Seller beware!

MOTH was so proud of himself.

He came bouncing down to the rumpus room. I just got scammed!!

He is selling a car and got a response. I'm at sea, I want to buy for my brother in law. Can you please send your bank acc details so blah blah blah.

But no! MOTH didn't fall for that. Either because of that tabloid television stuff - maybe it's good for something after all - or my constant nagging to be suspicious he knew it for what it was.

He replied, advising that he didn't give out bank details and if the bloke could send an agent round with the money, he'd be happy to take it.

MOTH was so proud of himself!

Grabbing some culture!

Pop culture!

Sibling2 comes for a visit. We are going to a concert! Yay! It means I have an excuse to kick off the shackles and go out. Brilliant.

I get a text message from the Teen. Phone me, I want to chat! And in the course of that chat, I discover that she has changed address and now shares with a friend and her family. Oh, she says. I thought I told you? No, you didn't. When did this happen? Oh, about the 21st. *sigh*

But back to the concert.....

The show starts around 7pm but using public transport means we have to leave home around 3.20pm. That gives us time to get into the city, grab something to eat and make the transfer for the next leg of the journey. There is a downside; we need to be sure of what train we need to catch in order to make the return journey. On the odd occasion, the last train leaves before the show finishes.

We jump the bus from the stop just up the road. After a few stops, Sibling2 comments It's busy! Yes, I reply. Quite busy for a weekend. But wait. It's Tuesday. Off to a good start, aren't we.

We chatter the whole way, something we're good at. The youth in front of us shifts one seat up. Pfft! Obviously we were disturbing his iPod time.

We arrive at destination stop and decide to grab something for dinner. The golden arches wins out. I'm not satisfied with my burger. I've ordered a chicken bacon deluxe. I think. I discovered that it has the soft bun with the fancy flour dusted on the top. Urgh, it makes my mouth dry. Halfway through I decide the bacon is missing. When ordering dessert *loves those soft serve cones* I realise that the chicken burger was on the M menu and now I think about it, I was only charged for the chicken deluxe. But he didn't even offer me crispy or seared! I would have chosen seared, not the crispy I was given. *mental note to investigate the menu in more detail to avoid having to make hasty decisions!*

We arrive at the concert and there don't seem to be many people here. That changes as time wears on. The doors open and we are in!

We find our seats. Sibling2 is a little disappointed that at time of booking, she couldn't specify which location she wanted the seats. Once the section / ticket level (gold, silver etc) is chosen the seat allocations in those sections are automated. We didn't have too bad of a view though really.

At 7pm, Boom Crash Opera appeared and did a half hour acoustic set. It was great to hear his voice with no background interference. He sounded just like they did on the singles, so I'm guessing there wasn't much help electronically to sell the music. Not like today's sound at all.

The crowd reacted well.

By the end of the set, people were still streaming in to be seated. The stage cleared, houselights came up while they set up for the next act.

Cue the next act and the crowd is excited, jumping up and down, cheering and whistling. I was grateful then that we didn't have the seats on the main floor of the auditorium. There is no way I would have been able to see at all as seating down there is not tiered.
The best reaction from the audience comes when they play the songs everyone knows. There was no song in their set that I didn't like. They remarked that one of the songs - Floating Down the River - was never included in an album except a compilation called Greatest Hits. I think maybe I have that album and I will have to check when I get home.

The set is finished, the crowd goes wild and houselights come up for intermission.

People stream back in, house lights go down and the whistling and cheering begin again for the main act. Spandau Ballet we love you! This is the last performance of their Reformation tour.

They blast off with To Cut a Long Story Short and we're off and racing for an hour and a half of fun and good music. They sang their old favourites and one from their new album. It was a ballad and I think I like it. They are all a lot older, but they can still belt it out. Tony Hadley still has a strong and brilliant voice.

The set ends and the crowd claps and screams for more. I'm right along there with them. Eventually they return to the stage and do two more songs. The last one is ... Gold! It wasn't done in the main set, so they HAD to be saving it for encore, right?

Finally, the auditorium begins to empty and everyone is headed for cars and train. I'm a tad dismayed by the number of people headed for the train station. But to my surprise, most of them are crossing the overpass and very few are standing on the platform. I asked Sibling2 if she had enjoyed it. It was a bit of a dumb question really.

We are finally back at destination station and are steeling ourselves for the interminable wait in the cold for a taxi. But wait. There is one on the rank. A-maz-ing! We jump in. The driver has a thick accent. Great. Taxi's don't necessarily have a great reputation around here. The taxi is clean and tidy. Oh. Wait. This one has a GPS and he isn't afraid to use it. We key in the address and we're off. That's the last we hear from the driver until we pull up. He tells us the fare and laughs with Sibling2 because she tells him to keep the 10c change. Then he wishes us a good night. A surprisingly pleasant taxi ride.

We stumble indoors making all sorts of racket. Poor MOTH. I check the Tears for Fears album I have and am disappointed to discover it's not the compilation album.

I tumble into bed and wish MOTH goodnight. Or goodmorning as the case may be. He grunts and mumbles that we made a lot of noise. And it turns out he hadn't locked the door, only the screen so we wouldn't have to tear the place down to get inside.

Ah well. Maybe next time I will remember to check the handle first before flying at it with the key ... or maybe not.

On holiday and going nowhere

Sometime during the week a work colleague stopped me in front of the building. I LOVE your halo dye job! she gushed and proceeded to tell me all about someone suggesting she had one.

I'm standing there, gobsmacked. What the heck is a halo dye job? Eventually I think I worked out that it was a 'do that involved a different colour at the top of the hair than to the bottom. As opposed to the top layers being a different colour.

Ummmm Sharon? You know how my hair used to be purple? This is what's left. This red/gold is the colour that the purple has left. The top you call an ashy colour is ummm.... me. Brown and grey.

I thought she was going to collapse. Her turn for the gobsmacking-ness.

On Wednesday, I went for an echocardiogram (ECG). The most stunning thing was that it seems I do have a heart afterall. In spite of that, everything turned out to be normal.

Sibling2 is coming to visit. I had asked for a couple of days off. During the meeting on Thursday morning, my boss said that he would take the week off because it was between two long weekends. Oh, I said. I only asked for a couple of days. Take the whole week he says! That way you can have ten days. So I did.

Now I just have to find ways to fill the days.

Sibling2 arrived on Saturday but didn't arrive at my house until Sunday. That evening she arrived with a couple of friends in tow. The lass was very funny. A sense of humour quite similar to mine.

Monday was the public holiday but some shopping centres were open. We travelled out to Indooroopilly shopping centre for a period of time. MOTH stayed until just after lunch then headed home, leaving Sibling2 and myself unchapperoned. We gave Sibling2's wallet a workout and a headache. Then caught the bus home. The timing was perfect as we only had to wait five minutes. Otherwise we'd have to wait another hour. Whew!

Home and collapse on the couch. Why does an outing for a few hours of shopping feel so exhausting when you get home? We sat and watched some terrible afternoon television while stuffing ourselves with sweets.

Mmm.........

It's Sunday

Around 8.30pm and I'm exhausted and ready to sleep. The only reason I'm not is that I'll be awake at some ungodly hour.

Bones is on and it's hard to write this and concentrate on the telly at the same time!

Sometime during the week I tried to chat to Sibling1. Somehow or another we couldn't coordinate our computer time and the very short conversation took a very long time. But I did find out that the keyboard works while I'm sitting on the couch. What a shame I couldn't read what appeared on the screen. It was too far away!

This week marked the Centenary of The University of Queensland. There was a cake cutting ceremony and speeches. Champagne, orange juice and sparkling water were offered for the toast. Small squares of cake were passed around and it was very difficult to get through the students seeking free stuff! I missed out on the champers, but managed to get a very small piece of cake. Someone took the piece I was looking at because I stopped to grab a serviette. *darn those manners of mine!*

Saturday was a lazy day. Well, for me. MOTH spent time in the garden digging up plants. And shrubs. And making a mess. I had a go at installing an expansion pack for my latest game. It surely takes some getting used to. This mac business is so different when you've been using Windows for years. Eventually I figured out what I was doing and all works well.

I thought about attending the Sunday Centenary celebrations at the University.

Sunday dawned and none too brightly. Forecast was for rain.

Sitting in the rumpus room, MOTH decided he would go up to the local shopping centre. Did I want to leave at the same time? Sure. He was ready to go now. I grabbed my bag, phone and papers. While sitting at the bus stop I suddenly realised that I would be going out in public with NO makeup. Not a scratch. *eeeeeeep!* And no food for lunch. And no money in my wallet to buy food either. *well planned, hey*

Arrived at the campus about 11.30am. What was I going to do first? MOTH didn't come with me; we'd be on our feet for most of the day and I didn't intend to leave before 6.30pm.

First stop was the art gallery.
There was a sign at the front advising cameras not allowed. I can see their point but it was disappointing not to be able to take photos. *for us sign abiding citizens! there were people taking photos in spite of that* Both my favourites were oils. One was the top of a lady's head as she lays on her side, head toward the viewer. She's clothed in black. She's blonde with highlights and lowlights in her hair. The second I thought was a photo, in shades of purple. A leather couch with an abstract painting hung above it. The couch is very much a man's couch. Strong, dark. It has dog's feet. It sits on a carpet with an old fashioned pattern. Then I discovered that it was an oil painting.....

Finished that and headed out to catch a tour through the state of the art teaching spaces. Oh, I missed it by about 5 minutes. I then had 20 minutes until the story telling session. I waited and eventually decided to wait outside the room where it was scheduled. It seems that I've managed to sit myself right where the story telling will be held. There were 4 stories. They were great! The first was Kookaburra and he saved grumpy Wombat from a bush fire. The first story teller was very animated and did lots of actions, making the kids join in. The second story was about a magic cupboard. Whatever you wished for you could have when you opened the cupboard but each time you took something out, you had to put something back. It was meant to make us think about each time we take and don't put back. The third was the story of a travelling man in China who slept at an inn where the landlady turned guests into donkeys. Goanna Jumps High was number 4, told again by the first story teller. It was about a goanna who won the high jump at interschool sports. I could almost hear the aboriginal kids yelling at each other - look out! He's comin! He'll run right up your leg and sit on your head!!

From there it was out to watch John Meyer play.

I like his music. After his set finished I had some time to waste. I visited the Anthropology Museum. I'd never been through there before. There wasn't much in it.

Back to the music to catch the last of Montpelier's set. Then the fill in music while they set up for the Riptides. Apparently these blokes used to be ..... Gangajang. Whoo! I sat through a couple of songs from the set and moved on. I found myself at the writer's hub while four authors talked about how they came to be published. They were very amusing.

Time for the finale of the evening. Oh no. It's starting to rain. Not heavily but raining none the less.

Eventually it starts and it was great! The event was a performance by Deep Blue. A youth orchestra with a different twist on their performances. They aren't seated in one place but move around the stage as they play. They are very good.

MOTH spent the day tidying up the mess he created in the garden on Saturday. Think I got the better deal.

It's Sunday. Around 9.30pm and I'm exhausted.

Friendly buses appear in Star Wars now!

And they are on a mission to the Ewok planet! Yes, the kid was on the bus again.

I spent a fair bit of last week trying to decide if I wanted to go to the movies. Then what I wanted to see. And coordinating that with what MOTH wanted to see. Tough job that.

I narrowed it down to two. Clash of the Titans, or How to Train Your Dragon. They were both in 3D. I'm not sure about 3D because my eyes don't like it. And I seem to suffer from something my then pilates instructor called 'positional vertigo'. Makes big screen movie viewing an experience.

So. Which movie. And then MOTH pipes with with an idea to watch the new Jackie Chan movie. Spy something or other. Wait! That wasn't in the mix! I ignored it.

Eventually I picked How to Train Your Dragon. 3D and all. Oh. And look. They have the parking deal back on again. If you can get a park in the cinema park *ha!* you have it for free if you see a movie. Otherwise, it's see a movie and pay $3. Sweet!

We decided to drive and park.

Saturday morning we did the usual and stopped at the local shopping centre. Saw one of MOTH's friends up there and chatted for a while. Then home to waste a bit of time before heading out to the cinema.

There was a huge line up for the cinema park, even with a flashing sign saying FULL. We chose another option.

The movie was great! I loved it. Quirky and fun. And the 3D didn't bother me at all. And we got to keep the glasses!

The surprise came when we went to validate the parking. Sorry, they said. We don't validate parking for that car park. Our car park is Secure Parking. It's over near the convention centre.

And that, people is NEARLY 3 BLOCKS AWAY. We had parked in the one across the road....

I know we weren't the only ones caught too. I know I only read the bold print for the pricing on the web page and ignored the map and the small print. I KNOW where the cinema is, why do I need to look at the map? I thought about leaving feed back to let them know they need to change the wording so it SAYS IN LARGE LETTERS THAT THE PARKING IS NOT THE PARKLANDS!!

It cost me an unexpected $15 for the outing and I didn't have enough cash. Fortunately they take credit cards now and I just had enough balance left on it....

Next time, I'm taking the bus.

Sunday I stayed at home all day. I vacuumed the kitchen area and did some washing. That was my Sunday.

I love days like that.

Back to normal

MOTH took great delight in reminding me yesterday that I had to head back to work today. It was a countdown ... in 12 hours you'll be at work, on your second cup of coffee ...

Saturday was a normal store trading day. Thank heavens! Do you have ANY idea how BORING it is sitting round in your jammies doing nothing??? MOTH wanted to go to the local shopping centre for smiles, coke and some groceries. So ... while we're out, how about we drop by the second hand place (different suburb) and I'll see if they'll take my old phone? We'll pick up the groceries from the other suburb after we've been to the second hand place. That way we won't have to come home first.

Fair enough. And that way we don't have to come back home. Alright, off we go. And when we were out, MOTH realised he'd forgotten to take his medication ... so we had to stop at home anyway.

We found the second hand place and they were happy to take the old phone. They don't pay much, but they didn't quibble about the price I asked. *wonder if i asked too little*

While there, I thought we'd drop by EB Games. *my FAVE store* They were having a sale so I managed to get the game I've been wanting for a while AND an expansion pack for $50. Whoo! I've also discovered that it's very hard to get games for the iMac. You'd think since this platform is becoming more popular, they'd do something about it!

The afternoon was spent working on tidying up more of the garden.

Sunday I thought I'd test out my hands free set up for the phone. I've never used one before. Heck, that would mean actually TALKING to someone. Why do that when I can text? And I've never really used any of them as MP3 players either, even though they've all had the capability. So. Turn on the bluetooth and away we go. I called the Elder. No point calling the Teen, it's 9am on a Sunday. She won't be conscious yet. Elder and I chatted for a while, the phone on the desk and me sitting at the outdoor table. It worked well. I phoned the Teen later in the day. I'm still not sure if the Teen is settling in well. It's been nearly 4 weeks now. It would be nice if she could earn a decent wage and support herself in her own place. THAT is what she would like too I think.

Spent some more time in the garden, chopping palm fronds so they would fit in the garden bin. I think someone is going to have to organise an extra run to clear it away!

Monday MOTH insisted I look at the laptop. It's running slow. Well, there's extra stuff on it now. I'm guessing the antirvirus would want to check some of those files as well as it loads? Yeah but it's SLOW! I NEED you to have a look at it. And there's a window that comes up at the top of the web page I look at. It didn't do that before! Alright, I'll look, but I don't know how I can fix anything. *i have degree. it's years out of date. and they don't teach you anything useful while they're at it, either. but hey! i know everything*

So Monday was spent cleaning off some applications that I don't think we use anymore, cleaning up disk space and trying to run a defrag. I've never done one of those in Vista before. There is no progress metre! How can you tell if it's even doing anything?? Hours later it still wasn't finished. MOTH complained. He doesn't like using the iMac - it's different. I suggested to MOTH that perhaps it stops running when the screen saver pops up or it goes into hibernation? So I sat with it for an hour or so just twitching the mouse occasionally so it didn't sleep.

MOTH gave up and turned it off at dinnertime. It had been running all afternoon anyway.

Good Friday

But hey, any Friday is good for me. Especially around 4pm.

*whoa. seems i need my glasses after all. this is MUCH better - i can actually see!*

Sunny came over last night. We decided that since it was Easter this weekend, we'd have our movie night early. Bring on the popcorn! He gave us our Easter gifts - a Lindt *yes, it DOES deserve a capital!* bunny for me and a pack of cream biscuits for MOTH. We had dinner and settled in to watch a movie. Hadn't picked which one yet, that takes time. We watched a bit of telly while he played with his DS then we chose.... The Mummy.

I love this movie. A rollicking good tale that requires suspension of disbelief and a willingness to just enjoy the tale.

Judah joined us part way through after he finished work. He gave MOTH and I our Easter gifts - a Lindt bunny for me *do my boys know me or what??* and a 2L bottle of coke for MOTH. He joined us for the rest of the movie. I remarked that segments of the movie reminded me of creeping through the corridors and passageways of AvP. Judah commented that it reminded him of a scene from a movie he watched which involved a big snake and treasure. He couldn't remember what it was and confessed that it would now bother him for some time, till he could remember. Sunny passed the odd comment during the movie and didn't even seem to notice that I was doing my usual thing and commenting *pointing out flaws* during the movie too!

Being Judah, as soon as the movie finished, he hopped online and began researching. By the time he gave up a couple of hours later, we decided it must have been one of the Anaconda movies. Still not certain though. He began researching possible holiday destinations for this weekend and Sunny fell asleep on my lap.

After they left I staggered off to bed. I think it was around half 1am. And the people across the road were beginning to get noisy. We ended up closing the bathroom window and door. There, that will learn 'em!

Today I was up again at 6am. The telly went on and I settled to watch some mind numbing viewing. MOTH wandered out to say good morning and wandered away again. I remember seeing the end of Zorro at around 7.30 and when I looked again, it was 9.15. Whoops, I must have dozed off.

I wandered off to our room and made the bed. And lay down. *couldn't help it, looked too inviting* and woke up again at lunch time. Hmmmm. Still in my jammies.

Made lunch. Watched some telly. Played on Facebook. Around 2pm, MOTH decided he wanted to work in the garden. Heck, I'm still in my jammies! I changed and went to help. We cleared some space and found a spot of garden we didn't know existed. It was hidden under the dropped palm fronds, wild ferns and monsterio plant.

Eventually the palm will be trimmed, the ferns will grow back and the monsterio will be removed completely.

After washing away the sweat and dirt, we decided to go for a drive. Just for something to do. Ipswich, here we come. Just for something to do. I've never been that way before.

Home again, and now I've prepped for dinner. Nothing exciting, just fried rice. When the time is right, I'll start cooking. I'm intending to catch the next instalment of Whitechapel on ABC tonight. And then, who knows. I might even go to bed early.....