Sigh...

You all just have to watch this:



Every now and then I see something that moves me so much in it's beauty that I am reminded what an amazing world we live in. And the above video is one of those things. That ballerina! The grace, the elegance, the balance... the stuff on pointe up on the guy's shoulders or head!

How beautiful is she, and this whole piece for that matter?

Things I Have Learnt...

I'm following Kaytie's shining example and doing a blog about things I have learnt about myself.

Though I haven't just learnt these in the past week or so, I've actually had a little bit longer that I've been really learning about myself, and a whole lifetime I've learnt about other things. Maybe 18 months, two years of self learning?

So let's see, what have I learnt?

1. I am not worthless.

2. I really don't like cucumber.

3. I am stronger than I always thought I was.

4. Dogs and children respond to calm.

5. What people I don't like or respect think about me, doesn't matter.

6. New York City is much friendlier than it is given credit.

7. Oranges make me fart.

8. I really do hate hot weather.

9. When you truly fall in love, you know it. There is no doubt.

10. Sometimes, chocolate IS the answer.

11. I know myself better than anyone else does.

12. Gutting pumpkins makes me retch. As does pumpkin ice-cream.

13. There is nothing sexier than respect.

14. When you press the close door button on an elevator made in the last 15 years, it doesn't do anything. The door just closes when it wants to!

15. When you realise that you are amazing, amazing people come into your life.

16. Cupcakes make my soul happy, particularly if they are pink. I don't even need to eat them.

17. Dignity and grace are not about being serious and "mature". They are about conducting yourself in a way that makes YOU proud, and that feels right to you. You can be as goofy and as silly as you like, but still have dignity and grace.

18. Men that can dance, are hot.

19. I am a "touch whore" or texture junkie.

20. Michael Jackson is really, really weird.

21. It really is wise to have private health insurance.

22. Boys DO make passes at girls who wear glasses.

23. American plumbing is freaky weird.

24. Never get on a crowded train at night when you REALLY need to pee.

25. My head often doesn't give me correct information, but my heart ALWAYS does.

26. Lavendar gives me a headache.

27. I can't live without lip balm or gloss.

28. I don't have to always be bubbly or funny. I can be sad if I need to. Or thoughtful. Or even angry.

29. There is no such thing as "a little bit racist". Even quiet or subtle racism must be spoken out against. And I can do so with respect and dignity.

30. You are never too old for glitter.

So how's that for starters?

I've learned lots of other things, but those 30 are things that pop into my mind just now.

What have you learned?

Singing for his Supper

Isn't he beautiful? It's a butcher bird, sitting on my clothes line, going through his repertoire. You can hear me whistling every now and again trying to encourage him to sing some more. He was really going through every sound he knew, and was quite content to whistle for me.

Sadly though, I can't feed him or his friends. Butcher birds are called exactly that because they eat meat and will butcher other smaller birds for food. And as I, and one of my neighbours have pet birds, we have to discourage the butcher birds from our area, as they will actually eat a budgie, canary, lovebird or other small bird right through the bars of a cage. I have to keep my little guy (a very, very old lovebird called Harry) inside unless I sit with him, because if the butcher birds don't get him, the noisy miners (mickey birds) will.

But I did enjoy this guy's song.

Opa!

Had a great time last night at dinner with the Brissie Cysters. We went to Kapsalis Greek/Mediterranean restaurant at South Bank. I can highly recommend Kapsalis, not only is the food divine, the atmosphere is fun, relaxed and friendly, the serves are HUGE, prices reasonable and the service is very good.

So we met up early, had lots of fun talking and catching up and meeting the lovely Carly, who is new to the Brissie Cysterhood. Later in the night, Kapsalis put on a bit of a show for the diners. Greek music with dancing waiters who were great fun to watch:



And then they had a belly dancer come out to put on a bit of a show. She wasn't the best belly dancer, a bit scrawny and not all that flexible with the belly/butt stuff. But it was a bit of fun watching her get guys up from tables and make them dance... seriously, why are so many men absolutely hopeless when it comes to finding rhythm and moving with it? But our belly dancer came over to our table and let me take a photo...



They ended the night with lots of music and dancing for the diners, but by this stage there were LOTS of drunk people!

Certainly great entertainment for the Brissie Cysters.

American Friends

It's funny the view that a lot of people seem to have of American folks. I've found myself having to really re-educate people since I came back from the US, on what American people are really like. Almost every time I talk about my holiday, either people are surprised at how warm, giving, intelligent and open I found everyone on my trip, or they make some kind of quasi-joking comment about how American people are stupid, narrow minded, rude, crass, pushy etc, which I then have to correct.

I guess a lot of people's perspective of the American people comes from television and movies, their Government (which truly does suck - sorry my American friends!) or that very narrow band of the population that travels outside of America. And it's a sad reality that travel outside of the United States is limited to a very small percentage of the American people.

Would you believe that I found American people far more friendly and warm than I often find people here at home in Australia? That could be because I was a visiting Australian, a bit of a novelty to most folks over there though, but I didn't feel so. I just felt that people were very friendly and warm, certainly most welcoming - I can't tell you how many homes I was made feel very welcome at, especially at Christmas time, which was a great honour for me - and while I do believe the American people don't have the luxury of the broad range of world news as easily at their fingertips as we do, (American news is atrocious - hardly mentions anything outside of the US, even when HUGE events happen!) when information is made available to them, they are a curious and interested. American people often get accused of being ignorant, but I personally believe that it is more a problem of insulated, rather than ignorance. The information just isn't there as readily available as it is here in Australia.

In fact, there was only one place that I found people rude. And strangely enough, this was the same place that those very people suggested that I may be uncouth for using a knife and fork "British style" (I can't find photos of the difference!) yet not once in the time I stayed with them, did I hear the words Please or Thank-You, and one night at a restaurant they were so embarrassingly rude and childish that I slipped the waitress $20 as we left and a profuse apology, and she replied "Oh, you were LOVELY!" I was mortified at their behaviour. And that was only one incident of several.

Everywhere else, even New York City, I found people to have beautiful manners, genuinely friendly, open and honest, fascinated with new information, generous and welcoming and hilariously funny.

It was delicious, and I made friends that I will have for the rest of my life.

Cleansing Tears

"Tears are the words the heart cannot express."

Isn't that pretty? I can't find the source of the quote, but it was mentioned on a web forum that I belong to this week, and it has completely resonated with me.

I think too many people are ashamed of crying. They feel that it's a sign of weakness, or emotional imbalance. Yes, it can be if one cries too often or in the wrong place and time, but mostly it's our way of expressing things that we're unable to express in words alone.

Plus I am now a firm believer in that any emotion, forced down, denied or bottled up is only going to hang around FAR longer than it would if you just let it slide by, let it wash through. Holding back is only going to make the emotion worse.

I can cry at the drop of a hat. I cry at toilet paper ads with puppies in them. Once when I was teasing a friend for crying at his wedding, he retorted "What are you talking about? You cried in Toy Story." Yes, I did.

I find when I'm a little buzz-headed, stressed or anxious, a good cry is cathartic. My personal favourite is to put on a good movie that gets the tears flowing and let it all out. The Colour Purple is my weep inducing movie of choice, but there are others. Sometimes a good book can do that too. Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife made me cry so hard I got a migraine and vomited. It devastated me. Beautiful book.

But having a cry because you are sad or hurt or grieving is ok too. I had a good cry yesterday, all over a dear friend who for a bloke, handle's a woman's tears very well. He's a master tear mopper. I felt so much better for being able to express my hurt and frustration in such an honest manner with him too. He knew that just listening, then a hug and a kiss would make me feel a million times better.

I think tears are very important to us. Not just women either, it's sad that men are so often taught that they are weak or un-masculine if they shed tears, or even let anyone see them shed tears. I can tell you now, the quickest way for me to turn to mush over a man is for him to trust me enough to cry in front of me!

So next time you feel the need to cry, express those words from the heart. It will do you good!

I'm Amazed!

I've just seen this video...



I'm absolutely gobsmacked. I defy anyone to watch this video and not be amazed, and not believe the intelligence of these magnificent animals. I'm incredulous!

Just been thinking about life and relationships of late. Mostly because of a few conversations I have had recently, things have been ticking over in my head.

There seems to be a perception out there that being in a relationship is the completion of one's journey in life. That's not to say it's seen as the END of one's life, but as the zenith, the pinnacle that all need to achieve to become complete. I constantly hear people say "Only one thing would make my life better... to meet The One." Or "Having someone by my side would make life complete for me."

It's got me thinking. Is that what life is really about? Just being paired up and then it's all groovy? Do people really think that just because they've found a partner, their life will suddenly get all easy and they won't have any times where they struggle, or where things could be better? Does that mean because I am single right now, that I am somehow deficient in some way?

I don't think so. I think there is only one thing that can make my life better. Me. Just like the only thing that can make your life better is YOU. My life isn't completed by having a partner. It's lovely, it's something I do want, but not to complete my life. It's there to compliment my life. Life certainly won't stop having it's "shitola" moments, where it's difficult or confusing or frightening, if I have a partner.

Which brings me to the thought that there are whole swathes of people out there that are either putting their lives on hold until they find a partner, or they're not appreciating the fabbo things about the life they are having as a single person. They're always focused on what they don't have, rather than what actually IS in their lives. I'm guilty of going through those phases too, but I've learnt over the past... well God knows how many years, that focusing on what IS, right here and now is far healthier and more satisfying than constantly lamenting, even in a jocular or wistful way, on any perceived lack in my life.

Now don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't want a relationship. I do, very much so. I not only think it would be a lovely thing to share my life with someone, but I do believe that I have a LOT to bring to another person as part of a relationship. I want a family. I want romance (I am a hopeless romantic!) I want that intimate companionship. I want sex! Ok, I know, TMI there people huh?

But that said, I don't think those things are going to complete my life in any way. They'll certainly be rather delicious add-ons, but life is still rich and full and amazing without them. And in the areas that it could use some improvement, well that's my responsibility, not anyone else's. Besides, what an awful lot of pressure to put on another person! I certainly wouldn't want to be responsible for the completion, the pinnacle, the zenith of anyone else's life! I want to be a complimentary feature of their lives. An enhancement feature perhaps.

Life is what you make it people. Not what other people bring to it.

Online at Work?

Found this cartoon in The Courier Mail today. It's just perfect for the stuff I'm working on at the moment. Some may call it Web2.0, I personally just consider it how we use the internet today, being content creators and editors as well as content consumers, but I'm getting involved in how we can move into the online world as a Library Service. How we are relevant to our customers that use the internet to communicate, study, socialise, express themselves, research, plan, and generally just compliment their lives. We are exploring as an organisation how we can have a presence in that online world, and how we can use those things as tools to work more efficiently ourselves, not to mention keeping up with our industry.

Now of course, the biggest problem in our organisation is that most of the websites that one would use to explore these things, the most POPULAR websites... are all banned to staff. So no YouTube, no Facebook, no MySpace, no downloading podcasts or vodcasts, no social sites, no multimedia... it's all blocked. This is because there is a perception by those that make the decisions on things that:

a) Staff will waste valuable work time "playing".
b) Staff will "say something" in a public forum that will damage the organisation/leak confidential information.
c) There is no way to "control" intellectual property that is created on work time, which therefore "belongs" to the organisation.

Now the truth is, those staff that are going to waste time playing are already doing it. They're reading the paper all day. Ringing their spouses/families/friends two dozen times a day. Hanging out in the kitchen chatting to anyone who comes into their zone all day. They're fudging their timesheets to show that they've worked more hours than they have. They're chucking sickies when they're not sick. They're rorting the leave system so they get more time off than anyone else. Adding access to the internet stuff that is currently blocked is not going to make more people waste time at work, it's just going to give those that already do it another method to do so. And the answer isn't blocking the internet for all staff, it's management knowing those staff that do waste time, and keeping an eye on them, and ACTING when they observe it happening.

As for staff leaking information or speaking unfavourably about the organisation online? You think they aren't doing that already? You think they're not the same ones who write letters to editors under false names? You think they're not already blogging all their bitching and griping from their home computers? You think they're not bitching and griping in any other method they can find to all and sundry? Sorry, but that's already happening too, and adding full internet access at work is not going to make it any bigger a problem. What's needed there is a clear, decisive code of conduct agreement that covers all media.

And then there is the intellectual property issue. The organisation believes that anything created on work time belongs to the organisation, not the employee. Perhaps it does. But why can't that be shared? I mean this blog belongs to me. My thoughts and writing, if copied by someone else... well, they're a bit boring if they rip my stuff off but what does it hurt if they do? Eventually if anything big comes of it, it will be found out. Same goes for any ideas or work I come up with while I'm on the clock at work. If I present someone else's ideas as my own, it will be found out. And who's to say that the organisation won't actually BENEFIT from sharing ideas and concepts? Who's to say others won't build on those ideas, that they won't put their support and enthusiasm behind them? Who says that we won't get ideas from other organisations or sources that will enhance ours?

I think we need to change our attitudes towards the use of the internet as a work tool, and also change our attitudes towards the use of networking and social sites on work time. We need to understand that networking and socialising are not trivial activities. That for many people, those are the ways that they expand their knowledge and efficiency. And that with some trust and some clear guidelines, creativity can be an amazing thing.

Here's some food for thought for you...

Spreading the Hate

In my email recently, I got one of those forwards from a relative, you know the type "Forward this thing so that the whole world knows about it and we can stop the atrocity." I also had someone send me a YouTube clip of a supposed comedian puppeteer, who's character is a suicide bomber, but it's just racism against Muslims. Ok now I know the power of email and the internet, and yes I can understand people forwarding on stuff in the hope that others will speak out against something they feel strongly against.

But do they actually read it, read every line, and think about what they're sending before they hit that forward button?

The one I got was thinly veiled as "save the children" but what it really was, was a hate mail against Muslim people. It referred to Islam as a "backward religion" and inferred that this kind of practice (punishing a child who has stolen something with brutality) is the law amongst all Muslim people.

Now I'm no expert in Islam, but I am somewhat interested in comparitive religion, and do read a LOT, being a librarian and all. So I know, that like any other faith, Islam has it's fundamentalist extremists who hide behind the Koran to commit the atrocities that they do. As does Christianity - look at the nutters that planned to picket Heath Ledger's funeral (and do picket funerals of servicemen and women killed in Iraq etc) because he once played a gay man.

Or those that shoot doctors and nurses working in a family planning clinic for distributing condoms and birth control pills. Now I've read the Bible (being a good Christian girl myself) and nowhere does it say "Thou shalt not kill, except if someone is providing contraceptives, then shoot away folks."

But generally speaking, all of the major religions actually do have the same rules and regulations. Whether they be commandments or whatever, they're all the usual stuff of don't kill, steal, shag someone else's spouse, honour your family, love thy neighbour etc.

But why do so many so-called good Christian people assume that if someone doesn't belong to the same faith as us, that they must be some extremist nutcase out to slaughter anyone who doesn't follow their faith? Or that they're out to convert and control us all into their faith? Now I don't know about you, but I don't feel the need to convert anyone else to Christianity with me.
My real problem actually lies with how people just spread these messages of hate, under the guise of being a good Christian. Doesn't Christianity teach us to "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?" So why would you spread ill informed messages of hate around via email?

I think the biggest problem lies in the fact that so many folks actually don't think of people who are different to them as being just that... people. They see the veil, or the colour of the skin, the clothes that are different, the surface stuff and they don't realise that generally speaking, all people, no matter what their race or religion or background, want the same things in life. Ask any everyday person, regardless of their race and religion, what they want from life. You can pretty much safely say the answer will be along the lines of a healthy body, a happy family, a roof over their heads, food in the belly and to be safe to live their lives peacefully. They're not going to say "Oh I'd like to blow up everyone who isn't the same religion as me, that's what I really want."

Yes, there will always be fundamentalist extemists who use religion to gain power, control, wealth or simply because they're insane and can't see that what they're doing actually goes against any true faith. So how about we help do something to prevent THAT, rather than sending around hate campaigns? Or how about we help those that have been victims of such atrocities, which often are people of the same faith as the extremists. How about helping some refugees from Muslim countries? They are usually forced to flee their homes because they don't believe the extremists that are in power.

Or if you really have a problem with people who have a different faith to you, how about leading by example? Live your life as you would wish others to live theirs, regardless of their religion. Behave with dignity and respect. Think about what you are saying when you make that comment about a "towel head" or a comment about another faith. Read that email and think about whether or not it's truth (maybe even do some research online) before you hit the forward button.

Spreading hate of any kind isn't going to make the situation any better. It's just going to perpetuate the problem. Plus it's not good karma!

Does This Bother Anyone Else?

Is anyone else bothered by the whole Wayne Carey saga? For those of you outside of Australia, Wayne Carey is an Australian Rules Football player who has a long history of womanising (he had an affair with a teammate's wife, the same teammate who was supposed to be his best friend), had a history of abuse and infidelity with his wife, and now is in the news for violence towards his current girlfriend, including allegedly glassing her in the face in Florida. He has admitted to a drug problem (cocaine at least) and has been arrested more than once for violent outbursts.

Now the hoo-ha is all over the papers because the major media are paying this cretin money for his "story". One of the major women's magazines here has paid him a huge sum of money, reportedly $180,000, his girlfriend too for their story. His girlfriend has come out and said that he's "not abusive" and that their relationship troubles are "her fault". Sounds like the victim of domestic violence to me, don't you think?

Now Andrew Denton is having him on Enough Rope (Australian interview show) to tell his story too. That REALLY bothers me, because Andrew Denton is known for being a sensitive, thoughtful interviewer, and why he would have this cretin on his show really boggles my brain.

There are massive advertising campaigns in Australia directing both men and women to speak out AGAINST domestic violence, but now major media players are paying a man who is famous for abusing his partners to give his story. How is this giving a positive message to the victims/survivors of domestic violence, when this man is being rewarded for his disgusting behaviour? How is this telling the perpetrators of domestic abuse of any kind that their behaviour is not acceptible?

As the child of a domestic abuse situation, it makes me sick. My father is completely unable to admit the fact that he was abusive towards his wife and children. Because there was always someone to make an excuse for him. If not himself, then someone else around him. Oh he was a Vietnam veteran. He suffered depression. He was an alcoholic. He hated his job. He was unhappy. He came from an abusive family himself. And the list goes on.

But the truth is, so long as anyone makes excuses for these pigs and their behaviour, they're going to continue it, and other men are going to decide it's acceptible for them to behave in this manner too. There are many, many good men out there who have just as many hardships in their lives that DON'T choose to inflict this abuse on their families and partners. And more than anything, we need to appreciate these good men, and they need to speak out against domestic violence as much as they can so that the other scum know that it's not acceptible and that there IS NO EXCUSE.

And we need to speak out with our money and choices too. Don't buy those magazines that pay these cretins for their stories. Don't watch the interviews on television. And when people start to talk about it, say out loud "He's disgusting and there is no excuse for domestic violence, EVER."

Until we do just that, often and loud, these poor excuses for men are going to continue terrorising the people they are supposed to love.

Being a man does not mean showing no emotion but anger. Being a man does not mean expressing yourself with your fists, or your foul words, or by controlling your partner and family emotionally, sexually, financially, socially or physically.

Being a man means showing that you love your family and partner. Being a man means expressing yourself in a respectful manner. Being a man means accepting responsibility for your actions. Being a man means admitting you are wrong sometimes.

If you know someone who is a good man, tell him so. Let's encourage these guys!

For help in Australia with domestic violence, go to: http://www.australiasaysno.gov.au/

Reminiscing - Illinois

I've been uploading videos to YouTube tonight. The stuff I took on my trip to the US/Canada. It's got me reminiscing so much!

Here's the first one I've uploaded...

One of the places I miss more than anything is Illinois. Simply because some of the dearest, most beautiful people I've ever had the fortune to come into my life are there. And I'm missing them terribly. Danny and Melissa that I stayed with. Stephanie and her adorable son Bobby. Danny and Melissa's three dogs, Sasha, India and Loca (alias poo-breath butthead - below).


I totally connected with the Illinois crew I spent time with. I felt more at home there than any other place on my trip, and that's really saying something because I felt quite at home at a lot of places. So much that when I was upset... I just wanted to go back to IL. When I got sick at the end of my trip and was having so much trouble organising transport... I wanted to go back to IL. And it's lucky I did because I got REALLY sick and Melissa and Danny just took such good care of me.

I don't miss tacos though. Danny eats almost nothing else. Tacos and other things drowning in chilli. I used to like both tacos and chilli before I spent time in Aurora IL! Danny, is that a Gar fish?

I wish I could just jet over there any time I liked. It was just Bobby's birthday and I would have given anything to have been able to take him to Cold Stone and buy him an ice-cream, and spend some time just goofing off with him. He's such a great kid.

I miss the way Stephanie would make me laugh so hard I would almost pee. I miss her crazy laugh. I miss how cute she is. Melissa too for that matter, they're both two of the most disgustingly cute sisters I've ever met.

I miss Danny and Melissa's dogs SOOOO much! Occasionally I find myself opening my own front door and calling them. I miss the way Sasha would do her little reverse park thing between my feet. I miss how she'd hop up on my lap and eventually I'd find myself sitting in some weird position to accommodate Her Highness (left). I don't miss Loca's breath, but I do miss scratching her butt with my boots, and how she would put her chin on my lap and just look up at me in adoration. I miss how India would just quietly come and sit beside me for a pat. (below)

I miss Melissa's biscuits in egg gravy. I miss Danny's fried cheerios. I miss Panera in Oswego where I could actually find decent coffee in the US, and they have a fantastic mushroom bisque soup served in a bread bowl. I miss Grandma's Table, where the food is simple and wholesome and bloody delicious! I miss Krispy Kreme in Naperville. I miss Culvers, for the butter burgers.

I hope one day they can all come and visit me here in Brisbane too. Because I can't imagine never seeing them again in my life. They mean so much to me!

Oh, and today is not only St Patrick's Day, but it's also my friend Megan's birthday...

Do we "Settle"?

I was just reading another blog about whether or not women "settle" for less than they ask for in a partner as they get older. The blogger posted a rather funny gag, and asked if readers thought that we (we women anyway) settle as we get older. It got me thinking.

I personally don't believe I've changed what I'm looking for in a partner, but then I think I've always had a bit of a different attitude to the whole thing to most of my friends.

I've always thought it a bit strange how many young women create some kind of list of attributes that a potential mate must have. Women that I would not in any way consider shallow, but they seem to create a list that is quite arbitrary. Things like hobbies he must have in common with her. The type of job he must have. How he dresses (I read a newspaper article that said women won't accept a man who dresses in a shirt an tie anymore, they must be more fashionable and casual!) Whether or not he can dance. Things like that.

A little while ago, I had a friend tell me "I'm just looking for a man that's right for me. A tall brunette man (I couldn't date a blonde!) that works in the corporate environment, is able to ballroom dance, loves French films and other arthouse cinema and well, he should be older than me."

This boggled me. I mean, this is an intelligent young woman who I would consider emotionally mature. But she had this kind of identikit man picked out that she would accept as a potential partner for her. And she's not the only one.

Where I think the argument about women settling comes in, is that many women expect this kind of tailor made man to be out there somewhere, but then they never find him. Or they find another wonderful man, and he doesn't fit the identikit, so they reject him. Or they meet a guy who fits that identikit... and he's a jerk. So they're eternally disappointed. Then perhaps they realise that those things they'd listed are actually not that important, and they change what they are looking for. And folks assume that it is settling for less than they wanted before.

Me personally, I think it's realising that there is MORE than what they were looking for. Realising that what is attractive in a man is not his hobbies, or his ability to dance, or his job etc. What is attractive is respect for himself and others, the fact that he has a work ethic (as opposed to a particular job/career), his sense of humour, his intellect, his honesty etc. The other things, the commonalities... well they'll be there but who knows in what sense? My first love and I had only really one thing we had in common by way of hobbies and interests, but in the course of our relationship, we shared so many things and introduced each other to new hobbies and interests, things I still have a passion for many years later.

So I don't think it's a matter of women settling as they get older, but shifting their focus and expectations as they mature. I think perhaps the attitude that women "settle" comes from an archaic attitude that if a woman gets past a certain age, then she's "on the shelf" or an "old maid".

Sadly that attitude is still really prevalent in our society.

And the Beat Goes On...

Ok so my trip is over. So that doesn't mean I can't keep blogging right? After all, LIFE is a big adventure right?

So... well... don't you hate when you start to blog and nothing comes to you?? Normally you can't shut me up, but sometimes when I sit down to actually write something, nothing comes out. It's kind of frustrating.

Ok, today is the local elections for Brisbane. So we're deciding who we're going to let run Brisbane for the next four years. Do we keep things as they are, a split team (Liberal Lord Mayor/Labor majority councillors)? Do we strengthen it towards one bias (Liberal or Labor)? Do we wipe the lot and start afresh? Do we go with one of the smaller political parties?

It affects me pretty big, because whoever is elected becomes my boss, since I'm an employee of BCC. Whatever way it goes, there are likely to be changes that affect my working life. Hopefully they will all be for the BETTER!

I have to admit, the thing that is most important to me at election time (other than having my say, but I'm very low key about my political choices) is that it's lamington drive time!

For those of you who aren't Aussies, a lamington is an individual sized cake. You take a square of vanilla sponge cake. You dip it in dense chocolate icing, then you roll it in dessicated coconut. EAT. SWOON. They're a little piece of Aussie heaven. Here's a picture of one...

Mmm... chocolatey, cakey goodness.

Thing is, I think the schools have had a stroke of genius by holding fundraisers on election days. Voting is compulsory in Australia right? So we all have to go. And of course, polling booths are always at public schools. So here they are, with a captive audience filing onto the ground for 12 hours, everyone in the area. Why not have some kind of fundraiser since they have to give up their space for a Saturday to allow voting to happen, having all and sundry traipsing through their grounds?

Yeronga State School, which is where I go to vote, always has a lamington drive (for non-Aussies, a drive is a fundraiser), a sausage sizzle (barbecued sausages in a slice of buttered bread with a little tomato or barbecue sauce) with cold drinks (wise on a hot day) for sale and usually a raffle of some sort. The one they had today is an Easter raffle, huge big basket of Easter eggs.

Well, I found something to blog about after all. I'll be back, don't worry!

Ahhhh.... home!

I am home, safe and sound. Although my luggage is not. It got caught up in the confusion of the delays in Chicago due to storms, and it's somewhere over the Pacific on the next Qantas flight to Brisbane as we speak. But the good thing is that Qantas, best airline in the world, will actually deliver it to my door tomorrow after it arrives. Which is mighty decent of them, considering it was American Airlines that buggered it all up!

Everything else was pretty low trauma, I did get delayed in Chicago but American Airlines fell for my sob story and squeezed me in on another flight to LA, which got me there in time to make my Qantas flight to BrisVegas. And then when I got on the Qantas plane they told me they'd changed my seat allocation... and I ended up with a WHOLE ROW to myself! How sweet is that? So I got to lay down on all of the three seats and get some decent sleep, as well as not having people climbing past me to go to the bathroom (I always sit on the aisle) or meals handed over me. It was very comfy indeed.

It's stinky, sweaty muggy here in BrisVegas, I'm quite over it already. But I'll get used to it I daresay.

No jetlag yet, but it's early days. I've not got to be back at work until Monday, so I have plenty of time to adjust and get the body clock into gear. Not that I'm in any hurry to go back to work, I could quite happily be a lady of leisure.

I haven't forgotten about the photographs, they'll get done, I promise!

Homeward Bound

I know, I haven't posted the photos yet. But let's leave it until I get home in a couple of days and can chillax!

So this is my last post from the US of A. Yes, I fly home tonight. Leaving Chicago at 5.40pm, arriving BrisVegas on Wednesday morning at 7.45am. Exhausted and crusty from flying, no doubt. But I'll be home.

Words cannot express what a fantastic trip this has been. And how awesome the folks are that I have met. I will never forget this time in my life, that's for sure. It is sad to be leaving everyone behind, but I WILL be back, and besides, I'm going home to folks I have been missing terribly over the past 11 weeks.

So I'll catch you from the Great Southern Land soon folks!

I Am Still Alive Folks

I know, I know, I haven't blogged for ages. Sorry about that. I've actually been sick with the flu. In a round about way, it worked out for the best that I came back to Chicago early, because I wouldn't want to foist myself on anyone with this flu that I hadn't already met, and just haven't had the energy to do anything but mooch around the house.

It has been SO cold here. Yesterday's warmest temp was 15F. People, that's -9C. And that was the WARMEST it got. It was down below 0F over night, so that's colder than -17C. We had more than 24 hours of snow the other day, which has given us well over a foot deep of it on the ground where left alone. I spent New Years Eve building my first snowman, and having a bit of a snowball fight with Missy. I throw a mean snowball if I do say so myself!

I have lots more photos to share with you all, but I'll do those later. More pics of Michigan, LOTS from New York City and some of the snow around here.

So Happy New Year everyone! For the folks back home, I'll be flying out of Chicago on Monday (7th January) and arrive home early on Wednesday (9th January). Give me 24 hours or so to sleep, and then I'll start contacting you all to see you again. I can't believe almost three months has gone by since I've seen you all!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! I am not afraid to say Ho Ho Ho, I am a woman and I don't find it offensive at all!

Well it is 8.30am on Christmas morning. I have had SO much fun here in Michigan for Christmas so far, and I don't doubt that I will have more fun today and beyond.

Yesterday was a pretty relaxing day, spent chilling and catching up on the small mountain of laundry I accumulated in New York. But then Terri and Dan took me to Dan's family Christmas Eve dinner, which was SO much fun. I felt so welcome there, and they have the most beautiful Christmas traditions. They also have small kids in their family, which always makes Christmas magical. Such cute kids they all are too.

The highlight for me was Santa coming to visit. Everyone, not just the kids, had a fantastic time, and it was very special that the hostess of the house, Dan's aunt, asked Santa to include me too! So here I am with Santa...



We had a delicious dinner, and again, everyone made me feel so welcome and I had so much fun.

From there we went on to spend some time at Terri's aunt's house, which was also lovely and welcoming.

And yes, it's a white Christmas! We haven't had a REAL lot here in Dearborn at Terri and Dan's house, but we've had some, which is all that matters. There is a little on the ground outside (enough to lob snowballs!) and make it good and cold! There was more out at Terri's aunt's place, I wish I'd have taken photos. But here is Terri and Dan's street:



And here I am all rugged up out at Frankenmuth on Sunday:



No laughing at the hat or this is what you will get:



And if you doubt how cold it is there... check out the creek:



I'm loving it!

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Hello from Michigan!

Yes, I have arrived safe and sound in Michigan, after a rather gruelling trip from NYC on Greyhound. I spent half of Saturday browsing around the area close to my hotel in NYC, doing a little Christmas shopping, a little hot chocolate drinking, a little bookstore browsing. Lugged my stuff all to the Port Authority Greyhound station about 2pm (thankfully I was helped to get a taxi from the hotel by Carlos from my hotel's lovely wife, sadly I never found out her name) and then lined up for almost 2 hours to get on my bus to Toledo.

Once on the bus, the driver told us that he would only take us as far as Cleveland, where a connecting bus would meet us. That's ok, at least I was going in the right direction! Got to Cleveland at 1am... and then discovered that I had almost 3 hours of layover there until my connecting bus to Toledo. So yes, as many of you back home who got my text messages will know, I spent three hours sitting on the floor of Cleveland Greyhound station, on my towel, in line for the next bus! Just how I love to spend the wee small hours of the morning.

But eventually I was on the bus to Toledo, I slept the whole way and then got off with low trauma, and only had to wait about 10 minutes for Terri and Dan to make it from Dearborn, MI, as the bus was a little early. They picked me up and took me back to their house here in Dearborn, where I could finally have a shower, and we just chilled for a bit until it was time to head out for some breakfast and face the day!

Went to Bob Evans for breakfast. I experienced a Bob Evans restaurant in Florida and liked it - good home style cooking for a good price, but their breakfasts are even better! Huge, like everything else in the US, and delicious. I felt so much better after that shower and a feed.

We then went out towards Frankenmuth, a town with a lot of German history, that is all Bavarian feel. Very much a tourist place, but awesome fun, particularly at Christmas. We stopped at an outlet mall on the way, and of course, I shopped! Two of my favourite stores, Bath and Body Works and Lane Bryant. REALLY cheap stuff.

Once at Frankenmuth, we stopped at Bronners Christmas Store. This is a massive, MASSIVE store entirely devoted to Christmas. You name the Christmassy thing, you will find it at Bronners. I can imagine it's pretty weird to go there at any other time of the year, but on the 23rd of December it was awesome fun. Except for the Christmas carol karaoke. There's only one thing worse than regular karaoke, and that's Christmas carol karaoke!

From there we went into Frankenmuth itself. It's a gorgeous town, all Bavarian style shops and restaurants. It was SO cold yesterday though - very, very windy and snowing on and off. I loved every minute of it, even if it was a bit of hard work keeping warm enough when we were outside. You will see photos later of me in my daggy hat, gloves and scarf.

Browsed shops and then had a late lunch of a half sandwich and soup with hot chocolate, and then browsed some more (trying to keep out of the cold outside) until it was time to take up our reservations at Zehnders famous chicken restaurant. YUMMO!! We had their buffet dinner and it was so good. I can see why their chicken is famous, it's fried chicken that isn't greasy or heavy or overly salty. It's just good! Particularly with bucketloads of mashed potatoes and gravy!

Drove around Frankenmuth then to look at the beautiful Christmas lights all through the town, and then headed back to Dan and Terri's house. I didn't last long before I was asleep (considering I'd had about 3 hours sleep in the past day and a half, I was doing pretty well!) and apparently they even stopped off at Terri's Dad's house on the way home and I didn't even wake up!

This morning I have woken to find more snow outside on the ground, it's just gorgeous. So special for Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Snot Icicles Anyone?

Charming aren't I? But it's the reality of sub-freezing weather. Your nose runs. Then it freezes. And you get wee booger icicles. And they hurt too.

As well as the frozen nose, I have very, very sore feet. I have walked and walked and walked today, I don't know how far. A long way!

But despite the cold (which I am enjoying, really) and the sore feet, it has been worth every moment. New York City is the most amazing place, it's incredible. It's also insane, but in a nice kind of way. I think a lot of people think of it as dirty, or rough, but other than being crowded and noisy, I haven't felt at any way nervous or intimidated by it. The crowds and the noise wear you out pretty quickly (that's why it's nice to sit in this quiet, warm internet cafe, even if it is expensive) but you see and do so much with it, it's totally worth it.

So what have I done today? Well, I managed to work out how the subways work (it's really easy once you get the gist of it) and took myself uptown to 77th Street, so I could see Central Park and go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Had a look around the posh area of Park and 5th Avenues, walked along the outside of Central Park (too cold to stay outside too long so I didn't go through the park) and then went up to the Met. It's HUGE, you could spend all day there and still not see everything. I tried to see everything but realised how fast time was going so I dropped some areas right off so that I could concentrate on the stuff that interested me the most. I loved the Greek and Roman/Ancient Near Eastern exhibit, the Armor and Armory, and the Egyptian art. But the best exhibit for me was without a doubt the 19th and early 20th Century Paintings and Sculpture. Mostly because they had several of my favourite artists works... Pierre-Auguste Renoir. As well as other Impressionists (Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Matisse, Manet, Gaugin... all artists who's work I adore). I spent a lot of time gazing lovingly at those works, and got some beautiful photographs too.

From there I caught the Subway again at 77th Street and headed downtown to Grand Central Station. It looks exactly as it does on television. And for Christmas they have a light show thing projected on the walls of the main concourse (which is what you see in movies and TV with that clock in the centre) which was rather pretty.

I then walked along 42nd Street down to Times Square (more like fought my way down there - it's insane for Christmas) and then made my way back down 6th Avenue to the Radio City Musi Hall (home of the Rockettes). Again, it was a battle at that end of town. Back to Grand Central Station and on the subway again (I'm a bit of a subway expert now, LOL) back here to Union Station on 14th Street to head back towards the hotel.

Tomorrow I am off to Michigan (catching a bus out of here at about 3.30pm) and I will arrive there early Sunday morning. I'm there for Christmas with the lovely Mandie and the lovely Terri, until the 28th when I head back to Chicago for my last leg of this trip. Phew!