Wednesday, May 31, 2006

ahhhhhhhhhh

Red Wine
Spaghetti Bolognaise (which I cooked myself, for the first time in a very long time)
Some Hilltop Hoods then Miles Davis...

Is there any better way to spend a Humpday night if you are finished unexpectedly early...?

Which Guy?

So how'd you be...?

You're sitting, waiting. You're nervous as all hell. You're an immigrant from the Congo. You have a degree, but here in Britain you're a cab driver. You're waiting for an interview for the BBC's IT department as a data support cleanser.

Suddenly, someone ushers you through a door, onto a stage, and you're on live TV, being asked your expert views on Apple Computer's legal battle with Apple Corporation, the Beatles' music publishing company.

Thing is, you don't really have an opinion on it. You're not an expert in it. You were just here for an interview...

Oops. Wrong Guy... literally. They meant to get This Guy. Instead they got

What's in a Name?

It really bothers me, for some reason, that it is newsworthy that an actress has a baby and gives him a normal name - Johnny.

*GASP* No it couldn't be.

Mira Sorvino, you are now my celebrity Hero-Mummy.

I have written about the peculiar habit of celebrities giving their children “imaginative” names before, and I don’t think I could put it any better than Carrie did on last night’s Rove Live News.

“Geri Halliwell has had a baby girl and called her Bluebell Madonna. Apparently the name My Mother Hates Me was already taken.”

Now, not only was My Mother Hates Me taken, but so was I’m Going To Cop Shit All My Life Because My Parents Wanted To Make Sure That The Newspapers Had A Reason To Write About Them Now That They Are Has-Beens.

Phwoar. What a mouthful, but a mouthful I’d prefer to Bluebell Madonna.

Ain't Love Grand

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

To walk or not to walk.

One of my friend's husbands just ruptured his achilles tendon. He's in hospital waiting to have surgery as I write this. He's going to be in hospital for a few days, but once he's out, he's not allowed to put any weight on it for 6 weeks. After that he's on crutches for another 6 weeks.

That's a total of 3 months of not being able to walk.
3 months of being reliant on other people to help you get around.
3 months of not going for a walk outside.
3 months of not being able to do the shopping.
3 months of not being able to play footy or ski.
3 months of not being able to drive.

Plus, it's not as if he'll have full use of it back the instant that 3 months is up. Extensive physio and remedial massage will slowly rebuild the strength of the tendon over the following months, but it may never be quite the same again.

It made me think. I feel cooped up sometimes, cornered into my life, but at least I can do things for myself. I can go out dancing. I can go for a drive. I can go for a walk along the beach.

My life's really not so tough.

black again

OH MY GOD i'd be so goth today if I just had some make-up on.

It wasn't intention, I was just running really late and pulled the first things I could out of my cupboard. I really need to do some washing.

Monday, May 29, 2006

Bizzy Bee

He blamed me (amongst others) for confessions, and now i'm blaming him for my things to do list.

So without further ado, my things to do:

-Start some sort of regular writing (other than this blog, of course, but it hardly counts). I think it'll be short stories for the moment.
-Start swimming again regularly
-Go to the Da Vinci Machines exhibition in July
-Get my motorbike licence, ditch my revoltingly awful yet kind of sweet (in a terrifyingly nostalgic moment), and get myself a bike.
-Go to the Rembrandt exhibition at the NGV
-Find someone to come to Ben Folds with the Melbourne Symphony with me (any takers, please let me know!)
-Learn to do 180s on my skis (Wilbur has promised to teach me this year)
-Attempt to save money to visit this beautiful place for another few weeks
-Get back into singing and accompanying myself on the piano. Now that I've got the piano back, I just need to actually sit down and do it, my voice is a little rusty these days, i sing so rarely. I actually miss the days of school and singing lessons and groups and choir. Now the only thing I sing to is the radio (although, I do this almost constantly the whole time I'm in the car, which is about 2 hours a day generally!). It was cool the last couple of times I've seen Lenny it's ended in a jam session... although I'm pretty sure one night i passed out halfway through the jam session...Jehan and Taubs would probably recall more of it than I do.
-Go to some regular gigs at Manchester Lane and Dizzy's
-Organise my new Sony walkman ipod type mp3 player thingy so that I can actually use it (can't figure out how to put music onto it at this stage... any hints people?)
-start getting out of bed in the morning and going for a walk along the beach. For some reason, I just can't get out of bed before 7.30. I think it's making up for those 10 years of getting up at 4.30am every morning of the week, but still, in the last 5 years (particularly when I was at uni and rarely emerged from under the covers until at least 11am) you'd have thought I'd made up for it. I have the best intentions in the world, I set my alarm for 6.45 or 7am, and then have terrible, broken-up sleep for the next hour while my alarm keeps going every 8 minutes. I have recently just taken to re-setting it for 7.45.
-Try and meet some new people. Not quite sure how one goes about this, but the intention's there for the timebeing.
-Clock Need for Speed Underground. I almost finished it last year, and then we moved, and my old xbox time is now pretty much being taken up by reading. I'd like to find some sort of balance here... thank goodness for empty weekends!

Things that were on my to do list, which are either done or booked:
-Go to the Ballet (going on June 11th with Mummy Bond)
-Go to Brisbane to visit good friend who has moved there (going this weekend)
-Start my PR degree (i'm starting in August - Griffith Uni by correspondence).
-Re-organise my teaching so that I have my weekends to myself (as of two weekends ago, Yay ME!!!!).
-Read at least one book per week (have been successful in this for the last couple of months if I average it out, I usually have more than one going at a time).

OK. i think that's enough to keep me busy for a while....

Pills

Youth truth beauty fame boredom and a bottle of pills.

Apparently there's no aphrodisiac like loneliness.

Of course, I wouldn't know.

Rodents

Arrived in the office this morning to quite possibly one of The Most Vomit-Inducing Smells On Earth. As soon as I walked in the door I knew. "We've Got RATS."

So i ask around a bit, have a look in the secret places that rats like to run, and find droppings everywhere. Then I speak to the woman who does the cleaning 3 times a week.
"Oh yeh," she drawls. "There were heaps of them in the cupboard and on top of the fridge so I cleaned them out on Friday. It was getting pretty awful."

Um...Ah... would you not think to TELL someone this? That there have been rat droppings, and therefore rats, all over the crockery and cutlery cupboard, containing the crockery and cutlery THAT WE USE DAILY???????? Seriously woman.

Anyway, germs, filth and disease aside, one of these hideous rodents has taken it upon itself to DIE somewhere. Note that I said somewhere, and didn't name a particular place. This is due to the extremely unfortunate fact that I CAN'T FIND THE LITTLE FUCKER. It is now stinking up not only the kitchen, but all the offices and cubicles within a 30m radius, which is all of them.

Most. Revolting.Smell.Ever.

The thing I don't get though, is that everyone else in this building decided that they didn't know what the smell was, so they'd just leave it to someone else to sort out. Unfortunately, I have a very low tolerance for the smell of rotting dead rodent. Am I alone in this?

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Da Crap Movie.

Don't bother seeing it. I was one of those who was, quite pointedly, not going to see it until it came out on dvd. Alas, I went to the Rivoli with my dear old dad and my dear old granddad this afternoon, and not much else was on. I say save your 15 bucks. I say save your 7 bucks when it comes out on dvd too. If you can download it for free, then save yourself 2 1/2 hours.

Nobody should be subjected to such mediocrity.

Ooh, I did almost neglect to mention Da Movie's one redeeming feature: Sir Gandalf. That man is lovely wherever he appears, no matter how terrible a character he is playing.

not right now.

It's Saturday night (actually early Sunday morning), i'm not drunk. I'm not really anything actually. A bit blah.

I saw the new Warren Miller movie tonight (ski movie, for all you non-eskimo people). It got me excited, but it also got me a little sad. One of my friends i haven't seen in a while asked me if I was heading back up to Hotham to work this year. I'm not. I wish I was. I'm almost tempted to, but that would mean leaving the teaching I've built up over the last few years. I would do that in a heartbeat if I thought I could have my students back as soon whenever I wanted, but as I said, it's taken me 3 years to get to this point.

I guess when it comes down to it, I know that teaching is not going to be my career. I quite enjoy it, and I'm very good at it, but I just couldn't do it forever, not full-time anyway. I'm not even doing it full-time now and the kids drive me crazy sometimes. I guess that's the nature of working with children though. The adults at my office job drive me crazy too, so perhaps it's just working with people in general with which I have issues!

I know working at the snow isn't a career, or at least it wouldn't be for me. It's something that I love, it's something I'd like to make a career out of, but I'm pretty sure I never would. I hate to say it, but the way I've been brought up, it could just never happen. Lawyer, teacher, physiotherapist, even public relations consultant. They'd be happy with any of those,bBut not ski instructor, or lift operator. I guess i know, too, that I want more than that for my life.

Just not at the moment.

Friday, May 26, 2006

I am...

Officially the RADDEST sister ever.

Who can tell me why?

Prizes for the best guess.*

*no guarantee that the prize will be something you want, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Confession time.

I have been inspired by the lovely Ms. Fits and her Confessions Booth. As such, i have some confessions to make:

-I confess that I can get things done when I need to, but I'd much rather mooch around, eat vegemite toast, and read good books in bed than do anything else.
-I confess that I like to claim I'm a nice person, and I can be, but I can also be the bitchiest of bitches.
-I confess that I prefer to be friends with people who are left of centre, unusual, or downright devilish to keep me entertained. That said, i do think I have some of the best friends in the world, but there's always room for more.
-I confess that when I'm in a bad mood i pick fights at my mum, just because I know she's someone I can get angry at who will still love me tomorrow. That said, often my bad mood was caused by her in the first place, so the anger is not too hard to find.
-I confess that I'm jealous of some of my friends' relationships. In fact, at the moment, i'm pretty jealous of anyone in a relationship of any description.
-I confess that I love trashy gossip magazines. I can recall hundreds of random and useless facts at the blink of an eye.
-I confess that I have a bit of an internerd crush on a fellow blogger.
-I confess that I've had my next tattoo planned for a couple of years now, but one of my friends just got the same one. He didn't know I had it planned, and there was absolutely no reason he shouldn't get it, even if he had known how much I wanted it, but I don't want it to look like i'm copying. And he reads this blog, so I know he will see this.
-I confess that I find it hard to meet new people. I loathe going into a room or going to a party where there is a group of people I dont' know. I get painfully shy, or just say completely stupid things, trying to pretend i'm not unbelievably uncomfortable. I would rather stay at home with my parents. Once I know people and they know me, I become very outgoing. It's also easier on a one-to-one basis. But in a group? I just can't do it.

OK. i think that's enough of bearing my soul for one day.

Thursday, May 25, 2006

HUZZAH!

I know, three posts in one day - what is the world coming to?

But i just wanted to let you all know that I think by blogging this morning about being disorganised, I've somehow managed to inspire myself. I have got SO much done at work today. I like Thursdays, they're my long day at work. I'm here til 5.30, and don't start teaching til 6, isntead of rushing off at 3.30. Today i have completed about 3 projects that have been hanging over my head for months. Actually, it was more like giving appropriate painful kicks up various bums to get other things done so that I could get done what I needed to. Don't you hate it when you have to work with other people to get things done, or if your things depend on theirs? Well, today they are finally on the way.

I.Am.So.Fucking.Awesome.

Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol. I love them. This is Hands Open, but the rest of their album is just beautiful.

It's hard to argue when you won't stop making sense
But my tongue still misbehaves and it
keeps digging my own grave with my

Hands open, and my eyes open
I just keep hoping
That your heart opens

Why would I sabotage
the best thing that I have
Well, it makes it easier to know
exactly what I want with my...

Hands open and my eyes open
I just keep hoping
that your heart opens

It's not as easy as willing it all to be right
Gotta be more than hoping it's right
I wanna hear you laugh like you really mean it
Collapse into me, tired with joy

mess mess all over the place.

I am not an organised person. Not at all. I'm all over the place. I do, however, have a phenomenal memory for remembering what I've got to do, and whether or not I've already done something. I don't have any sort of system for getting things done, which is why I'm not organised, but i never do things twice, and I always remember, almost down to the very wording, what I've done.

This is helpful when, say, if someone asks me to do something minor, I can turn around and say, i sent that to you in an email in October last year. Did you see what I did here? Yep. Clever.

Yesterday though, one of my students tried to compare my state of (dis)organisation to that of my eldest sister - the superly-freakily organised administrator and teacher. I decided right there and then that there is just no hope for me. If organisation were a disease, she's got it bad baby, and I'd be coming up in big red welts from an allergy right now. I actually dont' think i'd WANT to be that organised though... it's just not my style.

Sometimes though, I do hate being disorganised - I just hate not being in control. It doesn't happen very often, thank god. This year though, I started using a diary. Never before have I worried about forgetting things, but these days i have so much on (28 students, who like to chop and change their lesson times, as well as a full-time job, not to mention organising random weekends away and snow trips, and the rest of my social life, which these days seems to be out of control (in a good way, not in last year's crazy, self-destructive way)) that a diary was the only way to keep track of what was going on.

OK, so perhaps I'm not too bad, i mean, i DO have a diary. AND I use it. But I like to have the freedom to chop and change things, I don't want to be too tied down to anything. Everyone who knows me knows that I will be flexible with them as long as they can be flexible with me, and that works for me. It doesn't work for my sister, and she regularly gets incredibly frustrated by my lack of organisation (she is the general manager of an organisation that I deal with on a regular basis for my teaching), but I think that even she understands that's just how I do things.

Different strokes for different folks i guess.

Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Oh my word....

I used to be obsessed with words. I had a dictionary and a thesaurus on the floor by my bed at all times. If ever I came across a word whilst reading (which I also did, and still do i guess, an awful lot of) that I didn't know, I would look it up. If ever I was having an argument with someone about the meaning of a word, I would look it up to prove I was right, and I usually was. If I was thinking about things after I went to bed and I couldn't quite find the word I was looking for in my head, I would look it up.

I am still intensely curious about different words; about from where they are derived, their meaning and spelling. There are words i just love the sound of. There are words that get stuck in my head, I run over the spelling of them time and time again. However, today it saddened me to realise that I don't put as much effort into new words as i used to. I don't use new words nearly as often as I'd like, and though I still love words, I'm not nearly as fussy about my speech and grammar as I was.

"The Grammar Nazi," one of my friends used to call me. This was mainly because i couldn't help but correct others' incorrect use of grammar, spelling, pronunciation or just plain meaning (perhaps it's the teacher in me). I don't do that any more. Perhaps I've become desensitised to it. I often type as I would speak, quite casually, instead of formal writing, and I speak less carefully. Don't get me wrong, I can still write and type with perfect grammar, sentence structure and punctuation if necessary, I just often can't be bothered. I spend hours each day reading blogs, newspaper articles, other web-based material, much of which is not particularly well-written. Not to mention the people I work with, none of whom speak well. I guess though, that it's not important to them, and I guess it's not important to me that I do it all the time, but that I can if I want to.

Words that I wish i used more often in every day conversation:

avuncular
benevolent
malison
gregarious
maudlin
serendipitous
ignominy
subterfuge
halcyon
scintillating
vendetta
effervescent
malicious
paroxysm
supercilious

Words glorious words.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

um... so does it sound like me?

outgoing personality.

takes risks.

feeds on attention.

no self control.

kind hearted.

self confident.

loud and boisterous.

revengeful.

easy to get along with and talk to.

has an "every thing's peachy" attitude.

likes talking and singing.

loves music.

daydreamer.

easily distracted.

hates not being trusted.

BIG imagination.

LOVES to be LOVED.

hates studying.

in need of "that someone".

longs for freedom.

rebellious when withheld or restricted.

lives by "no pain no gain".

caring.

always a suspect.

playful.

mysterious.

"charming" or "beautiful" to everyone.

stubborn.

curious.

independent.

strong willed.

a fighter.

I don't think there is one single thing in there that does NOT describe me. It's uncanny. that's the description for people born in August... Funny thing is, many of them describe me, but they don't describe my twin brother. Many of them do, but not all of them. I guess there's no rule that says you have to be ALL of them....

Monday, May 22, 2006

Thanks a bunch....

No really. Thanks Juls. You know i can't turn one of these down. It's like being tagged in chasey when you're a kid... if you quit playing then, you're just soft. So here it is:

1. What time is it? 10.35am
2. What's your full name? Tamara Susan Bond
3. What are you most afraid of? being mediocre
4. What is the most recent movie that you have seen in a theatre? Um. i actually can't remember. This is a majorly big deal for me. I used to see 3 or 4 movies a week. now i can't remember what the last one i saw was....
5 . Place of birth? mornington bushnursing hospital
6. Favorite new food? toast with vegemite
7. What's your natural hair color? bondey/browny
8. Have you ever been to Alaska? No, but i've been close
9. Ever been toilet papering rolling? um... i guess not.
10. Love someone so much it made you cry? yep
11. Been in a car accident? yes
12. Croutons or bacon bits? croutons. bacon bits... ugh.
13. Favorite day of the week? Saturday, more often than not i don't have to do anything more than talk to friends and sit and drink coffee and rea dmy book, and unlike the other weekend day, it's not overshadowed yb the fact that the next day is monday!!!
14. Favorite Flower? Gerbreras
15. Favorite Restaurant? Chinta Blue in St. Kilda. I never thought i liked that sort of food until one of my friends dragged me... i love it. i love it to death, especially now that i'm close enough to get take away regularly!
16. Favorite sport to watch? swimming or gymnastics
17. Favorite Drink? coffee, vodka. not together though.
18. Favourite ice cream? honey crunch
19. Disney or Warner Brothers? i don't know... depends on the moofy
20. Favorite fast food restaurant? Nando's - but it's not so fast.
21. What color is your bedroom carpet? i have floorboards
22. How many times you failed your driver's test? once :( but it was SO not my fault.
23. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Mrs. Jess McH
24. What do you do most often when you are bored? do emails like this or read blogs or read the news, put on some music, read a book. it depends.
25. Bedtime? sometimes between 10 and 12.
26. Who will respond to this e-mail the quickest? um... don't know. But whoever reads is welcome to.
27. Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to respond? I'm not sending it to anyone, so i reckon a whole bunch of people will read it and not respond :-p
28. Favourite TV shows? Grey's Anatomy, House (maybe i have a thing for doctors...)
29. Ford or Chevy? um. i'm australian. ford.
32. What are you listening to right now? The air conditioner (and ministry of sound chillout 7)
33. What are your favorite colors? blue and silver
35. How many pets do you have? 1 dog - Tobias. the love of my life!
36. Which came first the chicken or the egg? depends on what sort of omlette it is.
37. What would you like to accomplish before you die? Something remarkable.
38. How many people are you sending this e-mail to? None. i'm putting it on my blog.
39. What time is it now? 10.45am

Friday, May 19, 2006

hokelly pokelly.

With all the sadness and trauma going on in the world at the moment, it is worth reflecting on the death of a very important person, which almost went unnoticed last week.

Larry LaPrise, the man that wrote "The Hokey Pokey" died peacefully at theage of 93.

The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin. They put his left leg in. And then the trouble started.

Shut up.

You know it's funny.

(please note that I can't take credit for this, i just thought it was hilarious... btw the guy actually did die).

To See or Not to See

Now, I haven’t yet seen the Da Vinci Code movie. After all, it only came out yesterday. Thing is, I am quite reluctant to see it. Amazing, I know, that I, someone who adores movies and enjoys nothing more than being entertained by often mindless twaddle for anywhere from 1-200 minutes should be holding back from seeing a film. Thing is, I have something against books made into films, particularly books that I’ve really enjoyed. Now, I’m not saying that the Da Vinci Code was the best book I’ve ever read. It wasn’t. I am saying though, that I devoured it in two days, and am intrigued by the concepts it raises, and I loved the characters, particularly Sir Leigh Teabing.

I have often been disappointed by blockbuster books that have been turn into supposedly blockbuster movies, or even just average books. See, there is a movie theatre in my mind. I have a particularly vivid imagination, and often, quite to my surprise, find that characters from books have voices, images, personalities, that are, I’m sure, quite different than how the author intended them, but also quite different from those every other person who’s read the book will imagine.

This is where movies from books run into dangerous territory: you can’t please everyone. The characters will almost certainly be different than how anyone has imagined them, so the majority of people will inevitably be disappointed. This is not to say that the movie itself won’t have merit, won’t be well-made, and won’t be entertaining. It can be all these things, it just won’t be like the book.

I will see the Da Vinci Code eventually, I’m sure. I just don’t have any great expectations of it.

Great books that have been turned into equally great movies:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Yes. I loved the books, I loved the moofies.
Bridget Jones’ diaries – entertaining. Such a great character
High Fidelity (book by Nick Hornby) – I love John Cusack.
Pay it Forward - Hayley Joel Osment is a brilliant child
Trainspotting – appeals to me in a very warped way
Requiem for a Dream – the movie gave me the creeps, but was certainly well made.

Great books that have been turned into TERRIBLE movies:
The Power of One – what was the crap. Seriously? Loved the book, would honestly like to drive The Beast repeatedly over every copy of the movie.
Emma (by Jane Austen) – um Hello? CLUELESS? Oh dear.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep – this was made into the film Blade Runner. Hated it. just revolting. Probably not helped that we studied it at school. Blegh.
The Manchurian Candidate – just wrong.

Comic books, on the other hand, make excellent movies.

X-men - the whole trilogy. Can't wait to see the new one. comes out on thursday. yippeee.
Spider Man
Batman (some of them, but certainly not the most recently one with katie-Recently-Turned-Scientologist- Holmes).
the Blade trilogy (the 3rd one was my favourite... i think it's cos Van Wilder was in it, not to mention Jessica Biel).
Elektra and Daredevil (actually i hated Daredevil, but loved elektra...)
Sin City (i actually hated this, put it in the bad movie category please).

OK. i like comics. Perhaps it's that i haven't sat down and read and become involved in the actual comic books, which is why i like the movies more, i haven't got as many pre-conceived ideas. Or maybe i'm just a big kid.

Thursday, May 18, 2006

happiness is...

I was thinking to myself last night, I’ve done an awful lot of blogging about things I don’t like, and about things I’m unhappy about, and about things that annoy me. So I thought that, for a change, I would blog about some things I do like. Things that make me happy, the reasons I do all the things I don’t like!!!

I love my family – yes it’s mushy, but it’s true. We’re a pretty big family, 4 kids and mum and dad, and we’re a very close family. We always ask each other’s opinions on everything (actually, we usually don’t ask, we just get everyone’s opinions whether we want them or not). Our family is split down the middle: there’s the half of them who walk away from a fight, and then there’s the half that always have to win the fight. Guess which side I’m on?

I love my friends – I have some of the best friends anyone could ever ask for. They put up with my crap, they hang around when I disappear for a year, they don’t judge me when I go (a little more than) slightly off the rails, and they’re always there for me. I hope I can be for them.

I love our new house – yes, we’ve finally moved. I have the biggest bedroom in history, and the biggest (almost) walk in wardrobe (more like stand in) in history. It’s awesome. Now I just can’t wait til the backyard’s finished we have the spa, and I can have a very drunken spa party. You’re all invited. No, really. All of you. Come and get drunk and get in my spa.

I love my teaching – yes. It’s true. I’ll often deny it, but more often than not, I really very much enjoy teaching the little shits. If nothing else, it’s not monotonous (unlike my 9-5 job)…. You never know how the little mite is going to react to anything. Sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating, mainly because I’m not scary enough so none of the kids practice.

Eg:

Johnny: I didn’t do any practice this week.
Me: Oh dear Johnny. Why not?
Johnny: Because Big Brother was on during my practice time.
Me: Oh dear. Well, how about we try harder this week then.
Johnny: But Big Brother’s still going to be on.
Me: Well how about we pick a different practice time. How about trying in the morning before school?
Johnny: I already get up early and I don’t’ like getting out of bed in the morning.
Me: Me either. Oh well, too bad. Big Brother wins again.

See? I’m too nice. That’s why all my students are crappola.

I love going on a Saturday afternoon to the coffee shop round the corner, having eggs and spinach and mushrooms and sitting and reading my book for a couple of hours. Nothing beats it. Nobody bothers me, apart from the very nice staff bringing me my food and endless coffees, and I get some solid reading done somewhere other than my bedroom.

I love the snow – but I already did a post about that here.

I love driving – I hate my car, but the Beast does get me around, when he’s not at the mechanics costing me money, or having windows broken and bags stolen.

I love my dog – My little Tobias. Oh my god I can’t believe he isn’t higher up this list (really he is, he just hasn’t been living with me for the last little while because our backyard isn’t enclosed and I don’t want to risk him ending up under The Beast, or someone else’s car). Little Tobias is my very favourite person in the world. He listens, he looks, he wags his tail, he kisses, he snuggles, he understands. I miss him to pieces, but hopefully he’ll be back in the next few weeks.


I love reading other people’s blogs (I also wrote a post about this here) – I am intrigued by the lives of people I don’t know. It is one of my greatest joys to check in on these strangers a couple of times a week, to be involved in their latest thoughts. Here are a few of my favourites. NB I don’t’ actually know any of these people in person – just in the blogosphere.

Ms Fits
Jellyfish
I’m Always Right ( particularly like the name of this one, but it’s about music!)
Kranki
The Book Bitches
There are so many more, but I won’t go on!

OK. I think that’s enough happiness for a few weeks. Back to being miserable again.

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

So i asked myself...

Have we grown up too quickly?
Do we all take ourselves too seriously?
Why is there no joy in small things any more?

These questions have all been provoked by a toy. Yes, that's right, a toy. Sitting on the other side of my wall at work is a singing reindeer in a yellow raincoat. I'm well aware that this is not your average piece of office furniture, but that's not the point. The reindeer sings "Singin' in the Rain" when people press it's foot, or belly or other random part of it's anatomy. Actually, i'm quite sure that sometimes it just spontaneously bursts into song - but that's not the point. It sings loudly, and often. It's annoying. People IT'S ANNOYING. OK?

The thing that got me thinking is, I love that song. I often hum away to myself in the shower, often it's that song. I like the Michael Buble version of that song.
So why is it that I get so annoyed when a cheerful, happy, children's toy reminds me of things i like?
I don't know.
Am i too busy to be happy?
Are innocent songs and toys no longer enough? The simple joys and all that rubbish.

There you have it. It's bollocks. It's rubbish. It's a waste of time. It has no use in my busy, busy life.

I have things to do, people to see. I don't need simple joys, I need sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. I need a big fat paycheque. I need fast cars. I need new shoes. I need expensive holidays, i need adventure sports. I need loud grungey music.

And if i'm not doing any of those things, I need sleep.

So, why don't i splash in puddles like a small child any more? BECAUSE MY FRICKEN FEET GET WET. THESE ARE FOUR HUNDRED DOLLAR SHOES YOU FREAK.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

celebrity crushes

OK. at various stages in my life, i've had celebrity crushes. I don't even remember all of them, but here are a couple that were relegated to "poster-on-the-wall" status (no mean feat in my tween-years).

The first one I remember was this bad boy:


And whatever happened to Seaquest DSV?



Of course, he didn't look like that then, he looked more like this: Still, i was only young myself... it would have been a perfect match!

These days, however, it tends to be guys more like this:




Oh wait, they're all Johnny Depp. I guess I have a type, huh?

OK, and this guy.

Funny thing is, Whilst I would turn down Johnny depp or Colin Farrell, in real life, i don't actually have a type. Sure, I guess everyone has a physical type to which they're initially attracted, but that very quickly becomes ALMOST irrelevant. The astonishingly hot guy with a spectacular ego and zero personality is not nearly as appealing as the average looking guy with who "just gets you." Unless you just want sex. In that case, find the hottest person you can, and shag their brains out. I just don't do that. Any more.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Who am I?

Who am I?

I was born in 1983 to an engineer and a secondary school geography teacher.
I am terrible at geography.
I have a twin brother and two elder sisters.
I used to have a love for, and a particular skill for all things aquatic.
Now I prefer my water to be frozen and falling from the sky.
I am still heavily involved in music, despite a 3 year hiatus where I swore I would never touch anything musical again.
My life’s greatest achievement has not yet been achieved.
My greatest achievement so far is still being alive.
My favourite person in the world has four legs, big brown eyes and a little black nose.
The most indulgent thing I can think of doing is lying in bed during the daytime, eating chips, and watching tv series on dvd.
I don’t do this nearly often enough.
Some people call me a workaholic.
My biggest secret is that I’m downright lazy.
I am smart. I am determined, and I will get my own way in almost anything I choose.
The epitome of my self-centeredness is that I have a blog all about myself that I write in every day, usually about myself.
Despite this selfishness and self-involvement, I am a very good listener, and I do not to judge my friends.
I have little patience for stupidity.
Once I’ve decided to do it, I tend to go head-first and full-on into everything.
I become easily obsessed, and, I fear, easily addicted.
I still have two teddy bears from the day I was born. They still live on my bed, and I often take one of them away with me.
I’m a creature of habit. I’m happiest with routine, and I don’t like uncertainty.

Have you worked me out yet? If so. Please let me know, so you can give me a hand with working myself out.

Friday, May 12, 2006

Have I got a little story for you...

Why should you expect to see something that you haven’t seen in somebody you’ve known since you were sixteen? It’s much better to face these things with a sense of poise and rationality. That one crowded hour lead to my wreck and ruin. I feel like quote out of context, so I keep doing the best imitation of myself. I got my cappuccino to go and I’m heading for the hills again, because everybody runs. Apparently, everybody skips, and everybody could be dying, but everybody’s fine.

How dare you say that my behaviour’s unacceptable. Are you fit to tread the fucking ground that I am walking on? I don’t want nobody. Not even you. I was caught up in the times, but if you catch up, you’ll find out why.

This girl needs therapy. She dreams in colour, she dreams in red. So the doctor reached into his bag, but instead of an injection pulled out a record with a tag. It’s just not scientific. A million times they ask me, and then they ask me over. I just answer perhaps. Please explain to me how is this place has come to be so twisted between time and dreams. I want to dig a hole through this storm of hatred. It’s like the only company I keep is misery hour after hour. It’s like I’m stuck. Like there’s a demon I can’t face down.

It’s a good thing that I’m not a star, you don’t know how lucky you are. Sad songs and waltzes aren’t selling this year. But there’s no difference if it’s yours or if it’s mine.

Just right now I can’t think of anything better to do than to sit down at my desk and write this blog. I might just stay here with my beer and fish and chips til it gets dark, cos hey, I’m still alive.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

It's here.


I don't know what it is about skiing, about being at the top of a mountain with nothing to do but point downwards... but the most free, the most energised, the happiest i've ever felt. It's there.

I wrestle with myself sometimes. I wrestle with my upbringing, and other peoples' expectations of my life. I would love nothing more than to ski. Every day, for the rest of forever. Few people I know would truly understand the feeling. Most people who ski like it alot. Few Are truly passionate about it. Most people I know would say that living in the snow, working for low pay, it's not a real life. That i'd get bored. I'd be poor forever. And maybe they're right. But there is just something about being in the mountains, being outside snow, hail or shine...sometimes all three!

I'm not the greatest skier in the world... in fact, if i'm honest, it's one of the few things i've ever loved to do even though i'm not brilliant at it. I think that, for me, that is what's different between this, and most of the other things I've ever done. I'ts not just something I do becuse i'm good at it. Competent, but not brilliant.

So the season starts in about a month's time. 4 months (at the outside) of checking snow reports and webcams every hour, thinking, dreaming and breathing snow.

A
nd these two people will be right there with me, they always are, at least in spirit. Two of my best friends. They just get it.They just get me.

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

leaving.

Were you laughed at by your friends

And were you lost for words when everybody finally told you what they thought

You can't keep up with the trends

It makes you lose but somehow everybody always makes up in the end

Oh, was it something that I ate

Oh, didn't even touch my plate

Oh, suddenly I'm feeling great

Do you like me now

Leaving home, life was never good to me

Leaving home, I smell the morning air

Leaving home, life was never good

You can work it out we're leaving home

I could hear them through the door

As people came in laughing at the way they acted when they were alone

And an argument can start with nothing more than this

To be the light and leave you standing on your own

Oh, am I doing it again

Oh, I'm a loser now and then

Oh, and I smile at everything Do you like me now

Hope I like the life I find when I leave everything behind

I hope I'm sure I've made my mind to go and leave home

Tuesday, May 09, 2006

Heartless?

How do people cope? How do they get over things? How do the move on with their lives?

One of the women at my work is a lovely person. Or, at least she was. These days, i do all i can to avoid being in the same room as her. She has turned from a friendly, happy, quiet and polite person into a bitter and twisted, complaining and rude wench. I know that sounds like a revolting thing to say, and i'm sure if I heard someone talking about another person like that, i'd say they were awful. That doesn't change the fact that it's true though.

The thing i want to know is, how can this experience have changed her so much? Will she ever get over it? Will she ever get on with her life? I wonder how i would cope in a similar situation. I keep saying to myself,
"I just wish she'd get over it. She has to get on with her life."
Easy to say. I guess, a little harder in practice.

I feel terribly sorry for her, really i do. I just wish she'd shut up about her messy divorce and stop trying to share her misery.

Am I a heartless bitch for wanting to enjoy my own happiness?
You Are Midnight

You are more than a little eccentric, and you're apt to keep very unusual habits.
Whether you're a nightowl, living in a commune, or taking a vow of silence - you like to experiment with your lifestyle.
Expressing your individuality is important to you, and you often lie awake in bed thinking about the world and your place in it.
You enjoy staying home, but that doesn't mean you're a hermit. You also appreciate quality time with family and close friends.
well i guess that explains why i'm posting this at 1am.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Who are you?

Hello.
My name is Tammiodo.
Who are you?
Do I know you?
Why are you here?
What do you do while you're here?
Did you realise there's a comments section here?
Have you ever posted a comment?
It would be nice if you did.
I know exactly how many people read this blog, but they never say much.
That makes me a little sad.
Come on people, help me out.

Friday, May 05, 2006

oops to you


tough break that.

The past now.

It's Friday afternoon. The week's nearly over. Thank God.

Has anyone else ever noticed just how depressing much of The Whitlams music is? Don't get me wrong - i love them. I think Tim Freedman has one of the sexiest voices around. It just seems to me that every time I listen to their music I get all nostalgic... and often this equates to being ever-so-slightly depressed.

"All my friends are fuck-ups, but they're fun to have around." (You Sound Like Lois Burdette)

I think i'm the person that people say that about... oh she's the fucked up one. But at least if ALL their friends are fuck-ups, i'm not alone.

Music always evokes a very strong reaction in me - extremes of emotion. Over the years have almost always had a song with which i'm obsessed... at all times. Now when I hear those same songs, even years later, I am reminded of what was happening in my life at the time I had each track on repeat. I can tell you how old I was, what time of year it was (usually to at least the month), and why I loved it then, what it made me feel. Those emotions are almost inevitably unchanged now.

I can be driving along the freeway with the radio on, one of these songs will come on and i will feel an inexplicable rush of confusion and uncertainty: not related to anything in my life now, but from 5 or 10 years ago when i loved the song. Sometimes these songs were related to happy memories, and i get hyperactive and giggly. I guess everyone has reactions to certain things from their past. My just find music is the most evoctive for me.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

I hate you.

I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair.

I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare.

I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind.

I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme.

I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie.

I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry.

I hate it that you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call.

But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all. -


It's one of my favourite trashy teen movies for a reason. Who else could say it like that?

I'm spaz

On one of my first posts on this blog, I wrote about how i almost always wear black, http://tammiodo.blogspot.com/2006/02/black-is-back.html , but today i thought of another reason. I have this pale pink jumper. i really like it alot. every time i wear it, i spill coffee on it, and can't wear it for a week while my mum tries to extract coffee stain (NB she's very good at this by now!).

Every time i wear something in a light colour, i inevitably spill something on it, brush up against something dirty, accidentally draw on it and just plain mess it up.

i'm completely spaz.

Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Addicted to...

I have an addiction.
I haven't told anyone about this addiction.
I'm a little embarrassed about it.
If you're reading this, you might have a similar addiction.
I dont' think this addiction is necessarily a bad thing, not yet, anyway.
This addiction has made me laugh, made me cry, it has inspired me, it has depressed me.

I'm addicted to other people's lives, and other people's writing: I'm addicted to blogs.

I spend ages sifting through different blogs each day. Some favourites I have bookmarked, and check eagerly to see if they've been updated, waiting to read the next instalment in someone else's everyday. Sometimes I just click on the next blog button at the top of this page, and see where it leads me.

I'm wondering though, does this obsession makes me slightly voyeuristic? Maybe even a little stalkerish? Dont' get me wrong, I don't try and find out who these people are in real life... I don't go and sit outside their house or make prank phonecalls in the middle of the night. But am intensely curious about what's going to happen next in their lives, and how they will interpret it.
Sometimes I wonder if I would know these people if I evercame across them. Would there be some connection? A knowing smile that says, I know who you are. I'd like to think I could be friends with some of these people. Many of their personalities appeal to me through their writing. Are they as witty and interesting in real life?
I guess, in most cases, I will just never know.

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

To do or not to do

OK... so i always thought those online university things were a bit of a joke. I mean... everybody gets those stupid junk emails from the University of Phoenix... get your degree blah blah blah. But lately i've been hearing alot of ads on the radio for Open Universities Australia. I thought it was some stupid scheme. But i thought i'd check it out, just to see what it was.

Turns out that I can do pretty much any course I want to, each subject runs over 13 weeks, but you can start it at 4 times during the year, so you can do two subjects at once, and work year round and still do a full uni year worth of course within a year... or you can just do a few subjects for interest's sake. And the best part is that you can do it all online. For most subjects you never once have to set foot on a campus.

Thing is, I think i was actually looking for excuses and reasons NOT to go back to uni... but now i'm quite excited at the prospect of getting a communications degree, but not having to stop working...

I guess now the question is, can I handle it all?

Monday, May 01, 2006

Wedding Bells

One of my very very good friends just got back from overseas, where she has been working for 6 months (for the 3rd winter in a row!). She and her boyfriend came to visit me yesterday, and I was most surprised when she introduced her boyfriend to my parents as her husband. It actually took a second for me to register that the word she had used was husband... and then to realise that it was because they had got married while they were overseas, not just because they were GOING to get married (which I'd sort of just assumed anyway!). Not only that, but she'd managed to keep it a secret for 5 weeks, so that they could tell everyone face to face!

They then proceeded to tell me one of the most romantic engagement/wedding stories I've ever heard. In a nutshell, he proposed, and they got married 10 minutes later on a mountain at 12,000 feet in the snow. They'd been going out for 8 years, so she really was pretty much a sure thing, but still, once she'd said yes, there was no chance for changing of minds! Its just beautiful, and it's so... THEM. It suits them right down to the bottom of their well-worn ski boots.

Anyways, another couple I know really well are getting married this year (granted, i know about this one in advance!). Their engagement story is equally as charming, although quite different. Their wedding is going to be a rather large, showy affair. I'm certain it will be stunningly beautiful, but i'm also absolutely certain it's costing a fortune.

Now, I think there are upsides and downsides to each:

-one had only the friends who happened to be on the mountain, on the day, whereas the other gives the opportunity for all friends and family to be part of the celebration.
-one was two months in planning for a couple of people, one will have been 18 months in planning for a team of people. Now, as a consequence of this, for one there was no time for stress or fuss, and the other gives plenty of time, and often reason, for Bridezilla (and Familyzilla) to rear their ugly heads.
-one involved minimal cost, the other will cost enough for a deposit on a good sized family home!

In the end though, both are/will be a celebration of two people, and, as corny as it sounds, a celebration of their love. I think that's beautiful, and no matter what form the wedding itself takes, they still end up with the same result!

So, congratulations to J&J. I wish I had been able to be there, but I honestly couldn't be happier for you both.

Also, congratulations to G&E. I'm so looking forward to your wedding, and to you both coming home!!!