Strange weather we've been having here. The mornings are freezing - I can see my breath when I haul arse to the bus stop. If I choose to look on the bright side, it's good to have that affirmation that I'm actually alive early in the mornings.

But I'd much rather be in bed.

The days turn out balmy, then the afternoons cool again. Until, by the time I'm ready to leave the office, it's cold again when I'm off to the bus stop.

I'm rather reptilian in my weather habits *quiet you!* I love the sun. But only if it's not too hot. I hate the cold. My blood freezes and I can't get warm. Often, during winter, you'll find me standing in a patch of sun in front of the window. As the ice in my veins thaws a little. Summer time, I'd rather stand in cold water; even wallowing in the mud sounds preferable to putting up with the heat...

*ouch! swallowed too much of the soup i'm lunching on*

So how to cover what, all in all, has been a quiet week?

Now that all have vacated, I offered the Teen the chance to swap bedrooms. Only if she wanted to. And she didn't think she would. MOTH had been doing some patchwork on the walls. When Sunny and Judah moved on, they took their artwork with them. Along with some of the paint. Stupid double sided tape.

So he'd been patching. It wasn't quite finished, but Teen decided good enough! She shifted all her furniture. I shrugged. Fair enough. MOTH shook his head. And I moved all the ironing stuff clogging up the small room that is supposed to be a study into the vacated bedroom. Now all I have to do is remember that I no longer have to walk the length of the house with the laundry basket. Nearly done it a couple of times too!

I had mentioned that when it was clear, I would transform the study into a study. That left MOTH free to move things. *he loves doing that* When I returned from work on Friday, it was all done. The desk had migrated with, he informed me, Judah's help. Judah has been borrowing the phone to try get an internet connection for them sorted. I discovered that the only place to put the desk was back to the door. Uh oh. No where else without losing precious space that is! But I did a wee bit of research, and apparently it's not so bad if you aren't directly in line with the door. Luckily for me, the door is not in the middle of the wall so I moved the desk. Sweet. And then I have to fill it with things I love. So, I have a white bookcase *not loved* with some books *loved* some junky bits that my travellers bring back from overseas *loved* some old toys *loved* a single couch from the suite *not loved* with a sheet and an old red cushion *not loved!* And now my study is complete. I like being in there, and I guess that's the whole purpose, right?

I'm disappearing out my own existence!

I liked that Yellow Submarine movie. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. Just for something different.

Quite a bit has been on the agenda this week.

I stayed home a couple of days early in the week. Monitoring the Elder. Apart from one minor brain explosion, she went really well. *is proud*

Sometime on the Sunday I believe, she was working on her jobsearch stuffs, and just for something to do, applied for a position in a different town. Nothing would come of this one but what the heck.

Monday we went shopping because there was something burning a hole in her wallet and there is nothing like a dash of retail therapy the help one along. Her phone rings in the middle of Sanity and she ducks out to answer it. The music in that shop is a little loud, but hey, it's Michael Jackson so who cares.

She came back and said, You know that job? They've just offered me an interview. Ulp! So, the logistical nightmare - how do we deliver her on time to get to the interview? We abandoned the therapy and dashed home. And I mentioned to MOTH, why don't you drive her and you can visit your mother while you are there.

He didn't bat an eyelid. Some quick calls were made and they were frantically packing. The Elder was explaining the phone call. The caller found out where she lived, and weren't keen on giving her an interview time after all. Because she lived so far away, and it was an awful long way to come just for an interview. *helloo! in this economic climate, any interview slot is a good one! duh!* They gave her a time though, and asked her to call if she couldn't make it. Hence the fuss and rush to get there.

So Tuesday morning, somewhere about mid morning they left. Return due for Thursday.

The days they were away were deathly quiet. Only the Teen and I existed in our own little universe. And like Gods, we got to spend our time our way, and eat what we wanted when we wanted. The Teen had been off sick for the first couple of days back to school, so I had to return to work on Wednesday and leave her at home. She wasn't phased. I didn't for one second think she would be. *smiles* But we did manage to finish off the prawns that were taking up space in the freezer. She and I are the only ones who eat them. They were an impulse buy at $6 a kilo at the end of the shopping night in the supermarket.

On Wednesday night, I got a call. Guess what! What? I've got the job! Really? No wai! Yes wai. And guess what? What? I start on Tuesday! Holy hell! She had the interview Wednesday morning. Wednesday afternoon they asked her to come back and meet the store manager. That night they told her she had a start. So much for not wanting to offer her an interview time.

So what now? That gave her two days to organise accommodation. Her bestie friend has a family and no room. Her grandparents are overcrowded so we didn't even go there. Her aunty has no room either. Mouse and Grandma thought it darned silly to come up for a job without accommodation.

But why would you organise accommodation just to attend a job interview? When there is no guarantee you'll get the job, and the Government will penalise you most severely if you move from your current location to a place that offers less job opportunites. Who expected she would get a job from somewhere she applied for just as a spur of the moment thing to add a name to her list?

But congratulations Elder! I'm hoping you will really enjoy your work.

So it was back home Thursday and try to organise things for a Sunday departure. Luckily a male friend who lives by himself was willing to put her up for a while. That was a relief. And a person I never even thought of asking.

Friday I was at work, and she bummed about a bit. I don't remember what she did, but there was a LITTLE bit of packing in there.

Saturday I had plans to catch a movie. I had asked the Elder to go with me. No point asking the Teen. She's never home. So we caught the bus to the cinema. It's not the closest, but it is the cheapest. And it's IMAX so we timed our session to catch the movie on the 25 metre screen. We found seats - up the back of course - and watched people stream in. We had thought that the 09:30 screening on a Saturday wouldn't be that busy. We were wrong. While we waited for the movie, the Elder noticed someone who looked familiar. It was my best friend and her family! I haven't seen them for some months. We just don't seem to be able to coordinate ourself. She spotted us and we waved at each other.

The movie was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I knew the plot. I knew it was coming. And still I cried. I hate to see a grown man cry and I started to lose it a bit then. I lost it properly when he died. And I knew it was coming....

After the movie, my friend waited for me and we all decided to go for coffee. As we came down the stairs to exit the cinema, they announced that all the Harry Potter screenings for the remainder of that day were sold out! Soooo glad we chose the early session!

I hadn't been to this coffee house before. It was expensive, but it was really nice. The coffee cups are huge. You get the cup, a jug of coffee and a jug of hot water. I guess a jug of milk too, but the woman had ordered a long black. And you mix it the way you want. I had a spider, so I got a tall glass of icecream and the softdrink in a jug. We also had a plate of tiny gourmet cookies with a creamy chocolate dipping sauce. I think I'd go there again.

And a quick trip into the city to the movies turned into a full scale almost all day outing.

Home again and the Elder started doing some serious packing. Not serious enough though because she was still packing late into the night. I did give her some help, but not that much. I wasn't sure what she was going to be taking. Sunday morning, at 03:00 she and MOTH were up. MOTH never went to bed. She was still packing last minute stuff, and MOTH was loading the car. She managed to get away at 04:00.

So we are back to three in the house. It's so very, very quiet.

I think I'm disappearing out my own existence...

Silence is golden the saying goes

And there is altogether way too much of it around here.

What a week. I mentioned last post *listens to dogs howl* that I had that cough. I went to work on the Wednesday, but couldn't repeat the performance on Thursday. Or Friday for that matter. So last week, I managed one day of work.

MOTH is still coughing from his, although nowhere near as badly. He happily informed me that I have about another three weeks at least of coughing to look forward to. *sarcastic voice* Excellent. Although mine has nearly gone. *touches wood, cause you know i've just jinxed myself*

The Teen started her cough somewhere around mid week. So did Jawsome. *punches fist you know i'm so awesome to be gifting this about*

Around Friday, the Teen started complaining of muscle soreness, chest pain, wheezing, aches, headaches, fever....... I phoned the doc on Saturday and made an appointment for Monday. They don't work on Sunday and charge like a bull for work on Saturdays. So she had to wait. I don't think she was very happy at all. After the doc consultation, taking the medication means that we have to reschedule the Holter test that she has to have. Did I mention that before? The Teen seems to have tachycardia - fast heart rate - and was supposed to have a 24hour Holter test. That means she gets a monitor the size of a messenger bag attached to her for 24 hours. That would most likely put a cramp in her style! She also has to keep a diary of her activities while she is wearing it. And EVERYTHING has to be put in there. Even when she goes to the loo. *heh heh heh* But since the ventolin increases heart rate anyway, that has to be postponed for a couple of weeks. Hopefully she's mended by then.

Saturday, the Elder surprised the heck outta me by asking if I would go with her for a walk. To Maccas, of course. You can't do that exercise stuff without a goal at the end. On our way, I had a text from Sunny. Since he had been touring the markets and become bored, he joined us for a snack. Afterward, he invited us to the unit. It's the first time I've seen it since they moved. I like it. It's snug and cozy and just right for them. Sunny is very happy with it.

Sunday was the day though. Jawsome had mentioned he would probably leave around 06:00. It seems he didn't sleep too well, and by the time he had packed what he could in the car, he left before sunup. Mind, that's like around 05:45. Most of his belongings are still here, waiting for his return with a truck. He couldn't fit much beyond a couple of suitcases and some other random stuff in the supra. There is no boot...

The Elder is doing much better than I thought. There doesn't appear to be the anger and bad vibes there were with the last one. I'm hoping that this will continue. The last breakup she seemed to be handling it well, until a week or two later and she fell in a screaming heap. I'm hoping that experience will help her be calmer and stronger for this one.

And for something to keep her occupied, I've sent her up the coast to her old stomping ground for a couple of days. Just a short break. She travelled with MOTH. I'm hoping she can spend a little time with her best friend.

So at the moment, there is only the Teen and I in the house. She's in her room. And apart from the occasional cough, it's bloody quiet in this house.......

Takin it slowwwwly

What a week. *shakes head* At least, I think it was.... *wanders around trying to stimulate remembery*

MOTH hasn't been well over the last week. He's had a wheezy asthma-like cough that started as a tickle in his throat. And when he coughs, boy, he coughs. Like, 110%. His face goes red. His eyes bulge. And if he does it properly, he passes out and has something that looks like a small seizure.

I had a day off to stay with him on the worst day. Just in case.

The Teen has been, thankfully mostly in her room, playing Michael Jackson songs non stop. Even a headcold hasn't stopped her.

*runs screaming from room*

Alright, I shall come out here in public and admit that I like his music. It was big when I was growing up. How could I not like it? But I find I can only listen for a while before it becomes necessary to put the songs away and take a break. That might just be coming a bit sooner than usual. Hopefully she takes a break soon!

Around mid week the tickle started in my throat. Uh oh. That doesn't bode well. And it gradually got worse. Till I started my own asthma like wheezy cough. My coughs though are rather pale in comparison to his. And sometimes, I can even get a grip on mine to calm them down.

Didn't take long though to figure out what he meant when he told me that it drains you! I've had two days off work and really was ready for another today. Last Monday, I woke after 9.00am, went to lay down at around 1.30pm, woke up at 4.30pm and still went to bed at my normal time of 10.30pm after Good News Week. *whew*

So MOTH is slowly on the mend. He still coughs but not as much or as hard. He aches all over from the strain. Even his little belly button hernia hurts. Poor doll. *gets as close to sympathetic as she can*

It's been a tough weekend for the Elder. She and Jawsome are going their separate ways and Jawsome will be returning to his former place of residence. I'm led to believe the actual leaving of the house will be this weekend coming.

I shall be sad. I liked this one. MUCH better than the last one.

Thank you Jawsome, you've been a very important part of her healing process. Now I'm hoping that she can continue the journey to its completion.....

It's good news week!

*is amazed! jez found the missing original post!*

Monday. And it's a cack.

Heck of a lot of Michael Jackson specials on telly. And the Teen has decided she would like to play all his old songs that she liked. All the time. And loudly....

So this week has been the crackling excitement of the interior of buses, as I consider the last time I had a holiday and wonder if I'm entitled to another. And when I check, yes, I have enough days owing. But my last holiday was ... Easter. Not that long ago really. So tell me, do I deserve another week off?

The Teen's report card turned up in the mail today. *sighs* I'm not sure what I expected. She's had a lot of time off due to illness. And never bothered to catch up. What I don't really appreciate is the Teacher requests for a parent/teacher interview. I hate those things. Why do I have to go along so they can tell me that she's not doing as well as they think she could. I mean, she's 17 for heavens sake. Take it up with her and leave me out of it. I think that she is more than old enough to understand the consquences of not putting in the work.

You know, on my trips to work, I haven't even seen anything that struck me as memorable. No toilets on the side of the road, no strange outfits. No strange behaviour on the bus. Not even by me.

It's quiet on campus. Mid semester break. And the students are away. And the main refectory is closed. And likely the old Red Room. Which now has a different name. When the Elder worked on campus, we used to go there all the time. To the point where the chef behind the counter knew who we were and told us to come straight to the head of the line. Yay for being regulars!

Last Wednesday, I decided on the spur of the moment to catch my other bus choice. This one goes through some back roads and some traffic. It takes about an hour. My other service is a fair bit faster. So, I'm on the slow bus. And it catches up to my fast bus.

I found out that the FIRST stop of the fast bus run is about a 15 minute walk up the road. So I tried doing that a couple of mornings.

And when I got off the bus at terminus, I found a friend whom I haven't seen for some time. It was only a brief chat, but it was really really good to catch up.

And since nothing really exciting happened during the week, I've decided to post the Teen's video. Complete with dodgy production values.

Of course, if I'm not actually allowed to post this, you'll hear about it from there....

I did have a post here.....

But I tried to upload a video. But it took way long. And long and long and long.

And when I cancelled the video upload, it cancelled the whole blog post. *grrrrrrr*

So, I guess the upshot is that I can't remember what the heck I posted.

Ummmm. There was something about Good News Week. Which I'm watching right now. Well, I would be if there wasn't an ad on about ice additiction. Yeah, I can see the fascination of getting your tongue stuck to the fridge.....

I think I should stop watching and just download the podcast. That way I can have a legitimate reason to laugh like a maniac on the bus.

Speaking of which, Wednesday I decided to take the slow bus to work. And ended up following the fast bus. From that, I found out the FIRST stop for the fast bus is about a 15 min walk up the hill from my normal bus stop.

And when I debussed at terminus, I found a friend whom I haven't seen for a very long time. It was only a quick chat, but it was good to see her.

The Teen's report card arrived today. It was better than we were expecting, but not as good as it should have been perhaps. All her teachers want a parent/teacher interview. Man, I hate those things. Like, I want to go out of my way so I can sit there and listen to them tell me what I already know? She's 17 for heavens sake and quite old enough to understand the consequences of not doing her work. Take it up with her.....

I did try to post her rather dodgy video. Perhaps I won't do it again. Cause I don't want to lose this post again....

My day.... and a bit left over

Remember I said Sunday was so good I took some photos? Alright, I confess. I used my camera phone. Which, for some reason, usually takes kick arse outdoor photos, but really crappy indoor ones.


Taco taco!

My kick arse jammies though are Jim Beam *loves*






This one caught my attention, but not today....






So, and on to my day. I missed some really good photo ops today. A brush turkey watching me walk by. A sheila with purple hair and carrying a hand bag with a thigh bone motif. A solitary bloke standing at a bus stop reading the timetable. Hanging on to his package. Maybe he thought it would shrink?

I really wanted to add some photos of people, but I'm too shy to stop and ask... there was a busker playing an accordian, surrounded by people clapping and singing along. They seemed to be the busker, his singer and a bunch of people all from the same ethnic group. They were having a great old time.

I thought about taking photos of the fountain in the middle of the mall. They have cleaned it up a bit and it has lovely coloured lights that shine under the water in the evenings. But to get a good shot, I needed to stand on the edge. And for some, that could be just way too tempting. I know it would be for me...














1. Breakfast!
2. Snackage!
3. A seat with no graffiti. Rare find that. Although there seems to be a few on this bus...
4. Random stop. Now closed. Due to graffiti?
5. See the wind from these vents? One second nothing, the next I'm pinned like a bug in a display case....
6. Just a bit o'landscaping visible from the window
7. Random shoes. Why oh why can't this phone (5mp) pick up detail properly?!
8. Random busway stop
9. Farmer's Markets. Every Wednesday 11 till 6!
10. Bus isn't really this long, but looks great
11. View from a bridge. Can't take any more. But wait, there's glass....

PA? Maybe not....

I always wanted to be the Personal Assistant to a high powered person and travel with them to exotic places.

Then I watched Devil Wears Prada. Aaaannnnddddd maybe not....

__________________________

I had a brilliant idea for this week. How about I post my week in ... ... photographs. Yes, I was going to take photos of interesting things I have seen or done for the week.

Then I realised that I spend a good 3 to 4 hours every day inside a bus. You'd soon get sick of photos of seat upholstery. Yes indeed. Pretty as they are, you soon be sick of them. And for some reason, anything on the outside of the bus gets a bit blurry when you are moving. Or trying to shoot through foggy windows just isn't going to work. Bugger.

[insert light bulb here] Or maybe I could .... wait, I've forgotten .... [bulb switches off]

Mind, the rest of the week just pales into insignificance when held against my Sunday. It was overcast, and showers abounded. I determined I would stay in bed. My stomach soon put a stop to that. *shakes fist at stomach* And once I'm outta bed, the chances of my going back are, like, pretty slim. So once I fed myself and several others and tidied up, I plonked myself on the couch in front of the tv. With my laptop. I didn't rise again until lunctime when I thought I would do something completely out of character. I made a toasted sandwich for MOTH. And one for Sunny. And since there was too many slices of cheese left over, one for myself as well. Jawsome decided he would make his own.

Whoa. Take that back. I left the couch for a few minutes to help the Elder write out a job application. She tells me that joblink DIDN'T teach her to write to a selection criteria. WHY THE HELL NOT?? It's only a major part of applying for a job these days.

So, where was I? Oh yes, back on the couch. And I watched the Devil Wears Prada. I so love Meryl Streep. She is brilliant. And decided I wouldn't want to be a high powered person's PA because I couldn't handle being on call 24/7.

When the movie finished, I looked at the clock. Hmmm. 3:40pm. And w00t! I'm still in my jammies! WHAT a day! I had accomplished the absolute bare minimum and it was ALMOST as good as staying in bed all day.

Ok, so I had to cook dinner *TACOS!* but it was good.

So good, in fact, I took a couple of photos just to include here. However, I've changed bags for the day and left my USB cable at home....

Clever.

Perhaps I will add them later.

[wait! light bulb back on] maybe I could just photograph the graffiti on the bus instead of the upholstery ....

The Teen had her exams this week just gone. I think I mentioned that in a previous post. I hope she did well. She got one result this morning and was really pleased with it. So was I. *congrats!* She had been working really hard to catch up with some very overdue assignments. Ones that teachers have been chasing. I think I actually saw her spend the whole day and into the night on the computer one day. *imagines how much of that was actually SCHOOL WORK*

During the week, the Teen, Wogboy, Elder and Jawsome got together to make a short film for an assignment Teen's been working on. I have seen the end result. VERY dodgy production values combined with some bad acting and some good music choices make for a very entertaining video. Perhaps, with her permission I will post it one day. After it's been submitted for marking of course!

Jawsome has been working some hours at a local supermarket. We think this is excellent - when he applied for the transfer they weren't sure how many hours, if any, they could offer. I think he's feeling a little homesick. He's a bit mopey, although he's doing well fitting in. Deep down, he's just as crazy as the rest of us.

The Elder is still unemployed, and getting uber bummed about it. Never mind honey. Something will come along. It always does. Maybe not a soon as you would like, but it will come. Be patient.

Sunny and Judah are moving out. It has happened very quickly! The timing of the moving out wasn't necessarily their choice, but they have managed to secure a lovely little unit just up the road. Very handy to the bus stop. They missed out on the first one and were disappointed. Then suddenly, they had three or four places to choose from. I wandered into the kitchen this morning and there were boxes and heaps of stuff in readiness for their move. They hope to get the keys today. This move is happening so quickly. It's been raining all day today; hopefully they have managed to avoid their gear getting too wet. I'm not sure when moving day will be, but I imagine it will be in the next day or so. Good luck lads, I hope you really enjoy the freedom to be yourselves.

MOTH. He's just been basking in his MOTH-iness. Takin it easy. Jez chillaxin'. Until today. Someone left the back door open. The dry clothes in the basket near the door ... are now wet. *oh the drama!*

My way or de bus way

It's been a rather strange week for buses this week.

Or perhaps I mean so far this week...

Saturday, I made plans to go into the city to visit a friend of mine who lives outta town, but was down to see the football. The Broncos v Bulldogs match. I am soooo over league these days. Too many faces grace the screen for all the wrong reasons.

But anyway, back to the buses.

The Elder decided to join me. It made me miss the bus I was hoping to catch. Turns out that was cool - lookit the bus we caught.





I dived on, and wow! Someone went to a lot of effort. We walked up the blue side and sat there. Is there any other colour? We did notice that down the aisle was split by a white line. Each side had pictures of blue cockroaches or canetoads. Each with a number and a players name. I loved it.

Sunday I think it was, Sunny was telling me his bus tale. He and Judah were waiting at their city stop, and there were an old "senile" couple on the platform. I don't remember what she was doing, but he was walking up and down talking to himself, and every so often he would go back to her and start talking about his shoes. Nothing suss there. Then, at one point, the old man walked past them. Blaaat! He farted! They had to bite tongues hard so as not to burst out laughing until he'd gone!

The tale continued. On the journey home, they were sitting near the front and could hear the base radio going off. There was lots of air traffic, and more than one mention of police. Suddenly the bus stops. In front of a service station. The driver leaves the bus and disappears. Everyone wonders... Eventually the driver returns and all continues as normal.

They arrived at their stop, and as they were last off and the driver's run *not drover, if anyone ever watched mcleod's daughters * had finished for the night, he got out took out a packet of cigs and lit up. He told the lads what had happened... He had picked up a passenger from a certain major stop. This passenger had a ticket for 3 zones but wanted to travel 5. The driver made him purchase the difference. No worries. Passenger sits, then begins to hassle other passengers. Driver calls a halt and sticks up for hassled peoples. Passenger steps up to the front, grabs driver, slams him against the plastic divider and starts abusing him and *i'm told* laying into him. The disappearing act was the driver stopping off to buy smokes. After kicking the habit for 27 months!

Monday just gone, I hopped a bus to work. No problem until we get most of the way there and stop at one of the major pickup points. The back door won't open. Hmmm. Then the front door won't close. So, says the Conductor as she leans in to talk to the driver, you'll have to turn it off and restart it. So he did. Except. It won't start. We have to leave the bus and wait for another....

This morning I'm on the bus to work. There is roadworks where the turn off is for the motorway, and the drivers now have to go past it to the next roundabout then come back. But it seems that they are left to discover this for themselves. Fair enough. So, he pauses at the no longer available turn then works out he has to go past. Well done. Out on the motorway, and he calls back ... there is an accident on the city bridge and we've been told to keep on the busway to avoid it. It will take a couple minutes longer but I'm going .... blah blah blah. Hoookay. Off we go. And grind to a halt. I should have taken a photo. I don't know how many buses there were, but we were stopped. And the ones trying to merge were stopped. And there we sat. For a while. I didn't time it. Eventually we started moving. In a stop start fashion. Turns out a bus had broken down in a tunnel. Took up the whole lane and they had to direct the buses around it, one at a time. My normal 45 minute run into the city turned into almost an hour and a half.

Been a great week for buses.

Oh, for the rest of the week? The Teen is now in exam block. I wish her well. Jawsome has managed to pick up some hours at his new store. Considering they weren't sure they would have anything for him before he moved, he's seems to be out nearly every day.

And my highlight? I saw a hummer. A stretch one. Hot pink. With black wheel arches and chrome accents. Very eye catching!

But not a bus...

No, wait come back!

And that is good for more than one situation! My fingers went spaz, and I ended up posting half a headline. *shakes head*

And of course, being June we've just waved goodbye to the last public holiday of the year. Until Christmas. *much wailing and gnashing of teeth*

It's been a rather odd week this week. Perhaps. But then, my life is usually odd, so perhaps not.

So Thursday last week was the day to be out and about. I was standing on the corner in the city *not what you think, i was waiting to cross the street* between buses. I glanced at a bus going past, and lo! It was filled with blue and white streamers and decorations. Not to mention somewhat disgruntled passengers. I was a tad disappointed that NSW didn't win the game. Perhaps Queensland cheated? No, let's be honest. I was more peeved that they changed the timing and we didn't get the game to coincide with the week of the conference. Gypped!

I managed to make the bus change. As we snuck around the corner, the traffic being slow and all, and I could see smoke billowing around the street. No activity from any pedestrians except a glance or two over shoulders, no sirens. Nothing. I wondered what it could be that was so exciting to everyone? And there it was. A harley. Parked on the footpath. Smoke coming off it. And all the chrome was sprayed with some sort of stuff. Someone had a fire extinguisher perhaps? Oh, and a rather pissed off looking rider type person. One of the yuppies who think they are bikers. Tall, dressed in his black leathers. Clean shaven. Ha! If he were a real biker, he would have avoided the fancy leathers and probably picked an older model harley. IF he had to have one....

On up the road we went, toward the Uni. I glanced down. A VW! An old one. Pained bright red and covered in black spots. *wonders* Some people do seem to have rather too much time on their hands, don't they.

Friday was a pretty ordinary day. The one saving grace was that it was the prelude to a long weekend. I made it out of the office, in time to catch the 17:25 bus home. And while standing at the corner in the city waiting for the lights to change, I espied a maroon version of the blue yesterday bus. *is happy. the world is in balance* So, I'm waiting for my bus. The last one of the day. It's allotted time came and went. Not unusual for this line. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited. The crowd dwindles. Eventually, there were only 4 of the regulars still waiting. One decided to leave for an alternative. Another suggested we remaining 3 catch a taxi. With some trepidation, I thought well, maybe. And then I found an e-cab voucher in my wallet. *yesssss!* The bus did arrive though. At 18:15.

I arrived home to find some random teens at the house. I did tell the Teen she could have friends over to celebrate her birthday. More gradually arrived during the night. The music and the voices got a little loud, but apart from one appalling noise, they were rather well behaved. I was sitting in the rumpus room and heard a Bang! It didn't sound good, and I wondered if I had the courage to go see what it was.

I did. After a little while. It seemed that one of the girls walked into the glass door. It's ok! She wasn't hurt. Except her pride. And neither was the door.

I packed up and trundled off to bed around midnight. With orders to the Teen that it was time to turn things down. I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that I couldn't hear them at all from my bedroom. *sighs and drifts off*

Saturday dawned somewhat dark and stormy. Ok, so not dawned. It stormed around mid morning. Maybe. I really dunno. I didn't actually get outta bed till just before lunchtimeish. And then I got mad at myself for wasting the morning. *sighs. just not built for sleeping in*

I spent the day tidying up little bits of the Teen's leftovers, and cursing because the house needed vacuuming and has done for some time.

Sunday I did some housework. Just a bit. Not a lot. Washing. But it was a bit wet again, so the dryer got a good workout. The Teen commented that she really liked having parties on the Friday. You get two whole days to recover, not just the Sunday. I decided that I really like Jawsome's bean bag ... thing. It looks like a giant blue tongue. But oooo boy, is it comfy. Not lying down though. I plant myself on it and use the back of it as an arm rest. It's just the right height... zzzz

I'm just dying now to get my mitts on the PS3. Darn *riffles through game box* why is there no good games in here?!

Monday. It was a great day. I did more washing. I vacuumed half the house. I stuffed myself full of chocolate icing left over from the rocky road cupcakes the Elder iced. I played a bit on the DS. Well, that's a bit of a misnomer. I actually read a book on the DS. Lorna Doone. Sunday night I cooked dinner and chilled in front of the DVD player. I decided that I would see if I could get Shrek 2 to work. And it did! *does happy dance* Because it wouldn't play at all on the other DVD player. And then I watched Beowulf. Hmmmmm. And then, somewhere around midnight, after MOTH did a mercy run to pick up a couple of stragglers who forgot it was a public holiday and therefore a SUNDAY timetable, I went off to bed.

Hmmmm ... flanny sheets in winter.....

Gotta move with the times.

Well, it's finally happened. The big day finally arrived. The Elder and Jawsome have moved in. Yesterday. Today, Jawsome and MOTH are returning the truck to the depot and we won't see them again until Wednesday evening.

Safe trip fellas. Bring each other back in one piece. Miss you already.

There have been two other startling developments in the last week. Oh yes indeedy there have.

On Monday last, a no-longer-employed-with-us-cause-i-moved-on-to-better-things work colleague dropped by. Some of us decided to go out to lunch. The chosen place is a restaurant that does good steak. If you like that kind of thing. There are a couple of other items on the menu that don't involve steak. I had a prawn and scallop risotto.

But getting to this restaurant involves catching a bus. So off we trundled, down to the bus stop to share public transport with a bunch of the great unwashed. Who also think they need to use the bus. For those of us who use the buses on a regular basis, this is just a walk in the park. So to speak. And it's fun watching the confusion that takes over those who don't use the buses. And sometimes, just for something to do, some of us explain to the others what sorts of tickets they need etc. Not something I usually do though. No way.

So, back to the tale. We are on the bus. Tootling merrily away down the road. The strange thing is we have to go past the restaurant to get to the nearest stop, then walk the block or so back.

But the bus takes a wrong turn. Instead of taking the way down to the busway, she goes up toward the bridge. Uh oh. And no reversing; there's a car up the clacker. The driver calls down the bus, Can anyone help me? One of the GTs sent her up to the bridge, right turn, and round the block. How did he know this would work? A bus he was on some other day did exactly the same thing.

We did make it to lunch. Just a little later than planned.

But, as was pointed out a couple of times; at least the airconditioning on the bus worked. Our office airconditioning hasn't been working for the last 3 weeks. Thank heavens it's not summer.

The rest of the week was pretty quiet. I did end up with a headcold which tried to make itself known on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I sent MOTH out to see if he could find something that I could use to keep it at bay. I am not allowed to take pseudoephadrine *dangit there goes the lab* so I have to try other things. Usually I take Zyrtec, but it doesn't do much.

This time after seeking a recommendation from the chemist, he came back with something completely different. I've never seen it before; it's supposed to be all natural. Whatever the heck it was, it worked. Even made me sleepy. And since I've passed the box on to Jawsome, I can't tell you what it is.

So, Wednesday I had off sick. But the meds were good. I couldn't even tell I had a cold.

The weekend just gone, MOTH finally caught up with the digital age. Yes people, he took a friend's advice and has himself a Facebook page. An old friend of his who now lives across the brine had been inviting him to join. So he finally did. Not sure what he thinks of the whole process, but he seems to be enjoying it so far!

Long live new tricks, old dogs and things of that nature....

Thursday recap

Where was I?

Oh yes... recapping the conference.

Tuesday the Teen arrived. I had organised for her to be collected from the station. We had talked about how she would get to the venue. A taxi was out. I'm not going in a taxi! Especially if the driver is foreign! Sorry foreigners. Nothing personal. It's just daunting when you're a Teen with all those dreadful girlie habits and you don't like to do things by yourself.

So I organised a transfer company for pickup. And when the time came, there was a call. They aren't here! I don't know where to look for them. I told her to look in both carparks, and I got a call back ... nope, not here. So, where were they? Someone called them for me. And we arranged for someone to pick her up pronto.

She called from the lobby. I'm here, and when I went up the van and driver from the transport company were waiting for me. And it looked like someone had arrived in a stretch limo at the same time.

Turns out the driver who had the job of picking her up had been delayed due to an accident on the motorway. *hmmm nice to be told that they would be delayed*

And the Teen whispered to me See that there? *points to stretch* If they had been on time, THAT'S what I was supposed to have been arriving in!

She recovered from her disappointment fairly quickly when she discovered the robes and slippers in the bathroom.....



Tuesday is gala dinner night. This year it was held at Movieworld and celebrated with IT industry awards. I was in two minds as to whether I would go. The meal was alternate drop, there would be speeches and awards. BORING!! *alternate drop is two menu selections and the waiters go round the table alternating the dishes. up to you to swap with someone else on the table if you don't want the meal you have been given. the organisers always pick lamb or salmon. WHY do they do that???*

But I managed to wrangle a free ticket for the Teen and thought, oh, why the heck not. I'm glad I did. It was a very excellent night. There were no rides, but the MC was Corinne Grant *glasshouse, rove* and the main entertainment of the night was Umbillical Bros. And the meal was good. The Teen was happy with the salmon.



The company at the table was enjoyable; everyone seemed to get along well and converstation flowed. The Teen and I decided we would take the first bus out and snuggle up in the room. First bus headed out at 10.30pm. And imagine our surprise when we arrived back at the hotel and everyone who was still there when we left had made it back to the hotel before us. Apparently their buses went to the conference venue first, ours went everywhere else first.

And then on Wednesday, I found out that Corinne and the Umbillical Bros were staying at the same hotel and spent the evening in the bar.....

*sighs*

The weather the last two days has been shocking. Gale force winds and heavy rain. We are on the 20th floor; all the rooms are on the outside of the building. The rain lashes the windows and the wind howls around the corners. I heard that one of the pool areas lashed itself into a whirlpool that at one point, spun itself into a vortex and lifted toward the sky. I've not seen the photos, but apparently they exist....

Today dawns still. No wind. Not a tree moving. But that was early. It's now 7:52am and as I wait for the Teen to awake, the rain lashes and the wind howls....

Conferencing

Soooo. I'm sitting at the booth at the conference. Yes. I'm a booth babe. Booth bitch as some would have it. Since I need to be looking after the booth, I haven't had a chance to see any of the presentations, even though we've been taking turns.

We have it scheduled so that we spend either the morning or afternoon minding the booth. It works well, except that I usually find something else to do instead of seeing talks. I am working on travel stuff, oddly enough.

The last week has been interesting. I think I have a couple of notes here somewhere......

Now, did this happen last week? Or the week before? It was a Tuesday. I was travelling on the bus as usual, with my nose stuck in my DS. Not gaming, but reading. When suddenly, not far past the last stop in the suburb, the bus pulled off the road. The driver called out that he had no power, and tried to call back to base. Yep *nods* we had broken down. So we sat for a while, twiddling our thumbs.

People starting getting off, and me being the sheep I am, followed. We wandered back to the previous bus stop. Our bus service only runs 5 buses in the morning. The one that broke down was the second last service of the morning. We thought we would catch the next one. But it was full! He jammed as many of us on as he could, but that still left half a dozen of us standing at the stop. I thought I would catch the next 534 that came along, but we'd missed the 7.30 service, and the next wasn't due for an hour. I called MOTH to come collect me to take me to the next suburb to the bus interchange. He did, my Knight in Shining Armour.

And so I caught a totally different bus service to work. And so it went, on a later time table than usual, and a totally different route. But I still had my nose stuck in my DS. And as we pulled into a bus stop along the way, I happened to glance up. Just outside the shelter, and just inside the shelter near the bench, there rested two ceramic toilet pedastals. Or pans if you will. The bit you sit on. Right there, at the bus stop......

Soooo .... I'm sitting here at the booth. A couple of people have gone past and said good morning. Passed comment on the gala dinner last night. Or the skin on my laptop.

The conference proper begins on Monday, but I am required to set up for a workshop on Sunday. It starts around 9am and goes through till 5pm.

I arrived Saturday afternoon, having driven myself from home. Usually MOTH does this for me, but this year, he decided not to come. I thought the kids might enjoy taking his place for the week. Luckily he let me borrow Karen *the GPS* for the trip. I have never used her before. We programmed her to avoid the tolls, and she sent me right out through the back ways to join up with the motorway. Still, it was an educational experience.

Sunday I played watchdog on the door for a private function and watched the exhibition construction from afar.




Sunday night was the welcome reception. Do some of you see a familiar pattern? This time, I had Sunny along with me. He seemed to really enjoy himself. I hope he did.

Monday I did get a few comments, wondering who the young fellow was, the one with the impressive hair. One laughed at the thought of me grabbing a random off the street because I liked his hair.

Someone in one of the sponsor booths *think you can see it in one of the photos. the booth not the dog* brought in a dog to add some pizzaz to their stand. He was jet black ; the booth was red. He looked sort of like a large pug. It turned out he was a french bulldog. Cute.

Monday night was the welcome reception. The sponsors cocktail night. I didn't feel in a party mood, so didn't go down until it was half over. After the formal function had finished *9pm? is that the time? heavens it's late* some of us decided to head up to a GTs room for beer. While there, the 2IC turned up with a bottle of scotch. He shared it around in plastic cups. A very generous measure I might add. Neat. My mouth went numb. But I was feeling mellow by the time I finished.... *yawns* Hmmmm. Think I might wander off to bed.

*staggers out*

Partings....

*sighs* There is a part of me that longs to be wild, indpendent and free ... my hair. It hates Winter. Winter returns the sentiment. I washed it last night and today it is wild. Coarse. Rebellious. And refuses to be tamed. Much like me, there is altogether waaay too much body, and it will not do as it is told. I'm feeling somewhat like a Wild Woman.

The last week reminds me that there have been a few funny sights I had intended to mention. Alas, I neglected to take notes. And now I can't remember what they were.

Tuesday MOTH was able to experience the fun of a myspace Black Curtain screening. We had tickets to see the latest Star Trek. This is always fun because it is always a preview screening. We had to wait in line for a while; I like to make my tag alongs get there early because first in gets a better choice of seats. Usually seating is not allocated and that old adage applies; first in, best dressed. The freebie is determined by the sponsor. This time it was popcorn. Alas, neither MOTH nor I eat it. I eat or drink very little during the movies. Mostly so I don't have to go potty and miss anything. Or wait in a very long queue when the movie finishes.

I always enjoy the Black Curtain movie experience. I hope MOTH did too. We both enjoyed the movie.

On Wednesday, the Elder showed up for a quick visit. We were under instruction not to tell anyone what was happening. As usual. *grins* There was a small ulterior purpose to this visit which we hope turns out.

She leaves today. *waves* Have a good trip poppet!

Some small time ago, I decided that I would need to redye some of the black items of clothing I need for the conference. Every year, as Booth Babes, we need to wear plain black. I thought I would try some dye that I could use in the washing machine. It seemed to work well; I hope it's colour fast! But there are traces of the black dye on the rubber rims around the machine door. It's expensive - you need $12 for the dye packet, 500g of salt and need to run 3 wash cycles....

Mother's Day was great. I was given a necklace and earring set from the girls. A fine silver chain with a filigree heart pendant, adorned by a small red rose. The earrings were just the red roses. Sunny gave me a kitty marionette. He looks like a Turkish Van *white with ginger ears and tail* his name is now Ahmet. And a pink flashing martini glass. Just for fun. I've christened it already. Amazing how much more fun drinking banana nesquik from a flashing pink martini glass is...

In the afternoon, I took the Elder out for a walk up to the markets. We looked about, purchased some exotic licorice. Then wandered over to the video store to 'cash' in our voucher. We ended up hiring out Wall-E, Mulan 2, Madagascar 2, and Disaster Movie. We watched three of them over the course of the afternoon.

MOTH, of course, gave me his gift that evening. No, minds out of the gutter. He cooked me a beautiful roast dinner. Lamb, all tender and yummy. Even better was the fact that I didn't have to cook it, and I didn't have to do any dishes.

Ahhhhhh....... *is replete*

Is there a Dr in da house?

The week just gone has done just that. Gone in a bit of a blur. It's been busy at work, stressful and taking time off sick doesn't help either.

Monday wasn't great, but I could handle it. Tuesday was much worse, and I handled it. Just. Wednesday I stayed home. *shakes head. no piggies involved. either going to market or getting the flu* Thursday I went to work. Not good. And I got in trouble because I did come to work. Friday I stayed home again, and worked by using that wonderful thing called email.

Travel is big on my work agenda. And I can do that from home sometimes. If I need to. Like, when I am supposed to be sick.

I had been organising two lots of travel, one for the Manager and one for a couple of GTs. I had the Manager's travel organised and done and off he went. It took some organising, but I finally got the GTs all sorted and breathed a small sigh of relief.

But that was early in the week.

Tuesday, I mentioned I did not feel well, but I had an engagement with the Teen to go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It was a myspace Black Curtain screening, so that means people, a free ticket for an advance screening.

When I arrived in the city to meet up with the Teen, she declared she wasn't feeling very well, and suggested that she nearly didn't come. If fact, she was very fragile and cried a lot. And feeling guilty. I didn't mind. Really. If she wasn't feeling well and wanted to go home, that was ok. It wasn't like I had to pay for her ticket. So I went to the movies by myself.

And I loved it. Plenty of action. Plenty of one liners. Plenty of that well built Wolverine bod. I thought at first that the CGI for Wolverine's brand new blades was a little of a let down. I could very plainly see the CGI. But that improved in the next few scenes and I soon forgot about it. It was great to see Wolverine's back story. My fave X-Men character even made an appearance, although he didn't look like I remember him from the comics. I like the Regent movie theatre too...




So Wednesday I had home.

Thursday back at work. No sooner in the door and I was given the news that one portion of the trip I spent soooo much time organising for the GTs had been cancelled. My immediate supervisor looked at me and said, How do you feel? I looked at him and repled Same as yesterday, if not worse. His response? I thought so. You don't look your usual evil self... and then I got into trouble for coming in to work. But I spent the day organising cancellations of that portion of the trip. Not to mention, phone calls from the General Manager. Who wanted to change the date of his return flight.

But on Friday, when I was working from home, the Travel Agent tells me that she told him I was a legend ... *takes bow. the crowd goes wild*

Saturday and Sunday passed lazily. I spent time playing the DS. I'm in the middle of Lego Indiana Jones. And a little way into Assassin's Creed. At this moment, I am liking both of the games. We'll see if that continues if I hit a patch I can't get past. *grins*

Monday was Judah's birthday. Since Sunny had a cupcake with a candle for his birthday, I thought I would have a go at making cupcakes on Monday. I had a good time and the recipe turned out less complicated than I thought. The mix gave me about 16 or so, and the first half disappeared VERY quickly.

The Teen NEARLY missed out because she was out fraternising with Wogboy.

Factoid

Dear Diary,

It's been 8 days since my last confession.....

And any comment I was going to make about a singularly boring and quiet week has been completely blown away by a disturbing but hardly surprising fact.

I dashed out to the kitchen this morning to fetch something and discovered that NO ONE HAD WASHED UP LAST NIGHT'S DINNER DISHES.

Hardly surprising I know, but f'rfksake, we have a DISHWASHER people! I cooked, so I'm exempt from said duty. But I have a sneaking suspicion that if I hadn't scraped the leftovers into a container, they would have been left there as well.

Silly me wandered past on my way to bed and noted SOMEONE standing at the sink washing up. Thank you I said. And this morning discovered that the only things that were washed were a couple of mugs and a couple of plates. Everything else was scattered across the bench. Exactly where it had been left. Wait. I fib. There were some stuff added to it.

Go figure.....

But the rest of the week has been quiet. Very quiet. I did manage to get MOTH to leave the house on Sunday. On the spur of the moment, we took Karen out and drove into the city to hunt for and hunt through a cookware shop. I purchased a crepe pan. Not cheap - around $40 - but the absolute cheapest there was! And some piping bag equipment which we shall use to make sausages. Instead of trying to use the attachment with the mincer, we shall pipe them by hand. I hope *crosses fingers*

Just for something to do, I laid down a request for a tamis, but they didn't have any. A phone call yesterday revealed that they couldn't source one either, so they've delegated it to the too hard basket, but advised the manager/owner who has more experience of my request.

I did test the pan. I need practice! Lots of practice. I have a few recipes for the crepes themselves, but working the pan, getting the right quantites ... THAT'S the bit gonna take the practice.

Nice with icecream, melted butter and sugar though. Hmmmmmmmm.

Ladies and Gentlemen. Please be seated.

No truly. You'll see why if you keep reading....

So the odd one or two of you - very odd - will know that I've been on holidays the last week. For most people, that means a trip away doing exciting stuff that involves children - other people's and your own, animals, sunburn and the spending of money.

But not on this occasion. Although there was some spending of the money.

With not much better to do, I decided to go into the city during the week. Just so I could sit and eat breakfast and watch all the losers on their way to work. Just because I could. And I did. I caught my usual transport, wandered the mall for a little while until I settled on a breakfast nook with a menu that looked ok. These places are all well and good, but a continental breakfast I can get at home. The hot breakfast they usually offer is a tad too much. I can handle two poached eggs on toast. Never mind the thick buttered toast, the fried tomato, the hash brown and the bacon/sausage as well.

So, I chose. And I ate my poached eggs, and sat and read sipping my cold cranberry juice in a tall glass with ice. And for that privelege, I paid $12...

But I got to watch people walk past on their way to work.

On Wednesday, they also hold Farmer's markets at the top end of the mall. I've seen them as I rush past on the way home from work on a Wednesday afternoon. I thought they may be worth a look.

They have some wonderful stuff there. Seafood. Fresh produce. A german bakery. Tucked among the loaves were what appeared to be heart shaped gingerbread biscuits Ich Liebe Dich iced on them. Freshly made pasta. I bought some of that! Flowers. Jams/spreads. Chilli. German sausages.

Just as well I was behaving myself at that time. I found a couple of strays wandering between the stalls. We've known each other for years - their daughter is besties with the Elder.

Over the space of the week, I've managed to do some housework. See, I told you to be seated. I've washed walls. I've swept floors. I've vacuumed floors. I've done washing. I've pulled weeds. I've carted dead branches and helped cut them up. And do you know, it looks like I haven't done anything at all.....

On Friday and Saturday night, we had visitors. They travelled from Rocky to attend a day long conference on the Saturday, and left on Sunday morning. We had a late bbq dinner on Friday night, and laughed a lot. Sausage jokes abounded.

Sunday morning, MOTH told me there had been some excitment during the night/early hours of the morning. I, of course, slept right through it.

There had been a couple of cars racing along the boulevard. Lots of noise. Loud cars. Screeching tyres. Bang! Car, speeding away. Loud voices. Lots of swearing. Revving engines. A tow truck eventually arriving an hour later and loud cheering. And to the best of our knowledge, unfortunately, driver/passengers weren't injured. Fools. Here's the damage ... Just ignore the spectre dressed in black who wandered into the camera frame....





Apparently they've clipped the roundabout, come up the boulevard, mounted the curb, over the eighteen inches or more of retaining wall, crashed through two columns of trees and come to rest almost in the creek. In the photo 2, that is a piece of the car resting in the centre of frame, not a tree...

Beautiful.

Sunday afternoon, when the Teen came home from her weekend adventures with Wogboy, we watched the Wiggles movie. Yep. Wiggles movie. The one with Wally the Great. But alas! There was a scratch in the dvd, and now we don't know how it ends!

Boo hoo!

Hoppy Easter eberybodee!

Wow, I have just realised that it is now Tuesday, and I'm a day late with my blogging. Darned public holidays, all falling at once and confusing a person...

It's been an odd week. I've been running in holiday mode and haven't really accomplished much at all. The entire week. Holiday mode, you see, because I have this week off work.

Uh huh, uh huh *does victory dance*

And a well deserved one too, thank you all non-believers.

So this leading week, I've been going about in a bit of a fog and not taking much notice of anything at all.

Except I did take time out to notice a cyclist in the city. Dressed up in all the gear. He only had one arm....

Oh look something shiny. It's a sleek black car. Nicely done! Stopped at the traffic lights. I think it's a Maserati. *snort* The plate is HAIR. What kind of pompous ass would have that as a plate? Oh... Stefan...

The Easter weekend was great. Relaxing. I haven't been doing altogether too much. Just expending the odd burst of energy doing some housework slash gardening stuff. And not much of that either. I've a scrubbed a couple of walls. Odd how the red crayon lifted quite easily, but the yellow didn't.

I didn't think the bunny would be bringing me anything this year. He doesn't have his own source of income. But he did. I was presented with a box with a small Lindt bunny and two eggs. *hmmmmm delish!*

It's been quiet. The Teen has been out most nights this weekend. One thing I've never really done is make everyone stay home because it's a 'rental birthday. Or any Hallmark Commercial Days. Only if we had already made plans. I think the Teen likes this arrangement, and her friends find it odd.

So yes. Easter has been quiet. I'm looking forward to my holiday, although I suspect it won't be much of a holiday. We have inspection next week, and there shall be more wall scrubbing and gardening lined up for me. Housework stuff, at least. I don't know if it will stop raining long enough for me to venture out to the garden.

I think I shall need to go back to work. For a holiday.

Mmmmmm. Crunchy nut bars.

This week has been very quiet. No really. I've not even committed anything of note to ... well, notes. I keep them on my phone so I have something to remind me of the week.

But no. Nothing.

The one big thing this week is the Teen has her results back from her English oral. At least, I think that's what it was. An A! How exciting! I'm really pleased for her.

Saturday I took the opportunity to get up early. No wait, what am I saying? I'm always up early. While all were asleep, I grabbed the gumption and washed a wall. Really, I did. Progress is very slow. I start, but can't seem to keep going. The wall is one in the meals area, but there are so many others to do. First inspection is on 23 April, and I guess I had better have them done before then. We were paid by the realtor to clean it, so I had better try get myself organised. The walls are rather dirty, and there is the distinct artwork of a child on some of the walls. How could you not clean up after the kid has written on the wall? In red crayon? Luckily, it wasn't soft crayon, so the mess isn't too ungodly.

But that's for another weekend.

I had been planning to go all week to the movies on Sunday. I left the invitation open to anybody who wanted to join me. But I was dead set and determined that I would go. Even if I had to do it alone.

Sunday rolled around and I managed to catch up on an episode of Deadwood. It was the first time I had to watch an episode, and the dvd is to go back tomorrow. Yeeps, I had better get some viewing in! Then watched Dr Dolittle 2 with Sunny.

I had planned to go to the movies sometime during the day, but Sunny was skint and talked Judah into joining us for the viewing. He was working, so it meant that I had to hold off the viewing until the evening.

I went to see Monsters v Aliens. There is sooo much adult humour in this one. I spent a lot of time laughing. It's a brilliant movie, and I'm going to spend a lot of time rewatching it when I get it on dvd. Mmm mmmm yes I am.

Untitled

You know, sometimes I wonder why I let the Teen Fashionista suggest outfit options. It wasn't till I got off the bus that I remembered why sandshoes would have been better, even if they do look funny. It's good weather for ducks. Thongs flick stuff. Ducks do stuff on paths.....

*should i eat this apple or not??*

Do you recollect something that Pa always used to say about Ma and furniture? That he could never come in with the lights out and jump into bed, because it was not likely to be in the same place he left it?

Seems that MOTH has a bit of a penchant for the same thing. I went out to the city the Sunday before last and when Sunny and I got home, he and the Teen had reorganised a couple of rooms. Her sofa bed was in the rumpus room. The couch was against the wall in the formal area and she now sleeps on the inflatable mattress.

Which she loves. A lot.

*still thinking about the apple. hmmm maybe not yet*

I didn't like the change - the couch obscured quite a bit of the only window in the formal area. I admit, that space does belong to MOTH and he should be free to do with it what he pleases. I didn't like it there though. I felt ... odd every time I walked past it.

*eats ginger biscuit instead*

But we left it there for a couple of days. MOTH shifted it so the back of it was to the main thoroughfare, but that made me feel awkward every time I walked past it again. There wasn't really any where else to put it though.

MOTH assured me that the bent metal bar on the sofa bed had been fixed. It still does have a bow in it though. I'm sure of it. The cushions still try to sink toward the middle. Just not as bad. I couldn't sit comfortably in it. I couldn't sprawl the same way and old habits die hard. It got moved to a different spot, and the couch was moved back to the rumpus room. Ah ... that's better. I can sit comfortably and watch movies now.

Monday evening, I was channel surfing. I really like having access to HD tv. It has expanded the horizons somewhat. Although it does mean that on weekends, there is sport on 7 or more channels now instead of 4. Or something like that. I like that the tv guide is on the tv, not a paper copy I have to scrabble to find. And that I now have access to quality viewing. Like Bogan Pride. I think this one is on SBS and it truly was gobsmackingly amazing. I'd loosely term it a comedy. Somewhat like The Wedge. But of course, features a bunch of bogans. At high school. The main focus is a fat chick who lives with her morbidly obese mother. I think I like it.

On Tuesday, the Teen and I went hunting for a pair of shoes for her to wear for her latin dancing assessment later on in the week. We found a pair that I thought I had gotten rid of. Black suede platform sandals. The platforms with the high heel, not a wedge. She put them on with the rest of the outfit and the result was stunning. The top is black off the shoulder with a gold foil motif. The shoulder 'straps' are gold chain with large links. She teamed it with a short black ra ra skirt. And of course with those long legs my kids don't seem to have gotten from me.....

Just the last couple of weeks, while drifting home and during my bus change, I notice there seems to be farmer's markets in the square in the city. They sure look interesting, and if I had more time I would love to take a look. I have noticed that they make sure the german bakery is at the front though!

Thursday the Teen took off school and headed off for the Doctor. It seems she is suffering reflux and has been put on medication to manage it. I have my fingers crossed it works. Grade 12 is difficult enough as it is without the added hassle of constantly feeling unwell. We still haven't managed to organise her sleep study. The doctor thinks it should be bulk billed, but when I discussed cost with the place where the study would be held, they only asked if she had private health insurance. When I said she didn't, they suggested that she could do a home study for $100 and the rest would be covered by medicare. She didn't mention anything about bulk billing. The Teen thinks I could contact them again and ask about bulk billing direction. I might leave that for the day I fax through the referral.

On Friday she had her dance assessment. I got a text that morning. Mu-um! I've been sick. Halfway through her assessment piece. I'm hoping that the teacher was lenient and didn't mark her grade down because of it. And sure enough, nausea is one of the side effects of the meds....

This weekend I did some weeding. I scrubbed a couple of patches on the walls. *need to keep doing that - first inspection coming up next month and there is still crayon on the walls from last tennant* Chilled and watched movies. Heaps of movies. Dr Dolittle. Blue Harvest. I've seen that movie a couple of times now, and I still laugh like a foo'. Death Race. Labyrinth. And an episode of Deadwood. I'm hooked on that one.

Gift suggestions anyone? Deadwood. 3 season boxed set. Thank you.