Journal

i’ve been through a bunch of different incarnations of the confessional personal blog. i don’t want to do that anymore.

i’ve tried keeping a graphic art/illustration theme central to this blog but i got bored. and also i realised something, graphic designers are, generally, quite dull people who think thinking outside the box all the time is thinking outside the box. it’s not, when all your colleagues are thinking outside the box in exactly the same way you are, then your box just got bigger but you’re still in it.

i’ve tried writing about lesbian parenting, but there’s many who do it (the writing) much better than me. and have political or heartwarming or uplifting or life affirming subjects at the heart of their writing, and all i manage to write about is poo and the time i banged drew’s head against a door frame.

i’ve tried keeping another blog related to the topics i am studying (librarianship shoooosh) but i forgot to update the blog for several months and now wordpress won’t let me back in. i didn’t even care that much.

i used to listen to music a lot and play music a bit and write about music quite often and think about music most of the time but not so much anymore. the last cd i bought would have been a couple of years ago, and was most probably a present.

my work is interesting and could possibly be the subject of a few good blog posts but blogging about work - that way madness lies.

frankly i got nothing. i need a holiday.

Tags: NQR, things to do // 4 Comments »

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLomxrWM_-TLhs4syCqf3lbE7TMg

(why isn’t wordpress letting me post links. argh!)

the 100 pieces of legislation descriminating against the gays looks set to be amended next month.

this is exciting because 1. superannuation can go to your partner automatically. especially important in situations where the extended family of the deceased didn’t support/was in the dark/ etc about the relationship their family member was part of.

2. social security rulings will be cleared up. no more ridiculous red tape and being treated as single when that’s not the case. in our situation that will mean we lose the single parent childcare rebate and single parent (part) payment. as we should. how stupid that my income is not taking into account.

3. taxation laws will change so that a same sex partner can be classified as a dependent.

a whole bunch of other stuff. they’re the three that i’ve been thinking about lately.

Tags: fambly // Add Comment »

while we worrying about fences and the neighbours, perhaps there are bigger issues:

http://comps.realestate.com.au/display.php?s=946974884a3814683&seg=HTHAU

for everyone who goes to the site above and enters the code, Realestate.com.au will, in partnership with Mission Australia, donate a $1 to raise the awareness of homelessness.

Tags: Uncategorized // 2 Comments »

people came and bought our stuff. the big stuff didn’t sell. the small stuff sold. we met lots of colourful characters, which was quite fun. and apparently, to the neighbours we are colourful characters too so they popped in to check us out.

we made $320. from our op-shop trinkets, Abba-heavy record collection and ephemera. crikey.

ps. no one bought the cat.

Tags: fambly // 4 Comments »

people of west footscray and surrounds, we are selling our crap tomorrow on the front lawn between 8am and 4pm.

there’s some really crappy stuff, some vaguely crappy stuff and a bit of useful stuff.

i will also be attempting to sell the pets at some point during the afternoon.**

in other news, if anyone wants these things then let me know now-ish and we’ll put them aside:

microwave steriliser and a couple of tiny bottles for a newborn

a 6 month to 10month or so bouncy toy thing with toys modelled here by drew. keep baby entertained for 10, maybe 20 seconds. excellent.

a selection of strollers that aren’t quite right by themselves but if you could meld them together would make the perfect stroller. - one jogging one, one buggy stroller thing and one from the deep dark past with bonus toddler seat attachment

two change mat things - one with a base complete with 80s type teddy bear design, and one that you put on a table

various baby clothes 000 and some 00. think pretty dresses and a bunch of jumpsuits.

i think that’s the only stuff worth mentioning. the rest is books, cds, crockery, blah, blah, blah.

remember when you could move house with your mate’s station wagon as long as the futon could go on the roof rack? that is no longer the case.

**$10 or nearest offer

Tags: Uncategorized // 1 Comment »

drew has been sick on and off for the past three weeks.

she’s getting better but not quite. i think i’d better write down some notes about happens today. i get to the end of wednesday and it’s a bit of a blur. “um … we trashed the house? … can’t remember what else … i had a shower at 11am and that felt like an achievement … “I can never remember the important stuff like when was the last bottle, when did i last give panadol, how many poos etc.

i’ve never had so many conversations about the consistency about someone else’s poo. there was a detailed phone message from the childcare worker on my phone last week describing drew’s poo.

i have no idea how families manage where both parents work full-time and there are little kids. eilis has been working a four day week for the past couple of weeks and it feels a little like from tuesday onwards we’re limping towards the weekend. and why am i so tired all the time when the baby pretty much sleeps through the night, and if she doesn’t eilis always wakes up a split second after she cries and i need a sharp kick to the kneecaps to respond? i’m not sure. but yesterday my desk was calling to me: “just put your head down right here. just for five minutes, it’ll be nice”.

i hope she is better soon. thank goodness for grandparents who don’t have the “two runny poos and you’re out” childcare rule.  i think without them for the past three weeks life would have been a lot harder. it’s enough to excuse all the pink sparkly tops that appear in drew’s drawer after they visit.

Tags: ETC, drewcifer, fambly // Add Comment »

i think i smell the smell of optimism in the air.

i think it has a lot to do with the rudd government. i think it has something to do with saying sorry, the first female governor general, a summit where some of the best and brightest (and russell crowe) get to share ideas. i know it’s easy and safer to be cynical but overall it seems like a positive and better australia than the australia that printed placards saying “we decide who comes here” and fostered the “what about me and my falling stock options” mindset.

anyways in the spirit of optimism i just filled out a submission to the National Mental Health & Disability Employment Strategy and if you are touched by any of the mental or physical disability demons perhaps you might like to too. although the submission email address isn’t working at the moment so perhaps my unbridled optimism is a tad misplaced.

Tags: Uncategorized // 1 Comment »

maybe there is something in this secret business after all.

after putting my secrets out into the world and just wanting stuff, stuff happened:

1. my contract has been extended

2. we have finalised the house deal, the finance is done and there’s a sold sign on the board in front of our new house.

this is excellent. i might test the secret of ‘the secret’ a bit further. Now I want:

a pony.

Come on universe, let’s see what you’ve got.

Tags: Uncategorized // 1 Comment »

I did a trial run to Werribee last week during peak hour and it was better than I thought it was going to be. From West Footscray to the new house was about 35 minutes.

It’s going to be a bit of a head shift. It takes 10 minutes to get to work at the moment during heavy traffic. 5 minutes before 8am. That’s clazy, isn’t it. Part of me thinks that had to end sooner or later because it was just too easy. The self-flaggelating part of me thought that.

We settle on the 30 May and plan to move the following week. Because the landlords broke the lease by putting the rent up, that also means we are free to go at any point with 30 days notice.

So far it’s all seeming to go smoothly although i have still managed to find some things to worry about. That would be:

1. we still don’t have 100% confirmation we’ll get finance. we do have pre-approval, though.

2. the house’s backyard is being sub-divided (and that would be the reason we could afford to buy it) and maybe the fence won’t be up by the 30 May.

3. I may not have a job after the 30 May and although it won’t mean we are in the red, it’ll mean we can wave to the red from where we are. And that’ll suck.

4. The neighbours will be horrible

5. Living on a busy road with a little person will be horrible

6. There won’t be enough backyard for the dog

7. The house will fall down

8.  it won’t be west footscray.

I am clearly the glass half empty contingent of the Eilis’n'Kristen partnership. Every partnership needs one. Because if there was two glass half full people in a relationship they would be ridiculously happy all the time and other people would want them to just shut up. Glass half empty people, i think, provide a kind of public service.

Tags: NQR, fambly // 2 Comments »

somebody leant me a dvd of ‘the secret’.  it makes a very good coffee cup coaster.

in the spirit of ‘the secret’s’ main rule - put it out into the universe and the universe will make it happen - i’ve spent some time wanting my work contract to be renewed at the end of may.

i’m not sure whether to apply for other jobs at this point, or wait until closer to the date with the hope that there will be another contract. i want to stay. but i don’t want to be out of work.

maybe i need to up my consultation with the psychoparanormal world and consult a psychic or ask the runes or something. an astrologer or clairvoyant could be the way to go.

or maybe speak to hr on monday.

Tags: things to do // Add Comment »