THeRe'S An AnGeL On My ShOuLdEr...

Friday, July 30, 2004

On the road again 

Well, off to Melbourne shortly and looking forward to it.  While we're there we're catching the Impressionists Exhibition at the Art Gallery.  Considering it's the period I studied when I was in Matric, I really must see it, even if it is going to cost me an arm and a leg.  I like getting the Exhibition book that goes with it.  The hard-cover volume is something like $69.00 - absolutely outrageous!  I think I'll settle for the sof cover version for $40.

Unfortunately I'll be missing my Brothers birthday, which is tomorrow.  Mine is exactly three weeks from his.  I haven't got him a present yet though.  Slack aren't I?  He wants something for his electric guitar.  What exactly it is though currently escapes me.  I might find something in Melbourne.  Also, I'll have the benefit of finding out what he has already been given.   The family are going to Ruby Raja for dinner. It's an Indian restaurant at Tea Tree Gully. The Butter Chicken is just Divine.  The people that run it are lovely too.  They are friends of a friend of mine and I was introduced last year.  For any who are familiar with the North-Eastern suburbs, they also own the Mandarin Coin & Simply Thai as well as a new Asian inspired restaurant at Golden Grove which their eldest son runs.  The kids are just gorgeous - a combination of Asian & Caucasian.  Lovely people.

Did a heap of re-arranging of artwork yesterday & am rather pleased with the results.  Especially considering I didn't have my spirit level, tape measure & piece of wood to get the spacings even.  I did a group arrangement.  I've never done one before as I've never had enough similar pieces to do it with.  It looks great.  It's also freed up some other areas which will end up being filled in the near future. 

Well I must go pack, finish off some painting, eat and sleep

Have a great weekend guys



Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Is there another word for synonym? 

The mental health system is totally fucked!  I know I'm not telling you anyhing you don't already know, but we have serious issues when a person with a mental illness shoots themselves in the head after being turned away by one of the mental health services.

It's my last day at work before taking 5 weeks leave - WOOOHOOOO!!  Although, true to form, I'm still sick & hacking up a lung.  I actually feel much better than I sound.  Usually I go on leave THEN get sick.  At least this time I did it before going on leave & therefore won't waste any of it. 

Anyway, things to do, people to see, places to go etc...

Monday, July 26, 2004

A minute seems like a lifetime, Baby when I feel this way 

There is no doubt that my good days are outnumbering my bad days, however I still have them.  Like today.   It's probably due to the fact that I feel like crap as a result of this cold.  Sometimes, despite all my efforts, I cannot eliminate the negative thoughts and recollections from my mind.  Memories that are actually worse now than the at the time of the event , as I now have the benefit of truth to put a whole new perspective on things, and the truth is often very painful.

I feel I need to allow myself to reflect, to feel the pain, to rationalise things, to try and understand why.  If I don't, it's all likely to fester within me and result in a delayed self-destruction.  Many would call it wallowing.  Perhaps it is, but I don't agree.  Such is my nature that I need to understand, regardless of how bad I will feel as a result of that process.   Yet I'm trying to do this without allowing it to impact upon others and have found this to be extremely difficult.  How can I not? I will beat this though.  

Grabbed a couple of books over the weekend that I hadn't looked at in a while.  One was the book from the art exhibition 'Love & Death in the Age of Queen Victoria' that was at the Adelaide Art Gallery a couple of years ago.  The current exhibition of Edwardian art is a sequel.  I have a few favourites from the exhibition, but one that captured me in particular was Love and the Maiden by John Roddam Spencer-Stanhope.   I had never particularly liked this piece until I saw it 'in the flesh' so-to-speak.  Apart from it's sheer size, its luminosity, colour and texture were so vibrant, I was blown away.  The detail was something to behold.

Time to toddle off & do some work...

 

Monday, July 19, 2004

Bottomless Pit 

After a weekend of doing battle with a purse that wouldn't close (no - not from having too much money in it!) and a heavy handbag whose strap was about to break, I thought it was high time I cleaned the two of them out.  You should have seen the amount of absolute CRAP that came out of both of them.  Banking receipts, old cough lollies that were now covered in black fluff from the lining of my bag & no longer edible, scrap bits of paper with phone numbers, but without names, business cards for all sorts of things that I have no use for, you name it-I had it in there.  Still, it was a lot better than an old handbag I had which was huge & would & did, hold everything but the kitchen sink!
 
During my recent reading of Blogs and the like, I have noticed that a number of people are quick to cite the fact that they have a degree or other qualification in a manner that implies they are more intelligent than others who don't in a "I have a Degree & therefore I'm right & you're wrong' attitude.  It is almost used as a weapon to cut down and trivialise the views and opinions of individuals who have not undertaken tertiary education.   Elitism and academic snobbery at its worst.   I have worked with a number of individuals (unfortunately) who are living proof that possessing a tertiary qualification does not automatically signify an intelligent individual with commensurate skills and abilities.  A colleague has an Honours degree in Forensic Psychology, yet is considered to be one of the least capable Intelligence Analysts employed by the organisation.   The measure of someones value should not be limited to academic qualifications.
 
Off to Sydney tomorrow and have to get up at some ungodly hour!  Not impressed.  Not to mention that I'm getting a cold & my ears are going to kill me during the flights.   Not looking forward to that at all.   Pity I won't have time to pay someone a visit.
 
 

Friday, July 16, 2004

Do you believe in Ghosts? 

Would any of you folk be interested in a night tour of the Old Adelaide Gaol?
 
Tours can be arranged for a minimum of 15 people.
 
 

Thursday, July 15, 2004

Duck Soup 

Recently saw the following sign in relation to a Chinese Restaurant

Free House Soup with every Main Course

What is House Soup? What type of house? Californian Bungalow? or perhaps Spanish Mission?

All I ask for is the opportunity to prove that money doesn't buy happiness 

Got an unexpected call yesterday from my mate David in Canberra. He told me he finally got the balls to pop the question to his girlfriend. She said yes of course. He's a good catch, albeit vertically challenged. He even had the guts to choose the ring, which she apparently loves. Brave man. I'm glad he finally found 'the one', he's been looking for eons. I often have a chuckle to myself recalling the time I took him to see Rose the Clairvoyant. He scoffed when she told him she could see him with someone exotic, foreign, petite etc....His fiance is a sweet, petite Iranian girl with dark hair & dark eyes. Remind me to buy a card for them will ya? My memory is like a sieve at the moment.

Had the opportunity the other evening to have a D & M with someone I work with. It needed to be done. Things had been awkward between us since January. I was able to be open & honest & it cleared up many misconceptions they had about what I was thinking. If I had had the guts to explain my reasoning way back then, they wouldn't, as they now don't, have thought what they did.

And there is a lesson folks....

Think about the ramifications of telling that little white lie, or concealing the truth, staying silent or otherwise not being entirely open & honest in order to protect feelings. Chances are, the pain you may cause by being open & honest will be far less than that experienced when it unravels, as it invariably does. Prevention is better than cure. I'm adopting the philosophy and will answer all questions thrown at me with, sometimes brutal, honesty.

There is nothing quite like a life-shattering moment to force you to put everything into perspective and make you feel as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.


I wish today was Friday, don't you?

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

If you want a job done properly, do it yourself 

Took my car back to the crash repairer on Monday to let them see what they could do about the fact that it was now two different shades of red. I'd already had the stereo ripped out & sent off to see why the CD player was no longer working, so I was looking forward to getting the loan car so I could listen to some decent music, instead of the sound of brakes that need replacing. I was given the use of a little Suzuki Swift Cino. The manager went through all the foibles of the car & then told me it had no stereo because its detachable face had been flogged. Brilliant! I sort of felt at home as its brakes also needed replacing, however, as small as it was, it drove like a fucking tank and had the turning circle of a Double-B Semi. One doesn't drive this thing, they wrestle with it!

Today I got my car back. It's all nice & shiny & polished.........and still two different shades of red. Of course he gave me some cock & bull story that ultimately meant that was all they were prepared to do. I'm still debating whether to continue to kick up a fuss, or do what I thought may help to match the colour. You see, the new paint is lighter than the original: it just needs a touch of black to it. I thought I might apply some of that coloured car polish (in black) & see what happens. It might just be easier. While I'm there I'll align the panels too. All those years hanging with my Dad & Brother in the shed has some advantages.

The hard part of course is getting my car key back on my keyring without breaking another nail - such as they are.

Things aren't always what they seem.... 

Be careful, Leos, for you have the power now to alter reality with what you say. This can be used for constructive purposes, but chances are your imagination will be leading while your rational mind is on vacation. This adds up to the potential of misleading yourself and therefore misleading others, unless you pay great care to the words that come out of your mouth.

I was in the mood to write a lengthy blog today, but considering my stars, perhaps I shouldn't?


Saturday, July 10, 2004

Simple Things 

With all the turmoil, stress and pain that has been in my life recently, the one thing that made me smile every morning was looking out the bathroom window at the doves who have made a nest in he tree just outside. I say nest, but it's actually more like a shelf. I always think they are going to fall off, it looks so precarious.

& I finally got my leave approved!! Wooohooo! 5 weeks off & believe me, I need it!

Thursday, July 08, 2004

The art of flogging a dead horse... 

We were having a conversation this morning about kids. Particularly about the joy they bring because everything is so new and exciting to them. They encourage you to look at everything with a fresh perspective. Whilst I don't neccessarily regret not having had any kids, I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I did. Especially when you hear or read of some of the precious things they do, like Pooky's Angel. He's such a sweetie. A big black cat just isn't quite the same is it?

I wonder why I bother sometimes. Try & do the right thing, try & be nice, helpful and supportive & what do I get? Crucified. Well, that seems to be the flavour of the month at the moment. What really pisses me off though, is that those that have chosen to dislike me, for whatever reason, don't even know me. Their impressions of me seem to be based on all sorts of bizarre assumptions, that have little or no foundation at all. It distresses and saddens me. I don't think I deserve being treated like crap for no good reason & I'm sick of it.

Monday, July 05, 2004

Your Mission should you choose to accept it... 

The weekend started off worse than expected. Plans to patch things up & let bygones be bygones with someone turned totally pear shaped when they refused to accept my apologies. I was flabbergasted. What's done is done & can't be undone. We're all guilty of doing or saying things that have hurt others. The best we can do is admit our mistakes, apologise and move on. WTF can you do when they won't accept an apology? It wasn't at all the result I expected. They said they were only prepared to be polite. Well, sorry, but totally ignoring someone & behaving as if they are not in the room doesn't quite qualify as being polite. What I didn't count on was the fact that this individual is somewhat of a hypocrite. You see, I wouldn't even contemplate doing something I am aware they have done in the past. I find it totally deplorable. With friends like that, I'd have no need for enemies. It should be no surprise therefore that I justifyably don't trust this individual as far as I could throw them.

The weekend improved on Saturday with general pottering about followed by a birthday celebration at Night Train which was a bit of a hoot. I discovered 'Midnight Illusions' and plan to indulge in more of them when I don't have to drive.

More pottering on Sunday, interrupted by incessant sms messages & phone calls. This time from an old stalker of mine, my Ex-husband. I reminded him that as he had already been warned for Stalking, next time he'll be arrested. The calls stopped. Has there been a recent graduation from the National Academy of Stalkers?????? Popped up to my Sister's place for afternoon tea with most of the family. It was the first time I was able to catch up with Mum since she broke her wrist. She doesn't have it in a cast, but she has this metal contraption screwed into her hand & arm, with a metal bar in between to keep it all straight. Ugh! the mere sight of it made me feel ill.

The week is shaping up to be fairly routine but I must drag my sorry arse off to the gym and at least make some effort to take advantage of a recent loss of more weight.

Cheers

Thursday, July 01, 2004

A lobbyist, on his way home from work in Canberra traffic came to a dead halt and thought to himself, "Wow, this seems worse than usual."

He noticed a police officer walking between the lines of stopped cars, so he rolled down his window and asked, "Officer, what's the hold-up?"

The officer replied, "The Prime Minister is depressed, so he stopped his motorcade and is threatening to douse himself with petrol and set himself on fire. He says no one believes his stories about why we went to war in Iraq, or the connection between Saddam and al-Qaeda, or that his tax cuts will help anyone except his wealthy friends. So we're taking up a collection
For him."

The lobbyist asked "How much have you got so far?" The officer replied "About 20 litres, but a lot of people are still siphoning."

All the Kings Horses.... 

My Mum has once again tried out for 'The Best Human Jigsaw Puzzle' Award. Nowhere near as spectacular as her previous attempts, but impressive nonetheless. She tripped down a step in a shop and braced her fall with her right hand. She now has a broken wrist & hand. She braced her fall to protect her hips & legs, fragile already as a result of previous attempts at this award. Her first concern was whether she would still be able to use her computer. Typical. She'll find a way. One thing she won't be able to do is continue with her art. She has recently discovered that she actually has talent and has produced some lovely pieces already. Something to look forward to.

We had a great win yesterday, thanks, in part, to Danny. It's great to see that if you complain loud enough, you can actually make a difference. In a way it was almost an anti-climax due to the quick turn-around by the Sunday Mail. I was looking forward to further radio discussions with the editor on Friday. Bugger. Still, it's nice to not have to have so much drama, it's not as if we haven't had enough lately is it?


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