easy money

i still don't know about the job!! the girl from the agency called this afternoon but because i was shackled to my desk by my headset wearing my call centre hat, i missed the call. i called back but she was in a meeting so we did not manage to connect. when she called back, i missed the call as i was attending a market research session - $100 cash for spending 3 hours talking about lowfat milk. the brand that i use is having an image makeover, coming soon to a supermarket near you (but only if you live in new south wales, australia...) there was another girl there who is a friend of my friend harryo's old flatmate - as soon as i saw her, i knew that i had seen her before. (if you read this, ho, it was asha who used to hang out at that bloody awful winebar in bondi and she said to say hello!)

i think i may explode with impatience about this job thing. the first thing i will do when i get to work tomorrow is call the agency - i have to know and soon!!

today's soundtrack:
the runaway found : the veils

still waiting

i managed to be in the city by 7.23am so i went one bus stop further and wandered slowly down martin place but was still there just after 7.30... i found a money machine and then sat in a cafe on york street until it was time to go. i was interviewed by two lovely women. i wasn't too nervous and i think i answered all the questions without rabbitting on too much or making a total goose of myself. i have yet to hear from the agent so i'm just trying to stay calm until i do.

luckily, i put my positive mental attitude on this morning. at 9.30 the call centre backup staff were asked to log on and stay on the phones all day. if the standard of service is not attained this month, the shit will probably hit the fan - it will be the third month in a row... none of the backup staff were very happy but there was not much else we could do. i had to stay positive about it - i figured getting upset would only make it harder for myself. the same thing might happen tomorrow which means another day where our own workload and service standards will suffer... the point has been raised that they should try to maintain the service standard from the beginning of the month, rather than having a panic at the end and expecting us to clean up their mess but it seems to fall on deaf ears. one of the questions at my interview was 'why do you want to leave your current job?'...

bingo with mrs jane tonight - we won nowt but it is always fun.

today's soundtrack:
the runaway found : the veils

work it out

...i have an
interview
with my potential
new employer
tomorrow morning at
8.00am... eek!!

i have to write something here so that my pullquote over there on the right looks good! i guess i will have to tell you a quick story... my first ever job was when i was 15, during the school holidays at the end of 4th form. it involved clearing tables and washing dishes in a cafe in parramatta westfield. my sister was working there full time and she organised it for me. for my labours, i was given the whopping sum of $50 a week (5 days of 7 hours) and was paid in $1 and $2 notes. the cook was a dirty old man who would cop a feel whenever he could. the owner's wife was a penny-pinching bitch - she hit the roof when i put the crap from the bottom of a pot, that had previouly had cabbage rolls cooking in it, in the bin - she was going to use it as the starter for the next batch... i discovered just how disgusting people could be - do you stub your cigarettes out on your dinner plate? at least i finally stopped biting my fingernails - it was the last thing i wanted to do after swilling around in other people's leftovers all day. the worst day was the day of the granville train crash. apart from the shock of something so bad happening so close, it was just a crazy day. no trains went past parramatta, so everyone ended up in parramatta. it was january, so it was hot, the cafe was chock-a-block full. one lady passed out while waiting for a table to become available. despite all of this, i could not wait until i could leave school and start working - i had the taste of earning my own money and spending it however i chose...

so, wish me luck for tomorrow. from the salary range quoted in the job description, this job does not pay much more than what i'm earning now but that part has not been negotiated yet...

today's soundtrack:
the last broadcast : doves
laid (cd single) : james
(must remember to change the disc...)

summer comes early

up early for my 8.00am appointment with the job agency. the job sounds really good. i went back after work to have my skill tests done and did very well (having been driving a keyboard for 27 years or more, i knew i could whip through the testing procedure without too much trouble). my details will now be sent to the employer for them to decide whether they want me to come for an interview. wish me luck!

apart from that, nothing else exciting to report. it was supposed to be 31-33°C here today. i didn't notice if it was...



otto says "'Tis almost Monday once again....you know what that means! Madness, my friends, madness!!! Welcome to our new players, and thank you to all our 'old faithfuls' for supporting this meme every week!! =)

(If you want to pick and choose 5 (or more; or less) out of the following 10 to answer, go ahead. I know this could be a big challenge and I'd rather you answer some of them than none of them at all.....)

Name THREE of your........"

1. Pet Peeves: just 3!! where do i start?? the toilet seat/lid being left in the 'up' position, people with delusions of superiority, telemarketers who always call at an inconvenient moment (doubly peeved when they don't speak english very well...)
2. Favorite Sounds: the ocean, thunder/hail storms, my ongoing soundtrack
3. Desk Items: cd rack/cds, boombox radio cd thingy, computer
4. Biggest Fears: being poor, being homeless, being alone
5. Biggest Challenges: finding a job that i love, getting enough sleep, saving money
6. Newest 'Toys': mobile phone with camera, minidisc player, digital tv box
7. Most Used Words: um, mostly not fit to print... ok, i'll stop being silly - crap, cool, bugger
8. Most Mispelled Words: i mostly just suffer from typographic errors - i'm a human spell checker...
9. Favorite Disney Characters: piglet, all 101 dalmations, jiminy cricket
10. Bookmarks on Your Homepage: ircimages, pretty things, found


no bowling tonight as i got home too late after my visit to the agency.

today's soundtrack:
the last broadcast : doves
laid (cd single) : james

out and about

after a day spent doing nowt, at 5.00pm i dragged my butt out the door and went for a walk down to coogee. a beautiful 25°C spring day so there were lots of people about and 22 dogs were spotted having fun.


somwhere on the horizon is the spirit of tasmania - sadly my phonecam does not have enough voom to get all the details...



inspired by the skyline project.

1. Diminishing:: disappearing
   
2. Fed up:: not hard up
   
3. 3:00 AM:: not often seen but it's not pretty when i do...
   
4. Interfere:: mess with
   
5. Often:: but not always
   
6. Hay:: market
   
7. Prediction:: clairvoyance
   
8. Homophobia:: unnecessary prejudice
   
9. Booty call:: um... i have no idea...
   
10. Enunciate:: elocution
    

soundtrack of the last whenever:
the last broadcast : doves
the final straw : snow patrol
when it's all over we still have to clear up : snow patrol
son of evil reindeer : reindeer section
the runaway found : the veils
a song is a city : eskimo joe

sunday morning silliness

during my sunday morning blogcruise, i found this here via here. very silly but lotsa fun...

LOOK OUT! ïòð

third daughter is a radioactive squirrel!!

Username:

From Go-Quiz.com

now i'm going to get off the net & go find a life...

grumble bum

clouds

i was not in a blogging mood last night, so i'll backtrack to friday. one of the agencies that i sent my resume to on thursday night called me early on friday. i have an appointment to go and have a chat & have my skills tested on monday morning!! the lady i spoke to seemed very keen to see me as soon as possible as she has already been interviewing others for this role. i'm not going to get too excited but she seemed to think i would be very suitable!! they want advanced excel skills with experience using macros - i've not used macros a lot so that could be my stumbling block. i think i'll spend some time this weekend playing with excel and teaching myself how to use macros! there were free drinks after work last night but i really did not feel like spending the night in a pub drinking cheap wine (they only provide beer and wine and i absolutely hate beer) and breathing in second hand cigarette smoke. having a headache all day did not make me any more inclined to attend...

today has been a very boring day. i turned off the alarm before i went to bed last night and slept in 'til 10am. it's so nice not waking up to the shriek of the alarm clock. i'm having a quiet weekend at home as i'm poor. i have spent way too much money this week and will have to be very frugal for the next few days. tea & toast and pasta with tomato/tuna/pinenut/lemon sauce. yum. i'm also having a bit of a grump, so i'm better off staying home and not inflicting that grump on the world at large.

this week the backyard has finally started it's transformation into a carpark. i went downstairs to do my washing and was not a happy girl! there are two paths to get to the laundry and both were blocked with planks of wood that have been wedged around the concrete block that will make my landlord richer to the tune of $165 per week. the language that came from my mouth would have made a wharfie blush... i managed to navigate my way around the mess and got the washing done but you can rest assured that there will be a complaint made to the real estate agents office on monday.

while there has been talk of this happening since june, we were not given any official notice of when it would start and they should not be allowed to block access to the laundry. it will be very dangerous for anyone who comes and goes via the rear lane as there is no light out there. if someone gets injured they could sue the estate agent and the people who have made the mess.
i'm also a bit pissed off because the lovely jasmine bush is gone.

soundtrack of the last whenever:
hymns of the 49th parallel : kd lang
elemental : tears for fears
galleon : richard pleasance
(what's the story) morning glory : oasis
the definitive anthology : richard clapton
short note : matt finish
greatest : duran duran
a song is a city : eskimo joe
from the sea (cd single) : eskimo joe
it's too late (cd single) : evermore (their cd is released soon - i think i'll buy it)

i'm off to lie on the couch and watch 'homeward bound: the incredible journey' which i'm sure will never be as good at the original! this will be followed by 'bootmen' - it has the fabulous sam worthington in it. he was also in thursday's film.

quack quack quack

found at shirl's who swiped it from bryn...



more later, maybe.

summer salt

an up and down kind of day.

lunch with miss marina - that will always put a smile on my face.

went with miss e to see 'somersault' tonight. a very very very good but slightly heartbreaking film.

no soundtrack today - couldnae be bothered.



So Happy It's Thursday - Friday Is Gonnabe Here Tomorrow!!!

(hey, it was the best i could do to make the word!!)

life goes on

i've been living in this block of flats for 4 years today. it's amazing how much stuff has happened and how much my life has changed in that time. 5 years ago, i was one week away from flying off to europe for a 6 week holiday. at the end of that holiday, i had no idea that my life was going to implode in 6 months time... oh well, here i am. i still have all of my physical bits and pieces, my mental & emotional processes are much improved and most importantly, i'm still breathing and i know i'll survive.

last night's job application was a fizzer, but i expected that. i have submitted two more tonight. i figure that i should submit myself for anything that sounds remotely interesting, whether i have the experience required or not. if i can get my name & resume on the databases of as many agencies as possible, something good is bound to come along.

tee hee hee - how cool are you?

today's soundtrack:
a song is a city : eskimo joe (who are currently singing their new song on 'the panel'!!!)

the search begins

i didn't get up quite as early as yesterday, but i was at work by 8.15am. it's quite an effort to drag myself out of bed these days. i'm kinda sick of my job, so tonight i have updated my resume and applied for a job on the seek website.

apart from that, i had a quick chat with colorado tim this morning & it was a fuzzy 14 dog day

here is a blogtrick i saw over at shirl's. it comes from the home of all good bloggy tips and tricks. i hope it works... i still don't have all the new bloggy goodness and cannot see how anything i post will look until it is posted. i have to get a new job that pays more money so i can get a better computer!!



today's soundtrack:
the final straw : snow patrol
a song is a city : eskimo joe
songs from the 49th parallel : kd lang


*** blogtrick update ***

it worked!!! yippee!!!!

get outta bed, sleepyhead!!

i was up early this morning - 6am!!! ouch!!! i even set my mobile phone alarm to make sure i got out of bed. everyone had to be at the office by 8am for a team breakfast meeting. i was there at 7.35am, which meant i could leave just after 4pm. yippee... i really should stay off the net and go to bed earlier each night so that every day, i can get up earlier and come home earlier... in an effort to have an early night tonight, i thought i'd knock over my madness answers and do a quick post later for my bowling scores. what are the odds that i'll still hang about on the net until midnight and then listen to the abc radio quiz and not end up asleep until my usual time of about 12.45am???


1. My desk chair is the most used piece of furniture in my house.
2. The one electronic 'gadget' that I use most often is my computer (does this count as a 'gadget'?).
3. My favorite appliance, and the one I absolutely cannot live without is the computer. (again, does my computer count as an 'appliance'?? if no, my answer would be kettle.)
4. One thing that I thought I just HAD to have at one time, and I now barely ever use, is my bread machine.
5. I find it easiest to keep in touch with family and friends via email or telephone but i'm such a slacker, i often don't use either...
6. I own more cd's (or other music media) than I do pairs of shoes (and this is despite my shoe fetish...)
7. All my important addresses are stored in/on my head. (aaarrgghhh!!!)
8. If I had to live without TWO keys on my keyboard, I would choose at least one of the shift keys (i do use them occasionally...) & 'NumLock'.
9. I probably own about ??? pieces of software that I haven't used in years. i inherited my computer from my ex and there are files/programs/bits of stuff on my computer that i don't even know what they are, let alone what they are for or how to use them... i could be sending all my secrets to the russians for all i know...
10. There are a few food items that I try NEVER to run out of, and those would be milk, teabags, sugar, bread, butter and jam or vegemite or honey. tea and toast will always fill your belly.


*** bowling update ***



how embarrassment!!! 93, 92, 130. our team go zero points. 3rd place but may slip to 4th

the eternal sunday of the plotless mind

my home

the usual lazy sunday: sleep in, blogcruise, lie on the couch looking at the tele, mad dash to get 4 loads of washing done before the sun goes down, take out the garbage (we went to the movies today, i'll take it to the zoo next week... oh dear, that was an awful, awful joke...)
still no abc through the digital box - i'm going to try the tv without the digital box with the repositioned aerial and see what happens. at least i get the other channels and the reception is pretty much perfect. sadly i watch of lot of abc shows and it was the one with the worst reception previously so i was really hoping to get it via the digital box...
i had a chat with sue from flat 6 today. there is some movement on the plans to turn our yard into carparking spaces. the power pole that was right on our fence in the lane has been moved to the other side of the lane. one clothesline has been moved, the other one and the laundry will be demolished. the laundry will be moved to a tiny, tiny room at the far end of the yard. sue's daughter in flat 2 moves to queensland this week, the girl in flat 3 has moved, flat 10 is still vacant since the yobbos moved out - all of this means lots of new tenants to come in the next few weeks. apart from fred in 7 and the old lady in 5, i'll move up to be the 3rd longest tenant in the building. a lot of people have come and gone since i've been here, which will be 4 years on the 22nd of september. my life has improved so much since i moved here, a heartbroken wreck . things did get worse and i think i hit my personal rockbottom in the middle of 2002. life is about 300% better now

1. Pointless:: futile
   
2. Sadistic:: cruel
   
3. Bunny:: rupert or poke the...
   
4. Betrayal:: double cross
   
5. Oliver:: sacks
   
6. Star Wars:: hardware wars
   
7. Let it ride:: gamble
   
8. Ray of light:: madonna
   
9. Tight:: miserly
   
10. Gadget:: "bring your money with you!"
    

today's soundtrack:
please describe yourself : dogs die in hot cars
a song is a city : eskimo joe
from the sea (cd single) : eskimo joe
the runaway found : the veils
the final straw : snow patrol
the last broadcast : doves
when it's all over we still have to clear up : snow patrol

digital eskimos?

i had a pretty big saturday.

a nice sleep in until 9am. coloured my hair with schwarzkopf country colours in 'madagascar' - a very nice reddish brown - the silver has been suppressed for a few weeks.

ho came over in the early afternoon to sort out the digital tv box - it is working better with the aerial on the windowsill - i can get channels 7, 9, 10 & sbs but sadly no abc and sometimes ch9 disappears.

later in the afternoon, i went with miss e to the ritz to see 'the bourne supremacy'. i quite enjoyed it. i had no idea what it was about as i've not read the books or seen the previous film. it was made all the nicer by having the delicious karl urban in it - what a lovely looking boy...

tonight, miss and i went to the enmore theatre to see 'eskimo joe'. the support band, 'dogs die in hot cars' (another scottish band) were very good - i'm playing their cd now - i just had to buy it. eskimo were their usual awesome selves. miss e and i feel we may to officially declare our groupiedom. we even bought the tour poster for $5 at the end of the show (they were $10 at the beginning!). when i told colorado tim that we were going to see them for the 3rd time this year, he asked if we threw our housekeys on the stage with our addresses attached. i had not ever thought of doing that but thanked him for the tip... (i would never do it but i'm sure there are girls who would.) i've never been a 'starf*cker', as a friend of mine has so delicately described those who do go out of their way to get close to their musical/entertainment heroes.

today's soundtrack:
eskimo joe & dogs die in hot cars : live at the enmore
describe yourself : dogs die in hot cars

blah blah blah

hopefully my computer wont crash before i post this... it desperately needs to be upgraded but i just don't have the funds for that at the moment.

anyway, i'm back. i had nowt to say in the last few days, so i didn't say it...

digital tv is on the back burner. we only managed to tune into 2 channels. ho thinks the bunny ears aren't strong enough. he is coming back tomorrow with his whizzo aerial. if that helps to get the rest of the channels, i'll toddle of to tandy to get one for myself.

i was going to post last night (just to assure my adoring fans that i'm still alive and blogging) but ended up chatting to colorado tim for 3 hours instead. i was asleep by 10.30pm - an unheard of occurrence in the 3rd daughter's house!! that is the first night that i have not seen midnight in a awfully long time!

tonight, i had dinner with mrs jane and then we did some bowling. being a social game and not having to worry about points for the team, i bowled a leisurely 107, 86, 87... mrs jane has not bowled for two years and still managed to beat me in two games! the six year old in the next lane beat me in the last game! half of the 2nd game and the 3rd were bowled in disco mode. main lights off - disco lights, mirror balls and ultraviolet on. it makes it very hard to see what you're doing but my shoelaces and the stitching on my jeans were fabulously white! hopefully i've got all the crap throws over for the week and can bowl a 200 game on monday - ha! ha!! ha!!! i can dream...

this week's soundtrack:
the last broadcast : doves
the final straw : snow patrol
the libertines : the libertines
the runaway found : the veils

music to my ears

i couldn't wait until payday. i got the bus home with miss e and she had to go to the music store to get a cd. i went with her and bought some cheap tdk earphones - they were only $12.95 and they sound alright. when i'm cashed up, i'll get some good sony ones. for now, i'm just happy to have music again! in her capacity as my music stylist, miss e has lent me 'the libertines' self titled cd and echoes by 'the rapture'. i'm having a listen now and will reserve my decision for when i've heard both at least twice.

tee hee hee - a favourite place of mine has some new silliness. go have a look!

i've been a very good girl and cleaned up my flat tonight. my good friend and bowling buddy, ho, is visiting tomorrow night. this kind and generous friend is going to install his spare digital tv tuner for me. my tv reception is pretty sad - i spend more time adjusting the 'bunny ears' aerial than i do watching and even then, half the time it's just snow or blue lines. i figured i should at least have my place looking like a human lives here. susan 1 - slothfulness 0!!

p.s. i'm on the first listen of 'the libertines' and i think i like it!

27 years of hard labour :)

on this day 27 years ago, i started my first real job as a trainee data entry operator. my annual salary was about $3500 and i used to pay board, buy clothes, smoke & drink yet i still managed to save money - if only life were that easy these days...

an 8 dog day and that's about it.


1. You are given 1 million dollars. You must give it all away before the donor gives you $1 million. Who would you give it to? um... 1/3 to an orangutan sanctuary in sumatra, 1/3 to cancer research, 1/3 to the third daughter retirement fund
2. If you had $1 million what would you do with it FIRST? give some to my family & friends
3. Do you participate in lotteries? sometimes
4. Name 3 of your best physical features. smile, eyes, skin (this is according to other people...)
5. .... 3 of your biggest virtues. honesty, loyalty, modesty
6. .....3 of your biggest vices. chocolate, men, slothfulness
7. .... 3 of your favorite pleasures in life. um... chocolate, men, slothfulness
8. If you were a member of the opposite sex, what would you choose to do for your occupation? rock star or actor
9. If you were to come back after death as another animal, what animal would you choose to be? a panda. don't ask why - i can't answer that... they sure are cute.
10. What kind of 'baby' are you... water, clouds, beach, garden? clouds, that's usually where my head is at...


132, 114, 116 - eek! at the 6th frame in the 1st game, i had a very embarrassing score of 47 but managed to save myself with two strikes and two spares. the 2nd & 3rd games were pretty much the same - i only managed to sort myself out after the 6th frame. we only managed two points and have slipped back to 3rd place

still no soundtrack - i'm hanging out for payday so i can buy some new earphones.

back to school

my primary school's 85th anniversary was a lot of fun. one of the guests was a 98 year old lady who was the 12th person to be enrolled in the school - she got a rousing round of applause. i was a bit disappointed that there were not many people there from my year. i did catch up with one old friend. we hung out for a while and swapped numbers and will try to catch up again. we had a lot of fun trying to cram what we've both done in the last 32 years into a few hours of conversation. it was interesting that we both have slightly different views about where we fitted into the primary school social scale - she always felt like an outsider yet i thought she was pretty cool and popular.

my sanity survived. it was the desire to come home and sleep in my own bed that has me at home tonight.

1. Self-esteem :: self-worth
   
2. Migraine :: aura
   
3. Phoebe :: saturn
   
4. Nervous :: wreck
   
5. Punctual :: on the dot
   
6. Liver damage :: too much vodka
   
7. Legal disclaimer :: not responsible
   
8. Reverend :: lovejoy
   
9. Supple :: lithe
   
10. Binder :: foolscap

no soundtrack this weekend - my earphones have gone to the great cd player in the sky

this week's 'to-do' list:
buy new earphones!

still here...

i decided to stay home tonight and make the trek out to the ancestral home tomorrow. without giving away tmi, certain body aches and pains left me in no mood to lug a backpack full of clothing into work this morning. i'll save that for tomorrow when it will less stressful.

a fairly quiet 17 dog day. i managed to leave my purse at home but the lovely boys at i'm starving allowed me to have my morning coffee and my lunch on credit. they know i'm good for it!

i've finally got my new phone sorted and can email photos from it. here is some jasmine from the the back garden, in my allegedly antique edwardian vase with my handmade (by me) leadlight panel in the background.



p.s. in anther snit fit, tonight i have removed the blogsnob ads from my site because they have suddenly changed from a simple, elegant, little ad to a garish 3" x 1.5" box in a vile shade of blue with shocking pink text - even blogsnob was spelt incorrectly as blosnob. either they've been hacked or they have done the hacking and unless it goes back to the previous nice format, it's not going to reappear on my blog.

champion tantrum chucker

ooh er!! who's got her grump on today! earlier this evening my blog was looking very poorly. there were no links for comments, no blogrolls and the referrer list was empty. basically, all of my external linkage was kaput. posted my little snipe and logged off. i decided to give the worldwidewhatever another chance and am happy to see my wee bloggy restored to her former glory.

i had a little tanty at work today too. while doing backup for the call centre, i was taking calls while call centre staff were in 'idle' status. the explanation given was just not good enough - i cannot understand why 'backup' staff are taking calls when 'actual' call centre staff are available. i'll probably get my arse kicked for my little ruckus but it will be worth it. i'm a born troublemaker. my access to the call monitoring progamme has already been disabled - they'd forgotten that it was installed on my machine...

lunch with miss marina today. i'm blessed to have been given the chance to rekindle our friendship.

i've just seen this on sbs - very, very strange...

i'm off to visit the parental unit for the weekend and may not be back until monday (or sunday, if my sanity is at stake...)

keep the blogfires burning until i return.

???

no comments, no blogroll, no referrer list - not happy!!

i took on the rest of the world...

and won!!! thanks shirl!

our lunch today was very nice. there was taco dip, spaghetti, lasagne, two types of curry, noodles, bread, salad, fruit and a fabulous pavlova for dessert. my crumble was a bit dry and not quite hot enough. it was still immensely edible. the only rule was that we did not talk about work and we didn't break it. a 10 dog day and miss e as a bus buddy for the trip home.

my primary school's 85th anniversary reunion thingy is on this weekend and i'm really looking forward to it. i wonder if anyone i know will turn up?

sharing the love

apart from sharing a surname, a blog birthday, being 43 and the 3rd child of three, there is no evidence that i am related to this gentleman. i found out today that his dad is unwell so i'm asking you to please visit his blog and leave some hugs and stuff.

my day was ok. 5 dogs. my voice is about 96% normal but deemed bad enough by my manager that i didn't have to do my hour of enforced slavery as call centre backup - yeah!!

a late post tonight because i've been cooking. we're having a team lunch tomorrow and everybody is bringing in something special. i've made a vegetable nut crumble. a bit time consuming but sooooooooo delicious - a baking dish lined with cooked brown rice, filled with veges cooked with tomatoes and herbs, topped with grated cheese and breadcrumb/crushed nut crumble topping, baked until golden brown - one of my alltime favourite things to eat! (recipe available on request...) i've made two, a big one to take to work and a smaller one for me to feast on later this week.

today's soundtrack:
the runaway found : the veils
hopes & fears : keane

hi ho, hi ho...

...it's back to work i go and i really would have preferred to stay at home in bed. my voice deteriorated throughout the day but has improved again tonight. i fear i'm destined to spend the rest of my life with a dodgy voice. oh, well i can't complain - a 15 dog day and a request to the universe answered - what more can a girl ask for?



1. Please tell us a little bit about your job (or your classes). i shuffle paper and i talk to people...
2. Do you enjoy your job? sometimes
3. What would make your job more satisfying for you? remove the 'talking to people' part. oh, and a bucketload more money would be nice...
4. Name one thing you don't like about your job. talking to people (did you see that coming???)
5. Do you feel you are compensated adequately for what you do? no, but who ever does?
6. Any thoughts on social security and health benefits? using my limited knowledge of social (in)security and health benefits in other countries, i think that here in oz we are better off than some others. although my one short experience with our lovely 'jobstart' programme was demeaning, degrading and damned awful - i think they make it that way so you aren't tempted to stay on it for too long...
7. What are your thoughts on the current minimum wage? it is not enough and probably never will be.
8. What kind of advice do you (or would you) give your children regarding their future and their career choices? make sure it is something you love
9. What is your 'dream job'? bookstore/cafe or something with animals
10. At what age will you be (or were you) able to retire? i can cash in my super at 56 but who knows?? not something i think about really.


127,97(eek!),121. we got 4 points and have slipped to 2nd place but we still have a chance to redeem ourselves!

today's soundtrack:
the runaway found : the veils
the real thing : russell morris - i'm playing it right now to celebrate the 35th anniversary of it's release. put on your psychadelics and your love beads and sing along with me... oomowmowmowmow... it still sounds fabulous to me.

icicles

another quiet day. my voice is still not 100% normal but i'll return to work tomorrow. i'm going mad staying at home. at least the housework is done. i was very domestic today and cleaned the kitchen, vacuumed the carpet, cleaned up my bedroom & cooked some dinner.

there was another thunder/hail storm this afternoon. the sky to the west was brilliant blue with fluffy white clouds yet the sky over the ocean was grey and stormy. i could see both from my window and it was very odd.

1. Reporter:: journalist
   
2. Mythology:: folklore
   
3. Wimbledon:: little italy
   
4. Civilization:: inca
   
5. Punctuation:: commas and stuff
   
6. Party Games:: spin the bottle
   
7. Flawless:: skin
   
8. Unprecedented:: never before
   
9. Curry:: yum!
   
10. Tropical:: paradise
    

today's soundtrack:
karma : delirium
diva : annie lennox
hopes & fears : keane
the final straw : snow patrol
the runaway found : the veils

Honey, you should listen to your heart, and not the voices in your head.

a bit of a lazy saturday. i still haven't 100% shaken off this rotten bug thing. sounding like marge simpson.

did some washing. blogcruised. caught up on some reading - choice magazine, zoonews & some old smh good weekend magazines provided by miss e to keep me occupied.

we've just had an amazing thunderstorm here - i swear that the lightning was in my backyard - the thunderclaps were right overhead and pretty darn loud. force of habit had me asking my dear departed boo-boo what she thought of the thunder...

today's soundtrack:
the runaway found : the veils
the last broadcast : doves
get ready : new order

nostalgia

apart from having a bloggy birthday, today was a pretty good day.

my voice is now the most human sounding it has been for nearly a week. i now just have a frog in my throat and i'm not going to swallow any flies to try and coax him out. the cough is much improved but still nagging me, which was why i decided not to go out to the birthday dinner tonight. i would have had to stay overnight and it's bad enough waking up at 5am and coughing for an hour in my own home, let alone doing it in someone else's house. hopefully, my throat minus it's coterie of germs will let me have my blog back eventually...

happiness challenge: even though the challenge was meant to be for august, i might as well continue...
a good chat with colorado tim. he was very animated today, which is a good thing as he has been a bit down lately.
a new filmink magazine to devour.

today's oldies soundtrack:
my previous post caused a sudden urge to listen to all that good old stuff. they don't make music like they used to...

winter in america : doug ashdown
rock & roll (i gave you the best years of my life) : kevin johnson
i'll be around : doug parkinson
one : john farnham
turn up your radio : master's apprentices
eleanor rigby : zoot
gypsy queen : country radio
smiley : ronnie burns
dear prudence : doug parkinson
a little ray of sunshine : axiom
it's because i love you : master's apprentices
the real thing : russell morris
sweet sweet love : russell morris
eloise : barry ryan
baker street : gerry rafferty
angie baby : helen reddy
open your heart : g. wayne thomas
i've got to have you : carly simon

today's modern soundtrack:
get ready : new order
substance (disc one) : new order
when it's all over we still have to clear up : snow patrol

all soundtrack songs made all the more enjoyable because i sang along with my scratchy voice - it kept me amused - the high notes are very hard to get to when you sound like a strangled cat

winter in america - doug ashdown & jimmy stewart

in response to the numerous google pilgrims who come here in search of lyrics for 'winter in america' by doug ashdown, i post the following:

Winter In America - Doug Ashdown & Jimmy Stewart

The harbour's misty in the morning, love, oh how I miss December.
The frangipani any opens up to kiss the salty air.
I know you're getting ready for the office.
I suppose he's still there, with you, sharing our morning sun.

Winter in America is cold and I just keep growing older.
I wish I could have known enough of love, to leave love enough alone.

I've learned something of love I wish I'd known before you left me.
But it's funny how you don't know what you've got until it's gone.
And I hope you're getting all the love you ever wanted.
But I wish I was there, with you, sharing our morning sun.

I wake into the sadness of the rain and making love to strangers.
And wishing I had known enough of love, to leave love enough alone.

Winter in America is cold and I just keep growing older.
I wish I could have known enough of love, to leave love enough alone.

one of the favourite songs in the soundtrack of my life.

one year old today!!

it has been a year today since i first paddled my feet in the blogpool, wondering if i could do it and how long it would last.

in the intervening 12 months, i've had a lot fun and "met" some fabulous new friends. thank you to all of my visitors, old and new, for making this such a fun experience! i hope you are all still around next year for the 2nd birthday celebrations!

almost normal

yeah!! my voice is returning to something close to human. another lazy day spent sitting in front of the heater, aimlessly blogcruising. even though it is the 2nd day of spring the weather has turned a rather wintery 18°C max with intermittent rain. i met up with miss and went to the supermarket this evening - she is feeling a bit like i did last thursday with a scratchy throat and blocked nose. i hope she doesn't get it as bad as i've had it. whatever i have must be doing the rounds of the office.

i'm hoping i'll be 100% betterer tomorrow - i'm supposed to go to a birthday dinner tomorrow night but i don't want to go if i'm still coughing and croaking.

well, that's my day. i hope yours was more exciting!

today's soundtrack:
the runaway found : the veils
hopes & fears : keane
the final straw : snow patrol
when it's all over we still have to clear up : snow patrol
son of evil reindeer : reindeer section
the last broadcast : doves

it's about books

thanks shirl! i've had to australianise one question.

Hardback or Paperback: both
Highlight or Underline: never
Lewis or Tolkien: tolkien
E.B. White or A.A. Milne: a.a. milne
T.S. Eliot or e.e. cummings: e e cummings
Stephen King or Dean Koontz: have read both but prefer neither
Barnes & Noble or Borders: borders (but only because we don't have barnes & noble here in oz, yet).
Dymocks or Angus & Robertson: dymocks
Fantasy or Science Fiction: neither
Horror or Suspense: both
Bookmark or Dogear: yes but mostly bookmark (even if it's a bus ticket)
Large Print or Fine Print: any
Hemingway or Faulkner: hemingway (i'm shamed to admit i've not read faulkner - recommendations accepted!)
Fitzgerald or Steinbeck: fitzgerald (ditto about steinbeck...)
Homer or Plato: homer (simpson)
Geoffrey Chaucer or Edmund Spenser: chaucer
Pen or Pencil: both
Looseleaf or Notepad: both
Alphabetize: no
Shelve: By Genre/Subject or All Books Together: all over the place...
Dustjacket: Leave it On or Take it Off: off when reading, on if I can find it aftewards
Novella or Epic: both
John Grisham or Scott Turow: have not read either
J.K. Rowling or Lemony Snicket: have not read either
John Irving or John Updike: irving
Salman Rushdie or Don Delillo: delillo
Fiction or Non-fiction: both
Historical Biography or Historical Romance: biography
Reading Pace: A Few Pages per Sitting or Finish at Least a Chapter: both
Short Story or Creative Non-fiction Essay: both
Blah Blah Blah or Yada Yada Yada: blah blah blah
“It was a dark and stormy night…” or “Once upon a time…”: both
Books: always
Book Reviews or Word of Mouth: both (even the cover...)

cookies and death

another day at home. today's voice is something like a confused goose. still coughing but it's finally starting to ease. another visit to the doctor who has decided i should stay home for the rest of the week. friday is my rostered day off so i'm hoping i'm better by then!!! i'm so bloody bored but i know that if i go back to work before it's all cleared up, it will probably get worse before it gets better.

to relieve the boredom, i went to the video store and got 5 dvds for $5, they are:

best in show
waiting for guffman
welcome to the dollhouse
a beautiful mind
better than sex

i have them for a week but i'm sure i'll be back there on friday getting another 5. so far i've watched 'best in show' and it is a hoot (with lots of dogs as the bonus) & 'welcome to the dollhouse'. this is funny in parts but also heartbreakingly sad. i'm so glad i was somewhere in the middle during school - never totally cool but not totally daggy although i had friends at both ends of the scale.

a rather weird coincidence... both 'welcome to the dollhouse' and 'best in show' have a character called 'cookie'. i was just watching 'the simpsons' and there was a character in this particular episode called... can you guess??? yes! cookie! perhaps my 'fortune' is about to change...

happiness challenge:
the rest of my amazon uk treasures arrived today.

i guess happiness has it's opposite. found out today that an old friend, michael, the brother of one of my housemates from back in the early 80s, passed away recently. i don't really have any more details but i'm going to try and find out more. he was a lovely boy and we had a lot of fun together - he took me to the zoo for my 21st birthday present.
about 2 years ago i found out that he had become quite well known for his photographic and film work and during the 2003 sydney festival, he had some if his work displayed above circular quay railway station. during the festival, he was scheduled to give a talk, at the museum of contemporary art, about his work, so i got some tickets and miss e and i went along. sadly, he did not do the presentation due to illness but his brother-in-law stood in for him. as we were leaving the lecture theatre, i spotted michael but he was obviously unwell and surrounded by his family. i thought it better not to intrude, but did ask his brother-in-law to pass on my best wishes. i hope he got them. in the meantime, i'm sending out hugs and love through the universe to his sister wendy and the rest of their family. i'm so proud of him for what he achieved.