A Strange Day

To take my mind off the plumbing nightmare, my sister suggested a visit to the Art Gallery of NSW. It really was the perfect thing to do on such a cold wet morning. But Doll wasn't as interested in the art as much as we were, understandably for an almost 3 year old, and so it was rather short lived. This is a painting by John Olsen from 1963, it's called Five Bells and is one of my all time favourites.



If you can remember back to the beginning of the year we had a major plumbing problem, following an even more disastrous plumbing problem for our neighbours - their's being around $6000 worth of problem. Well we've had to do the emergency fix twice now and we've done Stage 1 of the new pipework, and when we got the quote for the 2nd Stage, we baulked at the price but now realise that the job is necessary sooner than later. There are so many trees in the streets around our house, we've got a couple and so do our neighbours - and our house was built in 1890, and the pipes are the old clay ones and easily break when tree roots are around. Here's a shot of the culprit - tree roots. Our plumber had to put the electric eel in twice and you should have seen what he pulled out after I took this shot - it was 40 cm long and thick with roots filling the entire tubing but the light was crappy and the image is blurrier than this one. So I can now use my loo and cook and take showers and basically take water usage and plumbing for granted (like the rest of you) again.

SPC May Challenge

Living in a smoggy loud city in an inner city suburb drains my energy and I NEED to walk barefoot in the sand and breathe the fresh air coming in off the Pacific winds - preferably daily, but in reality it's only a few times a week at this time of the year.

My dream is to have a house with land and bush on a hill somewhere on the coast, with a large studio and a couple of separate contained residences and a seminar space and a view of the sea and perhaps even my own walking track down the beach. So people could come and stay, perhaps like a B&B but for arty musician poety types & people into yoga and alternative therapies - like a haven for artists of all persuasions and like a learning/sharing space.

They say if you put your dreams out there - then they happen. So there's mine.

And that's the end of the May challenge. June's PopArt challenge sounds very funky. Great idea Kath! And you'll find more SPC'ers here.

Blockage

Plumbing is a lot like your health. You don’t really think about it unless there’s something wrong with it. Well, we’ve got something wrong with our fucking plumbing, AGAIN. Yesterday afternoon, I wanted to give my plants a little drink because I’d been gone all weekend (at school) and had neglected them. And then I noticed that some sewerage had come out of the drain, just like what had happened in January, but not as bad as then, but SEWERAGE nonetheless, coming out of my drain. AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Last time I had instant meltdown – I’d never seen anything like it before, and maybe because I was sharing it with JD I knew I could lose it and he would cope for us. But this time, I almost became silent about it and my coping mechanism made me feel quite calm – for a little while. Plumbers can’t come until this afternoon – so thankfully my gorgeous Mum cooked for me last night (she lives 5 mins away), and I had a shower and felt normal and came home to sleep, although it was kind of a fitful night as this plumbing drama was on my mind. This morning I tested the drain and the water level, and it seemed like running the water in my house wasn’t affecting it at all. So I had a quick shower and inspected again, and the water level was way at the top. I’m so glad I hadn’t gone to the toilet (if you know what I mean) because I couldn’t have coped seeing that coming straight back at me.

Born Lucky I Guess

So looks like this lifetime 'round I landed in the country that suits me best. But don't you love the way they refer to Aussies as yokkers?!

Which country should you REALLY be living in? Australia G'day Mate! You're a yokker. A true Aussie. You love the beach and barbies, as well as sport and sex. Life couldn't get any simpler, and thats the way it should be. C'mon Aussie, C'mon!

Flying Solo Again

We had the pleasure of taking Jindi to school this morning, had one last walk at the beach and enjoyed the fresh sea air, and said goodbye to my family before the mad rush of JD packing last minute for his many weeks away. I'm feeling a bit flat right now, and a bit tired from school, but I want to wait up so I can speak with him in transit in Singapore in a couple of hours. Taking JD to the airport when I'm not joining him is getting so boring. Not that I feel like sitting in a plane for more than 24 hours, but the idea of summer in Europe is killing me. I'm thinking of the white asparagus, the cherries, the strawberries and the long nights. And I guess I'm going to hear all about it soon.



Anyway, all I hope for right now is that JD lands nice and safe in Germany and I guess I won't relax until that happens.

Goodnight.

The Good and the Bad

THE GOOD:

The Irish are so good!!!!! I’m so happy they don’t grovel the way our Aussie pollies do. More than a quarter of the parliament refused to be present when John Howard addressed the Dail – which basically told him to shove his pro-war policies as far as he can shove them. One of the scariest things said by one parliamentarian is that apparently every day the Australian Government steals €1 million worth of oil and gas from the Timor Sea, resources that by international law belong to East Timor. It’s so not sold to us in this way down here, but if there is any truth to this, this needs to be addressed NOW. This is so completely wrong – the East Timorese are amongst the poorest people in the world, and if these precious resources belong to them – why the hell are Australia even contesting ownership let alone taking the profits? Disgusting.

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Sunday morning we were driving to the beach when up ahead we saw the cops. We were waved in for a breathaliser test . All we’d packed were the towels and a bottle of water. I didn’t even have the camera. So the 1st thing the cop asks:
“Can I see your ID?”
and of course I haven’t purposely brought my wallet or my drivers license because I didn’t want to leave them on the beach while we walked before our swim. So I reply as politely as possible:
“I’m sorry I don’t have any with me”. Which is true and he shakes his head and tells me:
“that’s against the law, you should always have it with you when you’re driving”. I let him talk more and apologise again and tell him that:
“once my wallet got stolen at the beach, and I feel paranoid about bringing it when I’m just coming for a quick swim”.
He then asked me to state my name and address into his breathaliser machine, and then waved me away, smiled and said don’t do it again.
It restored my faith in people – this is the way we used to be here in Australia but since the whole drama of terrorism and fear-mongering from our politicians started, rules are being followed strictly and to the book.

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Green & Blacks’ Organic Almond Chocolate – I just simply can’t get enough of it. Same goes for Planet Organic’s Darjeeling Tea – it’s just so aromatically perfect.


THE BAD:

How condescending and patronising was John Howard when he told the Irish that one of the things they brought with them to Australia was dissent? He is an embarrassent. I hope he got the message that he can’t fool all the people all of the time.

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The plumber who did the beginning part of some new pipework for us ripped us off big time last time but that was because he did the job for us in a tight time frame and it seemed like a pretty huge job from our inexperienced point of view, but then on the day, he arrived ½ hr late, did a bit of digging, made lots of phone calls, did a bit of digging, went to lunch, stood around talking to his side-kick and then finished the job at 2.30pm in the afternoon. He would have done all of 3 hours real work, and charged us $1000. So if I do my maths correctly, he’s earning more than your average solicitor an hour. So we’ve just asked him to quote on the 2nd part of the job, and he comes up with a more ridiculous figure than last job. Does he think we’re idiots? Or is he just another greedy selfish pig who rips off little people like us whenever they can? The shitty thing is, our job is apparently a small job and noone really wants it. Can you imagine being in that much demand that you can charge over $300 an hour and turn away jobs less than $2000.

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Why can’t dog owners who take their sweet pooches for a walk in the neighbourhood or the park pick their dog’s shit up???? I know a lot of you do this but there’s a hell of a lot of you who don’t. It’s so gross, not to mention that it ends up in our drains and stormwater runoff which then ends up on our beaches. Disgusting!!!!

SPC not SPT

I love walking. This is a shot of me walking the old 'hood. Of course I prefer walking more in nature, on the coast, through the bush, out where there are very few people around and there aren't any cars or smog or buildings - but sometimes when I find myself walking the very streets where my Mum and her siblings grew up, where my grandparents would have been talking with the neighbours or doing their shopping or going to work - basically walking their songlines, I feel very connected to all the people who came before me. Surry Hills is a bit grungy still these days, and at night there are dark corners I don't really like to walk alone, but on the occasions where I need to, I just tune into the energy on the streets and try to feel my lineage and then I feel at ease and like I'm protected and everything is OK.

What?

You know you need glasses or a bit of brain re-integration when you keep getting word verification wrong and you need 2 or maybe 3 attempts when posting comments. Or do you have the same problem?

Let the Qi Flow

So I had another acupuncture session this morning, but was so distracted and in quite a bit of discomfort with the needle in St 36 that all I could do was breathe deeply, start counting to distract myself and listen to the music. I thought I would have to scream for my doctor to come back but bit my tongue instead and endured it all, knowing that there’s no gain without pain, right? So again no photos – I was definitely not any where near the headspace for that. My acupuncturist is very nice & I’m also able to check different points on the body I’ve been learning in Kinesiology & check their functions from the traditional Chinese perspective which helps me get a broader understanding of the body’s meridian system & overall functioning – it’s so fascinating.



Last night we dressed up in true Eurotrash style (sorry no photos fortunately), tuned in for Eurovision 2006 and spent a lovely evening with friends being completely spoiled with divine Greek food & good humour - (the little custard filled sweets were to die for - I'm not sure if I should find out what they're called and where I can buy them because it may end up being a diabetic timebomb for me). Well, the performances were mostly underwhelming and the true crassness of Eurovision just wasn't happening....well, ok I guess it was - and the winners, the Finlandian Klingons were this years winners probably because they were memorable more than anything else - all the others apart from Germany's country style Little-Bo-Peep sheisse and the Lithuanian Men in Black just merged and morphed into the same dreary schmalzy-wannabee Celine Dion style-middle of the road muzak that sadly is Eurovision.



Just saw DBC Pierre interviewed on Denton, and I have to say, he is a narcissist but I do think he is rather amusing & charming. And I did love Vernon God Little. Looking forward to his new one now.

Just Out of Bed

I've spent most of the day in bed with a revolting head-cold and am thankful for the Punjabi Thali that JD went and got for us for dinner that has made me feel slightly more human.



Last night after a gorgeous walk at dusk at the beach I baby-sat my nieces while everyone else went into town to listen to some friends play live at a bar in the suit district. I watched Narnia for the first time with the 6 year old and I wasn't too fussed with her staying up and snuggling with me until it finished because it wasn't a school night. When the 3 year old woke up coughing and spluttering and saw what we were doing she perked up and the 3 of us ended up sitting up until 11pm watching the film. I can't believe this is their favourite film right now and they aren't even scared by it - reminding me "that it isn't real, it's just a movie".

So after being coughed on and wiping a constantly running nose, I've been infected and feel like crap. My immune system may have also been compromised because of the shitty news we got a couple of days ago, that next week JD leaves again for work OS for a long long time. Yuck. I hate it.



That's it for now.

Autumn Days

I'm happy to report that my energy levels continued to pick up over the course of the day. I had an acupuncture session booked and that in itself was a lovely coincidence that brought with it a calming but energising effect straightaway, and hopefully the other real benefits follow suit quickly. I'd taken my camera with me but was enjoying lying on the table and clearing my mind, so will definitely get some shots of those little needles next visit - they just look too cool.



A walk last night after sunset on the beach was the icing on the cake. There was no wind, the water lapping at our feet was warm and I could feel with each breath of salt air my internal batteries being charged.



This morning is glorious - blue blue sky and I'm heading down for a swim at the beach shortly before another busy day of balances on my trusting family and friends.

Exhausted

Maybe I'm getting sick? I have woken up this morning after a normal nights' sleep feeling dreadful. I feel so tired, maybe it's just been a full few days.



Meredith & Andrew's wedding ceremony was really lovely - JD & I both cried.



JD's work do was so much better than I'd been expecting and wasn't anything to do with work politics but an interesting social event with a mix of many cultures and lots of vodka.



And then it was Sunday, Please Please Please I’d love to know how you would have responded to this:

It’s Mother’s Day and it’s 10.30am and we’re all hanging out for Yum Cha. We’ve been salivating in the car on the way there. Arrive at the restaurant and there’s a queue about 40 metres long and we’re at the end of it. People start moving, the line has halved. We’re given a ticket and told around an half hour. We can all handle that – just. Because the alternative is to head back home and do a huge delicious at home cookup for the clan but we’ll need to shop first – and so we decide to wait because we’d probably be eating by the time we would be eating at home.

So we’re waiting and waiting and waiting until we’re told we’re the next table. 45 minutes later, much haranguing, a bit of discussing adamantly, a lot of questioning as to why we’re seeing large tables of people leaving and still we’re not next but somehow those tables are now filled. In total it ended up being over 2 hours of waiting. 2 HOURS. Can you believe it? We couldn’t. And we only got the table in the end seconds before it was given to another group with numbers later than ours and appearing from no where – because I demanded it and wouldn’t give up. Go figure. What the FUCK happened? And why were they letting people queue in 2 places, and why were they letting people queue in the alternative space without tickets?

So the moral to this story is, despite loving the crab, squid, duck, pork, custard tarts and more today: NEVER EVER GO TO YUM CHA ON MOTHER’S DAY. And perhaps never go back to that restaurant.



And yesterday, 2 friends had full on Mondayitis, and took the day off work, and both called me offering up their bodies so I could do my homework (Kinesiology) on them. Which was great considering all weekend my studies had suffered and I was quietly panicking about getting everything done before next Monday's hand in.

Actually that's probably why I'm feeling so tired - being such a green "practitioner" and because of my empathic nature I am still finding my way around separating myself from the client. Somehow I take on what the client is feeling or experiencing - I need to learn how to protect myself which is the next goal I have when I see my kinesiologist.

The Need for Green

Today I'm feeling very drawn to the colour green. Green brings balance and a feeling of fitness: I'm OK, you're OK, and the world is OK. It's good for all the organs connected to the fourth chakra, like the heart and lungs.









You can see why I'm drawn to this place on the harbour several times a week. It's a tiny national park attached to a gorgeous little beach. And it's very green. When we were kids my Mum brought us here often, and so did our school. It has always been special to me, and I really feel it is one of my energy spots on Earth. It's also the place where we married almost 9 years ago. Although the place where we stood, right on the edge of the cliff is now cutoff and out of bounds because they put up a fence so the hoardes of spectators wouldn't fall to their deaths watching events on the harbour for the Olympics in 2000. Which makes it even more special.

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Found via colorsonmymind this week are 2 cool websites: GaianTarot & Daily Runes - clear your mind, pose your question and see if you can be more enlightened about a current problem/situation you're in . I was addicted to my beautiful stone runes for years, but somehow I've misplaced them - this will do until I find them again.
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Happy Mother's Day to all you Mum's, Grandmother's, Step-Mum's & Foster-Mum's for this Sunday!!
I'll be spending the day with my wonderful Mum and doing my best to make her feel loved. Have a good one!

Catch Up + SPT

If you're sick of whinging like I am and want to act and make a change for a progressive Australia - visit these guys and signup.

Last night we were lucky to get freebies to an old acquaintence's new play at the Sydney Theatre Company. It's called "Gronks", is a drama, explores themes of domestic violence and the tension and pressure slowly building in many Sydney suburbs today. It's a story about harassment, desperation and perseverance. The cast are multi-talented, they're not only actors but musicians as well and they did a brilliant job of it last night, their 2nd night of an Australia wide tour. Check your local theatres to see if the Zeal Theatre group are heading your way.



Self Portrait Tuesday passed me by AGAIN on the day, but here is a little something alot late:



As all of you creative types know, the things that surround you, the colours that surround you and the colours you wear affect you. I've always loved fresh flowers in the house, but sometimes feel that it's far too self indulgent to want them every week, but the energy I get and the joy I feel as I watch the flowers open is so worth it. I very rarely wear maroon and don't really like the colour, and this is the only piece of clothing I own in this colour, but I suppose the day I bought it many moons ago, I may have been feeling the need that this colour brings. Apparently Maroon brings passion and will together. Which suits me totally - I've got all the passion happening, so many ideas in my head but somehow my will and motivation aren't coming to the party together. My will is holding me back. Maybe I've got too many things I'm passionate about competing for my attention? I don't have a problem in being excited by and obsessed by many things but making something more concrete and making it work for me is the hard bit and its beginnning to piss me off.



Last night's 5 minutes of heavy rain wasn't felt by many in the city, but my plants and I were thankful! And then the sunset of fire brought the day to another beautiful close.

So Much to be Thankful For

I’ve had a wonderful weekend! It’s been busy but relaxing, it’s been social and yet I’ve still had enough space to think, study and just be.



Saw a film and then caught up with a few friends over a few drinks.



Walked at the beach & then had a quick dip – it was freezing but felt so good to dive under some waves and feel every inch of my body alert and alive and on edge.



I manage to have an afternoon nap every few months, mostly because I feel guilty because I'm not working and what reason do I have to be tired + I want to have the same body clock as JD + I'm usually too busy - but after the swim it felt soooo good to have a hot shower and jump into bed. I woke feeling refreshed rather than tired and it felt decadent.



Had a really nice family dinner with 3 generations and 3 families. My 6 year old niece read me "The Lorax" by Dr Seuss - amazing because it's the 1st time I've ever heard of it and it's so beautiful and because she was reading it to me and then had my 3 year old niece giving me delicious loving hugs and sitting on my lap keeping me cosy and well loved.



After a mini sleep-in we walked in the park and then went to a lunch with great friends in their amazing garden with their typically amazing food and hospitality with a gorgeous warm summer breeze blowing and more lovely birthday presents.



And now we’re relaxing at home and I feel like going to bed early to finish my book (The Tortilla Curtain) that’s taken me months to finish even though I’m loving it.

Haven’t seen the news, watched TV or read a paper and so haven’t got a clue what’s going on in the world and that feels good.

Post Note to Below Post

Weirdly or coincidentally, I lost that post entirely once, and then partly twice more. Without wanting to be overly paranoid, could it be because "someone" was watching the subject matter and the other sites I was visiting? So when I had to rewrite this post for the 3rd time I kind of got brief about it and possibly have lost some of the venom I was feeling and the nuance of speech. I would love to feel like a patriotic Australian. But I am so far from it right now and so are many of us.

Smoke & Mirrors

My life is good. I really haven't got a lot to complain about personally. And my surroundings are beautiful - sanitised, safe and very middle class.



I live close to all the major tourist attractions, and the coast, which is the gleaming shiny beautiful face Sydney and Australia proudly show off to the world.



But not all is well in Paradise. The current government has systematically been changing that. Which leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth.



The safety-net for Workers' Rights and work entitlements has been massively reduced under the new Workplace Reforms, weakening the whole system of arbitration and awards and the role of the Unions. So now of course the most disadvantaged are the already vulnerable and least affluent workers. Not to mention the fact that the legislation was possibly passed through the back door - something which the States are now fighting.



The proposal by the government for a Citizenship Test, where the applicant must prove fluency in the English lanaguage is preposterous. Of course this is being proposed as a response to global terrorism. Nice one. Not. We got rid of the "White Australia Policy" - yes that's right for you non-Aussies, we had this immigration policy until the early 70's. And let's not forget that many Indigenous Australians don't speak fluent English and noone can say they are less Australian for it.



Add to that: wanting to reinstate detention of children who arrive on our shores seeking asylum; selling off of public assets to the private sector; lack of funding for education; lack of funding for the hospital system and the national TV network the ABC; and the allowance of the incarceration of an Australian citizen under inhumane circumstances and breaking all sorts of human rights - David Hicks is now being held in Guantanamo in a cement box a few metres by a few metres without natural light for 22 hours a day. The US say this isn't solitary confinement. Mr Howard do you think this is really fair?



No apologies right now for this rant. I wonder what you all think about stuff like this? And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Pink Presents Perfect

My birthday is still going 4 days later. I feel well spoilt this birthday. Lots of dosh to buy lots of goodies with and give myself treats, lots of flowers - a home looks and feels so much better with flowers everywhere, Photoshop CS and there's still more to come. I'm very lucky.

Caught up with an old friend and walked the neighbourhood and enjoyed the warm breeze and sun. Her almost 2 year old son did not stop moving the entire time - he was incredible to watch.


From my darling.


From my Dad.


From the heavens and the universe.

Crisp Crunchy Colour

This image does not do justice to the 3D massive cloud formations from yesterday. This colour combo is so serenely soothing - I could look at this all day long.

I do love Autumn. The colours speak to my heart. Of course in Sydney with our temperate seasons and mostly native perennial vegetation, we don't get the real intense colour of Europe or North America but I can't help but be fascinated by the change in colour of the deciduous imports, the messy piles of leaves on the streets and the bare branches left behind which makes it easy to study the beautiful forms of the trees more easily.

More birthday celebrations and presents at lunchtime with my Dad. Many phone calls with fellow students about the future of our study. This is going to kill me if the course gets cancelled because people pull out.

Alex Craig - a fellow Sydney Flickrhead has his own exhibition running currently with some amazing B/W images. Last night was opening night and another chance to catch up with some of the group again.