First time out with the Camera!

I went down to the beach for a hike this morning - thinking "blue and green, blue and green" and came back with these. I don't know if I can make any of them work for the next version but I *have* finally sat down and finished the galleries.

By 'finished' I mean that all my previous photos have been moved and labelled (some quite half-heartedly) and I am now going to have to add a ton more to actually get up to date.

So, Log Books / Visual Logs, down there on the right. If you just want to look at todays pictures, they start here and actually start with Cabot, the first picture I actually took. He's trying very hard to keep his eyes closed and give a thumbs up. This beach is the one I'm referring to when I say I've gone to the beach. It's mine. ha.

OH! and......

I'm thinking the pumpkin-ness of the site is bugging me and it may be time for a change. Again.

Get your suggestions in now. Colors? Pictures? A slogan? Don't need a whole scheme, just ideas, if you've got 'em.

Then, I promise I will (with my shiny new camera) post a pic of me in my scrubs or something. And my new face. With a before pic cause apparantly, no one remembers what I looked like before and the surgeons did a good job so there's only small changes (DAMN! I wanted to look like.... well, someone better looking, anyways).

Cheers!

The New Job

I guess you might be wondering how that's going, hey?

I'm two shifts in and yanno, I learn fast. Yesterday, my trainer was just like, "Oh, I forget already that you don't know what you're doing."

err... HELP!

No, I like it actually. I'm not going to say I love it because everyone says that at a new job and then 6 months later, they usually hate it - so let's just go with... I like it. Everyone is really nice and we all seem to get along well. I won't be around all the time as a floating employee so I shouldn't ever really get involved in the politics of the place, unless for some insane reason, I wanted to.

I also like feeling finally that I'm being helpful and that I'm making people feel better by being there. Having been in the hospital 800 million times myself, I know how much of a difference that makes.

Here's the weird thing though - after yesterdays post I was still so pissed off and it was actually being at work that made it okay. Suddenly, for no particular reason, it was just gone.

That's sort of cool.

Anyways, must off. My 'new' camera is in and must be picked up, there's banking to do and I'm working an afternoon shift.

Out Here in the *Real* World

I am heartily sick of the following people, stuff and/or things:

-believing and being quite aggressively insistent that the new clothes I bought are "fashionable" and look good ONLY because my younger sister, with whom I shopped with once in 18 years and saw a total of 6 times in the last 10 years, taught me well

-the opinions / presented facts of how I should travel, what I should pack, how stupid I am to .., where I should go and who I should see by people who have never fucking travelled

-the idiotic insistence of those who believe they know me, no matter what I say to the contrary. That the words, "I won't be seeing Matt" coming from someone who's pretty upfront are apparantly - a big fat lie.

Seriously, if I were travelling to WA in the 'hopes' of bumping into Matt, one - I'm a big girl - I'd fucking well say, "I'm going to see Matt. It's downright laughable to think I'd bother to LIE if that were my intent. Two - I'm not a shy teenager hanging out at the mall and I'm not travelling anywhere in the 'hope' of anything and three - because if I wanted to see Matt - I'd just fucking CALL MATT and say, "Can I see you?", rather than pay $1200, fly all the way to the other side of the world without even knowing if he'll be there and just sort of hang about in his city.

-the insistence that I buy a certain thing even though I've not only bought something else already but didn't buy that thing without testing out the thing you keep insisting is the best and rejected it as CRAP

-being told I paid too much, I paid not enough, I should have bought buy brand-name, I shouldn't have bought brand name, I didn't do what YOU would have done. Guess what? I don't care what you would have done and furthermore, not only have you not done what I'm doing - I didn't ask for your opinion. oops

-enduring "my, how NICE for you" comments even from the people who are supposed to be supporting me

-living amongst people who feel that a small portion of information extrapolates into the full story and building their bullshit cases on that

-people who think that because I'm happy with the choices I've made lately, have the right to decide I'm not paying enough, I'm not suffering enough

-people who forget that they encouraged me to do this who believe that now that gives them the right to make hurtful upon hurtful comment because they've suddenly decided they're jealous or their lives aren't perfect or great or they're not happy

News-fucking-flash - my life isn't perfect either. It's not up to you to decide fuck-all except whether to be around me or not. I have what I have because I work really hard for it. I'm doing what I'm doing because I've chosen to cut pretty much everything out of my life except this trip. I'm choosing to sacrifice one thing to get another. Just because I booked this trip it doesn't mean I'm swimming in cash.

So, deal with your own shit, I'm done with letting it go by. I've just spent two days being stressed out and upset and awake at night because other people are so poisonous, while at the same time learning a new job and trying not to be worried about my own future and finances. And so, today, the line has been crossed and from here on in - all the people up there I was just talking about have used up all of their chances and don't get any more.

Not one more.

And I hate being this angry, so I had to write it down. I think I'm better now. Mostly.

Oh.my.god did you *see* that food?

Or did you just EAT it?

I had lunch with a friend at 1:30 pm today - a ton 'o calamari and a pint and a half of beer.

Then, a 'family' dinner cooked by stepmother at 5 pm - a whole crab; shrimp, tomato and avocado salad; garlic butter sizzling prawns; garlic toast; cheese toast; a STEAK.

Dessert was fresh peaches, vanilla pudding and BROWNIES. I think I drank three glasses of water and two more beer.

Then, off to Uncle Dave's for two glasses of wine.

It was all so damn good Christie and I *had* to eat it ALL - she even managed to finish off the rest of my dessert after I dug out the brownies. We are utterly terrible - those dinners are fully anticipated and the food is fought over like it's the last food on earth but we really have to stop egging each other on.

I'm not sure whether to throw up or just lie on the floor and cry, I AM SO FULL.

First day at the new job tomorrow - what should I wear? Oh my! I just can't decide between the royal blue, the navy blue or the beige scrubs. And shoes? Oh, woe is me. Should I wear the blue runners or the white ones? ha! I kill me.

And - welcome home, sunshine!

we get a little further from perfection
each year on the road
i guess that's what they call character
i guess that's just the way it goes

Online Shopping Frenzy

In an unprecedented spasm of online-ed-ness, in the last two days I have bought....

On Vanessa's advice, I've ordered some of Dr. Bronner's tea tree liquid soap. Which actually makes me *most* excited! It's a wound antiseptic, body wash, facial cleanser, shampoo, laundrey soap and TOOTHPASTE in-one.

Using one of the two packs that Pam and Tony are sending out for me to 'test' - I'm half packed right there!

A generic 512mb MP3 player for $63.00. A quick search on them indicates at least an $80 savings.

BOOKS! Rough Guide and Let's Go Australia, as well as one of Sal's recommendations, The Situation is Hopeless But Not Serious by Paul Watzlawick.

The books cost me $4 because Chrissykins sent me a whopping $50 US gift certificate for my birthday. Yay!

Hmm? What else? Oh, a BULK load of low-rise thongs from La Senza. Which more than likely fell off the back of a truck but whatever, I paid $28 for about $120 worth of underwear.

OH! And just a few minutes ago I won the auction for my Olympus Stylus 300 (after losing at least 6 over the last few days) for $165.00. They retail here for $299ish and even on one of the few Canadian Sale websites I found they were on for $249 without a battery.

Oh god, and did I mention how much I actually paid for my flight? Normally from Canada, a round trip flight to Australia is at least $2000. Maybe $1800 if you're lucky. Mine? $1279 BABY!

If I hadn't spent so much money in the last couple days I'd feel like I should have money coming back, I rock so much.

But, then again, I have lists and lists of things still to buy. I think I need to go lie down. For a year.

Movies

Another busy ebaying day and a long hike which I shall tell you about tomorrow (because I have Mon & Tues off as well!)

In movie news, there's a 'new' Medevial Village up the road from my house, for the filming of Dungeon Siege starring Jason Statham, Leelee Sobieski, Claire Forlani, Ray Loitta, Burt Reynolds and the mightiest dwarf of them all - John Rhys-Davies.

I haven't seen any of them though. I just know they're there.

And sometimes, that's quite enough. After meeting good 'ol Mel Gibson during the filming of Bird on a Wire, I just as happy to NOT get up close and personal with the stars. It's just too disappointing and although that is largely our own faults - still.

Right now I'm taking a break from Hitch to peek in on ebay. I have to say, it's kind of cute and although I am (yes! please don't hurt me) a Will Smith fan, I have to say I'm an even bigger Kevin James fan and wow, is he EVER stealing the show.