Today I learned that Facebook is creepy and when I write about it...it's boring.

Oh, the irony.


For the past several years, since Facebook has gone public, I've always that I didn't want to join again because I never wanted a job to search me out on Facebook and then see some picture of me in college doing shots of orange juice (Hey, I don't drink!).

And now, I've had to get a Facebook account for my job.  I KNOW.

(Although don't bother coming to look for me, I've got some serious privacy restrictions going.)

When I signed in today, I took a look around my blank (very blank) page and noticed a list of people that I might know.  They included my brother, a cousin, a friend of high school, and Not Daniel (a guy I dated - and I use that term loosely - for a few months).  I'm sure this has been written about to DEATH, but honestly? 

___________

Ok, sorry. I lost interest in that post as I was writing it. So I can only imagine how quickly you lost interest in it.

When I was searching my archives for something about Not Daniel. I found this post titled: 90.5% pure lunacy.

I'm so completely overjoyed with the way things turned out, which is exactly as I described them there.  Inspector Climate and I don't drink hot chocolate in the morning, but snuggle tucked up in sheets and blankets (in winter) and talk about our day.  We dance in grocery store aisles.  And while, we didn't entirely skip the awkward getting to know you stage, we did seem to bypass most of it with a little help from chemistry and simply feeling comfortable around each other.

And after, a long,  but awesome, second day at work, the reminder that someone chose to adore me...even with my 90.5 % lunacy record is just too much to be grateful for.

Oh Change, and fears, and challenges and amazingness

Like many a person, I'm not very good at handling change or starting new routines.  In fact, I'm terrible at it.

So starting a new job is the ultimate test of my will power - and it goes without saying that a. the new job is awesome and b. that in three months I'm going to be all "why was I so afraid of these things I do every day? Easy peasy."

But right now the change in my routine seems the most overwhelming. You see, I'm a introvert in a big way.  I read the most incredible explanation of introvert v. extravert on someone's blog (I thought it was at my friend Ruby's blog but when I went back to find today I couldn't find it. Boo!).

It's not that I can't handle social situations, but that I have a finite well of social situation tolerance and to fill that well back up again, I desperately need time by myself.  It just so happens that my social situation tolerance level (what I just made up scientifically deem as SST) is much lower than the average person's.

And starting a new job, this is what scares me the most. I feel the well draining as I enter more and more social engagements that I don't wish to cancel (like going away to visit Inspector Climate's family this weekend) and I can't help but worry that I'll never be able to replenish it again.

I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea either - I'm so grateful for this job, so grateful that I think I'm going to adore the people I work with, and grateful that I'll love the work and am so incredibly passionate about it too.

I'm even grateful for the change, and just have to keep reminding myself that I'm good at a lot of things, but gracefully leaping from one thing to the next is not one of them. And that's ok. What would be the fun in being graceful all the time? It's the bumps and bruises that are real conversation starters.

And so, if you need me, I'll be sitting quietly by myself, replenishing my well of SST.

Lessons learned from Jorge (one of many)

For the past couple of weeks, my stomach has been in various levels of, how does one put this delicately, bloated. It's not pretty and it's uncomfortable.

What we've noticed however, and this is science y'all, that how grouchy I am (recently very) is proportional to how bloated my stomach is.  To demonstrate this best, and scientifically, I've created a graph.

Don't be alarmed by its level of complexity, it's really quite simple.

Unfortunately, I've been hovering between the "Wow the elastic on my pants is digging into my belly" and "I swallowed a basketball. That's so awkward" marks.  The "I swallowed a basketball. That's so awkward" phase is also sometimes called "Congratulations on your baby."  Both are not ideal and don't feel great.

In fact, sometimes it's so huge that Inspector Climate talks to my belly and tells Jorge to get outta there!  (me thinks this isn't the normal "belly talk" that married couples do. But I don't know for sure).

And so, what we've learned is that bloating leads to grouchy pants. 

What have you learned recently?

Wish! {Out loud}

On the first Wish! {Out loud} in December, see my link up here, I wished to combine my two passions into one job - social media and climate change...

Bitches. Accomplished! About 44 minutes ago, I got a job offer for a job that combines these two things absolutely perfectly. I couldn't be more excited in fact, I did an "I got a job" dance for about 10 minutes until I was out of breath and panting uncomfortably (it's HOT in Melbourne today).

I'm just so relieved. 

So, again, this opportunity wouldn't have come my way without this blog and this group (that's you!) of dedicated readers who like to stop in here and make me feel like my ramblings are worth listening to.

This must be what it feels like to win an Oscar!

I'd like to thank the interview panel, my husband for reading all my applications and making sure I use the right 'there', my blog readers for putting up with my whining on a daily basis, and of course, puppies. Thank you.

Let's not pass SOPA...unless it's referring to sopapilla sundaes and then I'm all for it. More Sopapillas for everyone, no SOPA

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

via Motherjones

11 Things

So, I've been tagged twice for the "11 things about me" meme by A Quick Succession of Busy Nothings and Vanisha's life in Australia.

Apparently, we need to talk about the rules...

1) You must post these rules.
2) Each person must post 11 things about themselves on their blog.
3) Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
4) You have to choose 11 people to tag and link them on the post.
5) Go to their page and tell them you linked him or her.
6) No tag backs.7) No stuff in the tagging section about "you are tagged if you are reading this." You have to legitimately tag 11 people.

So 11 facts about me...
a. I love chocolate as much as the next person, however I'm not a big fan of chocolate cake.
b. To be fair to cake, I am not a big fan of it in any flavour.
c. I do not like that the mullet dress (short in the front, demure from the back) is making a comeback!
d. I clean the bathroom in my undies.
e. Which means I can get straight into the shower afterwards.
f.  I haven't heard from the FBI about my fingerprints yet - I am getting a bit panicky
g.  I've mentioned it before, but I'll mention it again, I can not watch just part of an episode of CSI or any other crime drama. I must see the whole thing, other wise I never believe that all the people that should be ok will be ok (even if they're the main characters).
h.  Likewise, animal shows where a baby tiger/polar bear/red panda/whatever gets hurt or their mother dies or something is about to eat. I cannot handle it.
i. This has been made worse by Jorge. I used to just get really squeamish. Now I cry. Big fat tears.
j. Over the weekend, I went inside the penguin inclosure at the Melbourne Aquarium.
k. No, I didn't break in. Inspector Climate bought me the Penguin Passport for Christmas. Yes, he knows me well.


Vanisha's Questions:

1. When was the last time you fell down?

Does sledding down count? So, it's a Christmas tradition at my house to go sledding on Christmas morning after presents have been opened.  Well, on Christmas Eve I went sledding with my bestie Bobo and her boyfriend and Inspector Climate. And had a wee bit of a crash:

The tip of my nose and cheek were quite scraped up. The best part is I had all these scabs on my face to get my license renewed.  Awesome.

2. The last piece of mail you received (in the post) was from?

Qantas. I'm now  Frequent Flyer (I don't know why it took my so long to sign up).

3. Would you read the book first or watch the movie first?

I try to always read the book first. But after taking a lot of film classes in college I'm pretty good at remembering that books and films are different mediums and the stories will need to be told differently.

4. The last place you traveled to?

Well, I went home..

5. What song have you got playing in your head?

Soul Sister by Train (but the cover that was on Glee..?) It was playing at the supermarket yesterday.

6. Cupcakes or cakes?

Ahh, definitely cupcakes.

7. How do you spend your Friday nights?

Inspector Climate and I try not to watch a lot of tv (a rule that has gone to hell since I've been ill with Jorge and the tennis is on) so we usually watch a movie or West Wing on Friday nights.

8. Where did you meet your partner? (If you don't have a partner, where did you meet your best friend?)

My best friend and I met in high school, we canoed together. 

Oooooh, Inspector Climate...I'm sure you could find it if you really wanted too!

9. Facebook or Twitter?

Twitter.  I haven't been on Facebook since 2006 (you know, when it was The Facebook).

10. What's for dinner tonight?

Lemon and pea risotto

11. What is your favorite piece of jewelry?

God, what a question! I wear the same jewelery everyday. Seriously. I've been wearing the earrings (seen in the above picture) since I was about 12. They're the only earrings that my ears didn't have an allergic reaction to, and so I never change them.

I've been wearing the same necklace (not seen in the above photo because the cord broke on the second day of the trip) since I was in high school.

I wear two rings, my engagement ring and a ring my grandmother gave me for my 23 birthday. 

And a Cape Cod bracelet. 

Everyday. I never take them off.

Melbourne on my mind's Questions:

1) What's your favourite everyone-I-know-must-watch-this movie?

High Fidelity. John Cusack and I go way back. Well, you know, he was my first celebrity crush.

2) What's at the top of your "places I want to go" list?

Faulkland Islands - PENGUINS

3) Where would you want to live if money was taken out of the equation?

8 months in Melbourne/Tasmania, 4 months in New England.

4) What was the first CD you bought? (Don't be ashamed - mine was Aquarium by Aqua!)

Spice Girls.

5) What's your drink of choice?

Half and Halfs. Half ice tea and half lemonade.

6) If you had a time machine, where and when would be your first stop?

I'd love to meet my parents when they first met.

7) Mac or PC?

Mac

8) You can go to any restaurant in the world for dinner. Where do you go?

There is a sushi restaurant near  where I went to college that my girlfriends and I used to go to a lot. It had super creative vegetarian rolls and I had the best time with some of my favourite girls.

9) What's the best concert you've been to?

Three way tie: Pat Benatar, the Scissor Sisters, and the Police.

10) What's your favourite type of food?

Fresh, organic produce. 

11) Dogs or cats?

I do not discriminate. I like animals with paws.

My questions/statements are as follows:

1. What motivates you?

2. How do you like your tv series, on dvd for watching all at once or doled out once a week?

3. True or False: they don't make boy bands like they used to.

4. What's the comfort food you go to when you need a pick me up?

5. How would you spend your ideal day?

6.  If there is something holding you back, what is it?

7. I just heard Sofia Vergara say that she is actually a blonde but dyes her hair brunette. When Ellen asked her who has fun blondes or brunettes Sofia responded "girls with bigger boobs." True or False?

8. Talk me through your next honeymoon.

9. What are you jonesing for right now? (could be food, clothing item, a pair of shoes, whatever!).

10. What's your favourite Roald Dahl book?

11. What sound is the most annoying to you?

And now here are the people I'm tagging.

1. Evolving Revolver

2. Diary of Why

3. The Titleless Blog

4. the best is yet to be

5. Teacher Girl Blogs

6.  E is Random

7. Cairel Chronicles

8. Ellie's Desk

9. One kind of me

10. BYOV

11. The Mel Show

Bits and bobs

Last week, Inspector Climate and I got to eat some home grown tomatoes from our planter box!

I just sliced them up with some fresh basil, goat cheese, and balsamic vinaigrette. Yum!

I was also guest blogging all over the place last week.

Check out this post over at the Many Colours of Happiness.

I also wrote a post about my hopes for 2012 over at my friend Ruby's blog, There is more than one kind of me.  In that guest post, I mentioned some hardships about our upcoming wedding that when read a second time I realised probably made me sound like a selfish bitch.  What? You're not in my mind and can't see what I really meant? Writing is so hard. 

For me the kind of "point" of the wedding itself is two fold. 1. To celebrate the love between two families who are now joined together. 2. An experience for the bride and groom that is very much one of a kind.  I'm totally willing to compromise on all "stuff" aspects of the wedding (point taken, a flash mob dance doesn't really fit into a wedding of less than 30 people.  And perhaps my dream of having Ellen officiate is just that...a dream) but the experience part of the wedding is harder for me to give up. 

I wanted the experience of making my wedding dress with my mom. A simple dress. No ruffles, no beads.  And she, understandably I suppose, did not want to have anything to do with it.  It's been a hard thing for me to let go of.  I wanted the experience of eating 100% gluten free vegetarian food at my wedding, a place where I could eat ANYTHING that was put in front of me - that's a real rarity. And I've had to compromise on that too. There will now be meat (!) at my wedding. 

So anyway, go over and check out what else I have in mind for 2012.

The importance of modesty while sleeping...?

Earlier this week, I suffered from severe Jorge-induced pain and grouchiness (double whammy!).  This type of pain makes it really hard for me sleep through the night and get to sleep.  Although, I did find that sleeping like a pregnant woman - on my side with pillows between my legs - was way more comfortable.  Yay for learning!

Anyway, it was of course these nights when Inspector Climate put on a show of sleep talking/sleep moving and a-shaking that we really should sell tickets too.  His conversations were mostly of the mumbled variety.

Him: do you agaljaga=ghwoih alkhgaoigaiw?

long pause

him: Ahhh, right.

But he also got up in the middle of the night, went to the bathroom, left the light on and came back into the bedroom with his towel wrapped around his waist. Now this is odd for several reasons. 1. Inspector Climate is not modest. In fact, he usually comes waltzing into the bedroom after his morning shower, in the buff announcing that he is naked.  "Naked!" ... "Naked!" only to say "Not naked" when he begins to dress.

I asked him to turn off the light to which he replied grouchily "In a minute!"

He then slipped his underwear on under the towel - so much modesty!, took the towel off and then went back into the bathroom to hang it up and turn off the light. Then ran his hand over the sheets on his side of the bed, to check for bugs I can only assume, and crawled back into bed for some well earned horizontal sleep.

The next morning I asked him what he was doing, why did he have a sudden urge to change his undies in the middle of the night which he of course did not remember doing at all. In fact, he did not remember anything after getting up and going to the bathroom.

ABCs of Travel

The ABC's of travel gives bloggers the opportunity to share their favorite and most memorable travel moments from A-Z!  Thanks to Oneika from Oneika the Traveller for tagging me! I'll be tagging 3 other bloggers at the end of this post so they can share their ABCs as well!

A: Age you went on your first international trip: I'm not actually entirely sure. I think I must've been three.  I went to Mexico. I remember there being a pinata.  I didn't take another international trip until I was 11, I went to England to visit my uncle.

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where: I'm actually allergic (please don't say, "Me too! It gets me drunk!") to beer, but while in Australia I did splurge once or twice (tipsy AND hives - SEXY!). Cascade is probably my favourite. But that might be because it has a Tasmanian Devil on the bottle.

C: Cuisine (favorite): Indian, I love that I can eat it! Nom nom nom.

 

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why: I think it's pretty obvious that my (continuing) journey to Australia has been my favourite destination. I have never felt as at home and comfortable while traveling and experiencing so many new and beautiful sights as I have in Australia.  My least favourite was probably Turkey. And it was not entirely Turkey's fault.  There were so many incredibly things to see in Turkey, but mostly what I remember about the 10 day trip was being starving all the time.  I had finally gotten a diagnosis from 6 months of stomach pains which was parasites that I had picked up in India and was on some pretty heavy duty drugs that literally ate everything in my stomach.  So I was hungry and while many will not believe me, I'm here to tell you that I cannot survive on Hummus alone.  I struggled to find gluten free vegetarian food in Turkey, and I cried a lot out of hunger.

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:  Walking into the grounds at the Taj Mahal was just absolutely breath taking. I'm a country girl and the hustle and bustle of Indian cities seemed dirty, outlandishly busy, and then the serenity and cleanliness of the Taj Mahal was just perfection!

 

 

 

F: Favorite mode of transportation: I love walking until my feet hurt.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling: There are probably two greatest feelings. One is that feeling of strength and confidence I get from being some where new and strange - I hardly ever feel like that in my safe shell at home.  And second is learning how different average people lives are in different places down to how coffee is ordered and sipped to how pedestrians are treated at road crossings.  And I like the similarities too - no matter where you are teenage girls are giggling about some boy.

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to: In 2009, I experienced heat like I've never felt it before. There was a giant heatwave in Melbourne that led up to the bushfires which devastated whole communities.  In Melbourne on the day of the biggest and deadliest bushfires it was 48 degrees Celsius or 118 degrees Fahrenheit.  But if that isn't hot enough (and trust me when I say it is) the wind that was like sauna with its incessant blowing - ladies and gentlemen I'm pretty sure that is what hell feels like.

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where: Iririki Resort in Vanuatu.  It is on its own small island and the people went way out of their way to make you feel comfortable and at home.
 

J: Journey that took the longest: The longest non-stop flight I've ever taken is from Los Angeles to Melbourne it's 14.5 hours.  The longest trip that I've taken is once while trying to fly home from Australia I had to (for unknown reasons) fly from Melbourne to LAX to JFK to Boston. 

K: Keepsake from your travels: I buy postcards a lot - I send a lot of them to family and friends but often keep a few for myself.  I hardly ever go clothes shopping so if I find a piece of clothing that I love, I adore to add it to my wardrobe as a memory of where I've been! T-shirts from zoos and aquariums are favourites.

L: Let-down sight, why and where: The Giant Ginger Beer in Noosa.  It was no longer. I've never been so disappointed.

 

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel: I went to Germany in 2002/2003 to visit an exchange student who had been in my highschool! It was magical.
 

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in: I loved the Eloise books when I was little. So, when I was quite young my grandmother took me to New York for the weekend to stay at the Plaza hotel like Eloise. They screwed up our reservation and had given our room to someone else. My grandmother, understandably upset, talked to them and instead of just a normal room, they gave us the Honeymoon suite for the night. The luxury was absolutely incredible!

 

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?: I'm really bad at taking pictures while I travel. I tend to either get obsessed with taking pictures and then I don't really experience what I'm doing - and I hate that feeling. Since I can't seem to experience AND take pictures, I'd much rather just experience it.

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?  I have quite a few - mostly from Australia. France, Turkey, India, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji, Iceland are also represented.

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:  Probably the underwater post box in Port Vila. AWESOME.

R: Recommended sight, event or experience: I think everyone should experience living overseas for a while.

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling: Things that make me feel safe. Traveling is quite out of my safety zone so paying a few bucks to make sure I feel better (even if it's kind of a token gesture), I'm all for it. Nicer hotels v. hostels or whatever it might be are examples.

T: Touristy thing you’ve done: Hot air balloon ride in Turkey in Cappadocia. 

U: Unforgettable travel memory: Looking up at the stars on a beach somewhere in Western Australia. There is absolutely NO light pollution and I've never seen so many stars or the milky way that bright before.

 

V: Visas, how many and for where? So many. One to India, Turkey, I have two pasted in my passport right now that allow me to leave and reenter Australia. And I've had three electronic ones that let me live in Australia as a student.

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where? I don't drink.  But I enjoyed the wine tours through the Barossa Valley in South Australia last summer.

X: eXcellent view and from where?: I had the best view ever growing up.

 

 

Y: Years spent traveling? All my life.  When I was three my parents took my brothers and I sailing around the Florida Keys for 8 months. But I don't think I could possibly stop now. And now that I've married an Australian, I think I'll traveling through hemispheres for the rest of my life.

 

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?:  Melbourne is absolutely filled with zealous sports fans! Home of Australian Rules Football, the Australian Open, golf tournaments, and Cricket.

Tag you're it! 

• Melbourne on My Mind - I've met her in real life and was totally astounded by all the travel she has done!
• Crazy Shenanigans - She shares my love for travel and loves Elvis which I totally respect! :)
• Evolving Revolver - Seriously, my bloggy soul sister!

Can't wait to hear your responses ladies!

 

 

 

 

Let's be real, women sweat. Well, accept for me. I don't sweat, no one on my mom's side of the family does.

Dear Nike, Lacoste, Fila, Adidas, and any other sports wear companies that sponsor women tennis players,

Hello sportswear companies.  We need to talk.  See, here's the thing. I love tennis season in Australia - it lasts for the month of January and is the only time I can watch tennis on tv throughout the year. And I adore tennis.

I don't discriminate between men's tennis and women's, I love them both. However,  I've begun to notice a not so pleasant sweat problem amongst your sportswear on tennis stars.  It starts just when the woman in question begins to sweat which inevitably is boob/cleavage sweat.  And that soaks through her shirt leaving small sweat marks on her boobs which grow to become a sweat bra and then finally when the match is nearly over a sweat shirt.

Here is my question for you, dear Nike, Lacoste, Fila, Adidas, and any other sports wear companies that sponsor women tennis players, why haven't you made shirts yet that disguise this discoloration due to sweat around the boobs? Surely you are big enough corporations to have a designated "sweat marks" team which is working on this unsightly problem?  I'll tell you right now, I'm not leaning towards buying any of your tennis wear (even if it does make me play like Kim Clijsters) if I'm going to have awkward sweat marks that grow out from my nipples.

Just work on it ok?

Love a tennis fan,

D