Tuesday, June 29, 2004

(*) Tuesday's bits

Parent/Teacher get-together... I'll be meeting with the boys' teachers at school tomorrow. You know, the 'parent/teacher' thing! Gees - that makes me sound so old - hahaha! But it's always good to see firsthand how they're going in their school environment. It's a nice small school (like only 30/35 kids in total), and I know they're in a really great positive environment and being thoughtfully cared for - you know what I mean. I'm really looking forward to it.

Mum... My brother rang the other day, and we'll be going together to spend the day with mum, hopefully this Thursday. One of the benefits of all of this is that my bro and I spend like 3 or 4 hours in the car alone together, just talking talking talking! It's so wonderful! Like a breath of fresh air into my tired soul. So hopefully, mum'll be upto seeing the both of us. She misses us, of course, but she seems so weak at the moment...
Builders... I've spent the last year watching and listening to a local building co. attempt to construct about 7 townhouses, right along our back fence. Actually, right outside my bedroom window. Thank gawd they've finished now, but for a few months now the sounds of hammers and trucks beeping as they reversed - at like 6am!!! - was quite a pain in the butt. Listening to them consistently botch things up was a running laugh during the entire process, hanging over the back fence having a sticky-beak. Watching some of the 'creative' construction techniques was an eye-opener. Needless to say, my flatmate and I have our own challenge - whenever we see someone walking up to look at one of them to rent it, we're to yell out, "Don't do it! It'll fall down in 6 months! Don't do it!" lol The place I'm living in was built by the same co. about 3 years ago, and is roughly the same design etc. Well, the amount of cracks on the walls, bad-fitting doors and bizarre plumbing in just that amount of short time leave me wondering how sturdy the places out the back really are! Oh yeah - if I jump up and down on the concrete slab on the back porch (which you do, of course! lol), the whole bleedin' lot moves! Gees! It's not as though this place is gonna fall down, I mean, it's only three years' old. But the closer we look at little things in the footings and in corners... sheesh! Talk about Bodgey builders! hahaha.
Bloomin... It's amazing - some flowers I planted back towards the end of March are not only flourishing, but blossoming to boot! Now, you're talking to a notorious plastic-plant killer here! They're in three rectangular planters, and I have to keep moving them around the back patch of yard - to catch the short rays of the winter sun!
Cyalayta
Mal :o)

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(*) Parade... the joys of sharing a place with a local journo!

My flatmate is the sports editor for the local paper, and she's found a few items close to home as a good sources for a small column called 'Parade - The Lighter Side' in the daily newspaper... it makes me laugh that my clutziness can make the papers quite anonymously!

Mince decor... The supposedly simple task of cooking rissoles turned out to be a major operation for one budding Bathurst chef this week. He avoided the usual hurdle of setting off the smoke alarms, but that was almost as much success as he found. Mince ended up all over the kitchen following what he described as "an explosion" and to make matters worse the spoon he was using just happened to fall on the floor, adding an extra dimension to the new "mince decor". However, like any good cook, the menacing mince was cleaned up afterwards and the meal (as of yet) has not claimed any victims.

Sea sick!... Being an inland city, one of the last afflictions one could expect to suffer in Bathurst would be sea sickness. However, this was the case for one Bathurst resident as he started to feel queasy when sitting at home watching old sailing videos. Filmed by an amateur, the vision conveyed that rolling feeling one gets while on the water. After discovering that the sick feeling was not merely hunger pains but sea sickness, the Bathurst resident, a former sailor, could only laugh at himself.

Wedding song?... (I wonder who's sons these could be...? lol) Three brothers were heard on Saturday singing was obviously their new favourite song - "Here comes the bride, all dressed in slime". The youngest of the three suggested that maybe they sing it to their mother when she gets married, but the older showed a wise head as he retorted: "Oh no, you would be in so much trouble if you did that."

Here's a story (that is not me, alright?! lol) from a recent Parade...

Loser... As a female shopper exited the Campbelltown K-Mart in Queen Street, a man grabbed her purse and ran. A shop assistant at K-Mart called the police immediately and the woman was able to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police had apprehended the snatcher, trying to mingle in the shopping crowd on Queen Street. They put him in the car and drove back to K-Mart. The thief was then taken out of the car and up to the K-Mart front desk and told to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied: "Yes, officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."


Cyalayta
Mal :o)

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Monday, June 28, 2004

(*) Monday

Mum...
Mum, who's in her mid-70's, is still not going so well. She's lost a whole lot of weight over the past 12 months, and now her energy levels have fallen to almost zip. In all seriousness, I'm not sure if she's got the emotional stamina to last until this Xmas! It's not as though she's had a bad trot... dad died 8 years ago, and she's had a wonderful life since then, full of life and energy. I guess that's whats so hard to see - her loss of strength. I mean, she's not even strong enough at the moment to go to the shops! My brother drives past her place twice a day to-and-from work, so he's keeping an eye on things with her. He's a medical person, so he can keep me informed what's really going on for her healthwise, apart from all the jargon.

My brother...
My brother and I are finally reconciled - after about two or so years. We've both been thru a ruff trot, but now the past is in the past, forgiven and forgotten. He's my only brother, and I don't want him out of my life anymore! Thankfully, we've been having a wonderful time just hanging out together recently, which is something we haven't really made the opportunity for us to do. It's a really positive vibe for me, to be friends with my bro again - you have no idea what a sense of relief it is for me.

Michelle's engagement...
Michelle and her b/f announced their engagement last month. I'm actually very happy for her. The boys love him, so that's just fantastic. My philosophy about it all is: happy mum = happy boys. So, if Michelle's happy in her life choices, and it's a positive for the boys, then there's no reason why I can not be happy for them all. Good luck to them, really! The weddings' taking place in September. They boys are going pretty good, apart from winter cods, they're basically pretty happy. School seems to be a positive experience for them, and it's still a buzz for me to see them getting into the school bus to get home! They seem so grown up - Alex is 5 1/2 already!

Laffs...
Listening to the radio has been a bonus lately. I must be getting old, when you start willingly to listen to ABC Radio National! But seriously, they're playing my 2 favourite British comedies, The Goon Show and Hancock's Half Hour. Of course, it's on at a ridiculous hour of the morning (5.30 in the bleedin' am!), so I set the alarm and tape 'em. Yeah, the shows that've been on recently have been ones I've already got on tape - from years' ago! aint it always the way?! lol But some of the Tony Hancock stuff I haven't heard before (I've only heard about those episodes), so that's been wonderful.

Sleep...
You know, sleep is one of those things you don't realise how much you need until you start missing out on it. I haven't been sleeping well at all over the last few weeks. Actually, I've been up all hours, and not getting out of bed until like after 10am! D'oh! I've felt tired, but not sleepy - does that makes sense? Not sleepy enough to sleep. Plus I hate just laying in bed tossing and turning trying to fall asleep - blech! I'd rather get up and read a book or something than just lay there. And it's not as thought the brain is going into overdrive in the quiet hours either (unlike it used to when I was first separated!) Nah, it's not as though I'm wrapped up in thoughts or philosophical considerations at 2am or anything like that - gawd forbid! Just wish I could feel sleepy when I was tired! Oh well... the joys of it all!

Birthday...
I'll be turning the big four-oh in three weeks' time. You know, as a youngster, I never had a mental concept of what being 40 would be like! So, this'll be really uncharted territory (no pun intended!) for me emotionally and psychologically. I know I'm not 25 anymore (D'oh!), but I don't really feel 40... I dunno how to describe it anyway. That's OK... I'm fine with it, really. Physically, I'm starting to slow down a bit, and things and little bits of me aren't cooperating as much as they once did, but in the main I'm going pretty well, really. No major health problems, just the old brain is a bit tired!

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(*) It's blinkin' freezing today!

Gosh! It's cold!... It's 3c degrees at the moment (about 37f) - my hands are cold - fingers feel too cold to type properly! This is the first time I've felt cold living here this winter! Time to dig out the ugh boots again - the world-famous ugh-boots held together with gaffa tape! I mean, I'm sitting here with my old Manly beanie (poor Manly! Sob! lol), so at least me old ears are warm enuff.

Thoon...The funny side of it is - Thoon, my dancin' goldfish - his water is almost as cold! I dunno what to do about it - no wonder he's been dancing so much lately... just to try and keep warm!Some ppl wonder what on earth prompted me to name him 'Thoon'... well, if you haven't found out the link on my webpages yet, here it is... this will tell you - or perhaps it won't! pmsl!

Chat friends... Since my puter is working, that is, I can get back online again, I've been able to catch up with my online chat friends. I haven't been able to talk with them for about 3+ months! Sob! But lately, I've caught up with friends in England, Sweeden, Greece, Turkey and Hawaii, as well as Australia. It's been wonderful. I've really missed being able to do that.

Hydra... I've found a new site on my favourite Greek island of Hydra, with some very beautiful pictures. Take a look, click on the 'Hydra' link on the left, and you'll understand why I'm still fascinated with the place!

George Johnston... Speaking of Hydra, I did a search of some of the Johnston books I've got, and the ones I'm still after. They are quoting a price of $20+ for the same first-edition copy of 'My Brother Jack' that I brought recently for just $8! Whoo hoo!

Cyalayta,
Mal :o)
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(*) Initial Entry of the Mallard

G'day. This will be the place where I post my thoughts, comments, critiques on life, the universe, everything - and a banana. I'd love to hear back from ya on what's going on in my brain from time to time... that is, if anything is going on in there! lol

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, my name is Maljam or Malster (that's my webname-nickname anyway), tho a very close friend calls me the 'Mallard' - a wild flying duck! Whoo hoo! I'm living in the Central West of NSW Australia, divorced, 40, with three wonderful sons. I'm trying to be a full-time University student...!

PS. When you see a post marked (*), that means it's a personal entry ie. a diary entry, a reflection or comment from me.

Cyalayta

Mal :o)

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