Peek-a-Boo

I've been a terrible blogger I know, not that that's anything new... And yeah I know I've come back with a pretty poor excuse for a photo of my tree but it's the best I could do quickly. I promise to try to be a better blogger come the new year!

I just couldn't go without wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!!!

I'm right at this moment meant to be cooking various xmas goodies but having got half way I have been distracted and lulled back into procrastination. I'm enjoying the "Season" this year and while I'm busy none of it has been too hard to handle. I think my only painful social gathering will be my immediate family get together on Boxing Day, kinda sounds bad saying that though...

I hope you are all getting into the festive spirit and spending some time with those you care most about. Enjoy yourselves in whatever way works for you!!

Snooze-fest

* Well so much for getting my creative juices flowing... My NaNoWriMo attempt didn't even get off the ground so will have to try that again next year. I've written nothing for almost a month and still there's not much to tell. Last weeks federal election couldn't have gone better IMHO, to see Bonsai lose his seat of 30+ odd years was priceless let alone the libs loss. New PM has been a long time coming and it will be interesting to see how he handles it.

* My little sister's were up for a few days to celebrate their b'days last weekend which was good. While littlest managed to get VERY drunk VERY quickly she impressed me by lasting with me 'til the sun was up (which was more than anyone else.. *cough*Tom*cough*). Was a different night to what I expected but still everyone seemed to enjoy it.

* My brother has yet again surprised me with the level of his selfishness and rudeness but now it just mildly ticks me off because for the most part I've stopped giving a shit. I won't even say what I think of his other half...

* I've almost finished my little (actually it turned into a rather big) photo project and hopefully I'll have it on the wall by next week. That will make me more than a little happy!

* I have started my christmas shopping and dreading the last of it. While I get a kick out of giving the actual physical shopping factor drives me bonkers. Really must try to finish it int he next week so that the real rush of christmas shopping doesn't send me to an early grave.

* Drew finishes school in a little over 3 weeks and the following 5-6weeks are pretty much booked solid. I'm fairly sure we're going to need the month of February to recover.

"Stressed" Teen; Stupid Mother: Great Combination

I just couldn't go past this story without a few words. To summarise for those not wanting to click... It tells of a 16yr old Year 10 student in our nations capital who has been given permission by her school to have smoke breaks. That's not even the best bit, it was apparently on her DOCTOR'S advice as she is "clinically addicted". Well fuck, of course the best idea is to give her all the reason in the world to keep smoking.

So many parts of this story are fucked up I almost don't know where to start. How bout that it is illegal to sell or supply a minor with cigarettes. Or maybe start with the treatment of one who is "clinically addicted" by feeding her fucking addiction. Will we do the same for all the teens in our schools addicted to marijuana, ice, heroin and whatever the fuck else?

I'm a smoker and I've smoked since before I was in High School, I don't claim that as a badge of honour it is just a sad fact. I know damn well smoking is fucking stupid and so does anyone else who smokes. Yes it is an addiction and No it isn't easy to quit. My mother has known I've smoked for the last 10 or so years and she STILL won't even buy me smokes with my own money. No one ever encouraged me to smoke and I take full responsibility for my habit and what I do about it. Having said all that I am looking at this story and find it seriously fucked up, especially from a mother's point of view. Have a look at what this teen's mother had to say about the matter...

Tara's mother, also a smoker, said the situation reached breaking point last month when her daughter was placed on detention, and prevented from leaving the school grounds.

"She was really stressed. She just calms down if she has got a cigarette; otherwise she storms in the door, cranky and angry."

How about taking at look at why the girl was given a detention in the first bloody place and teaching her ways of avoiding that! It's a punishment, of course she should be stressed the idea is to deter the bad behaviour! Show a little leadership and parent your child at home and deal with the storming around the fucking house.

Ms Lewis said she made the request during a meeting with a teacher and the vice-principal.

"I told them her major problem is when she is stressed, if she could just have a cigarette to calm her down and stop her getting angry.

"I said: 'I've talked to the doctor about it'.

"Both teachers said: 'Okay, I don't see why not'."

Okay three things:
1) take her to an anger management class
2) get a new doctor
3) change her school

Under the special rule, Tara said she can smoke in school grounds, near the staff carpark, but must remain away from other students.

Tara's mother said she had started rewarding Tara with just six cigarettes a day if she did chores and behaved at school.

"It's not like I want my kid to smoke. I've done everything to get her to stop it, so if I can control it and say 'when you can have a cigarette, you do chores', that might help.

"I don't want her smoking. It's the last thing you want to let your kid do."

If you don't want your daughter smoking DON'T GIVE THEM TO HER pretty bloody simple. Try being the responsible adult in your family and get a clue!

Think I'm done now, I feel better anyway :-)

Purging, the old fashioned way...

I'm still alive and all moved and all that crap. Took a little while to get net sorted which didn't bother me too much. Been back online for a week or two and have caught up quietly reading everyone else's blogs and figure it's about time I did an entry of my own. So I'm starting the clock and doing a 30min purge...

My move ended up happening rather quickly even though I knew it was coming for months before. I fucked around for weeks/months looking for a place in a rental market which is fucked up and even more so for someone in my position. After countless appointments looking at houses and well over a dozen applications for properties each with dozens of other applicants I had no new place and the end of my lease quickly approaching. The real estate I was dealing with were no help and became rather painful to deal with. Then my Plan A came back into play when my neighbour (friend) decided she was moving into (rather than selling) the property she and her husband bought just before he decided to walk out on her and the kids. Meaning I could move into the house she was moving out of and rent directly from her. So I moved a few doors over in the same street and Little Boy remains at the same school and we remain in the quiet little street that we both enjoy.

I've also had a new Little Miss to look after 5 days a week, the daughter of my above mentioned friend and now new landlord. So my daily routine has altered to cater for an almost 2yr old, who is a gorgeous kid to look after. This has also meant my somewhat hermit-esque lifestyle has taken a dramatic change with people coming and going each and every day. I am not sure yet if this is entirely a good thing, I am missing MY time. Today is the first day in weeks that I have not had a kid for any part of the day and have not had to go anywhere with anyone. It's been an enjoyable quiet day!

The move also had a side effect on my family relationships. Heated words were exchanged between my brother and myself after some extremely selfish (in my opinion) behaviour on his part and not helped by actions of his partner. It culminated with the shit hitting the fan on the final day of my move and my brother also having words with both my sister and Mum, I almost felt sorry for him... almost. Since then his partner has had more of an influence and I'm pretty sure that I will very rarely be taking care of my niece from here on in. I always saw that coming as I know that my connection and steady influence with my niece was not liked or appreciated by my brother's controlling half (I'm trying to be nice here). The fact that I won't be having Little Miss as often, in itself does not bother me too much at this point. The 5am mornings and long days of a 3yr old princess are not always fun and though I was getting paid (a little) the constant expectation of more began to wear very thin. Perhaps one day soon my brother will see just how much I gave and for so little thanks.

My new house is beginning to feel like home, even though there are remnants of it's former occupants still around the place, like the fish tank still in the lounge room, there are not so many boxes left to unpack. Hopefully by the end of the year I will have everything in it's right place, the new pieces I still need (want) to buy in place and the last of the excess clutter/baggage/shit gone.

My online activities have also had to change dramatically since my move but that's not a bad thing either. I'm still reading the blogs I want to read and keeping up with the news on here but my own additions to the net have become even less than they were (taking them to zero?!) but that too will change. I (re)signed up for NaNoWriMo and intend to get my writing flowing in some form or fashion over this month. I have no expectation of reaching the 50,000 word mark but I always work better to some form of a deadline and will be happy to write almost anything. I desperately need to get creative in some way.

Well my thirty minutes is up, apologies for the boring ranting and dribble but hey I wrote something!!! I may not be commenting on your blogs but I'm definitely still reading!

Moving House

Moving over the next couple of days

Back online when I get around to it

Then hopefully back to some sort of normal

Not so hopeless?

A month of absolute fucking hell

Perhaps a ray of sunlight has been seen

Not quite ready to grasp the hope too strongly

Want to believe but waiting to see it happen

Give it a week...




And if so, hard work means fuck all

It still comes down to who you know!

Give Up?

I've watched as it went from one new code to the other and sat here shaking my head in disbelief at those people who've jumped and:

* complained they didn't know the last move was coming (get your head out of your own arse and look at the font page of your beloved community once in a while); or

* complained and asked when they will get their old posts back, and let me clarify there is a difference between the complaining/expectation and appreciation that it could be possible but there's been a shit load of the former! (You should remember that there was a back-up function which was very easy to use once in a while. If you don't use it, then when your blog goes find another way to get your posts back if they are so important. But why are they only important once they're bloody gone? It's your content don't expect anyone else to get it back for you BUT if they DO, show some damn appreciation!); or

* instead of pointing out bugs in the completely new system some have grumbled "I can't do... A, B or C" ... "I can't scratch my own arse". (For a place that you keep choosing to stick with and have followed the recent problems and I assume you know it is a HOBBY for ONE man, how bout you show a little fucking patience and let the man do his thing and yeah it may not be in the first fucking day but hey you wanted to stay for the community right?)

There have been a lot of other things said too that have made my jaw drop and I've started to pity Keith for all that he must get privately as well as out in the public forums. Quite a few people have been just plain rude and selfish.

Now having said all that I have tried to be patient in waiting for my little problem (and anyone else's who uses a hotmail acc and doesn't want another fucking email addy to keep track of) of just getting into the site. One of Keith's first posts on the new code was about login issues and he posted this comment several days ago: "Even if you registered for WPMU before .. you need to register again for this new script. If you are having issues with getting the verification then please tell me what user name you registered with and I will get that verified for you." The very next comment is from me doing just that, and yet here I am almost a week later still waiting.

You know it wouldn't have bothered me too much because I'd already decided to stay here for the most part. Most of the blogs I read there have not gone registered or buddy only, I can still read and comment and all that so it wasn't bothering me. Until... Keith gets his little subscriptions working, which is all well and good for the community, but in the process it fucked up the feed for bloglines.

I've got enough shit to contend with offline I don't want to be wasting the little time I spend on here at this point. So if I don't get round to your blogs much don't take it personally. At the moment I've pretty much given up on it but when my life settles back in to some kind of normalcy I'll come back to it. For now I'm going to mirror my life on this blog and become a hermit of sorts, I just can't be bothered.