Fun with the boys

Playstation Guitar Hero challenge.




ANZAC day picnic in the Botanical Gardens.

Pedal Power!

I've been riding to work!

OK, perhaps that's overstating it. I've ridden to work exactly twice so far! But that averages out to once a week, and this week circumstances beyond my control have prevented me from donning my stack hat. And no, I don't mean a bit of rain, I'm not scared of getting wet!

Anyway, riding to work. It's a great ride from my place, along the beach, then through the park, and then the last little bit along St Kilda road into the city. So far so good. I was pretty nervous about riding in big city traffic, but there are clearly marked bike lanes and so long as you keep an eye out for distracted morning motorists with road rage, it seems fairly safe. But most importantly - it's completely flat the entire way - no hills!

It actually takes me less time on the bike than on the tram (and that's at my snail's pace - anyone with the slightest degree of fitness would probably get there in half the time it takes me)! And, weirdly, I get to sit down all the way (albeit on a fairly hard bike seat) compared with my usual trip home on the tram standing up packed in like a can of human sardines.

So, I can release some work tension, get some exercise, get home faster (and while sitting down!), save the environment and enjoy the scenery, all at the same time! Fabulous!

Cheesy Grins

Vipassana

On Sunday I went to a one-day Vipassana meditation course. I have previously done two of the ten-day Vipassana courses, but I haven't done any meditation for a couple of years now. It was great to get back into it again.

Although I haven't been meditating regularly, so much of what I learnt in the two ten-day courses has stayed with me and helped me in my everyday life. That's not to say that I am completely 'zen' now, but I am at least aware of some of my patterns of thinking that tend to make me unhappy.

Vipassana is a truly wonderful technique. It is a buddhist-based meditation practice, but it is taught as a secular technique - there is no religious dogma or rites and rituals to follow. It's all very good common sense.

My body is aching from having to sit cross-legged from 9am to 6pm, but my mind feels pretty refreshed! The day actually made me long to do another ten-day course again. After a couple of days of silent mediation your mind really slows down and focuses, which is something that rarely happens in my crazy busy life these days.

PMT

I used to think that PMT was just an excuse that women used for being a bit grumpy. Five years into my thirties, and 5 years after I stopped taking the contraceptive pill, I now have a whole new understanding of the concept of PMT and I apologise to anyone I didn't take seriously before.

There are days when I am agitated and likely to burst into tears for no apparent reason. It's bizarre because you just can't explain why you feel like that. And then you get even more agitated and want to burst into tears all over again at being so irrational and emotional. At feeling so out of control. Hormones are powerful things. I have a whole new respect for hormones.

I also used to think that in lesbian relationships there was likely to be twice as much PMT so double the amount of angst. But I was wrong. Two lots of PMT does not equal PMT doubled - it equals PMT squared! ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Stress in the City

Everyone I know is stressed. REALLY stressed. And everyone is so stressed that they have no time or energy left to be sympathetic about each other's stress levels.

Mostly this stress seems to come from two main sources: work and babies. However, after pondering about this for a few days, I think there is a third factor: Melbourne. Well, not Melbourne itself, but the stress that comes from living in a busy city. The reason I think Melbourne is a factor is that for the past six or so years that I lived in Tasmania, I knew people who worked and people who had babies, and they just didn't seem as stressed as the people I know here.

Life in Tassie just moves at a different pace. Most people seem to work fairly normal hours, or if they don't, it's because they either love their job or they are the kinds of people who always put that bit of extra effort into whatever they do (yes, you know who you are!). Tasmania has:

• less traffic and therefore less road rage
• fewer things to do of an evening so less stress about overwhelming social calendars
• shorter distances to travel between work and home
• fewer shops so less temptation to spend beyond your budget
• less choice about where to shop, what to buy, what movie to see and where to go for dinner so less anxiety over decision-making
• less competition for jobs, real estate, the best seats in the cinema, a seat on the tram, parking spaces, etc, etc

Having said all that, I could write an enormous list of all the things that Melbourne has that Tasmania doesn't (but I'd just end up getting stressed out about not having enough time to do all the things that Melbourne has to offer).

Anyway, they are my Friday-night-at-home-alone thoughts. And don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED to be home on a Friday night. For once I have managed to have NOTHING to do, and am enjoying pizza, beer, soothing music and chilling out on the couch in my pj's. (And Ange will be on her way over later after her dinner with her good friend who she has been too busy and too stressed to catch up with for so long now. I hope both of them relax enough to talk about something other than how stressed they are at work!)

Interview Me!

The Rules: Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” I respond by asking you five personal questions so I can get to know you better. If I already know you well, expect the questions may be a little more intimate! You WILL update your journal/bloggy thing/whatever with the answers to the questions. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the post. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

My questions come from Thinking Girl:

1. What is your least favourite household task? Explain (if necessary).

Definitely ironing - I HATE ironing! Gone are the days when I lived at home with the magic laundry basket. You know the one - you put in your dirty clothes and a couple of days later they turn up clean and ironed in your wardrobe - like magic!

2. Would you describe yourself as organized, unbothered by a wee spot of untidiness, hopelessly obsessive-compulsive, or hopelessly disorganized to the point of “absentminded professor”?

Depends how busy I am. Generally I border on obsessive-compulsive - I like everything in its place. But when I'm busy my apartment gets messier and messier. Then one day I have time to see it all and I whip myself into a tidying up frenzy. I always find that very therapeutic!

3. How do you like to unwind? Bubble bath? Yoga? Reading? TV? Glass of wine? Turn up the stereo? Late night disco dancing? Or something else entirely?

Reading. I am a compulsive reader. I read the backs of cereal packets, the signs on the trams, anything that stays still long enough! There's nothing I love more than lying on the sofa with a good cup of coffee and a book!

4. Please tell me about your pets, from childhood onward. With names, and if possible, pictures!

First Pet - Kimmy the German Sherpherd. An extremely smart and tolerant dog. She put up with me climbing all over her, sticking my fingers in her ears, and just generally giving her that kind of affection only infants can dish out. Here we are:

After that was Duke the crazy labrador. He used to jump our 7 foot paling fence and roam the neighbourhood. This was back in the days when milk was delivered in glass bottles with foil tops. Duke used to like to pierce the foil and lick out as much milk as he could reach with his tongue - for a while there he did this to most of the milk delivered to our street - the neighbours were not impressed. He also LOVED to chase cars, which was eventually the way in which he met his match. At least he died doing something he loved.

We also had a cat called Tinker "the Stinker". She came from the local Railway Yard when the railway cat had kittens. The first day she was home she went to the toilet on the cream carpet in our lounge room and Mum was not impressed (hence her nickname). She was a very independently minded cat and didn't like being cuddled. I once tried to rescue her from a fight with the neighbour's cat and ended up scratched and bleeding.

After that there were two cattle dogs: Duchess and Baron. Duchess was a pedigree and Dad wanted to breed her. But she was a modern dog and didn't want puppies. She made this very clear when she attacked the male dog brought over to service her. You go girl! She died fat and happy. Baron was a stray who we rescued on a busy road. He kept Duchess company and was a good dog all round.

Finally, my very own and beloved Corky Dog, who late last year went to live with my parents and their dog up on the waterfront. I moved to the city and Corky just wouldn't have coped here. She needs lots of space to run and water to swim, and most of all she needs company all the time. She has that with Kimmy Number 2, my parents' kelpie dog, and the two of them are now best friends and love to race each other around the back yard and in-and-out the dog door!

Corky Monster and her new best friend Kimmy the Wonder Dog:

5. Who is your favourite family member, and why? Who is your most interesting family member, and is he/she the same as your favourite?

Difficult question - not sure I can say that I have a favourite. I love each of them for their own individual quirks. If I have to pick favourites, it would be tie between my two nephews. Ryan is 3 years old and very cheeky. He makes me laugh. Nathan is 1 year old and an adorable smiley boy who you just want to cuddle all the time.

My most interesting family member would have to be my grandfather, known as "Paddy". He has lived a fascinating life with lots of international travel and he has great stories of famous people he has known.