Tiger has come to his forever home

This afternoon Tiger came to his forever home with us. I am sooooo happy! He looks pretty happy too. So far, we have played ball, taken a few romps around the yard, sniffed every inch of the house and yard, peed on the most likely bushes and did a nice poopiedoo in the far corner near the compost bin and right up against the fence. He's such a good boy, my Tiger.

C~ took quite a few pics of him, which I am going to post here just so I can gush some more about how wonderful he is. We don't have stairs, so I'm not really sure how he is with them, must try the front steps tomorrow. At our main house entrance (the garage side), we have a ramp which he seems to love as he gets going at a good clip when he goes up it.

He loves his stuffed plushie toys, especially the baby seal one, and we also have a squeaky rubber toy that he just adores. I have never seen a greyhound BOUNCE before. He just gallops and hops around like a little puppy, it's hilarious! Oh and the other funny thing he does is stare out through the security bars of our front window to the house across the street which has 4 cats roaming around.

Looks like the only thing we need to work on is whining, which he hasn't done much but I don't want him doing every time he sees a cat across the street. He hasn't been counter surfing yet, but he has stuck his nose over the counter so we will put a quick stop to that as well.

Ok, now for the piccies. Enjoy!

Almost there

Yes, Saturday is almost upon us, and I have to work tomorrow from 7:30-12:30. Who goes to the damn dentist on Saturday morning? No one I tells ya!

Anywho, tomorrow is the day that Tiger comes to his forever home. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm so excited I could just spit. (Say that with a southern accent*grin*) Also, C~ has bought tons of toys, plushies and balls and other stuff, a bed too...one of those off the ground things that everyone here in OZ seems to have for poochies outside during the day. Honestly, I don't think it's big enough for him...we shall see. Tons to do tonight and am still waiting for C~ to call me to go pick him up from the train station...poor thing would have to walk over a Km to get home in this heat and wearing long sleeves too. Well, time to go...I need to make sure to have some piccies taken when Kirsty brings him home to us. I promise to post as man as I can.

Decisions, decisions....

How could I decide? I just did. That's how. C~ asked me which one this morning and I changed my mind again, but I've stuck to it.

We are going to get Tiger unless something wierd or bizarre happens. Hopefully Kirsty Bringer of Everlasting Joy & Dogs shall be delivering him on Saturday. We shall see. In the meantime, C~ must finish the fence on one side of the house. The gates are all painted and ready to go...now we are just waiting for the rest of the lattice to go with it. It was supposed to be delivered two days ago at the very latest. Now they say it will be here on Tuesday at the latest. Sheesh, on Tuesday we have a Cricket match to go see, then it's off to work for me and for C~ off to new job in the city. I am working Saturday morning, but if all goes well, we can have the fence (all 6 feet of it in length, including gate) put up between the two of us Friday night and be all ready for newbie dog on Saturday arvo.

Wooooooohhhhhhhooooooooo *does happy dance*
Have no piccies of Tiger but will as soon as I have him.

And then there were two...

Yeah TWO! I have to choose grrrrrrrr! This morning we went to see Tiger and Dee, the potential doggie adoptees. Both are gorgeous and sweet. Both have what I'd love to have in a dog. Why oh why can't I roll them up into one? Life is so unfair.

Both of them took to C~ instantly. WTF am I, chopped liver? Nooo they might actually LIKE that! Both ignored me and went straight to him. Perhaps he was giving off some "I just lost my best friend" vibes they picked up on. Earlier this week, his parents put their 13 yo poodle, Colonel, to sleep. C~ has been really torn up about it. He grew up with him and I can imagine what he's been feeling this week, especially with us due to go look at two dogs. I imagine a bit like a traitor, but I'm hoping a new dog for us will help that.

Anywho, after much driving to the north side of the city, we arrived at Dee's foster home first. Dee wiggled and waggled, and grinned and goofed off for us a little while we talked with Nicola, her temporary mom. We decided to put on her muzzle and go for walkies down to the park. SHe was such a good girl! She kept acting like a silly thing, rubbing her nose/muzzle on our legs a few times, then settled into the walk like a pro (which she apparently is). We had a sit down, a few scratches and pats, even a few kissies, and then had to give her back. When we were leaving, she followed us down the length of the fence only stopping when she got to the end of her yard. So we stoppped and gave her a goodbye pat and felt we must surely have her, wishing we could take her with us right then. But alas, we must go visit Tiger. Dee is a beautiful black girl....not so little as I was led to believe, she's about 29 kgs. *Sigh*

Onto visit Tiger who is living with a foster family out in the BOONIES! Oh yeah, people out there actually have property! Whoa, am I ever jealous and would love to live way out there in Pine Rivers Shire. It's unbelievable! Rolling hills, beautiful new homes *drool*, I could go on and on, but I'll go on to Tiger.
Tiger greeted us at the door. All of 4 feet tall, I'd swear! He's so tall! No wonder he's called Tiger, he's all striped and when lying down he looks like a fawn and black zebra or a giraffe with stripes. I was told he is blue, but now he's more fawn with blue stripes. He even has a little sexy eyeliner and lipstick (gothy black, of course, as only a grey will have). We came in and I promptly sat down on the floor next to him and his bed and played squeak the toy (I'm a well trained monkey), he just looked at me as if I'd gone off my rocker! *gasp* Anywho, his foster carer took us outside and into the paddock where we found a BALL! I was raring to go play ball with this beautiful creature. Pam warned me that he likes to run after the ball, pick it up and then drop it....way far away from you. He doesn't fetch. Hrrrrrmmmmm, we shall see about this no fetchy thing. I screamed in my best high pitched girly voice, "Come on Tiiiigerrrr, come on! Let's play ball!!!!" Threw the ball, he took off at a gentle gallop and brought me the ball! Twice he brought me the ball...after that, he just went off to greet the next door neighbor dogs, a german shepherd mama and her pup that were sticking their heads through the large fence wanting pats and scratches, too. I obliged them then took off after the wayward Tiger to see if I could interest him in more play but he wasn't having any of that, so off we went for a walk on leash. He did great! What a guy!

Once inside, Tiger fell asleep on the floor completely ignoring us crazy humans. We chatted with Pam for a bit, then off we went to the door. Tiger followed, but only after much calling to see if he wanted to say bye bye to us...I guess he figured if he wanted to be in the running for a new home, he'd better comply. More pats and scratches and off we went.

Now we are home to debate who it shall be. Good heavens it's gonna be hard to choose!

On the one hand, I think Dee, then I think Tiger...and on and on it goes. I may just have to draw straws.

New Pals

I've just added a couple of great blogs. Both very funny and I love the pics of all the greyt dogs aka greyhounds. Katy and her needle nose pals, both her own and the ones she fosters. Also there is Adele and her cat Chicken, boy is he a meanypuss! She has greys too, plus she's a foster mom extraordinaire. Ya'll enjoy!

Owie freakin OWWwwwww

Yeah that's what I said. OW! Damnit ouchie poo, too. Mama always said God doesn't give us more than we can handle but somedays I think He toys with me way too darn much. Why oh why does it sometimes feel like I'm a hundred and thiry-eight instead of 37, nearly 38? Woke up this am it was barely 4:30 am and I'd not even gone to sleep til after 11. C~ made me stay up and watch the last of the Cricket match between NZ and Australia. It WAS an awesome game, especially the ending overs. Australia barely one by 8 balls! Talk about close call. McGrath pulled it out on the end making up for all the shitty fielding he'd done earlier. I also have to commend the NZ batters, wow!

Anywho, the reason I'm sitting here at 5 am is because I had some awful bloody (literally bloody) dream involving dogs. An accident in the dream, totally horrific to wake up to, then the pain came about 5 minnutes after I was coherent enough to understand the signals body sends to brain.....it was instant OWIE time. That's sorta like Hammer time, but not as much fun....dancing is optional, depending on the owie factor.

For those who don't know, I had tumour removed from spinal cord nearly 4 yrs ago. Medical term is laminectomy. What it IS is this : I'm left with NO bony covering over my spinal cord between my shoulder blades on 2 vertabrae. They cut all the muscles in my back and lots of nerves too. Sometimes if I'm touched on one side, it feels like the touch comes from the other side. Truly wierd feeling, especially when it's a fingernail or when I scratch my own back. What I'm left with is chronic, daily pain...without medicine it's off the charts, want to jump off bridge kinda feeling. With daily meds it's generally good. I know it's there, but it's a dull thumping 5 - 7 on a scale of 1 - 10. This am it was good solid 9 1/2....not weeks lol that'd be supa! But I wanted to slam my toe on the new chest at the end of the bed to make it hurt less, cuz it ain't time for me medicine, gotta wait at least til 6. At least here Down Under we can buy codeine OTC and that helps in times like this. So does writing. If you're totally in the dark now. I take a 12 hour time release medicine which is the equivalent of 20 mg of codeine, not a whole lot, not even a Tylenol 3! But whatever, it works and I'm forever thankful for aussie medicine and doctors. So, like now I just take a couple short acting panadeine and all is well for another hour (as I grit my teeth and correct yet another typo pfft snort, "well, uh huh, shhhuuuure it is well). i hate typose more than any other , forget grammar. I suck at it, always have always will...but spelling is another matter entirely and I get serious about that. I am a spelling slut from hell.

Ok Doggie time now. SO! I have been tentatively offered my choice of two dogs. One is named Tiger, the other is Dee. Ugh on the names btw. Must change, hubster agrees wholeheartedly. Tiger is leaving what was supposed to be his forever home because he snapped at a 5 yo. My guess is that 5 yo is FULL ON lol and Tiger was having none o' that mess. Fine by me, I have zero kiddieos. Dee is a bit of a mystery right now. So far, I know that she is a bit shy of dogs in the distance and reacts in some way. Howling? Whining? Not sure. The other odd thing is that she cannot be spayed. Apparently, the vet went to do it and said her uterus is the size of a small kittens and cannot rtemove it for some reason. Now, we know of no logical reason for this, even the hormones shouldn't have done that. Racing dogs take hormones to prevent pregnancy, kinda like some women do...smart doggies *grin*. Now the vet wants to take an ultrasound in 1 yr to check again. I do not know if this means that sha cannot get preggers. Don't have a problem dealing with the heat thing, though I know if I foster it may cause some extra sniffing and stuff lol and lotsa licking. That's what they make little girlydog panties for *sigh*. It prevents stuff getting on furniture and floors in case you were wondering. 'Nuff said.

So, this coming Saturday, C~ and I will day trip to the North Side of the city and have a looksee at them both. Note to self: need to look at stand alone freezers. We plan on using the BARF diet. and it's easier to just buy it and freeze it...also gotta find who stocks it over here. Ok, time for walkies since the sun is kinda up. Ciao peeps.

New dog

OMG! Seriously! I just got a call from THE LADY! Oh yeah *does happy dance* We basically have a choice of two dogs. BUT, grrrrrr, just found out from C~ that the ant baits we laid out won't allow us to have a dog in the yard for a fortnight. Fuckety fuck. Sheesh, and yesterday we went out and bought cool dog bowls (raised off the floor a cool foot and a half), a doggy mat aka horse saddle blanket in a totally cool shade of purple *grin*, plus curry comb and brush. I'm so excited I could spit! Now it's hurry up and wait. Ok, time to calm down and think about food...for me not the future dog. You know you were so thinking it LOL.

Happy Australia Day, Mate!

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie. OI!OI!OI! Goes the now familiar chant.

I wanted to say congratulations to fellow blogger and my nearby American "friend" Mooselet and her family for becoming Australian citizens today. How exciting for them! It's like becoming an American citizen on Independence Day.

This season is also known as storm season here in Queensland. Last night we got a real whopper according to The Hubby. Didn't seem all that bad, except for the fast that we had just picked up some DIY bookshelves from the warehouse and they were getting wet in the trailer behind the car as we rushed home. Did I mention that we have TWO sets of gates in our new home? Yep! TWO! One at the street and one at the entrance to the carport and front of the house. They are all of a little over a car length apart so one can park between them for convenience, but we had to get the car AND trailer under the carport ASAP last night. I was completely drenched by the time Hubby got the car parked. Oh, he ALSO put blankets on top of the boxes to help keep the rain off? WTF? It only made things worse! Heavy wet blankets on top of cardboard boxes. Right now those blankets are lying on the carport floor in a heap where I was barely able to drag them off because they were so water-logged and heavy.

We did succeed in getting the bookcases inside and dry, Thank God for not so small miracles. So, after we got all dry and cleaned up, Hubby decides we are now NOT gonna go out to eat, which I'd been looking forward to all day! Grrrrrrr. I convinced him to anyway. We drove first to the local Tavern. One look inside told me We did not want to eat there, so good naturedly drove down to the local Irish Pub. We could hear the badly tuned cover band inside before we even parked. Worse yet, gamely, we walked to the door. As we approached, there were two men standing outside for a smoke....not so uncommon here as smoking is not permitted in any establishments. However, when I passed them I got a whiff of something that was defintely NOT tobacco. WEED! OMG! I honestly cannot remember the last time...no wait, I can remember the last time I smelled it. LOL! Anywho, I was appalled. In public? Here? In suburban Brisbane? I was shocked. This city is in many ways like New Orleans, hot and humid, laid back people and attitudes. But weed in public? I'd never have imagined it. In New Orleans one just expects to see it pretty much everywhere, it's no big deal...but I suppose that's a story for another time.

Well, the music was way too loud for my tastes. I wanted something quiet and intimate for supper. I did get it, by way of Red Rooster and take-away LOL! We ended up home eating our chips and chicken in the new recliners in front of the telly. What a night it was! At least it ended peacefully, with no one maimed beyond recognition and with full bellies to boot. Nice way to end a Thursday night if I do say so myself.

Getting a dog

Finally! My house is sorted out enough to where I can sit down for a few moments to write. I never thought it would come. I'd forgotten how hard it is to move and get things done. I also didn't realise just how much stuff we've accumulated since we got married a little over a year ago. It's enough to have filled this 3 bedroom home we are currently renting....and that's a whole lot! Luckily we also have a nice sized yard to go along with it. Which brings me to what I sat down to write about.

We have decided to adopt a retired greyhound. We made this decision a long time ago...or at least I did. C~ came to agree after we visited the GAP exhibit at The EKKA, a Queensland State Fair. From my point of view, he was quite impressed with the breed. GAP dogs are ones that have been tested with smaller dogs and deemed suitable for adoption to homes. If the dog isn't healthy mentally or physically from the stresses of the track, then they are humanely put to sleep.

C~ and I aren't really picky people. We don't have cats or other small animals that greyhounds like to chase, we also like the idea of NOT having a puppy - This is a definite bonus in the retired dog. I am SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!

We don't really have any idea how soon we will be able to get one. Hopefully not TOO soon. We need at least a couple more weeks to get all the boxes unpacked and also put up a short fence between the house and other fence to separate the front and back yards. This will help keep people from letting the dog out while we are at work. Also, the Energex guy has to come onto the carport to check the electric meter and when we met him a last week he explained that he'd been bitten 27 times and doesn't care what kind of dog we have. I think maybe he's not a nice guy so dogs don't like him if he's gotten bitten that many times. Well, either that or he's just plain stupid around dogs.

Anywho, I'll keep everyone updated on the adoption progress. Until then, I am going to continue reading and learning as much as I can about them.

Finally All Moved In

Well, we finally got all moved in. Whew, what a week this has been! I went to back to work on Tuesday with the house "sort of" in shape. Meaning that most of everything had been moved in, but since we weren't on a strict time schedule to move out of the old place, things just kind of dragged along...until last night. Ye gods, when I got home, C~ was in the final stages of moving in dressers and wardrobes and the like.

Since it was Friday and we'd both had such a long week, we tool off to Pepe's (our favorite Mexican restaurant) and had a great meal, topped off by stepping across the street afterwards for some ex-rentals at Blockbuster. We finally picked up a couple of movies we have been wanting. Once we got home, we put on The Da Vinci Code (ggod flick btw - but better book) which I watched and C~ promptly fell asleep. Internet and computers were all hooked up as of noon today, so I've just been doing a bit of catching up. Now it's time for a nap before supper. Nice cool air conditioned bedroom here I come!

KFC Twenty20 Big Bash QLD v NSW

We went to the Twenty20 (as it is apparently correctly named LOL) last night at The Gabba to see XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls vs NSW SpeedBlitz Blues. It was awesome! Talk about fast and furious! I was stoked, thinking that Andrew Symonds would be playing, then I remembered that he's been down with the Aussie Test team kicking Big British Butt! HAHAHA! Lmao! just had to say that. Didn't matter, (hottie bowler) Nathan Bracken was bowling for NSW and he was pretty good, but the Bulls were just slamming the balls away. It was a mighty close match to the very end when NSW needed 30 runs off the last 5 balls. They hit 3 balls for 6 runs each! Talk about being ALMOST there! Holy COW!

The worst part of it was finding out at the entrance that backpacks were no longer allowed, but my collapsible cooler bag from ALDI was, so we stuffed everything into my bag, checked the backpack, and headed on in for some really great fun. Then at the end, we waited 40 minutes to retrieve said backpack (poor us lol), though it did make for a short wait at the bus line. We didn't mind a bit, really, there were some nice people in line...except for the old guy behind me chain smoking and blowing it in my face *GAG*, so we kind of shuffled around to the smoke smell commiserating with fellow cricket fans waiting to claim their possessions and made jokes with the local coppers how we were REALLY waiting in the long line for autographs (yeah right ).

All in all it was a great night and we had an awesome time. I can't wait until next month when I get to see England v New Zealand in the one dayer here in Brisbane at The Gabba.

We are moving....FINALLY!

YAY! We are finally moving. Yesterday we were approved for a nice house. It's kinda out in the boonies, but not really. Only about 10 minutes further from the city by train, and about 10 minutes closer to my work ( I work about 30-45 mins south of the city).

So today was spent doing a 2 hour inspection complete with digital photos to back everything up *grin*. What can I say? Hubby is a lawyer LOL! Then we spent awhile doing some general clean up, wiping down surfaces and cabinets, putting a few things away.

The funny thing is, well...the lady that lived there before was elderly, and she painted, decorated, and did whatever to suit her very own "special" tastes. Hrmmm, tastes, yes that's what I suppose I should call it. I have put up a pic of the shot into the kitchen (note that there is NO stove/oven), where the fridge is in this pic, is where our oven currently is. Our fridge will have to go in the dinette, as there is no space for a fridge now that the oven and stove are in place lol. Notice that she has placed Pepto Bismol Pink lattice between the two "rooms". Not only is it there, but it is also between the dinette and living/dining areas, as well. Can someone please get me a trash can so I won't mess up my keyboard? *gag* Not only that, but she has decorated with some lovely hanging things that have blue, yellow, green, red, and orange fluff balls hanging from them. What cannot be seen in the photo is the coloured crystal beads between the fluff balls. *sigh*.

What can I say? To each his or her own.

Honestly, I really AM looking forward to moving in, despite the decor. I can slap on some paint if I have to. Dunno when I can post again since I will be busy as a bee this week. Moving plus a full week of work on top. Imma be dead!

Taboo Sex

Yes, sex seems to be a taboo subject except on the most explicit blogs. Honestly, sex is something I am not really comfortable with, but it came up when I was posting a comment on Sister Mary Lisa's blog earlier today. Her post was about not being able to take the Lord's name in vain without feeling like she had committed a mortal sin. My reply was that I'd pretty much gotten over that lol. My fav curse word is the all purpose F-word. I love it, probably too much. Oh well, there are worse things in this world. At least I'm not a pedophile or into goat sex.

See, there we go again....a taboo sex subject. I happen to LIKE sex, A LOT. I mean, who doesn't? The problem is the guilt we have associated with our childhoods. You know, mom saying sex is only good when you're married kind of thing. When one grows up, one figures out that one does NOT have to be married to have great sex. Ok maybe sex is merely good for most marrieds, perhaps its absolutely fabulous for non-married folks. Or perhaps its fantastic for those that are able to get past the childhood guilt that religious people spin it out to be. I have a friend who is SO marvelous. She understands me completely. I Love reading her blog because she is so open about her sex life, what she loves, wants and needs. Her blog is totally devoted to her views on the lifestyle she has chosen...slightly to the left of the average American person, probably because it IS a lifestyle and it isn't the "we have missionary sex every Saturday night" lifestyle.

The strange thing is that my ex used to accuse me of not liking sex. Odd because I love sex...it was just that he had no idea what I liked and didn't bother to ask or try to find out in any way. I suppose that it was also my fault for not really telling him. How does one ASK for certain things? What if your partner finds your fantasies "way out there" or disgusting? Most likely they won't but the fear is that they will think we are strange at best and filthy at worst. I guess that everyone has the fantasy of their partner being the stranger picking them up in the bar or the policeman hitting on them instead of giving out a speeding ticket. What of those that fantasize of getting a spanking or being tied up or blindfolded? Is that just too much, too 'out there'?

I think the greatest thing about my partner is that he and I can communicate about everything...especially sex. It was one thing that we both insisted on from the very beginning. Given that we met on the internet and it took a year before we met in person, our interaction included quite a few pretty hot discussions. Lucky me, lucky him. I hope everyone can be so lucky too.

Total Control

I shall seek and find you. I shall take you to bed and control you. I will make you shake and sweat til you grunt and groan. I will make you beg for mercy. I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I leave you. You will be weak for days...

All my love,

The Flu

* I SO had to use this, it was too funny not to*

Happy New Year

Happy Happy New Year 2007 !

I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year! I hope to have a lot more to say in the coming year, not to mention hoping to sharpen my wit and writing ability.

Daniel Craig & Casino Royale

Casino Royale! - Warning! SPOILER!
I finally got to see it last night. WOW! Was I ever impressed! Totally NOT what I expected in the new Bond Film. Daniel Craig was HOT. The movie, Casino Royale was more than a step away from the expected in a Bond Film. I'm not certain what I actually expected before I went, but I knew it was going to be a departure from the traditional role that Ian Fleming created...the archetypal suave and debonaire spy that all the women loved and all the villains loved to hate and could never best.

Yes, it was crude. M said that she wanted Bond to be more than a blunt instrument. One could see how he needed to have two kills to be a "Double O" and the first was harsh, gritty, and messy. The second just a simple "plop" of a pistol - Oh so easy. Or so one is lead to think. I could just see the sociopath growing stronger as he became accustomed to killing.

Then, came the scene where he followed some guy into the Ugandan Embassy. I do use the term followed loosely, as it's THE most action packed scene in the whole film. It was a WOW, OH. MY. GOD!!! Type of scene, where I was gasping for air, squeezing C~'s thigh and arm, and generally feeling like I was right there in the thick of things as the scene unfolded. The only other movie that did that to me was Saving Private Ryan.

Needless to say, I felt that it was an awesome movie. I don't often get to go to the theatre to see movies, so when I do, I want it to be spectacular. So far, I haven't been disappointed this year.

So far, I have seen, Eight Below, The Prestige, The Legend of Zorro, and perhaps one or two others that I can't pull out of my sleep deprived brain at this moment. If I do remember, I shall attempt to edit this for more info.

Enjoy the DC pic, I did, thanks to wikipedia where I took it from *grin*

What it's like to live overseas, especially during the holidays...

"This was originally posted on UK-Yankee.com by Mindy and other
long-time members there. It's been changed slightly for the
Americans-in-Australia crowd. :-)
<http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=25243.15>"

I have borrowed this from my yahoo group...it was re-posted by the moderator and I am using it for several reasons. 1. So that my friends and family "back home" can perhaps have an inkling of what I am/have been going through over here. 2. For others that read my blog and are perhaps considering a move to another country. 3. To remind myself of these things as well, so that when I get a little down, I can remember that others all over the world are going through the same exact things, too. I have posted as is, with only a few minor alterations to protect certain people.

This is a topic that I've been thinking about for awhile now. I
haven't posted it as a response to anyone, and I don't want anyone
to think it's aimed at them. It isn't. It's just some honest
advice that I think people should take into consideration before
making the move. I think that at times people get a bit carried
away with being in love and don't think about the reality of moving
to a different country. And I also think that because our two
cultures are similar and we speak the same language they think that
it's going to be easier than it actually is.

I also don't want to be too negative or scare people off. You can
move here and make a life and be happy, but there are some things
that I think would be a good idea to ask yourself.

*Are you open minded? Moving to a new country is remarkable
experience, but you need to be able to look at things from a
different viewpoint than the one you were raised with. You're going
to meet people with different backgrounds, opinions and ways of
doing things. You need to accept that the American way is not the
only way.

*Are you set in your ways? Things are different here. Schools,
hospitals, banking and work practices are just a few of the many
things that you're going to run up against that are 'not the way we
do it'. You have to be willing to learn how things work if you are
going function in a country that is totally not like your own

*Are you diplomatic? You're going to come across people who are
critical of your country and its government. You are going to need
to keep your cool and talk yourself out of some situations where you
feel uncomfortable. You're also going to have learn when someone's
only joking and when someone's serious about this.

*Are you good at watching and listening? You need to learn
everything. The best way to do this is to watch other people, see
how they do things without telling them how you think it should be
done.

*Are you a homebody? If you've never left the place where you were
born, if you're very close to your family, then it's going to be
difficult. Really difficult. You need to be prepared to have years
between visits home, you need to be prepared to not see parents,
siblings and nieces and nephews. The most difficult part of being
an expat is having bad things-death, illness, accidents-happen and
not being able to be there. You're going to miss good things too-
weddings, births, family parties. And not all family and friends
are good about keeping in touch. A lot of expats feel abandoned by
their families when they move.

*Do you have family support? You need your family to be behind you
in a supportive non-judgemental way. It's not impossible without
this, but it sure makes it easier.

*Are you determined? It's not easy making friends here.
Australians, especially women, relate to eachother a little bit
differently from Americans. They tend to make friends young and
hang onto them for life. You can make friends but it will take
determination and a thick skin on your part. You need to be
outgoing and proactive.

*Are you adventurous? You'll have to take buses and trains, and go
to unfamiliar places. Everyone will be a stranger to you. You have
got to be brave or you'll never leave the house.

*Is your career everything to you? Because it's not always easy to
find a job in your field and a lot of people have had to take jobs
that they were vastly overqualified for. And not all degrees and
qualifications automatically transfer. It takes a lot of
perseverance to find the right job for you.

* Can you live on a tighter budget than you're used to? Not only
may you have a lower salary than you did in the US, but you may find
that the cost of living in Australia is higher. Don't assume that
you will be able to dine out every week, or buy the latest fashions
as soon as they show up in the shops.

* Are you running away from anything? A job you hate, family
problems, a bad relationship, depression? Most people go through a
very stressful adjustment period when they get to a new country to
live - either for a set length of time or indefinitely. While it is
entirely possible to work through your issues during the process of
moving, you need to be prepared for the fact that life might not be
all smiles and roses right away.

* Do you have realistic expectations of what life in Australia may
be like? Have you visited (yes, some people plan moving here having
never visited!)? Have you spent a significant amount of time here?
If not, make sure that your perceptions of everyday life over here
are not based on books you've read, television shows, etc. Remember
that Australia is like any other country -- your way of life will
vary according to the place you live and your income, amongst many
other things. Try to not build up a vision of life here based on
stereotypes or you be disappointed.

* If you are moving over with kids, make sure you know the
differences in the educational system & if it would work for your
kids. Be prepared for some serious blowouts with them...or they may
love it while you are unhappy.

* If you are moving over with kids: Is your nuclear family secure?
While you are adjusting to a new place, the only people you will
have to rely on is each other. Your kids will need that stability.

* *Are you willing to try new things? There's no good Mexican food,
there's no Wal-Mart, there are no graham crackers or Hersheys
chocolate. You're going to have to try new food, find substitutes,
shop in unfamiliar stores. If this fills you with dread or you
can't cook without Hamburger Helper it's going to be difficult.

* If moving over to be with a spouse - are they aware of what issues
you may face? Can you speak to them openly? Are they control freaks
that insist you automatically do everything their way? Or tell you
everythign you do is wrong? Basically, do you have an open and
healthy relationship? Moving countries is hard work and if your
spouse is a horses patootee it will not help.

* For the ladies (certainly something I've had to consider) -- are
you willing to have and raise a baby without your own
mother/grandmother/family around long-term?

* If moving over to be with a spouse - what are your in-laws like?
Do they like you? Are they accepting of the fact that
you're "different"?

* If moving over to be with a spouse - are you commited? If in the
back or your mind, you're thinking that this is only temporary or
you're going to be able to change your spouse's mind about moving,
then you're probably kidding yourself. You'll find it hard to
settle if you really haven't got the mindset that this is your new
life and you've got to live it.
If your spouse has said he/she doesn't want to move to the US, he's
probably not going to change his mind, and once you have a mortgage
and babies and commitments that will get harder and harder.

*Do you think you can change people? The person you're
marrying/moving to be with is NOT American. They're not going to
become American. They aren't going suddenly start
dressing/acting/talking and beleiving like an American. If you have
kids, they are not going to be American. And you cannot recreat
the 'American Experience'. It doesn't exist and you're just going
to make everyone unhappy with all your comparing.

*Are you creative? You'll need to incorporate your own traditions
into Australian ones. You'll need to be able to find substitutions
for food items you're used to. And you'll need to look at new ways
to celebrate holidays that are important to you.

* Are you willing to seek professional help? Many expats suffer
from depression... not just sadness, but depression... they then try
to "snap out of it" or "go it alone". You need to be willing to ask
for help and then follow through with that help sometimes.

Just one more of my own to add:

* The reversal of seasons. How do you feel about celebrating
Christmas in the summertime and bundling up during June & July? I'm
not talking about once for novelty's sake, but FOREVER. I think
this affects people more than they think it will. Also, most
Australians don't celebrate Halloween and definitely not
Thanksgiving. Unless you go out of your way to celebrate and find
all the "authentic" decorations & foods, it'll be "just another day"
here. Something else to think about.

Personally, the big thing for ME has been the celebration of holidays. Especially the way I'm used to celebrating things "back home". I miss snow, I miss cold weather. I miss dressing up in velvet and long-sleeves to go out to Christmas parties and spending time with my family. I miss Thanksgiving and cooking a huge meal for everyone to enjoy, again, in the cold weather LOL. It's really weird cooking a huge holiday meal in 90 degree weather with no air conditioning.
These were just a few thoughts, and my friend and moderator of my yahoo group posted this just as I had been thinking about it, as well as getting in arguments with C~ over things just like this.

I Elf'd myself lol

I Elf'd myself...it was pretty fun...hehehhe.

Oh yeah, and Don't shoot your eye out, either!

Longing for the Genteel South

It's finally over! Boxing Day is DEAD!

Thank the good Lord! I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I agreed to go shopping this morning for leftover Christmas goodies to match our other Christmas goodies that we'd paid full price for weeks ago.

Yes, I am an American. Yes, I've been shopping on Black Friday. Yep, also on the day after Christmas. Once again, yes to having shopped on Christmas Eve.

Oh. My. GOD! I have never in my life been stepped on, shoved, pushed, and reviled to get the hell out of someone's way just so they could fight over some tacky piece of 50% off shitty, half broken ornament. What the hell is this world coming to? C~ hastened to remind me of all the horror stories that come over from the USA of shoppers experiences...such as people getting mugged whilst in line, "ladies" fighting in parking lots, full on battles over Tickle Me Elmo's and so on and so forth, ad nauseum.

Well! I have never seen it happen. Perhaps it is because I am a product of the "Genteel South"? Who knows? All I know is that now I am about to settle down at 3 pm to rest my poor widdle feetsies, have a glass of wine, turn on the Boxing Day Test, and read a little bit of a "trashy" (tongue on cheek) Catherine Coulter novel called Lord Harry.

*gif image borrowed from mooselet*

The best thing about being a grown-up at Christmas

You know, one of the greatest things about being an adult is being able to open one's presents on Christmas Eve. The other great thing is being able to eat dessert before dinner and not giving a darn if it ruins dinner.

I love being married to C~ because he gives me silly gifts that he KNOWS I'll love. Like the ladder climbing dwarf (one of the seven dwarves) to put on one of my potted plants. Way better than a garden gnome! Don't get me wrong, I love garden gnomes, and am still searching for the best one. I mean, there are just too many to choose from!

The other wonderful thing about C~ (and yes I know I'm gushing) is that when he told me that it's a possibility that we may not be able to find a house to rent where they will allow us to have a greyhound, then we can get a cat. I couldn't believe it! This is the man that thinks all cats are evil! So, I've been looking through the RSPCA website here in Queensland to see if there are any older or possibly disabled homeless cats. Yes, I do intend to adopt an older or needy cat or dog. That is why I am looking at retired greyhounds and the RSPCA. I wouldn't mind at all caring for and giving a good home to the neediest animals I can find.

I honestly have no idea WHY I feel compelled to do this. I think it's because I know how it feels to be unloved, cast out, and even though I'm not an invalid, I do know how it feels to be disabled (even if it was only a temporary thing). I want and desperately need to do something, and now Iam going to be in a position to actually do what I've always wanted - work with a rescue organisation. Once we have moved and have our schedule in a bit of order, as if that will ever be totally done lol. Anyway, I've always wanted to be able to work with animal rescue...I have rescued and adopted out many animals on my own. But here, there are so many needy animals, not just dogs and cats....but even guinea pigs, budgies, wounded koalas, and kangaroos. SO MANY in need. I just have to do something!

Picture credits: Kangaroo Rescue, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia

Oy vey, it's almost Christmas and I'm too full to move....

What on earth ever possessed me to each so much potato salad? Well, it's my Mama's recipe and for the record, today marks the umpteenth time I've attempted to copy it and I finally got it right!
Oh yeah, it's one of those put a little of this, eyeball this much mayo and mustard, take off all your jewellery and dig in with your hands to mix completely kind of potato salad recipes. WOOT! I SO ROCK!

My Mama makes the best potato salad in the world! Seriously! If you want the recipe, email me and I'll send the list of ingredients, vecause that is all one needs, oh and putting it together in the correct order, I swear that's what makes it taste so good. How does THAT work?

I'm a firm believer in the order of things in life. For instance, when you make a sandwich at home, one layers from bottom to top in this order : meat, cheese (optional), lettuce, tomato, other salad type ingredients. When one goes to a Subway, for instance, they now put all salad type ingredients on the bottom, mayo in the middle, then meat on the top. People tell me to just turn the bread upside down. Have you ever noticed that the seasonings on the Subway bread are on THE TOP? Well, then the meat should go on the farkin BOTTOM!!!! It does NOT taste the same. Trust me. Make 2 sandwiches, one with the way I told you to make as above, then make another as they make in all the sandwich shops now....then taste. See what I mean?

When corporations started years ago to change the way hamburgers, subs, and other sandwiches were made, they changed the order of the universe. Now we are reaping what they have sown. Our Universe is screwed up!!! Global warming happened, polar caps are melting, Hurricanes destroyed our planets most famous city (and my personal favorite, New Orleans), and people wonder why. Well, call me a conspiracy theorist if you like, but it all goes back to the upside down sandwich.

Letters from Bad Santa

Letters from Bad Santa:
(I purloined this list from YDU - thanks Tori - I thought it was just too cute to pass up)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
deer santa,
I wud like a kool toy space ranjur fer Xmas. Iv ben a gud boy all yeer.

Yer Frend,
BiLLy


Dear Billy,

Nice spelling. You're on your way to a career in lawn care. How about I
send you a frigging book so you can learn to read and write? I'm giving
your older brother the space ranger. At least HE can spell!

Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Santa,

I have been a good girl all year, and the only thing I ask for is peace
and joy in the world for everybody!

Love,
Sarah


Dear Sarah,
Your parents smoked pot when they had you, didn't they?

Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Santa,

I don't know if you can do this, but for Christmas, I'd like for my
mommy and daddy to get back together. Please see what you can do.

Love,
Teddy


Dear Teddy,

Look - your dad's banging the babysitter like a screen door in a
hurricane.
Do you think he's gonna give that up to come back to your frigid, fat
mom, who rides his ass constantly? It's time to give up that dream. Let
me get you some nice Legos instead. Maybe you can build yourself a
family with those?

Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Santa,

I want a new bike, a Playstation, a train, some G.I. Joes, a dog, a
drum
kit, a pony and a tuba.

Love,
Francis


Dear Francis,

Who names their kid "Francis" nowadays? I bet you're gay.
Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Santa,

I left milk and cookies for you under the tree, and I left carrots for
your reindeer outside the back door.

Love,
Susan


Dear Susan,

Milk gives me the shits and carrots make the deers fart in my face when
riding in the sleigh. You want to do me a favor? Two words - Jim Beam.

Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dear Santa,

What do you do the other 364 days of the year? Are you busy making
toys?

Your friend,
Thomas


Dear Thomas,

All the toys are made by little kids like you in China. Every year I
give them a slice of bread as a Christmas bonus. I have a condo in
Vegas, where I spend most of my time making low-budget porno films. I
unwind by drinking myself silly and squeezing the asses of cocktail
waitresses while losing money at the craps table.

Santa

P.S. Tell your mom she got the part in Long Dong Claus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dear Santa,

Do you see us when we're sleeping, do you really know when we're awake,
like in the song?

Love,
Jessica


Dear Jessica,

Are you really that gullible? Good luck in whatever you do. I'm
skipping
your house.

Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dear Santa,

I really really want a puppy this year. Please please please PLEASE
PLEASE could I have one?

Timmy


Timmy,

That whiney begging shit may work with your folks, but that crap
doesn't
work with me. You're getting an ugly sweater again.

Santa

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Dearest Santa,

We don't have a chimney in our house, how do you get into our home?

Love,
Marky


Mark,

First, stop calling yourself "Marky", that's why you're getting your
ass
kicked at school. Second, you don't live in a house, you live in a
low-rent, ghetto apartment complex. Third, I get inside your pad just
like all the burglars do, through your bedroom window.

Sweet Dreams,
Santa

Is it Wednesday ALREADY?

Good GOD! It's Wednesday! How did that happen? Only 5 more days until Christmas! GACK!!!

What have I done to deserve this? I'm losing my mind, I swear I am! Somewhere up there, Someone is keeping score. I just know it. I can never seem to get ahead, in fact at this moment, I need to be getting a shower, getting ,y clothes ready, etc to go to work in 2 hours. Yeah, I'm working the ungodly hours of 11:15 to 8 pm. WTF? Then tomorrow is 7:30 am to 6:30 pm and Friday 7:30 to 4:30.

But then I have 2 weeks off for Christmas, YAY! Really gotta dash! More later...if I can stay awake lol.

Random and Scattered Thoughts

This week has been extremely busy, hence the random, scattered thoughts I'm having. On Friday evening, while I was out for a walk, I saw a Koala for the first time ever in the wild. When I say in the wild, I mean in my local park where I walk pretty much every day. I was just walking along and awakened from my quietude by a rustling in the leaves off to my right and I saw what looked like either a rabbit or something oddly grey and furry kind of hopping along. I stopped to investigate and was rewarded with an amazing sight...a koala slowly climbing a tree and staring stright at me! WOW! How cool! How lucky am I?

So far, I have seen a Goanna which made it's home under the cement walkway through the park until recently. I haven't seen him in a couple of weeks, so I assume that he's found a better home. There is also a family of Kookaburras and many Galahs, as well as, Cockatoos. The last link has most Australian birds pictured there, and there are quite a few of them.

It's just amazing being here with the myriad of wildlife that I see all the time, or at least know is out there to be seen. Kangaroos do roam the country, though the only one I have seen in the wild had been, unfortunately, killed by a car. In this part of Queensland we generally have Grey Kangaroos. The big Red ones live out west. Kangaroos are mostly seen as pests and many people eat the meat of culled 'roos. We even have dingoes running around here but I have only seen 2 in a zoo. I didn't even get lucky enough to see one on Fraser Island where they promote dingo sightings as a tourist attraction.

Last night was C~'s uni graduation ceremony. Good grief was I tired! I started my new job last week, but this week I worked full-time, finishing up the 45 hours or so at 12:30 Saturday afternoon. So, I got home, rested a bit then got ready to leave home about 4:30 to arrive 2 hours early for the ceremony, as C~ needed to be there to pick up his robe & cap, and have pictures taken beforehand. It lasted until about 8:30 and by the time we got home we were both exhausted and irritable and didn't want to do anything but sleep...well, sort of lol. We put Clerks 2 on and I fell asleep about half an hour into it and managed to sleep until 8:30 this morning. I'm still not entirely awake and it's after lunch. I don't need coffee I need about 4 or 5 more hours of sleep. Think I'm going to take a nap.

Yep, that's what I'm going to do...nap and sorta watch The Cricket. The Aussies are gonna win The Ashes back from England this year, I just know it! I know, I know....how could I possibly like Cricket, excuse me THE Cricket *wink* as everyone calls it. It's a long and many times boring game, slower than baseball and about as fast as golf. The Test Matches last (on average) 5 days, and then there are the One Dayers and Day/Nighters, but the most exciting are the 20/20 matches which last about 3 hours and very, very fast and exciting. I don't know how I got hooked on it, I just did. I can't explain it so I won't even try. Yeah, I'm still an American Football fan, but American Football is only played on ESPN on Foxtel here in Australia and the games that are shown are the choice of whomever chooses the programs for that channel. So one week I might get to see the Colts and the next it might be The Saints, there's no rhyme or reason to it. Also, the bad thing is that the games are shown in real time which means they're on tv at about 10 am here...and I'm generally working, so I can't really keep up with who's doing what.

Time for a nap, 'nuff said.

I've been Tagged

Okey dokey Miss Misery, you little shit *pokes tongue out* You tagged me! I swear I won't kill you. at least not in THIS lifetime lol. So, I have to name six weird things about myself. *Sigh*

I'm weird? Really? Damn, and I thought no one noticed *snicker*. Ok ok, I'll give it a go.

Honestly, this is a hard one grrrr. Who decides if it's weird or not? Like montchan said, "So, who decides what is weird, and what is not? Is there some kind of a supreme God of Weirdness that shuffles his/her/its feet and puff [sic], just like that the Weird happens?"

1. I am now having a hard time with plain old English. I think this is because I live in a country that does speak English, just differently from where I grew up (South Carolina, USA). The words used in daily life are different in that they are pronounced differently, the words I use at work (dentistry) can be different as in describing types of words....like Q-Tip, no one knows wtf a Q-Tip is here, they call them cotton buds. Salivary I pronounce sal'-uh-very, aussies pronounce it suh-LIVE-ery. and Urine rhymes with Iodine instead of Cure 'em. Anywho, consequently, I am at a constant loss for words and having difficulty with recall, I feel like I'm getting early Alzheimer's Disease or something.

2. I find geeks and geekiness extremely sexy. C~ is an incredible geek with a mind like a steel trap....not to mention, geeks are great at sex, that's because they think about it all the time (or so they said in some 80's movie like Porky's...or one of those like it).

3. I love to cook. I take great pride in my cooking abilities and I find it hard to accept when I ask someone "how did you like it?" and they give some answer like, "it was fine", or ok, or something non-commital like that. I taught myself to cook, basically, with a little help from my Granny and lots of recipe books, bugging friends and family for recipes of food I liked, etc. It drives me insane that C~ doesn't particularly like my cooking (it's not aussie) and He's also a pretty picky eater and hates most veggies.

4. I'm am totally contradictory in nature. I'm selfish, yet extremely generous. I'm a bitch but sweet, too. I love food, but don't like sweets all that much...gimme mashed potatoes and gravy anyday over pies or cakes or chocolates. I need to be around people but will ignore everyone. I am sappily sentimental but have gotten rid of most everything (that others might keep) from my previous relationships. I remember my ex-husband fondly at times, hate him at others, and wonder why the hell I even bother to think about the womanizing, abusive, alcoholic creature that he was when we were married? I also wonder why the hell he could be so damn nice to everyone else but me. Some days he could be the greatest person to be around, but then he'd treat me like shit for some imagined slight (lasting for days on end).

I don't know what else to say. The above comments got me sidetracked, as I tend to type while thinking so my mind wanders a bit.

5. I like most types of music. I love opera, pop, Top 40, a bit of jazz (not acid jazz though), rock, classical, ambient, and whatever Enya, Enigma, Loreena McKennit, and Sarah MacLachlan fall into. I even like a bit of Marilyn Manson (mostly the remakes like Sweet Dreams and Tainted Love).

6. Basically, I'm insecure and scared I'm never going to be good enough.

There, I've done it, listed weird things and bared some of my deepest secrets. Whew, that wasn't so bad....or was it?

Turtles, turtles, and more turtles

Yes, Gen, I was able to get so close that when she was flipping sand back over her nest it got all over me! I was standing all of about 4 feet from her while she did her thing...it was cool, will chat about it more later, but thought I'd answer that question. Here is the link so you can see where we went, stayed, and what we saw. Mon Repos Rookery. More Facts. Enjoy!

Back from seeing turtles

Good gawd turtles can be slow about this egg laying thing! Yep, got in a couple hours ago from Bundaberg and I'm thoroughly exhausted, but I wanted to tell everyone how TOTALLY cool it was to watch this incredible beautiful Loggerhad Turtle make her nest, lay her hundred or so eggs and cover them up...and she is probably a very old turtle, as she was tagged at the Mon Repos Rookery 25 years ago. SO she is AT LEAST in her mid 50's but probably far older.

A Fast turtle takes about an hour to make her way up to the dunes, dig the nest, lay eggs, cover and pack down the sand and make her way back down to the water. Our turtle took from 9 pm until 1 am to do all of this. She was also missing part of the rear of her shell, as well as, her back left flipper portion of her leg - most likely from a boat motor, we were told.

We had a great weekend, ate entirely too much, took a bit of video and a few stills. Hopefully, C~ can get the stills up on my computer in the next couple of days and I can post some. Until then, I'm going to sleep like the dead (at least until 5 am in the morning) when I have to get up for work. So I'm going. Ya'll take care and I promise to write more when I'm not so delerious from lack of sleep.

Off to see the Wizard, the Wonderful Wizard of Oz....

Ok, so we're not really off to see a wizard....at least I don't think so, but we are in Oz - does that count? *grin* Har dee farkin har har har, I crack myself up.

So, this week, I started my new job and it's pretty cool. I really, really like it and they like me too. Yowza! It's so nice to be liked. I've been looking high and low for this job, or at least a job just like this, for a very long time and I found it....and THEY LIKE ME! THEY REALLY LIKE ME! It was so fantastic to come home last night and tonight being happy and glad not only to have a job, but THIS job. So far so good ***fingers crossed***.

Also, tonight was our Christmas party, I was too late to get in on the secret santa, but that's ok, New Boss took us all out for dinner & drinks at a nearby pub .... and yes it was very good food... excellent steak and shrimp, the steak may have been plain & totally without seasonings (like all Aussie restaurant steaks), but it was spruced up with a nice Diane sauce, and I added a dash of salt & pepper after I got it. It was topped off with grilled prawns (shrimp) in a creamy garlic sauce, accompanied by a wonderful salad with vinaigrette dressing, and the ubiquitous, but totally tasty, not to mention beautifully presented omni present serve of chips. All washed down with a nice, refreshingly cold, glass of Riesling that looked like liquid sunshine in that sparkling bit of crystal. But, I digress. I was going to tell you about this weekend.

Ahhhhh, the weekend! It's our first anniversary....wedding anniversary to clear up any confusion. We are going to Bundaberg for the weekend and staying at Dunelm B&B while we are there. The main reason we are going to Bundy is to see the turtles nesting, which is something I've been wanting to do my whole life, and especially since I saw Finding Nemo.
Penny & Dave are the proprietors of Dunelm, a lovely English/Aussie couple that moved up north to fulfill a lifelong dream and were lucky enough to find a highly recommended B&B for sale, promptly bought it and set about making it all the more wonderful with their lovely charming presence. I look forward to seeing them again, taking a dip in the pool, and cooking something nice on the barbie.

As for other things, I also look forward to meeting a member of my yahoo group for Americans that live here in Oz....she and her aussie hubby live near Bundaberg. I am hoping we can at least arrange a lunch or something. Oh yeah! We also bought ourselves a dvd camcorder (an early Christmas present to us) so we could tape the turtles, as well as, us lolly gagging around the beach, etc....ya never know, I could find myself on Australia's Funniest Home Videos! Gawd, I hope not!

Well, anyway, I need to run or at least crawl into bed as it's nearing 1 am and I've been up since 5 am, worked all day, went to a Christmas party, came home and finished packing for tomorrow and must be up by 5 again. C~ says we MUST leave no later than 6 am what the FARKing hell is he thinking? Hrmmmm, maybe Macca's (McDonald's to the rest of the world) is having Egg McMuffins on sale....one can dream. On that note, I'm off to dreamland. See you all next week.

Hairstylists can occasionally do something wonderful

Yes, that's right, occasionally a hairstylist can do something wonderful. Like yesterday when Angie cut and coloured my hair. I actually like what she did, of course, did take a picture of what I wanted with me...and I haven't washed it and tried to style it myself yet either lmao! But, we shall see how it goes when I get ready for work a little later.

However, I am pleased with it. I have tried several stylists and colourists since I've been here and found that, for the most part, they are inexperienced, underpaid, and generally don't care, and also only want you to tell them EXACTLY what to do....as in how many foils (exactly, because they charge per foil), what exact colour, etc. It's enough to set ones teeth on edge! Sorry, but I guess that being an American I took for granted having a hairstylist that actually thinks for herself and knows what to do without having to be told every single little step. Oh, and the other thing is that she used a colour product called DeLorenzo....not the all pervasive Wella that everyone else uses here. Apparently DeLorenzo is designed to Aussie humidity and sun so it doesn't fade like Wella products do. It also didn't leave my hair feeling like straw, nor did it stain the heck out of my skin! Wella is horrible to get off facial skin...in fact it generally takes several days and hair washings to come off. Yep, can ya see it? All these aussie women walking around looking like they just came from the hairdresser's wearing a slight ring of colour aorund their faces and necks! It's totally hilarious, and no one bothers to complain about it! Like lemmings!

Okey dokey, off to breakfast and packing for the weekend.! Woohoo! It's our anniversary and we are going away to a B&B a bit north of here and gonna go watch the turtles nesting! We aren't leaving until Saturday so I still have a wee bit of time to get all packed and ready. Ta ta!!!

Miss Misery

I just wanted to introduce a new blogger that I found. She is a pretty cool teenager nicknamed Miss Misery. I hope my readers will like her :) As you know, I tend to spend most of my time reading blogs, not posting on my own...and occasionally I find something worth reading, and when I do, they stay on my list.

Wasted Daze

No, I'm not drunk lol. I'm in a daze from having wasted my day on a totally unbelievable interview. I waited a month to walk into an office and say hi, explain why I haven't gotten a job since I've been looking for 6 months, and also explain why I am not working as a dental hygienist. As if spending $4000 is a top priority at the moment when C~ graduates from Law School in a week. Ummm, I have MUCH more important things going on right now! Like finding a damn apartment or house to rent. Like going on a holiday this weekend for my first anniversary. Ok, yes it IS important that I eventually go back to work as a hygienist. But it's not THAT important to me. Money just isn't. Money is nice and all that, but honestly....it's the only reason why I would go back to it. It's a friggin boring as heck job, same shit hour after hour, day after day, with patients gettting this glazed look in their eyes when I explain the necessity of flossing. It's the same here as back in the good old US of A. Patients still don't give a damn about flossing, or even brushing all that much, for that matter...and they sure as heck don't need ME to tell them something that they've been hearing every six months for pretty much their entire lives and could not give a flying chili bean fart about me or what I have to say.

So, tell my why I would inflict that kind of pain upon myself anytime soon. Not to mention spend the afore mentioned sum of money required. Oh yes, I also have to take a written exam...which I've already taken, but failed....because when I wrote the essay portion of the exam out, I stated what an American Dental Hygienist would do to combat periodontal disease. I did not take into account that Aussie hygienists are not ALLOWED to do the things I was doing in America. So, for being honest and truthful, I was failed, since in the eyes of the test correctors I was wrong because I was not giving them the answer they wanted to hear. I apparently gave them the correct answers for what dentists are allowed to do. Ok, so tell my why I would want to practice in a place that won't let me do diddly squat? Except for the money, of course. Aussie hygienists are paid at more than double what I was making back home, even with the exchange rate. So yeah, I could make in 2 days what I make in 5 right now. There is that. I'm just so damn fed up with it right now. Yes I want to go back to it. Just not right now. But no one can see that. It's a boring job I did for 11 yrs and I'm not ready to go back to it. Oh yeah, and I don't want to spend another thousand dollars on a written exam I could possibly fail again. I don't like failing. It's not in me. I've never failed and it's done a real number on my ego. I graduated at the top of my class in high school and college. I made the second highest National Board score the year I graduated from college. I've been licensed to practice Dental Hygiene in 3 US states, 2 of them on merit alone...SC required that I take a clinical exam when I graduated, but when I moved back there a few years ago, they reinstated my license without question. But yes, after taking the written exam again, I have to wait 6 months to take a clinical exam on the other side of this country (which will take 4 days) and a return flight there, as well as 5 days accomodation, meals, and rental car.

I'm just severely annoyed at the moment. I have a job now. So far, after 1 day there, I like it. It looks promising. It's a lot of hours....38 in 4 days. 7:30 am - 6:30 pm T & TH , 1 - 8:30 pm Wed, 7:30 - 4:30 Fri, and every second Saturday from 8-12. It's a heck of a lot, and nights ugh. But everyone there seems nice enough, quite supportive and they actually want me to use my brain and my knowledge to get them up and running properly with their infection control program. Not to mention that they want me to try my hand at being a Treatment Planning Coordinator...fancy name for someone that presents treatment plan options to patients and gets a nice fat bonus for getting patients to accept the proposed treatment. I don't know how that will suit me, but we shall see. They also want me to be the Patient Coordinator, another fancy "management consulting firm name" for person that tells people where to be and when....keeping everyone rolling along all day in a smooth manner. It's a heck of a job to look forward to. Busy as heck...by the end of the next 6 months it is planned that there will be 4-5 dentists and 2 hygienists in this office. So that means a tremendous amount of support staff that I would be in charge of.

Question is....do I really want this? I don't honestly know. Do I think I can do it? I'm scared shitless that I want that kind of power. I'm scared I won't be able to deliver. I think that is what scares me most, that I may want that kind of power, that I may actually BE that ambitious and money hungry....no I don't think it's really the money, I think it's the power that is alluring, and I'm certainly not used to wanting power.

Microsoft

Oh boy! I must be in the bigtime now! Someone at THE Microsoft googled ME. Yep, got no clue how or WHY, but whatever floats their boat. I have to say that I was pretty surprised when I noticed. Yes, I AM addicted to sitemeter and would say that it is quite a useful blogtool. Especially when I wanna know if and when one of my friends or family logs onto my blog, I can tell...and they cannot lie and say they did read something when they didn't.

Luckily I have no haters of my blog so far. Not like montchan *snicker* she got 2 smacks from I talk 2 much. At least SHE has been reviewed, they haven't even bothered to so much as look at my blog, yet. I'm certain they will hate it with all the pink and long sidebar, etc. Not to mention long posts and nothing content of note. But that's ok, this is more for me than them. So, montchan, I hope Ms. Bitchy goes and picks up an ugly guy when she hits the bars this weekend and gets the clap, or some other nasty disease....perhaps a little syphilis will go a long way *evil grin*.

Greatest Movie I've ever seen....The Prestige

Oh yes, The Prestige is TRULY the most diabolical movie. Filled with incredible twists and turns, and guaranteed to give you the shivers.

Last night, C~ decided to take me to the movies. A notable event to be sure, since going to the movies over here in Oz can be a pretty expensive adventure. I was quite excited! hey I was going to see Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale in one movie. WOW!

But of course, some teenage girls decided they MUST ruin our movie watching "experience". Screw THAT, I thought as they sat throughout the beginning previews constantly chattering like magpies; and when the movie started, I nicely turned around and asked them to be quiet since the movie had started. They proceeded to make fun of the "old lady" in front of them. A few moments later, I asked nicely again for them to please be quiet so we could at least hear the movie. Oh no, they just twittered away making snide remarks.

So, I calmly got up even though I was fuming. I'm certain the steam could be seen coming out of my ears! I asked to see the manager and then explained to her what was going in and I expected that she would probably go in and tell them to be quiet. HOLY MOTHER OF GOD! She hauled the entire row of gawking giggling girls OUT. I was dumbfounded! I guess she took my complaint pretty seriously, which I totally did not expect. Well, hopefully the teeny boppers will think twice about making fun of some other "old lady" again.

All I can say is that if you want to be thoroughly astounded at a movie, then go see The Prestige. It was great! Oh and here's a link for IMDB, but don't go there unless you wish to see a bit of a spoiler!

Men with Cramps...

ooooooooooo kay. Why did I bring this up? Probably because I have cramps too. Also because When I opened the page of my yahoo group an ad was at the top and although I generally never click on ads, this one just begged me to. I'm guessing this is some kind of sick joke. At least I hope it is. But I really do NOT need to know how Men With Cramps shaped our history. Someone is playing a sick joke on the poor unsuspecting women of this world.

The Thanksgiving aftermath

Oh yes, there was an aftermath, and I suffered greatly! Oh MY! I had an interview on Monday morning at 7:30 and didn't think I was going to make it. Thank God I'd showered and washed my hair Sunday night after all the rellies left. I could barely see straight. My feet are still killing me. Egads, even my hands hurt.

I cooked from 9:30 am Sunday morning until 6:30 pm Sunday night when the first guest arrived. There were orignally supposed to be 12, but ended up being 10, which seemed somewhat more manageable, though it truly didn't make any difference, except in how many leftovers there were.

I think it was a hit, the only thing not really eaten was the salad, But that's okey dokey. The FIL hit the leftover mashed potatoes and dressing like he'd been in jail and starving for the last 10 years. I counted 3 completely full SKILLETS! about 2 inches deep that he ate within the course of one day...Don't ask me why he didn't use the microwave. Ah well they were meant to be eaten.

The best part though was the broken airconditioning! Yep. I cooked all day with only a couple of fans and the windows all open, with the outside temp about 80 degrees with around 75% humidity. Can you imagine what it felt like inside the kitchen? That's why we had dinner after dark, so it would at least be cool enough to sit and eat a hot meal.

I was really surprised at how good I did, though. This was the first time I'd ever made cornbread dressing, and I had to make my own "poultry seasoning" to use in it. Honestly, it was great, still not as good as my mom's but still quite edible. C~ wanted some with apples in it cuz he thought they would be good, I dunno because I didn't bother to taste it. But lots of people ate it. So I'd made 1 large batch and 1 small one for C~. I even toasted and caramelised some pecans with the apples for it...nice touch *grin*. I only wish i'd picked up some chestnuts instead when I saw them on sale last week. It's been ages since I've had sage & chestnut stuffing.

....And speaking of food, it's time for a turkey sandwich for supper. So, until next time when I have something infintely more interesting to write....here's sending you some mashed potato wishes and turkey filled dreams.

This is gonna be me tomorrow night

I just LOVE this photo, not only is it of a grey cat, but it looks just like my old cat Harry...the one that went to live with my ex. Anyway, this is what I'm going to look like once I'm done feeding 12 people Thanksgiving Dinner. Talk to ya next week.

An apology

I have to apologise for what must have seemed a big bash on Foot Locker. It wasn't what I meant at all. My experience yesterday just typified local customer service that I have been subjected to, and I happened to write about that experience. I was simply surprised that a company would allow that behaviour. Perhaps I'm just digging myself in a hole by going on. I'm truly sorry if it seemed that I was singly that company out. I wasn't. It just happened that I was irritated and it prompted me to go on and write.

Foraging for new shoes at Foot Locker

One would THINK that an American chain (like Foot Locker) would have somewhat decent customer service. Not so here in Brisbane! I had a 30% off coupon for anything in the store. I went looking for tennis shoes, which I desperately needed. What I got was a surly teenager that could not seem to understand that when I pointed to a shoe and asked if he had that in my size, what I wanted was an answer of Yes, No, or I'll go check....plus If they had it, I wanted to try it on.

Considering they also had a special on certain shoes that combined 2 for $120, and I could also use the coupon, that made it doubly important to find something. Hey money is tight right now with Christmas coming up. I wear only 2 brands, Nike or Reebok. PERIOD! I do not want to be shown New Balance or Pumas or Addidas. I explained this to the young man. I wear only Nike and Reebok, I told him...nicely even. What did he bring me? New Balance. Why? Because they were out of my size, guess what he THEN brought me? The pair I'd picked out, but in a size 11! WTF? I wear a USA Size 10. Nope, I do not have little feet, but I wear a 10, not an 11. Why oh why did he even BOTHER bringing me a size 11?

It gets better. C~ picked out 6 pairs to see if they had them in his size. 2 were shown to him, one of which was NOT the pair he'd picked out because the salesgirl didn't like the colour, and thought perhaps they might be a little narrow! Excuse me, but shouldn't the customer decide if a damn shoe fits or not? That pair of shoes (the ones that the salesgirl liked) were $200 pair of tennis shoes. Sorry, but not on my current budget, dear. It was SO frustrating, just to pick out 2 friggin pairs of shoes. Ok, I admit it, I got a good deal. A $119.00 pair of Nike leather tennis shoes (white with Pink swoosh logo *grin*), AND a pair of white little flats that look like a pair of Nike mary janes *grin*, they are too cute and were priced at $69, but I got both for $84.

Yep, a very good deal. BUT what I had to put up with! I can't believe that they didn't bother to offer calling another of their local stores to see if they had the shoes we really wanted in stock. Back home they would have done that. They would have offered, I would NOT have had to ask. I didn't ask, btw. C~ was way too pissed off by that time, he just wanted to get the hell out of there. I really do miss American style customer service where they bend over backwards for you because they KNOW you can shop elsewhere and will tell people. Here they just don't give a damn. Why should they? They are getting paid $15 per hour to do nothing but look good in their store uniforms, they probably don't get commission, and certainly do NOT give a rat's ass about the customers. But all customer service here sucks like that, why am I so surprised?

The crazy things people google...

...Oh yes, people do some crazy googling during their days (or nights). I have become addicted to sitemeter...THANKS MONTCHAN! I found that someone found me by googling hairy lebanese women wtf? 0.O

So far, the largest amounts have come from those looking for a Tomato Pie Recipe, an occasional search for merkins, and waxing tips, roflmao! Of course, if you use site meter, you know it doesn't show the exact location of a person, just the nearest city. Mostly I've been checking it to see if any of my family has checked out my site. Once my mom did, but that was only for a few seconds...I think it was because I told her if she read my blog then she wasn't allowed to get upset by anything she read lol...because I do occasionally write about the dysfunctional wasy I grew up so now everyone knows just how fucked up I really am *snicker*

Oh , I decided to post a couple of other cute kitty pics too...just 'cuz I can :)

Lovely Pictures

I just love these two pictures, I found them on a couple of different sites, but have no idea where... so I can't give the person that did them proper credit....but it wasn't me. I just wanted to share. The one with the flower I like because it make me feel so peaceful, the cat I love because I love cats...it also makes me think of montchan for some reason, too. Now why is that?

I am an evil person...

...or didn't you know that already? Actually, I'm not totally evil I just have an odd sense of humour. I can be wicked at times, I can even be a bitch, but generally I'm your normal (whatever that means), average person. I have my moods. I can be caustic and mean, though I generally do NOT try to be mean. I'm not one of those people with a perpetual smile on my face. Life ain't all that good, sheesh, even nuns don't smile all the time. Well, I did know this priest once, who always smiled...

Seriously, his name is Father Tommy (from Ireland) and last I heard was living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with a huge parish and had the highest number of adult Catholic converts in that area. He was the kind of priest that would tell people they didn't have to fast per se, but maybe eat soup instead. Or he would say that for Lent, instead of giving up something, why not give to others. Make a commitment to put a quarter in someones parking meter that had run out, so they wouldn't get a ticket. How cool is that? I found him truly inspiring.

I think I will try harder to be nicer to others in the future. I'm not saying it will work lol, but I will try.

I am seriously pissed

I have emailed sitemeter twice. It is still tracking how many people I have visiting my blog, but it will NOT let me log in to my account! DAMNIT, FARK FARK FARKIN HELL! Sheesh this is driving me crazy. Anyone else having this problem? When I try to log in, it just produces the login page once again. ARRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGG!

How about suggestions? I don't have a clue, as I just have the free version. I wanted to see what it would do before I anteed up and paid for a years subscription (C~ would have a shit fit). He hit the roof when I paid $60 for my classmates.com gold card or whatever it costs, because I wanted to get in touch with a few people from high school and couldn't without paying. So, for all that money I got a few email addys and 2 return emails. LMAO, shows how popular I was, huh? Oh yeah, I was the poor hand-me-down wearing geek that thought taking Spanish and French in high school would somehow make me more mysterious, therefore more date eligible. Hrmph, they always seemed to ask out my cousin, who of course later on in life admitted to being a lesbian, which you KNOW just made my day complete. Not only did the boys not want to date me, they would rather be turned down by my lesbian cousin. Will there be no end to my shame?

I mean, it's not as if I'm some farking dog. I am somewhat attractive, but somehow only to insane, perverted old men (not including C~). Perhaps it's because I never knew when to keep my mouth shut. I do have a tendency to point out shortcomings and failures *chuckle*. Imagine THAT on what some guy thinks is a hot date with me *evil grin*

Why is life so irritating?

I expect too much. I must. Lately life has been coming up pits instead of cherries. Why is that? Have I somehow drawn the short straw in my sleep, or is it just my turn, or am I wearing a sign only visible to others that says "Please fuck with me!"?

I must go shopping to get C~ something for Christmas. I know it will never be as good as what he gets me, it never is. He is amazing when it comes to shopping and gift buying. He always buys incredible little things, doo-dads, and what nots, not to mention, he's even fairly good at picking out clothes. He can't dress himself for shit, but that's a whole 'nother story. This is why God invented women, I think, to keep men well dressed and smelling good...so then other women will try to steal them away. SHeesh, one would think we would learn? Hrmmmmm, perhaps I'll let C~ continue wearing grubby clothes *giggle*. I wrote something, I promised and I did it. There!

Th th th that's all folks!

Tomorrow, I PROMISE....

....I really really promise to write something substantial tomorrow. I haven't been abducted by aliens or anything. I just had an awful migraine last Tuesday night and ended up in hospital after getting a shot of something that was supposed to get rid of the headache, but instead made it much worse.

At the hospital they gave me Thorazine...uh huh uh huh.... yeah yeah, I know, an anti-psychotic, just wtf I needed *sticks tongue out*. That didn't work, so they FINALLY gave me some friggin morphine, which helped a teensy bit. Sent me home with a headache that was dulled somewhat by all the damn drugs. It took me a couple of days to recover from all that garbage in my system.

The weather has been atrocious here. Hot then cold, and back again... heck it even SNOWED about 50 miles south of Brisbane! What is that all about...it's November, which means it's Summer here and it snowed in many cities across southern Australia. I saw on tv footage in Melbourne where it looked like a foot of snow that the snowplows were pushing off to the side of the roads.

So anyway, I had a migraine that lasted a couple of days. Then I had to recover from the M.D. sanctioned "near over-dose" LOL. Oh yeah, I also had a CT scan, which turned out to be normal hehe....whatever "normal" is. So, I haven't even turned on the computer except to see if my sister has returned my email.

So, I promise to write something real and hopefully interesting tomorrow. Tonight, I'm just gonna watch an episode of House M.D. and veg.... ta ta until tomorrow.