I received an offer from RMIT.
Unfrotunately I had people aropund my desk when the call came through so I could not disucss details.
I will discuss details, conditions, timings etc with them tomorrow.
Thursday, 31 July 2008
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
The plot thickens
I have received in today's mail my official termination notice from the Real Estate.
I am required to vacate the premises by 1 October 2008 (a touch over the 60 days required).
The interesting part is that the reason listed for terminating the lease. There are a number of tick boxes and you chose the appropriate one and strike out all the rest.
The reason ticked for terminating the lease is not "sale of premises".
The reason ticked is "No Grounds".
Interesting .... and yet completely legal.
I am required to vacate the premises by 1 October 2008 (a touch over the 60 days required).
The interesting part is that the reason listed for terminating the lease. There are a number of tick boxes and you chose the appropriate one and strike out all the rest.
The reason ticked for terminating the lease is not "sale of premises".
The reason ticked is "No Grounds".
Interesting .... and yet completely legal.
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Disturbing!
Unshelved is a library comic. It is set in a fictional Public Library in the US and is written by a librarian and inked by a cartoonist (or the other way around).
Anyway most of the humour in the strip is because I recognise and empathise with the situations or they are poking fun at social issues - like a sequence last year where they took banned books to the extreme ....
Yesterday's strip is actually quite disturbing and not at all funny. But it is a message that definitely needs to get "out there" and be recognised.
http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20080728
Anyway most of the humour in the strip is because I recognise and empathise with the situations or they are poking fun at social issues - like a sequence last year where they took banned books to the extreme ....
Yesterday's strip is actually quite disturbing and not at all funny. But it is a message that definitely needs to get "out there" and be recognised.
http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20080728
And .... the other situation
I returned home from Perth late last Monday night. For the rest of the week I received heaps of phone calls from my landlady all along the lines of "can I bring someone through the place tomorrow - I'd like to send a photographer in on Saturday - you don't mind if I just pop in on Friday with the pest inspector do you".
On Friday I sent the following email to the Real Estate Agency.
Hi Amy,
ItsMelissa Hicks here, tenant from 25 Alison Rd , Springfield
Since then she has rung me directly regarding showing someone through the property "but it is not a viewing" and a termite inspection guy for tomorrow afternoon. After further discussions with the NSW Office of Fair Trading and the Rental Advisory Board I am now going to insist that all communication come via your office.
In the spirit of this, I am hereby asking that you convey the following message to Ms Coyne please.
Dear Ms Coyne,
I have had further discussions with the NSW Office of Fair Trading and the NSW Rental Advisory board and have been informed that your recent communications with me regarding your intention to sell the property at25 Alison Rd Springfield
I hereby rescind my permission for you to enter the property tomorrow or arrange anyone else to enter the property tomorrow. In fact I now give a blanket statement that I hereby rescind all informal arrangements we have had. I now require that all communications with me go via the L J Hooker Real Estate Office Property Manager.
I have not received any formal communication from the Real Estate that you intend to sell the property I am currently tenanting. I will require a formal written posted letter from the Real Estate before I will give permission for any arrangements relating to the eventual sale of the property.
I also request that all communications be made to me via a written posted letter from the Real Estate Property Manager with a minimum of seven days notice from receipt of letter for all requests to enter the property.
Regards
Melissa Hicks .
I rang the Real Estate agency and spoke with Amy and discussed the contents of the email before I sent it through. Amy said I was being perfectly reasonable.
Every single time, not usually, but *always* when Veronica arranges someone to come around, she *always* brings them over personally and introduces them and explains what exactly they wish to enter the property to do. I.e. Here's Sam X, he's the plumber and come to fix the leaking toilet. Like I hadn't figured that out from the truck labelled "Sam's Plumbing".
Well this Saturday (the day after the Real Estate agency passed on my message) there was a knock at the door and a man said "Hi I'm the pest inspector. I need to see into your roof." I apologised but informed him that the landlady knew that there was no access into the property today. I am sorry she still made the booking with you.
He said "look love, do it as a favour to me - if I don't see into that ceiling I wont get paid".
Then I suggest you take that up with the person who hired you under false pretences. She got you out here or at least didn't cancel your appointment when she knew you were not allowed access onto the property.
He said "look I'm a working man with a wife and kids to feed - are you going to help me or not?"
I'm sorry - but no. And I shut the door.
He walked across the landing and stared in at the window at me with his arms crossed and just glared at me for over five minutes and then he stalked off back over to the land lady's place. She rung me four times over the next two hours but I refused to answer the phone. I had told her that all communication was to come through the Real Estate - I'm sick of her bullying.
Anyway a couple of hours later he left.
On Sunday Veronica received visitors who spent a lot of time in her garden peering at my front and back yards and at the house - but they did not cross the boundary onto my property.
Tonight I came home late and I saw a bobbing torch/flashlight as someone scampered back over to her place.
This is tiresome. Do I keep all the curtains and blinds closed to ensure privacy, or do I allow Trubs some patches of sunlight in these winter days ....
It is Tuesday night. I have received no emails and no written letters from the Real Estate Agency at all informing me of any of the situation going on. I still have not received any official notification that she is trying to sell the place out from under me.
To be continued .....
On Friday I sent the following email to the Real Estate Agency.
Hi Amy,
Its
Since then she has rung me directly regarding showing someone through the property "but it is not a viewing" and a termite inspection guy for tomorrow afternoon. After further discussions with the NSW Office of Fair Trading and the Rental Advisory Board I am now going to insist that all communication come via your office.
In the spirit of this, I am hereby asking that you convey the following message to Ms Coyne please.
Dear Ms Coyne,
I have had further discussions with the NSW Office of Fair Trading and the NSW Rental Advisory board and have been informed that your recent communications with me regarding your intention to sell the property at
I hereby rescind my permission for you to enter the property tomorrow or arrange anyone else to enter the property tomorrow. In fact I now give a blanket statement that I hereby rescind all informal arrangements we have had. I now require that all communications with me go via the L J Hooker Real Estate Office Property Manager.
I have not received any formal communication from the Real Estate that you intend to sell the property I am currently tenanting. I will require a formal written posted letter from the Real Estate before I will give permission for any arrangements relating to the eventual sale of the property.
I also request that all communications be made to me via a written posted letter from the Real Estate Property Manager with a minimum of seven days notice from receipt of letter for all requests to enter the property.
Regards
I rang the Real Estate agency and spoke with Amy and discussed the contents of the email before I sent it through. Amy said I was being perfectly reasonable.
Every single time, not usually, but *always* when Veronica arranges someone to come around, she *always* brings them over personally and introduces them and explains what exactly they wish to enter the property to do. I.e. Here's Sam X, he's the plumber and come to fix the leaking toilet. Like I hadn't figured that out from the truck labelled "Sam's Plumbing".
Well this Saturday (the day after the Real Estate agency passed on my message) there was a knock at the door and a man said "Hi I'm the pest inspector. I need to see into your roof." I apologised but informed him that the landlady knew that there was no access into the property today. I am sorry she still made the booking with you.
He said "look love, do it as a favour to me - if I don't see into that ceiling I wont get paid".
Then I suggest you take that up with the person who hired you under false pretences. She got you out here or at least didn't cancel your appointment when she knew you were not allowed access onto the property.
He said "look I'm a working man with a wife and kids to feed - are you going to help me or not?"
I'm sorry - but no. And I shut the door.
He walked across the landing and stared in at the window at me with his arms crossed and just glared at me for over five minutes and then he stalked off back over to the land lady's place. She rung me four times over the next two hours but I refused to answer the phone. I had told her that all communication was to come through the Real Estate - I'm sick of her bullying.
Anyway a couple of hours later he left.
On Sunday Veronica received visitors who spent a lot of time in her garden peering at my front and back yards and at the house - but they did not cross the boundary onto my property.
Tonight I came home late and I saw a bobbing torch/flashlight as someone scampered back over to her place.
This is tiresome. Do I keep all the curtains and blinds closed to ensure privacy, or do I allow Trubs some patches of sunlight in these winter days ....
It is Tuesday night. I have received no emails and no written letters from the Real Estate Agency at all informing me of any of the situation going on. I still have not received any official notification that she is trying to sell the place out from under me.
To be continued .....
Monday, 28 July 2008
Well 15 hours later .....
15 hours and 15 minutes after I left home this morning, I returned home tonight.I attended my interview in Melbourne.
It went for an hour and a half and at the end I was taken on a tour of the work area and shown the office the successful applicant will have.
I blitzed all the technical and procedural questions. I can do the job standing on my head and they knew it. I had to put a presentation together and then present it based on a given scenario. I listed all the unknowns that weren't covered by the scenario and then listed the assumptions I made to cover this. I then did the presentation.
They looked at each other for an uncomfortably long time and said - well we can't think of any questions, in role or as interviewers to ask about this presentation. You have been so thorough there's nothing left for us to ask. And I did it in less than the 5 minutes allocated.
It went on like that for all of the technical questions.
However, I don't think I did anywhere near as well on the personality questions. I really could not gauge what it was they wanted, so I just gave up and was just me. I figured if they want me, they'll know what I am and how I behave. If they want someone with a different personality then its better for us to all know now.
Their body language and the fact they stopped taking notes made me uncomfortably aware that all three of them had made up their minds before the end of the interview. I don't know if that is good or bad - I really cannot tell - but I know they did each form definite impressions of me.
They will decide later this week and will send out official notifications to the successful and unsuccessful applicants next week.
So for those that are that way inclined, please ask your deities to make sure they chose the "right" decision whatever that is ....
Karma was working for me this afternoon. I misjudged the waiting queue for the Skybus back to the airport and I arrived 13 minutes after my plane was supposed to be boarded. Turns out my flight was delayed an hour.
So I'm home now. I've eaten junk food for dinner and some Haigh's chocolates and teased Stephen and now I'm going to fall over and go comatose for a few hours ....
Night all.
Sunday, 27 July 2008
Two things ...
... that caught my interest while web surfing today ....
French children's TV advert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Kpg3asXj8
Steampunk Animated short movie .....
http://www.cyberthing.net/video-play.php?id=89
French children's TV advert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8Kpg3asXj8
Steampunk Animated short movie .....
http://www.cyberthing.net/video-play.php?id=89
Saturday, 26 July 2008
Trubs Littermate
Has to be - even down to The Look ....
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/07/at-last-the-tru.html
http://mfrost.typepad.com/cute_overload/2008/07/at-last-the-tru.html
I'm a spontaneous person
This evening as a favour to Alison {1) I went out with her to the movies to see Mamma Mia!
It is a fantastic movie !!!! OK Pierce Brosnan can't sing any better than I can .... but he gives it a go {2}. All the actors and actresses sing their own parts.
When I grow up I'm going to be Julie Walters! And I still lust after Colin Firth !!!!!
Both Alison and I had tears streaming down our faces and we wanted to join in most of the songs. The pace of the movie hums along well with only one really flat spot. I I like the resolutions to most of the plot and subplots and it was in all a very sweet movie.
Definitely a movie that resonates with anyone who has loved and lost, and anyone who was an ABBA baby! {3}
This is definitely one we are going to get on DVD and watch by ourselves one night, with a few bottles of wine, and we are going to belt out the songs right along with the actors!!!
Definitely - greatest comedy of 2008 so far for me.
One word of warning - do not leave the cinema early! You must watch all the movie until the credits are alone.
{1} Well you all know how lonesome it is to go to the movies by yourself! So we did a deal, I'll go to Momma Mia and she'll see Dark Knight with me next weekend. And we are both going with mum to see Forbidden Kingdom the weekend after.
{2} And if you *really* can not listen to people sing off key you can put your fingers in your ears for his two songs.
{3} Anyone who was born in the late 60s or early 70s and grew up listening to all the ABBA songs {3a}
{3a} Yes I can sing along with just about all of them {3b}
{3b} Yes I was told to shut up at the age of six because I would insist on singing ABBA songs at the top of my lungs. {3c}
{3c} I was word perfect but off key. {3d}
{3d} Not much has changed.
It is a fantastic movie !!!! OK Pierce Brosnan can't sing any better than I can .... but he gives it a go {2}. All the actors and actresses sing their own parts.
When I grow up I'm going to be Julie Walters! And I still lust after Colin Firth !!!!!
Both Alison and I had tears streaming down our faces and we wanted to join in most of the songs. The pace of the movie hums along well with only one really flat spot. I I like the resolutions to most of the plot and subplots and it was in all a very sweet movie.
Definitely a movie that resonates with anyone who has loved and lost, and anyone who was an ABBA baby! {3}
This is definitely one we are going to get on DVD and watch by ourselves one night, with a few bottles of wine, and we are going to belt out the songs right along with the actors!!!
Definitely - greatest comedy of 2008 so far for me.
One word of warning - do not leave the cinema early! You must watch all the movie until the credits are alone.
{1} Well you all know how lonesome it is to go to the movies by yourself! So we did a deal, I'll go to Momma Mia and she'll see Dark Knight with me next weekend. And we are both going with mum to see Forbidden Kingdom the weekend after.
{2} And if you *really* can not listen to people sing off key you can put your fingers in your ears for his two songs.
{3} Anyone who was born in the late 60s or early 70s and grew up listening to all the ABBA songs {3a}
{3a} Yes I can sing along with just about all of them {3b}
{3b} Yes I was told to shut up at the age of six because I would insist on singing ABBA songs at the top of my lungs. {3c}
{3c} I was word perfect but off key. {3d}
{3d} Not much has changed.
Bad Mel went shopping ....
Picture This Plus is having a 25% off all stock in the store one day sale .....
I didn't spend as much as I was expecting on my hair and clothes for Monday's interview so I went a little calculated nutso with some stash shopping ......
NN1311 Apple Blosson Green, NN : 1
Because I need it for a pattern and I can't find the original NN anywhere ....
SamplersPink Azalea : 1
SamplersRoyal Purple : 1
SamplersSugarplum : 1
SamplersDeep Sea : 1
SamplersDark Chocolate : 1
For My Big Toe Design "Eat the Chocolate"
SamplersBlack Raspberry Jam : 4
For Midsummer Night Design: Medieval Mermaid
JJ Size 26 : 1 : 2.25
JJ Size 28 : 1 : 2.35
DMC Labels : 1 : 1.55
Because I can :)
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Crystal Gothic : 1
For Susan Saltzgiver Designs: Is it my eyes
fat 1/4 Cashel 28, Crystal Carnival : 1
For Dragonfly Lane: Inquisitive Dragon
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Carnival : 1
For Fanta Cat: Spirit Within
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Fog : 1
For Cross Eyed Kat: Snowfight Blue
and Cross Eyed Kat: Snowfight Red
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Crystal Relic : 1
For Stitching Pretty Presents: Eloquent Christmas
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Tarnish : 1
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Echo : 1
WeeksGalvanized : 1
WeeksBark : 1
WeeksMoonglow : 1
WeeksMascara : 1
WeeksPebble : 1
WeeksWhite Lightning : 1
WeeksOnyx : 1
All for Moonflower designs Shadows
I didn't spend as much as I was expecting on my hair and clothes for Monday's interview so I went a little calculated nutso with some stash shopping ......
NN1311 Apple Blosson Green, NN : 1
Because I need it for a pattern and I can't find the original NN anywhere ....
SamplersPink Azalea : 1
SamplersRoyal Purple : 1
SamplersSugarplum : 1
SamplersDeep Sea : 1
SamplersDark Chocolate : 1
For My Big Toe Design "Eat the Chocolate"
SamplersBlack Raspberry Jam : 4
For Midsummer Night Design: Medieval Mermaid
JJ Size 26 : 1 : 2.25
JJ Size 28 : 1 : 2.35
DMC Labels : 1 : 1.55
Because I can :)
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Crystal Gothic : 1
For Susan Saltzgiver Designs: Is it my eyes
fat 1/4 Cashel 28, Crystal Carnival : 1
For Dragonfly Lane: Inquisitive Dragon
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Carnival : 1
For Fanta Cat: Spirit Within
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Fog : 1
For Cross Eyed Kat: Snowfight Blue
and Cross Eyed Kat: Snowfight Red
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Crystal Relic : 1
For Stitching Pretty Presents: Eloquent Christmas
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Tarnish : 1
fat 1/8 Cashel 28, Echo : 1
WeeksGalvanized : 1
WeeksBark : 1
WeeksMoonglow : 1
WeeksMascara : 1
WeeksPebble : 1
WeeksWhite Lightning : 1
WeeksOnyx : 1
All for Moonflower designs Shadows
Thursday, 24 July 2008
Dentists and Lollies
Yes I am aware of the irony ...
Tuesday night while I was down with the worst of the lurgy I somehow chipped the enamel off one side of a tooth.
Had a very very bad night.
Rang my dentist and got put in for a lunchtime appointment.
After the usual "hang on - after that root canal weren't you going to take a break until after Christmas" followed by "well yeah I had a break - see it broke here".
The dentist got down to work and discovered that I simply sheared the enamel off one side of a tooth. Apparently this is quite rare and we are not quite sure how I did it.
She numbed the area and started work and placed a filling around the outside to replace the enamel. The actual tooth is completely healthy - nothing wrong with it.
Went out to pay the bill and my lovely wonderful dentist waved the gap payment.
In Australia most adults over 30 have private health insurance, but it only pays part of the costs. You the patient have to pay the "gap" between what the practitioners charge and the medical insurance will pay.
My dentist waived a gap payment of $261.00.
I have the most awesome dentist on the planet !!!! Kelly is about 10 years older than me and is a down to earth tell it straight woman. If its going to hurt she says "this is going to hurt". She'll even say "a bit" or "a lot" and she's usually right.
I love her to bits - and not just because she saved me some money from an emergency filling.
After I got out of the dentist I went for a wander around Terrigal. I don't tend to go there during business hours so it was a bit of a treat.
I found a lolly shop!
While I was in Perth with Stephen we found a couple of Lolly Shops and I bought a 3 Musketeers bar and a packet of Junior Mints seeing as you lovely ladies have waxed lyrical about them.
The 3 Musketeers bar tasted far far far too sweet for my taste! The Junior Mints though were right up my alley and I bought an extra two packets and brought them home with me on the plane.
At the lolly shop in Terrigal I found these treats again! I can buy them locally - yay !!!!!
I bought another 3 Musketeers bar (in case my taste buds were affected by the lurgy) and two more packets of Junior Mints - Sisu you bad woman, you have me addicted to these!
A few hours later when I was at home, I was quietly reading web comics and sucking on a square of Cadbury Dairy Milk when a small piece of the new enamel fell out .....
I rang the dentist and because it wasn't hurting I was scheduled in for this afternoon after work.
(Is this the part where I point out that my dentist usually has a 6 week waiting list ????)
Went in this afternoon and Kelly found the issue. My jaw has realigned again and the enamel was sheared because that is where the point of one of my upper canines comes down. So she did a bit of filing down and measuring my bite and checking out my other teeth and making sure there aren't any other stress fractures waiting to happen. Then she repaired the false enamel and I came home.
She did a lot of new work over the top of the original fix-it job - and again she waived the gap fee.
How many times do you hear someone say I LOVE MY DENTIST !!!!!
She even takes my word and doesn't numb my mouth until it really really has to be done ....
Just like my doctor who knows I prefer not to be prescribed antibiotics unless it is really really necessary ...
Happy sigh !!!!
(Now where are those Junior Mints)
Tuesday night while I was down with the worst of the lurgy I somehow chipped the enamel off one side of a tooth.
Had a very very bad night.
Rang my dentist and got put in for a lunchtime appointment.
After the usual "hang on - after that root canal weren't you going to take a break until after Christmas" followed by "well yeah I had a break - see it broke here".
The dentist got down to work and discovered that I simply sheared the enamel off one side of a tooth. Apparently this is quite rare and we are not quite sure how I did it.
She numbed the area and started work and placed a filling around the outside to replace the enamel. The actual tooth is completely healthy - nothing wrong with it.
Went out to pay the bill and my lovely wonderful dentist waved the gap payment.
In Australia most adults over 30 have private health insurance, but it only pays part of the costs. You the patient have to pay the "gap" between what the practitioners charge and the medical insurance will pay.
My dentist waived a gap payment of $261.00.
I have the most awesome dentist on the planet !!!! Kelly is about 10 years older than me and is a down to earth tell it straight woman. If its going to hurt she says "this is going to hurt". She'll even say "a bit" or "a lot" and she's usually right.
I love her to bits - and not just because she saved me some money from an emergency filling.
After I got out of the dentist I went for a wander around Terrigal. I don't tend to go there during business hours so it was a bit of a treat.
I found a lolly shop!
While I was in Perth with Stephen we found a couple of Lolly Shops and I bought a 3 Musketeers bar and a packet of Junior Mints seeing as you lovely ladies have waxed lyrical about them.
The 3 Musketeers bar tasted far far far too sweet for my taste! The Junior Mints though were right up my alley and I bought an extra two packets and brought them home with me on the plane.
At the lolly shop in Terrigal I found these treats again! I can buy them locally - yay !!!!!
I bought another 3 Musketeers bar (in case my taste buds were affected by the lurgy) and two more packets of Junior Mints - Sisu you bad woman, you have me addicted to these!
A few hours later when I was at home, I was quietly reading web comics and sucking on a square of Cadbury Dairy Milk when a small piece of the new enamel fell out .....
I rang the dentist and because it wasn't hurting I was scheduled in for this afternoon after work.
(Is this the part where I point out that my dentist usually has a 6 week waiting list ????)
Went in this afternoon and Kelly found the issue. My jaw has realigned again and the enamel was sheared because that is where the point of one of my upper canines comes down. So she did a bit of filing down and measuring my bite and checking out my other teeth and making sure there aren't any other stress fractures waiting to happen. Then she repaired the false enamel and I came home.
She did a lot of new work over the top of the original fix-it job - and again she waived the gap fee.
How many times do you hear someone say I LOVE MY DENTIST !!!!!
She even takes my word and doesn't numb my mouth until it really really has to be done ....
Just like my doctor who knows I prefer not to be prescribed antibiotics unless it is really really necessary ...
Happy sigh !!!!
(Now where are those Junior Mints)
Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Snotfest 2008 (tm) Travels Down Under
Well considering its the middle of July (i.e. the middle of Winter) I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.
When I first got to Perth Stephen was working really long hours and was exhausted every night. A few days later when he started to actually take time off work and spend with me instead, we discovered that the exhaustion wasn't due to over working.
The poor uncomplaining lamb had contracted a really really bad head and chest cold. He tried his best to come out with me and see the sights and he never complained but he was really sick.
Then naturally enough, I contracted it.
Never fly on a plane when you have sinusitis through your ears. It hurts.
Stephen is slowly on the mend and I think that today I am too. I think last night was the absolute worst for me.
I have reduced lung capacity because of the chest infection. I have really bad sinusitis and I laid awake last night for hours because my forearms wrists and hands ached so badly. I mean my whole body aches but these were aching so much that I could not get comfortable nor could I sleep.
It reminded me of when I had tendinitis and my forearms were certainly swollen. I think that what's been happening is that I've been clenching my fists while I sleep - something I do when I have nightmares or in pain while sleeping.
Oh and to cap it all off, I somehow chipped a tooth at some point yesterday so I was awake for hours with a toothache.
Saw the doctor yesterday who gave me a prescription for antibiotics and a decongestant cough syrup. Now have appointment with dentist today for chipped tooth.
Spoke with mum and she said that this thing is going around a the moment and I've gotten a light dose because many of her clients have had to be hospitalised. Its a good thing that I have good lungs to start with (thank you peanut gallery).
This also explains why Stephen is taking sooo long to recover - although not hospitalised, he certainly had a worse dose than I did.
If I have a proper night's sleep tonight I will go back to work tomorrow. I definitely do have a medical certificate for Mon-Wed this week because I know the rumours that go around when you claim sick leave at the end of holidays .....
When I first got to Perth Stephen was working really long hours and was exhausted every night. A few days later when he started to actually take time off work and spend with me instead, we discovered that the exhaustion wasn't due to over working.
The poor uncomplaining lamb had contracted a really really bad head and chest cold. He tried his best to come out with me and see the sights and he never complained but he was really sick.
Then naturally enough, I contracted it.
Never fly on a plane when you have sinusitis through your ears. It hurts.
Stephen is slowly on the mend and I think that today I am too. I think last night was the absolute worst for me.
I have reduced lung capacity because of the chest infection. I have really bad sinusitis and I laid awake last night for hours because my forearms wrists and hands ached so badly. I mean my whole body aches but these were aching so much that I could not get comfortable nor could I sleep.
It reminded me of when I had tendinitis and my forearms were certainly swollen. I think that what's been happening is that I've been clenching my fists while I sleep - something I do when I have nightmares or in pain while sleeping.
Oh and to cap it all off, I somehow chipped a tooth at some point yesterday so I was awake for hours with a toothache.
Saw the doctor yesterday who gave me a prescription for antibiotics and a decongestant cough syrup. Now have appointment with dentist today for chipped tooth.
Spoke with mum and she said that this thing is going around a the moment and I've gotten a light dose because many of her clients have had to be hospitalised. Its a good thing that I have good lungs to start with (thank you peanut gallery).
This also explains why Stephen is taking sooo long to recover - although not hospitalised, he certainly had a worse dose than I did.
If I have a proper night's sleep tonight I will go back to work tomorrow. I definitely do have a medical certificate for Mon-Wed this week because I know the rumours that go around when you claim sick leave at the end of holidays .....
Sunday, 20 July 2008
King's Park
Stephen and I spent a few hours yesterday in King's Park. It is a beautiful area. A large city park, a war memorial and a botanic garden all rolled into one and situated on a hill overlooking the main CBD of the city and the river the city straddles.The pic above is one from the Kings Park site (I forgot to take my camera) and this pic has a boab tree in the foreground.
While we were at the park yesterday they were transplanting a 750 year old boab tree.
See news articles here and here. This tree was a truly awe-inspiring sight.
I will be flying home later today ....
Thursday, 17 July 2008
Further Life Update
I heard from RMIT this morning. They have rescheduled the interviews for the position for Monday 28 July 2008 so that I can attend an interview in person in Melbourne.
Stephen says that the fact they have postponed all the interviews one week so that I can attend in person says that they are really impressed with my resume.
He has also already very kindly booked and paid my flights to and from Melbourne that day.
All I need to do now is inform my Director next Tuesday when I get back to work .... I presume there will be no problems with me taking the day off .....
Stephen says that the fact they have postponed all the interviews one week so that I can attend in person says that they are really impressed with my resume.
He has also already very kindly booked and paid my flights to and from Melbourne that day.
All I need to do now is inform my Director next Tuesday when I get back to work .... I presume there will be no problems with me taking the day off .....
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
S.E.X ..... or Holiday Adventures continuing
Well after yesterday's washout ... seriously it rained all day so I was a wuss and stayed home and read and stitched a little and caught up on webcomics ....
Last night was good. Met Stephen after work and went out for dinner and the movies. Saw Hancock - very interesting movie. Everything in the adverts is taken care of in the first part of the movie and I was literally left with,well where is the movie going to go from here .... it can't be over yet? and it took a severe left turn into uncharted territory and moved from a light comedy into a serious drama piece .... left me feeling a little strange as it is a movie that kinda purported to be one thing but changed into something else.
It was interesting and I do recommend going to see it on cheap night at the cinema.
Today I was up and out of the door before Stephen and actually found my way to the bus stop, got off at the right stop, bought a train ticket, caught the right train and got off at the right stop all by myself. {1} I even had enough time to pick Janine up a bunch of flowers en route.
Had a ball visiting Janine and her family for around 5 hours ish .... After seeing her lovely home and some of the completed projects on her walls (her version of St Sophia is stunning and then framing is oh so simple but oh so effective) !!!
I was allowed to play in the shop ..... two hours later I dragged myself away from the charts for lunch. An hour or so after that I whittled down the pile to my budget (plus 50%). I didn't even really get a chance to look through the smaller charts or the fabrics or the flosses yet .... maybe next visit {evil grin}
I bought:
a darling pair of tabby cat embroidery scissors
1 skein Dinky dyes Emerald
1 skein Dinky Dyes Topaz
Enchanting Lair Dragonsheart
Enchanting Lair Irish Fields Hand dyed fabric for Dragons Heart design
JBW Designs French Country Cat
JBW Designs French Country Love
The Workbasket Rabbit Roundel
Midsummer Night Designs Medieval Mermaid
Dinky Dyes Designs Kitty Love
Dinky Dyes Designs Harvest Time
ByGone Stitches Eloquent Christmas
My Big Toe Eat the Chocolate
My Big Toe The Looking Glass
Dracolair Creations Knotwork Winter
Then Janine very very kindly took me to a local shopping centre so I could get some more cash for the train {2} and then dropped me back at the train station.
I managed to get off at the right stop, find my way to a supermarket, stock up on various food items and then walk home all by myself. Uphill. With my backpack bulging with a gazillion kilos of food {3}. I figured I would be nice and cook dinner for Stephen seeing as he is exhausted {4}. He's working hard and mentally exhausting himself at work, and then sharing his home and bed space with another person is throwing out all of his sleep patterns.
So I thought I would be nice and cook tonight. I just couldn't decide what to cook, so I brought home ingredients for three separate meals. Will figure it all out when he comes home ....
I'm off to fondle my stash some more and consider starting Dragonsheart .......
{1} Trust me this is a *major* achievement !!!!
{2} No its *not* because I spent all my money with her - Iused my credit card for her shopping, I was just short on actual cash after buying her some flowers as a present earlier in the day.
{3} OK a slight exaggeration
{4} No not for that reason{4a}
{4a} Yes I am serious - its not that! {4b}
{4b} Yes I did wonder if I was losing my touch
Last night was good. Met Stephen after work and went out for dinner and the movies. Saw Hancock - very interesting movie. Everything in the adverts is taken care of in the first part of the movie and I was literally left with,well where is the movie going to go from here .... it can't be over yet? and it took a severe left turn into uncharted territory and moved from a light comedy into a serious drama piece .... left me feeling a little strange as it is a movie that kinda purported to be one thing but changed into something else.
It was interesting and I do recommend going to see it on cheap night at the cinema.
Today I was up and out of the door before Stephen and actually found my way to the bus stop, got off at the right stop, bought a train ticket, caught the right train and got off at the right stop all by myself. {1} I even had enough time to pick Janine up a bunch of flowers en route.
Had a ball visiting Janine and her family for around 5 hours ish .... After seeing her lovely home and some of the completed projects on her walls (her version of St Sophia is stunning and then framing is oh so simple but oh so effective) !!!
I was allowed to play in the shop ..... two hours later I dragged myself away from the charts for lunch. An hour or so after that I whittled down the pile to my budget (plus 50%). I didn't even really get a chance to look through the smaller charts or the fabrics or the flosses yet .... maybe next visit {evil grin}
I bought:
a darling pair of tabby cat embroidery scissors
1 skein Dinky dyes Emerald
1 skein Dinky Dyes Topaz
Enchanting Lair Dragonsheart
Enchanting Lair Irish Fields Hand dyed fabric for Dragons Heart design
JBW Designs French Country Cat
JBW Designs French Country Love
The Workbasket Rabbit Roundel
Midsummer Night Designs Medieval Mermaid
Dinky Dyes Designs Kitty Love
Dinky Dyes Designs Harvest Time
ByGone Stitches Eloquent Christmas
My Big Toe Eat the Chocolate
My Big Toe The Looking Glass
Dracolair Creations Knotwork Winter
Then Janine very very kindly took me to a local shopping centre so I could get some more cash for the train {2} and then dropped me back at the train station.
I managed to get off at the right stop, find my way to a supermarket, stock up on various food items and then walk home all by myself. Uphill. With my backpack bulging with a gazillion kilos of food {3}. I figured I would be nice and cook dinner for Stephen seeing as he is exhausted {4}. He's working hard and mentally exhausting himself at work, and then sharing his home and bed space with another person is throwing out all of his sleep patterns.
So I thought I would be nice and cook tonight. I just couldn't decide what to cook, so I brought home ingredients for three separate meals. Will figure it all out when he comes home ....
I'm off to fondle my stash some more and consider starting Dragonsheart .......
{1} Trust me this is a *major* achievement !!!!
{2} No its *not* because I spent all my money with her - Iused my credit card for her shopping, I was just short on actual cash after buying her some flowers as a present earlier in the day.
{3} OK a slight exaggeration
{4} No not for that reason{4a}
{4a} Yes I am serious - its not that! {4b}
{4b} Yes I did wonder if I was losing my touch
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Simon's Cat
OK we all remember this that Karen posted a while ago ....
Hmm - embedding is refusing to work today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
But the wonderful NakedTeddyBears informed me there is a sequel .....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb8aOzy9t4
EDITED to include third clip, released TODAY !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s13dLaTIHSg
Enjoy.
Hmm - embedding is refusing to work today!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0ffwDYo00Q
But the wonderful NakedTeddyBears informed me there is a sequel .....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rb8aOzy9t4
EDITED to include third clip, released TODAY !!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s13dLaTIHSg
Enjoy.
Monday, 14 July 2008
Holidays
Well Day One is working out just fine ....
Plane left 30 mins late, arrived 45 mins late. Luggage did not arrive at all.
(txted Claire with news Dragon start number 3 had also disappeared).
Was greeted at Stephen's place with hugs, tea and a fresh gluten-free muffin :)
Jointly did some food shopping, bought cheese, amongst other things. Stephen bought lots of me-type-dietary food as well as some essentials for himself. Then chatting and catching up before my bag was couriered out around midnight.
Turned out the destination label somehow fell off the bag while it was still in Sydney. They did not know what plane to put it on, so they put it to one side to wait for someone to scream that it hadn't arrived and then they sent it on the next available flight. So it arrived and was couriered out later same night. It is definitely my bag and all cross stitch projects appear to have arrived safely.
Went to bed after watching the MotoGP at around 2am local time (meaning I had been awake for 25 hours straight).
This morning the boy got up, breakfasted and headed off to work.
I have had breakfast, eaten cheese, lovely exotic cheese, caught up on emails and group lists and basically have relaxed .....
Might do something really stressful shortly like have a nap.
Plane left 30 mins late, arrived 45 mins late. Luggage did not arrive at all.
(txted Claire with news Dragon start number 3 had also disappeared).
Was greeted at Stephen's place with hugs, tea and a fresh gluten-free muffin :)
Jointly did some food shopping, bought cheese, amongst other things. Stephen bought lots of me-type-dietary food as well as some essentials for himself. Then chatting and catching up before my bag was couriered out around midnight.
Turned out the destination label somehow fell off the bag while it was still in Sydney. They did not know what plane to put it on, so they put it to one side to wait for someone to scream that it hadn't arrived and then they sent it on the next available flight. So it arrived and was couriered out later same night. It is definitely my bag and all cross stitch projects appear to have arrived safely.
Went to bed after watching the MotoGP at around 2am local time (meaning I had been awake for 25 hours straight).
This morning the boy got up, breakfasted and headed off to work.
I have had breakfast, eaten cheese, lovely exotic cheese, caught up on emails and group lists and basically have relaxed .....
Might do something really stressful shortly like have a nap.
Saturday, 12 July 2008
New email
Seeing as my lovely ISP cuts off my email after 20 meg (and I can fill that in one day), Stephen has offered me room on his server.
If you want to contact me while I am away, my new email address is:
mel@twistedreality.com.au
And in other news, its official: my Landlady is a COW!
If you want to contact me while I am away, my new email address is:
mel@twistedreality.com.au
And in other news, its official: my Landlady is a COW!
Mel's Sunday Update
I leave home at 6:30am tomorrow morning to go on holidays - so I'm posting my update early.This week I finished a small part on Bird in the Hand, Lyne's project in the Round Robin we are in.
I also cut a new piece of fabric and restarted Black Beauty. Unfortunately I left the old skein of GAST Black Crow in the bag and when I got near the end of her dress I kept confusing which was the right skein and which was the old skein, because the old skein is much darker than the new one- completely different dye lots. I've stitched the bottom inch of her dress at least four times now - each time with the wrong floss. I've put this project away until my eyesight is clearer. The infection in my eye is gone, but my eyesight is still going on me, and getting blurry within 20 mins or so of stitching or reading fine print, so I have an ophthalmologist appointment for the end of next week.
Also this week I received a wonderful RAK from Sisu.
* some lovely black fuzzy socks ...... (Goth Bed Socks !!!!!!)
* Fractal 10 by Cross Stitch Collectibles
* Undo what you did by Susan Saltzgiver Designs
* 22" x 23" piece of 28ct antique white evenweave
* and .... a package called "Mel's Sex Slave Audition Kit"
This picture is of the whole group. But those of a sensitive nature may not want to look at the next two photographs in the series.
Finally this week I received Kelley Armstrong's new book "The Summoning". This is her first YA book and was very easy and engaging to read.
Like the first few books in her "Women of the Otherword" series, it is written completely from the point of view of the main character. We only learn what she learns and as she learns it.
The first half of the book or thereabouts I was unsure whether this book was set in the "Otherword" universe, or our Universe or a completely new world. I wont spoil it for anyone else :)
Unlike her Otherword series, this book is unfortunately not a stand alone. It is obviously the first book of a series and the ending leaves us with more questions than answers .....
I read this in a couple of hours and I cannot wait to read book 2.
Citrus Soap
I think its time I gave up soaping. Nothing seems to be working right over the last few batches ....
Oh they turn out quite usable - just not what or how I envisaged they would when I planned them.
This morning's was a case in point. I need to send out a batch for a "3 oil" swap I'm in. The batch needs to be posted as soon as I'm home from Perth so I need to make it now so it can start to cure while I am away.
I made a 1.5 size usual batch so I could have some for home/presents as well as for the swap.
Ingredients:
1/3 coconut oil
1/3 macadamia nut oil
1/3 rice bran oil.
212gm lye
260ml lemon juice
30ml petitgrain eo
10ml lime eo
10 orange eo
(and I cheated and added 5ml may chang eo to act as a fixative for the scent)
The whole thing seized instantly in the pot. It turned from a thin pouring custard (optimal) to cold stiff plasticine consistency in about 2 or 3 seconds while I was stirring.
None of these oils or essential oils are known seizers. Was the temperature not quite right? Too much temperature differential between the oils and the lye solution? Don't know.
Wrapped plasticwrap around my hands and pushed/pummelled the solid blob into two different square moulds (so much for the fancy moulds I had out waiting for the thin custard to be poured into.
Wrapped them up and left them alone. Will check tonight and if they have cooled I will unmould and cut into chunks. Cross fingers that the seize didn't heat the batch up too much so that the scent flashed out. Oh well here's hoping.
Oh they turn out quite usable - just not what or how I envisaged they would when I planned them.
This morning's was a case in point. I need to send out a batch for a "3 oil" swap I'm in. The batch needs to be posted as soon as I'm home from Perth so I need to make it now so it can start to cure while I am away.
I made a 1.5 size usual batch so I could have some for home/presents as well as for the swap.
Ingredients:
1/3 coconut oil
1/3 macadamia nut oil
1/3 rice bran oil.
212gm lye
260ml lemon juice
30ml petitgrain eo
10ml lime eo
10 orange eo
(and I cheated and added 5ml may chang eo to act as a fixative for the scent)
The whole thing seized instantly in the pot. It turned from a thin pouring custard (optimal) to cold stiff plasticine consistency in about 2 or 3 seconds while I was stirring.
None of these oils or essential oils are known seizers. Was the temperature not quite right? Too much temperature differential between the oils and the lye solution? Don't know.
Wrapped plasticwrap around my hands and pushed/pummelled the solid blob into two different square moulds (so much for the fancy moulds I had out waiting for the thin custard to be poured into.
Wrapped them up and left them alone. Will check tonight and if they have cooled I will unmould and cut into chunks. Cross fingers that the seize didn't heat the batch up too much so that the scent flashed out. Oh well here's hoping.
Pmog
Morning all,
Last night I was chatting to mum and told her about Pmog and sent her an invite. While I was at it, I sent invites out to anyone else who I thought would be interested.
What I then did *not* do - which I should have - was follow that up with an email explaining what it is and the fact that I wasn't deliberately spamming any of my friends
Pmog is a PASSIVE Multi player Online Game. It really is very very passive
You *have* to use Firefox, not Internet Explorer. It is an add-on like the Fox Clocks toolbar some of us use.
Anyway Pmog is quite simply a "game" that is played as you travel over the Internet. when you are logged into the game it sits in the background.
If you view a website and someone else from Pmog has been there, you will see a little Pmog pop-up. Sometimes they will leave Portals - suggesting a better site for the same info. sometimes they will have a mission which will lead you onto other sites about the same info. Sometimes they will leave a mine and you will need your armour. And sometimes they will stash a crate of loot which you can raid.
I find it fun and it is very passive. You earn 2 points for every main website you visit. I.e. you would get 2 points for reading this post, but you would not get any further points for reading any more of gothtigger's multiply page today. You will get another 2 points if you visit tomorrow.
You can earn massive points every you are like me and are a blog surfer :)
Basically I've been "playing" for about a month and having a ball. It really is quite passive, you forget about it and every now and then something will just pop up while you are surfing the web.
Now you *can* deliberately change or skew your viewing and surfing habits to get as much points as possible, and earn the most amount of badges and mine sites you don't like etc etc ... but that's all to much effort for me.
So anyway there's the overview and if anyone wants to join - either go ahead and do so, or let me know and I will send you an invite (afterall I get points and could earn a badge if enough people I invite join)
http://pmog.com/
Last night I was chatting to mum and told her about Pmog and sent her an invite. While I was at it, I sent invites out to anyone else who I thought would be interested.
What I then did *not* do - which I should have - was follow that up with an email explaining what it is and the fact that I wasn't deliberately spamming any of my friends
Pmog is a PASSIVE Multi player Online Game. It really is very very passive
You *have* to use Firefox, not Internet Explorer. It is an add-on like the Fox Clocks toolbar some of us use.
Anyway Pmog is quite simply a "game" that is played as you travel over the Internet. when you are logged into the game it sits in the background.
If you view a website and someone else from Pmog has been there, you will see a little Pmog pop-up. Sometimes they will leave Portals - suggesting a better site for the same info. sometimes they will have a mission which will lead you onto other sites about the same info. Sometimes they will leave a mine and you will need your armour. And sometimes they will stash a crate of loot which you can raid.
I find it fun and it is very passive. You earn 2 points for every main website you visit. I.e. you would get 2 points for reading this post, but you would not get any further points for reading any more of gothtigger's multiply page today. You will get another 2 points if you visit tomorrow.
You can earn massive points every you are like me and are a blog surfer :)
Basically I've been "playing" for about a month and having a ball. It really is quite passive, you forget about it and every now and then something will just pop up while you are surfing the web.
Now you *can* deliberately change or skew your viewing and surfing habits to get as much points as possible, and earn the most amount of badges and mine sites you don't like etc etc ... but that's all to much effort for me.
So anyway there's the overview and if anyone wants to join - either go ahead and do so, or let me know and I will send you an invite (afterall I get points and could earn a badge if enough people I invite join)
http://pmog.com/
Need stitching advice?
What should I take with me to Perth?
Finish off Jasper and Black Beauty ??
Take The Castle ??
Another WIP? (or ELTWIP)?
Kit up something new ?? Any suggestions?
Finish off Jasper and Black Beauty ??
4
Take The Castle ??
4
Another WIP? (or ELTWIP)?
0
Kit up something new ?? Any suggestions?
4
So question is, what do I take with me?
Jasper?
Black Beauty?
The Castle?
Another WIP?
Something new ???
Preferences? Suggestions ???
Curious to see people's thoughts on this .....
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Send the Cabana Boys over
I could do with a long massage, a long bath, to be taken to bed and hugged till I fall asleep, and then sleep nine hours straight.
Oh and I need some chocolate damnit!
Off to do more chores .....
Oh and I need some chocolate damnit!
Off to do more chores .....
Lyne's RR
I'm late and I hope I have stitched enough. This will be finally going in the mail tomorrow to Laura.My apologies.
http://gothtigger.multiply.com/photos/album/17#53
http://gothtigger.multiply.com/photos/album/17#54
Mel.
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
SQUEEE !!! Sisu !!!!
I received a parcel in the mail from Sisu today.
I think I'd better leave that one until I get home tonight to open it .......
THANK YOU SISU !!!!!!
I'll take pics and upload tonight.
- * some lovely black fuzzy socks ...... (Goth Bed Socks !!!!!!)
- * this chart
- * this chart
- * 22" x 23" piece of antique white evenweave
- * and .... a package called "Mel's Sex Slave Audition Kit"
I think I'd better leave that one until I get home tonight to open it .......
THANK YOU SISU !!!!!!
I'll take pics and upload tonight.
Sunday, 6 July 2008
OK - catching up on memes ....
Yes my eyesight is now good enough that I can do this one too, like everyone else .....
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (read some loved some)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (isn't this cheating)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnet
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. Well let's see.
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (read some loved some)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (isn't this cheating)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnet
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
10 New Items on My Amazon Wish-list
(This blog entry was automatically generated by Multiply's Wish-list Cross-posting feature.)
Below are items recently added to my Amazon wish-list. If you are familiar with anything below and have any comments or alternate suggestions, please leave a reply.
Click here to see my full and current wish-list.
Below are items recently added to my Amazon wish-list. If you are familiar with anything below and have any comments or alternate suggestions, please leave a reply.
Click here to see my full and current wish-list.
 | The Enchanter's Forest (Hawkenlye Mysteries) Manufacturer: Hodder & Stoughton Price: $12.99 Learn More |
 | The Paths of the Air (Hawkenlye) Manufacturer: Severn House Publishers Price: $19.10 Learn More |
 | A Play of Lords Manufacturer: Berkley Price: $3.95 Learn More |
 | Stargate Atlantis - The Complete Fourth Season Manufacturer: Sci-Fi Channel, The Price: $31.99 Learn More |
 | The Mark of a Murderer (Matthew Bartholomew Chronicles) Manufacturer: Little, Brown Book Group Price: $5.70 Learn More |
 | A Conspiracy of Violence A Thomas Chaloner Mystery Manufacturer: Little, Brown Book Group Price: $8.26 Learn More |
 | The Traitor's Tale (Dame Frevisse Series) Manufacturer: Berkley Hardcover Price: $7.62 Learn More |
 | Wolfsbane and Mistletoe Manufacturer: Ace Hardcover Price: $16.47 Learn More |
 | The Apostate's Tale (A Dame Frevisse Medieval Mystery) Manufacturer: Berkley Hardcover Price: $9.90 Learn More |
 | Blood on the Strand: Chaloner's Second Exploit in Restoration London (Thomas Chaloner Mysteries) Manufacturer: Little, Brown Book Group Price: $9.00 Learn More |
Saturday, 5 July 2008
More on train travel
"Gentlemen, always give your seat for a pregnant woman, You never know, it might be yours"
From these adverts - they should show them in Sydney as well as Melbourne ....
http://www.duncans.tv/2008/connex-train-etiquette
From these adverts - they should show them in Sydney as well as Melbourne ....
http://www.duncans.tv/2008/connex-train-etiquette
A most seductive phrase .....
I’ve removed the batteries of the alarm clock and only when Morpheus leaves I meet Hermes to begin my work.
From here:
http://notesfromthegeekshow.blogspot.com/2008/07/lost-in-translation-luis-gallego.html
That sounds soooo seductive .......
From here:
http://notesfromthegeekshow.blogspot.com/2008/07/lost-in-translation-luis-gallego.html
That sounds soooo seductive .......
Metropolis!
http://www.zeit.de/online/2008/27/metropolis-vorab-englisch
Metropolis has been on of my favourite movies since I first saw it 30 plus years ago ...... very influential on my taste in cinema ...
I will certainly be first in line to see the "restored" version when it comes out - sadly I don;t think think that will be any time soon .....
{Note to self: Still need to acquire copy of the Martin Koerber 2 disc DVD version - I've watched it - just don't have my own copy yet)
Metropolis has been on of my favourite movies since I first saw it 30 plus years ago ...... very influential on my taste in cinema ...
I will certainly be first in line to see the "restored" version when it comes out - sadly I don;t think think that will be any time soon .....
{Note to self: Still need to acquire copy of the Martin Koerber 2 disc DVD version - I've watched it - just don't have my own copy yet)
Thursday, 3 July 2008
Work News
Oh God I'm tired - if I could I would ring in dead tomorrow :) :)
As well as doing my job and half my supervisor's job, I have just been asked to take on the role of supervisor for our Project Team.
That means I:
directly supervise my 11 staff
indirectly supervise the 8 staff in Serials
directly supervise the 2 remaining staff in Project Team.
Project Team are the emergency response team - we need the basement cleaned out, project team. We've got a mould infestation on Level 4 they arrange for the filters, specialist cleaning etc etc.
While things tick along I will be fine. As soon as the Project Team is required for an emergency, I'm dead.
As is I've become a de facto Manager. I act as a conduit for work and direction coming in and out of the three sections and monitoring work flows , attending meetings, writing reports, signing staff time sheets etc etc.
To be asked to do this is actually a great honour - it will look fantastic on my resume, and I *am* honoured that the Library Management believe I *can* do this. I think I'm also being groomed to become a Manager - to give me the experience necessary to go to the next level of management. I will also be getting a slight pay increase.
Overall I am happy but very tired! I am stoked that upper management have this much confidence in me.
I *know* I can do this, but at what cost .....
As well as doing my job and half my supervisor's job, I have just been asked to take on the role of supervisor for our Project Team.
That means I:
directly supervise my 11 staff
indirectly supervise the 8 staff in Serials
directly supervise the 2 remaining staff in Project Team.
Project Team are the emergency response team - we need the basement cleaned out, project team. We've got a mould infestation on Level 4 they arrange for the filters, specialist cleaning etc etc.
While things tick along I will be fine. As soon as the Project Team is required for an emergency, I'm dead.
As is I've become a de facto Manager. I act as a conduit for work and direction coming in and out of the three sections and monitoring work flows , attending meetings, writing reports, signing staff time sheets etc etc.
To be asked to do this is actually a great honour - it will look fantastic on my resume, and I *am* honoured that the Library Management believe I *can* do this. I think I'm also being groomed to become a Manager - to give me the experience necessary to go to the next level of management. I will also be getting a slight pay increase.
Overall I am happy but very tired! I am stoked that upper management have this much confidence in me.
I *know* I can do this, but at what cost .....
Razzafrazzin Muggamuff
I appear to have left my home email turned on at home - so I can't access it via webmail at work.
So if you want me to respond to anything before tonight you had better PM me or add it into this blog post or email my work account (for those who have it).
Hugs all
So if you want me to respond to anything before tonight you had better PM me or add it into this blog post or email my work account (for those who have it).
Hugs all
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
Freedom of Speech Denied to non-Catholics ....
Those who know me will know that I am livid. Absolutely speechless with outrage by the following decision by our government.
News just in:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/01/2290436.htm
For the next 31 days it is an offence to do anything that will "annoy" a Catholic. Wear an anti-Catholic T-shirt and you could be landed with a $5,500.00 fine.
Not anti-Christian, this is specifically anything that will annoy Catholics!
So will the Anglicans have to hide their church-going activities? Are we deporting the Hari Krishna's to Melbourne for the month? Forcing muslim women to remove their head cloths? Will my friend be arrested if she wears her pentagram necklace where it can be seen ???
Needless to say I will not be participating in any further mod decisions regarding religion on the group email lists in the next few weeks. I'm too angry to be objective.
News just in:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/07/01/2290436.htm
For the next 31 days it is an offence to do anything that will "annoy" a Catholic. Wear an anti-Catholic T-shirt and you could be landed with a $5,500.00 fine.
Not anti-Christian, this is specifically anything that will annoy Catholics!
So will the Anglicans have to hide their church-going activities? Are we deporting the Hari Krishna's to Melbourne for the month? Forcing muslim women to remove their head cloths? Will my friend be arrested if she wears her pentagram necklace where it can be seen ???
Needless to say I will not be participating in any further mod decisions regarding religion on the group email lists in the next few weeks. I'm too angry to be objective.