A 2-minute "spot clean"

Points of note:

- Went to Kangaroo Island a few weeks ago on a free tour through work. Hot weather. Fun with Brian. Many Europeans. I was the only Aussie, and the palest-skinned of the group. Highlights: Sandboarding down Little Sahara on our 'Mr-Sheen-ed' boards, lying on the beach sharing Adelaide stories with the tour leader, hiking conversation with Brian, braving the waves at Snelling Beach. Downside: Actually, there's nothing I can complain about, not even considering it was a free tour. Although, it would have been nice if the air conditioning on the bus hadn't been broken... and if we hadn't become bogged in the sand on our night-drive. (Although, while the girls shivered and waited, I think the boys had the time of their lives ribbing the driver and getting together to dig holes around the tyres and push.)

- The following weekend, DW and I took our belated Christmas present to each other, 2 nights at a B&B at Largs Bay. Highlights: not for public display. Let's just say DW is becoming quite proficient in certain skills. But, the beach walks and Harbour Town shopping and snuggles in bed weren't bad either ;). Downside: the wind! Bad bad beach weather. The water was warm, but we couldn't relax or sit down without being whipped mercilessly by sand. Also, it was kind of expensive. But never mind.

- I've been going to the gym a fair bit recently, and so far keeping my goal of running 3x week. Yesterday DW and I went for a run together at Linear Park which was good. Having him there motivates me to keep going, I think. He reckons he looks more approachable running with a girl, which I tend to agree with. We passed another couple riding bikes who both smiled at us and after they passed we were like, 'foursome!'

- New thought: I think I'd like to combine work in the UK and travel. I'd still have to save a fair bit of course, but maybe not quite as much as if I just left from Australia. Plus I could maybe travel longer.

Ok, so new daydream-plan:

Mid July - September: Travel from Prague down to Turkey.
October - Jan: Work in England - maybe a live-in pub job?
Mid Jan - mid April: Work for PGL, an outdoor-activity company in England (I don't think I'd be able to save much here, but by all accounts it looks like fun)
May- July - More travel: Iceland, Denmark, Germany, Northern Europe?

Other thoughts: we just got an email at work from a company that offers 3 month live-in carer contracts in England, that recruits mainly travellers. The email was asking for a reference for a girl used to work at the hostel. I looked up a bit about them, and currently have a question mark over whether that sounds like something I'd want to do. I reckon it'd really depend on the person you were with - if the person were easygoing, involved in life (and perhaps young?) it sounds like it'd be a really good opportunity to settle in one place for a while and earn pretty decent money, but if you didn't like the person you were caring for it could be awful. You know, I kind of like the idea of doing something like that - it seems like it would be good experience. But I can't be away forever...

Although, I could be away probably 15 months while only missing 1 year of uni. Potential issue (with all of this)... DW.

The problem, or solution, is that I love DW... a lot. I am incredibly lucky to have him and I don't want to throw that away. On the other hand, I don't want to be in a position when I look back and regret not having done more with life, when I wanted to, and I could have.

Aaaanyway. Time for banana cake and more daydreams.

--khere is a mini vacuum cleaner used only for very special hand jobs.

The December Edition

I'm very lucky. My family and friends are healthy people and happy people. Sometimes I realise how fragile it all is, how much of it really is luck.

We never know what's around the corner. I'm so grateful for the luck, while it lasts.

SAY IT WITH NUTS

Working at Arndale turned out to be a pleasant way to earn a few extra dollars before Christmas. The store was not busy in the slightest - seriously, these staff would have a heart attack working at TTP. This was bad for the company of course but dare I say, quite relaxing. I also enjoyed the fact that it was a small team. There was Midge (normally I don't use names but hers is so distinctive to her character that I must), who I had met but never known well before. She's the one who trains all the new staff and does all that 'See and Respond!' crap and I had found her tiresomely perky in the past. My respect for her has really grown. She comes across now as someone who is quite fulfilled in life, someone who throws themself into it and appreciates the small things. She's not afraid to say *nice* things to people which is a surprisingly rare quality, and one that I admire.

Also working at the shop was M, a very sweet guy who I could have talked to for many more hours that we had available. Guess what? He's married! Bahaha. Married crush.

Then there were the four 'newies'. Generally they were very good, and I didn't have any troubles leading them at all. I liked working with two of them in particular - one girl who was only just fifteen and had quite a good little business head on her, and another who had just finished year 12 and was the closest to my age. The other two weren't bad, but I think they might have struggled in a higher-pressure environment. Or actually, maybe shone. Who knows. I just know that when sales did gradually start creeping up, there was a few little *headpalm* moments. Like the girl who called up Midge at 9pm the night before her shift to say she 'didn't know what to do' because her friend had 'invited her to the beach' and oh boy, can I get a little guidance on this, boss? Or the other one who would stand there holding the sample bowl after I told her that we needed to fill gift packs before giving samples, and after I gently took it out of her hands and repeated myself and nudged her towards the gift pack boxes was like 'oh ok... so filling... baskets?'

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

I really enjoyed Christmas this year. On Christmas Eve I sold cheap booze on the hostel balcony and befriended a few new guests - honestly, if for some reason I didn't get paid for the extra hours, I wouldn't even mind. Christmas day was at our house, with us, Grandpa, my dad's sister and her partner, and DW. Then on Boxing Day we went to at Kristy's with my mum's side of the family, the 6 little cousins and 5 big ones. Good times.

JINGALABELL JINGALABELL JINGJINGALING LING

H is off today! To India, where she will be living and travelling with her man for two months (assuming she doesn't come down with Japanese Encephalitis, of course =P ) I saw her off at the train station this morning... then came home before anyone else was even up, and napped for another hour or so =P

PROCLAMATION DAY

I hereby proclaim that before I go out this evening there will be much time spent reading and watching TV (up to date with Survivor... maybe time to break open that Greys Anatomy that mum brought back from China). It's the beginning of my four (4!) days off, the longest break I've had in... a while. I will definitely appreciate it.

keeping it clean and staying on topic

Another seedy Sunday, another post.

- We put the Christmas tree up today.

- I now have an iPhone, at no extra monthly cost than what I was already paying for my old crappy handset.

- C's 21st was last night. At the Rhino room, very nice venue I thought. Cosy and fun, not too big.

- Her dad is an 'affable chap', in DW's words.

- DW met and became promptly 'enarmoured' with C's boyfriend, in C's words. The two of them talked at length about cricket and finance and whatever else.

- After the speeches, DW mentioned to me that he had 'kind of already started planning' a speech for my 21st. Naw. That's the side of him that I love.

- When we were trying to catch a taxi home, he was being an unhelpful grump. That's the side of him I don't like so much. I may taken hold of his hand in a more aggressive manner than usual. Then hit him when he pulled it away. What can I say, we were both drunk and irritated.

- I'm gonna be working at the nut shop again this Christmas - well, at one of the new 'outpost' stalls. The next few weeks will be busy. But more money, yay.

- I'm trying to save as much money as possible. I've never been 'bad' with money as such, but I haven't saved as much as I could have. If I want to go to Europe in 2011 (which, I do) then I will need to really save a lot. Goodbye food court, hello sandwiches using free bread from work.

- I want to sell a whole bunch of clothes on eBay, but I need to wait for my dad (with the benefit of his awesome feedback record!) to let me use his account and show me how to do things. My plan to do this was actually based on clearing out cupboard space rather than earning money, but hey: every bit counts!

- Went to a couch-surfing meet a couple of weeks ago at the Grace Emily. Fun fun. The week after I was feeling sick and wussy so I didn't go, but might head there again tomorrow.

- I'm so ready for Thursday, when new cupboards will be put in - the old ones were demolished and removed last Thursday, so this week all my crap has been in boxes and piles around my bedroom floor and the rest of the house. I hate living in mess. I don't see how some of my friends (well, one of my friends in particular =P) can live with a room that's permanently in such a state!

- Look, paragraphs getting bigger. We don't want that.

---khere had one midori too many.

You say neurotic, I say erotic

It's official: Father Christmas is in town. He may be dehydrated and dripping with sweat inside his suit, but he's here!

It was pageant day today, and the hostel balcony was the place to be. Exclusive view, Wayne's shade contraption rigged up out of old sheets, cigarette butts swept away, and "rooly clever" disabled lift access. It was a fun atmosphere at work, although the collide of backpackers and kiddies was a bit exhausting.

I slept there last night, with DW giving me a ride into town. We, uh, well, let's just say there was more fun in the rm 6 'storage room' than there's been in a while!

Town tonight - this metaphorical hair is coming down, because exams are over yeooww!

I feel so glad when I hear people talking about assignments and exams they still have, and remember I can dismiss all those thoughts. Selfish but nice! I had another strangely freeing moment when some guy behind me on a bus was talking on the phone in a real serious sooky voice about his break-up. "I'm not saying she's defective, I'm just saying she needs to be better at prioritising." I decided I didn't want to be listening, realised that I had no obligation to, and put my ipod earphones in. The wonderful benefits of modern society!

Get scared much? You should probably stay away from Paranormal Activity. Actually it was awesome, but I'm not usually affected much by scary movies and this one I did find creepy. I got free tickets and went with DW, a lovely friend who I will entitle "L", and his pretty housemate "H". (damnit! I know too many 'H's!). It wasn't as jumpy-scary as I thought it would be, but a lot oogier. DW had a high opinion of it too, which I was glad about.

Also: Dog Boy, by Eva Hornung. Eegh. Read it. Dooo it *shakes*

Enough. Time for this dirty girl to shower.

--khere is a chalk-drawing melting on the road.

Present, Soon, Not Soon Enough

NEAR FUTURE

Summer's almost here! I've decided I'll have to become nocturnal to best appreciate these next few months. Warm nights are the bomb. Last night, I really felt like doing something, considering I hadn't been out for a while, and next weekend will probably be devoted to studying. Fortunately I realised that I didn't so much feel like going to town as drinking in the comfort of my own backyard. This turned out to be a popular suggestion. DW and his two friends eschewed the pub in favour of drinking beer in the pool and having shirtless 'grappling' competitions. H was happy to make the 5 minute walk to mine instead of a trip into town since she had work in the morning, and the loving (or not?) couple hung out for a while before continuing their evening elsewhere.


DISTANT FUTURE

My new daydream topic... Europe.

I... wanna go there. Very vague plan hatching. Funds notwithstanding, something like this I reckon would be awesome:

Turkey - maybe Geckos tour.

Bulgaria, Hungary - hostels/couch surfing*

Germany - visit Milli and family. Berlin, East Germany.

Denmark - hostels/couch surfing.

Sweden - could maybe visit Isa? Otherwise, hostels/couch surfing.

Iceland - hostels/couch surfing.

I wonder how much money that would all cost? Estimate = a lot. But, you're only able to get a youth discount Eurail pass once, right?

*Intrigued by this concept. Don't know how much of a risk it would be - I assume the best way to go would be to book a night at an accommodation facility, then meet the 'couch-owner' for coffee or something, and if they're decent then cancel the bed elsewhere.

PRESENT

Yeah, my mind's pretty much ignoring this category. Maybe because the topics in the 'present' folder are something like:
- Exceptions to indefeasibility
- What are the implications of this judgment for future decisions?
- Do I need to listen to the week 9 lecture again?
- I like green highlighters the best
- I suppose I should study some german too
- Die Arbeit wird gemacht. Die Arbeit wurde gemacht. Die Arbeit ist gemacht worden.
- Breskvar v Wall established the principle of immediate indefeasibility in Australia.
- GTC...Underbelly... Ah. Fill in the blanks.
- Iceland omg I've loved the idea of the place since year four, hey look there's a friendly looking gay couple with a kid who live in a little village near the coast and 'definitely have couch', yes it would be good to get out of the main city and it looks like their place is accessible by bus. Even though they're men, the fact that they're gay and have a kid is reassuring I guess.
- I think the 8 day Geckos tour would be a bit rushed, then again would the 20 day one be too long? Depends so much on the people, could be awesome cos you have time to get to know each other better. But would suck if the group was bad. The trip notes look really good I have to say. I think Turkey would be a bit intimidating to navigate by myself, especially if its the first place I go to.
- So if I saved money this summer break and all this year, plus the summer break next year, could I save enough? I could take the first semester off uni and leave in like, April. Then by the time I got up to northern Europe it'd be like, June? Summer nights in Scandinavia! Omg how awesome would that be! I could even be back for winter school in Adelaide if I really wanted to catch up some uni.
- Uni... Crap! Exams! Present!

A nineties haircut and a beaut spa

So ready for the summer break. I'm kinda pumped actually, because DW and I are going away together =) Don't know yet where, or for how long - this is DW we're talking about, so I'm thinking smaller rather than larger, but we are definitely in the affirmative about holiday plans, so yeah. Woot.

Between now and then = uni uni. Actually I'm chilled at the moment, in the eye of the metaphorical uni work storm (think swirls of paper and case names muahahaha). 3 weeks tomorrow, I'll be all done, and my exam (singular!) and legal writing assignment and german bits and pieces will be behind me. 3 weeks aagh! Or 3 weeks yay?

I'm thinking of joining a gym. It's a cheap one, "co-ed" but with a ladies weights room. It looks like a good range of classes and a good atmosphere, from the admittedly paltry amount of time I spent there. I've always resisted the idea of joining a gym because 1) Expense, and I didn't want to risk paying for something I wasn't going to use; 2) I like being outside, and didn't want to substitute walking/jogging outdoors for being on a treadmill; and 3) Time, and I didn't want to risk paying for something I wasn't going to use. But, with el-cheapo gymmo here, I figure the money-wasting is less of a concern. Also, I'm getting a bit bored *ahem lazy* with running, and probably won't have a whole lot more enthusiasm once the weather gets hot. While I like walking, it's better for relaxing than for fitness, and I don't want to spend my peaceful meanders thinking that I should be running.

In fact, I wanted to go for a walk before it got dark but it looks like the time has passed for such activities. It's gorgeous weather at the moment - that little sweet spot of the year where its sunny and breezy and all the colours look so clear. Warm during the day but not yet stinking hot. Fresh in the mornings, all that really pale sun and sparkly dampness at 7 am.

What else is new? My friend thought she had leukemia. Turned out she had tonsillitis! My other friend has uncovered quite a cheery attitude towards life, and enrolled in lessons to learn French. My other friend (that's three friends so far!) recently 'came out' to his mum, who apparently didn't believe him at first. His dad doesn't know yet, and apparently keeps saying to his mum about son's new love interest, "Maybe it's a boy!"

Speaking of gays, I had my hair done by an extremely flamboyant chap the other day. He admitted that he often forgot or didn't hear what people said, because he'd get distracted by hairdryer noise or background music. Indeed, he had to ask me a three time whether I want to get my fringe cut today. Nothing disastrous was done to my hair, but I wasn't hugely impressed. Also, they've refit my usual hair-place and now it's all fancy and uglified! There are too many bright lights and mirrors, and too much space. I hate shopping centre places that redo themselves just to more truly embody shopping-centre-ugly. I may have to seek a new hair venue for the future.

Well, I didn't really have a reason to write, and I believe that fact has become glaringly apparent. But hey, you got three entries in October. Lucky you.

--khere is a bit "av".

The Boys and Girls Are Not Alone

My frugality streak was broken over the last few days - but, now I have new and super underwear*, a slightly more groomed appearance, some nice summery tops and four (4!) new CDs. I never buy CDs, except, I guess, when I do. I feel that I am special and entitled to illegal free downloads, but apparently my computer firewall doesn't agree. Hence: Ben Folds, The Clash, Sarah Blasko and The Flaming Lips, in real-CD form.

*TMI: Not a big G-string fan. They seem only good for dressing sexy, and who feels sexy when they have an unhygienic strip of material wedged between their ass cheeks? Not me, obviously. But these 'lacy boylegs' are another story. Just so you know.

Between Aldinga, Goolwa and nights spent with DW, this is one of the first evenings I've spent in my own house for a while. Aldinga was good as always - there's a lovely carefree feeling that emanates from the dusty almost-finished shack, and reminds me why it's worth driving down to the coast even if I can only spend one night there. We played drinking games and Wii sports and something called 'Articulate' which my partner and I rocked at. Apparently she had a massive tanty the second night when she couldn't be in a team with her boyfriend, so... kinda glad I missed that. My other good friend has an aunt and uncle who designed and built a fancy place in Goolwa, so over the weekend we spent two nights there as well. Yay for friends with beach houses!

DW has kind of moved out of home for six weeks while house sitting for his Opa, and has said he's not sure how he'll adjust to moving back in with his parents. He's starting to look at buying property which is kind of exciting. If he bought a house, he'd probably have me and one of his friends move in... money matters aside, I'd be quite keen to do that. Even though it seems like the benefits of moving out with him would be somewhat negated by having one of his mates living there too, it seems somehow a better move to do that than to move somewhere just the two of us... a smaller step, maybe? I wonder whether it would generally be better to be part of a couple living with another person, or be the person living with the couple... Anyway, nothing's a reality yet. And let's not delve too far into the hypotheticals - my teaching-overseas mental adventure combined with sugar-pill week left me feeling quite strange and disconnected a few weeks ago. Perhaps appropriately, I've started reading 'The Power of Now'... that whole spiritual deal isn't usually my thing, but I figured I'd give it a chance.

Bah, uni. I've decided to try to stop "multi-tasking", a.k.a. clicking onto facebook every time I get bored or stuck with uni work. Study time will be for study. Fun time will be for fun, not for procrastination-marred-with-guilt. *Nods*. *Sighs*. Gah, I wanted to get so much done in the holidays, and they're ALMOST OVER! Only one more free (as in: assignment) day before I have work, then I'll have Sunday free, and that's it. True, I have had a real break with the beach and all, but it's depressing that that should cost me, when this is supposed to be a semester break after all. Never mind.

Oh, and as for work, let me note for future reference: FOOTY GROUPS ARE DISGUSTING. As if general rowdiness and body odour and slurred leery remarks and spilled drinks and off-set fire alarms aren't enough, they have to go and use the whole world as their personal toilet. Pissing on the roof and off the balcony onto the street, crapping on the bathroom floor and in the urinal and on the balcony - what the fuck is wrong with these people? Ugh! I'm really starting to question my manager's sanity when he cheerfully rattles off a business comparison between our hostel and our former 'sister' hostel - we make the same amount of money putting up the price for louts over three nights as they do for having a cheap long-term weekly rate! Go us! Really? The difference is we have to deal with all that shit on the weekends, no pun intended, pay for a security guard and extra night-watch staff, and probably deter other guests away from our premises, then are dead quiet for the next three or four days and pay for someone to take extended smoke breaks, browse the net or sit on the couch watching TV with the guests. While they, I assume, have fairly steady days and rooms full of international students who presumably don't smash things and vomit and evacuate their bowels on the balcony and compel the police to visit following public complaints. So, yeah dude, you tell me who has the better business plan there.

(Although, I guess I can't lie, I did thoroughly enjoy hearing of the phone exchange between my Chinese co-worker and manager:

CC: There's a shit on the balcony!

M: A what?

CC: A shiit!

M: I didn't see any linen out there?

CC: No! No linen, a shiiiit!

M: Huh? Put it back on the shelf, then!

CC: A shit! Somebody squat and make a shit!

Bahah.

- khere will not be stripping for your entertainment.

There's always some excuse

So.
My New Year's resolution is to live in the moment. In the small picture. Is that weird? Not when you use examples. Enjoy the night, don't bog yourself down with thoughts of the next morning's obligations. Be mentally present at work, don't count down the hours until the shift ends. Keep running, just feel the running, try not to anticipate the finish line or it will come more slowly. You remember moments in life, you don't remember transitions between them. So see each moment separately for what it is.

Also: Pay off a grand of HECS each invoice.
Also: Be chatty with guests at the hostel. Nearly everyone has a sympathetic side.
Also: Put myself 'out there', both in a sense of physicality and personality. People, on the whole, like me, but I forget that, and consequently I come off as a little reserved on first impression. So: do things outside of my comfort zone, with people who aren't already inside the personal bubble. Let them in.

Wait, a few more. These are the ones I'm already failing:
Keep my nails nice. Seriously. Torn, uneven nails are not cute. You don't play cops and robbers in the playground these days. You are a big girl now. Evidence: menstruation, ownership of high heels. (I kid.) Big girls have nice nails, ok?
Auf Deutsch mit den deutschen Gaesten zu reden. Look, I don't even know if that's correct. I miss the feeling of navigating my way through successfully through a sentence, my mind laying down the path pieces for my words to skip along. I have deteriorated so much in German, I reckon, and a good lot of that is confidence. Fine, my secondary resolution is to get a HD in German at uni this coming semester. That sounds ambitious for someone who can barely stutter out a phrase on the cuff, but I reckon I could do it - after all, I did get distinctions last year by doing nothing more than the minimum; the push of what I'd learnt in year twelve still carrying me along. Sure, it'll be a step up... but I'll give it my best shot this time.

Alright. Enough resolutions. Its going to be 41 degrees tomorrow, and I'm going to THE BEACH, which is against everything that me and my pasty skin stand for. Its with DW and some of his friends, and I have suspicions that he will want me to be all bikini-body and bare. Dude. This girl does not tan.

For some reason I've been thinking about what I look like lately, not in a body-image problem type way nor in a fit of vanity. Well, maybe it is the latter, in a sense. But I've just been trying to get a guage on what I *actually* look like, and I've been thinking about my outer shell, if you will, with a sense of curious detachment. Sure, there are physical qualities about yourself that you know for fact. But. What else? You get used to seeing pictures of your face, but then you see a shot taken with your face side-on in the background and its weird. So that's what my nose is like from the side? And my chin? Interesting to know. I've been made aware that I have a distinctive jaw, which I would not have ever known about myself had it not been for observant male friends. Then again, one described it as kind of detaching itself from its proper position when I smile, but looking nice (w.t.f?) while another called it 'slightly manly'. And do I have the family nose, which is not a particularly good thing, or does it, as someone said, 'have a very feminine curve'? What does that mean, anyway? Can it be both? When did my skin stop being 'oily/combination' and start up with 'dry/sensitive'? Is that what it even is? Do people see my arms as all pink and freckly, or do they not notice? Is it obvious that one eyebrow has a slightly higher arch than the other, when not properly groomed? Hey, my elbow looks pointy in that photo. Are my elbows pointier than other people's? My hair looks pretty there. But there, my hair looks like a square. Would people describe me as a blonde? And body shape. Clearly I'm on the thin end of the spectrum, and not overly curvy, but... what's my gangliness to grace rating? To some I'm probably 'too scrawny', to others 'petite', to others, dare I say it, 'hot'. My boss declared that I had the same proportions as his six foot, D-cup wife, which... is maybe an exaggeration. But nevertheless, some people seem to see a quite feminine physique, while other sets of roaming eyes pass me over in favour of some more... spantaneous bootay. Shopping for black work pants in a cheap store mainly frequented by thirteen-year-olds and Asians gave me some insight as to why I had slowly come to feel smaller over time... pants declared size ten in that little store are skin tight, while in big-girl-shopping land a size ten may slip entirely past the waist and cling for dear life on the pitiful semblance of hips. I haven't shrunk since early teen years... good to know! Of course, this is all getting into people's personal preferences of attraction, which really is vanity territory, but I just want some objectivity, damnit!

Alright. This entry is certainly more than enough introspection for one night. Let me look outside of myself for a minute, and talk about:

Twilight. Overall, I have to admit that I was kind of 'meh'. There were bits that were good, bits that were sexy or exciting, but I felt like I could tell that the author liked writing those parts too so put all her energy there and then just burbled her way through the joining-up-parts. I was passively entertained, but I don't know that I'd jump straight to the sequel.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I realised how biased I was when I looked up reviews after the movie, and decided not to read the unfavourable ones because they clearly didn't get it. Haha. Something which I haven't yet seen mentioned, is that it made me feel that being 'old' wouldn't be all that bad... going backward through the years makes it look like, wow, 65 is really a spring chicken! And what superb physical condition he's in at 50! For a moment there I thought it would be better if there was no real connection between the man in the diary and the woman reading, because it would give it this sort of existential touch, a suggestion of the way we metaphorically bump into each other and see brief glimpes into each other's lives. But I think it was actually better how they did it. I liked the ending, with the baby's eyes a nice creepy touch. Plus, Brad Pitt is sexy. There was a point where it was like the producers flipped a switch and it was like, there he is! Goodbye weird old-man relationship, hello Mr Hot Stuff!

I'm looking forward to the Time Traveller's Wife coming out, but I have a feeling that although TTTW could be done justice with that same depth of emotion, it... won't be. Hm. We'll see.

The Island of The Colourblind: I got this for Christmas and I'm still reading it - it's not something that you whip through in a frenzy, but I like it. I have a soft spot for non-fiction tales of biology, especially ones with copious digressing footnotes, and I like thinking about the bizarre yet totally fateful occurrences on our planet. I plan to read more of Oliver Sacks stuff... He lets me, who can never go back to 'hard sciences', see more of our intriguing world.

Alright. It's late. Enough.

New Years fun

Today began at 5 am. I woke to DW's ridiculously loud and cheerful mexican-themed phone alarm, and gave him a shove because he, astoundingly, still lay sleeping. "I'll put it for nine more minutes on snooze," he mumbled, before rolling over and pulling all the sleeping bag with him in one move. Well, being cold and unable to get comfortable was an incentive to get out of bed after those nine minutes had passed.

It was DW's idea to leave the shack early, so as to catch the Southern Expressway before all the city-bound traffic clogged it up. When his suggestion was first met with a 'wha?" from me, he reminded me how nice it would be driving with the sun rising and all. True, the idea did have some romantic appeal. So this morning we chucked out all the old food from the fridge, packed the car, grumbled over the front door lock for some time (although the handle was technically locked, you could still actually push the door open. Shh.) and were gone soon after six. The shack doesn't have its own bin, and last year our group had made regular use of a dumpster in the shopping centre carpark. This year, the dumpsters were all in a locked area, so I hauled the bags from DWs boot into a council bin near a bus stop. Shh again. There was a sign on the bin warning of a $500 fine for doing just that, and DW conveniently stayed in the driver's seat while I carried out the leg work for our secret operation.

So, the house was barely stirring by the time I got home back to the red-barked gum trees of the North East. I've had a long and quiet day, filled with things like watching Greys Anatomy, reading Twilight and uploading photos to facebook.

And New Years Eve? New Years was fun. I, who had been momentarily concerned that we wouldn't have 'enough alcohol', rediscovered how easily I can get pissed. There was dancing in the shack, walking in the cold to the beach, H crying over her ex, me then getting sniffly to DW because I thought I had made her cry, peeing in the bushes, shouting greetings at everyone we passed, deciding that the beach was not the happening scene of last year, staggering back to the shack, collapsing on the bed with DW, being disturbed by the 18-year-old councillor flinging our door open to check on us (don't worry, he was an invite and not an enforcer of moral correctness), getting up again to socialise some more, hearing about the friend who decided to wade in the water and the other friend who freaked out thinking she had drowned, eventually dozing off, being stirred by DW for some bed-jiggling, becoming eventually weary of said shenanigans, realising it was now light, falling back asleep for a few hours and awakening with barely a hangover. DW couldn't say the same thing. Yay me for avoiding the tequila!

H's dad was arriving back from a trip a day earlier than planned, so she left with her full car of travellers on New Years Day. The other two friends (the issue-ridden beach-drowning pair) were staying at Goolwa and they also left. So, DW and I had the surprising bonus of a night to ourselves! Although DW had enjoyed himself and was indeed loud and extroverted with my buddies (especially his former work mate 'councillor Jones') I think he was very glad to wind down and have some peace and one-on-one company. We watched TV and cuddled, had a looong session of... shenanigans... and showered together afterward. Getting clean and dry after the shower gave me almost the same feeling that you have after the beach as a kid, that sense of being refreshed but worn out in a good way, unaware of the exercise that you'd been doing. I felt like going to the beach again in the evening, just to do it justice, you know? It was such a pretty coast and a nice night. DW was less keen, still feeling seedy and having little energy, but we went down there and ate at a fish and chip shop on the Esplanade, fulfilling my desire for beachside charm while avoiding the exertion of, you know, walking on the sand or anything. Then there was watching of game shows back at the shack (Temptation and Don't Forget the Lyrics), silly playfights over things like DWs persistent 'flub flub' noises, talking and cuddling and sleeping. And now we've done a circle from the beginning of the entry.

So, that was New Years. Overall pretty awesome, I'd say.

A very retail Christmas to you and to you

Another Christmas Eve at the nut shop, another dud Christmas shirt. When grabbing one off the rack at Cheap as Chips I guess I was too distracted by ensuring that it was a tolerable colour (black... red and white aren't really *my thing*, yanow) and a decent size (i.e. somewhere in between kidswear and tent) to notice that a bulging cartoon thermometer isn't the best thing to have in vicinity of the word 'naughty'. Oh dear.

Its the time of year where we decide which of the 'newies' we want to keep on after their stints as Christmas casuals. One girl first struck me as very outgoing, confident with customers, chatty, etc. I liked her. However, conversations behind boxes in the back room have revealed that I am perhaps the only one of that opinion, and that in fact many people have indicated to the manager that they 'won't work with her' as they find her incredibly grating and annoying. Attempts to convince me first seemed like outraged gibberish. "Have you seen the way she stands? Yes, exactly like that! With her hands on her hips! And she does this and this - " "And the way she leans on the counter..." "I showed [other new girl] how to change an EFTPOS roll and she kept just looking! And now she'll probably think she knows how to change it too!"

THE HORROR! EFTPOS ROLL INITIATIVE!

Having said that, I can understand some reservations. While I think it's a little bitter to stop potentially valuable people working because they seem too good too early, or some such, it is true that you need a degree of... compliance... when you're new at a job. When we say jump you say how high! When we say fill you say how full! Etc.

Anyway, we have these stickers that say 'I made the biggest sale today!' and this girl decided to take one for herself. "Was mine the biggest sale? If not, I'll just write 'second biggest' on there! BAHAHAHA..." Apparently she actually did this when somebody 'overtook' her sale. Whatever. (I'm sorry, this anecdote seems to have been bogged in backstory, like a hiker caught in quicksand). A while later I'm on my break, eating a pretzel at the back room table, when I hear the pissed-off voice of another staff member, who is the manager's daughter and the biggest detractor of this new girl. "A second-biggest sale does not exist," I hear her saying, the frost of her statement practically seeping under the back room door. "Whatsoever!"

Buh... um. Point taken, these stickers shall not be donned lightly! But... this staff member was adamant even later on that there was no such thing as a second-biggest sale. There... kinda is. I mean. If we're being technical, here.

PET HATES OF NUT SHOP

Customers who don't get that two products may be different prices. "These are the same price, so can you mix them together?"
"Actually, they're different prices," (said politely) "But I can still mix them together for you..." (proceeds to weigh out separately.)
"No, they're the same price."
"Well actually they're not -"
"They're both seven dollar bags."
"Um, one is seven dollars for 250 grams, the other one is seven dollars for 210 grams, you see? They're a different kilo price. But thats ok! I can still mix them together."

The fact that it is a months-long process to get a shirt in another size, and even then it seems I only have a choice of short and square or long and rectangular. You'd think, being in a job involving much bending and squatting, they'd make a blouse that didn't expose half your back every time you dug a scoop from a lower display... but no. After many buttons fell off my old shirt I ended up with a super large one, and without the curves to carry it off I resemble an orange tent in my work uniform. However, I guess it has the pleasant rare bonus of everyone exclaiming with surprise over my figure when I come into work out of uniform as if they'd forgotten I had a a torso under there.

The family-oriented staff team can be quite bitchy and cliquey.

Customers who think they're really funny. "It says grab a bag, does that mean I can grab it and not pay? Nyuh nyuh nyuh. See darl, grab a bag. Hah."

Despite the fact that there are many undesirable customers, some staff bitch about customers who really aren't that bad. In fact, the main problem may be that they're Asian.

Customers who can clearly speak fluent English, but just jab at displays instead of reading the labels on there. Um, there's a curved wall and a bunch of products between your finger and my line of sight. A little clearer, please? I guess there are probably more illiterate among us than I'd realise, but. Come on.
"That one."
"The dry-roasted mix?"
"No, that one."
*Leans exaggeratedly over counter to crane at where customer is pointing* "The... unsalted millionaires mix?"
*Jabs harder* "THAT ONE."
"I'm sorry, I can't see from this side - second one along?"
"THAT ONE. The... the MIX."

Gah. Even if you can't read, use some bloody communication. The one in the bottom corner? The one with all the peanuts? I get way more irritated by English speakers who can't communicate than I do at ethnic sorts.

THINGS I LIKE ABOUT THE NUT SHOP

It's easy to roster time off.

Being part of a 'team' does has something going for it, at Christmas at least. The hostel is good in other ways (gee, maybe next post I'll do a comparable list! Won't that be exciting!) but being part of a group can be sort of nice. Sometimes you want to be a cog in a big established machine rather than an eccentric doo-hickey that you can wind up to totter along by itself. (Um).

For the most part, customer requests are simple and easily fulfilled. This is an overlooked good point. Also, even the most annoying customer? They leave. Could you imagine if they lived in the shop, and on top dealing with all their requests and concerns you also had to collect their rent, except they had no money, and they were waiting for Centrelink on Tuesday, and maybe you could kick them out but they have nowhere to go and they'd live in the car but its raining and the wife's got the flu, gee maybe they could do some work in lieu of payment but then they leave and don't do that and then they come back breathing their smoke in your face and getting up close with their grotty teeth and saying that they want to sort out the payment, like didn't we already DO that, I believe there are still bathroom tiles needing to be scrubbed which you dodged out of, IN A SYSTEM WE WORKED OUT TO KEEP A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD, so maybe they could rock up to work if they're not going to pay, and then you can't get stroppy with them because they've befriended other staff always want to speak to someone 'higher' and of course they're going to pay, otherwise why would they have come back? Do you think they're a bad type or summink?

Uh.

I think I've spent too much time at work these last few weeks. At work, or at Christmas 'do's'. This post is clearly deteriorating. I don't mind either job at all, and I do like seeing family and friends as well, of course, but you know. A girl needs a little hermit time every once in a while. On that note, you can't just sit rambling away your thoughts forever. Boyfriends are coming over soon, gifts are to be exchanged, and somebody made a calender appointment on my phone with 'location: DW's pants'.

Merry Christmas. Seriously =)

Electric Field

I've had a lovely five days off, during which I:

- Went to the city on a Sunday by myself. It's weird that the city is actually much more old-timey on Sundays than the suburbs are. Even the stores that trade Sundays (and they advertise this so excitedly!) are only open something like 11-3. Not that I mind, it's just kind of... cute... that suburban plazas will be open for another two hours after city shops close up. Although, maybe it makes sense with the price it'd cost to trade in a better area or something... anyway. It was pleasant to wander down Rundle Street in my long swishy skirt. I discovered that you can buy quick-drying underwear made out of soy in outdoor shops, furthering my confusion about soy.

- Had two chilled-out nights of birthday celebrations. Friend #1 is a smart girl from the country who we had dinner with in town to celebrate her 20th. She also invited Friend #2, a guy from high school who I have a close but antagonistic friendship with. I think we were probably perceived as a couple (a bickery, 'well-this-one-time-he-did-this-thing' type couple) until I set somebody correct. Thank goodness we're not a couple, though. Stressing out beforehand that we're going to be late is more fun with my real boyfriend.

We went to a cocktail bar afterwards, which, being a Tuesday, was almost empty. I actually thought this was rocking, and we spread out over the couches. Unfortunately I had driven us, as a gesture of goodwill towards my companion, who often drives me due to his reluctance to drink and my propensity towards it. So I could not waste my money on expensive but awesome-sounding drinks involving chocolate and butterscotch. That's what I get!

Oh, and I got scared afterwards because I thought a creepy man with no arms was lunging towards us as we walked back to the car. Turns out he had his arms inside his tee-shirt, presumably because it was cold, and he was actually just making a step towards an arriving bus. Whew!

Friend #2, the same one starring in the anecdote about Friend #1, had a birthday dinner at the local golf club the night after. Pros: I got to see some friends which I hadn't for a while, DW came, my meal was nice, my wine was nice. Cons: The table was much too large and awkward, DW and I argued somewhat, there was boring debate about vegetarianism from my newly vegetarian friend who claims that she doesn't preach, but somehow ends up preaching each meal. And we didn't go anywhere afterwards, so that was kind of boring, although I wouldn't have been able to drink even if we did because I drove again (am I earning enough brownie points yet?). A few of us did get silly icecream from Cold Rock afterwards and then I went back to DW's house for Adult Fun Time, so maybe the lack of group party action was a good thing after all.

- Watched two episodes of Survivor, which were quite entertaining. I think Ozzy is under the impression that he is the only person to actually ever have been voted off or 'betrayed' (I put that in quotations because what works in Survivor suddenly sounds lame in real-world-talk), so dark and bitter were his glares from the 'jury' (...again).

- Went to Glenelg with DW today, an endeavor which involved six separate trips on public transport, but was quite a nice day out. It was cloudy and warm but sort of raining sporadically, which wasn't the best beachside weather, but then again I hate bright sun so I didn't mind. Plus, it meant that Glenelg wasn't too busy with kids on school holidays, which DW appreciated too. Haha, we're such old people. I bought a dress from a surf shop which I was quite happy with, being girlishly buoyed in spirits by a cute and well-fitting purchase, and a book about dogs which DW couldn't justify getting for himself so I said I'd give it to him for Christmas.

- Came to the shocking realisation that 1) The phrase, "Do you want a medal or a chest to pin it on?" refers to an actual body-part chest, not, like... a wooden chest. Or does it? More extensive research may have to be undertaken... and 2) The MGMT song is called 'Electric Feel', not 'Electric Field' as I had otherwise thought. Sigh. The latter is a much cooler title.

Yeah... presumably there was more that occurred over five days, but that's all that springs to mind. That, and I should go to bed, since I'm starting at 6 am tomorrow. Oh and by the way, I'm glad I appreciated my time off because I'm now working nine days straight.... ew.