Day Seventeen

Today I'm supposed to pick someone I'd trade places with and why. I was trying to think of someone who lived a life I'd like to lead, and I couldn't think of anyone. I mean, who doesn't have their own shit that makes them sad, or their own awesome stuff that makes them happy. So I think I'll flip it and live the life of someone less fortunate than me so that I could better understand their situation.

I would switch places with Sophie Delezio. Sophie is 9 years old and has been through more than most people have in their entire life. At the age of two, Sophie was trapped under a burning car which had crashed through the gate of the child care centre she attended after the driver of the vehicle suffered a seizure. She suffered burns to 85% of her body and lost both of her feet, some fingers and her right ear.

In 2006, when Sophie was aged five, she was again badly injured when her Nanny was pushing her wheelchair across a pedestrian crossing and she was hit by a car and thrown 18m. She suffered a heart attack, broken jaw and shoulder bone, bruising, rib fractures and a tear in her lung.

This little girl has faced some major physical, and probably psychological hurdles in her life. She had become an ambassador for 2008 World Youth Day. Her parents established a charity called The Day of Difference Foundation to help burns victims, families and hospitals raise finances, awareness, and research.

Day Sixteen

Another fucking picture! *screams*

Right. This photo is of Aedin and I. We were at a fair of some sort. I like it because we look like we were having a ball. However I think that he was whinging only 2 mins before I took this photo. I probably had to tickle him to make him laugh.

Day Fifteen

Bloody kid messed with my iPhone and took it off shuffle. Thanks to Mr Seb for pointing it out. So here we go again!

1. Fire Water Burn - The Bloodhound Gang

2. Hey Mama - The Black Eyed Peas

3. Fall At Your Feet - Clare Bowditch

4. Teardrop - Jose Gonzalez

5. Resurrection - The Temper Trap

6. Psychoactive Summer - Def FX

7. Nicest Thing - Kate Nash (made me cry while I was doing this)

8. Dissident - Pearl Jam

9. Down Boy - The Yeah Yeah Yeahs

10. Baby I Don't Care - Transvision Vamp

11. Sexy Boy - Air

12. Feeder - Pete Murray

13. Call Me - Blondie

14. Make You Happy - Josh Pyke (also made me cry)

15. Focus - Dominique Fraissard

16. Criminal - Fiona Apple

17. You've Taken Everything - Bodyjar

18. Warm Whispers - Missy Higgins

19. So What - Pink (don't judge me)

20. Arse Huggin' Pants - Spiderbait

Day Fourteen

Another bloody photo? Oh ffs. This one is meant to be about my family. Can I find a photo of my family without me in it? Lets hope so brb.

OK so I've got an EXT HDD problem. The fucker wont boot. I'll stress about that later. So that means I can only use what I have stored on my laptop.

This is a photo of the important women in my life, excluding my sister. Actually if we want to pretend that Aedin is my sister.... no that'll just get weird. I don't have my writing head on tonight. I'm too distracted. I'll start again.

Starting from the left (with Aedin on her lap) is Milly. She's my mums partner. They have been together for 10 years. Milly is strong, determined, funny, helpful and just all round good fun. She's become such an important part of my family. She's also Aedin's best friend. Next to Milly is my Nanny. She's awesome. She is such a talented woman. She's artistic, creative,  has a wonderful sense of style, and is a fantastic cook. She never fails to tell me how much she loves me. Then in the red shirt is my Mummy. I love my Mum so damn much. She has gone through so much in her life and rarely complains about what she's been through. She is so much fun to be around. I've learnt so much about not only who she is as a person, but who I am as a person as a consequence. She has never turned her back on me, and always makes me feel like I'm beautiful and valued. If I had to pick the one person I could count on in life it would be my Mum. In so many ways I am so much like her, and those are the parts of me that I love the most. She's just awesome. On the right of my Mum is my Aunty Jennifer. My Aunty Jen has lived in New Zealand most of my life. She is so beautiful in so many ways. She's smart, wise, has a wonderful laugh, and is another person who makes me feel special and valued. She's got this whole whimsical, bohemian thing going on and I think she's absolutely gorgeous.

Considering she isn't in the photo, I will give a separate paragraph to my sister. My sister and I had a very volitile relationship as kids. She was insecure, embarrassed, shy, awkward, and angry. I was the complete opposite. We fought like cat and dog, yet when it came to the crunch we stuck by each other. As we grew up we continued to lead completely different lives. I wont go too much into my sisters life as I don't have her permission. However lets just say that the path she has chosen isn't filling her life with sunshine and lollypops. And sometimes that makes being around her difficult. I wish there was a way I could help her out of her funk. My sister is honest, loyal, sincere, loving and kind. We went through so much together as children, having grown up in a very unhappy and violent household. I love her so very, very much.

Day Thirteen

This is one I've been dreading. Writing a letter to someone who has hurt you recently. Awww man :(


Dear xxx


So it's been two weeks since the last time we spoke. Well, when I say spoke I actually mean since you were rude, mean, cruel and horrible to me. I haven't heard a peep from you since. Even the email and text message I sent you to say that I was moving back east has gone unanswered.


When we got back in contact early last year we found that we had so much in common. Conversation flowed quickly. We spent every spare moment that we had learning more about each other. You made me feel intelligent, funny, interesting, sincere and worthwhile. These are things I hadn't felt for a very long time. You were attentive, interested, compassionate and understanding. When our relationship started progressing to a place where you wanted to be with me, you asked me to move to Perth so we could be together. You told me that I no longer needed to just rely on myself, that I had you to be there with me now, that I never needed to feel alone any more. I agreed, but said that I needed to take my time. One of the things you wanted to make a point of was that we should be completely honest about who we are, and to not get caught up in the honeymoon period of the beginning of a relationship. I have always been very upfront about myself. You said you were too. 


Fast forward to me arriving here. We both know that things had begun to change in the days leading up to me leaving. There were things going on in your life that meant we couldn't be together just yet. We still hung out and our attraction was undeniable. But instead of using that to our advantage, you used it as a reason to pull further and further away. In the past five months of being in Perth I could probably count the amount of time we've spent together on one hand. I feel so stupid, disappointed and heartbroken. That wasn't enough to make me leave Perth. I was happy to have stayed regardless, thanks to the amazing friends I've made. Unfortunately I have had to make this decision for reasons outside of you. All I want is to be able to talk to you about what's been going on. It hurts to think that I'll leave from here without being able to see you one last time. I want to be able to say goodbye to you, to hug you and leave from here knowing that I still have you as my friend. That doesn't seem very likely any more.


So I'll take this opportunity to say goodbye. I don't plan on trying to contact you again. I've done all I can do to help you, to support you, and to love you. I will miss you. Hopefully time will bring you back in to my world, and I hope that when that happens I'm not still feeling as hurt as I feel now. I hope things work out for you.


Love


Ally

Day Twelve

I found out about blogging many years back. I've always been an avid reader and a sporadic writer. I've found that I often lose inspiration when it comes to writing, but I could read and read and read forever. The first blog that I followed religiously was www.girlsarepretty.com, which is now girlsareprettyforever. His crazy stories have often appealed to my quirky sense of humour. It's written by a man named Bob Powers, and his posts used to be daily. Nowdays they are less frequent. He has published many books and has quite a few different blogs which I haven't really checked out yet (thanks to reading his posts through Google Reader I didn't know these existed). Time to browse them and put them in my Reader feeder :)

Day Eleven

This post is supposed to be another lot of pictures of my friends and I. Instead I think I'll make this one about Aedin's dad, Justin.

I met Aedin's dad in 2003. My best girlfriend moved to Brisbane to be with a man she had met online (they eventually married). Jess and I stayed in constant contact. She would often call me when she was out drinking with her new boyfriend and his mates. One night they put me on the phone to a guy named Justin. Justin and I hit it off right away and he asked if he could email me. I gave him my email address which he memorised, even though he was drunk. We began emailing constantly, progressed to text messaging, and eventually hour or more long phone calls. By this stage I had already decided to move to Brisbane as I was bored with Wollongong, NSW and needed a change. Needless to say, as soon as I arrived in Brisbane, Justin and I fell into a relationship with each other. Blah blah blah, and I fell pregnant shortly after.

Now I'm not going to pretend that our relationship was super healthy, but it wasn't always bad either. We were very different people. I'm silly, immature and playful. He was serious, adventurous and shy. After a while the bad times overshadowed the good and we eventually broke up in August, 2005. Aedin was only 18 months old. Even as separated parents we often didn't get along, although we still managed to maintain a degree of understanding and mutual respect. However as a father he drifted further and further from his son. Justin and Aedin only saw each other a maximum of once a year, and he only called Aedin once every couple of weeks.

As many of you know, Justin unfortunately passed away in July, 2010. My heart broke. I still cared for him as he is/was the father of my only child. I was also devastated for his parents, his girlfriend, and for my son. We still don't have an explanation as to why Justin didn't wake up on the morning of his birthday. I think it's making it harder to deal with, not having an understanding as to why it happened. Justin was head strong, independent, defiant, secretive, untrusting, and somewhat tortured. We argued regularly, and I hated it. Sometimes I would wish that he would just leave us alone. Now I feel guilty for thinking that. Now I would give anything to argue with him.

Day Ten

What are the songs I listen to when I'm happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad? Now this is a question I've been looking forward to. I absolutely LOVE music. I'm also very much an emotional listener. So here it is:

Hyper - when I'm hyper I like listening to anything that makes me feel like dancing (cue mainstream pop music like Justin Timberlake, Pink, Britney, etc). I also love listening to stuff that gets me jumping around, like Faith No More, Spiderbait, Regurgitator, and so on.

Happy - there is one song that make me feel extremely filled with happy. It's "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. It has this rawness that reminds me of how it felt to be a child, when I didn't understand what heartache was, or what it meant to be let down. It makes me think of summertime in a blow up pool, wearing my Australia Flag speedos whilst taking a break from the slip and slide. Basically it reminds me of a time when I was oblivious to hurt.

Sad - the song "Lazy Eye" by Silversun Pickups never fails to make me cry. There are a few songs now that remind me of Justin (Aedin's dad) that make me cry now since he's passed away. He was a lover of the Queens of the Stone Age, so their music always brings the emo out. Same with "A Letter to Elise" by The Cure.

Angry - this has to be music from my 90s grunge rock stuff. Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Sonic Youth. The music that I played when I was an angsty teen still has the ability to make me feel like I'm 15 yrs old, sitting in my room, feeling sad and misunderstood.

Loved up - music by Claire Bowditch, Angus and Julia Stone, some Elvis Costello, Ben Folds, etc are all songs that remind me of being in love. At the moment this cross over to songs that make me sad, but that will fade eventually.

Til next time, Gadget. Next tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime.

Day Nine

So I need to write about something I'm proud of from the past few days. The writing of positive things about myself is something I always find difficult, unless I'm writing them in jest. I'm more comfortable with poking fun at myself. However, I agreed to do this challenge, so I will give it my best shot.

Something I am proud of myself for is the fact that I don't give up easily. I often find myself in situations that aren't ideal. Rather than sit back and do nothing about it I am prone to devising a plan to enable myself to instigate change. I have been doing this recently with my current living situation. I haven't just given up and thrown my hands in the air. I have been trying so hard to find a place to live, figuring out where that place should be, and deciding what the best solution is not just for me, but for Aedin too. I haven't reached a resolution as yet, but I am certain I will soon.

Day Eight

What are my short term goals for this month? Well this is easy...

• Find a new place to live that isn't as expensive as where I am now. Due to recent circumstances I can no longer afford to live where I am. Besides, a four bedroom house for two people is just ridiculous.
• Spend more time getting out and about, and taking more opportunities to explore the adult me. By that I mean organising some regular babysitting so that I can go out and experience the grown up side of Perth. Mini golf, parks and swimming pools are fun, but a girl needs to do some karaoke and dance on tables sometimes. If anyone knows a cheap babysitter, lemme know.
• Start my Couch to 5km run that I've been promising myself I would start a few weeks ago. I am not so much caring about the losing weight thing. I'm OK with myself. It's more the feeling fit thing I'm going for, and because I can't run.
• Change my uni preferences based on where I'm living so that I can have my first preference closest to wherever I end up living.
• Figure out whether I'm going to QLD for Christmas or not so that I can start looking for a house sitter, or someone to look after my dogs.

Not very exciting, but there it is.

Day Seven

When it comes to figuring out what has had the biggest impact on me, it's hard to narrow it down to just one thing. My family life, my mental health, all of the places I've lived, music, my ex-partners death, and my Grandfather have all has a sizeable impact on my life. But there is one event that changed me forever.

Pre-2003 I was very much a free spirit. I was young, irresponsible, fun, vivacious, drunk, etc. But on the Easter long weekend, 2003 I found out I was pregnant. This came as a shock to me. My partner and I had only been together a short period of time, and our relationship wasn't very stable. I was sick from the get-go. Morning sickness lasted right the way up to the day I gave birth (except for a month in the middle). The whole experience of giving birth was far from what I expected it to be. He was born in a surgical theatre as opposed to a delivery room. After 18 months, my son and I found ourselves alone.

It hasn't been an easy few years for us. Between interstate moves, health problems, and the death of Aedin's dad, I've often had times where I felt like giving up. Any time that notion has gotten into my head all I've needed to do was look into the eyes of my fluffy headed little stink bug and I remember why I'm here. He is the coolest, most inspiring that that I have ever experienced. With him in my life I never need feel alone or unloved. I have cuddles every day. I've been able to regress in some ways, and experience being a kid all over again. Most importantly though, he's helped me filter out most of the worst things about me. I'm not as irresponsible as I used to be. I don't get as drunk and rowdy as I used to (in fact, I don't drink much at all any more). Having him in my life inspires me to be a better person. Not just so that I can give him whatever he needs, but so that he can have a mum that he's proud of.

Day Six

My favourite super hero would have to be a throw back to my childhood. I almost went for my favourite comic character and chose Tank Girl, but she isn't really a super hero. She's just awesome.

As a kid I never wanted to be Batman or Superman, or even Wonder Woman. I was more in to Banana Man, Roger Ramjet, etc. My favourite out of all of them would have to have been Mighty Mouse.

Mighty Mouse was basically a rip off of Superman but he was a frigging mouse, man! How cool is that!?! It had everything. The damsel in distress, the dastardly villain, and some of the script was kinda operatically sung. How could you not want in on that? 

Day Five

So I was thinking about this post today. Trying to figure out the coolest place I've been to, or the best photo I have from an exploration event and I realised that I am not one who goes out to impress people in that way, so why should I make my blog any different. Instead I thought about the place I have gone to that meant the most to me.


Having been a single mum for the past 6 yrs, most of the things I do are based around kiddy adventures. Little A-Bomb is my right hand man. So my favourite adventure would have to be one that included him. Well today he and I were playing Mini Golf, and he commented that the last mini golf adventure we had was his best time EVER! So I thought I'd post a pic of that. Here it is...

This mini golf course was in Batemans Bay, NSW, which is pretty much directly East (on the coast) from Canberra. I worked in Batemans Bay for 2 yrs, and this was our final adventure before we moved to Wollongong to prepare for our move to Perth. The mini golf course was awesome, with lots of cool structures like the one above to make the course more interesting.

Day Four

*sings* "Can't help myself , bad habits. Well i'm running wild, lost control. And it's a shame to think that a boy like me has got so many bad habits"


YAY! I've managed to sing in my blog. It feels more like me now!


I've been the Queen of bad habits over the years. I've managed to kick most of them. I used to bite my nails, smoke cigarettes, taking recreational "enhancements", spend too much money, etc. All of these I've managed to quit (well, maybe not the spending too much money thing). However upon analysis I have found a few habits that I still have lingering that I could definitely do with getting rid of.


I guess the main one for me is swearing. I swear far too much. There really isn't a swear word that I wont say. However there are some I wouldn't say in front of my Nan, and others of similar age.


Some people would consider caffeine consumption to be a bad habit. However I only drink one or two coffees a day, and I do it because I enjoy the taste, not for the zing from the caffeine. I actually don't drink more coffee because I don't like how it makes me feel if I buzz.


Another bad habit I have is spending too much time on Twitter. Actually, I think that falls under the category of addiction.

Day Three

So here we are at Day 3. Time to take a look at some pics of my friends. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of my West Coast friends, so I'll leave you guys til last.

The below pic is of myself with one of my bestest girlfriends, Monica. Monica and I met when we were both placed in a temp assignment together. We hit it off immediately, bonding over the soup I'd make for our lunches (zucchini and bacon or Sweet Potato and Lentil). That was three years ago. Since then I have house sat for them while they went on their overseas jaunt, share housed with them when they got back, and indulged in many a drunken night together, watching bands, drinking tequila shots, making up drinking games with Passion Pop, etc. However, it wasn't all boozing. We've become so close I think of her as being like a sister to me. The kind of sister that you don't fight with, that doesn't pull your hair and steal your clothes. The guy in this pic is her fiance Tom. Tom is awesome, hilariously funny, a very snappy dresser, and the best Thai cooking English man you will ever meet. This guy makes a mean Pork Larb and Thai Beef Salad.

The below picture is my girlfriend Jess. We met when I was 21 yrs old. A mutual friend was having a perfume party and we were introduced, hitting it off immediately. We became firm, fast friends and ended up moving in to a little house in Wollongong, NSW. It was a typical crazy all girl share house. Lots of dogs, music, bottles of Blues Point, cigarettes, boys, and sticky date pudding (not a euphemism, mostly). I followed Jess to QLD when she moved up there to be with the man she fell in love with. Consequently she introduced me to Justin. Although Justin and I had a tumultuous relationship, if I hadn't met him I would not have my beautiful and spectacular boy. Jess has been there for me through thick and thin. She has always stood by me, been honest and sincere, cared for me when I was at my most broken, celebrated with me when I was at my best. We have painted concrete together, brazillian waxed together, danced to mobile phone music in the midst of a black out, done the running man, shared the joy of our babies, and not judged each other. It doesn't matter how far away we are, it always feels like she is nearby. When I told her I was moving to Perth she tried to talk me in to moving back to Brisbane instead. But when she realised that Perth is where I wanted to be she gave me her blessing but with one condition. She wanted me to promise that if things didn't work out in Perth I would go to her in Brisbane and stay with her for as long as I needed. She told me that I am always welcome in her home. I can not imagine Jess ever completely leaving my life. I love her two girls as though they are my own, and I have a very special connection with them. I love her guts.

I have a few more special East Coast friends, such as Sam who I only met last year but has found a very special place in my heart. We both came into each others lives when we needed each other most. She constantly sends me messages telling me how much she misses me, how much she loves me, and how much she thinks about me. It's hard for me to feel alone in the world when I have Sam there to remind me that she's here with me, no matter where I am in the world.

Now on to the West Coast part of my life. I have a very important person over here who shall remain nameless. He is an old high school buddy who I reconnected with through the wonders of facebook. He made my move to Perth seem possible and necessary. When I got here he helped me get settled in, listened to me freak out about finding somewhere to live, finding furniture, finding a job, finding my way around, etc. Without him I can honestly say that I wouldn't be in Perth now. He is funny, incredibly intelligent, caring, supportive, and handsome. Well, most of the time ;)

There are a few girlfriends over here who I knew from Wollongong. My girlfriend Kerry and I reconnected through a weird mis-sent text message. When she then found out that I was moving over here she offered my son and I a bed in her home until we found somewhere to live. Then when we found somewhere to live she emptied her kitchen cupboard so I wouldn't have to waste my money on groceries straight away.

I also have Beth and Natalie over here (and Adam, who is Natalie's +1). They always make sure that I am not left sitting around at home with nothing to do, and I am so grateful to have friends over here that I can relate to my past with. We have many mutual friends that we can both laugh and bitch about. They are my vodka loving, mojito drinking, puppy play-dating friends. I'm very glad that they're here.

Then there is Twitter. I have made some awesome friends. Some I have met IRL and some I haven't. There is Kylie, Tiffany, Caryn, Seb, Simon & Marie, Jason, Ian, Kyle, Matt, Kacy, Erin, and Geoff, just to name a few. You have all made me feel so valued in such a short time. You remind me constantly that while I may be new to this part of the country, I am certainly not alone. Some of you have invited us in to your home, and all of you have accepted us in your life. And for that both Aedin and I (and my Mum) are grateful. I am very much looking forward to spending more time with you, and with those I am yet to meet.

This has been dryeyedcrab, from March of the Crab News.

Day Two

Day 2 - The meaning behind my blog name


I've been using dryeyedcrab online for the majority of my adult life. I used it when I signed up to hotmail when I was 21, and I've used it ever since. The concept of the dryeyedcrab has nothing to do with my horoscope. I am not a Cancer, I am Leo (hear me rawr). It was the result of a observation of a friend at a seafood market. My girlfriend Michelle picked up a dead crab and said "Awwww look at the dry eyed crab!!" I have no idea why it stuck in my head and became my online pen name, but it did.


As for my blog, I opened this account quite a few years back. I named it March of the Crab as I've moved around a bit and I was going to use it to document what life was like in each of the different states and regions I'd lived in. The blog itself didn't take off, but I kept it nonetheless.


Til tomorrow, bitchez!

Day One

Day 1- A recent picture of me and 15 interesting facts about myself

1) I love singing and acting. When I was a kid I was convinced that I would go to NIDA and become a super mega star. I studied both drama and singing when I was at school, and performed in many plays and dance troupes. By the time I hit Year 11 I lost all interest in most things, letting my dreams of stardom fall by the wayside in favour of a job in a factory in Sydney. However my interest in music was renewed when I started dating my first real proper boyfriend when I was 18 yrs old. I met him when he was playing with his band at my friends18th birthday. He was the long haired singer in a band called Wicked Jester. I think I liked him to begin with because he looked a bit like Kurt Cobain. Eventually I asked him to teach me how to play bass guitar and we formed a band. We played at a few friends’ parties and in one Band Comp, where I think we may have come close to last. I put my music career on hold after that for a few years, making do with drunken karaoke as an outlet.

2) A few years, and a few relationships, later I was hanging with the musical crowd in Wollongong. A good friend of mine was a very accomplished musician, and she did a single song with this band called 7th Freek. After falling pregnant she suggested that I take her place with 7th Freek singing the one song that she sang with them. So their people spoke with my people (i.e. we all got drunk and had a little jam session) and I became a full-time member of 7th Freek, a grungy little folksy/circus/pop punk outfit. We played quite a few gigs, developed a decent small town following, and had an absolute blast. Singing on stage is something I miss terribly, and would love to do it again someday.

3) I have lived in NSW, QLD, ACT and now WA. Of all of the states I've lived in, WA is definitely the one that feels like home. This is the first time in my life I haven't wondered if the grass was greener somewhere else. QLD is my second home, due to the number of family and awesome friends I have living there. NSW is my birthplace. It's where I grew up, but it just never really felt right. So unfortunately for you Perthians you had better get used to me, because I can't see myself going anywhere any time soon.

4) At the age of 23 I busted my mum having an affair on my dad... with another woman. I was absolutely furious. Not because of the fact that she was obviously gay or bi, but because this perfect woman that I had trusted and looked up to had lied to me. I find it odd that people are more interested in how my mother’s sexual orientation affected me; more than how finding my mother cheating on my father had affected me. I really couldn't care who either of my parents choose as partners, provided they are happy. My mum is still in a relationship with the same woman she left my dad for 10 yrs ago. They have one of the best relationships I have ever witnessed.

5) I suffer from Mental Health issues. I have previously been diagnosed as having a Borderline Personality Disorder that was then refuted and replaced with a diagnosis of being Bipolar. That was also later considered to be incorrect and I have now been diagnosed as one of the happiest depressed people my old Psych had ever met. When I hit my teen years I started experiencing super low moods, would cry and not understand why I felt sad, went from being a high achiever at school to someone who had began failing almost every test. Most people put it down to general teenage moodiness, so I didn't actually start addressing my symptoms until well into my 20s, when I figured I was no longer a teenager any more. I still find depression is an issue for me, and I have accepted that it is something that I am likely to take with me until the end of my days. I've learnt to manage it a lot better than I used to.

6) If I could be anybody else in the whole wide world I would choose Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz. She's my all time favourite character, and it is my all time favourite movie. I am also prone to buying red shoes, which is not a conscious decision. Perhaps it is my way to make life imitate art.

7) I can't draw. I really, truly have no drawing ability. All of my animals look like little brown cats. Except for my little brown cats, which actually look like horses. I've tried, and practiced, and tried. But alas I am still shit. I even studied Visual Art at school. My teacher often fixed up my work. I am pretty sure it's because she felt sorry for me.

8) There was nothing my family loved more than putting my sister and me in to talent quests. My Nan is a rather accomplished singer, who was classically trained. She always had dreams that one of her Grandchildren would follow in her footsteps, so she could live vicariously through them. So they got my sister and I primed to sing "Feeling Groovy" by Simon and Garfunkel. So there we are, 8 yr old me and 10 yr old sister, with one microphone to share between the two of us. A few seconds in my sister accused me of hogging the microphone. Then she pushed me. So I pushed her back. She pushed me back harder. And so on. Surprisingly we didn't win.

10) When I was 9 yrs old my family went on Fairstar the Funship for a holiday around New Caledonia, etc. One of the night time entertainment activities was a talent quest. I donned my best yellow dress and put my name down to sing "The Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston. For the first time in my life I had a serious case of stage fright. I couldn't remember the words, people started laughing, and I ran off the stage.... And then I cried (<--- for Seb)

11) In Yr 6 I was School Captain. As a consequence I was invited to some luncheon thing. I can't remember what it was for, but I remember that I had the opportunity to meet Bob Hawke. I shook his hand and he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I shrugged my shoulders and said "Meh". My mum was so proud.

12) My Grandfather was the most awesomest man to ever walk the planet. He passed away 7 yrs ago and I still miss him like crazy.

13) I have a household appliance addiction. I have managed to cull the amount of appliances I owned due to my move over to Perth. My pride and joy is my Rancilio Silvia coffee machine, closely followed by my Ergorapido vacuum cleaner. There are two appliances which were my least favourites. One was my juicer which I used once because cleaning it was too much of a pain in the arse for me. The other was my bench top dishwasher which couldn't fit much of anything, and left everything so wet I had to wipe them dry anyway.

14) I've always had a love for computers and teh interwebs. I got my first computer when I was in primary school. I'd begged and pleaded my parents for me. They resisted. In the end, Santa came through with a Commodore 16. A great time was had by all loading games by cassette for half an hour one side, then half an hour on the other side. Some of my friends scored Commodore 64s. I begged and pleaded with my parents, Santa, and offered to sell my soul to Satan for a Commodore 64. But nobody was willing to buy one for me. All I wanted was to play Gauntlet.

15) Sometimes I can beat my 6 yr old at handball.

The 30 Day Challenge

I've always wanted to blog. Writing is something I enjoyed at school. I was an avid writer, mostly sticking to short stories and poetry based on being an angsty teenager in the 90s. My bedroom was filled with exercise books and scrap bits of paper, all covered in my musings. Then one day it just stopped. So maybe this is my way to get back in to it again. So here I am, taking a leaf out of the book of some Twitter friends, throwing myself into The 30 Day Challenge.

What is The 30 Day Challenge?


Here's how it works  - post every day for 30 days :

day 1- a recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

day 2- the meaning behind your blog name

day 3- a picture of you and your friends

day 4- a habit that you wish you didn’t have

day 5- a picture of somewhere you've been to

day 6- favorite super hero and why

day 7- a picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you

day 8- short term goals for this month and why

day 9- something you're proud of in the past few days

day 10- songs you listen to when you are happy, sad, bored, hyped, mad

day 11- another picture of you and your friends

day 12- how you found out about blogging and why you have one

day 13- a letter to someone who has hurt you recently

day 14- a picture of you and your family

day 15- put you ipod on shuffle: first 10 songs that play

day 16- another picture of yourself

day 17- someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

day 18- plans/dreams/goals you have

day 19- nicknames you have and why you have them

day 20- someone you see yourself marrying or being with in the future

day 21- a picture of something that makes you happy

day 22- what makes you different from everyone else

day 23- something you crave a lot

day 24- a letter to your parents

day 25- what I would find in your bag

day 26- what do you think about your friends

day 27- why are you doing this 30 day challenge

day 28- a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?

day 29- in this past month, what have you learned

day 30- your favorite song

Let the fun begin!