Quod mens sibi proponere, caro efficere potest.

2012: the year in review

stickykitty — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 09:37:19 GMT

1. What did you do in 2012 that you'd never done before?

Got my very own baaaaby bunny, fed a giraffe. It's hard to think what else. There were some sad things. I lost a friend to cancer.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I haven't made any resolutions for several years now. I think if you really want to do something you can do it any day of the year. I guess it can help to have a deadline though. This year I'm going to stop letting other people make me feel unhappy. And I think I might go back to Uni to finish my degree or do a TAFE course or something. I'm curious to see if TAFE does night courses in welding. I think it would be awesome to know how to weld.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

My friends Jo and Nova had a beautiful baby boy and a friend I've worked with at 2 different workplaces now just had twins a few days ago. So happy for them! While I don't want any of my own I think their babies are gorgeous and I can see how happy they are :)

4. Did anyone close to you die?

Yes. I think that was one of the saddest times of my life. I will miss Mikey so much.

5. What countries did you visit?

None this year! And next year I think the closest we'll come is a trip to Rottnest and a visit to Sydney for a friend's wedding.

6. What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

Just like last year, and the year before, I want less stress and more time. I might actually get some of it this year. I've finally accepted that I need to take medication again to get my anxiety under control and I am going part-time at work. It's only one less day per week but I think it will make a big difference.

7. What dates from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

25 June we lost a dear friend and 5 July we said farewell to him.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

It's been a fairly quiet year for me, I can't say that I've done anything really tangible but I think I've made some fairly big steps towards improving my health and I finally managed to kind of sort of apologise to someone I've been meaning to apologise to for a while.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I probably could have taken better care of myself better and maybe I could have done something about my mental health a bit sooner but otherwise I think this year has been OK. I've done my best.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I think maybe there was one asthma attack? I had a bit of a meltdown a few weeks ago that resulted in me taking some stress leave from work.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Bunny? Oooh or the robot vacuum. That's pretty great. Value for money definitely goes to the little battery powered handheld fans I bought for Dan's parents and Dan and I for Xmas Day - they cost me about $3 but they made Xmas Day in the marquee at Caversham House SO much more comfortable! Mostly Bunny though because I'd never put a robot vax or tiny fans above my little sillyhead.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Dan. Always Dan. I wish he'd let me throw birthday parties for him because I just want to throw a huge party to celebrate how happy I am that he exists. I couldn't possibly have chosen a better person to spend my life with.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

Jesus fuck. My Mum. I am so far over it I can't even be upset about it anymore but it really is appalling behaviour.

14. Where did most of your money go?

As always, the mortgage :)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

BUNNY!! Um... Amanda Palmer everything (seeing her in January this year, new album, tour, private party, etc). Getting my rabbit tattoo finished.

16. What song will always remind you of 2012?

This has not been a musical year for me. Maybe something from Theatre is Evil.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? same

ii. thinner or fatter? same

iii. richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Exercise. And I said that last year too. Erg. Need to get off my arse and do more running.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stressing out about tiny little things. Which I can't really help due to having an anxiety disorder and depression but still. Less of that would be good.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Xmas Eve was spent at the Luna in Leederville watching Labyrinth ion the big screen (SO awesome). On Xmas Day Dan and I took Dan's parents to Caversham House for Xmas lunch. It was super fab, worth every cent. I had to work from 6:30-10:30am on Boxing Day but afterwards Em came over to watch Lord of the Rings with Dan and I and we had lunch together.

We have a second Xmas coming up this weekend - I'm catching the train to Bunbury on Thursday, Dan will come down in the car on Friday and we'll be spending time with Dan's sister, her husband and our nephew and Dan's parents before coming back to Perth on Saturday. If you're thinking of breaking into our house during this time just FYI we have an alarm system AND someone staying to take care of the very vicious cats and deadly rabbit.

21. Did you fall in love in 2012?

I fall in love with Dan a bit more every year. Eeeeeew gushy smooshy love stuff bleh bleh bleh.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

Once Upon a Time has been pretty good. Game of Thrones was great. Dan didn't like it but I did. More Star Trek. Turtleman! Wait, was I supposed to pick just one?

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nope. I don't hate anyone.

24. What was the best book you read?

I finished Game of Thrones and loved the shit out that. I'm re-reading Sandman now.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

I just listen to whatever Dan puts on. I quite like one of the CDs he has in car now of Billy Talent and he's new to me.

26. What did you want and get?

A bunny!!!! (Which is hilarious because last year my answer to the question 'What did you want and not get' was 'a bunny'). Also a robot vacuum.

27. What did you want and not get?

A dishwasher.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Avengers was fucking awesome. Batman: DKR. Cabin in the Woods. If I had to pick just one I'd say probably Avengers.

29. What did you do on your birthday?

Drinks and tapas at 399 Bar. I kept my expectations low to avoid disappointment and then I was pleasantly surprised when more people came than I expected. I got some nice pressies and lots of drinks bought for me. It was a nice evening.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Less Mum? I don't know. 'Immeasurably' is kind of a big thing.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2012?

Oooh look it's the same as last year. 'Whatever the fuck I can find that is black and fits.'

32. What kept you sane?

Dan. Again.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Not really any of them? I'd shag William Shatner.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

Rape culture and feminism in general.

35. Who did you miss?

Mostly people who have passed away. I miss my Dad and I miss Mikey.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Did I meet anyone new? I'm not sure I did... if you're a person who met me this year and you're reading this let me know!

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

I don't have to be superwoman. I don't have to DO ALL THE THINGS. I just need to know that I have done what is right and I have done the best that I can do.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"I cannot run from my family

They're hiding inside me

Corpses on ice

Come in if you'd like

But just don't tell my family

They'd never forgive me

They say that I'm crazy

But they would say anything

If it would shut me up"

OR

"And killing things is not so hard it's hurting that's the hardest part

And when the wizard gets to me I'm asking for a smaller heart"

Bunny + tattoo - with added photo goodness!

stickykitty — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:34:14 GMT

I managed to get off work early on Tuesday so that we could get to the Cuddly Animal Farm before they closed. I sat down on a stool in the bunny pen and played with them while I tried to work out which one to take home. One of them bit my foot for fun so he was struck off the list. Then 4 of them tried to burgle my handbag. I forgot I had a carrot in it and had put my bag on the ground. They must have sniffed it out so they were burrowing through my things trying to get to it. Cheeky little buggers took a chunk out of the carrot before I stopped them.
I intended to get a male rabbit as having a boy desexed is less invasive and therefore less risky and cheaper. I did my research on how to tell the difference but they were all only babies and it was hard to be sure so I decided to just get the one I liked the most.
I chose this lovely little grey and white baby bunny. I'm calling it a 'she' but I really have no idea what sex she is. I'll find out when she goes to the vet. She had a brother with her who was much bigger so she might be the runt of the litter.
She spent her first night out in the hutch outside but the weather had either been to hot or too rainy for her to stay out there so she has a lovely playpen set up in the laundry whch we move out into the loungeroom when we are home. It's nice to sit with her and play while we're eating dinner or watching TV and the cats alternate between ignoring her or staring at her from a distance.
Yesterday she worked out how to play with a hard plastic cat toy ball with a bell in it that I gave her. She also plays with the cardboard tubes from toilet rolls. Today she spent a few hours with me in the veggie garden while I planted some seedlings (chard, silverbeet and beetroot). It didn't take long for her to nibble on my new seedlings!
We gave her a first name on Thursday. Hyzenthlay. Zen for short. We may add middle names later. :)

In other non-bunny related news I had an appointment yesterday to complete my new tattoo. Unfortunately we didn't manage to get it all done yesterday so I'll need to go back one more time to finish the shading and put the colour in. I'm very happy with it so far though.

1st appointment 13/01/12 - outline complete!

Amanda Fucking Palmer is fucking eating my tattoo! 14/01/12

2nd appointment 03/02/12 - in progress shot half way through the appointment

End of 2nd appointment 03/02/12 - rabbit complete, frame shading 50% done.

Er, actually I just realised it is bunny related because the tattoo is of Inle from Watership Down. But it's not *actual* bunny related. :)

stickykitty — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 12:18:33 GMT

Today we went out to Bunnings and the pet store in Malaga to get a few things we needed for the garden and the bunny house.
Afterwards we drove out to the cuddly animal farm to see what rabbits they had there. I saw some lovely ones there with ladyface the other week but they were out with the mobile farm at a kid's party. They're going to hold the male for me so I'll go on Friday to see him and may bring him home with me if we get along ok.
I had intended to get a little guy named Jasper from the rabbit rescue but I spoke to them and it turns out he is a house rabbit only so wouldn't be able to live in an outdoor hutch. I could have moved the hutch into the laundry but I can't guarantee that situation would work for us so I had to pass on taking Jasper in. Happily there is another person interested in him so I'm sure he won't be in foster care for long.
After visiting the animal farm I sat down and attached flyscreen to the front of the hutch to protect the bunny from insects. Then I arranged more shade by attaching another white shower curtain to the fence and up onto the washing line. It's been working well for the veggie garden, protecting my plants from the scorching sun, so I figure this second one will keep the hutch from getting hot in direct sunlight.
The hutch now has a litter tray, ceramic bowl for food and a nice sturdy water bottle, there's some new solar lights in the garden so I can see if I go out there at night to check on the rabbit without disturbing it by turning on the lights, and we are all stocked up with hay and pellets. I found some NIC cubes at Bunnings so I have assembled them to create a run for the rabbit which will keep it contained when we bring it inside for playtime or when the weather is bad.
We are at maximum bunny readiness. :)

We also got some vegetable seedlings to plant out there. Beetroot, rainbow chard, regular chard and I've totally forgotten what else. I have them on the kitchen windowsill waiting to be planted later this week.

After all of that Dan & I were both pretty hot and tired so our plans to go to Northbridge to celebrate Chinese New Year were put aside. I cooked some asparagus and haloumi for myself and made some garlic bread for Dan & I to share.

I bought a few things from Lush the other day so I think now I will run myself a nice bath and finish reading Anansi Boys while I soak. :)

More garden stuff. And rabbit preparation.

stickykitty — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:55:31 GMT

Yesterday evening I decided to get onto moving the raised garden bed. During summer I like to do the gardening when the sun is going down. It's cooler, I don't get burnt and I don't have to wait for the weekend to get things done.
Anyway, after lifting the frame up and moving it to the full sun position I was considering for it I realised it didn't really leave enough room to ge t past it to the storeroom. So I moved it around to the other site I had planned for it and shovelled all the soil back into it.

Time for some math! My raised garden bed is 1.2metres long, 0.9 metres wide and it is filled to a depth of 28cm. That's 0.3 cubic metres. The internet is giving me a few different results for the weight of garden soil so I'll go for the lowest one which tells me that 0.3 cubic metres of soil weighs just over 500kg. Add to that the weight of all the pots and shit I had to rearrange to accomodate the bed's new position.

So yesterday I moved at least 500kg of soil.

Moving on to today, we decided to go and buy the hutch for the rabbit. Initially we went to my favourite pet supply store in Malaga but the hutch we wanted (nice wood, weatherproof roof, lots of room and raised up on legs) was already assembled and didn't fit in our car. They didn't have any of the flat packed ones in stock. We decided to try across the road at City Farmers where we found the same cage but it was $50 more! Dan suggested I ask them if they have a flat packed one and if they will do it cheaper because the store across the road had them for $50 less. I'm so glad we asked as it turned out they were happy to price match and they had one flat packed out the back. :)

On the way home Dan talked about putting the hutch in the kitchen garden. This put a spanner in the works for me as I'd always thought we were going to put it out in the front courtyard which is why I've been getting it all tidied up and getting ready to put a roof over the smaller area outside our bedroom windows. Nyargh. Still, it did make sense to put it out in the kitchen courtyard for a few reasons so I agreed it would go out there.

We got the hutch home, I measured it to make sure it would fit out the back door once assembled then sat down to put it together. I'd have put it together outside but it was REALLY hot today and there's much more room in the loungeroom.

Then I thought about where exactly in the kitchen courtyard the hutch would go. And realised the best spot was exaclty where I moved the raised garden bed to yesterday. NYAAAAAAARRGGGH!

So I moved it. Again. Did I mention the soil in it, at a conservative estimate, weighs around 500kg? In the last 2 days I have moved ONE TONNE of soil. I'm pretty sure it was over 30 degrees both times too.

I choose to think of this as a fucking awesome workout. :D

With the soil moved, again, the hutch has been moved to it's new home (one small problem getting it out the door, measurements I did at the start were FAIL because the sliding door doesn't open all the way).

Tomorrow may involve going to play with some bunnies and potentially bringing one home with us. We'll see.

In the meantime I'm happily thinking of things to grow in the garden for the rabbit to eat. :)

Garden stuff

stickykitty — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:50:01 GMT

I harvested the last of my tomatoes on Tuesday so it's time to think about what to plant next.
I tried growing beetroot for the first time this season thanks to Dan's parents and it seems you can grow it successfully most months of the year so I may plant some more.
I'll do some broccoli again, last season I accidentally let it flower but it looks really pretty when it does so it's no big deal if I forget it again. I'll try some cauliflower too. I just need to remember to get some seedlings in about a month.
The rainbow chard last winter was fantastic - so easy to grow and very pretty. So I'll definitely get some of that again. I've noticed the roundabout near the Galleria is full of rainbow chard. I find it somewhat amusing that the City of Bayswater seems to have taken a liking to edible borders around Morley.
I'll get some cabbage in March. If we don't end up using it we'll at least be able to feed it to the rabbit we'll have by then.
With the rabbit in mind I will probably also plant some lettuce, carrots and spinach to. He'll have to share the spinach with me though.

Currently I'm trying to get my spaghetti squash vine to actually produce some fruit. I has grown across the corner of the garden and up onto my washing line. It grows so quickly it's a little scary but despite having plenty of flowers it's yet to successfully set any fruit. I think we have a lack of bees so this morning I spread some pollen by hand. Fingers crossed.
I bought some lavender and some yellow annuals today that will hopefully begin to attract some bees.
My eggplant plants are yet to set any fruit as well but I planted them a little late so there's still time for them.
I have transplanted most of the strawberry plants Cathii and Evelyn gave me into the bed under the kitchen window and they seem to be thriving there so by next summer I should have quite a big strawberry patch.
I'm thinking about moving the large raised bed out from under the washing line so that I can put some pots there instead. This last season has taught me that I need to be able to reach my tomato plants easily for pruning, etc so they might be best grown in pots but I need to keep them shaded on the hottest days so it would be best if I can keep them under the washing line where I can put the shade cloth up.
I just need to decide whether to put the bed where it will get sun all day or where it will be partially shaded during the summer. I'm really not sure which would be best given both positions have advantages and disadvantages.

We picked up our special order of some polycarbonate sheets from Bunnings today. We're putting a roof up over the courtyard outside our bedroom window. We'll be putting our new outdoor setting we got for Xmas out there and the bunny will live out there when it's not so hot.

stickykitty — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 10:16:34 GMT

Good lord yesterday's post was HAPPY. And full of spelling and grammar errors.
I blame exhaustion and one too many phenergan tablets.

stickykitty — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:44:20 GMT

Last week was freaking awesome :D

I had Thursday off work so I got to sleep in and bum around the house before getting ready to go to the Dresden Dolls gig. Dan and I picked up Ladyface and headed in to Mt Lawley where we bumped into Jo, Nova and Ju outside Cantina. We lined up and bumped into Yana and Sebastian who contributed dishes to the meal we cooked and ate with Amanda Palmer at the Fly By Night a few years ago.
I realy enjoyed the opening act - The Jane Austen Argument. I was so happy to finally hear Bad Wine and Lemon Cake live. It was one of my favourite songs on the Amanda Palmer Down Under Album. The Bedroom Philosopher was on after that but I missed a lot of his act as I was busy talking to pretty women. Hurr.
I drank too much too early but discovered that popcorn cures tipsyness very effectively and also made me very popular because everyone loves popcorn
The Dresden Dolls were amazing. It was hot and sweaty down the front and at som point I decided that keeping my makeup perfect was an impossibility and I may as well surrender to the sweat and just go crazy. We jumped up and down and sang along for Fight For Your Right and I headbanged and sang along for War Pigs with Travis and Dave. So awesome.
We hung around for signing afterwards and Dan got his traditional photo with Amanda pulling silly faces.
Then it was home and food and unconciousness.
Friday I also had the day off . I had lunch with my Mum at Havana in East Perth (yummy Gruyere, pumpkin and thyme pizza) before heading off to Vi Park for my tattoo appointment. Holy shit balls you guys - it's GORGEOUS. The outline has been finished and I got back on the 3rd of Feb to finish it off so I'll post more about it then.
I found out there was a ninja gig planned on Saturday in Freo so I organised with Ladyface to have a picnic. I hate the drive to Freo but one we were there it was great. We had enough time to wander through the markets and get some fruit and mini cheesecakes and some crepes for our picnic then we went and set up on the grass with Yana and Sebastian.
Amanda came and she brought Brian with her which is really cool because at all the gigs I've been to he's never come out to sign or anything so I wasn't expecting him to do a ninja gig. We all moved into the shade and ate and drank and sang along and danced. We blew bubbles into the crowd and a little boy in nothing but a nappy walked up to Amanda while she was singing. It was fabulous and bohemian and pretty much a perfect day.
Ladyface's boyfriend cooked us dinner on Saturday night, Dan and I spent Sunday together watching movies and then I got a sleep in on Monday.

So yes, perfect perfect perfect.

Winning at life

stickykitty — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 11:14:21 GMT

Adding to the winning at life feeling - I have the most awesome friend with benefits/unofficial girlfriend right now. It's not really a new thing, we've been seeing each other for a few months but I haven't really mentioned it anywhere.
But yes, she's fabulous, gorgeous, smart and a little bit geeky and she likes me. So I'm totally winning at life. :D

stickykitty — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:41:21 GMT

In my last post, the 2011 year in review meme, the only lyric I could think of to sum up my year was "Now you're just somebody that I used to know".
Now I think I'd like to add another - "Fuck yes, I am exactly the person that I want to be".

I'm learning not to react instantly to things. That sort of behaviour leads to me getting upset, depressed, jealous, etc.
Instead I give it time to sink in. Time to be digested and for things to be thought out logically. Time for some of the red hot emotion I often feel about things to settle in and cool off a little.
A good example of this is my response to a comment someone left on my Facebook yesterday. I was PISSED and my first reaction was to want to reply with several swears. I had somewhere to be though so I let it be and waited until I got home in the evening to respond. I'm glad I did. Several people have described my reaction as 'restrained'.
It applies to other parts of life too. Work dramas, family stuff, relationshippy poly things.
And even when I am still upset, depressed, jealous, etc. after having time to cool off I find that I am better able to explain why I feel that way and talk to others about it. Instead of becoming the sobby hyperventilating puddle of stress that I used to.
I feel like this is winning at life.

2011: the year in review

stickykitty — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:02:19 GMT

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Went to Bali, rode on an elephant, made my first insurance claim, came out of the gay/poly closet, took pole dancing classes, quit smoking and started using e-cigs.

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any resolutions last year. I think if you really want to do something you should be able to do it on any day of the year. I did promise myself I'd quit smoking before my birthday though and I succeeded. I don't have any resolutions for 2012.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

A couple of girls at work but no one very close.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thank goodness.

5. What countries did you visit?

Bali

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

Less stress and more time. Especially with the people I love. I said I wanted that last year too so I guess I can't get enough of that.

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

June 5th - I smoked my last cigaretteSeptember 3rd (I think?) - met my girl, G :)September 22nd - we celebrated someone's birthday in Bali and it was an amazing day

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I think this year I made some good decisions about moving on with life, who I wanted to be around and how I wanted to live.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I think for the first time since I started doing this meme I can confidently say that I didn't really have any failures. Not that the year was the most brilliant year ever or anything but things have gone well and anything that didn't go quite right has just been a learning experience. Yay.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I was extremely ill with vestibular neuronitis which still affects me a little bit now but other than that this year has been fantastic. Quitting smoking is the best thing I've ever done for myself.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Our trip to Bali. That's something I will never forget :)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Dan. Just for being Dan and for taking care of me and allowing me to do what makes me happy.

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?

No one. The decisions I've made about who I want in my life have clearly been the right ones.

14. Where did most of your money go?

The mortgage :)

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Going to Bali. Seriously, I was researching things to do in Bali for months beforehand and I'm pretty sure Dan got a little bit sick of hearing me talk about it.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

Mmmm. Not sure. Maybe some Gotye songs.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? happier
ii. thinner or fatter? same
iii. richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Exercising. Saying yes.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Even though I loooove to sleep I feel like I wasted some useful weekends lying in bed.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Mum had to work so we went out for lunch a few days beforehand. Afterwards we went shopping and got Ari a toy, Mum bought me a nice necklace and a bird ornament and then we got pedicures. :)On Christmas Eve we drove to Bunbury and spent a couple of nights at Dan's parents place. We had a big Christmas lunch and dinner under their new patio. On Boxing Day we drove to Dan's sister's new place in Busselton and spent a few hours there helping to make food and eating by the pool before driving home to Perth.Christian and Stacey fed the cats for us so we left some presents behind for them. :)

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I'm already in love. But I do lover a couple of new people. :)

22. What was your favorite TV program?

We don't watch much TV but Dan did get Star Trek: Enterprise and we watched the whole thing together as I'd never seen it. I loooooved it. Oh and Game of Thrones. That was awesome.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Nope. I don't hate anyone.

24. What was the best book you read?

Game of Thrones

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Gotye!

26. What did you want and get?

Honesty, communication and new friends.

27. What did you want and not get?

A bunny :)

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

I enjoyed Sucker Punch, Thor, Panet of the Apes, Troll Hunter and Captain America. I think Troll Hunter might have been my favourite though.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I had a shindig at Deville's with cupcakes and cocktails. I was turning 30 so my excitement turned to gloom about a week beforehand but I have no idea why. It's just another year. I had a great night smoking e-cigs in our booth, getting drunk and then being sleazy in the backseat of the car with a friend :)

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Erm... just one small thing but I can't say it here!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Concept? Hahaha. Whatever the fuck I can find that is black and fits.

32. What kept you sane?

Dan :)

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Same as last year, Amanda Palmer.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

The Occupy movement.

35. Who did you miss?

Same as last year: I'm not naming names. I just want to spend more time with a lot of people I care about but rarely get to see.

36. Who was the best new person you met?

Oh I hate to name names but definitely G. :D

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

In the sort of relationships I have with people the most important thing is communication. Nothing will ever work properly without it. But I already knew that.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"Now you're just somebody that I used to know"

Mikey's Video Messages

stickykitty — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 09:51:56 GMT

CALLING ALL FRIENDS OF MICHAEL O'BRIEN!

As you are aware Mikey has been sick for a while now and he and his amazing wife Bec have been staying strong and fighting hard all this time.
I've been told that Mikey has been enjoying watching DVDs and TV and downloaded movies and shows lately and I know he appreciates everyone's messages of love and support so I thought it would be a great idea to combine these things and create and upload some video messages for Mikey.
This means Mikey will still be able to see people who may be too far away to come and visit and he will be able to watch our videos whenever he has the time and energy. We all know how horrible it is to be stuck at home when you're sick - now we can all keep Mikey company and keep his spirits up.

So what do we need you to do?

* record a video for Mikey - it can be any length (30 seconds or 30 minutes, whatever you like) and it can be about anything you want. It might be a video message to say hi and send your love, it could be a clip or video you think Mikey would like, you could get together with a bunch of people to record something. Be creative and feel free to record or create more than one video!
If you have or can find footage of Mikey from anything (eg. bands he was in) it would be fantastic if we could have it!
* contact Karma at karmashka@hotmail.com for the YouTube account name and password
* upload your video/s!
* spread the word to anyone else you know who is friends with Mikey. We'd love to have as many video messages as possible :)

This is something we can all get involved in - all you need is a video camera, a webcam or a phone or camera that can record video. Check out the YouTube website for supported formats here: http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?answer=55744

If you have any questions or need some help please contact Karma at karmashka@hotmail.com

Fun run & stuff

stickykitty — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:05:57 GMT

*happy dance*

I walked in my first ever fun run today with Jo and Pete and it was great. I thought I'd just do this one, cross it off my 'bucket list' and never do it again. I've always sort of felt like 'fun and 'run' don't belong in the same sentence together but we did this one at a brisk walk and I really enjoyed myself. It was pretty amazing seeing the 8km runners passing us - they were running their guts out and it looked so painful. I can't imagine ever wanting to do something like that for fun but I definitely want to do another walk or even one of the shorter runs when I'm fit enough. Next time I definitely won't spend the night before having dinner at a friend's place and getting wasted - I felt fine this morning but it would have been much easier to get out of bed and get to Kings Park on time if I hadn't done that.

Looks like Christine and I are going to do the Run for a Reason (hbfrun.com.au) on the 22nd of May. My charity will be Lifeline WA so I'm hoping to raise some funds and maybe get a few other people to come along. The course is going to be good fun too - we get to go along the freeway and through the Northbridge tunnel.

After the fun run/walk Dan drove me home so I could shower and get changed before his parents came over. We all went out for lunch at Avenue Nine - I hadn't eaten breakfast so by that time I was really hungry but I still couldn't finish the huge serve of Spaghetti Pescatore I was given. So yummy.

After lunch we went to Miaflora so that I could buy some seed potatoes. We went home and Dan fixed some stuff on Julie's computer for her while Barry watched The Expendables and Julie & I struck some cuttings of rosemary and lavender.

After they left I was really tired but resisted the urge to have an afternoon nap as I didn't want to throw off my sleeping pattern. I was probably being a bit ambitious when I decided to do some gardening and plant some potato seeds but I'm glad I got it out of the way. I have my potatoes in tyres and a foam box, my tomatoes have been fertilised with manure and the soil in the raised bed has been topped up as it has settled a bit. I also organised some of the storage room out there and moved the compost bin to a better spot. There's still plenty of work to do but I'm happy to have potatoes planted so soon.

Now I'm chilling out in bed and thinking I'll sleep exceptionally well tonight. I just remembered the gluten-free lime and coconut cupcakes Jo gave us this morning - omigosh so yummy. What a pity Dan doesn't like coconut, I guess I'll just have to take care of his cupcake for him tomorrow. Om nom nom.

I'm not particularly looking forward to going back to work tomorrow but it's not so bad as I'm coming off a three day weekend. Unlike most people I won't be having a 5 day weekend this weekend. I'm working 8 hours on Good Friday and another 8 hours on Anzac Day. I'm happy about this though as I still get a 3 day weekend and I'll get paid ridiculously well for working the public holidays. Which means extra cash for Bali and for my next tattoo. :)

Unbeatable Banzuke is on TV - time to shut down the laptop and watch!

Just stuff

stickykitty — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:27:02 GMT

Things I've learnt recently:

* Sometimes if you don't ask you don't get. I shouldn't worry about what the answer might be, especially when I knew all along that the answer wouldn't be 'no' and at worst would just be 'not right now'.

* How to sew a scoodie (combination hoodie & scarf). I have so much love for this.

* I was very much under-rating the importance of curtains.

* I knew this one already but it has been reinforced again: sometimes it's easier and better to just let go than to hold on to something that won't get you anywhere in the end. I'm feeling quite Zen about this.

The last few days I've

* had a much needed day off work. Thank gods for my monthly RDO, I might have finally snapped and screamed at my co-workers to harden the fuck up otherwise.
* gotten a lot of organising done around the house. Much more to do but Dan's studio looks awesome now
* spent an afternoon with an adored friend who somehow makes everything better for a while
* spent some proper quality time with Dan which, on top of everything else, made everything wonderful and shiney

Life being what it is I'm sure work and housework and everything else will piss me off eventually and stuff will be not-so-shiney but days of awesomeness like I've had will fix it all again.

Babies

stickykitty — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 02:39:39 GMT

It's my oldest nephew's first birthday today. His Mum posted a little birthday message on facebook and part of it said "I feel so complete and lucky to have such a wonderful son".

I'm never having children. Despite never having wanted children and never being interested in babies or playing house as a child I still get questioned about this. Strangers tell me I'm still young, I'll change my mind. It absolutely infuriates me that they think they know something I don't, that they think they know me better than I know myself.

Anyway, statements like the one my sort-of sister-in-law made today make me wonder. Does it somehow make a woman complete? Am I missing something? I'll never know because I've made the choice not to have children but I'm curious what people mean when they say things like that.

When people say things like "you're still young, you'll change your mind" the thought absolutely terrifies me. Is it possible that a person could one day wake up, suddenly feel their biological clock ticking and have an urgent desire to procreate? Even if they have never before felt any desire at all to have children? Even if, such as in my case, the thought of having children had previously been completely against every other wish and want and desire they had for their lives?

I find it hard to believe that it's possible. I think some people make statements when they're really young and then, after a lot of thought and changes to their circumstances they eventually change their minds. They settle down, find the right partner and eventually want to have children. This won't happen in my life. I have the right partner already and he doesn't want children. I've settled down, I'm married, I own a house and have a great job and none of these changes to my circumstances have made me waiver even slightly in my conviction.

It's still a nightmare to me though. The horrible thought that people seem to think that I will one day become someone completely different to who I am now.

Having mentioned my nephew at the beginning of this post I do want to say that I don't think any less of people who do choose to have children. It's just not something I want for myself.

So, happy birthday Cooper. I'm glad to have such a gorgeous little nephew. :)

stickykitty — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:13:11 GMT

I'm feeling discontent and vaguely pissed off with the world right now. I say vaguely because there's not any one thing that I can say is specifically making me angry. The one thing that springs to mind right now is something that plays on my mind often but it would be pretty silly of me to get this shitty about it.

Dan & I hung curtains in the loungeroom today. I stupidly took down the curtains and curtain rods that came with the house pretty much the second we moved in because they were hideous, stinky and nicotine-stained and unable to be washed. We've gone without curtains ever since. About 6 months ago we attempted to rectify the situation but the IKEA gods were not smiling on us and our 'great in theory' plan to use the Dignitet curtain wires to hang our beautiful, thick grey curtains were doomed. There was fighting and mistakes and it was all rather dramatic considering it's just curtains. The cats ended up pulling everything out of the wall in the end so we just gave up.
So now the curtains are up. On proper curtain rods from Bunnings. They are now the wrong length. I can fix this easily by re-hemming them but I suspect having them a bit too short may prevent further cat disasters. They don't seem to be as interested in hanging from them this way and they can't ambush each other because their little paws are visible from the other side of the curtains. I'm still feeling somewhat pessimistic about the length of time the curtains will stay up. If the little fur monsters pull them down I might just fucking paint the windows black and be done with the whole issue. >:(

I don't really want to think about how long it took us to get those curtains up. I think we went to Bunnings at about midday and we didn't finish until the sun was setting. There was a large amount of time spent faffing around and staring blankly at the window though. Anyway, I sort of feel like I wasted the day. I'm going to have to try harder to do something that is either fun or productive or, preferably, both tomorrow. Otherwise Monday is going to suck so much. I hate going to work on a Monday after a shitty weekend. It makes work seem a bit pointless.

Well I think it's bed time now. I don't think I can watch any more of Bad Taste. It's a fucking awful movie. And not even in that awesome B grade shit way.

stickykitty — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:13:17 GMT

Urg. Home sick with the flu. Fun times.

I did get a visit from one of my favourite people who came bearing gifts of underthings and gave me a much needed massage. The distraction was very much appreciated as I forgot for a while how manky I was feeling.

Now I'm wide awake with a sinus headache so I suspect tomorrow will be another crappy day off work. I love days off work when I'm well but when I'm sick it just involves lying in a dim room trying to work up the energy to have a shower and get dressed before going right back to bed again.

I'm looking forward to the weekend though. I'll do some overtime at work and make some extra $$$, the outdoor table and chairs we're giving away are being picked up and we have vague plans to go to Sin. :)

stickykitty — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:49:42 GMT

I'm feeling a bit over it all today. Work seems to have an abundance of whingy women making life difficult for others because they can't see anything beyond what they want.
Or maybe I'm just way too easily annoyed at the moment. I suspect it's a bit of both.

Today probably wasn't helped by the fact that I may have slightly overdone it last night. I got quite effectively bombed with some friends. Not enough to be sick so I'm obviously learning not to fuck myself up too much but this morning was a real struggle. Totally worth it though, fun times.

We're in the process of clearing out our house a little bit. So far we've chucked bunch of junk (broken shower screen, etc) in the skip bin we get for free from the council. We've also sold Dan's synth, we're giving away some furniture and we're selling one of the cars. Next step: sell Dan's collectible figures, or as I like to call them: GEEK TOYS. And sell some of my clothes and shoes. This is mostly in the interests of de-cluttering and organising our house but any money we make will help us to buy Dan another car and then we'll be saving up for a double bass and solar panels for the house. :)

stickykitty — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:06:29 GMT

There's so much sadness going on right now. Not for me directly, which of course I am thankful for, but my possibly overactive sense of empathy is doing it's thing.

Having been through the death of a family member I don't want anyone to ever have to feel what I felt. I know that it's something the majority of us will feel some time in our lives but I wish it weren't so.
Someone I used to be friends with contacted me recently to ask for advice on dealing with the death of a family member. I'm surprised that they would ask me given we don't speak any more but it was brave of them to do so and I'm glad they did. It can take a lot to reach out for help and there's no way I'd say no to that no matter what the circumstances were between us.
Along with that a person I've known for around 10 years has had a family member pass away very recently. They live in another city and we're not close friends but my heart is hurting for them. It's a different situation to my own but I know I've felt at least some of the feelings they're feeling now and I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Sweetheart, I know you might read this and I hope you don't mind.

I haven't been able to watch the news on TV or the last few weeks because of some of the video footage being shown of what happened in New Zealand. Now I won't be watching it because of Japan too. I can read the online news sites and newspapers but video footage is too much for me. :(

...whoops. I just lost some time being distracted by reading about overactive empathy and it's connection with Autism/Aspergers. Neither o which I have but I do have ADD which how I lost all that time...

Anyway, I hope everyone is ok. Wherever you are.

stickykitty — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 14:49:46 GMT

I'm really tired but very relaxed now. We got up early yesterday and drove to Dan's parent's place in Bunbury. My sister-in-law Jen and her husband Brendan and my lovely little nephew were also there to go to a wedding so we had the whole family together. I think it made Dan's parents really happy to have us all there and spend some time together. :)

This morning we woke up and had breakfast with everyone before heading to Balingup with Dan's parents. Tinderbox was closed for the first time ever, which was a bit disappointing, but we had a nice lunch in town. While we were out we got some fruit, veggies and eggs fresh from the farm. I'm going to make a frittata for breakfast tomorrow. Om nom nom.

I really needed that time away from everything. Feeling much better now.

stickykitty — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:59:08 GMT

I spent most of today feeling very annoyed... work is really fucking busy right now and we're also dealing with a few dramas, people not doing their job properly which is causing more work for the rest of us and a few changes here and there that some people aren't happy about. So it's kind of a stressful place to be even though I love my job.
I'm so glad we have a public holiday on Monday AND I have a flexi on Tuesday so I get a 4 day weekend. I really need the time away from work.
We'll be seeing Dan's Mum and Dad and his sister and her family tomorrow and Sunday, Monday we might go to the Ideal Home Show and Tuesday I'll probably sleep in and then make a couple of skirts and/or dresses. Not terribly exciting stuff but I really just need a break from stuff.

Oh god. I think our crazy drug addicted 'neighbour' (not actually next door thank god) is out watering the plants again. Which wouldn't actually be a problem except he seems to think the plants take water in via their leaves so he aims the hose at the top of the bushes and sprays water into our courtyard. :/

stickykitty — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:16:44 GMT

I probably should have said in my last post that I'd lost the motivation to write, not the motivation to quit smoking.

I haven't had a cigarette since this morning. Woop-de-do but it's a start.

stickykitty — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:11:57 GMT

I was going to post about quitting smoking and stuff but I got about 4 lines in and lost motivation. Fuck it, I'm going to bed. :)

stickykitty — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:57:02 GMT

Oh and something else... I thought that 10 days meme would just help to get me writing again and would make other writing projects I have going on right now a bit easier but something else came out of it too.

I didn't really think the person I was talking about would actually read my LJ but they did. Now we're just starting to email each other again after years of having no contact. I don't have any expectations as to how much we'll communicate with each other or whether we might ever do it in person but it's nice just to get an email.

I don't really believe in contacting people years after something has happened to make amends or apologies. In my experience it's usually for the benefit of the person doing the apologising not the person receiving it. So I'm just glad that they happened to come across my post, realised it was about them and actually wanted to get in contact with me.

Whinging about the heat. And other random crap I did this weekend.

stickykitty — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:31:01 GMT

Just to be different I'll whinge about the weather a bit. Ha.

Seriously, I know everyone is suffering in the heat and we've all heard it a million times but when it's this damn hot it's hard to think about anything else.

For those playing along in other states and countries - we are now into our 21st consecutive day of temperatures over 30 degrees (celcius) and our nights have not dropped below 20 degrees. The weather forecast for the rest of the week makes me want to crawl into a freezer somewhere and not come out for at least a week. I'm not looking forward to trying to sleep tonight - it won't dip below 23 degrees. Argh.

Despite the heat this has been a somewhat productive weekend for me. At various points along the way I did some shopping and got ant killing stuff, paint and brushes, some new tops, Jelly Belly, a jig saw (as in the power tool not a puzzle) and some fabric. Once it cooled down a bit on yesterday I cut some of the lattice that we installed in the courtyard to keep the cats in. We had attached it a bit lower that the other lattice and I wanted to paint that section of the wall outside so I needed it all to be level. To be honest I'm actually somewhat surprised that Dan let me use a jig saw on my own given I'm not allowed an angle grinder and I'm banned from using super glue after having a bit of an 'incident'. Luckily I have used a jig saw before so I came out with all of my fingers intact.
Then, on some ridiculous spur of the moment whim, I decided to paint the wall at 9pm. I figured it would be way better than trying to do it in the scorching heat of the day. I was right but it was still pretty hot and sweaty work. The wall looks good now. It's a slightly different shade of blue to the other wall I did out there so I'm not totally sure that it works but I think once I put the fountain in and a couple of plants it will look nice.
After all that we relaxed and watched some TV and movies but the relaxation didn't last long - we had an ant invasion in the bedroom. We'd had a few ants in the kitchen (hence the ant killing stuff I'd bought earlier for outside the kitchen window) but now there was rather a lot of ants in the bedroom on the other side of the house.
I have to admit I was slightly freaked out because we'd just finished watching Paranormal Activity 2 and I'd been joking about the old lady who lived and probably died in our house before we bought it haunting us and then I go into the bedroom and discover the wall is covered in ants. Yeah, thanks granny.
We got that sorted out pretty quickly but then Dan got up this morning to find even more ants marching across the loungeroom to the cat food bowls. They were coming out of a crack in the corner of the ceiling on an internal wall. So we have ants in the roof. Fabulous. Dan has now put baits and poison in the ceiling for me. I'd have done it myself but soon discovered that I can't actually climb past the second rung on the ladder without feeling like I might die.

Aside from dealing with the ant issue today we also had a nice lunch with Dan's parents at the Inglewood. I'm glad we managed to find somewhere cool to eat. Now I'm just attempting to find the coolest place in the house. We've discovered that if you watch the cats closely when they're inside you can quickly work out where the air currents from the ducted air con are in the house and what the best spot is. They seem to choose the most random spots to flop out on the floor until you go and stand over them and feel the cool air. :)

I did have plans for other things today - sewing a new skirt with the fabric I bought but it's too hot in my sewing room. And going to hang out with two of my favourite girls but I really just don't want to put pants on again. It's too hot for pants. Or skirts. It's almost too hot even for undies but given we don't have curtains in the loungeroom I think it's best I keep them on.

So happy I don't have to attempt to cook in this heat. Lite n Easy's weekly food delivery is my new favourite thing.

Update & 10 days meme

stickykitty — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:10:56 GMT

I near killed myself in the garden over the last 4 days.
I have moved the raised bed (and all of the soil that was in it!) and installed and filled a second raised bed. I'm using the 'lasagne' method layering straw, manure and compost. It worked very well for the first bed.
I discovered a rather frightening amount and variety of spiders whilst moving the old raised bed. Do not want!
Today I planted all of the Giant Tree Tomato seedlings I grew from seed. Apparently they get very big. I've put in stakes for when they do.
I also mulched both of the beds and the pots with hay. It looks so clean!
I re-potted some herbs and split up and re-potted the aloe vera. If the little ones survive the upheaval I'll have some to give away to anyone that wants them.
I drilled some holes under the kitchen window and hung up 2 wall planters - I've planted some flowers in the hopes of attracting some bees.
The spaghetti squash plant has gone nuts and is attempting to strangle the rosemary bush so I put in a makeshift trellis and moves the vines onto it. Hopefully I wasn't too rough. In the process of doing that I found 2 squash growing under all the leaves. I really thought it was having problems pollinating due to lack of bees so I'm happy with the discovery. I put little nests of hay under them for support and to keep them clean and dry. I've never even seen a spaghetti squash before so I'm looking forward to harvesting and cooking them.

Day One: Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.
Day Two: Nine things about yourself.
Day Three: Eight ways to win your heart.
Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.
Day Five: Six things you wish you’d never done.
Day Six: Five people who mean a lot (in no order whatsoever)
Day Seven: Four turn-offs.
Day Eight: Three turn-ons.
Day Nine: Two images that describe your life right now, and why.
Day Ten: One confession

Is there really much that people don't know about me? I'm a pretty open person and don't let shame get in the way of a funny story. I guess the only things I'm not open about are the things that I am sensitive about. I don't like to show weakness but I can be somewhat random about what I think is weakness.
My confession? I try really hard not to let people know how much they affect/upset me. I've spent more than a few nights crying my eyes out over something someone said or did but in public I prefer to just be angry. Which might be why some people see me as a hard bitch but I'd rather that than have someone take advantage of my vulnerability.