Lordy!  I can’t believe it – there has now been well over 26,000 views of my wee blog.  Who would’ve thought my life would be so interesting!  Thanks all.  Much appreciated and very gratifying to know I’m not talking to myself (again!)..

They’re talking on TV this morning, on ‘The Big Questions’ which is a BBC topical discussion programme, about ‘the morality of plastic surgery’ and they’ve got this woman on there who’s spent over £500,000 to look like a barbie doll.  Yes, she looks fantastic for a 50 year old, but bloody hell!  £500,000?  That’s the cost of a house!  That’s 2 or 3 houses! 

Yes, ageing is horrid, but it happens to all of us.  I believe it’s better to age gracefully (or perhaps , in the case of Keith Richards, disgracefully!) and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with showing your life on your face. 

‘Barbie’ is now saying that we don’t want to see ugly people on television.  Bullcrap.  Honestly, this woman even has a plastic brain!  She’s the worst type of bully – deciding who’s beautiful and who’s not. 

She’s pissing me off too much – got to change the channel..  hang on… Sunday morning cooking show.  much more peaceful.  Was thinking of doing some baking this afternoon, actually.

Anyway – enough rambling – White Rabbits to everyone (which is what you say on the first of a month.) And here’s a little bit of happy for y’all.  I’m all about spreading the happy at the mo – spread the happy…  and make your eyebrows dance!

(Found this in my inbox as I was clearing out before leaving my old job.  Is particularly appropriate given the snowy weather of the last couple of weeks.  Made me laugh.)

Quote from the Institute Handbook, “During periods of adverse weather, aAll Employees must make a reasonable effort to attend work..”

A fuller description from one of the scientists…

Q. What is a “reasonable effort” to attend work?

A. This is a grey area. It is perhaps best illustrated by a series of examples. Waking up tomorrow morning, opening the curtains, observing white flakes and getting back under the duvet, is probably not a reasonable effort and will raise the ire of your workmates who sat in 5 mile tailback on the A14 to make it in. On the other hand hiring a team of trained huskies, and trekking over the snow encased Gog/Magogs or the Essex uplands whilst chewing on energy rich dried venison maybe going too far, and will incur ridicule. Strike a balance somewhere in between.

Reasonable
—————-
- if you can make it to Tescos, probably you could have come in the whole way.
- sitting in a tailback for 30 minutes or so.
- scraping ice/snow off the windscreen before starting up on a well salted thoroughfare

Unreasonable
——————-
- flagging down local yummy mummy in SUV on the school run, dragging them from the driver’s seat and commandeering the vehicle to make the journey across the white fields that are the only route not obstructed by abandoned cars.
- sitting in a tailback for three days, only surviving by eating your partners arm and listening to emergency reports on Terry Wogan
- setting our to your car with the words “I’m going outside, I may be sometime”.

Q. On campus green day, is it reasonable to come into work in I will have to burn three times as much fuel as normal getting here?

A. You better had, or you won’t get entered in the raffle. Pick up a few car sharers from the abandoned vehicles on the roadside as you go to guarantee entry.

Q. When would it be “clearly unsafe” to make my journey in?

A. Only you can judge this, but to help you along H&S have prepared a website which will allow you to make your own risk assessment for your individual journey. Remember the Institute has a safety culture. In some cases it will be unclearly unsafe. For instance, if you cannot see the tip of your nose through the snow.

Q. If the snow starts falling later in the morning, I have made it into work and now I can’t get home, will there be any overtime payments?

A. Of course not. We’re being funded by a charity which cannot provide these sorts of benefits. Anyway you should have had the foresight not to come in in the first place.

A couple of weeks ago, I met a guy online.  I know, I’ve been there before and got my heart broken, then stomped on by size 13, 12-hole Docs.  But since I don’t go out drinking and picking people up, and there seems to be nowhere else to meet people, online is the easiest option. 

But this just feels different to before, and I really believe this could work.  He’s sweet, lovely to look at with enormous brown eyes, and he evokes this stupid grin that no matter what I do I can’t seem to wipe off my face.  We spend a lot of time laughing, chatting and finding similar tastes with so many things that I have to believe that this could turn out to be something serious.  I’ve got no choice, it feels almost fated.  Honestly.

We met in person for the first time last weekend, and needless to say I was nervous as all hell.  But we immediately hit it off.  No uncomfortable silences, no awkward moments at all.  The waitress had to come back twice to take our order because we were chatting too much to conentrate on the menu.  A 12:30 lunch date was still going at 19:30, and finally finished about 2am.  Then continued on Sunday when we lazed about mine watching and bagging out the olympics closing ceremony, and then went to see Hellboy 2 (really cool film, btw, Guillermo del Toro is a fantastical genius).  On Monday we had a wonderful day walking around London chatting and giggling like idiots.  I really like this guy.  I mean, I really like this guy.  And even better, he seems to feel the same way!  :)))

You know how it is when you just click with someone?  When everything seems easy and confortable?  When there’s enormous respect, huge attraction, and you feel that giddiness in your chest?  That’s how I’ve been all week.  I haven’t been able to wipe the smile off my face or stop the butterflies in my chest.  I seem to spend a ridiculous amout of time thinking about him.  And it’s been so long since I felt like this that I have to admit to being a little terrified.  There are moments (usually when he hasn’t been next to me) when I’ve felt utter panic and ‘what the hell am I doing?’. It all seems ridiculously fast, like being on the proverbial roller-coaster.  But something about it just feels right, and good, and all those wonderful things.  Honestly, it’s just like a 50’s romantic movie!  All of which makes me a little more suspicious – like I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop. 

But we’re seeing each other again tonight, and I truthfully can’t wait.  I want to see where this goes.  I want to give it every chance – cause I haven’t been this happy in so long that I bloody well deserve it! 

So, just for a bit until I figure out what this is, don’t lob questions at me, don’t tell me to slow the hell down.  Just let me enjoy my secret guy for a bit longer…  And I really am enjoying myself, and whatever the hell this is.

It’s fantastic and wonderful and I’m immensely happy.  Hope you are too.

xx

Further to my last post about how proud I am of Britain scoring so well in the olympics – I take it all back.  Just because they’re bad winners.

On UK television this morning they tore shreds into the Australian olympic team, and Australians in general for winning fewer golds than GB. 

This is what they do, you see.  They’re bad winners.  Instead of a quiet proud dignity, they have to run about and hurl abuse at everyone else for losing.  I’ve seen this in every sporting event that GB have won since I’ve been here.  And truly, using the excuse that they don’t win very often and don’t know how to act, is no longer appropriate.  They DO know how to act, with respect for the other competitors, with pride, joy and a little bit of dignity.  They know because that’s how every other country in the world (except perhaps USA) acts when they win a medal (or indeed almost any sporting event).  However there’s something about the Brits that just make them overreact, that make them push the boundaries of propriety. 

And I know that there’s a great rivalry between UK and Oz, I’ve heard of almost nothing but this rivalry every time the two countries compete in anything.  But there is no need to drag it out into abuse.

I’m embarrassed for the Brit olympians, just because they might feel the cause of it all.  They are doing well, and I am proud of them – perhaps I just hate the press…

Anyway – rant ends.

I’ve been watching the olympics.  Like most of the rest of the planet, I assume.  And I’ve noticed, too, that Britain are doing rather well..

Which brings up strange feelings in me.  I’m aussie to the core and will be til I die, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t feel a sense of pride in my resident country, does it? 

See Britain are notoriously crappy at olympics, usually to be found around position 10-15 on the medal table.  But since London’d got the next olympics, the govt has been spending money on sport (SHOCKER!).  I think they’re mainly doing it so that they won’t be embarrassed by the general crap-ness of their team.  Whatever the reason, it’s working and they’re starting to see significant results.

And I am proud of the Brits.  They’ve been so crap for so long, that the jubilation and excitement about winning, hell – even placing!, is somewhat infectious.  For example, on Saturday Louis Smith, a 19yo UK gymnast, got a bronze medal in the pommel horse – which is Britain’s first medal in artistic gymnastics for 80 years!  Well done Louis!  I don’t care who you are, that’s quite an achievement!  It’s even more of an achievement when you think that gymnastics has been dominated by the Chinese, Americans and Russians for as long as anyone can remember.  Damn well done!  (And almost certainly secures him an OBE / MBE / Knighthood!  Honestly, sometimes I think the Queen puts honours in Xmas crackers! They seem to be handed out for everything..  Not to diminish Louis’ achievement, but he’s only 19 and has plenty of good sporting years yet.  How about you wait til he retires from sport??)

So I find myself with mixed feelings – I want Australia to do well, of course I do.  I want the Aussies to wipe the floor with the rest of the world and prove once again what a fantastically sporting nation we are.  But I also want Britain to do well. 

I find myself watching a race like the rowing, where Aussie and GB are neck & neck and have a nasty moment of not knowing who to scream for!  Its never happened before.  Weird.

Go Aussie Go!  Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi! Oi! OI! (but come on Team GB too!)