often writes of events supposed to have taken place after some great apocalyptic catastrophe, the world wiped clean of the scourge of humanity as it is, and started anew. She writes, too, of human nature and the ways in which we delude ourselves. Poor Poppy, who pretends to be a monster and chases her siblings, runs the fastest to escape herself. Rian, who learns anguish through loving and losing. Matthew, who sacrifices happiness for the chance to fit in. And Noah. Noah embraces his different-ness, uses it as a defence, is proud of it. Noah knows he has fairy blood, even though he's an orphan. I like Noah.

Stories make me wish there was something different about me. Why don't I have fairy blood, why aren't I a witch, or a gypsy, or the daughter of a god? I guess that's escapism, pure and simple. I'd rather be anything rather than the painfully normal person I actually am. I still want Hagrid to knock down my door and say, "You're a witch, Stacy!" Silly, I know. The only person likely to knock down my door is the landlady, and she'd only say "Clean up the back yard, Stacy!"

Well, here are a few very early efforts...

As you can see, two pairs of earrings and a bracelet... nothing spectactular or out of this world, but some fun. I'll probably even wear them! I'm not really a bracelet person, but I'll wear it just to prove a point. I'd like to get into more "real" jewellery - setting precious stones and things, rather than just wire and glass beads, but this is some entertaining experience in the meantime!

Well, the weekend was lots of fun and I'm not yet sick of Harry Potter. I'm still hanging out for the book this Saturday - We have it on pre-order, so I'll be lining up outside the bookshop waiting for it to open...!!! I think Harry's going to die, so I'm going to buy a big box of tissues before I even start reading!

We saw my parents on Sunday, and we're seeing Aidan's parents tonight. It turns out that our fathers' birthdays are within days of each other, which is just another eerie similarity in the lives of Aidan and myself.

I've started to make jewellery. Nothing fancy or flash, just little simple creations of wire and beads, but it's fun. I'm thinking of trying to do an apprenticeship and becoming a real jeweller, but it's still just a grub of an idea so far.

Anywho, some of us have got to get to work... Take care!

I have a feeling that I'm going to be very sick of Harry Potter by Sunday! Andrew, Chantell, Aidan and myself will be watching the first two movies on Friday, the third and fourth on Saturday, then heading out to catch the fifth at the cinemas on Saturday afternoon. Although reviews have been somewhat scathing, I'm still looking forward to it. The weekend promises to be lots of fun!

There's nothing wrong with doing cryptic crosswords in the bath!

I passed on my second try! I am now officially able to ride a scooter. Pictured is the V Moto Montego 125, which is probably my first preference to buy. Would anybody care to donate to the Stace Needs A Scooter Fund?! Never mind, my father in law reckons we can get it cheap through his contacts, so we'll see what eventuates!

Not much time right now, I have to get to work. More later!

I survived my first motorbike lesson! Actually I got to ride a scooter instead of a geared bike, because I told the guy I was looking at buying a scooter. I didn't know I'd be able to choose, so it's great that I'm able to learn and practice on a machine so similar to what I will eventually own. Anyway, the lesson went really well, I was scared and nervous about a few things, but managed to complete all manoeuvres successfully! I fell once - and this is embarrassing - I wasn't even moving at the time! I was straddling the scooter, both feet on the ground, then I tried to kick the stand up... I couldn't find the kickstand, lost my balance, and fell! Not to worry, Scooter and I are both fine apart from a small graze on my knee! So tonight I have my theory class and test, and then next Sunday is the practical skills test, back on the scooter. I'm now confident that I'll pass just fine!

It has been a very busy few days, I feel quite the little socialite! Went to a Rotary dinner in Rye on Wednesday, then just the two of us went out for dinner on Thursday, then Andrew and Chantell came round last night which was lots of fun, then Russian class this morning, and later this evening I've got my first motorbike lesson!

Speaking of socialites, I see Paris Hilton has claimed to be a changed woman since her time in jail. I sincerely hope so. For her own sake, and for the sake of all those who want to emulate her, I hope she will settle down. But I confess I harbour my doubts. I will wait and see if she gets up to more shenanigans, and if she does you can all tell me I was right! For once, I don't want to be right.

I have nothing more to say. I'm a bit tired! Brain working isn't properly! I might have some caffiene before motorbiking...

A couple of weeks ago in Melbourne, a very kind man intervened in a volatile situation to give assisstance to a stranger. For his troubles, he got shot and killed.

Last night on the Mornington Peninsula, a very drunk man was daft enough to try to drive, and ended up bogged in a ditch. He walked away without a scratch.

Do you ever wonder if there is any natural justice at all? Any karma? Is there a God? What kind of God would let the good die young and tragically, whilst the foolish survive their escapades and often hurt others in the process?

Needless to say, I don't believe in God. But I do kind of believe in karma. What goes around comes around. I just hope that guy's payment is coming soon.

Yes, yes, thank you everybody, my leg is healing up very nicely! There's still a bit of a scab, but honestly the allergic reaction to the band-aid was worse! Even that's almost gone now.

I made a funky decision and acted on it in the last couple of days - I've signed up for motorbike lessons, yay! I can't even drive a car (well, I can, but not very well and not without somebody in the car with me), but I want to ride a motorbike instead! For some reason, even knowing all the inherent dangers, a motorbike seems less daunting than a car to me. So I start this Saturday, and will have 3 four-hour lessons covering theory and practice and the acquisition of a learners permit. Now I just need enough dosh to buy a motorbike - anyone got a second hand one for sale?!

As you all no doubt know by now from reading his blog, Aidan passed his physical test, so we're getting all excited and happy - things are finally happening, after almost 18 months of going through this application process!!! We're now seriously considering the implications, such as having to move to another city at some point - I suppose it could be worse, for instance, we don't have to move to the Western suburbs of Melbourne! (Sorry Cazzie, just kidding!)

What else have I been doing? I don't really know! Time runs away sometimes, particularly when life is especially enjoyable like it is just now. I'm still loving my job, and I've been reading some really good books lately (sadly I finish them all too quickly) - George R R Martin and Tad Williams and Neil Gaiman. Yeah, I'm a bit of a sci-fi/fantasy fanatic. I know, I know, I could replace the word "broadsword" with the words "throbbing member" and I'd have a tacky escapist romance novel. But it's different, I promise!!! (If you believe that to be true of all sci-fi, read Tad Williams' "Otherland" series and become enlightened!)

What else... oh yes, the Transformers movie is coming out this week, and fortunately I think Aidan is planning on seeing it by himself so I won't have to pretend I want to see it, or pretend I liked it afterwards, or even pretend I really remember the original cartoons or whatever it was! (He's gonna grumble at me for that, apparently being unaware of certain 1980's television programs or movies is a near-divorceable offence!!)

I have used a LOT of exclamation marks in this post. Sorry about that!!!!!! I'm just happy and stuff.

Now, to embark on that task I have left too long undone - reading and commenting on all my friends' blogs... This could take a while!

I can't believe how cold it's gotten. A few weeks ago every day was 25 degrees, sunny and warm, and then BAM, suddenly we're getting frosts in the mornings and all-day fogs. I don't like it! If I must be cold, I'd rather be cold somewhere that's meant to be cold: Siberia, Antarctica, England, and so forth. Why, oh why, am I still in Melbourne? Maybe I'll start up a charity fund: Help Stace And Aidan Travel, donate now because they're so bored with staying in one place!!!

Update on my leg: The original wound is healing up very nicely, but I had an allergic reaction to the band-aid. Now I have a big red rash all around the wound, which has actually been more painful than the wound ever was.



In other news: My boss went on holiday for a week and left me alone in charge of the office! I'd only been there for a month before he left, I was a little nervous, but it turns out I did really well on my own. He actually brought me a present from Hong Kong - a lovely fan with a display stand - for looking after the office. He seems happy with me, and that in itself gives me a bit more confidence in myself and my own abilities. I guess I'm a real Office Administrator now, yay. That reeks of conformity and corporatisation, but it can't be helped. At least after I've chalked up a year or so experience I'll be able to get a well-paying full-time job just about anywhere in the English-speaking world. If I want one. What do I want? I don't know! That's ok. I'll have fun finding out.

That was a lot of inane rambling. Sorry about that! Have a nice day!