April 24 2005 Sunday
ANNOUNCEMENT: There will be no further updates to this page - the identical page is now viewable from my home page karina.id.au so please pop over there and save me to your favourites asap !!!!!!!!
April 23 2005 Saturday
Mum came down to visit this week. She won a portrait sitting - one of those jobs where you get the hair and make up photography session and then pay for any photos you like - naturally you end up liking way more than you intended to !!
Anyway - while she was having the shots done - I wandered off into town and went to the doctors - got a referral for Xrays and CT scans for my wretched back. Did a titch of linen shopping in Target.
Then mum and I walked home - I decided that while she still had the posh hair and makeup job - we should make the most of it, so we strolled up to Hyde Park and I took some nice piccies as the sun set. Quite pleased with some of them.
Next day we went shopping - unsuccessfully ! In fact out of our entire "To Do" list - not one item got ticked off ! And its always a shock to pop up to a shopping centre you havent been too for a few months - to find its totally under reconstruction. At Innaloo the entire car park has disappeared under a 4 storey mountain of sand and rubble. What a mess.
Still searching the net for a user friendly online blog. Right now there must be about 11 blogs called "recollections" with one post by me saying "dammit this isnt what I want" !!
Mum went home, leaving me with a box of mushrooms and loads of other veggies. So I spent today chopping and cooking up lttle meals to put in the freezer - how organised !!!!
DREAMS: Lately I have been having a lot of volcano dreams - two have been set in Russia. Strange. George Clooney was in one of them ! I am thoroughly convinced the world is building up for one hellava volcanic show. After all - we have had the biggest earthquake and tsunami in my lifetime - or longer, the region has been having daily quakes ever since, and several volcano's around Sumatra have been showing "activity" of late.
So here is my prediction - a volcanic doozie before 30 June 2005.
April 17 2005 Sunday
I have just spent hours delving into the world of blogs. The one I currently write in at this very second - is not technically a blog as I build it via my website builder. That means I can only update it from my own computer - or a computer with Homestead loaded. Whereas all the many free blog builders can be updated online anywhere - some can even be updated by emailing.
BUT ! There is always a but.
I have registed with about 6 different blog sites today and built an example page - and have discovered that you need to have a shit load of HTML knowledge - which I dont have. And the really basic models dont allow photos and insist on the date being in American (ie the wrong way around). So while HTML continues to remain a mystery to me - my blogging will have to stay right here.
Now if only Homestead allowed us to update our sites via online as well as via our site builder - I could update this page when I am on holidays. Hmmmmm life isnt always as we want it.
And my friggen back still hurts :(
April 12 2005 Tuesday
Back pain - doesnt it just bloody suck. Walking home from work yesterday was quite frankly one of the most painful experiences I have had. Every step, every movement, every part of the crooked uneven footpath, sent a jarring spasm thru my right thigh and butt cheek into my spine. Its sciatica and it friggen hurts. This morning I couldnt get out of bed - everything spasm'd and ached. I have an appointment in a few minutes at the chinese masseuse across the road. He feels three treatments should minimise it considerabley - after 4 weeks of agony I am ready for any minimisation.
I have been reading medical sites to see if there are any miracle cures - amazingly everything I have been doing the past 4 weeks is all they recommend. Floor stretches, anti imflammatorys, hot and cold compresses. Two sites said acupuncture was worthwhile, while one denounced it completely. My office physio says it works for her so I may give it a try. Will see how the massage helps first.
Forgot to mention over the weekend - I have ordered to seriously cute purple sofa's !! They get delivered in 4 weeks - yeay !!
April 10 2005 Sunday
A weekend of tv weddings. Last night I sipped wine (cos it went so well with the painkillers and anti inflammatorys) while dining on some lovely puff pastry foldovers I made with chicken, garlic, mushrooms and parmesan. Thought I would have posh food and alcohol to watch first the Royal Wedding between Charles and Camilla, followed by the nuptuals of my favourite TV pair over the past 20 years - Jim and June on The Bill.
Charlie has always been my favourite Royal and I did love seeing him "give it back" to some of the press that have given him such a rotten trot over the years.
I dont care what people say about Camilla - as far as I am concerned everyone should just be happy that two people who have been in love for 33 years have finally been allowed to cement their relationship with vows. The past is just that. The ex wife is dead, the ex husband is re-married, there is nothing to prevent these two from being together.
I noticed the BBC commentators were doing thier darndest to make false stories out of absolutely nothing - something the media has always excelled in.
As they snidely discussed how put out Princess Anne was at the date change and how inconvenient it was for her and how she probably didnt want tp be there etc etc - there is the vision of Anne smiling happily and greeting people in the chapel with grins and mouthing funny stuff to them. Yeah it sure looked like she hated being there.
Then they start going on about how much of a painful struggle Wills and Harry must be enduring watching their father marry another woman - scan to live footage of Wills and Harry mucking around and looking pretty darn cheerful.
Finally they have to make a deal out of the Queen leaving after the official photos. Heres a news flash - weddings are about the bride and groom - not the mother/in law. It really doesnt matter that she had to take off for another commitment.
Get off their backs and let them enjoy their relationship which has already stood the test of time.
April 3 2005 Sunday
Paul Hester is being farewelled by his friends and family today. Last night I flicked over to a rock quiz show on SBS that is filmed a couple of weeks in advance - guess who the special musical guest was. I found myself studying his mannerisms and everything he said to see if there was any hint that he would take his life a week or two later. Great article by his mate Brian here. At the end of the show Paul & the female guest sang a rocking version of Tosh/Jagger "Dont Look Back". I found myself really listening to the lyrics and I think they said it all really.
If it's love that you're running from, There's no hiding place
Just your problems, no-one else's problems, You'll just have to face
But if you just put your hand in mine, We're gonna leave all the trouble behind
Keep on walking - Dont look back!
If your first lover let you down, There's something that can be done
Don't fear the faith and love, Remembering what will come
So, if you just put your hand in mine, We're gonna leave all the trouble behind
Keep on walking - Dont look back!
As I type this Time Of Your Life by Green Day is on the radio - and the lyrics are very apt to and I associate them with the suicide of a friend in 1999.
The Pope died around 4.30am Perth time this morning. No disrespect meant but honestly the parallels between his life the past few months and that of the woman in the US who had been a vegetable for the past 15 years before finally dying this week. The pope has been in a state tantamount to a vegetative state for months now and yet people still expect him to do speeches etc. Putting aside what his occupation was - anyone else of his age and suffering the same multitude of ailments would have been in a retirement home or hospice. I dont have much respect at all for a group of people with a religion that lets a man in that condition make decisions that affect a billion people around the world. As an athiest I dont like any of the decisions that come out of the Vatican anyway - but to allow a man so ill continue to "rule" is bloody stupid.
And in another country another ruler - lies on his deathbed - with far less media invasion. Prince Rainier of Monaco may not last the week.
March 28 2005 Monday - last day of Easter weekend :(
Its always so sad to read of the death of someone who has entertained you.
I saw Paul Hester in concert during Split Enz's last Australian tour in the 80s. I never got to see him perform live in Crowded House but like so many I enjoyed his talent via my cd player. Paul died on Friday night. My sympathies to the Finn Brothers and to all the musicians around the world who have worked with Paul.
Kept awake all night by the sound of water dripping from the ceiling in my bathroom during a 4 hour storm. The joys of strata living means that I can only continue my 18 month long crusade to force the useless strata manager to get a friggen tradesman to fix the friggen roof and guttering. Lets just say - the email he will recieve tomorrow will not be a polite one.
March 26 2005 Saturday
Well there really hasnt been a lot to talk about lately. March has been revoltingly humid and last week we managed to record the 3rd hottest March day in a hundred years at a mere 41.9 - just gotta luv that a couple of days before the chocolate fest that is Easter weekend !
So to stay cool I have sat beneath the air con each weekend - rebuilding Johns website from scratch. Its a huge project and I reckon I have at least another months work on it. I am rather proud of how its looking - but you wont see it till I publish it all together.
I have booked flights to pop over to Sydney and Adelaide in May - to see Tom in The Producers and John in Influence.
TV wise - still totally addicted to the new shows Lost and Desperate Housewives, and loving old favourites like All Saints, McLeods Daughters and Survivor - ooooh and Amazing Race - and man will I be exstatic when the vile wife breating "entrepenuer" gets eliminated.
I havent got into the various talent shows such as X Factor and American Idol so far - perhaps I am just really bored with the way they glorify and give publicity and record deals to the audition failures rather than devote as much airtime as possible to the actual talented folk. And X Factor appears to be all about Mark Bloody Holdens ego - which is fast growing to the size of Eddie Friggen McGuire's.
March 7 2005 Monday
Who rules the streets ? Seriously. Why am I watching news articlesevery night this week about low life teen scum rioting in the streets, throwing petrol bombs at police, police dogs hit by bricks etc etc ? Why are police expected to stand in a line in front of these scum and risk life & limb - with only some padding & a bit of perspex for protection ? Enough mollycoddling, enough slapping on the wrist. Get the high powered water canons in, get the mace in, get the tear gas in. Knock them all out, arrest every single one of them, charge every single one of them, Fine every single one of them, jail every single one of them. Why can I see 100 rioters - yet only 12 get arrested - and even less actually get charged. Our court system is friggen pathetic. And why were these scum rioting ? They felt it was their right after their friends died in a high speed car chase in a stolen car. So your mates die while breaking the law - you pathetic little pieces of shit - that should be a wake up call to your own pathetic lifestyle - not a reason to take it out on the cops who were busy protecting the rest of us from your speeding criminal mates.
Sriously - I do not want to see injured police and police dogs - I want to see teenage scum riot mobs being blinded by tear gas and flung across the road by a water canon. ENOUGH OF THE GENTLEY GENTLY.
February 27 2005 Sunday
Well the election result was fairly predictable - Labor won again. BUT OMIGOD - citizens of my state - are you brain dead ? Your only chance to get Perth into this century and you vote no to extended shopping hours ? Pathetic Pathetic Pathetic.
February 26 2005 Saturday - State Election Day.
Ah yes - its a humid muggy Election day here. As well as choosing our states leader, we also took part in a referendum on shopping hours. I voted yes to bring Perth into the current millennium and in line with the eastern states and the rest of the world. In other words I voted Yes to extended trading hours till 9pm on weeknights and Yes to Sunday trading. Fingers crossed the Yes vote gets in. I honestly think its a more important decision that who will run the state for the next 3 or 4 years !
What else is new - well I had a hair cut the other week. Short and fluffy - pic on the right.
Last Friday Loz came over and we drank 4 bottles of wine and sung our way thru 2 viewings of Rock Horror Picture Show.
Last Sunday I went down to the Guildford Hotel to see pal Gina launching her newest jazz cd. She did two sets - a mellow day time one followed by a rockin night session. It was a good sized crowd - filled with many familiar faces - but also many new faces - which means more and more people are discovering her music. Many highlights - I love all her own songs - in particular Dont Say A Word and Mr Neville. A new fave is her version of U2's "All I Want Is You" - complete with all the boys on guitar, and an awesome version of "What a Wonderful World" and she rocked the house with "Baby she wrote me a letter".
Last night I went to see an outdoor play - Zastrozzi. The "theatre" was the paving outside Winthrop Hall at the Uni. Hard to see in the pic I took on the right - they used the balcony of the hall in the play and on the paving below there were statues and bricklike sets. It was set in the 1890's and was about a german after revenge on a somewhat loony bloke who killed Zastrozzi's mother. There was lots of fake fighting and swordfighting, some great dark humour, a hilarious "rape" scene that involved 2 people sitting side by side while he described how he would rape her - and she really didnt look too displeased so it was ever really going to be rape !!!!! Just a bit of plundering and ravaging.
Main reason for going was of course the very talented and seriously gorgeous Marcus Graham as the dark hero Zastrozzi. Yum indeed.
February 13 2005 Sunday.
I was sitting here thinking how little I had to say about recent weeks. Nothing has happened really. Migraines, broken teeth, RSI - yes that all continues - ho hum. I continue to rebuild Johns site - a huge project but also a learning experience that will aid me as I slowly rebuild all my sites to make them more efficient.
Then it occured to me it has been a seriously busy TV fortnight. Yes folks rating season is finally back - and apparently with avengence this time.
So I have worn the VCR out in an attempt to watch every single new show (please note - I dont count weighloss and ballroom dancing shows as I just dont think the constitute a fun night of entertainment for me).
So my reviews:
The Colony - an SBS reality show set in 1805 in Australia - narrated deliciously by Jack Thompson. I am loving it because it coincides with a series of books I am reading set around the same decade.
Medium - has potential and as a true story - has plenty of cases to utilise for stories - I love how Ten has made it a real psycic crime night - following it with Sensing Murder - which I love.
Lost - Well only 2 eps in its hard to make a decision. Its all a bit wooden and "perfect" - and who the hell lights a bonfire a metre away from a fuel laden jet part ?
Desperate Housewives - 2 eps in and I am addicted. Totally love each character and her foibles.
Battlestar Galactica - OMIGOD how bad can something be ? The intro mini series was so friggen boring that 30 min into the 2nd show I switched over to the radio. Aside from the really poor decision to give each and every character the same name as characters from the 70s show, it lacked oomph, it lacked suspensful background music, it lacked a storyline. It just lacked !
I have discovered the joys of Coupling too late - just as I flick over to see what its all about - I find there are just 3 eps left in the season - so lets hope for repeats so I can discover what I have missed.
And we still have the old faves - where would we be without them. The Bill - consistant as usual - and definately the line of the week when Sam said to Phil "I wont kiss you. I will save your life but I wont kiss you" !!!! All Saints - back with a bang. McLeods Daughters - love the scenery, the well written soundtrack and the perv factor.
Next thing to save up for - the panasonic recordable DVD player with the 80gig hard drive !
January 25 2005 Wednesday
HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY.
Am feeling very patriotic today. An American on a forum I hang out on asked for some info on Aus as she is looking at planning a holiday. I went nuts posting her links galore on every state and all the fabulous attractions each state has to offer !!! And as I did that I kept thinking "hmmm must visit there again" or "why have I still not been there?".
So here it is - Australia Day. In Perth it is celebrated with BBQs on the foreshore or in Kings Park, followed by a huge fireworks extravanganza. This year I decided to invite a few people over to watch the fireworks from my balcony. They start in two hours.
The tooth still hurts - but it likes the invention of paracetamol, codiene and inbruprofen - especially when taken all at once !!!
January 15 2005 Saturday
Man what a painful night. At first I thought I was suffering from an exploding sinus or something. The right side of my face suddenly felt like I had been punched. Just out of the blue last night not long after I went to bed. I checked my teeth and could see no new holes or anything so still figured it must be the sinus. Tried to sleep with an icepack on my face - by 3am I had to get up and swallow codiene.
This morning as I swallowed my first mouthful of my cup of tea I realised this was no sinus pain - this was indeed a tooth. But is it my luck that its one of the teeth already in dire need of dentistry ? no of course not - it appears to be a perfectly normal tooth - one of about 3 left that are not filled. DAMMIT. Now those of you who know me well already know I dont DO dentists. I avoid them like the plague. Its a nasty phobia. Cant stand having them there with their hands in my mouth and all the revolting sound effects and scraping and scratching and smells and the complete feeling of helplessness under their hands.
In 2001 I had EVERYTHING done - removal, capped, filled etc etc under a general aenesthetic. I dont like to be conscious around dentists. Unconscious is about the only way you can even get me to make the wretched appointment.
So what to do. I can always live on codiene - tho eventually my liver will pack up and leave ! I can save up for another general aenesthetic and help some dentists yacht fund. Or I can do what I have done all day today - ignore it ! Even tho it is now making my entire face ache!
January 9 2005 Sunday
The man on the right is called Yai. The series of photos showing his struggle for survival in the Phuket tsunami were published in papers all over the world. In the last of the series only his forhead was visible above the water. Most papers carried a byline saying his body had been found later on a beach. But here he is alive and well. One of the many great survival stories we are reading every day.
Indonesia's death toll is up to 112,000 and really wont ever truly be known as no official census had occured in decades. The total for all countries involved is over 160,000.
Aid pours in from every nation. Australian public raised $100 Mil in 10 days and a further $20mil was raised in a 7,9 and 10 joint telethon concert last night. (and yes F*cking Eddie still managed to dominate it while others were prepared to share air time.)
The Australian government has pledged a $1 Billion aid package to Indonesia over the next 5 years. Pledges from other worldwide governments pale in comparison.
Its been otherwise a quiet week. I have spent the weekend building a website for Ben Elton. Painstaking stuff cos he is such a multi faceted guy. Need to give it a break as my wrist has doubled in size !
January 2 2005 Sunday
Its so incredible to continue reading stories of amazing rescues and survival around the Indian Ocean following the Boxing Day Tsunami. For the benefit of my diary I will add the info that the 9.1 quake was recorded 10 miles beneath the surface just west of Aceh Indonesia at 9am on the 26th Dec. Within hours Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, both coasts of India, and even as far away as Somalia and Tanzania in Africa had been decimated by massive destructive tidal waves. In Thailand - where so many Aussies spend Christmas at seaside resorts there are entire hotels filled with bodies. The numbers are phenomenal. This morning the death toll sits around 150,000 and I dont doubt it will reach the half a million mark in the next week or so - with injuries, illness and the unsanitary conditions in each of the affected regions. Bodies are being buried and cremated without identification due to the lack of places to keep so many. Thousands are being washed ashore each day.
People on normal everyday holidays are returning with images that will forever remain burned into their memories - decapitated bodies, mass destruction, loss of family members etc. I cant begin to understand what they have endured just to survive.
Some sites to visit if you need info on survivors
2005: January 2 Sunday - looking back over the past week
Happy New Year. So much to catch up on.
Dec 25: Left for Sydney on a lunch time flight. Plane wasnt even half full. One of the funnest flights I have been on. Most of us had a row to ourselves - room to spread out. Flight attendants all in great moods and we all laughed and sung our way across the country. Landed around 7.15pm just in time for a delicious roast dinner with Keith and Shane.
Dec 26: Spent the day with friend Mim. Dined our way around Darling Harbour. Started at I'm Angus with delicious chicken fillet on the most amazing parmesan mash potato I have ever eaten. Followed by a lengthy stroll to make room for a lemon tart at a cafe. Then sitting by the water having a nice long catch up.
Dec 27: Staying at Shanes place. Keith woke us with the news of the boxing day tsunami in the Indian Ocean. We turned on the 24 hour news station and watched in amazement at the destruction of countries from Indonesia, Sumatra, Thailand, Burma, India, Sri Lanka and even 7000km away in Somalia. The death toll grew by the hour. We dragged ourselves away and went to DFO for a shopping day, I bought some jeans and books on my fave subject - seriel killers.
Dec 28: Met at Keiths place for a roof top BBQ and later we went to see The Incredibles - great little animated movie about retired superheros. Nice Italian meal followed.
Dec 29: Went to see Oceans 12. The only occassion I give up my Brad Pitt allergy cos I love all the cast so much I am prepared to tolerate him ! I think I liked it even more than Oceans 11. Some great gags and twists and cameos.
Dec 30: Met Keith in the mall and had a bite to eat at Dymocks cafe - while Dr Karl K(unspellable) signed copies of his new book below us. Then I wandered off for some more book shopping till my legs grew tired so I went to the cinema for a rest. Saw the new Phantom of the Opera movie. Big spectacular piece with Andrew Lloyd Webbers music and songs. It will take out all the art and set and costume Oscars without a doubt. Bangers and Mash at Keiths place followed by a dvd - The Day After Tomorrow. With all the current natural disaster in the news - it seemed an appropriate film choice.
Dec 31: Nice relaxing day watching 24 hour news and watching the tsunami death toll climb over the 100,000 mark. Its a figure that will continue to climb daily. Still over 1000 Aussies missing.
We dolled up and headed for Keiths. Took him out to dinner at Star City for his 40th birthday then went back to his apartment to play drunken UNO before heading to the roof to watch the 9pm and midnight fireworks. Then watched Rocky Horror.
Jan 1: Squeezed all the new books into the suitcase and headed for the airport. Flew home via Qantas so it was no where near as fun as a Virgin flight - but at least it wasnt full so they gave me an empty seat next to me - great seeing as how I cant get their dinner trays past my boobs so I need the extra dinner tray in order to actually eat my meal. Landed in hot sticky Perth round 6pm and went straight home to my airconditioner.
December 23 Thursday
Well this may be the last time I am online this year so I will take the time to issue my compliments of the season to you all. I hope you all celebrate in your own special way and to those who also have birthdays coming up - Many Happy Returns !!
I am off to Sydney for christmas dinner with friends, the boxing day sales, catching up with pals, a 40th birthday, and the fabulous NYE fireworks !!!!
See you all in 2005.
