Lottery Win

Natasha was from Spain. I thought she was the absolute bees-knees. She had an exotic accent and lovely skin. She was my friend and her Mum would make little cakes whenever I went over after school. Also, Natasha had three recorders, a normal sized one, a medium and a big one, all of which she could play. She could read music too. The recorders were mostly black but had creamy detailing on the mouth piece and banding towards the top and at the bottom. Aulos made these masterpieces of music, in all their smooth plastic glory. I remember that because they were so much prettier than the wooden ones the school lent to others.

I wanted to learn the recorder, but being from a big family I got to learn the guitar because we had one in the loft. It was massive and came in an even more massive hard case which I had to carry it to school in; switching it from hand to hand along the way. Mr Hardman taught guitar and he was school staff, no extra payments required. Recorder required an outside teacher and a one pound sub was required for each lesson.

I was eight years old and three months older than Natasha.

***

A few weeks ago I was out at a comedy club waiting for my spot. One of the other comedians went on stage with a guitar and played a tune and sang a funny ditty. Having never stuck out the guitar lessons, (mainly because the thing was such a pain to lug around) I have no musical instrument but it got me to thinking about how I could incorporate it into my comedy act without actually playing anything.

I came up with, take some drum sticks on stage and say, ‘I was gonna play you a drum solo, but some bastard nicked my drums!’ Boom Boom.

Then I remembered Natasha and her recorder. The idea of a 40 year old walking onto stage with a recorder would be a joke all of its own. No playing required.

***

A week ago I brought a lottery ticket for $23. I won $12. The first win in a very long time, but a win is a win, so I put the cash in my wallet.

I was walking through town on my lunch break thinking, as you do, when I found myself outside Allan’s Music.

With my $12 I procured a shiny new recorder. Not an Aulos, but a Yamaha. They make good motorbikes, so surely the quality of their products would be even. I also brought a book called ‘Recorder for Beginners, Book 1’. My lottery win was exhausted.

And now I have a new thing to learn. Maybe not master, but learn. I have my first lesson tonight.



I wonder if Natasha continued with her recorder playing.

Hell’va Weekend

My weekend felt like it started on Wednesday last week. Not because I wasn’t working, but because my Sister, Little, arrived from Melbourne for a few days. Her flight landed fifteen minutes early, just to keep me on my toes.

We haven’t stopped, since. She, even though she has a cast on her left wrist, due to a DIY accident last weekend, clean my house from top to toe on Thursday while I was at work. She was supposed to put her feet up in the sun drenched garden and read, but she decided to clean the windows in the kitchen instead. Incidentally, you have to stand on the bench tops to get to my kitchen windows. D’Oh! And that’s all I have to say about that. Except, thanks for cleaning Little.


On Thursday night, we popped to OfficeWorks to get new school stuff. Pencil case, pens, highlighters and Post-its®. Just like we did as gals. Muv would take us to WHSmith before the start of the new school year and stock us up with the required goodies. This may be where I got my love of stationary from, by the smell of new pencils, rubbers (erasers) and the sight of protractors and set squares are like heaven to me. Anyway, we stocked up on things to write with and in.

On Friday we caught the train to North Sydney and commenced our training to be Wedding Celebrants. There were 14 of us in total in the class, four boys, ten girls and the teacher. I was, quite frankly, the most exhausting weekend I have had in a very long time.

We listened, we shared, we role played, we conducted ceremonies. I got married twice, held the hands of a stranger and Little was my son. It was weird. But we passed that part of the course.

Now begins the paperwork part.

Reading, writing and filling in online forms.

But first, I need to catch up on my sleep because 12 days with no weekend is taking it's toll.

A Reasonable Update

There have been a few things happening recently and due to my being a social butterfly I just haven’t found the time to sit and write. Today though, I have decided to sit and update you on the happening of my life in reverse order.

First Night back at Uni
Last night I started back at University. This semester is going to be interesting from a time management point of view ‘cause I have two classes on two nights (Monday and Tuesday). In the past I’ve managed to schedule both classes on the same day so I haven’t lost too much free time and been able to plan my study time better. I hope this way works out too.

When I walked into the Uni building last night I had to walk a gauntlet of 18-20 year olds trying to get me to join their chosen cause.
‘Sign a partition against the War!’ Which War?
‘Join the Christian coalition.’ Get away from me.
‘How can socialism help you?’ I don’t know and I don’t care.
‘Are you suffering from depression?’ Only at the fact I can’t walk un-accosted by students who seem to be devoting their time to activities other than studying.

Also, what’s with the freaky-arse hair-do’s?

Edna’s Birthday Bash
On Saturday Edna had a drinkie-poos to celebrate her birthday. It was due to start at six in a not so salubrious establishment in Newtown. By 7.30 she had had three cancellation text messages and still her only company was Hubby, myself and Moohosive Moose. She was, understandably disappointed at the lateness of the cancellations. By 9, everyone else had turned up, so all was OK. Edna never had less than three bottles of Strongbow on the go at once, so it was all extremely good.

The Red Dot
As you know the in-laws are in town. On Friday night Edna and I escaped the confines of the city to drink a bottle of wine and watch a movie in peace. When we got to the house it was very clean, not a problem, until I noticed that the kitchen had been cleaned to the point where the red dot on the tap (the hot water dot) had been scrubbed away. Then I opened the cupboards and all my jars had been lined up like little soldiers with labels facing out. THEN, I went to the loo and my shampoo was lined up like a display in Coles.

And this man denies having OCD!

Sorry the pictures are a bit bt blurry, but they were taken on my phone, and i may have been shaking!