Limbo

It is a funny time of year, the week between Christmas and New Year. The build up to Christmas is over, New Years has not yet happened. This week of limbo feels to me like I am waiting for the old year to die, before the new year is born.

I'm blah. I just want to sleep in and be lazy. Occasionally I'm happy to play the odd board game - someone say Trivial Pursuit or Scrabble - I'm so there, but otherwise leave me alone. I can feel myself going into my hermit mode. I've had enough of people right now, and my idea of hell is a packed NYE in the city, or a busy shopping centre.

Am I the only one feeling like this?

Merry Christmas to all

It is Christmas morning, there is snow on them there hills, and hail here. I do love a white Christmas in summer.

My boy has just left to go and spend the day with his family in the country where his grandmother lives, after spoiling me with my birthday present at midnight, and breakfast in bed and a Christmas present. Such a nice way to wake up, and starts the day so well.

It is nearly time for me to have a shower, grab all the food and drink I need to take, and go to spend the day with my family at my mothers.

I hope that you all have a merry Christmas, and enjoy the time with your family and friends.

Perhaps it is time for a restraining order

I've been tagged with this meme by the lovely Franny.

The Rules: Pick a Christmas lyric that you've always had a question about and discuss it. Then either tag one or more people or either tag nobody and invite your readers to tag themselves and enjoy discussing the subject on their own.

I've always worried about, and felt icky, whenever I heard "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"

The first couple of verses - no problem, I'm fine with them. Third verse though, I find out that this fat old man in a red suit is watching me sleep, and knows when I'm awake. I don't know about you, but I think that is pretty creepy. There are times that I want to be bad, and I neither need or want an audience for that. If I ever do, I'll put it on YouTube.

He sees you when you're sleeping
He knows when you're awake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake!

O! You better watch out!

The first line of the fourth and final verse is right - I had better watch out, and so had Santa - he will be slapped with a restraining order within the week.

Please share your questionable Christmas lyrics in the comments below.

Dear Blogger

Things have changed between us. It isn't me, I think it is you. You promised me that you were going to be better, cleverer, kinder. I love that you let me use labels now, and I do think that is kind of cool.

But you don't always let me show my photos, and putting links into my posts is becoming a nightmare. You are so moody - sometimes I can, and sometimes I can't. Sometimes I can just hit enter twice and know that my paragraphs will be recognised, and sometimes I have to use html.

My friends don't talk to me anymore - I have all these friends called anonymous now - they sign their names as my friends, but you just don't let them identify themselves up front. You don't let me talk to my friends either - I go to visit them at their place and you don't let me talk at all, or you make me say my name three times before I can. Would it help if I tapped my feet together at the same time?

When I come to visit you, you never remember who I am. Every time I come by, you ask me my name, and offer to remember me. I ask you to remember me, I even tick the box that leaves you a note, and you never do. I just don't feel special anymore.

I know that you can work through your issues, so that we can go back to the way we were, but better, cleverer, kinder. I just wonder when?

Yours hopefully,

thisisme

It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid ...

It will be humanly possible to fit everything in on time. Today I'm using the blog as a bit of a to do list - hopefully I'll be able to check back and mark stuff off as done.

There are 15 days until Christmas, 16 days until my brothers birthday, 13 days until my birthday party and 15 days until my birthday.

Between now and then I need to:

Put the BBQ together so that we can eat at my birthday party
Finish writing all of my Christmas cards and post them
Buy stamps to post the cards with
Start Christmas shopping (thank goodness for the internet)
Wrap Christmas presents
Get my car fixed so it doesn't overheat, and have the air conditioning regassed
Go to 2 Christmas BBQ's
Go to one Christmas carol service
Shop for my birthday party
Fly to Sydney for the day for work and a Christmas party
Go to the Kylie Minogue concert
Help Mum plan and prepare Christmas day and shopping for it
Work out what I want for my birthday lunch with the family
Clean the house
Finish reading the books for book club
Book Club Christmas break up
Work full time
Maintain a relationship
Take the cat to the vet for his vaccination

I know I was hoping to get a work/life balance back when I changed jobs, but I think I've gone to the other extreme and over balanced on the life side of things. It is still better than being over focussed on work, and hopefully I'll learn to balance better once I get through December.

I'm excited about Christmas, I just wish I had a few more weeks to fit it all in and prepare. I think I knew I was feeling a bit overwhelmed the other day when I started scheduling naps.

I am not a packhorse

Last night over dinner we were talking about handbags. One of the guys was teasing his girlfriend about her handbag and how she needs to carry so much more than him, but never seems to have what she needed. So one by one, we were challenged to turn out our bags and prove the use of the contents. I managed to explain all of mine, and think I disappointed him by not having anything particularly surprising in there.

Right now, I'm carrying around:
Purse
Sunglasses
Mobile phone
Ipod
Headphones
iTrip
Work security pass
Keys
Tube of 30 plus sunscreen
Lip balm
Aveda blue oil
Sock for my phone - not on it, but separately
A keyring torch - it has come off my keys, but I've still got it in my back - the light still works.
Ines of my soul by Isabel Allende
4 pens
2 lipsticks
Vanity Fair with George Clooney on the cover

What is in your bag?

Burning Up

While I write this, Melbourne's beautiful 24 degree summer day is covered by a foggy haze. There are horrendous bushfires all over the state, and the forecast tomorrow is for 37 degrees, Dry and Smokey. The fire authorities expect some of the fires to join up to create a 100 km fire front.

I've posted before about the drought, and the impact that I saw it having while we were away. Now all I can think about is the people that we met when we were away, and the effect that these fires are having on their lives, their communities and their livelihoods.

All I can do is hope that all of the firefighters, the volunteers and every one trying to protect their homes stays safe and is reunited with their family and community as soon as possible.

*Image sourced from http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14005

Shuffly pod

Velvetgirl's ipod post (blogger won't let me link - visit it here - http://misfit-of-suburbia.blogspot.com/2006/12/random-shuffle-ipod-sampling.html ) inspired me to put my ipod on shuffle and see what the first 40 tracks are - so here goes!

Please stay - Kylie Minogue *
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
In a big country - Big Country
All or nothing at all - Frank Sinatra
Sparrow come back home - Mighty Sparrow *
War at 33 1/3 - Public Enemy
Groove is in the heart - Deelite
Bitter Tears - INXS *
You are my sunshine - Norman Blake
Boris the Spider - The Who
Simply Irrestible - Robert Palmer
Arima Bobolee - Lord Kitchener
Que Onda Guero - Beck
Ant Music - Adam and the Ants
Gypsy Woman - Crystal Waters
Fatal Beatings - Rowan Atkinson
I'm still standing - Elton John
Papa's got a brand new bag - James Brown
Boys - Sabrina
Six months in a leaky boat - Split Enz
Pedestal - Portishead
Someone to watch over me - Ella Fitzgerald
Vamos - The Gypsy Kings
The Power of Love - Huey Lewis and the News
Johnny B Good - Chuck Berry
One of Us - Joan Osborne (was I the only one who sang the lyric about stringbeans on the bus?)
Singing in the 80's - The Monitors
Music - Madonna
Another one bites the dust - Queen
I've got you under my skin - Frank Sinatra with Count Basie
The Girl is Mine - Paul McDermott *
New Sensation - INXS *
The Riddle - Nik Kershaw
Feel Good Inc - Gorillaz
Michael Row the Boat ashore - The Highwaymen
Be Prepared - Tom Lehrer
Too Young for Promises - Koo De Tah
Someone to watch over me - Judy Garland
Did it again - Kylie Minogue *
Sunny came home - Shawn Colvin

Anyone with an asterisk I've seen live. I'm a bit amused by the couple of duplicate artists, and the duplicate song by different artists. The 80's get a bit of a look in - although I don't know that I would normally have admitted to the Sabrina one. I never know what I'm going to get when I'm on shuffle - I've filled nearly 40 gb of my 60 gb ipod and it can be on shuffle for days before repeating

Never.drinking.again

Drinking fun. Hangover not fun.

Need more water

Skunk as a drunk

Yes I am. But I'm still bouncing off walls and it is 2.45 am.

I just met someone from my list and he was a sweetheart. Anthony Morgan just moved himself further up my list.

I had my first work Christmas party tonight and out of the 100 odd people there I knew 3. Yep count the masses. They all left early and I mingled for a couple of hours later, but then I started feeling really lonely and like I was pushing myself into groups of people who knew each other well, and found myself hitting more champagne than was good for me. Oh and the barman asked for my number. Smile, ego, smile.

I sent my babiest brother a message to see if he was at work - luckily he was - and walked the couple of kilometres to his bar. I walked in and just felt so instantly welcome - more of a community than the disjointed groups at my work party. There was a group playing poker, and another group there having a bucks night, as well as small groups just having a few drinks. Everyone was very chatty and welcoming, and I found myself floating between groups of people, and being introduced to everyone. Did I mention Anthony Morgan? Oh well, Anthony Morgan. I got a kiss and a hug goodbye from him too. One guy and I kept pinching the same lines from each other - that was way more fun than is good for me. I laughed, I teased and I had a ball. All that and my lovely brother drove me home too.

Final count - champagne - 8 or 9, bottles of water - 1, glasses of water - 5, vodka, lemon, lime & soda - 5 or 6, glasses of semillion blanc (very hard to type right now) - 1. Bottles of water I've drunk since getting home - 1. Bottles of water I still need to drink before bed - 1. Hours until my hair appointment - 7. I have a bad feeling that a bacon and egg mcmuffin could be breakfast.

Did I mention Anthony Morgan - phwoar!!!

Sobriety - overrated. Ability to identify Patience by Guns'n'Roses by whistle - something to be pretty proud of.

My head is going to hurt when I get out of bed later this morning.