Jab-a-rooney

At the end of May, Hubby and I are going to Chennai in India so we can attend Sam and Sara’s two day Hindu wedding. They had the ‘engagement’ back in December last year. Now is the time for the BIG days!

And we are going. The trouble is the raft of jabs we have to had to have to keep us safe from the many bugs and diseases that apparently plague the residents of South India. So on Friday Hubby and I trotted along to the doctors and came out looking like pin cushions. I had the first HepB, HepA & Typhoid, Rabies booster and Flu. I also had to have a blood test ‘cause I’ve never had Chicken Pox and it’s rife where we’re going. They had to test for natural immunity.

Anyway, I’ve had hardly any sleep for the whole weekend due to my arms feeling like they had been in a vice. The thing is, I know the next trip to the docs on the 21st is going to be as bad (Hep B part 2, Tetanus, MMR and possibly Chicken Pox if I fail the test).

But I don’t mind, I love that I am able to attend the wedding of a good friend and be a curiosity to the locals (white, short hair, little jewellery).

Bring on the next round of jabs.

Fatten Up for Winter

It’s that time of year were my body is telling me to eat! On Sunday I got a crazing that only comes between May and September.

I was in a shopping centre with Edna, buying random, miss-matched pieces of furniture when I suddenly stopped and though, I need fish pie tonight, with broccoli. So I gathered the materials, and conjured up the family recipe in my head and started looking forward to stuffing my face with hot, steaming potatoes, fish and veg.

Why do our bodies do that? During the summer I drop weight, which is good, ‘cause I need to. Then come the first sign of slightly inclement weather and your body start telling you to start eating as if the food supply of the planet has dried up.

Trust me, I don’t need to fatten up to protect against the chill of a Sydney Winter. I have a rather nice selection of jumpers and jackets for that, and if I follow nature’s demands, most of those will cease to fit.

Two-Up Day

After a mammoth lie-in this morning after going and seeing The Basics last night (they rocked by the way, Trixy and I hid at the back of the overcrowded room, and no review). I spent the day on the road driving up the coast and dealing with idiots with fog lights on. I popped in to see Miss Eudoxia and then an alpaca breeder to see if I could get some pictures for the 2008 Alpaca Calender (which I did).

It was interesting to see Miss E. She started a new job and was all enthused so I heard lots of tales of the new love in her life. It was very exciting.

I did observe a minutes silence at eleven for the Anzacs. Hubby didn’t, he was snoring!

Flushed

For the last few days I’ve been away for work. And apart from taking some weird and wacky shots along the way (can’t post, work pictures) there have been very few highlights.

The radio did ask a question that seemed to be on everyone’s minds in the town I was in after the news reported that singer Sheryl Crow had suggested that to stop Global Warming we should only use one square of loo paper each time we visit the em…toilet. Of course she believes that there may be time that more than one sheet may be required, but generally it’s a sheet at a time.

The question was…Are you a folder or a scruncher?

Sadly Missed

Whilst sitting in my hotel room in Hay last night I thought about my friends watching my favourite local band (the Basics) playing in the Hopetoun in Sydney.

This morning I received a text message rubbing in just how great they were, even though they didn’t play the Lumberjack song as promised last week. By all accounts Tokenview, the support band weren’t too bad either.

Ohh well… always next week, the last of the four gigs in Sydney.

Tart Up, Ship Out

Before I leave for my work jaunt to the wilds of outback Australia, I though I would pay a little attention to my blog and give it a face lift.

I’ve sorted out the entry archive so it’s a little more user friendly, I’ve sorted out which blogs I read from which blogs I write and I’ve added a picture of Jodie.

This is how I see her!

I’m sure those that know me will think I’m shorter, wider and less auburn, but I can dream. I have dream of being as fit and sexy as Madonna…I have a few year until I catch up.

Hot Guys and Horses

A day at the Polo at Windsor Polo Club saw Trixy, Rachel and myself appreciating the fine fillies of both the Homo sapien and Equine species. The weather was glorious and we enjoyed a feast of pate, crackers and champagne, the whole thing was wholly more civilised than the footie a couple of weeks ago. It was Australia V Chile and the Aussie won 8 goals to 6.

You could smell the money in the air, or maybe that was the horse poo? How know or dares to dream. It reminded me of the times at Cowdrey Polo Club when I was a teenager, only I didn't truly understand the benefits of being surrounded by hot, fit good guys back then quite as much as I did today.

I got to play with my new camera, a Sony A100 and the funky telephoto lens. So please let me present hotties of the Polo Scene (plus a few attempts at arty shots).

Who Get to Name Roads?

Weather Change

I was sat outside studying tonight in a nice peaceful spot under the Harbour Bridge (call me crazy, but there’s something soothing about the dedunk of cars going over the bridge plates).

After about three hours of sitting on a rug tapping out my book report my bum was numb and I noticed that my feet were cold. In fact my toes were kinda blue. So I moved to the car and had a look at the thermometer. It felt like it was 15 or 26 degrees in truth it was 22 degrees.

I think this is the year I have finally got used to the Australian weather. Last year I brought a coat about two months into winter and worn it for three weeks. This year I think I may be wearing it a bit longer.

I may have to invest in a scarf and a pair of gloves like all the other crazy Australians I saw wearing them when I first moved here eight years ago.

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By Request

The Hopetoun
Tuesday 10th April
The Basics with Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers

The night started with Cuthbert and the Nightwalkers a local band lead by singer Richie on guitar. A group of grungy looking but Irish folk rock singing octet with a keyboard player who looked like she wanted to be the lead singers girlfriend, and a back up singer who clearly had the job. Why else would they allow her on stage with her bolero jacket with glitter on it? Don’t get me wrong they where pretty good, they played catchy tunes with a hint of Steeleye Span and TRex and more Lalala’s and Dododo’s than you could shake a stick at. Even the xylophone and cow bell made for a toe tapping, thigh slapping warm up set.

The Basics came on the stage after a brief set up. Dave Bramble on keyboards revealed to me before the start that he had been in the classroom this afternoon and has to return on Thursday. During their month long residency in three pubs in three states the Basics, Wally deBacker, Tim Heath and Kris Schroeder they’ve got Wednesdays off only so dedication to their art is proof in the pudding.

With a ninety minute set under their belt they were considerable more energetic than last week with Kris the bassist jumping about like a loony and the others having a giggle and egging him on. They played songs from their upcoming album Stand Up/Fit In and plenty of crowd pleasing covers including Cocaine and the classic Call it Rhythm and Blues/Suzy.

My heart cracked a little when drummer Wally deBacker dedicated a song to his girlfriends parents who were in the audience, as I’m sure did others, but that will not stop me from dragging myself away CSI and Dancing with the Stars next week to see if they do actually play the Lumberjack Song by Monty Python as promised.

snapshot of The Basics with a truly naff camera

Stop Revive Survive

Ok, we’ve all heard that one, but have you heard ‘Don’t text tired/drunk’? or ‘Don’t blog tired and a little tiddly’?

I made the mistake of blogging the other night after a night down the pub watching one of my favourite bands (1am) and now I have had to remove the entry, and thank goodness I can’t go next week. A friend of mine made a claim and I stoopidly talked about it in here. Comments were made, questions asked and I have removed the entry to avoid any issues and by way of apology.

I have shot myself in the foot and will have to continue to admire from the back of the room in the future, ‘cause they sure as hell would never speak to me now.

What are the Odds?

UPDATE : 11.4.07 - 10.55 Deleted content due to unsubstantianted and possibly offensive claims

Long Weekend Informathon

After driving up to the house on Thursday night I took the chance to have a good undisturbed sleep and got up just after ten on Friday morning. Without Hubby sawing and chopping his way through the planets old growth forests overnight I get a lots of quality sleep. I spent Friday reading and writing for uni work. I did have a break and watched My Fair Lady and wondered for the first time ever how this movie got made.

Don’t get me wrong, I love this movie and it deserves the Oscars it won, but these days there is no way this movie would be made. It’s sexist, racist, derogatory to women and ‘poor’ people, elitist and downright scary if you consider the scene where the housekeeper takes Eliza for a bath. It couldn’t be more un-PC if it tried.

Anyway, back to me weekend. On Saturday Hubby and I drove out to the show. The Sydney Royal Easter Show that is. The banners this year are selling it as ‘see the real Australia’. The real Australia my eye! It’s only the real Australia if Australia is all about flogging cheap crap in ‘showbags’ and flinging people around for exorbitant prices in vomit comets. I suppose you could be excused for saying that all the animals on show are ‘the Real Australia’, but then I suppose I’m used to seeing animals in large open paddocks with grass to eat instead of in a pen three metres square. I know I’m lucky to see animals this way. They all look so sad and bored when they’re in pens. We had gone out to the show to see the alpacas, so I could do my roving reporter bit and Hubby could perform his duties as unofficial regional photographer. Ohh… yeah and we saw the same Giant Pumpkins I followed thrugh the Blue Mountain a couple of weeks back. The day turned into a ‘Why are we doing all this voluntary work’ day.

We came to the conclusion that we don’t get anything out of it. We don’t help anyone. We spend a huge amount on travel to places we don’t want to go because of it. We sacrifice a lot of time to it, sometimes to the detriment of other things in our lives. And on top of that we get grief, to the point neither of us pick our email up at the weekends anymore ‘cause we don’t know what it will hold in store for us. The final conclusion; as of July, it’s over…they have done what they do to all regional volunteers, they have chewed us up and spat us out.

Sunday saw us have a day of rest, well sort of. Hubby was busy putting the finishing touches to the new PC while I did some more reading for Uni. The trouble with reading, lying on the bed after a nice comfortable lunch; the irresistible urge to sleep. Maybe I needed it? I know I felt a lot better when I woke up two hours later. I hadn’t even lost my place in my book. Sunday evening saw us both sat on the sofa watching movies and having a nice glass of wine or three.

Yesterday I got into my school work early. I even woke up before Hubby which is a rare occurrence at the weekends. I have 4 assignments due in 3 weeks. Not through bad planning but bad luck of the draw. I get them done, but I’m working on the hardest one first.

Lunch set the day as it was to be…we had an argument over Hubby having a Hungry Jacks and me not wanting anything wheat based. When we got home we where still tiffing and after I’d cleaned out the cat litter trays, Hubby went out to get more Litter. When he got back we spent the next FIVE hours in sometimes heated discussion about how he feels unloved and unwanted and how I was a selfish, greedy person. Now it’s all out in the open maybe things can move on. (Please understand I’m giving you full details, those that are close to me will get them though ;-.)

I slept horribly and feel like crap today, but that’s not stopping me going to the Hopetoun tonight for another dose of The Basics.

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Spit and Felt Tip

I may be showing my age or maybe just my old-fashioned upbringing but I need to vent.

For the first time in months I brought myself a copy of Cosmopolitan magazine. It had a pretty picture of Eva Longoria wearing white on the cover and promises ‘Celeb Sex Shocks’ and apparently ‘the Best Fashion idea for my shape’.

So picture me, laying in bed (as all good Cosmo read happen, I hear) browsing the pages of a girlie mag. I was looking at pictures of shoes, handbags, skirts, shirts and more shoes. I was revelling in the photos of girls dressed in the latest upcoming fashions and thanking my lucky stars I was old enough to have my own style (jeans and t-shirt/blouse, thank you very much!) and didn’t feel I had to conform to pinafore dresses in plaid over spotty shirts or skirts with enormous, useless buttons.

On page 53 I was looking at the Quick Tips from the fashion editor. There were just three;
1. Holey tights? Blast with hairspray to stop a run.
2. Revamp a tired headscarf by adding a cute brooch
3. Use a black felt-tip pen to freshen up scuffed shoes

USE A FELT TIP PEN TO COVER SCUFFS!

What the hell happened to polish your shoes? Surely I’m not the only one my age who still partakes in this archaic practice. I know Miss Eudoxia does, after all it’s a requirement of her new truncheon wielding position. I know Hubby doesn’t polish his, ‘cause I do them. I know my dad does and so does my mum, after all they’re the ones who taught me.

Help…please let me know how you keep your shoes looking their best.

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Intentional Groupie Action

The Basics
The Hopetoun
Tuesday 3rd April

With a supporting act like The Saturns it’s very hard not to be upstaged. They have all the right moves for an emerging rock band and have a pretty faithful following, including the main act that will be playing with them at least twice, over the next month, during their tri-state marathon. Fronted by Danny Holdsworth, The Saturns gave a performance that is full of frenetic energy that infected the crowd. With some of their influences being more visible than others, it was made easy for the newcomers who had never seen these local boys before, to enjoy the 60s to today inspired rock and roll sounds until their all too short set came to an end in a demonstration of pure rock star moves by the entire band. Think Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, David Bowie and Beck.

After a brief interval and set up, The Basics took command of the stage with the opener ‘Rattle my Chain’ from their upcoming, second album ‘Stand Out/Fit In’, (out 5th May). A stream of new and old songs followed including a few covers thrown in for good measure, all received with equal cheering and roars from the gathered fans. A bit of banter between bass player, Kris Schroeder and drummer, Wally deBacker resulted in a request from the crowd being honoured. They joked that this was the last time this particular song was being played; but then said ‘a request is always performed.’ Who would have dreamed of hearing ‘The Right Stuff’ by New Kids on the Block played in a pub in Sydney by a band from Melbourne dressed like the Beatles?
That said, it received one of the biggest cheers of the evening. Three encores and 80 minutes later the Basics left the stage to ‘Money, That’s What I Want,’ by Barrett Strong (but covered by The Beatles in the 60s) and a promise to ‘see you all next week’.

You can count me in and judging for the reaction from the rest of the room, you can count in everyone else too!

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I sent this review to The Brag today in the hope of publication, but we’ll see. I wanted to say that I stood and watched Wally with the eyes of a true groupie and only just noticed the others playing. He’s had his hair cut since I last saw him.

For Your Viewing Pleasure - Tearful TV!

Today, while catching up on weeks of ironing and housework I caught up on my movie watching. And in the process managed to find two that made me cry.

Not that I’m a hard-arse or anything but movies rarely make me cry (unless it’s the old people on the bed in Titanic or The Bridges of Madison County) but as I say…today I have been ironing through a haze of tears that would embarrass even the most depressed dumped chick with a gallon of ice-cream.

After a quick pop to the shops and the first load of washing on, I made myself a sandwich and sat down to watch the start of Crash. It won the best picture Oscar last year and I’ve been meaning to see it since. A few weeks ago it was on Foxtel and I taped it. If you’ve seen Love Actually you’ll know how hard it is keeping track of many charaters inter-weaved with each other. This is nothing like Love Actually in that I don’t recall one happy joy-joy moment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very good, but the shirt I was ironing at the point were the racist cop rescues the black woman from the burning car didn’t need a spray from the water jet. I was dripping, but not from my nose thank goodness.

So I watched an episode of Blade;the series to dry my eyes and bring me back to reality.

Next I put on Layer Cake. I had heard good things from Edna as she raved about Daniel Craig’s leading man role before he became the most famous secret agent in the world. It’s a good old fashioned movie about British gangsters and their shenanigans while dealing drugs, double crossing and killing each other. But still, right at the end it brought a quick tear that evaporated almost as soon as it appeared.

So I watched the next episode of Blade; the series and one of Fawlty Towers to really clear up any weepy stuff that lay in wait behind my eyeballs. A good Waldolf Salad will cure what ails you.

At Uni I’m doing Theory and Writing. Yes, I know it sounds poncy, that’s because it is. But I have to admit, I’m enjoying it a lot more than the first week indicated I might. Anyway…two of the books we have to read are Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf and The Hours by Michael Cunningham which is based around the happening in Mrs. Dalloway and VW’s life. So I thought I’d cut out a little reading and just watch the movie The Hours. This one was nominated for 9 Oscars in 2003, but only won one, Best Actress for Nicole Kidman as the writer Virginia Woolf. Holy Crap…if I thought Crash made me cry… I had to stop ironing and sorting washing, I couldn’t see. I even thought I’d lost a contact lens at one point. Great movie though!

To top it off, even House had me snotting into a tissue and over babies of all things.

I’m not sure what came over me today. I’ve been tried for a while, but emotional too? Rarely do the two go hand in hand…ohh wait a minute…yes they do!

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Unless of course...it was all someones idea of a joke?