Hmm. yes..it's been a while...again...I seem to somewhere have missed the point of having an online diary...that being that it *should* be updated regularly so that people can stalk me and stuff. Such infrequent updates kind of defeat the purpose of having an online diary methinks...however...I'm going to keep it going for as long as I have stuff to crap on about...soooo...enough about you, back to me *smirk*
Okay...soooo....I *do* kinda have an excuse...I've been without the internet for over a month at home, and to be totally honest, I only just got back online last week. See, the big news this month for me has been that I have moved out of the happy *cough* home that I was living in...and...oh...work is still going really, really, well. I now actually have a job that I love, and that I find *very* rewarding.
My
place of employment was smart enough to get me to sign a Privacy Agreement before I started there...sadly, my housemates were not smart enough to get me to sign a Privacy Agreement when I moved in with them....sooooo...now that I'm safely moved myself and all my crap out of their place, I can tell the world exactly what was happening before I moved out LOL. Yep, all the censored stuff that I've been saving till I moved out. :P
Okay...where do I start...I've already mentioned in previous posts how much I loved the housemates girlfriend's dog "Ruffles". *smirk*. Anyways, the situation was that the dog was left inside the house, alone all day...even though there was a huge yard that could have been fenced off to keep it amused and such. Everyday, I was promptly awoken every morning at approximately 6am by the dog yapping/yelping/whining as the housemate and girlfriend left for work. I did
try to raise the point that leaving a dog inside all day may be seen as being a bit cruel...not to mention the special little "messages" it would leave on the floor...but...well...*the girlfriend* didn't see it that way. Her theory was that she would be happy to be left inside a nice warm house with food all day alone...ookay...whateffffer...*smirk*
Whenever the dog wasn't yapping/yelping/whining, the housemate and girlfriend were. It was one of those dysfunctional relationships where someone (ie the girlfriend) was always right, and anyone who thought to disagree was wrong, hence why I spent so much time in my room as I didn't really want to get involved. Add to that, spending 3 hours on a bus to and from home and work everyday and dealing with Sydney bus drivers..oh...and while I'm not a neat freak, having washing up piling up in the sink for over a week...and people who don't clean
up after themselves when they mess up the kitchen...ewww.
Anyhows...I had plans in place to move out, but was trying to stick it out as long as I could, given that rent was only $50 a week, and that I had just started my new job etc etc...and wanted to save a decent amount of cash before I moved out....but...it didn't end out that way. I finally managed to be dragged into one of the housemates many fights. You might remember reading about the annoying friend of my housemates who visited often that I had quite a strong dislike for...well...he visited one night...and the dog bit him. Where did the dog bite him? On the lip of course! Could not have happened to a nicer person...*smirk*
I wasn't actually even in the room at the time that it happened, but *the girlfriend* seemed to think that I may have had something to do with it because I *allegedly* teased the dog so much. If not
feeding the dog my own food (the only time it was friendly with me) and running around the house with it trying to make it happy when both of them were out etc etc...whatefffer! When I again brought up the fact that it might have something to do with being left inside all day she cracked up and well...didn't really want to discuss it any more, because *she* of course was right, and because *she* was right, there was no point in discussing it further like....ahem...*adults*.
Anyways, I just stopped talking to her cause I just got to the point where I refused to be put in the position of not being able to have a say in anything like *the housemate* who wasnt able to discuss anything without getting into a yelling match with *the girlfriend*. I was eventually (not surprisingly) asked to leave asap by *the housemate*. Unsurprisingly, three weeks later, I find that they've split up. The
story (from the housemate) is that they had a fight and they both hit each other. Something I'd already told him before I moved out that it was a stupid thing to do...apparently though, in his mind...if someone hits you, you hit them back. Oooookay. Sooo...anyways, she hit him, he hit her....then she went and called the Police. The Police were also led to a cupboard full of special plants in the back room of his house. Sooo...yes, he is in a little bit of trouble now, and I am happy that I missed out on being involved in all those events.
*The girlfriend* also had the totally wrong idea about me and my housemate. I think she thought there was something going on? He told me that she had said a number of times that he had got too carried away *talking* to me...ookay...and that he went *too far* (funny, I never so much as *touched* him LOL)...ooookay. I kinda said to him that if I was
living with someone, I kinda would appreciate *talking* to them. Had she ever asked me, rather than just accusing him when I wasn't around, I would have told her that I was not in the least bit attacted to *the housemate*. Why? Yes, he was a nice enough guy...but...the fact that he couldn't start (or finish) the day without a bong, and was weak minded because of the way he let his girlfriend walk all over him. I'm just not into dealing with dysfunctional people, or those that can't live without drugs, alcohol etc etc.
Hmm..anyways, that's the story so far...well...almost...I moved into an awesome place in the city just over a month ago. I'm living without a fridge, and a washing machine at the moment...as well as going without the internet for the first month, which was truly scary! I do, however, have a *very* nice view, including a huge balcony *wink*. Oh...and I got Foxtel on the weekend, so all is good and well with the world again! I get to watch Conan O Brien again yaaaaaaaaay! Having Channel [v] again has been awesome too. I'm going to make sure I'm watching on Wednesday when the Channel [v] Music Bus goes to my old hometown of Mackay. Should be interesting ;) I wish they would have done that while I was living there. Everyone in Mackay will get a big kick out of it though, as *nothing* ever goes to Mackay!
Ahh...just as I suspected...John Safran's Music Jamboree...is BRILLIANT!!!! I unfortunately
missed a couple of the episodes during the whole confusing "moving" thing...but...the good news is that it is being repeated, every Saturday night by the nice folks at SBS. This is an awesome show, and it's worth watching just to see the cynicism in Mr Safran's eyes.
Yes, and although I can hear the sniggers already, I really liked Celebrity Big Brother. I thought it was a great mix of people, specially Dylan Lewis *wink*, Vanessa Wagner...and Kyle Sandilands...who I grew to kind of like...even though I remember him from the days when he was "Captain Kyle" on radio 4MK (a Mackay radio station)...and...that I have less than favourable memories of the time I "met" the legend *cough* that was Captain Kyle...*smirk* Ahh...and speaking of Celebrity Big Brother, there is a *very* interesting story that made me
smile...behind the person who bid over $20 000 to go on a date with housemate, Imogen Bailey, check it out, click here!
Hmm...lets see how long it is until the next update ;)
OMG. What a day. I took a wander to the Haymarket Postoffice to pick up some mail. As I approached the arcade thingie where the Post Office is located, I saw one Police paddy wagon...and...a car behind it that said *forensics*. I was like...omg, omg, OMG! Please don't let whatever has happened here to have happened in the Post Office...let it have happened in...umm....Centerlink or something...there are some *really* nice people in that Post Office...arrrrrr....
Anyhows...it turned out to be the Post
Office. I wandered (indiscreetly) past the scene of the crime and it turned out that it had just been held up. To me, this was absolutely unbelieveable as this meant that I only missed out on being involved in a potentially life shattering experience (well...another one) by probably under an hour. I have spent so many hours inside that Post Office posting hundreds of my eBay parcels...and to me it would be the least likely place to be held up as there is always soooo many people in there. Truly scarey. Anyways...I don't have much more info than that but...OMG!
Hmm. I will change the subject to something a little more positive....check out this, and also this eBay listing. LOL...and to think that I
thought I was a genius for thinking of selling Tim Tams and Vegemite...*sigh*
Ahh..and back to the negative...had a bit of surprise earlier this week when what I thought was roadwork started, *right* outside of my place. After this alleged *roadwork* went on for a number of days, I started to whine about it at work (because it had been going on for almost 24 hours a day) ...and was prompty informed that the *roadwork* is infact a little more than just *roadwork*. It's actually the beginning of a biiig tunnel under the city which is reportedly going to take FOUR years to complete. Needless to say, I'm not moving out any time soon, so I picked myself up some earplugs today.
Grrrr....my site has been "down" for five days, with absolutely no word from the crappy web hosting company until today. I don't know how stupid they think I am, but this is the email I recieved today, and no, I haven't edited the email at all, this is seriously all I recieved...
"We apologize for any inconvenience that you may have experienced due to the recent hard drive failure on your server. The server is back online with a brand new hard drive and running normally. All you need to do now is upload your website as you initially did to restore your site. If you had a database, you don't have to worry about the loss of it's data, as your database is hosted from a different server
(SQL1.INFINOLOGY.COM)."
1. The server is back online? The same server? What? So why do I have to type a different address in to be able to log in to upload my site via FTP?
2. "All you need to do now is upload your website as you initially did to restore your site." - pity that I didn't make a backup copy of my entire site of over 1000 pages and files. I am seriously *not* happy :(
I have been with this company for one year already and I have just paid for another years of hosting, against my better judgement. See, cause when I originally paid for this server space over a year of so, there was over six months where the site was constantly down, with pitiful excuses like the one above "we're moving to bigger, better servers etc". Finally, they came good, and my site was fairly stable for the final six months of the hosting plan, so I decided to stay with them,
because I would have been just devestated if I got another host and they did the same thing.
So...anyhows... just under a month ago, I paid for another years hosting and now this happens. Not happy. I'm considering moving the whole site to an Aussie based hosting company, if just for the peace of mind I would have knowing that I could afford to call them and yell at them if they screwed up my site...but yeah I don't know...but...well...I've just spent the last few hours uploading what I *do* have of my site from the hard drive of my computer. Stupid, stupid me for not saving the whole site on my hard drive but arrrr...too late now. My Groove Terminator site is officially gone...well temporarily...I have remanants of it still on Geocities, where it used to be hosted...but all the pictures are
gone...grrrr....poo...bum..wee...
Hmmm...other stuff that's been happening this week...remember how I wrote about the post office being held up? Well...I went in there the day after (...well...Monday) as I needed to pick up a registered letter. The place was totally packed...There was understandably a slight air of unease amongst those at said post office because of what had happened...so...what did stupid me manage to do on the way out...I managed to run...well walk...into this display of those huge document boxes and send them flying which managed to scare the crap out of everyone (including me) who took a while to register what I had just done. Needless to say, I carefully re-arranged said boxes and made a speedy exit. Ahh...I'm so crap.
Hmmm...that's all the whining I will do for today. I am sure that there is more important things in the world to worry about.
I was trying to think of something appropriate to write today, but to be quite honest there's been so much...including, some very inappropriate, insensitive media coverage of said tragedy (...a certain series of "Special Souvenir, Poster Size Liftouts" of pictures of last years 9-11 "event", put out by a certain Sydney newspaper springs to mind *smirk*) ...that I decided just to not write anything at all, and just share this little piece that I think is pretty special. No, I didn't write it, I just added the smileys :P ....and yar...for those who have been reading my diary for a while, yes, I know I've published it here before but I wanted to share it again for any newbies that might have missed it ;)
RESIGNATION
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.
I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.
I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.
I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.
I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and
nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.
I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the
bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.
So . . . here's my cheque book and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.
And if you want to discuss this further, you'll have to catch me first, cause........
Quote : "I am 98 years old and I have never seen the world in such a state." (anon)
A couple of weeks ago during my normal completion of work duties, I made a call to a person in Bali. When I called this person he seemed a little distracted and I couldn't understand why. After a few minutes of speaking with him he said "things are crazy here". Firstly I thought he meant crazy in a good, party on kinda way but there was an underlying tone in his voice that suggested that this was not the case. I asked what was going on, and he promptly told me that a bomb had gone off in a nightclub and hundreds of people had been killed and injured.
When I got home, although I was a little apprehensive as to what I was about to see, I switched on the TV to see what had happened in Bali less than 24 hours ago, and was left
speechless by what I saw. It scares and saddens me so much that there is such evil in this world and that there doesn't seem to be a lot that can be done about it. It seems so easy for anyone these days who has a gripe with something or someone to just shoot/bomb/whatever they have a problem with.
The people targeted by these terrorists were just normal people, out to have a fun night out with friends. Those who survived found themselves lying in hospital with the kind of injuries that you would expect from being stuck a war zone, not from a night out. Those who died were reportedly given the indignity of being piled with hundreds of other bodies, most of which could not be identified. I think one of the worse things for me to see was the families who could identify their dead loved ones, but were told that they were not able to take them back to Australia until DNA / dental records
proved their identity.
There was a memorial thing held at the Domain last week but I didn't go. One, because I knew that it would be a large gathering of people and considering what this gathering symbolised, I wasn't feeling particularly safe putting myself in a situation like that in case something happened. Stupid way of thinking of it, I know...but...well that was my thoughts at the time. Two, because I knew I would be crying my eyes out through the whole thing. I read through the program online and the songs alone that were being performed would have been enough to reduce me to tears, let alone anything else. Additionally, I was aware that the faces of the people attending would be broadcast on news services all over the world, and I just didn't want to be a part of that. Nor did I want a journalist to walk up to me and ask me how I felt.
No, I didn't know anyone who was in
Bali, but I'm just very sad that it happened and for what those people had to go through. I tell you, I swear like a trooper whenever I get a tiny burn, but the people who survived this had to put up with 1000 times more pain than I have ever had and have seen terrible things that no one should ever have to see.
Last week, a few days after the Bali incident had occured, there was a student at a Melbourne Uni writing an email to a friend who, in this email to his friend said "at least I'm safe here". A few minutes later a student at said Uni went crazy and shot two fellow students. The gunman was overpowered by a number of people and when he was searched he was reportedly found with more than one gun. Unbeliveable.
As for what has just happened in Moscow...you'd think you would be safe going to see a musical with another 800 people. Obviously not. Hmm. at least they have caught the
sniper/s that were going berko in the US. Apparently, the last time I heard authorities had not come up with a reason why they were shooting people in the first place. I'm not sure though if they need a reason though these days?
All these terrible happenings in the world amongst other things combined to make me have a morbid, depressing week. Firstly, I spoke inappropriately to someone who pissed me off. As soon as I said what I said, I knew I shouldn't have said it...but...well...yeah, by then it was too late. This situation has now been sorted...but yeah...arrrrr...it wouldn't have happened, and life would have been a little more pleasant if I had kept my big mouth shut.
My curiosity got the better of me last week when I caught the tail end of a Dr Phil show last week...and continued to watch rather than switch channels (like I usually do when he's on Oprah *yawn*)...anyways...he
was seriously laying into this married couple who yell and fight in front of their kids everyday. At that point all my previously lost respect returned to the man known as Dr Phil. I just wish he could make his way around the world and yell at all the parents who continue to do behave like this. Dr Phil said something along the lines of when parents fight in front of their kids they really screw up their kids forever. Thanks Dr Phil for confirming that I am seriously messed up :) *smirk*
Ummm...that's the negativity taken care of, now onto the positivity...I'm not particularly into people getting married (see above paragraph), but this is kind of sweet - click here! I can't believe that there was
no one other than the person whom it was intended for who bid ;) Surely someone had the temptation to bid and mess everything up... maybe the world isn't as bad as I think it is!
I've been making an effort to be sociable recently. To be honest, not much of an effort, but still...I *have* tried. Recently I spent a day on Sydney Harbour and around The Rocks area on a team day out for work. It was kind of a forced social experience rather than a voluntary one, but it was still alright :) It was a Treasure Hunt ...with pirates!!! We were all divided up into teams and each team got their own water taxi, with driver. We got up to many sheninghans on Sydney Harbour...hmm...yeah...cool as.
There was also another function which I went to (voluntarily!). It was meant to be fancy dress, and the fancy dress was
meant to be "dress as your favourite eBay category". I had originally decided to go as the category "weird and unusual stuff" (I was going to go dressed like a girl cause I never dress as a girl...so me dressing as a girl would be weird and unusual stuff)...but...that didn't happen...then I considered for a moment to wrap myself up with bubble wrap...but decided against it and settled on wearing my felix the cat shirt and cargo pants...what category did I go as? Well..."clothing" and "animation" of course...yes, I went to a great deal of effort.
Anyways, I got there and had the usual uncomfortable feeling of de ja vu...I get this whenever I arrive somewhere where the primary activity is drinking (I don't drink, smoke or do anything else for anyone who doesn't know) and was almost ready to leave when I stopped myself and decided to hang around. Everything worked out okay in the end
though and admittedly I had fun :)
I was going to go to go to Room 208 at Channel [v] last week cause Groove Terminator was a special guest...but I didn't end up going as I had to work that day and I would have been too stuffed...me falling asleep in a corner with a video camera pointed in my face wasn't really my idea of fun so I stayed home and watched the repeat of it on the telly instead. I am still considering going though...if not to simply put myself in what I see as a really uncomfortable situation and see how I handle it...
Long time no type...um...well...here I am...sorry for lack of updates (blah blah blah *smirk*...as if...)
Over the past few months, I'd been thinking that
I was finally getting my life together, had a stable job, an *almost* stable home environment...whilst everything wasn't perfect, it was still going heaps well. I had even started to believe that my dream of maybe one day having the cash to buy a place of my own was eventually going to become a reality. Of course, realistically, none of this was to happen immediately. I had envisaged that it would happen after I had spent many years with the company that I am currently working with, which, I also thought was a realistic expectation to have. This realistic expectation was based mainly on the absolutely phenomeonal financial position said company is in. However, everything fell apart a couple of weeks ago when I was told that I was more than likely to be made redundant at some point next year.
Basically, this is because me, and a number of my collegues jobs will be done by
someone overseas. Hearing this news was just devestating and totally unbelieveable. I can't believe that someone in another country can do the same job, with the same level of expertise and professionalism as myself and the team I work with. I would go as far to say that I will never have the opportunity to work with a team like this again.
The worst thing other than actually losing my perfect job is not knowing exactly when I'm going to be losing my perfect job. Basically, we've all (including management) been given very vague/limited information on exactly what is happening and why it is happening. I had a feint hope that the decision would be overturned but a few weeks after we heard the original vague news, further slightly less vague information was provided, which confirmed that the whole thing redundancy thing was based on an *allegedly legal* tax saving venture. I can't
help but think that a spin was put on this news (by those who made the decision) to make it sound more plausible to us and our management than it actually was, but then again I could be wrong.
Anyways, after having quite possibly the biggest bombshell in my entire life dropped on me, I just couldn't think straight and ended up going home early. My job involves having to think and concentrate, and after hearing this news it was just impossible to do so. Inconvieniently, a few months ago I had purchased a ticket to see John Farnham. Yes, it was on the same night as I got this news....*kick*...talk about totally bad timing. I was thinking of not going as I was not in the best mindframe and just wanted to go home and have a good cry...but then I thought of how many years I had wanted to see John Farnham...not to mention the $100+ I had paid for the ticket in the first place...so...yeah, I
went and tried discretely not to cry but yeah...all those bright lights...all those deep and meaningless songs...couldn't help myself...*sob*...I did cheer up about halfway through though.
I must say, John Farnham is absolutely incredible. He has so much respect for his fans. I've seen him on the telly shaking hands with every person who went to the front of the stage to see him, and take their gifts, give them a quick kiss or shake their hand...and I thought...ahh that's all show...he wouldn't do that all the time...but...seriously, he acknowledged each and *every* person who went up to the stage to say hello and he treated them all with such respect. (my theory is that each of these acknowledgements = one album sale...but hey, that's just me) There was one lady who got a bit too over excited to finally hold John Farnham's hand...so excited that she just didn't want let go
*lol*...but...when security started walking towards her John said "Nah, she's okay"...and yeah, it was all over without any intervention from the security...and with minimal embarassment to the person involved...and no, it wasn't me :P
Um yeah...sooooo...I wandered out of the Sydney Entertainment Centre, absolutely ecstatic that I'd just seen this amazing concert, still having the news of the day sink in. It's been a bizarre month just going from happy to sad and not really knowing what to do with myself or what to think. It's kinda like where I was last year in the living arrangements stakes...I know I will be pushing paying $330 a week rent if I don't have a full time job. I do hope to sell full time on eBay when this job finishes up (whenever that is) and survive hopefully with the help of a redundancy payout. Problem is I've only been with this company since June and I have
absolutely no idea what I will be getting...that on top of not knowing when the job will be actually finishing is making everything much more difficult to handle. Not to mention the fact that I am losing the best job in the entire universe...I have been doing so much thinking since this happened, and I honestly can not get anywhere without knowing when my job is going to finish up OR what sort of payout I am going to get. Why am I focussing on the payout aspect of the whole thing? Well...basically, it is the only slightly positive thing to come out of this. Thing is I dont want a redundancy payout, I want my job.
Had another one of my most terrifying moments the other day...admittedly, it was brought on my myself...but yeah, it all worked out fine. I agreed to do standup for my works Christmas Party. Usually standup is terrifying enough, being on stage, with a mic, in front of a room
full of people you can't really see....but this was different. No stage, no mic, broad daylight...oh...and I could clearly see everyones faces. Scarey as. But...I did my five minutes, didn't forget anything and was exceptionally proud of myself. I'll be doing Raw Comedy again soon, so I can't wait. If I can do what I did in front of my work collegues, I swear I can do anything. Like I'm still not overly 100% brilliant...but...I'm heaps more confident now in my material etc than I was when I first started. Basically, I now know that I can do it, not just *think* that I can do it ;)
For my five minutes of pain, I got a free movie ticket...which I was pretty happy to get cause I never go to the movies, even though I always say I want to or that I am going to go...I ended up seeing Crackerjack and it was awesome! It's got Mick Molloy and Judith Lucy from the Late Show in
it...(oh, and Tony Martin is also in it, and I *swear* one of the *old* people played an *old* person on The Late Show...but I could be wrong) I really enjoyed it and found it absolutely hilarious. There was one particular moment in the movie that I laughed so much I actually cried (no, it wasn't when Mick had to pash Judith LOL). I think I may have to go and see it again.
Anyways, I got suckered in and ended up going back to the movies the next day (this time I had to pay...grr)...this time I went to see something a bit more...um...full on...Bowling For Columbine. Awesome documentary about gun control in America. Really made me think...which probably was not a good thing cause I've been *thinking* waaaay too much lately...but...yeah, I'm happy that I have seen this as it has opened up my mind a little bit more about the stuff that happens outside my small world.
Been thinking about
moving out of my place prior to my job finishing so that I can be waaaaay ahead when I get my payout and not have to worry about paying a huge amount of rent for a while...but I don't really want to do that...grrr...I have got this place *almost* sorted now...most importantly...and most people will think this is stupid for being important...but yeah pfft...it is to me...I have cable tv and I can now watch Channel [v], MTV, musicmax and thecomedychannel. I didn't have any of this in my old place, and now that I have it, I can keep up to date with whatever musical stuff is happening and see my favourite standups on thecomedychannel. Music means heaps to me, without cable for three years - Rage on the ABC just wasn't enough and Video Hits isn't even worth a mention...pfft...basically music and comedy are two of few things that make me smile, hence my love of cable tv. That being
said, there are some seriously crap shows on cable.
I just recently got MTV in December when the big Optus/Foxtel deal thing happened and I *think* it is almost better than Channel [v], mainly because it *appears* to play more of a variety of music than [v] does...all I see on [v] is frikken Avril Lavringe....but...maybe I'm still just a bit too bitter with [v] for dropping Maynard *ahhh*...as for MTV...basically the only thing I really detest about MTV is the S2S sisters who host the chart show, who I could just slap. Their "show" was one of the first things I saw on MTV and it was one of the most cringeworthy things I have ever seen in my entire life. Actually, most of MTV's VJs are not particularly appealing...just seeing ads for their request show makes me *not* want to watch it. They also have a blonde boy band type host on another one of their shows but I have not yet been
blessed to watch that yet. *smirk*.
If it is one thing that [v] beats MTV with hands down - its that they have VJs that rock (well...the majority of them that is). Another thing that they beat MTV with is the free live music/interaction typa experiences that they provide at [v] hq at Fox Studios. They have had some absolutely incredible bands there this year...all free!!!....none of whom I have seen in person *kicks self*...but what I've seen on the telly makes me want to make a bit more of an effort to get to Fox Studios a bit more often....hmm...maybe next year when I will have a bit more spare time on my hands *smirk*
Hmmm...another thing I've been been thinking about doing when everything comes to an end is maybe putting all my stuff in storage and going travelling for a little while...it's tempting to sell everything I own again...but well...its sooooo crap trying to get
everything back together when moving in to somewhere again....arrrrrrrrrrrrgh!!!! I still don't know if I want to do that though. I like the idea of me being ahead financially and I know that I will spend all my dollars and be left with nothing (except for perhaps some awesome memories that is!) if I go travelling.
I was speaking with someone who has been travelling heaps and he said that it was the best thing in the world to walk into the airport knowing you had no responsibilities and all the weight has been lifted off your shoulders. He said that when he went travelling, he left his job, his girlfriend (what a prick LOL), etc...I guess I agree with that...but the thing is that I think it is easier for someone who has a stable environment to go back to say something like that. I mean...basically, I look after myself. I don't really have anyone I can call family or any real
close knit group of friends to fall back on or to look after me. I know a lot of people, but I'm just not overly close with anyone. I've been really messed up and I have worked really hard to get where I am today. It all could have panned out in a totally different way to what I have now. If I go anywhere, I need somewhere to come back to...so yeh...I have to think about all that heaps.
Aside from the crap work situation further *incidents* have occured that have further lowered my opinion on society today. I was walking (alone) down George Street the other night. I see three largish, drunk looking guys walking towards me. I see largish drunken guy push his largish drunken friend towards me. My reflexes were luckily fast enough to move myself out of the way or I would have been skittled. I promptly said...a not very nice four letter word, followed by the word "off", which I thought was
pretty reasonable, given the situation. I then didnt really know what to do or say so I just started to walk off. Next thing I'm covered with water from this idiot who chose to throw the contents of his water bottle at me. Oh...and there were people on the street but no one chose to assist in anyway. Great.
Ahh...and you thought Micheal Jackson was bad dangling his kid out a window...well...I saw a lady with a pram trying to cross the road when the light was on the *dont walk* sign. A guy stopped her, and she took the hugest offence to it saying "we all make mistakes". The guy, (who didn't even know her and had just stopped both mother and baby getting hurt or killed) said "but what about her baby?". This chick just would not let up and was totally disgusted by the whole thing. I swear they need IQ tests prior letting to anyone have kids.
Had some more fights...erm...minor
disagreements with the Post Office. Went to one Post Office after the new rules came in (that proof of ID had to be shown in some circumstances). Post Office one says I don't need ID for anything under 500 grams, but I need to show ID for anything over 500 grams. No problems. I'm happy to show my ID. Not that I think it will be particularly helpful, but I'm happy to show ID, no problems. Went into post office two the next day. This is coincidently the Post Office I am almost banned from LOL for correcting their mistakes. I do, however have to pretend to be nice as it is the most convienient Post Office to go to, being right across the road from me ;)
Woman behind the counter has nasty smirk on her face and asks for proof of ID. I put all my items on the counter and say that they are under 500 grams so I wont need proof of ID. She says that I need to show proof of ID for anything under
500 grams unless it is documents. I say that this is a different story to what I have been told at the other Post Office, but hold back due to my desire of not wanting to be banned from this Post Office. She takes my proof of ID, and has to write a long number on a number of stickers, each of which need to be stuck to my packages. She misses a package which is under 500 grams, but the same width, shape, size, etc as the others. I ask her why and she says because it is a book. She says a book is classed as documents. So, as a potential terrorist, all one needs to do is write on their package that it contains documents???? Hello???? Does this not defeat the whole purpose of the whole ID thing? Anyways, after limited, non heated discussion, I ask her for a document which outlines this new policy so I can go home and read it, react to it in the privacy of my own home.
Portion of the
document is as follows: The federal Government recently announced additional security measures for the air carriage of international mail lodged with Australia Post. From 16 December 2002, Australia Post customers will be required to provide acceptable photo or signiture identification when they lodge international mail for air carriage. The new requirements apply to all international mail except envelopes that weigh no more than 500 grams.
Anyways, on the document, the "except envelopes" is in bold for no particular reason, there is no mention of what constitutes "documents" or what an "envelope" is. This may seem unimportant to most, but for someone who only wants to do the right thing, and posts sometimes up to 20 "envelopes" or "postpaks" at a time, this is a cause for concern because of the potential amount of time that may be unnecessarily wasted at a Post Office whose
employees are doing the wrong thing. I called the auspost help centre to try to get answers to my questions, but sadly the person I spoke to was incapable of answering my questions. They are *allegedly* sending me documentation which will clarify what they consider to be "documents", "envelopes" etc, but...well...I am yet to recieve it.
But...ahhhh....now, surprise surprise...now they have changed the customs forms. Usually I get a roll of 100 super funky, easy to peel off green customs forms...but...now they are all single customs forms and they have really hard to peel off backing arrrrr...but...the good thing is it does clarify what correspondence and documents are : "Books or magnetic or optical recording media such as tapes, cassettes, computer discs, compact discs, etc are not correspondence or documents". Sucked in Post Office lady two. I was right again. Another interesting
addition to this form is "this article should not be lodged in a street posting box"...oh...and along with the normal space for your name and address, you also need to give them your phone number....sorry...I'll stop my whining now...I'm just a little skeptical of the whole thing.
I work today then I have another two days off. I have just had three days off in a row and am not sure that it was the good thing that I thought it was. Three days off gave me waaaay too much time to think about everything. I think I would rather be at work. Ahh...I don't know. After I heard the redundancy news, I asked for two days annual leave in January (yeah I know, I'm going all out *cough*)...so...yeah...I added the leave in with two weekends and now I have six days off in a row. I don't know if its a good idea, but yeah...I guess I will find out. I guess I just need to keep myself busy. My thoughts
are that I will spend my time finally putting all of Epodcentral up again...but yeah, I don't know...
Umm...yeah...that's it from me...its 201 am on 31/12/02 and here I am wondering why I am still having problems sleeping. Happy New Year kids!
RESIGNATION 
I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.
I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.
I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.
I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.
I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and
nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.
All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.
I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.
I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.
I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the
bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.
I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.
So . . . here's my cheque book and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.