Can't So Much As Breathe

I have never in my life hurt so much while coughing, standing, sitting, sneezing, peeing, squatting, stretching, laughing, hell any teeny eeny weeny moving of any kind. I can jab a finger any random where, and it hurts. If I wasn't so sore, I'd admit that some small part of me is enjoying this "good pain". I might also, strangle she who got me into this mess in the first place.

Ann is Legal

Is that a glint in her eye from spanking new freedom?
That's definitely tiredness plastered on my face. Pretty.

And the winner is...
What can I say? Dancing may help,
but to find the energy to begin with...

Those were the pics I got.
Couldn't get off my arse to take more.

That's not to say there aren't more amazing ones. Ann's, Josh's and Liz's all work treats.

Hello Memory

You taste as new as the day you were born.

Today, I felt the feather you swore you plucked off the most ferocious duck as being the closest thing next to the bird itself you could send to me which I recieved there those many moons ago and snuck anxiously through customs here, against my face. All that time after, and it is just as soft, as fresh. All that time after, all that time.

Combined 55th

Ange and Eks are the Birthday Bubbas!
Numbers to be figured out at own risk ;P

Check out baby in a party hat!
So cute I wanna eat!

An indoor BBQ doesn't stop smiles ;D
I'm sure doing nothing and getting food for it doesn't hurt

You know me. If I'm not eating, I'm taking pics.
Shameless, yes, yes...

A, D and I trying to do a do-re-mi at bottom left.
More like do-re-ti really! :P

N is a cheeky monkey!
He posed and posed and posed with the girls,
then refused to take a pic with his Aunty Lena

Heddles was drenched from cooking in the rain the whole time
And deserved a big hug from the birthday girl, no?

Dessert in two flavours, yay!

That was my last free Saturday (two weeks ago) for a long time to come. Wouldn't have had it any other way. Easy BBQ celebs with friends on a rainy afternoon, me likey.

T is a Dirty Letter

Or, Public Transport is a Royal Pain at the Very Worst Possible Moments

When I had my First Day Trial at Chaddy, I had to take a tram, then train, then bus to get there. Wait, that didn't sound half as painful as it was: First, I had to wait in the cold for the tram to come, and when it finally arrived, I squeezed in like just another sardine and tolerated the oh-so-near-yet-so-many-stops-more ride to the train station. Part One down, wonderful. I'm good on time, as I'd planned.

Part Two: Did I say just another sardine? Make that just another whale in a sardine can. That's what it felt like, at least. No worries, I can find my own little spot at the platform and wait for the train that never seems to arrive because Attention All Passengers: The 11.04 Pakenham train departing from Platform 1 is due to arrive at 11.23. Connex appologizes for any inconvenience caused. Attention Ladies and--

WHAT???

Part Two Point Five: I am finally at the Murrumbeena Station, running so late my stomach is knotted to make a sailor proud. Some frenzied asking and frantic walking later, I manage to make it to the right bus stop, and believe me, there are many. Of course, the bus is not due til another 10 minutes of eternity.

Did I mention I've never tram-train-bused to Chaddy before? I had absolutely no idea where I was, nor did I have the store number on me to tell them I was running late. This was becoming worse than a nightmare, because this was painfully real.

Part Two Point Seven Five: The bus comes, I board, and then as busses are known to do, it waits. And waits. I swear my innards were going to spill right out of my mouth any moment then.

Part Three: And you think: she's finally made it!

But not before having to try and find the store! And when I say find, I mean treasure hunt. If my brain was actually working, I might have prayed I'd find the Information Counter along the way so I could ask for directions. Which I did, eventually, which then lead me to where I needed to be. But not before the Manager from Head Office called, and I had to well, take the call. While huffing and puffing and all flustered, running madly around to find the store, in high heels.

I'm telling you, I could feel strands of my hair turning grey.

That, my friends, was my virgin day at work, my eventful First Day Trial. Arriving like The Queen an entire half hour late!

Then, of course, there was The Fourth Day in the City. I should have so seen it coming, just when I was making such a good comeback as well. Stupid Murphy.

The short version of things is that the tram in front of the one I was in hit a car. Or the car hit the tram, I don't know. Whatever.

There I am, merrily on my way to work and very pleased with myself for making it past the trial despite the very bad first impression, and the next two days of work after, when Ladies and Gentlemen, There has been An Accident in Front of Us, We Expect to be Delayed for the Next Five Minutes Or So, and the tram comes to a full and very much past five minute halt. I was so on schedule, up until then. Was I being jinxed or what?

You have no idea how stressed I was sitting there, watching a growing number of tram drivers gathering around the car, taking long drawls from their cigarettes and moving like they were in some slow, country town. And the car was sitting on the tram tracks. It was just sitting there, very still and very assuredly blocking any trams from moving forward. Now I know I said the car was hit. I meant a door was dented -- no one died or got hurt, the wheels, engine, steering was intact and as they proved a zillion eons later, it had no trouble being driven off the tracks like it was brand new.

I couldn't get out and change trams, and like the first time, I couldn't call to say I was running behind because, like the first time, I hadn't expected to be calling the store 10 minutes before I was due in to work let alone for the second time, and so, didn't have the number on me. How many bloody store numbers am I meant to keep anyway? I was brilliant blue in the face, and utter panic, pure frustration and livid anger is a bad mix, let me assure you.

Trams and Trains and Transport and Time, Trifle With Me Not! One day I might be diagnosed with clinical anxiety, and then I'd really feel like sueing someone, and it may well be you.

I Rock

So I'm told I "have obviously impressed ____", though impressing the opposite sex is arguably easier to do. He said, "no experience, no issue"; later, she said they "don't normally take the inexperienced in." Repeatedly. What did I say about impressing the opposite sex?

This is not to make negative implications about her, of course. I have to say how very surprised I was at how nice they are. I admit, I had serious reservations. When the specs are: all-female, fierce selling, high targets, serious expectation and worse competition, can you blame me? I soon found they took the term family seriously, and amid all the serious expectation and worse competition, there is some kind of real bond holding them all together. If they wanna share the love, make no mistake -- I'm embracing it. Catty bitching, begone!

You can call it heresay, but I beat many other applicants, and three other finalists in the running for it. It pays to be "the most enthusiastic and willing to learn" cookie around. Loving the goods don't hurt one bit.

I rock, if I say so myself.

Saddest Poem

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.

Write, for instance: “The night is full of stars,
and the stars, blue, shiver in the distance.”

The night wind whirls in the sky and sings.

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

On nights like this, I held her in my arms.
I kissed her so many times under the infinite sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her.
How could I not have loved her large, still eyes?

I can write the saddest poem of all tonight.
To think I don’t have her. To feel that I’ve lost her.

To hear the immense night, more immense without her.
And the poem falls to the soul as dew to grass.

What does it matter that my love couldn’t keep her.
The night is full of stars and she is not with me.

That’s all. Far away, someone sings. Far away.
My soul is lost without her.

As if to bring her near, my eyes search for her.
My heart searches for her and she is not with me.

The same night that whitens the same trees.
We, we who were, we are the same no longer.

I no longer love her, true, but how much I loved her.
My voice searched the wind to touch her ear.

Someone else’s. She will be someone else’s. As she once
belonged to my kisses.
Her voice, her light body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, true, but perhaps I love her.
Love is so short and oblivion so long.

Because on nights like this I held her in my arms,
my soul is lost without her.

Although this may be the last pain she causes me,
and this may be the last poem I write for her.

Pablo Neruda

Shawn & Wency

The Royal Exhibition Building at Carlton Gardens --
the backdrop at where the groom stood waiting for his bride

The beginning of very many photos,
and the realization that I still do heels.
Apparently, I'm the only one

With Angie. I just noticed our dresses are the same cut,
one printed, one plain :)

Swap sides, add Chris, and hey presto!
Another photo born ;P

Audrey glowing in purple.
Andy was in purple too, no prizes for why ;D

With giggly Ellie, also in print. (All the girls are today!)
I think I have all but one print dress.
Excuse to rectify the problem? ;)

Oh wait. There's Keryn in black.
Very classic, very her

A shot of the Angs. By this time next year,
it'd be down to 2 Angs

On request, the ressional was to be through a human arch
where all guests gathered at the aisle to receive the bridal party.
See how serious and how cute the pageboy and flowergirl are,
getting into the action at their own initiative!

The newly wedded Mrs
leads her husband through.

New man and wife,
in a rare moment without anyone else by either side

Mr Ling, Mr Low, Mrs Low in line,
set off a whole series of photo-taking!

With the Quahs. Well, at least two-thirds.
The adorable last-third had been spirited away by the aunties

Sneaking in for one with the couple of the moment
in the beautiful Carlton Gardens

This photo is, as Saz says: The Sohs and the Lows
(also where we said: Shawn is SLow, Chris used to be C-Lee, Karen's K-Poh, etc)

The organizing party gets us at long last seated,
and we take our photomania along with us :P

The little one goes straight for the beer,
and look what she came back with!
Little Creature indeed

Look who arrives in time for food and cuddling.
Faith always looks at who's carrying her, what a cutie!

Afte a mediterranean vegetarian lunch on the lawn, it's back to mingling. Resumed antics in front of the camera, more like:

I take a close up with Aik Chung,
who will be leaving us soon =(

...and then another, to show you who's wearing the redder lipstick!
Why do we both look so tired here? Poor us

Fenella and William Sholto Blake
(I just put his whole name down so I wouldn't forget again. Cornelius my foot)
The sister's a cutie, the brother, a monkey!

You see! We're meant to take a nice photo,
the cheeky bugger

Payback. Hah.
But he's still being silly anyway, so big deal
The next time I get TheJoyluckClub, I'm calling him SillyWilly

The Ngians doing smart casual very nicely
-- matching even! -- with Vince and his controlface

That is, until Yuchun came up with this brilliant idea.
Pimp or pornstar, you decide

Golly, not so long ago, I'm sure I took a good few inches off my hair.
Why does it look suspiciously long?
Pair that with the fact that it never grows, and it must mean
my hair was a Rupenzel nightmare before! :/

T said we were to stand like this
to show that there are three of us!
Black and red go happily together :D

Congratulations to the bride and groom,
or as they say, to his Chubee and her One

Last Night

I was so tired but my body refused to slip into blissful sleep. The pain in my stomach ate and ate and ate at me and I knew that although nothing in particular plagued my mind -- I wasn't even actually thinking at all to think I was thinking -- anxiety was surely and truly setting in. Being so tired was actually a good thing because passing out, at least trying to, was fast becoming a welcomed fix. Except that I couldn't.

By then, my mind was up and running. Running, in fact, between thinking how damn exhausted I was, and why the bloody hell that didn't just knock me out cold. Somewhere in the middle I think I even thought a strong drink would do the trick. At what point things changed I don't know, but I was very unimpressed to find myself jolted from sleep to discover I was -- get this -- actually asleep dreaming I couldn't sleep.

Yup.

Things couldn't possibly get worse from this point, so I lay my head back on my pillow, and resumed slumber.

Until an hour later.

Why I woke up is beyond me. Nevermind, back to bed.

And an hour later... You guessed it.

I won't be dramatic, but it went on, hour after hour after hour. I don't know when it stopped, I'm glad I don't because that meant it did.

The next day, I woke up not so bright and fresh for my trial at Chaddy. Just perfect.

If only the physical me would be in sync with my better behaving mental me and not spaz out completely. Meh.

Easter Camp

Life

You know life's grabbed you by the collar and dragged you along for the ride when you stop blogging for a whole of two weeks and it feels like eternity. Not to say that those two weeks were bad. On the contrary, in fact, and what with the feeling like a zillion things have happened.

I'm juggling four different side jobs (I say jobs but whether or not they work out to be long-term and/or profitable remain to be seen, all usual time effort money risk apply), been to a work trial where the only positive outcome was that they paid me, celebrated the boy's birthday, went to Easter camp and discovered I'm the only girl who freezes to the level I do and had to embrace all things camp (not my thing), gotten not so great news from friends I'm not at liberty to share at the moment, went for another interview (dare I say I almost enjoyed it? I have my theories), been blocked in to do another four-day trial (it was five, I wiggled out of one!), been frustrated by the parental units and their mind games, capped off my suspicisions that I'm gaining a pound or three by the rising of my pant hems with a whole can of mini sausages (read 42) between lunch and dinner (I am Snack Queen -- eating always is a given, it's just getting less and less healthy), been going mental about real estate (I have theories about this too, but we won't get into it), had to find out about three separate parties doing three different concerts while I forgo my tickets to two. I'm sure there's more that's made life hectic and wonderful, but between my memory lapse and my not being bothered, I'll leave it at this. Oh, did I mention job-hunting is a bitch? Ulcers and gastric come complimentary.

Not bad for two weeks' work, huh?

Last week (and the one before!) in photos...

Because this week is here already!

Smelling is a very important part
of visiting lavender farms

Although that may mean you smell everything...

...even the things you'd rather not!
(Look at the cows' curly fur!)

Yummy tea for my tummy...
Yummy ice-cream for tea!

No tea is proper tea without scones!

I did not do this on purpose. This only proves I'm greedy.
I want bigger bites and more cream than I can take.

Flowers bring out the smiles in mum

Photos can do that, too ;D

I have no idea what these are,
but aren't they cute?

Can you believe that face!
So... mischevious but unrevealing of what mischief to come!

I rest my case.
(He deposited loot in my bag, nothankyou at all)

***

This is my seven month old nephew, Jaidan...

The poor child.

***

The little tapper lures a crowd to the Williamstown Parade.

Her soles clickety-click,
my fingers clickety-click!

Jump high in the sky!

***


Eat-Meets is always a simple feat :P