Nothing, this quote just spoke to me (ha!)

“Shoes make me happy. I’m superficial. Whatever.”

I think this is the secret and not so secret thoughts of women world-wide -- regardless of how philanthropic or charitable you may think yourself to be.

Epiphany

Soon to be the ol' backyard

The past week has proven to be a crucial turning point in my life, and that of my boyfriend -- a crossroads of sort, the overspilling of months of speculation, wishful thinking and wondering, should we do it?

I've mulled over whether or not I should share this information via my social networks (read: Twitter, Facebook) if only simply due to the fact that if I post something remotely similar to this, people will assume there's either a wedding or baby on the horizon -- neither is true.

No, we've come to the realisation -- and consequent decision -- that this town has given us all it can, and it's our turn to move on.

A break for the coast, Ocean Grove -- closer to my family, time to act now for fear of waiting and wondering if we should have done it when we had the chance.

The events behind this decision I won't bother to divulge here, but I think this decision has been a long time coming, just waiting for the right catalyst to spark the chain reaction that's put us on this path.

My feelings about it? To be completely honest, they fluctuate between excited, unsure, nervous and downright shit scared -- but also optimistic and hopeful of good things to come.

We have a timeline, and I've got the parentals on the job of sussing out a rental for us down there, and we've already started culling our excess belongings (Salvos are loving us at the moment!) to make it easier to move the three of us (girl, boy and dog) 600 kilometres away.

Christ, seeing it written there just makes it more real. Cheers to that.

I blog, therefore I am.

Yes, it has been a while since I last posted. I tend to do that, get fixated on something, everything's going great guns and I come across situations where I think "yeah, that would be great to blog about" but alas, nothing comes to fruition.


I've just spent some time checking out some of my favorite blog-type sites and thought I'd share them with you (in no particular order):


Mamamia http://www.mamamia.com.au/

An interesting, touching and sometimes funny blog, by one-time Aussie Cleo editor and author Mia Freedman. You may have seen her columns floating around in newspapers.

In a nutshell, Mia blogs about anything that takes her fancy from fashion to motherhood and everything in between, and has a vast legion of followers who hang off her every word.

I think it's her brutal honesty in throwing opinions out there on topics that mean something to her that keep me coming back to this site. Certainly worth a look.

The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/

Touted as "Australia's Best Conversation" this blog-type site basically hosts a bunch of journalists, personalities and politicians and lets the public take aim at opinion pieces posted by them on most things, including politics, current events and various puff pieces.

As well as seeing different opinions on certain topics, I think one of the most interesting parts of the site is actually the comments by viewers. Some take the low road, some take the high-brow I've-been-to-university-and-have-eight-degrees-and-you-don't-know-what-you-are-talking-about route.

I enjoy the fact that by putting their names to these opinion pieces, they are laying everything out bare for the Australian (and sometimes international) public to pick apart.

Ask Bossy http://blogs.news.com.au/bossy/

Kate de Brito is news.com.au's own agony aunt, and I have to say while some of the questions submitted by posters (or OPs, as they're known on this blog) are quite serious, sometimes disturbing and at times heartbreaking, some, particularly on Friday's (affectionately known as Fruitcake Friday) can be downright hilarious.

Kate's terms of endearments for some of the parties named in blogs, (for example, an idiot is often called an asshat) makes for great reading. Her advice is blunt and to the point, and the hoard of commenters that make a ritual of replying to every post also offer up their two cents worth.

In all, not a bad way to spend a half an hour or so over morning coffee.

The Sartorialist http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

I only stumbled across this blog last week, but it has been going since 2005 apparently.

To quote his own spiel: "I started The Sartorialist simply to share photos of people that I saw on the streets of New York that I thought looked great." That has now spread to all over the world; my interest in this blog was piqued when he started profiling people in Sydney and Melbourne.

I like his pictures, they're simple yet effective, and while I'm not exactly a fashionista, I can appreciate the clothes they are wearing. Dunno. He's listed as one of Time Magazine's Top 100 Style Influencers, so I guess that means something.

If I find any other tidbits I'll keep the sphere updated.

Hahaha - lalala - Taylor's musical monologue

While i cannot proclaim to be a fan of country pop, I do have a soft spot for Taylor Swift's infectious tunes - until I flog the CD to death.

Plus, the way she handled the Kanye incident was inspiring, (not only cos Kanye's a douche) and this video just tops it off for me.

Fkn classic.

It ain't that bad

So I was thinking about this patch of dirt I and about 45,000 other people call home, and recalling the days (up to the present) when people would revel in whingeing about what a hole this place is.

 

I first became aware of the town-bagging back in Years 11 and 12, when my fellow classmates would state: "I can't wait to get out of this shit-hole".

 

"Yeah, this place is a dump," another would agree.

 

"Total waste of space."

 

Imagine their surprise when I would retort: "It's not that bad, if it was so awful wouldn't our parents have moved somewhere else?"

 

Surprise, quickly followed by disgust would cross their faces.

 

Sure enough, at the end of Year 12 close to 80% (just a rough guess) of the student population left town in pursuit of a university education, either in Melbourne or Adelaide, or in some cases a number of smaller centres - Bendigo, Ballarat, or inter-state.

 

While at the start of Year 12 I was right up there with them, ready to pack my bags and high-tail it out of here, fate had other things in store for me, namely in the form of the opportunity of a lifetime that allowed me to kick-start my career right here at home.

 

Something, which, while I have moved onto other things, have always been grateful for. Who can argue with 3 years of on-the-job training compared to a 4-year piece of paper?

 

But I digress.

 

As the years went by, my fellow classmates who were so desperate for the big smoke slowly began to return. Some come for the job opportunities, others because being so far from home wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I judge none of them.

 

My point is, this place isn't so bad. It IS home. Having spent the largest portion of my life here, I relish in the small things that make this place unique.

 

The fact that people often have no idea where this place is. I find humour in the tendency of news outlets to refer to anything above Melbourne (minimum distance 50 kilometres) as "Northern Victoria."

 

Here's a news flash - we're as northern as you can get. Perched precariously on the cusp of three states, we're in a prime position.

 

I love flying back into town from Melbourne and catching that first glimpse of green grape vines after scorched Mallee desert, followed by that snaking Murray that says: "Welcome home".

 

I love the fact that we're no more than 5 minutes from the river. That people think nothing of heading down to our own beach (read: giant sandbar) with the dog and a can and just doing sweet f-all.

 

I love driving across the bridge - heading interstate - and thinking nothing of it. Roaring down the highway and smelling the wineries and citrus all mixed together - fermenting grapes, fresh and ripe citrus, dust and the smell of wet plants all rolled into one.

 

The dust storms, though my sinuses may protest, are a highlight, along with the scorching, then muggy days broken with cracks of lightning across the sky.

 

There's no smog, peak hour means an extra 5 minutes tops in the car, and thongs are a perfectly acceptable footwear day or night. What more could you ask for?

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Getting paid to cop rude people

So i've been having a few interesting experiences with customer service lately. Namely, me being on the receiving end of customers' reactions to a service.

Now, i quite clearly understand the whole 'the customer is always right' bizzo but is that really any reason to treat staff like shite? I had such an experience tonight where people found themselves under the impression that just because you're wearing a uniform means they can be as rude as they like and you have to stand there and take it.

'why would i want a glass of water, just because everyone else on my table is having one?'

'i don't care that everyone else is hot, turn down the air conditioner. And by the way, i want 7 of this dish for the price of 1, and i want 5 separate orders from 1 table, and turn down the air conditioner!'

And so on.

It may seem like whingeing, and by all accounts it is, but anyone who works on hospitality, even casually like myself, must cherish those customers that are happy for you to serve them and even happier - and goddam grateful - that the establishment offers table service in the first place.

Buy this t-shirt

 

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What better way to kick off this blog than by posting a picture of the next t-shirt i am going to buy.
 
Check it out at http://noisebot.com/jesus_brb_be_right_back_t-shirt.htm