Loquacious Laetitia

Same sex partner

2012-01-27T08:37:00.000+10:00

What do you think of when you hear the words 'same sex partner'?

We get so used to hearing 'same-sex partner' in a political / social context that when a doctor says those words it can take a little while to realise that they're saying 'same sex-partner?' and the answer for a faithful, married heterosexual is not 'no-no' but 'yes'.

Bird-brains

2011-11-02T17:14:00.000+10:00

Yesterday I walked to a local shopping centre via a little park. As I was walking through the park, my attention was drawn to a masked lapwing (often erroneously known as a 'plover' in Australia).

This adult bird was busily shrieking at me but, interestingly enough, it wasn't trying to dive-bomb me. It was then that I noticed a little speck of a thing moving about aimlessly some distance from the adult. A bit over an hour later when I was walking home, my progress was once again greeted by shrieks, only this time from two adult birds who were trying to convince the dangerous walker (i.e. me) that they were possibly injured (much bending down) and therefore much more desirable than the speck of a chick some distance behind them that meanwhile didn't seem to know to which parent it should run. As I continued walking, the parent to which I drew closer shrieked even more hysterically so I wasn't sure if it was trying to get my attention drawn to it and away from the chick or if it was telling the chick to run to the other parent.

Now, I know that as far as the birds are concerned, I'm a big, potentially dangerous moving thing; but, if the adults hadn't started shrieking at me, I wouldn't have even known that they or their chick were there. I suppose they can't help it though; after all, they are literally bird-brained.

One day holiday

2011-09-20T23:16:00.003+10:00

We arrived in Melbourne yesterday afternoon in preparation for my scheduled surgery on Thursday morning. We were picked up by Ian's sister and brother-in-law (Ruth & Darren) who took us to their 'new' house for the afternoon. Their house is new to us because the last time either of us was in Melbourne was when they had just signed a contract on it and were waiting for settlement.

At the end of the afternoon, just before we went out to dinner, we were able to meet their cat, Coco, who came in to be fed. We went to dinner at a nice Indian restaurant, after which we were dropped off at my sister's (Alicia's) place. Alicia and her family are actually on holiday in Queensland so we are house-sitting for her while they are away. Originally we were disappointed that we'd miss their visit to Queensland but this works well in that there is room for us at their place while they are away and they get house-sitters. We did actually catch up a bit on Sunday, when we got keys.

Today I had a one-day-holiday in Melbourne before my admission tomorrow afternoon. We had a leisurely breakfast, walked to the local train station where we bought public transport tickets and then walked through the local shopping mall to Sydney Road to catch a tram to the Queen Victoria Market.

At the markets, I took Ian to Invita, a vegetarian cafe where most options are actually vegan. Ian bought a couple of biscuits and I bought a cupcake for morning tea. Then we wandered through the markets but didn't buy anything apart from a tomato and a couple of mandarins, partly because we didn't want to carry anything heavy during the rest of the day.

Then we went back to Invita for lunch. I had a baby spinach, yellow lentil soup and Ian had a "shepherd's" pie. We'd actually call this cottage pie as there was no meat in the dish. We also shared a mango, soy milk 'smoothie'. Ian thinks it should be called a 'thickie' as the spoon that came with it could stand up unaided in it. All in all our meal, was delicious and we got a couple of extra treats for 'ron'.

Then we trekked over to the Melbourne Museum to see the Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs Exhibition. We went for the full shebang of the exhibit ($29.50) plus the optional extras of the audio tour ($7.50) and the 3D movie ($8.50). I think the audio tour was better value than the 3D movie so if you're going and have the funds for one add-on but not both, I'd recommend the audio tour.

After that, I decided that I'd like to have a hot chocolate from San Churro. It took us a while to find it as first up I didn't remember where one was so we just meandered towards the city, then when I remembered that we could probably find one with Ian's smart phone, it lead us up a bit of a garden path, first directing us to the wrong place on Swanston St, then it seemed to suggest (to my eyes, although Ian read it otherwise) a street a block away. Anyway, we finally managed to get to the outlet in the Queen Victoria Centre. San Churro hot chocolate 'drinks' are a bit like Greek coffee - very thick and dark. Basically they melt chocolate and add milk so it's more liquid chocolate with a dash of milk than a chocolate flavoured milk drink.

My enjoyment of my Mint Magnifico would have been greater if there hadn't been a table full of smokers at the doorway whose smoke drifted into the interior of the store. We assume that Victoria's laws about how close to a doorway, to a public place, that people can smoke are rather different from Queensland's.

After this we headed back to the tram line to catch a tram to Alicia's street. Fortunately for us we ended up sitting across the aisle from a lady who not only was going to the same street (so we knew to get off with her) but has also experienced being a patient at Epworth Private Hospital, Richmond and says it is a top hospital.

At home we cooked dinner which, although a little different from how we would make the same dish in our own kitchen, I thoroughly enjoyed as I expect I won't have a 'home'-cooked meal by Ian for a while as tomorrow night I should be eating hospital food.

Speaking of which, I still haven't heard from the hospital (maybe there are messages back on our answering machine in Logan) so I'm hoping that they received my information pack which detailed my dietary requirements. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived home, and answered a couple of phone calls, it was 10 minutes past the admissions closing time (8pm) so I will have to call early in the morning (they open at 6am) to check that everything is on track. At least I know that the surgeon is expecting me.

Heart surgery blog

2011-08-25T23:36:00.000+10:00

This is for people who read my blog but not Ian's; if you read Ian's blog you'll have already seen this info. This is basically a copy & paste of his blog post with relevant words changed to first person etc.

I will be having heart surgery in September. I have a leaking mitral valve, which means that my heart doesn't efficiently pump blood out of her lungs. (This is why we ended up having to leave sticky, humid Mackay.)

The surgery is scheduled for Thursday 22 September at Epworth Private Hospital in Richmond, Melbourne. I'm going there because it's the only place in Australia where they offer robotic repair surgery. This will hopefully mean less trauma and therefore a quicker recovery than going through the front of the chest.

We know that God responds to the prayers of His people; we would love to have you praying for me. Ian will be posting updates about my progress through surgery and recovery to a blog he's set up called "Laetitia's Heart", at http://laetitias-heart.blogspot.com/. If you would like to receive these updates by email so that you can pray more specifically, you can do so from the blog page at that web address, or click here. (You will receive a confirmation email; respond as directed in that email, and you'll be subscribed.)

Two words

2011-08-17T09:16:00.000+10:00

Two terms that chill a woman's marrow when having a pap smear: Polyp; Cervical Erosion

Two words that cheer her soul when getting the results: All Clear

Heart surgery

2011-06-13T18:10:00.005+10:00

For those of you who don't already know, I'll be having heart surgery in September. I will be admitted to the hospital in Melbourne by 2pm, Wednesday 21 September and have the operation the following morning (prep starts 6:30 - 7am).

The operation is intended to be a minimally invasive (also known as 'keyhole') mitral valve repair. It will be conducted robotically and the physical recuperation is 2 weeks of no driving and about 6 weeks before being back 'up to speed'. Although it is minimally invasive, it is still open-heart surgery.

I'm having the op in September as it will be a bit warmer and Ian will be on term break so that reduces the time he may need to take off work to take care of me. It's in Melbourne as the only people in the country who do the minimally invasive surgery are there. The surgeon has done over 300 of these operations, including a friend's valve.

Now, it is possible that while I'm on the operating table, the surgeon could find:
(a) my body won't take minimally invasive surgery, in which case I will become a member of the zipper club (6 weeks of no driving and 2-3 months for physical recuperation); and / or
(b) my heart valve can't be repaired, in which case I'll come out with an audible 'tick' and be on Warfarin for the rest of my life (not a happy prospect) because they have given me a mechanical valve.

If you are a Christian, please pray that: (1) all will be well and I'll come out with a 'perfect' repair and (2) that I won't stress too much between now and then, particularly when I'm left by my lonesome in the hospital the night before.

Please note that a 'perfect' repair lasts about as long as a mechanical valve (15 - 20 years) so I'll be looking at a mechanical valve at that time anyway unless adult stem cell technology has reached the stage where a new valve can be created from my own stem cells (thereby negating rejection problems).

Warning! This post contains...themes!

2011-06-11T18:05:00.004+10:00

I have a couple of medical related posts simmering. The other day I was discussing one with Ian and he said I should put a warning on it, "This post contains themes!" the way that TV shows do.

Has anyone else noticed the stupidity of that particular 'warning' and its associates of, "Warning! This program contains adult themes." What does one make of them? They could mean anything and effectively mean nothing; after all, aren't stories meant to contain 'themes'?

Op Shop Fortune!

2011-05-30T17:43:00.006+10:00

Today I had a win at the op shop.

I need some new trousers. Actually, I've needed new trousers for the last 5 - 10 years but getting them has been a problem.

Why? Because I'm a woman; I'm a woman with a classicly feminine backside. I also have hips and a waist; if I had anything up top I'd have an hourglass figure (but I don't because my torso seems to be spliced in from someone else, if one goes by Western standards of beauty).

Anyway, back to trousers.

For the last decade, all the designers of new pants for women seem to think that the female populace are all built like some women I know (or possibly men) - no backside and relatively small hips so the waistline is not as distinct. Consequently all new women's pants for the past decade have been made as hipsters with short zips in short crotches requiring wide openings at the top.

Unfortunately for people like myself, hipsters feel like they're always about to fall off or show everything because they gape by several inches at the back. Now, I don't know about you but, I feel that giving everyone a great view of one's underwear is really only a professional look for strippers.

All I want are pants that have a decent crotch length (women's pelvises are normally longer than men's; it allows for pregnancy) and a zip longer than 10 cm that will allow the pants to open wide enough to get past my hips and then be able to close in around my waist. Unfortunately these are few and far between new; the women who buy them would all hold onto them for dear life rather than clearing their wardrobes because they, like I, know that the chances of finding similarly well fitting items are slim; and of course, all the things in op shops are a few months at least behind the fashion trends so hipsters will still fill op shops for several years to come.

So imagine my delight when I found not one but two! two! pairs of pants that fit me! And it gets better - instead of paying a total of $18, I got them for $10 because they were having an All Clothes $5 Each day! Sweet!

Before you dance at (the thought of) lower water prices

2011-04-18T21:59:00.005+10:00

A week and a half ago, Premier Anna Bligh came out with the statement that the water distribution / retail companies would be restricted to increasing their charges in line with CPI.

Now, if you are a Queenslander paying water charges, who will be affected by this announcement, you may be wanting to dance at the thought of lower water charges. Before you do, consider the following:

1) The state government can still increase their charges for bulk water above the CPI. If your council / water retailer is not allowed to charge a corresponding increase to the consumer, guess what goes up - that's right, general rates paid relatively evenly by all ratepayers rather than those who use more water than others.

2) Some councils invested significantly in their water infrastructure prior to the start of water 'reform'. With the creation of the retailing entities forced by the state government, some of these councils took a hit on the return they had budgeted for but worked out that their investment could eventually be repaid over a much longer period. Now their investment may not only not be repaid through dividends from the water retailers but may indeed be an ongoing loss.

This leads to the council following these courses of action:

a) Reducing expenditure on goods and services
b) Deferring projects
c) Increasing rates
d) Reducing staff numbers, starting with not renewing contracts for temporary and casual employees.

d) particularly affects me as I'm a contractor with Redland City Council; my contract finishes at the end of April. That's less than a fortnight away...and I don't get paid for the three public holidays in that time.

However, d) also affects everyone else. Apart from the work not being done in as timely a fashion, here's what happens, using me as a representative* example:

I no longer spend money in your take-away store.
I no longer buy clothes from your shop. Where's the need when I'm out of work?
I no longer donate to your charity.
I put off replacing dying furniture and appliances.
I buy less luxury groceries (confectionery, off season fruit and veg, fish...) from your supermarket.
I delay getting a hair cut in your salon, or get my mother to do it for free.
I spend less on transport - one, to save on petrol and two, because I have no job to go to.
I cut activities such as going to the movies with you. (Anyone want to join me for a bicycle ride? You'll have to come to me because the price of petrol prohibits my coming to you and I'm not yet fit enough to ride to your place.)
I don't buy the paper or anything else from a news agency.
I put off buying a house for another 5 years because now the house deposit will be going down instead of up.
And on it goes.

And that means that you who depend on my spending money with you or your employer will also feel the pinch. If enough of us lose our jobs, eventually your hours are cut or you lose your job and that makes paying your rates or rent (plus your water bill) that much harder.

Don't dance too soon.

* Please note that I'm not having a whinge for myself here - I have other activities I want to spend some time on before getting another job so I'm fairly calm about my personal situation. (Having an employed spouse and some savings also helps.)

However, those cuts in expenditure will still apply to me and most other contractors losing their jobs, particularly if they, like I, have had only a few weeks notice that their contracts won't be renewed.

Fed Labor = Fed Liberal

2011-04-18T21:53:00.002+10:00

Did you vote for Labor (or at least not for Liberal) in the last election because you, like I, couldn't stand the thought of going back to the demonise asylum seekers and deportation policies of the Howard era?

Guess what? Labor is just as bad.

This country effectively created this man; if he's the terrible person the immigration minister claims, how dare we foist him onto another country!

How do you love me...

2011-04-04T07:29:00.010+10:00

How do you love me
Let me count the way

Yes, that's singular "way" for a reason. I've had these thoughts mulling around for a while but a post on Simone's blog has kicked me into writing this down.

Gary Chapman writes in his book, "The 5 Love Languages" that the ways that people feel that they are loved fall into 5 categories - Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch. He says that we will generally have one primary language and maybe a secondary language (some people have two that rate equal first).

The one to which we respond most is the one we're naturally likely to do for someone else. This is great if the people in the relationship have the same primary language but harder when they are very different. Remember that relationships are not just romantically linked couples but also other things like parent-child bonds or simple friendships.

For me, my primary language is Acts of Service and one of the ways in which that plays out is food. If you cater well for my dietary restrictions then I know that you have paid attention to me and my needs and that tells me that you love me enough to put some thought and preparation into what you do for me.

Even something as simple as providing soy milk at morning tea can go a long way to making me feel loved and connected to you / your group. Having something I can eat, such as these goodies readily available from Coles and, to a lesser extent, Woolworths, is an added bonus. If you like making food for your friends, but you've got no idea about what to do for restricted diets, you can see some of Ian's and my favourite recipes here or, for others in your life with other issues, try this site.

Here's a standard of service that I certainly don't expect everyone to meet but I wanted to praise our friend, Tracey. Tracey was so happy to have us come to her wedding that she didn't simply give our dietary requirements to those who were doing the rest of the catering but actually catered for us herself using some of our recipes and also a cake recipe that she found elsewhere (mmm, chocolate cake, mmmm). Now there's love in action.

Don't buy me an iAnything

2011-03-29T23:20:00.004+10:00

Apple, today you lost me as a potential customer.

I was considering getting an iPod but you can bet your bottom dollar I won't now. Why? Well, I guess it could have something to do with waiting on hold for 30 minutes in order to talk to a human from your Brisbane store. Or from any of your stores for that matter!

Seriously, if you're going to promote a product, and you already know from its predecessor that there will be a lot of interest, put on more staff to answer the telephone! That way, even those of us who have no immediate interest in that product will at least not be left with a vinegary taste in our mouths at your appalling customer 'service' and may become interested in it.

Quite simply, judging by your (lack of) pre-sales service, I'm afraid that if I ever bought one of your products I'd never be able to use it because you wouldn't provide a decent level of after-sales service.

Thank you, Cecilia

2011-03-19T11:33:00.002+10:00

Last night we went to see Cecilia Bartoli* in concert at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex in South Brisbane.

Sorry, I can't give you the run down on the pieces she performed as I didn't buy a program. I've been a fan for a while so I didn't didn't care that all the songs were in Italian and they weren't things I recognised - I was just wanting to hear her live.

She and her pianist, Sergio Ciomei, returned three times for encores and if they'd given us more I'm sure no one would have complained. It was after 10 pm by that stage so I'm sure that she would be wanting to get some sleep in preparation for flights and her next performance. This is why I say, "Thank you" to her as a generous performer.

* Cecilia is Italian, so the "c" sound is hard like "ch" in "chief" not an "s" sound as most English speakers would normally pronounce the name.

Ageing

2011-02-13T22:03:00.009+10:00

I have a lump in my breast.

For those of you who have just sucked your breath in through your teeth, it's been there for 15 years. About 11 years ago I had it confirmed with a more "invasive" test than an ultrasound that it wasn't anything to worry about. The result of that test was that it is a blocked Montgomery gland. [I can hear the clack of keyboards from here as the wannabe medics busily look that up. I'd put in the link to the wikipedia article but there's a picture on the page that may have some filters go berserk - check it out at your own risk. :-)]

For a while I'd been wondering if this lump had grown over the years and whether I should be worried. Finally deciding that I should get it checked just to put my mind at ease, I took myself off to the GP last Monday.

As I walked along, I reflected that today is my birthday and one could say that I am now in my late 30's. And that means that I'm close to the big 4-0, that age when assorted age-related medical tests (particularly for women) start to kick in.

My GP doesn't think that my lump is a problem as it feels smooth and self-contained but, due to its location, she gave me a referral to get it checked. Later that day I was at the Sunnybank Medical Specialist Centre (with Ian who had an eye check-up) so I wandered down the corridor to the Women's Diagnostic Centre to make an appointment for the same type of test as I had had previously.

While there, I asked about cost and length of time for the test. Part of the answer was that the consulting doctor may also require a mammogram for women aged over 35. What a way to start feeling 'old' and I'm not yet 40. Sigh.

Cancelling fireworks

2011-01-18T21:09:00.002+10:00

To people who want the Australia Day fireworks to be cancelled and the money 'saved' redirected to the flood appeal, please consider the following:

(a) the fireworks company and their staff may have been flood affected and would appreciate the work to ensure they stay employed;

(b) the contract would already have been signed so cancelling the event would result in a penalty payment anyway; and

(c) people suffering trauma and/or depression can gain some relief by being taken out of their situation even if it's for a short time. Stopping the fireworks deprives them of one possible outlet.

It's times like these...

2010-11-29T20:13:00.002+10:00

It's times like these...I'm glad I rent.

We had thought that the bulging walls were caused by water damage (we noticed them when we'd had lots of rain for weeks). The real estate agent's maintenance person came around to check it out but couldn't find any way that water could have come in - the roof tiles looked like they'd been repaired in the past but were fine now, nor could he find anything in the roof.

This morning the landlord's insurance company's assessor came around to look at the walls to work out how much it would cost to fix. His news was not good...for the landlord.

It's termites. (He broke a small hole in the bulging area to check and sure enough, there they were in all their creamy white glory.)

Apparently termite damage isn't covered by the building insurance.

Added to that, the hot water system (about which we've been suspicious for several months) needs repair.

Yep, these are the times when it's nice to be a renter.

Fascinating and Creepy

2010-08-25T22:00:00.003+10:00

Yep, I agree - this is both fascinating and creepy. Thanks to Ben for the link.

I write like...

2010-07-20T22:03:00.003+10:00

Thanks to Simone for the link to this site. I'm not sure if writing like Arthur C. Clarke is good or bad - would anyone buy a novel if I write one?

I write like
Arthur C. Clarke

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Decisions, decisions...

2010-07-19T20:59:00.011+10:00

In just under 5 weeks we get to elect a new federal parliament.

Normally I have a fairly clear idea of which of the big two I want to win (as in, I know that the minority party candidate I'll vote for probably won't so who do I dislike least out of Labor or the Coalition). This time I can't say I can see any real difference between the two.

On the one hand we have a 3 week PM who sided with unelected power brokers to unseat the previous PM as leader of the elected party. On the other side we have someone who has promised not to bring back, within the first term mind you, a policy that got their party kicked out at the last election. But then, this is the same party that gave us 'core' and 'non-core' promises (now there's something I call 'un-Australian').

Then there's the issue of asylum seekers. Despite the fact that most asylum seekers who enter this country come by aeroplane*, all both parties can think of is to turn those who are more likely to be genuine refugees**, into the bogeyman.

The current PM has come up with the equivalent of the 'Pacific Solution' - the 'Indian (Ocean) Solution'. She can't use the existing facility on Nauru (Pacific Ocean), despite the offer from the government of Nauru, because that would just show up her policy for the rehash of the previous government's policy that it truly is. No, instead she's wooing a small, under-equipped nation in the Indian Ocean+ to show that it really has no connection, none at all, to the 'Pacific Solution'.

Quite frankly, she had a wonderful opportunity to ridicule the Opposition's stance; to educate the Australian public about the number of asylum seekers who arrive by boat rather than through airports and the relative proportions of arrivals through each entry method who qualify as refugees. Instead, she has joined the Opposition in a race to the bottom to see who can do a bigger job of vilifying a small section of society for political gain.

I hope I have a choice of more candidates than just the big two parties. Sigh.

* and ** from http://www.news.com.au/national/asylum-seekers-arrive-by-plane-not-boat/story-e6frfkvr-1225790981775
"A total of 4768 "plane people" - more than 96 per cent of applicants for refugee status - arrived by aircraft in 2008 on legitimate tourist, business and other visas compared with 161 who arrived by boat during the same period, the Sunday Telegraph reports.

And plane people are much less likely than boat people to be genuine refugees, with only about 40-60 per cent granted protection visas, compared with 85-90 per cent of boat people who are found to be genuine refugees."

+East Timor lies between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Woot! The hoodoo is broken!

2010-06-16T21:57:00.004+10:00

I carefully chose clothes today that weren't maroon. But then I felt the breeze and grabbed my scarf. Both of my scarves have maroon in them so it wouldn't have mattered which one I chose.

Queensland 34, NSW 6

Maybe the hoodoo is broken! Next game I'll have to wear maroon during the game itself. :-)

My diet is NOT gluten free

2010-05-30T13:12:00.002+10:00

I'm constantly surprised by how many people see me eat bread, including ordinary bread they've provided, who then think my diet issue is gluten when I introduce them to dairy-free biscuits that also happen to be gluten-free.

And the thing is that I've had the gluten test (digestive tract biopsy); it showed that I have no problem with gluten.

This one's for the ladies

2010-05-28T21:41:00.002+10:00

This one's for the ladies, particularly those of childbearing age. Men, you may want to consider how to sensitively direct the ladies in your life to this post. :-)

Ladies, if you're tired of throwing away strips of plastic into landfill every month, if you're tired of having to walk down that aisle at the grocery store every month (or worrying because you didn't and you have none of your regular product in stock) then you may want to consider the kind of products sold by this firm while the Australian dollar is still, well, relatively high.

And if you're ever at my place and find yourself in a spot of bother, I'm sorry, I have no spares.

2010 Game 1

2010-05-26T22:46:00.004+10:00

No maroon on my person.

Score: Qld 28, NSW 24.

Funny thing is that earlier today I thought that 24 would feature in the final score and it would be NSW's score. But I thought Qld would be 26.

Sex bias

2010-05-25T22:30:00.001+10:00

Really interesting article here.

Photocopier identity theft

2010-05-10T20:32:00.002+10:00

I was sent the following e-mail about how your identity can be stolen through the use of modern photocopiers. When you see a message on the photocopying machine along the lines of "image in memory", guess where it's storing it!

-------------
Hi,

Everyone needs to watch this video, it is startling in its probabilities and availability of your information. Before you think "yeah, well, I never use a copier, not even at the office", think of all those who have your papers that do. Accountants, lawyers, health professionals, banks...the list goes on. Watch it to the end for the scariest bit. Identity theft, anyone?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iC38D5am7go

New job

2010-04-25T17:43:00.000+10:00

I have a new job!

Being unemployed for a while is all well and good but eventually I'll get sick of only my own company all day and want a job. Having a job also gives me a bit more structure in my day which helps with getting things done.

I'm working in the transport and traffic section of Redland City Council in Cleveland. It's a similar role to the one I had in Brisbane where I investigate complaints about the road network (planning and design of signs and lines, not condition of the road surface or condition of the signs and lines) and give a response back to the customer.

Added to that I have to give advice from my work section to the Development Assessment section about various development applications. I get the impression that most of these will be small subdivisions (one large block into 2 or 3) with some large scale developments as well. So now I have another planning scheme with which to come to grips.

I started this week and at this stage its until the end of the financial year. It's temporary because I'm filling in for another person who is filling in for someone else who... There are several people in this chain. There's the possibility that my contract may be extended - it all depends on how long people along the chain will be filling the other positions.

Name Change

2010-04-13T14:03:00.002+10:00

I'm considering changing my name.*

How does Lolita sound?

It's what I've been called (over the phone) twice in two days.

* I'm not actually considering this at the moment and if I did it would probably be something really simple like "Kate".

Yep, the Brit's are insane.

2010-04-01T09:42:00.004+10:00

Considering her age, it would serve the British Government right if this lady simply sold her shop and went on the pension. I mean, what possible benefit can it be to society to impose a curfew on a shopkeeper for selling a pet to someone who is younger than 16 years old?

Just what disadvantaged schools need...

2010-02-22T19:34:00.003+10:00

Just what students in disadvantaged schools need - further disadvantage through the employment of thoroughly under-trained teachers.

Forget terrorists...

2010-02-21T07:44:00.002+10:00

Forget terrorists; it seems that what you really need to watch out for when visiting Jakarta is your friendly neighbour keeping tigers in his backyard!

I have to agree...

2010-02-02T10:57:00.000+10:00

I have to agree with this.

Who are these people?

2010-01-31T22:14:00.004+10:00

We went to CMS Summer School on Mt Tamborine at the beginning of the year. Summer School is the annual conference of the Church Missionary Society with Bible studies given by a guest speaker, missionaries on home assignment giving updates on the work God has them doing and talks given on various mission topics by other (often international) guest speakers. Each state branch holds its own conference in various locations around the country. The one in Queensland starts on the first Friday of January.

This year the Bible studies speaker, Con Campbell, talked about not being ashamed of the Gospel and being ready with an answer (based on 2 Timothy).

Over these past few weeks we've certainly seen the need for this. Talking to our church pastor, he said that all the various groups like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses keep an eye on neighbourhoods seeing who has just moved in to target their activities and we could expect them all in turn.

One of the more unusual groups we encountered was through two young Koreans who came door knocking. They said that they go to the "Elohim Academy". I asked where it was and was told, "Yes, here in Australia" but when I pressed for specifics I was met with a blank wall.

Essentially EA is a gnostic group (the truth is hidden - only we can reveal it; the physical is evil - only the spiritual is good) who use select verses in the Bible (straight NIV) pulled out of context to 'prove' that there is a Mother God. When I tried to point out the literal and cultural contexts of those verses I was met with stiff resistance and an insistence that only those verses highlighted were relevant. This was demonstrated by the young man continually returning to those verses and only those verses.

Sadly, the young man became so flustered and frustrated that his speach started to appear angry at my insistence on context. (The girl basically didn't say anything - maybe she was a trainee.) Since the young man was just getting more frustrated and was intent on not listening to any questions, let alone answering them, I had to end the conversation.

Believe it or not...

2010-01-29T10:16:00.002+10:00

Believe it or not the artist who painted these is only 7 years old.

Moving from Mackay

2010-01-18T15:53:00.006+10:00

We have moved from Mackay to Logan. This time we did all our own packing and went with Ready Movers, a company that has a similar pricing and insurance structure to Mini Movers. We're very happy with the service and the move.

For those unfamiliar with them, both Ready Movers and Mini Movers charge based on the amount of time it takes them, are insured for any damage they do to the property you're leaving and the one you're moving into and any damage they do to your goods. They also allow you to help with packing the truck to reduce the time.

They don't provide insurance for how you packed your boxes which is fair enough. Do you trust your own packing ability or would you rather pay a packing service?

Well, I certainly trust my packing ability more than that of the company we used to move us to Mackay back at the beginning of 2007. We paid for them to pack and found that their idea of providing "all packing materials" was to throw phones, glass platters and other objects completely unprotected into a box. We think they did this because, instead of turning up the day before the removal truck did as they had said they would, they turned up the day that the truck arrived to take our goods to Mackay.

Their service was poor, they were tardy about returning calls and they didn't return calls of complaint. We certainly wouldn't recommend them. In fact, if you're ever thinking of moving to or from Mackay, contact me to find out with whom you shouldn't go.

Starting over - kitchen top 10

2010-01-16T10:22:00.007+10:00

I've become addicted to unclutterer.com much to Ian's dismay (at the amount of time I spend reading and commenting on the posts and forum over actually doing anything else). But I was reading the post on setting up a minimalist kitchen and the idea of what 10 things would you replace first.

It's interesting to read the comments showing the different ways people view their kitchens and what type of foods they eat.

I was so taken with the thought that I'm starting a new itinerant (I'll try to post regularly on the weekends but can't guarantee it yet) series "Starting over" on my blog:
If you lost everything in a fire or you had to move to another continent so you weren't going to take everything with you, what are the first 10 things you'd buy.

Starting with the kitchen, what are your top 10 utensils?

For the purpose of this exercise, you can assume the kitchen comes with a stove top/grill, oven and fridge but no toaster or microwave oven. Also, cutlery lives in the dining area but can be used in the kitchen (provided you buy it as one of your top 10 for the dining area). Also, you are allowed sets of things provided they can be bought as a set.

Where's Harry when you need him

2010-01-13T13:51:00.006+10:00

"Harry" is our name for the cat that we believe owns next door (along with a kitten we've dubbed Rogers/Rodgers); Harry because he's an extremely hairy cat, therefore Hairy Harry.

When we first moved in, Harry showed up and quite vocally made his presence known whenever we were within sight of the front door. He also like to sleep on our front patio for hours on end.

He kept visiting for a week (until we went to CMS Summer School) but has stopped this practise. Our not feeding him or patting him may have been a factor there.

Just now though I wished that he was still visiting.

After three years in Mackay, I had forgotten just how bad the invasive Indian Mynahs could be. I've just been listening to an argument a flock of them had with a couple of magpies. Even after the magpies left they continued the argument among themselves - talk about loud!

Logan living advantages

2010-01-08T08:44:00.003+10:00

When we were first telling people that we'd be living in Logan this year, one of the common reactions was a look of shock mingled with horror and the cry of, "Logan?!" because various sections of Logan have had a reputation for high crime rates (never mind the various sections of Brisbane with a similar reputation).

Now yes, there are some disadvantages to living in Logan such as, the public transport network does not seem to be as extensive or run as often and we only have one bin - it has a divider to separate the recyclables (back 1/3) from the regular rubbish (front 2/3).

However, there are some advantages, two of which we discovered yesterday.
1) Logan Council libraries don't charge fees unless you actually lose or damage a book - no late fees, no nothing;
2) There are distinctly more bulk-billing doctors than in Mackay (or Moorooka when we lived there), including the one I saw yesterday despite turning up at 2:55pm when her hours are 9am - 3pm.

The Great Cull

2010-01-06T22:17:00.001+10:00

In an effort to cull our stuff rather than slowly build more piles of it, Ian has decreed that if we buy anything we have to get rid of twice the number of similar items. So far on this camp at Mt Tamborine, we have bought a coat-hangar, two tea-towels, two CDs and several books.

That means that we have to get rid of two coat-hangars (possibly some nasty wire ones lurking we can get rid of), four tea-towels and four CDs (I told Ian I’d happily get rid of some of his Pink Floyd since he was making this decree) and quite a few books.

But the thought struck me – Ian wants to buy some more underwear and socks at some point. There’s only so far one can go with this 2-4-1 deal, surely.

Boxing Day

2010-01-04T22:05:00.002+10:00

Boxing Day has a new meaning for us. Traditionally, Boxing Day was the day for opening boxes of presents from others that one had received on Christmas Day. For us, those “presents” are from ourselves.

We have recently moved from Mackay to Loganlea. Our stuff went down a week before Christmas but, as we didn’t get into town until late on Christmas Eve, that meant that we were dealing with furniture and boxes...and boxes...and boxes... You get the idea.

Ian is considering posting some progress photos on his blog.

We have too much stuff and we know it. Our new place is just a little bit smaller than the place in Mackay but, conversely, has more built-in storage. That means we’re having to be creative about how we store our stuff. It also means that some stuff has to go, so we have declared 2010 to be the year of the big cull. Anyone want a mosquito net* or some film cameras? How about a ukulele suitable for a 4 year old?

Yes, I have decided that as I am in my mid-30s, I should be an adult by now and with that comes the responsibility of dealing with my own stuff, rather than relying on other people to store it for me. I think I have reclaimed all my items from my parents’ place (who knows what Mum will turn up in her own culling activities :-) )and will be reclaiming the last few items from the in-laws and another friend within the next few months. I don’t believe that I have anything with anyone else but if you’ve been guarding any of my stuff and have been wanting me to collect it, speak up now.

Some things I have treasured over the years will have to go in order for other items more suited for my current life to remain. One of those items is a ukulele I was given for Christmas when I was 4. Being hard-nosed and practical, I never play it and will not take the time to learn it in the foreseeable future. Being sentimental, it’s a part of my history and a reminder of Christmas spent at a beach-house on Bribie Island with cousins similarly housed. Maybe, now having blogged about it, I can remember the beach holiday without having to look at a ukulele to do it. :-)

We actually did get rid of a few boxes of assorted items before we left Mackay but we still managed to fill another 2 or 3 in the first week of un-packing. We have learnt that the local pound will happily accept old bedding such as dead mattress protectors but they especially love old towels, some charities can accept some items directly at their stores, and there is never enough space for recyclable rubbish in our bin when moving, especially when the bin hasn’t been emptied since the previous tenant’s tenure.

I’m also reminded of a real estate agent’s advice for getting rid of stuff – move. When we first bought a house, I came across an estate agent who advised us that the way to get rid of stuff was to move every 5 years. At the time I thought he was crazy because we (I suspect like most) tend to get to 3 days before the removalists turn up and say, “Unless it’s regular rubbish, just pack it; we’ll deal with it at the other end.” Now I just think he was wrong in his timing – for us (or perhaps just me) it needs to be every 2 or 3 years until we are down to only what truly enriches our lives rather than all the detritus of a lifetime.

* The mosquito net is spoken for but yet to be collected. However, if my friends can't fit it in their luggage it will become available again.

Sshh

2010-01-03T17:08:00.004+10:00

Sweet susurration sounds
of snoozing, serenading to sleep
Dramatically disturbed by
Clanking, clunking of cleaning containers
Tympani on tiles
Time to turn over

If my parents had done this...

2009-12-15T08:37:00.002+10:00

If my parents had done this with me, would I still be throwing out hair-clips appropriate for an 8-year-old now that I'm 35?

Sustainable stupidity

2009-12-14T10:56:00.006+10:00

Welcome to Queensland - the stupid State.

The information in this post is taken from the Mackay Real Estate Plus of 11 December 2009 and the Queensland Government form website. The opinions are mine.

Last month (November 2009) the Queensland Government passed laws obliging anyone selling a Queensland residential property to fill out a "Sustainability Declaration" to be made available to potential buyers. The laws come into effect from 1 January 2010. And you can't beat them by first listing your property on 31 December 2009, unless your property sells that day.

The form is divided into sections covering energy, water, access, and safety. It also asks for the annual household electricity costs, greenhouse gas emissions and water usage.

Now seriously - what use is this sort of information? After all, according to our last bill, Ian and I apparently used 32% less than the average electricity use for the Central Coast area. But unless you know what, how many and typical usage of any portable appliances the household runs (e.g TVs, computers, fridge/freezer, washing machine) the electricity costs are meaningless.

But here's the really silly thing. The person filling out the form is advised on it, "If you don’t know the answer to any question, please leave the box blank."

So if you are wanting to sell a residential Queensland property, it would seem that the thing to do would be to get the form, leave it blank apart from the address and make it available to any potential buyers as is. You will have discharged your legal obligation and made a mockery of the silly State government. The only thing stopping you is your conscience if you do know the answers to some questions as you have to sign the declaration stating that you have filled out the form to the best of your ability and knowledge.

Rental market difference

2009-12-14T07:24:00.004+10:00

We're moving back to Brisbane - well, Logan is more likely as Ian has a job lined up for next year in Carbrook. Ian went to Brisbane last week to look for houses to rent, concentrating his search on areas around Loganholme / Eagleby / Kingston.

We decided he'd look for places costing no more than $300/week. We have applied for 3 or 4 3-bedroom houses with good sized backyards going for $290/week and there were many more he could have looked at for that figure.

Here are the major differences between the Mackay and Brisbane rental markets:

(a) In the Mackay region local real estate paper, there are 5 places listed at $300 or less / week. 3 of these are units. The only 3-bedroom place is half an hour's drive at 100 km/hr away.

I gave up counting how many places are available around Brisbane.

(b) Typical Mackay ad description:
Locality - price
2 bedroom split level unit, fans, screens, patio, carport, close to Fourways, schools and hospitals

Typical Brisbane/Logan ad description:

Fabulous Home In Fabulous Location - Quiet Cul-de-sac

Enjoy the outdoor living in this awesome pergola area the length of the house. This lowset three bedroom with separate lounge and dining, family room, manicured gardens and fully fenced is great for the growing family. BEAT THE HEAT TODAY!

Honestly, after looking at Mackay ads for so long, we were wondering if the Brisbane real estate agents were trying to rent the place or sell it to us!

They have no idea

2009-11-22T22:57:00.002+10:00

This insurance company has zero knowledge of depression. Someone from Beyond Blue should have a chat to them.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/22/2749889.htm

If this had been a woman...

2009-11-20T11:19:00.002+10:00

If this had been a woman, would she have been given as long a sentence?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/20/2748436.htm

Who will we remember?

2009-11-19T16:15:00.001+10:00

Two teenagers, of similar ages and both with big ambitions but played out very, very differently. Who will we remember in 10 years, or even 4 years time?

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/19/2747584.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/19/2747489.htm

Telephone manners

2009-11-15T22:42:00.000+10:00

Or "Please don't let your child record your answering machine message.

Back when I was still employed, I encountered one of those cutesy answering machine messages recorded by a child masquerading as one of his parents. You know, along the lines of "This is X & Y. Please leave a message," followed by giggles as the child naturally thinks it's funny to pretend to be Dad (and evidently Mum or Dad has coached him on what to say).

It may make your family and friends smile but I like to think that an adult will get and return my call, particularly when I'm calling on professional business. When I get a cutesy child's voice I'm left to wonder if the message will get through - am I calling someone old enough to use the phone, let alone make a decision?

Call me a grouch if you will but frankly, I don't think that your child's voice is the bees knees just because he or she hasn't yet hit puberty. Am I the only one to feel this way?

And just for the record, no they never called back.

Idolatry

2009-11-11T13:18:00.005+10:00

I was musing the other night, following a Bible study on "Money as god", about idolatry, houses and how to show we are different because of Christ.

I desire a house of my own - one where I can paint the walls a different colour, put nails in the walls to hang pictures, have a pet and alter the garden without having to get written permission from a landlord. Is this desire idolatry?

If it is, what about a married couple who long for a baby of their own?

We often pray for people to fall pregnant, but how often do we pray for someone to have a house of their own? Or an otherwise unaffordable new car? Or even a humble sewing machine?*

Is it that we see "having a family" as a Godly desire whereas having or not having "things" is an issue of contentment? Is it because the former is a living being so we don't associate the desire for one with being an idol, whereas the latter are material possessions so the desire for them is classed as "materialism"? Surely all these desires have the potential to be idols - things that we focus on ahead of God?

During an earlier Bible study, we discussed the issue of displaying our difference due to Christ's work in us. Once we are in a location, whether "permanent" or temporary, whether we own our accommodation or rent it, how do we show our neighbours our difference?

I considered that our efforts could go more into showing hospitality - inviting our neighbours into our home - than making our home the showpiece of the neighbourhood.** Unfortunately for me, when I've tried inviting our neighbours over for afternoon or morning tea I've had a grand total of zero take me up on the offers due to disinterest, other activities or commitment phobia.

Anyone else got any ideas on how to show our difference to those around us?

* I know of a missionary who had to relocate from one field placement to another due to reasons beyond her control. One thing she particularly missed was the sewing machine she'd had in the old location. She mentioned to God that she'd like a sewing machine; however she didn't really think that she'd have access to one until her next home assignment. To her amazement and delight, a few months after the move and well before home assignment time, God provided her with a sewing machine in the new location.

** I have no problem with the homes of Christians being "showpieces" - a home that is well maintained and beautiful to look at can be a great blessing to visitors as well as the occupants. It can also be a testament to good stewardship of the resources God provides. However, if you're more concerned with the beauty of your house than with your visitors' comfort#, if you're more concerned with what the neighbours think of your house than what God thinks of your soul, then I think you have a problem with idolatry of your house.

# How well I remember, as a child, dreading visiting certain relatives who didn't want to let me into the lounge room in case I dirtied something (obviously I would; I was a child after all!) and how they seemed to value their yappy dogs more than me. For those wondering, they aren't Christians.

Why I expect to use a car more and PT less in Brisbane

2009-11-05T12:20:00.006+10:00

Translink, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to penalise public transport users, discourage the use of public transport and encourage the use of cars.

Currently, weekly tickets are 8 x the price of a single trip ticket, monthly tickets are 4 x the price of a weekly ticket. If you currently buy a weekly, monthly, 3, 6 or 12 monthly ticket because you make at least 8 regular trips a week, you're able to use that ticket to travel anywhere, anytime within the designated zones for no extra charge.

That means that if you travel to and from work 4 days a week and make one extra trip on public transport (for example, you work 5 days a week or go to the movies or go to a friends' party without having to worry about parking or getting the car home after drinking alcohol) you're a winner.

Now, from 1 January 2010, you will no longer be able to buy the 3, 6 and 12 month paper tickets for travel on the greater Brisbane public transport network. From the end of 2010, all paper tickets, including the weekly and monthly tickets will be discontinued.

Instead, you have the option of getting a "go card", for which you pay for every single trip. To add insult to injury, the price of the monthly tickets will go up by about 40 - 42%! For example, from 4 Jan 2010, a single go card trip from Zone 7 to Zone 1 will be $5, a monthly ticket will be $233.60, up from $166.40. You'll need to make 47 trips per month just to break even.

So, if we end up living in or near Carbrook (Zone 7) say, and Ian and I want to go to centrally located Southbank to see a movie with assorted other friends from other parts of the city, are we going to pay $20 in transport costs for the privilege of paying $17 for the movie tickets or are we going to drive our car? Gee, let me think about that one!

If I get a job that at times involves some travel that could be done by public transport or car and is on the way to my workplace*, which am I going to choose? Gee, let me think!

* When I worked in the Road Use Management section of Brisbane City Council, I would at times catch a train from Yeerongpilly station, get off at Fairfield, catch a bus to West End where I would walk to look at various locations about which we'd received complaints and then walk or catch a bus to the office. Parking in West End can be such that it was as fast to work in the above mentioned manner as to go into the office, get a pool car and have to park, move to another parking spot...

Along with avoiding the parking and moving a car a lot drama, my personal PT ticket allowed me to do this without incurring an extra charge so it made economic sense to do it this way. I also got some good exercise. With the new system, in the same job and location, I'd use a pool car - well done, Translink.

Welcome to Qld - the Nazi state

2009-10-30T08:39:00.002+10:00

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/30/2728310.htm?section=justin

Secret evidence that the accused and their lawyers cannot see easily becomes no evidence required.

Last Day

2009-10-29T18:47:00.003+10:00

Today was my last day at work.

In Mackay that is. I'll be looking for a job in Brisbane in the not too distant future I expect.

But for now I have the following activities on which to concentrate:

Sax lessons and practise
Mackay Big Band rehearsals and practise
Culling "stuff"
Packing goods and chattels
Completing my current TAFE subject
Finishing off craft projects

Tomorrow I'll be practising music, doing some craft and going to church camp.
Tonight I intend to pack for camp, do some music practise and contemplate how I'm going to spend the vouchers I was given by my lovely former colleagues.

And some time over the weekend, or early next week, it might hit home that I have no job to go to for at least the next few months.

Posts coming

2009-10-26T19:39:00.000+10:00

I've been saving some posts until Ian gave the go ahead for them to be posted. He's now started posting his so I'll start posting mine.

I'm not sure how they'll show up in Reader or facebook - whether they'll treat them as "new" posts with incorrect dates, whether they'll show up in their correct chronological location (and you won't see them unless you hunt for them) or whether they'll show up at all.

Suffice to say, they are about our plans for next year and the first one is dated 26/9/9.

I should also note that some of the things I was thinking while I wrote them are not my thoughts now but I'm not going to edit them to fit the current situation, which is itself subject to change.

One for Andrew

2009-10-22T22:05:00.002+10:00

This is for my friend Andrew, who in response to Ben's Monday Quiz questions of "Exercise of choice" and "How you'd like to spend $30" responded with "golf".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8319749.stm

Housing (un)affordability

2009-10-22T19:26:00.004+10:00

According to an ABC News report, "people buying their first home can currently expect to pay around $2,087 a month in mortgage repayments, which is 20.3 per cent of an average first home buyer's household income."

That means that "an average first home buyer's household income" is $10,281 / month.

Now, I don't know if that's gross or net but at that rate I'm doomed to never own a house...or a pet.

Cut off their power

2009-10-19T21:52:00.003+10:00

I'd like to see if these protesters have enough guts to put their computers where their mouths are by only using non-coal sourced energy.

Don't get me wrong, I think we'd be silly to not take as much advantage of "alternative" energy sources as possible (heck, solar is largely free after all) but immediately shutting down coal-fired power stations is not the way to go. Instead, how about doing something novel like reducing your consumption by [gasp!] hanging your clothes on the line or portable clothes rack rather than using a dryer.

Who cares for your child? (2)

2009-10-16T21:08:00.001+10:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_east/8248127.stm

Not sure about you, but I think I'd be going with my 4-year-old on the bus (school bus or not) for their first day at school.

Feel free to let me know if you agree, particularly if you have / have had school aged children.

Who cares for your children?

2009-10-16T11:20:00.002+10:00

A while ago, I participated in a blog comment thread regarding childcare. The discussion centred on having someone other than Mum taking care of children. Most comments were from the points-of-view of Christian stay-at-home mothers.

Various options put forward by others were:

family members (e.g. grandmothers, aunts)
friend (particularly another woman who has kids - trade babysitting)
woman at church, who doesn't work outside the home, with children at school (so might have a clue about children)

Being the equal-opportunist that I am, I suggested asking men or teenagers one knows who like taking care of children; there are several in my church who are really, really good at it.

This drew a response along the lines that it was a good idea and the comment writer knew some men whom she would happily entrust with the care of her children. She immediately followed it with a comment that she would, of course, only ask men (or women) whom she could trust.

Now this, almost the 50th comment, was the first mention of only asking those whom one felt could be trusted. I found this rather disturbing for a number of reasons:

1) The comment writer thought that it needed to be said at all, even though she had just said that these she could and would trust them.
2) It implies that most of the previous comments were based on the idea that women are inherently trustworthy. Sorry, but there are just as many abusive women in the world as men - seen the recent case in the UK of the female child-care worker who sexually abused the children in her care?
3) The fact that it came up as a thought only when men were suggested implies that men are seen as inherently dangerous. No wonder there are relatively few male teachers when this assumption about them, simply by virtue of their gender, prevails; I wouldn't take that job on if I were a man.
4) Along with 3), it has the potential to separate children from good male role models.

I find this last one to be particularly sad considering the lack of good male role models that many children have due to family breakdown. This lack can lead to many male children gaining a distorted view of what it means to be a man and many female children gaining the idea that all men are inherently untrustworthy and dangerous. This in turn can lead to distrust, lack of respect and lack of self-assurance for both sides which places people on a path to further family breakdown if the cycle isn't broken.

So I plead with those who have children - if you need a babysitter, don't come to me because I'm a woman (sorry, I haven't the first clue as to what to do with your children) but do consider your male friends, family members or others whom you know to be trustworthy and good with children.

Disappointment

2009-10-14T18:48:00.006+10:00

I had been hoping that we'd be in Toowoomba next year but it looks like we'll be in Brisbane, or rather Logan. Ian has a verbal offer from a school there but, after a promising initial contact, no word even on an interview from the school in Toowoomba.

Don't get me wrong, I like the southside of Brisbane, but it's simply not as affordable as Toowoomba.

So rather than getting a chance to take a break from bread-winning to concentrate on study and my Creative Memories activities, it looks like my prediction of never being able to stop working is coming true. This is disappointing because (a) I'm tired and this prospect is daunting - the thought of it drains me; (b) I have life and income protection insurance but I'd rather not have to rely on them just to pay the rent and put food on the table (and besides, I have to work to afford the premiums) and (c) home ownership stays just that much still out of reach.

The clean-up begins

2009-09-26T09:50:00.002+10:00

We're on the move again. Well, in about 2.5 months time.

2.5 months! Oh! My word!

I have 2.5 months to cull the clutter and pack??!! Aarrgh!

In addition,we don't know where we're going - just that it needs to be somewhere less humid than Mackay. (How did Abram - and Sarai - cope with that - "Go to the place I will show you" command from God? I'd be going, "Can you at least give me a general direction before I pack up? Something that tells me whether I'm going to need the summer clothes or the winter clothes more at hand?")

Options so far are:
Toowoomba - one school Ian contacted seemed interested initially but we haven't really heard anything further. At the time they thought that they might need a Maths teacher next year but they weren't sure.
Brisbane - there are a few schools in the Brisbane area that have either advertised or Ian has had dealings with in the past through practicum stints during his studies.
Bonville (south of Coffs Harbour) - my sister teaches at this school and Ian had an interview with them yesterday.

Pros are:
Toowoomba - day-trip distance to Brisbane so close enough to most of our families to be useful; relatively inexpensive (accommodation available on a teacher's salary); drought - no problems for my lungs with excess humidity there; midges are dry-land so I'm unlikely to have allergic reactions;
Brisbane - really close to family so I can potentially be more use to my older family members struggling with large properties; potentially good job prospects for me; no allergy problems with midges; good public transport;
Bonville - close to my sister and her two children; the council where my sister lives doesn't fluoridate the water.

Cons:
Toowoomba - drought - I'll probably have to chop my hair off to have any hope of making the 4-minute shower rule in winter;
Brisbane - likely to be expensive for accommodation; will probably still need to chop off the hair to meet the 4 minute shower target;
Bonville - accommodation of any form, let alone affordable on a teacher's salary seems to be limited; "affordable" accommodation is a fair drive from the school and appears to be close to the mouth of a river so humidity may be relatively high and midges may be a problem.

Hmm...with the possibility that we'll end up in a 2 bedroom flat, I seriously need to cull. This is looming as a full-time job - just as well I've resigned from my job.

I resign

2009-09-26T09:42:00.005+10:00

On Thursday (24 Sep) I formally resigned from my job.

It's been a while coming - I had mooted the idea to my boss about a month ago - but I made it official on Thursday. I'll be finishing up at the end of October, so I could have waited to give my formal notice but thought that the earlier I let people know the better. That way they don't put me on long-term projects only to have me leave part-way through, which isn't nice for the client.

The other supervisor to whom I had to give the original of my resignation said that he'll be sorry to see me go, which was nice.

Ian had to give his final decision to his school on the last Friday of 3rd term, which was 18 Sep. So now it's the home run of not being able to publish this post / make any mention of it on fb / talk about it at church until near the end of the school year since we don't want to unnecessarily distract the students from their work.

Arr! It's Talk Like a Pirate Dae

2009-09-19T21:25:00.002+10:00

Me hearties, it's Talk Like a Pirate Dae te-dae.

http://www.talklikeapirate.com/piratehome.html

Ye still ha' 2.5 hrs (EST) to don the eye-patch and join the fun.

Why Dennis Ferguson should stay put

2009-09-15T10:01:00.007+10:00

I'm proposing something controversial involving children and parenting - I'll be surprised if I don't get comments on this post...

No matter where he goes, eventually it becomes known where Dennis Ferguson is living. In every location, city or country, there are howls of protest at his presence that I find slightly puzzling.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not asking anyone to actively encourage him to be their next-door-neighbour. But the man has completed his jail term as set by the State of Queensland in 1988 and now has to live somewhere on the outside.

So, given that he has to live somewhere, he should be allowed to live somewhere, without being shoved from pillar to post, because that way you know where he is. And, if you're a parent of young children in the area, presumably you'd be hyper-vigilant about where your children are, who they're associating with, what they're doing and be drumming into them the importance of telling you if anyone (stranger or not) tries to get them to do something about which they're uncomfortable.

And that means that your children are less likely to run into problems with the other actual and potential paedophiles in your area that the law and you don't yet know about.

What makes a woman?

2009-09-11T08:28:00.004+10:00

Apparently a womb and ovaries according to some - without these you're not 100% a woman.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/11/2682626.htm

Sorry ladies, but if you have to have a hysterectomy then you're no longer a real woman.

Bah, humbug.

Charmed, I'm sure

2009-09-09T21:59:00.002+10:00

NOT!

Periodically I check my e-mail spam folder to make sure nothing legitimate has got caught in the maelstrom.

I'm always charmed NOT by the subject headings for men's impotence quackery with lines like, "Assault her tonight!" Evidently these people haven't heard that assault, battery and rape are all criminal offences here.

"It would probably help if I had a TV."

2009-09-08T17:23:00.002+10:00

Best way to throw off people selling pay TV.

Sleepy Town

2009-09-08T10:37:00.003+10:00

Mackay isn't actually sleepy but a newcomer behind a local driver could be forgiven for thinking that it must be.

The local (I'm assuming they're local since I don't get this experience anywhere near so much in other places) drivers half the time seem to be either asleep or on drugs. Why else would you go at 10 - 20 km below the speed limit when the conditions are perfect, your car doesn't appear to have mechanical trouble and you know where you're going?

Please people, wake up!

Or at least pull over and let the poor person trapped behind you go past!

Cherry-picking

2009-08-22T12:45:00.000+10:00

Not from a tree but from the Bible. It's when people try to encourage you with the 'nice' sounding verses and forget the context.

Please don't do it.

Or the next time you try to 'encourage' me with Jeremiah 29:11 I'll turn around and 'thank' you for condemning me to not seeing Brisbane again for 70 years and equating the town I'm currently in with ancient Babylon.

Celebrations

2009-08-21T13:42:00.004+10:00

How does your family celebrate events that are not connected to them directly. Do members of your family even do this?

It's our 11th wedding anniversary tomorrow. We have received two cards congratulating us on this. One comes from an old family friend and the other comes from Ian's parents.

For this kind of occasion, I would be more likely to send my parents an e-mail (unless it was a big year event that they wanted to celebrate with a party) than a card.

What do you do?

Reasons to hate your job (1)

2009-08-21T08:51:00.003+10:00

It haunts you on your days off.

I work three days a week in a paid capacity. Today is one of my "days off".

This morning I woke up hot and bothered going, "I am an IDIOT. What was I (not) thinking? The client is going to kill me." That is kind of drastic and the client probably won't kill me but it's a project that has been going on for some time so I get paranoid about it.

Of course, since today is Friday and I won't be back at work until Monday I have a whole weekend to stew about it a la 'maybe I can just bail out now and leave this nightmare for someone else in the same way that it was left for me' followed by 'no, no, it'll be ok; if it is a problem there'll be a fix somewhere, somehow'. Sigh.

Defining oneself

2009-08-20T21:09:00.005+10:00

I've been reading blog posts on the question of childcare and when some people consider it's use to be "ok" for stay-at-home-mothers (SAHM) and occasionally I've thrown in my 2c worth. I found this issue via Simone's post.

There are a few things that disturb me about this topic (not least being where's "Dad" in this debate - and yes, that's one thing I've commented about on the post and its follow-ons in question). This post of mine is about how we define people.

Tell me, if someone said to you, "Hi, I'm Joanne* and I have no children" wouldn't you consider that to be just a bit odd? Yet, many people wouldn't bat an eyelid at someone saying, "Hi, I'm Joanne and I'm a SAHM to three kids."**

Why do people, particularly women, do this? Why do they define themselves in terms of their children?

The only thing I can think of is that they've fallen into the same trap as many men regarding paid work - equating what one is with what one does. And in the same way that many men are left wondering who they are when they retire from their careers (to the extent that many go back for more as 'consultants') many women are leaving themselves open to not knowing who they are when their children leave home.

* Random name plucked out of the air - no-one named Joanne has actually defined herself that way to me - at least not in my recent memory.
** To me it sounds like a Child-carer's Anonymous meeting - "Hi, I'm Joanne and it's been three years since I changed a nappy."

Master Chef I am not

2009-08-15T22:12:00.002+10:00

I'm a bad cook.

It's not that I can't cook; I'm just bad at the discipline needed to be a good cook.

And I think I've worked out why.

To be a good cook, you really need to pay attention to the cooking the whole way through the process. Me? I get bored too easily and figure that I can probably "do something constructive" while waiting for certain cooking processes to happen.

Bad idea...I get distracted too easily; I don't realise how much time has actually passed and what will have happened in the cooking process in that time. It's a wonder I haven't burnt the house down.

At least I'm (generally) ok with things in the oven because the timer calls me back to reality.

On marriage and finding one's keys.

2009-08-05T18:51:00.003+10:00

When one marries, it's useful to learn to think as your spouse does - this can help you find your keys...

The other day we came home after a morning out and Ian used my house keys to open the door. Later, after he had gone to work, I needed to go out again and couldn't find my house keys. I did the usual 'retrace your steps' deal and still couldn't find them until I remembered that I hadn't opened the door, so I hadn't put them down anywhere in the house at all.

Fortunately, unlike myself who puts keys back in her pocket until such time as she changes clothes / goes to bed / remembers to empty pockets and would have blissfully taken her partner's keys with her, Ian tends to empty his pockets on entering the house. Being able to think like Ian helped me find my keys. :-)

Do not read...

2009-07-26T12:47:00.003+10:00

"Farraday Road" by Ace Collins - or at least not yet.

It's a very good read, although mildly long (352 pages). The problem is that it doesn't finish. Not 'doesn't finish' in the way of Kazuo Ishiguro books, where the reader is just left in limbo because the writer seems to have got a bit tired or bored and just not written any more, but more along the lines of David Eddings' Belgariad series where the reader is left on a cliff-hanger.

The real problem is the book ends with "to be continued" but has no end pages advertising what the next title is or when it comes out.

Apparently the next one is "Swope's Ridge" and doesn't come out until September...in the USA.

Should I be worried?

2009-07-24T14:28:00.002+10:00

The first thing written under 'Laundry Use' on my container of pseudo-Napisan is, "Do Not Swallow".

Umm, you mean I'm not meant to clean myself internally with this?

Melbourne Pt 2

2009-07-24T13:17:00.007+10:00

With a few changes to sleeping arrangements, N and A2 slept at A1's place. Alas, there was no room for moi. But all was not lost - I have friends (T and R) who literally live down the road from A1 and I was able to stay with them...and their cats.

Don't worry, this was all pre-arranged - I didn't just lob up to T & R's place hoping to be taken in.

Fortunately, although their house is owned by their cats, I was able to keep them out of the room I was in. This meant that I was able to keep them out of my suitcase and off my pillow (yes, I travel with my pillow when possible) - a very handy thing because although I'm not allergic to cat hair, Ian is, so bringing back cat hair would not have been appreciated!

It also meant that I was able to have breakfast and check e-mail without having to fend off cats at the same time. It's quite a challenge to type, eat and keep cat noses out of one's breakfast bowl, all at the same time. The cats are fed at night but that doesn't stop them from wanting what you're eating at any other time. I'm not sure that they really understood when I kept telling them that I was eating 'people food', not 'cat food'. :-)

Here's Xavier doing, "I can haz chips" on the Friday night.

No, this isn't his regular night-time meal, he's just investigating a packet emptied by some other friends who had come around for a games night at T & R's place.

He was quite funny when he tried to back out of the chip packet and found that it came too.

Melbourne Pt 1

2009-07-24T12:53:00.006+10:00

I recently came back from a short holiday in Melbourne.

I have three older sisters - A1, who lives in Melbourne; N, who lives in NSW and A2, who lives in Brisbane.

N was turning 40 so she wanted to celebrate by the three of us descending on A1. I was like, "Why not visit me, in Mackay, where it's warm!" But seriously, I was competing against a sibling with children (who therefore couldn't afford to come to me) and Mackay was competing against the 'attraction' of Melbourne shopping - who do you think was going to win?

On Wednesday night I caught a flight to Brisbane, where I stayed with A2. Early the next morning (like, dawn, early) we caught a taxi to the airport. Because we were there so early we had plenty of time for A2 to buy some breakfast (she couldn't wait for the meal on our Qantas flight) and to enjoy a coffee (A2) and hot chocolate on soy (me).

The Qantas flight was pretty good. I gave up a window seat to sit next to A2 but could still see out the window a bit. As I have special dietary requirements, my meal was one of the first to be served. :-)

In Melbourne, we were met at the luggage carousel by N (who'd flown down the day before) and A2. My bag turned up first, which was handy, as I had worn my ugg boots down on the flight (to avoid having to take off my steel cap shoes to go through security) so I was able to change them while we waited for A2's bag.

Then it was off to the Essendon DFO so N could blow her money there. After three or four hours, A1, A2 and I left and N waited to meet up with other friends. A1 collected her later.

Did I buy anything (apart from lunch) there? No. I refuse to buy clothes that are styled for men (no butt, no waist) but priced double because they're being marketed to women.

Why is it that manufacturers / designers have forgotten that if they make the zipper longer, a pair of pants will open wider so they can have a smaller waist? Seriously, if I want clothes I can wear in a professional environment, do you really think I'm going to buy something with a 3 inch gap at the back, down which everyone can see my underwear?

I think I need to learn to sew because my existing wardrobe will probably wear out before this fashion fad dies. Maybe I'll end up having my own label for real people. :-)

Health insurance and Taxes

2009-07-24T12:20:00.000+10:00

It's the end of the 2008 - 2009 tax year so I'm recycling an old tax folder ready for the 2009 - 2010 tax year receipts.

Back in the 2002 - 2003 financial year, we paid $1527 and were entitled to $458 of that back under the 30% rebate scheme.

In the 2008-2009 financial year we paid $3288 with the government paying $987 of that.

That means that in 6 years, the cost of private health insurance has more than doubled, going up by approximately 13.7% each year.

I'd ditch it - at an extra 1% of income tax penalty payable to the Federal Government we'd have to earn over $328,000 p.a. to pay as much in penalty as in premiums - but I expect to seriously need it in the next 5 years or so. Can I expect to be paying at least $6500 each year in premiums by then?

Broken

2009-07-24T11:35:00.000+10:00

Broken
she lies upon the floor
"You missed a bit!"
she cries
"You got my heart; you got my lungs,
but I'm sure my pelvis is still intact!
Come on! Roll over me once more!"

I wrote this a while go when I had had a bad day/week/month.

Unlike my friend Simone, who seems to have a poem/song lyrics every second post on her blog, or my friend Allison, who has a blog specifically dedicated to her poetry, and another to behind the scenes stuff for her poetry, I tend not to post my poetry on a blog - probably because I'm not in the mindset of that medium at the moment. Who knows, I may post more poetry but I currently don't expect to be liberally doing so.

The Loving Hut

2009-07-24T11:02:00.005+10:00

I suggested to Ian that we check out this place while we were in Brisbane, courtesy of having seen Annie's post about it on her blog. The Loving Hut is part of an international franchise but so far the Mt Gravatt store appears to be the only one in the chain in Australia.

Anyway, after my cousin's wedding, Ian and I went here for an evening meal. It was absolutely delightful.

We had a serve of wontons for starters and then I had the Singapore style noodles along with a hot chocolate (Ian had satay and a hot chocolate). What I loved was that, as a vegan restaurant, I didn't have to ask specifically for my hot chocolate to be made with soy milk (and pay a premium for the privilege) as that is their standard.

We couldn't eat our whole meals in one sitting so we asked for take-away containers for the left-overs. For this we were charged a small fee of $0.50 / container. All our leftovers fit in the one container so that was not a problem. Incidentally, their take-away containers are made of sugar-cane pulp so they can be tossed in the compost heap when you're done with them.

The food was delicious, although the hot chocolate did not do the job of relieving the spiciness of the meals as they also were spiced (I think with cinnamon and/or nutmeg, although with all the other spices in my mouth it was hard to tell).

For afters to take away, we bought an apple cake with whipped coconut cream and a chocolate 'cheese' cake. I found that I didn't really enjoy the 'cheese' cake as it tasted so 'cheesy' (or at least what my taste-buds thought of as cheese), so I left the remainder for Ian's parents to polish off.

The meals were inexpensive and I can see that it will become a regular stop when we are visiting Brisbane in the future.

Socially Sanctioned Stealing

2009-07-24T10:30:00.000+10:00

Ever done one of the following at work?:

taken an hour and ten minutes for lunch and written it into your timesheet as an hour;
found yourself at home with pens from work (I'm not talking the ones actively given away as advertising) and 'forget' to take them back;
printed off something larger than what your employer permits as grace (some places allow a few pages of photocopying for instance);
playing with facebook or other social networking site (and you don't work for facebook et. al. and you're not updating your company's presence on one of these sites);
waited until so-n-so is out of the room to laminate something.

If we're honest we've all done something along these lines at some point in our job lives. It may be socially sanctioned but these are all examples of stealing. Your employer is not there to fund your hobby, part-time business, internet addiction, lack of self-control or time-management.

Please help me to continue to see it for what it is by (a) not participating and (b) not condoning it. That way we both might be more honest in our dealings with others.

Apparently I'm male

2009-07-23T07:31:00.001+10:00

Just checked my spam folder for an e-mail I'm hoping will turn up - no luck there; but apparently I can get all sorts of drugs to help my "tool" "drill" or even "assault" "my woman". Charming.

Wedding in Brisbane

2009-07-19T12:14:00.008+10:00

A couple of weeks ago, Ian and I attended my cousin, Nathaniel's, wedding to Beth. The service was held at the Toowong Anglican Church with the reception at Hillstone (a.k.a. St Lucia golf course clubhouse & reception centre).

The day was really cold, and I mean really cold for Brisbane in the middle of winter. It was a wind-chill problem - breezy like August.

The service was lovely but I don't have any photos of it. The bride and groom specifically requested only the official photographer take photos so that they would be less distracted by lots of clicks and flashes. Fair enough - their wedding, they get to choose.

The food at the reception was fabulous. Fortunately for Ian and me, my cousin had a bit of foresight and had told the caterers that we had special dietary requirements - we had forgotten to mention that in our response. Oops. :-)

The actual date of the wedding was 4 July. It was chosen because it was the middle weekend of the school holidays and Beth is a teacher but, as it turned out, it was also Beth's birthday. I joked with Nathaniel that he'd better never forget his anniversary because he'd be in double trouble by forgetting his wife's birthday into the bargain!

It's an interesting concept though. Because of the popularity of USA culture, even people in Australia refer to the date as "Independence Day". Yet here we have two people readily acknowledging that they aren't independent, that they do rely on others and are prepared to provide specific support to another particular person. I like it.

Game 3

2009-07-16T20:45:00.003+10:00

Trying to break my hoodoo, I wore maroon socks - sorry Queensland.

Free books!

2009-06-29T21:33:00.003+10:00

Well not here - although that will happen whenever we next move - no I'm talking about at this site.

You get bonus entries for directing others to the site if those people subscribe / become a follower, so please mention my name [Laetitia :-)] if you participate. :-)

"Weird" Al and Michael Jackson

2009-06-26T21:23:00.002+10:00

I'm listening to a Michael Jackson compilation CD and "Bad" is playing. This song keeps reminding me of "Weird" Al Yankovic's parody "Fat" and I'm left wondering, "Who's he going to parody now?"

Note: Under USA law, copying something for the purpose of parody is legitimate and doesn't require permission from the original copyright holder. However "Weird" Al always likes to get "permission" from the authors of the "victims" of his parody and MJ tended to give "permission" as do most other artists.

Game 2

2009-06-24T22:41:00.004+10:00

Maroons 24 - Blues 14

Today I wore grey socks, black shoes, navy pants, fawn top, black jumper, navy vest.

Now that the series has been won, next game I might try adding in some maroon to my wardrobe on Game day.

POLi

2009-06-22T20:59:00.002+10:00

No, not short for politics and yes, I can spell.

I've just paid for my flight back from Melbourne with Virgin Blue using their new method - POLi - and saved $6 on credit card fees in the process.

It's basically direct debit using internet banking (if your bank is supported) to pay a merchant. POLi and your bank's internet banking system talk to each other so the merchant's banking details (and how much you have to pay) are entered automatically - it seems to be a clever way of making sure you can't muff the transaction by entering the wrong details and sending your hard-earned to the wrong person.

So far it looks like it might be a useful way to pay for things without needing a credit card depending on how many merchants start using it. It differs from PayPal in that you don't need to set up an account to use it because you pay direct from your bank account with no third party in between.

If I find any problems with it, I'll keep you posted.

Calling Mrs Linwood

2009-06-17T18:48:00.002+10:00

Please call your old home phone number so I can redirect all those people still trying our number looking for you after over two years!

And a word to the telemarketers - if you haven't been in contact with Mrs Linwood for over two years, why would she want to deal with you!

Game 1

2009-06-03T23:05:00.002+10:00

Maroons 28 - Blues 18

Today I wore navy socks (with a picture of a tan fish), black shoes, black pants, fawn top, black jumper.

Voyeurism

2009-05-29T12:01:00.002+10:00

On his site, Sam de Brito has a post claiming that Australia is a nation of bogans (there's always someone who thinks you're a bogan).

Personally I think we must be a bunch of voyeurs.

Reason?

Just take a look at the on-going hype & hoopla about and media coverage of various sex scandals here and overseas just this year alone. We're all guilty of it. We try to sound virtuous, "Oh, that's terrible! That's shocking! I would never do something like that!" but give ourselves away when we prick up our ears, "Ooh, tell me more!" and pass it on, "Did you hear about..."

Seriously, why else would we have months of newspaper and blog articles about the Austrian guy who kept his daughter as a sex slave or the NRL players / NZ woman saga?

Photography I admire

2009-05-25T21:41:00.001+10:00

http://matthiasmail.blogspot.com/

Could I speak with Mr or Mrs Mortimer?

2009-05-08T18:02:00.003+10:00

Sorry, they live in Brisbane.

If you don't know my name enough to know that it starts with "B" not "M" then I don't want to give you my money; you're liable to address the product to the wrong person.

We rent

2009-05-07T18:53:00.002+10:00

Six letters that stop many telemarketers in their tracks.

Comments

2009-05-03T21:02:00.001+10:00

Wow! This is my biggest day / week / month for comments on my blog! 4 today and 6 within the last week!

The wrong question

2009-05-03T16:26:00.004+10:00

Further to my post about children being "off the menu", I've come to think that people ask the wrong question. (To my faithful handful of readers, no, this is not a post in response to comments I've received on that post. I've had this post going in my head pretty much since I wrote that one, I just hadn't got around to writing it.)

The wrong question is not, "Are you having children?"

The wrong question is responding with, "Why not?" when we say, "No."

Now, if I were to ask you if you were thinking of changing your job, would you expect, "Why not?" in response to your telling me, "No,"?

Yet having children is a major, life-changing decision - far more so (for most people) than changing their job, or even their career - and, like marriage, shouldn't be "entered into lightly". But people who will happily ask, "Why not?" about children would think it highly odd to be asked the same thing about changing their job!

Is it just me or does anyone else think that this is yet another oddity, another inconsistency, in society's attitudes?

Taking turns

2009-04-28T14:31:00.004+10:00

I must be pretty slow - it's taken me 35 years to realise that in life there are no "turns". I blame parents who are so keen to instil the idea of sharing in their kids that they phrase it as, "Now, let Johnny have his turn," (as if this is Johnny's "right") rather than, "Now, give Johnny a go," (which puts the emphasis on being generous).

At the beginning of 2005 I started supporting Ian through his teaching degree thinking that at the end of it it would be "my" turn to go back to uni.

I've since found that life doesn't work that way. Life just is.

I'm finding it hard to accept...grr.

Stupid CD mailer...

2009-04-28T14:24:00.004+10:00

We've just got our new Emu Music CD. It seems like it's going to take a while before I can listen to it - it's stuck in one of those protective Australia Post POSTpaks for CDs. It seems to be designed to protect it by making it impossible to open (note to Emu Music - there's no need for the extra sticky tape - the glue on the box does a perfectly marvellous job).

Now, where's the "Stanley" knife?

Blog visitors

2009-04-26T17:43:00.003+10:00

I have a gadget on my blog that links me to a page showing where readers are located (not who they are, mind you).

It thinks that I'm in Brisbane (due to the info that Optus provides), so I'm not sure how accurate it is when it tells me that I've had a visit from someone in Croatia and someone in Vietnam. Still, it's pretty cool to think that people in Croatia and Vietnam have stubbled across my blog (even if I don't know whether they've actually read the post they stumbled across).

Gift registries

2009-04-25T12:31:00.003+10:00

My advice to people marrying who want to use a store registry service - go for a store that will put your list on their website (even if your guests can't order something from it in order to avoid double-ups). That way your guests who live literally hundreds of kilometres from the nearest store can still see what things interest you (and how much they cost).

ANZAC tourism

2009-04-25T12:01:00.004+10:00

Is it just me who thinks that thousands of Australians and New Zealanders lobbing into Turkey for ANZAC Day is a bit surreal?

I bet when the Turks were busily trying to get the ANZACs off their beach and men were dying there it never occurred to them that they'd inadvertently create a tourist attraction.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I disagree with people's desire to see these places, but that doesn't mean that I also don't find it just a little odd.