Mooselet's Aussie Life

Saturday Skinfest

2011-12-31T19:12:00.000+10:00

I'm kinda tired after the long weekend and spending 99% of that time with the kids, so I'm just gonna whack the pictures up and you can enjoy at your leisure:

Who knew recovery sessions involved surfing?

Or writing on oneself whilst wearing teeny-tiny Speedos... not that I'm complaining...


Mmmmmmm, snail trail...

Ok he's not *entirely* shirtless but check out those arms.

Happy 2012 everyone!

Photo Friday

2011-12-30T22:41:00.000+10:00

Regarding yesterday's post, I thought you might like to see a picture of the actual banner:


For the Win!!

Banner Headline From Above

2011-12-29T13:55:00.000+10:00

I am missing something from my body. Something a lot of my slightly older peers have, something my husband has. I don't have it, neither does my brother nor do any of my children. Chances are your children don't have it either. Wanna guess what it is? This:

Recognise it? It's a smallpox vaccine scar. I was one of the first cohort of children in Boston not to get this vaccination. It's not because my parents were against vaccination, but rather because due to the overwhelming success of the smallpox eradication program it was not necessary. I did not need to be vaccinated against smallpox. Smallpox no longer exists in the wild - it is contained only in a few laboratories - due to vaccination. Stop for a moment and consider the impact of that statement. We humans, not always known for our overwhelming altruism, stopped a disease not just in a handful of countries but the entire world. That's pretty frickin' awesome.

We were nearly there with polio. And until very recently measles was declared eradicated in the United States. But a shift has started, and not in a good way. Measles has made a comeback in the US, Canada and Europe in recent years. Polio is only a plane flight away. How is this possible? How can we have wiped out smallpox but not have continued with polio, measles and other diseases for which exists a vaccine?

Because of people like this:

This is Meryl Dorey, President of the deliberately misleadingly named Australian Vaccination Network. I came to learn of the actions of Meryl and others like her through listening to podcasts. Meryl and the AVN are Australian leaders in the anti-vaccination movement. Crazy, isn't it, that people are opposed to the very thing that, along with clean water and improved sanitation, have improved our life spans and allowed us to thrive as a species. Her qualifications? 20 years of "researching" vaccines - aka learning how to Google - and a brain. Really. Published studies in peer review journals? Why no, Meryl takes those studies done by actual researchers and reinterprets them to fit her anti-vaccination paradigm. Much like how your children attempt to reinterpret the chore list you left them. Except all that leaves you with is a sink full of dirty dishes; Meryl's reinterpretations lead to potentially deadly diseases regaining a foothold in our communities.

What really pushed my buttons about Meryl and the AVN, however, was her actions in relation to the death of a 4 week old baby of pertussis. She demanded the medical records of the child, publicly stated the baby "supposedly" died of pertussis - also known as whooping cough - despite a confirmed diagnosis and indirectly blamed the parents for their child's death by not breastfeeding. Her supporters sent horrid letters harassing the grieving family. When I heard about her antics I became quite outraged and decided it was time to stop listening and start acting.

I found the Facebook group Stop the AVN. Until 2009 Meryl Dorey had been given a free ride in the Australian media. She was called on to present the "other side" of vaccines in the name of journalistic balance. What a load of crap - while there may be two sides to a story vaccines are not stories, they are science. She positioned herself as a lone voice telling parents what "they" didn't want you to know about vaccines. You know... "they". A mysterious cabal of governments, health professionals and pharmaceutical companies who were all in league with each other to keep the truth about vaccines away from naive parents but were evident to lone voices like Meryl. She'd tell you all about them... if you just joined the AVN, bought books exposing more lies "they" tell you, subscribe to her magazine that may or may not be published and send donations to various causes that never seemed to reach fruition.

The loose coalition of people who set up SAVN aimed to expose Meryl Dorey for what she is. It is due to the actions of this group that, after a 12 month investigation, the New South Wales Health Care Complaints Commission took the unprecedented step of issuing a public warning about the AVN, labelling their information as "...false, misleading and solely anti-vaccination." It is due to the actions of this group that the Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing held an investigation and discovered a multitude of financial irregularities which led to the loss of the AVN's charitable fund raising license. And it is due to the actions of this group of concerned citizens that Meryl Dorey is now openly called anti-vaccine by the very media who once turned to her for "balance".

However not everyone gets that message. This year Meryl was invited back to the Woodford Folk Festival to spread her anti-vaccine message, claiming the thoroughly debunked myth that vaccines and autism are related. Owing to the wonders of social media, the Festival was inundated with outraged letters, emails, tweets and blogs. The Queensland Health Minister openly referred to Meryl's brand of information as "nonsense". I even wrote to my local councillor to express my concerns, since the Festival takes place in my council area. Following this much publicised and prolonged criticism of allowing such misleading and potentially dangerous information to be presented from a self-styled expert, the Woodford Folk Festival changed Meryl's presentation from a one woman bullshit band to a forum featuring Immunologist Prof Andreas Suhbier- you know, an actual expert instead of a pretend one - and moderated by Dr John Parker from Doctors Without Borders - you know, an actual doctor instead of someone who holds modern medicine in contempt. http://stopavn.com/vaccination-saves-lives/bloggers.html

And flying overhead the Festival just as this blog is published is an airplane. A lovely single engine airplane towing a simple banner. One that looks a little like this:

A banner paid for not by desperate calls for action alerts and urgent donations, or sales of poorly sourced data which can be found for free on the internet. It was paid for by 34 persons who have gathered in the SAVN Facebook group for a common cause. Everyday people - parents and pensioners, students and health professionals, retirees and working stiffs - who between them raised the needed $2,800. 1% of the AVNs declared revenue in 2010, by the way, yet they can't produce a single advert or their promised magazine.

It's a simple message: VACCINATION SAVES LIVES. If you are concerned speak to a qualified health professional, not some self appointed quack, or learn more here. You could save a life.

Something Wicked This Way Comes

2011-12-29T01:08:00.003+10:00

Just watch this space, boys and girls. You may not agree with me come tomorrow, but I'm making a statement about something near and dear to my heart. Watch this space...

And yes, I've disabled comments just for this post. Be patient.

Saturday Skinfest

2011-11-19T07:16:00.000+10:00

You guys need your skinfest, I know. I'm getting better at getting back on the blogging train so bear with me as we hit these speed bumps known as life.

Michael Witt is totally Photoshopped. Do I care? Not really, no.

Somehow Billy Slater makes falling off a surfboard look graceful. I barely noticed the pansy-ass wave he was surfing.

Travis Burns wants to know if the sharp delineation between his torso and hip looks weird. Yeah, kinda looks like a Ken doll but so long as he doesn't share Ken's other anatomical abnormalities it's all good.

Photo Friday

2011-11-18T21:00:00.000+10:00

A few weeks ago I went with a group of friends on a Ghost Tour of the Brisbane CBD. It wasn't particularly scary but there were two great things about it. One was the tour itself - our guide stayed in character, giving the walking tour an appropriate creepy air, and he was very knowledgeable about the history of the buildings we saw. The second was Drunken Zombie Guy:

Drunken Zombie Guy was not part of the tour as a type of cheap prop. It was the day of the Zombie Walk in Brisbane and we came across several zombies still wandering the city when we took our tour. DZG came into our group as we stopped outside Pancake Manor and took a liking to me. He was harmless enough and went off to find some brains to consume after he kindly posed for this photo. Thanks DZG, I hope the brains helped your hangover the next day.

Click and Collect

2011-11-17T22:08:00.001+10:00

In preparation for the new job going to 5 days a week from February, I decided I needed to find ways to make more time in my schedule. Since I haven't been able to convince The Hermit of the need to contract out the cooking and cleaning, I started looking for other ways. I started with online shopping.

Now we've all done online shopping at one time or another. OK maybe your great-aunt Mabel hasn't but that's only because she still has an AOL email address that she uses to send you chain letters about how Bill Gates will make you rich by forwarding emails to everyone you know and can't work out why great-uncle Abner visits all those website that start with 'xxx' but you have. Shopped online that is, as well as keeping your uncle's secret (hello - have you seen Auntie Mabel?). We've shopped for shoes, or books, or jewellery, or a last minute gift for someone or for ourselves. I bought our new robotic pool cleaner online, saving several hundred dollars. Online shopping is old hat.

But I took it a step further. I decided to do my grocery shopping online. I used to care for a patient who, at one point, was coming in daily for treatment and during her 3-4 hour stays would use some of that time to grocery shop. It peaked my curiosity, and she raved about it. I read that many people saved not only time but money by not impulse buying. But would it really be as good as it promised? Would they give me the dodgy bananas or the milk that's only a few days away from its use by date? Would they check the eggs? And I really didn't like the idea of a 2-3 hour delivery window; I hate waiting for that sort of thing. However how could I write it off if I didn't try it.

I logged on to Coles Online and I discovered I could pick up my groceries at one of the stores that, while not my local Coles, is on my way home from work. Squee! Seriously, I got excited about that. One, I didn't have to wait for the delivery truck and two, there was no charge for collection (unlike delivery which ranged from $5 to $13). I decided to give it a go.

I had been warned ordering the first time could be a bit arduous. Everything - from the milk to the bread to the ice cream - needed to be found either by searching the virtual aisles (all text, no photos) or typing your item. The warning was not exaggerated - it took me over an hour to find my modest order of ~ 35 items. I could either pay online with my credit card or via EFTPOS (debit card) when I collected it. Another win since I don't like using my credit card unless I have to. I could allow for substitutions of my items; for example if they were out of my brand of apple juice they would use another brand but charge me the lower price. Score! And collecting my order was easy as. Pull up to the collection door, ring the buzzer and gave my name and a couple of minutes later they were loading my groceries into my car.

My second go was much easier. I simply pulled up my "master list" and with a few clicks had ordered the majority what I needed inside of 15 minutes. Oh yeah - I'm hooked. I am spending less money by not only avoiding impulse buys but by being able to get up and look in the pantry to see if I really need another bottle of tomato sauce. I'm still able to use my rewards card and I still get the fuel discount vouchers.

I have only one real complaint, having done this a few times now. The sheer number of plastic bags used is beyond ridiculous. Last week I bought dental floss - just one roll of floss - and it was the only item in its bag. It was not the first time it occurred but so far it does win the award for Stupid Bag Packaging. I would be willing to pay a deposit for 'x' number of totes that I could swap each week in order to save on plastic bag use. However this is my only real complaint and I recycle the bags anyway so it's certainly not enough to put me off the experience.

Reclaim your time and save your money! I strongly recommend giving online grocery shopping a go.

Nom Nom Nom

2011-11-15T21:28:00.001+10:00

Summer is back with a vengence. Just a week or so ago it was cool enough at night to need a light jumper or scarf across the shoulders. And now I'm sweating just breathing. Luckily I found something to make the nights a little more tolerable:

This could be the start of a beautiful relationship.

I Have Issues

2011-11-14T23:02:00.001+10:00

On the weekend I went to a lovely wedding of my good friend Megs (pronounced 'Mee-gs' - long 'e' there). The bride was absolutely gorgeous, I went with a group of co-workers from the chemo unit who are also good friends and lots of fun and I drank way more than I should have. It was a fantastic night, as evidenced by this photo:

Now what do you see when you look at this picture? You see Yours Truly there on the left, followed by Nessie, Megs and Megs' sister who was the bridesmaid and did not know the insane chemo nurses who were drunk off their asses and was no doubt wondering who were these people her sister invited to the wedding but I'm just going to smile. To be honest with you I can't really remember what I found so hysterically funny... Did I mention the wedding was at a winery? But no doubt you see a group of ladies having a good time.

And so do I... for about 5 seconds. Then I get incredibly self-critical. I start to pick out all my flaws and it starts to ruin what really is a great picture of my mates. It takes a lot of effort - seriously - to give myself a mental upper cut and say "Look you dope - no one else is looking at those flaws. Shut up and sit down." And it's an ongoing battle, with my eyes straying to those zones and wanting to delete the thing because I don't like my body very much.

I'm not fishing for compliments here, really. But as someone whose tragically low self-esteem (thanks middle school bullies) led to some bad personal choices in my teens and 20s it's not something easily put aside, despite the confident face I normally wear these days. It's a struggle to not just accept my body but to love it, even if it's just a little bit.

So I'm going to look at that picture and see it for what it is - fun. If only I could remember what was so damn funny.

Dear Spammers

2011-11-08T21:53:00.001+10:00

Stop flooding my blog with your shit. If that's how you think to earn a living you are deluded. Now piss off.

Love,
Mooselet

I'm now going to divert myself - and by extension you - for a few moments with the only type of spam that should be allowed:

Saturday Skinfest

2011-10-29T22:56:00.000+10:00

I'm in a kinda crappy mood, as I've had to deal with issues that I've termed "not my problem". Even when you know you are not responsible for someone else's actions, it doesn't stop you from feeling the fall out of it all. So as I drown my sorrows in cider (ok, not really that extreme... just a couple of drinks) perhaps a bit of skin will perk me up:


Nothing I say will do this justice...


It was this big. Honest.

I do hope they all wore their deodorant that morning. Mr. Angelic sure looks like it - lord knows he wouldn't be smiling over any of the games the Titans played last year.

I think I'm feeling better now...

Photo Friday

2011-10-28T21:38:00.000+10:00

Now doesn't Westy look comfortable? Or dead... No, just comfortable, honest.

Stop, Cross, Sneeze

2011-10-25T23:23:00.000+10:00

Let's face it - as a woman when you cross that magical line of 40 you enter a different world. Sure you don't want to admit it but:

your fertility, which since age 35 was plunging like Wall Street, now goes into asystole
you are closer to menopause than away from it
your boobs are losing their fight against gravity
you get called "ma'am" way more than you did when you were 30
Duran Duran have been around over 30 years and when the *hell* did that happen??
and this happens:

And if you find you have a cold, or hayfever, you find you must hold back that sneeze long enough to cross your legs or find yourself doing extra laundry.

Just sayin'...

Saturday Skinfest

2011-10-23T07:08:00.001+10:00

Bet you thought Friday night was a one-off, right? Can't blame you as I have been very sporadic with my posting since I went back to work 2 years ago. Last night's absence was simply the result of a poor night's sleep on Friday and the decongestants/pain killers kicking in. But I'm here now, so let's get on with the most popular feature on the blog - manflesh:


This year saw the retirement of the Shirtless (and less hirsute than here) Wonder, Darren Lockyer. Locky you were a legend, with or without your shirt, but you will live on in the Skinfest.


Luckily I get to watch my not-so-secret Dorkcrush Nathan Hindmarsh for another year. Let the dackings continue!


Err, I guess the water wasn't cold enough to cause shrinkage?

From the archives, and for one of the people responsible for inspiring me to get off my ass and start blogging again, Dave.

Photo Friday

2011-10-21T22:02:00.001+10:00

So it's quarter to 10 on a Friday night. Sparky is out, Her Majesty and Clive are asleep, as is The Hermit. I have the beginnings of a head cold and am treating it with some cold medicine and orange juice laced with vodka. It would seem I am finally getting my head around my new job since I'm not completely drained despite the stress of one study with one patient taking up 80% of my time for the last two freakin' weeks! And I said to myself, "Self you really need to get back to your blog." So here I am:

Now that's a real shame when folks be throwin' away a perfectly good possum like that

Remains of the Tree

2011-08-04T21:48:00.000+10:00

So the new job is taking more out of me than I'd hoped. While it's not as physically tiring as my old job, there has been a lot to get my head around. It was in the course of writing - or rather trying to write - a letter to apply to keep the job permanent that I came to the sad realization that my creative well is rather dry. And it is because of that creative drought that I'm avoiding my blog. Well that and the 3 kids still at home who keep me incredibly busy when I'm home. I've had no less than 4 interruptions from them in the time it has taken me to write this paragraph. (5 if you count the last 45 minutes that I've spent putting kids to bed after I wrote the next two sentences.)

But for whatever reason I have not been feeling the creativity. And since I've tried just about everything else to get the juices flowing - even threatening my muse, Sheldon, with all manner of harm - the next thing is good old fashioned force. If it's good enough for Sparky, as in he will sit for 2 hours and do homework and I don't care that you don't have any this is what you get when you bring home a 'D' in effort, it's good enough for me.

So wanna see some pictures of my gum tree? Or what's left of my gum tree?

This isn't the actual tree, but another very similar one in terms of size that is nearby on my property.

Limb carnage. These escaped the fate of the other, larger, limbs.


A fungus among us. An example of the growth overtaking the gum tree, making it a danger to, well, everything.


Stumpy!

You can see the fungal rot setting in within the deeper layers of the tree. There's a reason they call these trees 'window makers'.

All that's left of the tree. At least we're putting it to good use in the garden.

I have two acres of land on which my house sits. Up the front was a gum tree that had a nasty case of... well, gum fungus. Damn if I know what it's called. Now I have other trees that aren't in great shape - there's one or two ironbarks that show clear evidence of termite nests, for example. However I leave those alone as they are right up front and pose no danger to anyone. My fungus-y gum, however, was on a slope that were it to decide to keel over would do so right onto my neighbour's car port. Since they were good enough to remove a dangerous tree that was threatening to drop it's dodgy limb onto our kid's playhouse, it was only fair of us to save up and take away this bad boy.

I've been trying for months to get it gone but it's been so damn wet that it just wasn't possible. Then we hit a dry patch and several weeks ago the guys turned up to take it down. Too bad the cherry picker didn't. Take two was today and it's now gone, with only a pile of mulch and a smaller bank balance to show for it. But I can rest easier on windy days, especially given our tree guy said it was only a question of "when", not "if", it was coming down.

When was the last time a Yank had to remove a gum tree? Just another day in Oz...

Movin' On Up

2011-05-30T23:11:00.001+10:00

So I suddenly got very busy after I got back from holidays last month. I hinted that I would have news on the job front, and the news is good.

From tomorrow I begin a 3 month secondment over in Medical Oncology Clinical Research Trials as a Clinical Nurse Coordinator at the Large Public Hospital That Employs Me.

For those not medically inclined or aren't quite sure what the hell I just said, allow me to break that sentence down. Medical oncology deals with solid tumours in body organs, so no leukemia or lymphomas. Clinical research trials does NOT mean I'll be conducting any research, but rather enrolling eligible patients into clinical trials, monitoring their progress, doing the reams of paperwork, following up and many things I don't even know about yet. The clinical nurse (CN) part is a bonus. There is no real equivalent in the US - not quite an advanced practice nurse but more than a Registered Nurse. I am stil an RN as the CN position does not require additional licensure but more autonomy and knowledge is expected. Oh and did I mention the sweet pay rise that comes with it? It's not why I applied for the job but I won't be knocking it back.

Now why only three months? First off it's all my current boss approved; my new boss was aiming for six months to start. The general feeling among all parties - myself, my current NUM (nurse unit manager) and new NUM - is that it will turn into a permanent secondment if I want it to. Why only a secondment? To be honest I have no idea. I suspect it has to do with funding and budgets and things beyond my ken or caring. There's only so much I can take in, and if I'm told I can stay then I really don't care right now who pays me.

I applied for this position back in January, but I missed out. However I had a frank talk with the NUM over there and we came to an understanding that I was very much interested should another position open up and she was glad to hear it. While I was on holidays I received a Facebook message from one of the trial nurses telling me such a position had opened up and was I still interested? Does a bear shit in the woods?? I stood in the middle of a caravan park in New South Wales on my mobile phone with the NUM to confirm I was, indeed, interested. Who says it pays to completely disconnect while on vacation?

I had a couple of weeks after I got back where I wasn't sure it was going to happen. The roster in my current unit is tight and me leaving wasn't helping. After all it's a secondment; I'm not resigning to work in another department. In the end we all came to an agreement to let me go at the end of May, and the time has flown! I start tomorrow! Gah! Squee, but gah! This is the first time in my career I've taken an upwards step and I'm while I'm nervous I'm also very excited.

There is a downside, even with a positive change like this. I like where I work and I really like the people I work with and the patients I treat. While I'm only across the service road, quite literally next door, I won't be working with the nurses every day or seeing the same patients every week. I will be around a fair bit as I have my ideas of how I want to incorporate my experiences in the unit into how the trial patients are brought through, but I will miss being a part of that team on a daily basis.

But there are just so many positives to stay focused on. Clinical trials are part of what we base future treatments on, and to be a more involved in that is exciting. I get to keep the patient contact that I enjoy so much - one reason I found the operating theater not to my liking is the patient is unconscious. Sure that's a benefit sometimes, but by and large I like talking to them. I get to expand on my oncology knowledge, and I won't be physically exhausted by the end of the week from the demands of an insanely busy unit.

So that's what's new here... well one thing. But it's a big one, don't you think? Big enough to get me back on my blog again. Here's to hoping I'll have the energy to stay on it.

Photo Friday

2011-04-22T08:56:00.004+10:00

I've finally started putting pictures from our recent holiday up. You can see photos like this:


The Hermit and Her Majesty in the surf at Yamba's Main Beach

here on Facebook. Please if you're not my FB friend and the link doesn't work let me know. I will post more pictures soon - still have 3 days off - both on FB and in my online albums.

Tales From the Trip - Yamba

2011-04-18T22:25:00.000+10:00

Yet another good reason for me to be so quiet these past few weeks - I've been on holidays! I kept thinking it hadn't been so long since I'd last been away, but truth be told it was. We last took time away when we went back to the States in June/July last year. 9 months... hell I could make a baby in that time. And since I get 5 weeks vacation time a year - yes US folks, you read that right I get 5 weeks a year - I was well overdue for some time away.

So we broke out the camper trailer and headed down south to Yamba, about 4 hours away in New South Wales. We've toured a lot of Queensland but had only one trip down into cockroach country, so I thought it was about time. And man was it pretty down in the Northern Rivers section of NSW. Sparky took some great pictures:

Yamba Main Beach, about a 12 minute car drive away from where we stayed.

The Clarence River at sunrise, right at the caravan park we stayed in.

It was great to get away. I'll have some stories to relate, and with a bit of luck some news about my job, too. I know, such a tease but I don't want to count my chickens too soon if you get my metaphor.

But now I'm off to bed as I'm back at aforementioned job in the morning. Night, all!

Photo Friday

2011-04-01T13:36:00.004+10:00

So the unit where I work has 20 treatment chairs/beds plus 4 isolation treatment chairs. Along with that we have an aphaeresis unit and jointly staff the blood room - a room we use for taking blood samples from central lines - for 3 hours in the morning. We're open from 7am-6pm (in theory) M-F and 8am-4pm on weekends. With that comes a staff of roughly 15 nurses - give or take a few on any given weekday - rostered on to treat roughly 65 patients, give or take a dozen. This is before any changes are made or any patient comes in unwell. Anyone who thinks working in this unit is a cushy job simply because we don't work shifts needs to spend a week with us. Cushy is not a word used to describe my unit.

In a moment of what could only be deemed insanity I said would be willing to join the ranks of my coworkers who are trained in the role of shift coordinator - the nurse who runs the madhouse. I had my first day today:

For the non-Aussies in the house, the yellow 'L' is what new drivers have on their cars to denote 'learner' driver.

Isn't the pinafore simply charming? Goes great with the top! Just one of the perks of the job. And the fact it was April Fools Day was not lost on me.

Photo Friday

2011-03-25T20:51:00.000+10:00

After a few too many glasses of champagne tonight, you can forgive me if I can't give you two posts to get caught up. So let's have another meet-and-greet of another co-worker and I'll deliver the Skinfest tomorrow:

Now Rockin' Robbie doesn't ordinarily look like this. I snapped this picture a few weeks ago during the World's Greatest Shave Day, where folks either shave or colour their hair in support of leukemia patients (of which we have many). Rockin' Robbie is an absolute mad Kiwi who looks out for me when I'm having a bad day, whose gruff exterior covers a solid heart of gold and who still owes Momma Mooselet some Kiwi chocolate for the flavoured water sachets she's taken a liking to. Love ya, Robbie!

SRSLY?

2011-03-23T22:00:00.000+10:00

Now I expect to have to give step-by-step instructions to Clive. First put on your socks and then your shoes. He's 4. Or when I ask Her Majesty to put her clothes away I mean all of her clothes and sometimes I need to remind her of that fact. After all, she's 7.

But Sparky? The boy is 16. Surely when I ask him to take out the trash I don't have to ask him to put a new liner into the bin?

Or maybe the fact that he's 16 means I certainly have to remind him to do that last step.

It's the little things that make me want to own something like this:

Saturday Skinfest

2011-03-19T22:22:00.000+10:00

Welcome to a special edition of the Skinfest. I was going through my files, pondering which pictures to use when I came across a set of pics that have been sitting on my hard drive for ages. I thought I would let them see the light of day again. Ladies and gentlemen please give a warm welcome to Mr. Hugh Jackman:

Oh yeah...

No need to suck it in for the cameras, Hugh.


The gorgeous smile adds the perfect touch, IMO.


And since I went all Hollywood tonight, here's some more Amanda Peet.

More skin, more footy, next week.

Photo Friday

2011-03-18T22:38:00.000+10:00

Time to meet another one of my co-workers. She's going to absolutely murder me when she sees the picture I've used, but I will soothe her with Ben & Jerry's ice cream and explain why I love this pic of her:

Please welcome Highland Cow to the blog. No, I did NOT choose her name. She did after I threatened her to come up with name before I chose something appropriately Scottish like 'Agnus'. Now why do I love this face Highland Cow pulls? Because whenever we are having a shit day at work she will pull this face and my mood is instantly lifted. HC knows her stuff, is someone I turn to for advice and with whom I'm always very happy to work with. And I'm very envious that she can roll her r's in that way the Scottish have. I only wish we worked more than 1 day a week together now that I'm off on Mondays.

Janis

2011-03-17T22:56:00.000+10:00

Poppa Mooselet was a big Janis Joplin fan. This song never fails to remind me of him:

The Wisdom of Dr. Seuss

2011-03-16T14:20:00.001+10:00

If your child doesn't own/didn't own at least one Dr. Seuss book, I think it's safe to say your child is seriously deprived. If you never owned/read a Dr. Seuss book, then you were seriously deprived. Dr. Seuss was a fucking genius. The other night I was reading Oh, The Places You'll Go! to Her Majesty and if you've never read this book you've been deprived. Seriously deprived. It's a good reminder of the fact that life is a never ending journey, with it's ups and downs, successes and failures. Here, I'll read it to you now:

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ’em over with care. About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.” With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down a not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you’ll want to go down. In that case, of course, you’ll head straight out of town. It’s opener there in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don’t worry. Don’t stew. Just go right along. You’ll start happening too.

Oh! The Places You’ll Go!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed. You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead. Wherever you fly, you’ll be best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’t.
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.

You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch. And your gang will fly on. You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump. And the chances are, then, that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump, you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked. Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked. A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin! Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in? How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And if you go in, should you turn left or right…or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite? Or go around back and sneak in from behind? Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find, for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place…for people just waiting.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.

No! That’s not for you!
Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing. With banner flip-flapping, once more you’ll ride high! Ready for anything under the sky. Ready because you’re that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won. And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don’t. Because, sometimes, they won’t.

I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.

And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.)

Kid, you’ll move mountains!
So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So…get on your way!

So where are you right now in Life's Great Balancing Act? This book is a popular gift for new graduates, but I'd like to suggest that everyone go out and get a copy for themselves. That Dr. Seuss knows what he's talking about.

Out of the Closet - Losing My Religon

2011-03-15T22:20:00.000+10:00

Growing up, I very rarely went to church. Poppa Mooselet's family was a fairly strict Irish Catholic one (they disowned him for a time following his divorce from his first wife), and Momma Mooselet's had similar roots but was less strict. That being said, neither of my parents were religious. PM was more devoted to Budweiser than Jesus, and MM had no use for the Catholic church after they turned their backs on her family when her father died, leaving Grandma Mooselet alone with 7 kids (MM was 11 years old). That being said, both of my parents believed in the Christian God.

My friends mostly went to CCD classes, and while I recall asking MM about them I never felt left out or a desire to go myself. As I got older I went to church now and again, mostly because it was a condition of my BFF Ree being allowed to sleep over on a Saturday night. But I never really understood why people went. If God was everywhere like my parents and friends said, why did people have to go into a man-made structure to talk to Him? Couldn't I go to a beautiful place created by Him and have a chat? Why did people need priests? Could they read the Bible for themselves and pray directly to God? And while we're on the subject of God being everywhere, what the hell was He doing in my tuna fish sandwich? Didn't He have anything better to do?

I asked a lot of questions as a kid.

So I grew up with an attitude that religion was fairly useless. People fought over who had the better God, or which interpretation of the Bible was correct. That's pretty fucked up. But when I pressed I said I still believed in God and I labeled my belief agnosticism without really knowing what that meant. As I got older I continued in this vein but called myself spiritual as well as agnostic. A fluffy feel-good answer that seemed to satisfy most people.

Except me. I started to examine what I really meant when I said I believed in a god but not a specific one. Why did I believe this? I couldn't really answer to my satisfaction - the best answer and most honest answer I could come up with was 'habit'. I took the time to look up what agnostic really meant and while I was surprised to learn it didn't mean what I thought it meant I found the definition resonated with me:

a person who holds that the existence of the ultimate cause, as god, and the essential nature of things are unknown and unknowable

Well duh! I had a light bulb moment. I had been right to call myself an agnostic, but was doing it for the wrong reason. I suddenly felt far more comfortable in my agnostic skin than I had ever been.

I have heard it said that agnosticism is a 'fence-sitting' position. You are either a believer or an atheist and one should choose a side. You are with us or against us. What a black-or-white bullshit view of the world. Do I believe in a god? No, personally I do not. However I am open to the idea of a such a deity if there was evidence to support such a being. Do I think this is likely? No, but I'm open to the idea as I cannot claim for certain one does not exist. I cannot prove a negative, after all. For all I know this exists:

Why it's the Celestial Teapot, silly. How could you not know that?

Or my personal favourite:

May you be touched by the Noodly Appendage of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Ramen.

Just as there is a range of those who follow a religous creed, from evangelical/fundamentalist to turn up to church a couple times of year there is a range of agnosticism and I would classify myself, based on the above statements, as an atheistic agnostic. Ramen.

Yeah, I can tell you're underwhelmed, particularly if you've followed me or known me for any length of time. But man does it feel good to say it out loud.

Out of the Closet, Preamble

2011-03-15T19:33:00.000+10:00

OK kids, I promised you a new series of posts and this is it. I'm calling it 'Out of the Closet'. And no, I'm not using that term in the sense that I'm announcing a change to my sexuality. Sorry if I made some of you do a double take. No, still straight.

I'm using the term in the sense that "in political, casual, or even humorous contexts, 'coming out' means by extension the self-disclosure of a person's secret behaviors, beliefs, affiliations, tastes, and interests that may cause astonishment..." Thanks, Wikipedia! A lot of my blog has talked about my life here in Brisbane, my experiences and my family. There has been some discussion about how I feel about certain subjects, so no doubt some of my revelations will be less than shocking. However I've become more certain and more vocal about other aspects and I think it's time I share a bit.

First installment coming soon.

You're Reading What??

2011-03-13T22:07:00.000+10:00

I came home from the footy on Friday night and, after getting the kids to bed, jumped onto the internet to check the news. I don't have lots of time, but I like to at least scan the headlines. I had not heard at that point about the Japan earthquake and subsequent tsunami, but when I saw the headline it was the first story I checked instead of my planned foray into the sports section.

The next morning it was much the same. With so much devastation before your eyes it makes you take stock of what's important in your life.

Unless you live in Sydney, apparently. When I scrolled to the bottom of the screen of my local online ~~rag~~ newspaper to see what other papers in Australia were reporting I was stunned to see to the top story in the Daily Telegraph, one of the top papers in New South Wales:

Yes, the top trending story in Sydney that Saturday morning was about Charlie Sheen. Hell, Japan didn't even make the top 3! I know some people have found Charlie Sheen's actions of late amusing - personally I think he's mentally ill and can't see the funny in that - but really... Stories about an actor and a football player beat out a disaster of mammoth proportions? Really?

Saturday Skinfest

2011-03-12T21:10:00.000+10:00

So as I mentioned I was at the Broncos opener last night. Our Christmas present from Momma Mooselet and Shepster was a membership with the Broncos that came with tickets to four games throughout the year - an Awesome Foursome pack. The club chooses the games and they are pretty sweet games - season opener against the Cowboys that drew over 45,000, Storm, Dragons and Titans. We have front row seats just past the try line (US- think end zone). Despite my beloved Broncos losing last night, we had a fantastic time. So a huge thanks to Momma Mooselet and Shepster.

Right, Skinfest while it's still Saturday:


Karlmichael Hunt may be gone to the AFL (traitor) however Shaun Berrigan - the one in desperate need of some sunshine - is back in the NRL after playing in England for a few years, now playing for the Warriors. Welcome back, Shaun!

Speaking of old school, check out the Shirtless Wonder Darren Lockyer back when he had a full head of hair. Wonder if he knew then he'd be wearing it like a convict now.

A view anyone watching an Eels game is familiar with, although it's unusual for him to have his shorts on! Points to the first one to name the player.


Meet Sammy, one of the Broncos cheer squad members. My front row seat also saw the cheer girls shaking their, er, pom poms right in front of us. When they scurried out of the rain for a bit I did wonder if it was to prevent all the fake tan from washing off.

More skin next week!

Photo Friday

2011-03-11T19:50:00.000+10:00

I know you'll all forgive me for being late. I was at the season opener of my beloved Brisbane Broncos last night courtesy of an awesome Christmas present from Momma Mooselet. More about the game on the upcoming Skinfest. Let's get to today's photo:

This is GirlyGirl... Not the greatest name, but she didn't give me one despite insisting I feature she next in Photo Friday so it's the best I could come up with. GirlyGirl is from the Philippines, and has to be one of the sweetest and most innocent creatures on the planet. Despite her quiet nature, she has a core of steel to make it through a personal tragedy and come out the other end still sweet and sane. I love working with her.

Now Presenting

2011-03-07T23:04:00.000+10:00

I have a presentation to give at work tomorrow and my stomach is already twisting. Never mind that it's an inservice for my peers, all of whom are very kind and most of whom like me and will cut me some slack. Never mind that I've been working on this since last year and have had it finished for a couple of months now. Never mind I'm familiar with the chemotherapy agent I'll be talking about (cytarabine, if you must know). Never mind that nearly all the nurses have had to go through this very same thing, albeit not for a while now as I was one of the new ones who missed out on the first round and the first of that newbie crowd to have it finished.

Never mind any of that. I have never been good at public speaking of any kind. In grade 10 we had to put on a 10-15 performance of the final act of a play (Gods of Lightning, of which I can find no Google reference) and I got suckered into the lead performance in my group - all shy kids like myself. We also each had to give a presentation about some aspect of our preparation. I don't remember what mine was, maybe the costumes. Our teacher filmed the presentations and performance and I actually refused to watch the replay. If I could have fled the room I would have; instead I put my head down on my desk and may have even covered my ears. My presentation actually earned me an award: Most Nervous During a Presentation. Really.


Yes, I still have it. And yes, that's my real name. Well, my maiden name. Don't tell anyone. And my English teacher wasn't as big of a dick as this award makes him out to be.

So I'm really not looking forward to tomorrow. All of a sudden I'm an awkward 15 year old again.

Photo Friday

2011-03-04T19:55:00.001+10:00

I promised some posts about my job since it is now such a huge part of my life so what better place to start than by introducing you to some of the folks I work with. Geez, run-on sentence much?

I work with a fantastic group of nurses from all over the world, literally. This one is from New Zealand:

Meet Poodles. At least that's the blog name she came up with, and since my nickname is Moose who am I question Poodles? I am always very happy when I am on Poodles' team - she is very knowledgeable about the various protocols, especially hematology, and has a wicked sense of humour. We have a lot of fun together, Poodles and I.

Saturday Skinfest

2011-02-27T08:59:00.000+10:00

Guess what, girls and boys?! I'm late again? Yeah yeah, what else is new... But guess what else? Go on... No, not that. What? Eeewwwww, no! Give up?

IT'S MY 1,000th POST!!!

Really! Pretty cool, hey? And how apropos that it's the Skinfest, one of the biggest draws of random strangers to my blog. Again, thanks to everyone for sticking with me during the last year and a half when things have been slow to non-existent. You're wicked awesome.

Aaron Gorrell and PJ Marsh never really slotted in at the Broncos, but they were nice to look at.

I still contend Billy Slater from the Storm is a wanker, but he is nice to look at.

I don't even know Lance Hohaia really well (plays for the Warriors) but hells bells he is nice to look at.

Amanda Peet is all kinds of awesome, smart and hot! I'd switch sides for her.

More skin next week.

Photo Friday

2011-02-25T15:38:00.003+10:00

Hey, what's that scratching sound coming from the fireplace?

Taken 1 November 2010

What is it with wildlife taking refuge in my chimney? I managed to catch this one and release him back into nature with a stern warning that next time there may be a fire in here and he really shouldn't come back.

Saturday Skinfest

2011-02-20T07:56:00.000+10:00

You really didn't think I'd leave out the Skinfest, did ya? Sure it's not Saturday here in Oz, but it's early enough Sunday morning that it's still Saturday somewhere. Because that's the kind of logic I use. And I was just so tired last night - too hot to think. Ok ok, the Skinfest doesn't require a lot of thought but that's how fried my brain was at 9pm. So I went to bed and had a lousy night's sleep with some disturbing dreams to boot.

But today's a new day. Another hot day is brewing so let's get to it before my neurons fry again:

You keep on trying to look as studly as your team, Wayne Bennett. And ignore the kid scratching his privates up front. Focus on the beefcake that is the Dragons. (Pretty sure a double click will bring on the embiggen-ness.)

Dear FSM above, is that Nathan Hindmarsh??? Mooselet like. Let's just hope he continues to get dacked every game he plays for the Eels as per protocol.

Ah Peter Wallace of my beloved Broncos. Who knew gingers could be so hot? This girl!

Liz, Liz, Liz. So hot and you waste yourself on Shane Warne? Really??? Has the Botox gone to your brain?

More skin, I swear, next week.

Photo Friday

2011-02-18T21:40:00.000+10:00

Hey, how'd that stick get up in the rafters of the veranda?

Hang on, that's not a stick...

GAH!

I have never seen a stick bug that big in my life.

An Example

2011-02-16T22:23:00.000+10:00

Today is a good example of why I'm so bloody tired at the end of the day.

My alarm went off at 5am. I got out of bed 10 minutes later and essentially did not stop until 9:30 this evening. During that time I:

got myself and the kids ready for work/school including breakfast and lunches (not for Sparky, he's old enough to do this himself)
dropped kids off at bus/child care
fought traffic twice
worked my ass off at work for 9+ hours (this does not include my 30 minute lunch break that I took at 3pm for a shift that started at 8:30am) dealing with two medication reactions and 3 sets of veins that didn't want to play nice
had dinner (a bagel - the Hermit had fed Her Majesty and Clive leftovers already and I was too tired to cook)
bathed kids and shared bedtime reading duties
discussed Sparky's ongoing math issues with the Hermit
sat down at computer

Mind you I still have to clean lunch boxes and do a few little things before bed, and if I didn't have to get up again in the morning I'd down a Benadryl to stop my legs from itching.

This is why I find it so hard to blog consistently. My brain is mush and my body is exhausted, and I still have two more work days to go.

I need a vacation.

Munchies

2011-02-15T21:00:00.000+10:00

Something is casually dining on my legs & I am not amused.

I have multiple small sores scattered on both my lower legs and one nasty one on my outer right thigh. They are itchy as anything and while most of them are small a few have gone nasty. They are red, swollen and firm to touch. Because they are so itchy I've broken the skin and so they are slightly oozy. There is one each on my outer ankles, giving me cankles for the first time since Clive was still the Tadpole. It's a classic immune response but to what I can't say.

Aside from keeping them clean, trying not to scratch and downing generous amounts of non-drowsy antihistamines (since I still have to function) I'm at a loss. Is anyone else in Brisbane having issues with insects? I would like to put a message out to the creature using me as a snack bar to knock it off. Seriously. Go cause an allergic reaction somewhere else.

Love,
Mooselet

About That Picture

2011-02-14T21:20:00.003+10:00

Let's just clear the air right now. That picture? The one over there with the person holding a platypus? Yes, that's me.

I can't remember exactly when it was taken... My best guess is 1984. I base that off my hair and the hat. My aunt saw the Police on their Syncronicity Tour, which was in New England in both summer 1983 and winter 1984, and bought the hat there. Based on what I'm wearing - jeans and a t-shirt - it could be early fall '83 or late spring '84. Anyway, an early teen.

So why the hell am I on a beach holding a stuffed platypus? I had a new camera, a disc camera, and I wanted to have some fun. Proving that the phenomenon of kids taking stupid pictures of themselves isn't new, my BFF at the time and I went down to the beach with two stuffed animals - a polar bear and a platypus. Once there we planned a story, well two stories, upon which each of us in turn "found" a strange animal on the beach. I got the platypus and she got the bear, I got to be puzzled and she got to be scared. It ended well, with us each befriending our wayward mammal and living happily ever after.

Of course in those days you had no idea how the pictures would turn out until you had them developed. After we rushed home and begged my mother to develop the prints, we had to wait a few days at best to see our efforts. Our efforts contained many shadows of the photographer and shots of feet that weren't supposed to be there. And of course the downfall of the disc film format - really grainy pictures. Despite all of that, I don't remember being disappointed in the slightest.

But Mooselet, you're asking, why a platypus?? Oddly prescient, isn't it? I really don't know why, except that everyone thinks platypuses are pretty fucking cool and so must I have when I saw it in a store. Who knew that 20 years later I'd be here in Australia, finding a use for that picture?

Do Not Adjust Your Screen

2011-02-14T13:57:00.003+10:00

You're where you're supposed to be... Unless you really fucked up. Then I can't help you.

This is The Blog Formerly Known As Mooselet's Musings, now known as Mooselet's Aussie Life. I've been doing this for 5 years now - totally missed my anniversary, along with a myriad of other things - and thought it was time for another change.

I've changed the name, changed the template... but I can still be found at mooselet.com. It's still me. There will still be Photo Friday and Saturday Skinfest (huzzah!) but some other changes will be happening. No more Match Report Monday - never one of my more popular features, but since neither Sparky or Her Majesty will be playing rugby league this year it'll be retired. I'll be talking a bit more about work and the people I work with - a thoroughly entertaining bunch of kick ass nurses from all corners of the globe - while still mentioning old friends like Miss WTF and Mumfies. And I plan on running a series that will reveal more of my inner workings.

You'll still hear about the cast of characters that is my family, the Aussie way of life that still, after 8+ years, can catch me off guard, and whatever else catches my fancy. Minor tweaks will occur - the links are hopelessly outdated - and I'll add a few things. If anyone has any suggestions I'm open.

It's time I got this escape valve back on track. To everyone still reading this, thanks for sticking with me.

Love ya,
Mooselet

She's Back Baby... Again

2011-02-14T12:01:00.002+10:00

I can't believe I've been away so long. 8 posts away from 1,000 and I've stopped.

Well no more! As we speak (ok, as I type) I'm working on the new template and have decided to start getting back in control of my out-of-control busy batshitcrazy life. I love blogging and I'm sad about pushing it to the side in the year and a half since I went back to work.

No more. Mooselet's back, baby!

Saturday Skinfest

2010-11-07T21:59:00.008+10:00

Ok, Windows is seriously fucking with me tonight. It ate my first post, shut down Firefox the second time and now won't load my pictures even though the other window says they've uploaded. Grrrrrrrr.... I was cranky when I started. Drugs may be in order to get a good nights' sleep.

FINALLY! My wit, what little there was of it, burnt up in my struggles so let's enjoy the skin in relative silence...

Hey Bunnies, you're gonna get rid of studly Asotasi for Inglis - a guy who never learned the meaning of the word "integrity"? Yeah, good luck with that...

Thanks to Miss WTF for this tasty treat of a pic of Paul Whatuira.

Titans at the beach. I like the smattering of chest/belly hair on the guy in the orange shorts.

This is for Dave.

More skin next week!

Photo Friday

2010-11-05T09:33:00.000+10:00

Have I ever shown you the hideous uniform I have to wear to work? No?

Yes, I'm serious. That's my top. Goes smashingly well with my polyester pants. This is what we like to call the 'Libra' top - Libra as in the Australian feminine hygiene product. Which is what we look like, frankly.

I miss my scrubs.

Mercury Falls Blog Tour - Stop 38737

2010-11-04T15:00:00.000+10:00

Ok, I may have made that number in the title up by randomly smashing my fingers across the numbers at the top of my keyboard. A little trick I learned from Poppa Mooselet.

So what is the Mercury Falls Blog Tour? I'm so glad you asked.

Meet Robert "Diesel" Kroese. He's a pretty typical bloke - has a job working as a software developer, managed to snag himself a wife who is way out of his league and puts up with his antics for reasons he can't seem to grasp, tries to be cool by having the nickname 'Diesel' (yes yes... pot, kettle) has two kids (a boy and a girl) and in his spare time hunts gophers. Honest, it's all there on his blog, Mattress Police.

But in a lot of ways Rob is more than your typical bloke. He built his own house, or a fair bit of it, out in California. He works for Google. He really is funny as opposed to just thinking he is. He has a blog. And he wrote a book.

Who among us doesn't want to write a book? Ok, maybe a few of you. But I think most of us would think seeing a book with our name as the author would be pretty frickin' cool. However most of us don't write books. We don't have the talent, the time or we fear rejection. So we don't even try. Rob, however, isn't typical. He wrote the book, took the chance and knew he had something special.

Agents and publishers? Not so much on the special; he got rejected. That would have crushed the dreams of a lot of people. They would end up bitter and twisted, drunk in a bar telling everyone how no one would give them a chance, blah blah fishcakes. Now remember what I said about the whole "atypical" thing? Not to be deterred, Rob took his manuscript and, with a big shrug of his shoulders and a possible "up yours", published the damn thing himself:

Yup, that's my original first edition, bitches! All mine! Just so you know I'm not talking out my ass, I really do have the book.

Mercury Falls was first published in 2009 and did extremely well for a self-published book. So well, in fact, that AmazonEncore caught the clue bus and is re-releasing the book from last week. How good is that? Pretty damn good, I'd say. So what's it about? Well, here's the synopsis from the website (because I really suck at this sort of thing):

While on assignment in Nevada, Christine Temetri isn’t surprised when yet another prophesied Apocalypse fails to occur. After three years of reporting on End Times cults for a religious news magazine, Christine is seriously questioning her career choice. But then she meets Mercury, a cult leader whose knowledge of the impending Apocalypse is decidedly more solid than most: he is an angel, sent from heaven to prepare for the Second Coming but distracted by beer, ping pong, and other earthly delights. After Christine and Mercury inadvertently save Karl Grissom—a film-school dropout and the newly appointed Antichrist—from assassination, she realizes the three of them are all that stand in the way of mankind’s utter annihilation. They are a motley crew compared to the heavenly host bent on earth’s destruction, but Christine figures they’ll just have to do. Full of memorable characters, Mercury Falls is an absurdly funny tale about unlikely heroes on a quest to save the world.

Now as a fan of Rob's and as someone who thoroughly enjoyed the hell out of this book, I'm asking you to give it a go. Written in the snarky style of Douglas Adams, he of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe, and full of pop-culture references it's a fun read. Head on over to Amazon and order it for yourself, for someone you love, or as a Christmas gift. Or all of the above! Read the reviews - on average 4.5 stars! And Aussies, our dollar on par with the US dollar and you know as well as I how expensive books are here. It's a steal! And the Kindle price is even cheaper. Don't have a Kindle? You can download the app for FREE onto your computer or iPhone and then buy the book. Support the dream, people.

Delay

2010-10-24T21:26:00.003+10:00

OK kids, I have a good excuse for being slack the last few days:

That's Clive, pretty darned unwell on Thursday. I ended up taking him to the Children's Hospital that night since he was having such a hard time swallowing - so hard that he woke up positively spewing all the saliva he couldn't swallow. They ended up suctioning a nasty looking hunk of mucus out of his throat and he was much better after that. Well, that and the two ice pops they gave him. It's a virus so there's not much else they could do, but it was enough.

He's on the mend now, although the rash that came with the virus is still ugly looking. Look for me getting back on the blogging track this week.

My Nursing FAQ

2010-10-18T20:33:00.003+10:00

Q: So, Mooselet - you're a nurse?

A: Yes. I'm a Registered Nurse both in my home state of Massachusetts and my adopted state of Queensland. Although now that Australia has undertaken national registration it may be more accurate to say I'm licensed in Australia.

Q: Have you always wanted to be a nurse?

A: Yeah, probably. I mean I went through a lot of phases as a kid as to what I wanted to be when I grew up. These included a garbage collector, a ballerina, a vet, a writer, an accountant... I was all over the shop. But I remember performing surgery on my stuffed toys and always taking care of our pets when they were sick/pregnant/giving birth. So why not a vet? Frankly the thought of dealing with various parasites in animals grossed me out. And despite knowing I wanted to do something where I helped people, I kinda skipped over nursing because I had a picture in my mind of nurses being rather subservient. This was very stupid and I have no explanation other than no one ever told me otherwise and I never asked. It wasn't until the late 80s when I saw Dana Delany's portrayal of nurse Colleen McMurphy in China Beach that I began to understand how wrong I was. And it wasn't until I dealt with the nurses who took care of Poppa Mooselet in 1995 that I was hit with a lightening bolt and knew that nursing is what I wanted to do.

Q: Where do you work?

A: I work in the public health system here in Queensland in what I have dubbed The Very Large Public Hospital That Employs Me (TVLPHTEM). Queensland Health doesn't like its employees to speak publicly, so even though most people could figure out where I work with a little thought (or, you know, by actually knowing me) I won't name the hospital outright. And of course, anything I say here on my job reflects MY views and not the views of Queensland Health.

Q: What sort of nursing do you do?

A: I work in oncology.

Q: Oncology? By that you mean...

A: Cancer. I work with patients who have cancer. I administer chemotherapy and other supportive treatments such as blood products or fluids in a day therapy unit within TVLPHTEM.

Q: Oh...

A: Yeah, I get that 'oh' a lot. Which is almost always accompanied with a face that says surely I work in the most depressing place on earth. Often the subject gets changed. Sure we all support various cancer groups - breast cancer, leukemia - but to see it up close every day? Don't mention the war!!

But here's the thing. I don't work in the most depressing place on earth. I work with a bunch of amazing nurses who treat some very inspiring patients. Yes, a fair few of our patients die of their disease, or from complications of treatments. And yes, it's always sad when it happens. Because our patients come in very frequently for extended periods of time we get to know them and their families pretty well. There are times to be serious, but there are a lot of times for laughs, too. We know sometimes all we're giving them is time. But that time is precious to them and their loved ones. And to be part of a team that gives that to them is a privilege, frankly.

Then there are the patients - and there are many - who beat their disease. And to see their faces when they tell you their scan has come back clear and to know you've been a part of that is pretty damn awesome.

Q: What kinds of cancer do you treat?

A: Everything. We see those with "solid" tumours - cancers of bodily organs and tissues like breasts, bowels, skin - those with "blood" tumours - leukemias and lymphomas - and those who need a bone marrow transplant. We're a one-stop shop and because we're in a hospital we get patients when they are very unwell and need to be admitted. We give chemotherapy via IV, via injections into fatty tissue (subcutaneous), via lumbar punctures (into the fluid surrounding your spine), via the space around abdominal organs (intraperitoneal) and occasionally into the ventricles of the brain. We give patients blood or platelets when they need them, shots to get their bone marrow to pump out more white blood cells so they don't end up in the hospital with an infection, antibiotics to treat those who end up with infections, IV fluids for those who get dehydrated because they can't drink, and lots of TLC.

And I haven't even mentioned the Apheresis section of our unit, which I have nothing to do with other than to pinch their chairs when they have some available.

Q: Wow. That's a lot. So you guys are busy?

A: That is an understatement. Manic Mondays, Feral Fridays... It is not a place for those who aren't willing to work their backsides off. And it's only getting busier. I think we average 60-70 treatments a day Monday-Friday. This is why I am so freakin' tired by the end of the day. We see patients over the weekend as well, but far less. Around 15-30 if I had to guess.

Q: You can tell me, is Big Pharma hiding the cure for cancer?

A: No. Cancer is not a simple thing. It is so complex that there is no "cure-all" being hidden in a Big Pharma laboratory. How can we cure cancer when we don't fully understand what causes it? Oh sure, we can outline the process but why does exposure to a carcinogen cause one person to develop cancer but not another? We don't know.

Q: Can you tell me if this lump means I have cancer?

A: No. Go see your doctor. I'm a nurse - I treat, not diagnose. If you have any lumps, bumps or growths you're concerned about go see your doctor. Get your skin checked regularly. Have your Pap smears, mammograms, & various oscopies. Guys, suck it up and get your prostate checked. Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

And that's pretty much what I do. People often say to me they couldn't do what I do, but I couldn't do anything else.

Saturday Skinfest

2010-10-16T20:57:00.003+10:00

I really need a warm shower. After weeks of gloomy weather and rain, today dawned with gale force winds and downright chilly weather for a Queensland spring. And now I'm totally grossed out by a scene in one of my fav shows, Deadliest Catch. So without further ado, here is this week's skin:

Quick, name the shirtless Tiger with the hot snail trail.

Trent Cutler gettin' nekkid and dirty for a cause.

Holy crap is ~~Count Chocula~~ Anthony Minichello cut. Too bad the Chooks choked in the Grand Final.

Aussie superhot supermodel Miranda Kerr... I got nothin'. Too gorgeous and at least she's got some junk in the trunk.

More skin, warmer weather I hope, next week.

Photo Friday

2010-10-15T19:26:00.002+10:00

Taken on a set of doors where I work:

Clearly someone took the sign a little too literally.

Under Water

2010-10-11T21:40:00.003+10:00

We've had some rain lately. How much rain? A lot of rain. It's been raining off and on for weeks now, with the major dams reaching 100% capacity last week. Then last night we got hit with major downpours. The area where I live got over 200 millimeters, or nearly 8 inches, overnight.

That's a lot of water.

There's evidence that our driveway went underwater after we left home this morning. Parts of the back yard were under. A runoff river ran through our yard. My pool runneth over. A monster pothole make my commute home a leg-cramping nightmare (I drive a manual).

It was wet.

You can see some reader submitted pictures to The Courier Mail here. The reader pics are more interesting than the "official" pictures, although if you want to see those I'm sure you can find the link on the CM homepage.

The rain eased off today, with just the odd shower passing overhead this evening. Word is we'll be dried out by Thursday. Then the rain comes back for Sunday. Just enough time for The Hermit & Sparky to clean out the gutters.

What were the measurements on the Ark again?

Saturday Skinfest

2010-10-09T21:34:00.003+10:00

Whilst I sit here and digest the lovely meal The Hermit took me out for to celebrate our 10 year anniversary (back some, oh, nearly 7 weeks ago... shush, we're busy) including my second favourite ice cream, here's some skin for you. Tonight's theme - the twofer:

Ah Steve Price, how I will miss you. I could drool over you and not feel like such a perv as you're not that much younger than me. And mystery guy on the left, you're not so bad either.

Ah Jonathan Thurston and Greg Inglis. I wish I liked you as players rather than easy-on-the-eyes footballers, but JT seems to buy his own press and GI somehow thought the free boat he got was A-OK under the salary cap. Still, a lack of brains won't disqualify you for the Skinfest.

I'm too lazy to remember where Josh Graham and Anthony Laffranchi play these days, but really does it matter? Moosie like.

There is no way I can defend the awfulness of the Broncos cheergirls outfits. That shade of pink belongs in a medicine bottle, on stretched over boobage and booty.

More skin, less digestion, next week.

Photo Friday

2010-10-08T10:06:00.000+10:00

When I was back Stateside a few months ago, I managed to catch up with a couple of old friends:

That's G on the left, Yours Truly in the middle, and M on the right.

Was good to see them again. While I love my new home in Oz, it's friends like these and family I miss the most.

ACHOO

2010-10-07T21:34:00.000+10:00

Bless you. Gesundheit. Really, that's how you spell it. Took me 5 minutes to figure that out.

Do you suffer from ACHOO? Well of course we all sneeze from time to time, more so if we're sick or have hay fever or other allergic conditions. But ACHOO? It's more than the sound we make when we sneeze, and two of my kids have it.

ACHOO stands for Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helioophthalmic Outburst. Mad props for the hard work the person who thought that up. You can read the Wiki article here, but in a nutshell it's a reflex that results in uncontrollable sneezing when exposed to stimuli, mostly bright lights. So walking from a dark place, shade or from inside a building, into bright sunlight triggers a sneezing episode.

Both Her Majesty and Clive have sneezing fits that are characteristic of ACHOO. Their sneezes are generally limited to 3-4, and Her Majesty seems more sensitive than Clive. I've never noticed it in Miss Thing or Sparky, nor with The Hermit. And while my eyes are extraordinarily sensitive to the sun I usually don't sneeze. But somehow we've passed it on to Her Majesty and Clive. Whoops. It's really not an issue, but it is one of those quirks that we just live with.

Anything oddly funky in your family? ACHOO? Webbed toes? Third eye? Discuss...

Electricity

2010-10-07T08:03:00.009+10:00

Anyone of a certain cultural background and of a certain age will recognize this picture. Growing up in the States during the 70s, Schoolhouse Rock was an awesome way of learning some basic concepts, including electricity. As humans, we have our own electrical system in our bodies - it's how our heart works. An electrical impulse tells our hearts when to pump to send blood, and hence oxygen, to our cells. So not only does electricity light our houses, keep us warm and allow me to work longer on my netbook than the piss-poor battery would let me, it keeps us alive.

Do we all recognize this? You may have to enlarge it.

Since my readership is highly intelligent, I'm going with 'yes'. It's your heartbeat. Or what your heartbeat looks like on an electrocardiography tracing. ECG for short. EKG is okay too. OK, so technically it's an interpretation of the electrical activity of your heart, but let's not go too deep. We all know what it is. Now, what do you think of it? Normal? Not normal? Yeah, it looks pretty good, doesn't it? It's a normal ECG tracing.

Now what about this one?

Looks kinda different, doesn't it? But not a lot. Something isn't quite right... maybe. Or not. What do you think?

And this one?

Oh yeah, that's not cool. But what's wrong? Do you know? No? I'm the nurse and I should know, you say? Oh...

Or this?

We all know this one, right? Flatline. No heartbeat.

So what's my point? Up until yesterday those comments were pretty much what went through my head when I looked at an ECG. I know good, and I know bad. But all the stuff in between - and there's a lot of stuff in between - I didn't have a clue about. It just looked... off. Wrong. But what was wrong? Dunno.

And why should I care? I mean, I work in oncology not cardiology. For those unfamiliar with medtalk, oncology=cancer and cardiology=heart. Keep up, please. And sure, I don't see a lot of ECGs. But here's the thing - people with cancer aren't limited to just their cancer in terms of their health. Sometimes they develop chest pain. Sometimes their chemotherapy screws with their heart. Sometimes they get sick. And when those sometimes happen, we need to do an ECG. And I was getting very uncomfortable not being comfortable with them.

So I did something about it. Myself and another nurse from my unit took a 2 day ECG course and it was really good. The nurse teaching it was obviously very knowledgeable yet kept it very simple and to the point. He was very open and casual, making it easy to ask questions. In short it was time very well spent. And now I can say - with a bit of study - whether or not the ECGs we do in our unit require more attention.

Now, why am I bothering telling you this? Most of you aren't nurses and don't give a flying fig about ECGs, unless you're having chest pain and someone is attaching more wires to you than what comes out of a typical computer. I'm telling you this because too often people get comfortable with not knowing. They don't know why something is the way it is and since it technically isn't their job to know, they don't bother finding out. As an everyday example, a recent report showed that 49% of US adults don't know how long it takes the Earth to circle the sun. I'm so NOT making that up. That's nearly HALF of the adult population of one of the most powerful nations on the planet who can't tell you the definition of a year. And I'd bet most of those people aren't even embarrassed about their ignorance.

So if there's something you don't know a lot about, go and find out about it. Is it something your kids are studying in school that you can't help them with because you don't know? Something that would enhance your job? Hell, something you want to know for shits and giggles? Go do it. Start with Google and Wikipedia but then go and read articles and books by reputable people who know their subject.

Nobody is asking you to be an expert, but enrich yourself just a little. You'll love yourself for it. And then you can brag about it on the internet.

* - ECG number 2 is right ventricular hypertrophy, and number 3 is ventricular fibrillation. Number 2 requires long term medication, number 3 requires me grabbing the crash cart and the phone to call doctors NOW.

Best. License Plate. EVER!

2010-10-05T21:54:00.003+10:00

Since I'm too busy watching the Moon Hoax busting on Mythbusters, I'm giving you this. And really since it's pretty freakin' awesome you can thank me later.

Now let me get back to my geek crush.

Exhaustion

2010-10-04T21:08:00.002+10:00

About this time of night - well in reality about an hour ago - I start to hit the wall. I get up before 5am so I can get ready for work and out of the bathroom before The Hermit has to get up and get himself ready for work. While he's getting ready, I have my morning cup of tea and breakfast whilst getting lunches ready for the younger kids and myself. Then it's time to get kids out of bed -assuming they're not up, which Clive often is - and ready. This job is shared by The Hermit and myself. Sparky needs to be kept on track, which can be a episode in frustration.

Then it's out the door by 7am and off to work. That's a whole post of its own, but suffice it to say that I work hard and often til the very last second. Or an extra 15 minutes... half an hour... crap I really need to leave NOW before child care gets cranky with me when I'm late.

Then it's dinner, homework, showers, light cleaning, bedtime stories...

Yeah, I'm knackered. And still I'm supposed to find time to exercise, blog, read, work on several things for work.

You know what? Screw it, I'm going to bed.

Saturday Skinfest

2010-10-03T21:18:00.005+10:00

I thought I'd delay this week's Skinfest until after the Grand Final, played this afternoon. Not that I really cared about either team, but I thought I would dedicate this Skinfest to the winning team. And that would be the Dragons. Yay. That's about as much enthusiasm as I can muster.

Jamie Soward has much more hair now than he did in this picture... he looks so darned cute with his headgear that one doesn't suspect the manly muscles underneath his jersey.

Holy Six-Pack, Batman. How firm are Darius Boyd's abs??

Daniel Conn before all the tatts... much nicer if you ask me.

Hey Dragons cheer girl, Austin Powers called... he wants his go-go boots back.

Congrats to the 2010 Dragons on your well deserved Premiership. And that's the best you'll get out of me since my beloved Broncos didn't even make the finals this year. :::sob:::

More skin, more or less on time, next week.

Photo Friday

2010-10-01T21:18:00.003+10:00

I took this photo some time ago, and then saw it just the other day when I was in that part of the Large Public Hospital That Employs Me:

Her name was Elizabeth Frances Crosse, and she was the head nurse at the Hospital from 1890-1898. What caught my eye was not the goofy cap or the hideous uniform, but the freakin' HUGE cross hanging from her waist. Holy crap! That's either a ginormous crucifix or a flask in disguise.

Yay

2010-09-29T09:15:00.000+10:00

Sparky and I will often quote Monty Python to each other, depending on the situation. Lines like this:

Sparky is kinda cool.

And Now For Something Completely Different

2010-09-28T20:48:00.003+10:00

I literally had the opening sentence to a new post when I changed tabs to read the email that had finished loading. Yes, I have the attention span of a gold... oooo, something shiny!

Once I finished that email, I noticed my spam inbox had 11 messages. Goldfish, remember? So I checked it and saw a blog comment from a blog that I read, Foma*. Hmmmm, I thought, why is that marked spam? What popped up has to be one of the single best pieces of spam comment I have ever read:

Anne Hathaway is my favorite. She's not just an excellent actress, she is beautiful and nice and humble! She's like a Generic Viagra, very common, but irresistible!

And yes, Anne Hathaway was mentioned in the blog post. I have taken out the link to whatever pharmacy the guy was shilling for, but full credit for being a creative spammer. Does he troll endless blogs, finding a way to mesh each of his spams with the post content and thereby not only feeding his family but nourishing his creative side? If only he'd passed that creative writing course at the community college, he'd show them! Just you wait, he'll be somebody. Someday. As soon as he sends out another thousand spam messages.

Tales From the Trip - VLA

2010-09-27T21:26:00.005+10:00

Long time friends, readers and of course my family know I'm kind of a science geek. I admit I don't have more than a rudimentary understanding of a lot of it, physics and Einstein make my head hurt, and trying to understand concepts like time dilation and relativity is barely within my grasp. But I love nothing more than shows like Mythbusters (yes, it's science!) and anything about astronomy (on my TV right now - How the Universe Works), I know who Michio Kaku is, and one of my favourite bloggers is The Bad Astronomer, Dr.Phil Plait.

Yeah, kind of a geek.

So when I was visiting Momma Mooselet out in her new home of New Mexico, one of the very few things I said I had to do, as opposed to wanted to do (which was a bigger list), was go to the Very Large Array.

The what? The Very Large Array, or the VLA, is a radio astronomy observatory consisting of 27 separate radio telescopes all linked together to see the universe in radio waves. Yes, it sees and not listens. How cool is that? Well, I think it's cool.

So the day after my brother Gabe and Mrs. Gabe arrived, the four of us borrowed Momma Mooselet's car and headed out for the hour or so drive from her place to the VLA. Luckily Gabe is nearly as geeky as I am, and The Hermit humours me (he likes it, but doesn't get anywhere near as excited as I do). Mrs. Gabe humoured her husband and sister-in-law as well but freely admitted she enjoyed the cows nearby more than the telescopes.

I giddily explored every nook and cranny of the VLA visitor centre, happily walked out in the end of a rain shower to see the telescopes, and generally just got my science freak on with pictures like these:

Ooooo, ooooo... there it is! See it?! See it?!

I loved this sign because there was no one out there. What would happen if I stepped over the line? The Hermit insisted 'they' would come up from underground bunkers and snatch me.

Look, science!

I have more pictures over on my Facebook page if you're a geek like me.

This, along with my visit a few years ago to the Charleville Cosmos Centre, keeps inspiring me to continue trying to wrap my brain around those concepts I struggle with. I want to understand the universe we live in, to be amazed by new discoveries. My inner geek demands it.

Saturday Skinfest

2010-09-25T20:23:00.003+10:00

Without further ado or my usual bullshit banter, I bring to you the return (again) of the Saturday Skinfest:

I don't even know who Jarrod Sammut plays for (Wikipedia says Panthers, now playing in the UK) but I likey!

David Williams... yummy!

Is that a football in your jocks, Chris Lawrence?

Oh sure, Alessandra Ambrosio is gorgeous and has a killer bod, but what has she ever done for us?

More skin next week.

Photo Friday

2010-09-24T21:51:00.004+10:00

Ben & Jerry's Are Coming

2010-09-23T21:02:00.004+10:00

Ben & Jerry's have some of the best ice cream on the planet. If you dispute this fact, then I must pretend we don't know each other. It's damn good ice cream. Some time ago I learned the makers of this creamy goodness had arrived Down Under, but only in Sydney and Melbourne. I pouted and actually wrote them a letter begging them to come to Brisbane.

Did it work? Well a couple of months ago they announced that they were, indeed, coming to the Sunshine State! Coincidence? Ok, probably... But it didn't hurt to let them know they were wanted.

Earlier this month they announced a contest for Free Scoop Friday - tell them why your workplace deserved a delicious B & J's drop of dairy and you'd have your just desserts! Ha! See what I did there? Anyway I figured I had nothing to lose except my waistline and since I'd lost that years ago I submitted an entry. On Wednesday I received an email telling me I'd won. I didn't believe it at first - I actually wrote back to ask if they were serious. They were and ZOMG WE'RE GETTIN' BEN & JERRY'S ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tomorrow afternoon we're getting 50 pints (I'm pretty sure they said pints, maybe they meant mini-pints) of ice cream delivered to the unit where I work of the Large Public Hospital That Employs Me. Since we now refer to Fridays at Feral Friday, it will be a most welcome morale boost... not to mention the sugar hit to get us over the finish line.

We're gettin' Ben & Jerry's...
We're gettin' Ben & Jerry's...
Conga line everyone!

Death and Taxes

2010-09-22T21:47:00.005+10:00

I finally finished my taxes. My accountant only sent me the checklists/spreadsheets in mid-July... I keep thinking it wasn't that long ago, but really it was.

Now I know that the US group are thinking a couple of things. 1) Wasn't April really long ago? which leads to 2) Just when are Australian taxes due?

I'll tackle number 2 first. There doesn't seem to be the huge deadline here like there is back in the US. I think every newscast has a story of the mad post office rush on April 15th, when US taxes must be postmarked. I think the deadline, and I use that term loosely, is mid-October but if it's late it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. I have this understanding based on my friendships with Miss WTF and Mumfies, who never seem too rushed to do their taxes. If I'm wrong someone will correct me, I'm sure. But I do aim to get them done by the end of September. Not that we get very much back but every bit helps.

And of course a few of you would be aware that, as a US citizen, I still have to file US taxes. (By 'I' I mean 'myself and The Hermit, of course.) That's right folks, along with Burma and North Korea, the US makes it citizens file taxes even if they don't earn a US income. So far we haven't actually owed any money, but the time could come - probably as soon as we don't have any deductions like kids or a mortgage - when we do. So my accountant (Sparky - "We have an accountant?") automatically files for an extension. I doesn't get us out of some other Treasury form we have to file by the end of June, but allows me to wait for all my documents to come in and do both countries at once. If I ever win the Australian lottery I may have to give serious thought to hiding my income so a government from whom I get nothing can't touch my money.

And now it's done. The spreadsheets are safely in the inbox of my accountant, with hard copies of all the dead trees I get sent from various banks/unions/workplaces to follow tomorrow.

This sums up how I feel about the whole thing:

Kindle

2010-09-20T21:17:00.004+10:00

There were a few things I wanted to buy when I was back in the US recently. Some jewellery in New Mexico, a pair of shoes I could wear to work, chocolates, and this:

Okay, it's over here <-----

And just love, love, LOVE my Kindle. Even the Hermit likes my Kindle - as a matter of fact for the first few days I had it I couldn't get near it as he kept pinching it.

I love to read (when I can find the time these days), but books here in Australia are ridiculously expensive. Even second hand books set you back a fair bit, assuming you can find what you're looking for. Knowing I can jump online to Amazon, even from my Kindle, and grab the book I want for a fraction of the price is pretty damn sweet. In fact it is scarily easy to spend a lot of money without thinking about it. And of course there is the instant gratification of getting my book in under 1 minute while in my jammies - sweet!!

And did I mention there are tons of books that are FREE? And connecting to Amazon from my Kindle and getting books delivered to my Kindle is FREE?

I did consider an iPad, for which you can download the Kindle application, but there were two drawbacks. One was price - a basic model costs over $600AUD, and that's without the wireless internet connection that comes standard with the Kindle. The other was readability - the iPad's highly reflective screen makes it almost impossible to read outside or in bright light. Other electronic book readers (until very recently) wouldn't work here Down Under, so I went with the Kindle.

And I haven't looked back. The screen is very easy to read, it stores well over 1,000 books, is light, has adjustable font size, a text-to-speech option for many books, reads PDFs, can browse basic web sites, plays mp3s... Just about everything I want in an e-reader.

My only big complaint is the fact that many titles aren't available in Australia due to Australian copywrite law. I am on a Facebook group that notifies you when free titles are available and over half of them are not available here. As for books I can purchase, they still cost more here than in the US, even in electronic format and accounting for the exchange rate.

Still, I do love my Kindle and would (and have) recommend it to anyone.

Big Bang

2010-09-19T21:42:00.003+10:00

Have you ever tried to get your head around how the universe was formed? I mean really sat and thought about it? Sparky and I are currently watching "How the Universe Works" on Discovery Channel and my head is spinning. Now matter how soothing I find Mike Rowe's voice (and believe me, I do), to hear just how quickly it all happened - Planck times? - is blowing my mind. To think that everything we see around us was once compressed into a space smaller than an atom... how? Really - how the hell did that happen? The longer I watch the more I am in equal parts absolutely fascinated and absolutely dumbstruck. Just... wow.

Which is why the universe, and not just the world, is just awesome:

Monthly

2010-09-18T20:05:00.003+10:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I last updated. I wish I could say it was because I was lazy or not feeling the creativity or something profound, but again it's just busy. I have been with my job at the Large Public Hospital That Employs Me for a year now and while I'm very happy and pretty comfortable in my position it's damn hard work. I come home just knackered with barely enough energy to do what I need to do at home and even less time.

But I won't give up on my little corner of the interwebs. I will keep at it and keeping trying to find the time, because I'm happier when I am here then when I am not.

I will end this little blurb with this tidbit from Sparky today as we drove home from his footy trophy day:

"Hey Mom, did you know that 'Jesus' said backwards sounds a lot like 'sausage'?"

That boy makes me laugh.

A Final Miss Thing Update

2010-08-18T13:36:00.003+10:00

This will be the final update on Miss Thing for a while. Here's the email I sent to Miss WTF and Mumfies explaining what was going on with my First Daughter, and I think it will explain why I'm done talking about it:

:::cue flashback music::: As you know, Miss Thing left last week to start her new life in America. The new life that was her idea because her life here was so terrible. She was off to live with Gabe & Mrs. Gabe under their condition that she go to school, which she agreed to. A new life, new opportunities.

Cut to present. Or a few weekends ago... We started getting clues that she wasn't serious about this whole move. Clues like, oh I don't know... the bit of bling she was wearing on her left ring finger. The bit of bling she resolutely didn't talk to us about. The bit of bling that we thought couldn't possibly mean what we thought it meant... until we found a notebook full of wedding ideas. Clues like the credit card she was supposed to be paying off but didn't... oh sure she paid it, but charged it right back up again. Of course this was my fault as the $50 a week I transferred into her account plus the pantry full of food I left while we were away wasn't enough. Explains all the charges for Maccas and clothes. Clues like her total absence from the house instead of packing up her stuff. Clues like her lack of doing anything she was supposed to do before she left, like researching schools.

Still we held out hope that once she got there on her one way ticket she'd pull her head out of her backside. After all this was HER idea!

So she got on the plane last Monday with her friends who would travel with her to NC (via Las Vegas and NYC... nothing like your third OS holiday in two years on your way to your new life). By Tuesday I was getting text messages saying she thought she'd made a horrible mistake. Before I even had time to text back that she'd only just gotten there and to give it some time I was getting messages that she was coming back to Australia WITH HER FRIENDS! What a coincidence, I thought! To be able to get tickets not only from NC to LA but back to Brisbane on the same flight as her friends when she has so little money! How fortunate!

Yeah, and not only was I born yesterday, but I fell of the back of the turnip truck as I did so with a deed to a bridge I'd like to sell you.

To say that I'm angry and disappointed is something of an understatement. Mrs. Gabe is also most upset with Miss Thing as Mrs. Gabe turned down a teaching job at Duke University in order to help Miss Thing, and knowing that Miss Thing had no intentions of staying but is trying to pass it off like she did? Not. Happy. Jan.

When I pointed out to Miss Thing what her aunt had given up, she became angry with me and asked me why I was trying to make her feel bad. At least that's what I think she meant - her text said "... make me feel." But let's go with my explanation. Then she pulled out the high drama and said she'd just stay out of everyone's life since she couldn't do anything right anyway. I don't think she liked it very much when I told her that it was her choice and to enjoy her journey.

The last time I heard from her was Saturday, when she texted me tell me she was in NYC. Ta, I said. She asked if I was still mad at her. Uh, yes. How long was I going to be mad at her? Until she's 25, suggested The Hermit (who, I have to say, has been so good through all of this - he's really stepped up and stayed remarkably calm). Instead I said that her asking showed a remarkable lack of insight and I wouldn't discuss it further. Haven't heard from her since.

I also note how quiet she's been on Facebook. No announcements of her plans. Of course it would be nice if she hadn't lied to her friends as well, telling them the same story she'd told us. I know this after seeing her BFF S at the pool on Saturday and he asked me how she was as he hadn't heard from her since Monday. I told him he could ask her when he saw her next week. Yeah, I know that look he had on his face as I had the same one on Tuesday.

So she's due back in Brisbane next week, will be moving in with her... whatever he is since we haven't been told anything about the diamond on her finger... and has just generally pissed a whole lot of people off. She has no job and still no plan.

And this, my bloggy friends, is why I'm pretty much over the antics of Miss Thing. I love her, but I just don't like her right now. This was written last week, so she should be back in Brisbane by now. Her things have been cleared out of the house by her... whatever-he-is... with the remains being moved by us. Her dresser is on the front veranda and when she comes to collect it I really hope I'm not here as I am still so upset that I don't trust what would come out of my mouth.

So don't expect many updates as regards her. I have 3 other children plus a husband who need my attention, not to mention my own sanity. Sure she could've done a lot worse things, but I'm tired of making excuses for her lies. It just hurts too much.

Me Speak Good English, Honest

2010-08-18T11:43:00.004+10:00

I read this article in my local ~~rag~~ newspaper this morning, and I wanted to hit my head on the kitchen counter in frustration:

Australian denied nurses registration until he passes English test

The first three paragraphs sum it up nicely:

ENGLISH is the only language Gerard Kellett has ever spoken, but he has been denied registration as a nurse until he passes a competency test in his native tongue.

The 41-year-old Australian citizen recently completed a Bachelor of Nursing Studies at the Queensland University of Technology with honours and had been offered a job as a graduate nurse at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, starting this month.

But the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, which registers nurses, has told him he must first pass an English language test because he completed high school in Northern Ireland, not Australia.

Look, I'm all for making sure people working in health care can understand English and be understood in English, which is what Australians speak. But I'm pretty sure they speak English in Ireland. In fact I'm fairly certain it's the primary language. In addition, the guy has not just one, but 3 university degrees, all earned here in Australia. Don't you think that should count for something in assessing his English skills? I'm not against a test per se - which by the way costs $535 and takes up to 2 months to correct - but to apply it in this way is insane. Surely an assessment of English skills during the university degree could be done so that those who really need the test - and not just those educated outside of Australia, but EVERYONE - can take it and those who have a working knowledge of English can not waste their time and money and get right to work? And I do mean everyone - I've read some shocking nursing notes in my day that look like a 12 year old wrote them. Not the penmanship, but the grammar. Penmanship is another issue.

What was actually worse were some of the comments left. In summary - people from other countries are hard to understand with their accents and so they should sit the test. Where's that brick wall again for me to bash my head against??? People can be so effing dense. So taking the test will somehow take away their accents? Well hell, why didn't someone tell me I can erase my accent by shelling out $535 and waiting two months? Oh and hey, can you pass me that dictionary so I can show you the definition of xenophobia?

I get that with my accent I can be hard to understand sometimes. It's why I consistently spell certain words for people - because experience has taught me many Australians won't understand me the first time. But to assume that because I have an accent that is different to yours it means I'm not smart enough to be your nurse? Kinda ignorant. Which is what I think of the AHPRA in this case - kinda ignorant.

Knickers In a Twist

2010-07-31T20:04:00.003+10:00

I have a heap of posts rattling around in my head, but I just can't get organized enough to do them. We've been back for two weeks now, and let's face it the first week was a write off. I went to work on that first Monday but by Thursday I had to ask my co-workers what exactly I had done on Monday because I just didn't remember. Fortunately I was smart enough not to do anything particularly taxing or needing a lot of thought. The rest of that week at work was simply terrible, but that's a story for another time - see my first sentence.

No, the crux of my problem is Miss Thing. I won't go into detail because I'm just too conflicted over the whole thing to lay it out rationally, but the meat of the matter is she leaves Monday for an open-ended trip to the US. She is going to live with Uncle Gabe (that's my brother for those who are new around here) and Mrs. Gabe to... well I'm not really sure. Get her head on straight. Go to school. Pursue new opportunities. Sort her life out. Reach for the stars. Pick an explanation because I've heard them all since this plan was first put forth by Miss Thing in April.

I was originally all for this plan. Girl needs to do something as she hasn't budged since she graduated from high school nearly two years ago. But things came to my attention last weekend that changed by whole perspective and now? I'm moody. Angry. Frustrated. Bitchy. Impatient. Distracted. I can't get organized. I'm wandering about my toy-strewn house and can't focus on picking up more than a couple of things before I'm off doing something else. It's been getting worse all week to the point where the tiniest thing makes me want to scream. I can usually let things go but I'm having a tough time with this one.

I think it's time to take some advice I got from a magnet I picked up in New Mexico:

Put On Your Big Girl Panties and Deal With It

Now if I can just figure out how to get them on over my fat ass, I'll be good again.

Tales From the Trip - Tweaking

2010-07-10T08:44:00.002+10:00

Ok boys and girls, I've finally found some time to play with my blog template. Don't bother frantically looking around to see what I've changed because I haven't done anything yet. I have a test site that I'm messing around with and I must say it's harder than I thought.

My current design is my third permanent one and it was never meant to last as long as she has. Life simply got in my way. I hate when it does that.

Oh, and I may change the name. I'm not really musing any more, or not so much, as I am living. See my previous paragraph about life getting in the way. I have two ideas in mind, but welcome suggestions. The URL won't change - still mooselet.com - so no fears about finding me or changing bookmarks.

And of course Her Majesty and Clive are now in Momma Mooselet's kitchen with me playing. An entire house to play in and they STILL have to be on top of me.

One thing that will not change is the tone of the blog. I've found my comfortable place and it makes me happy...

Of course I'm not really happy right now as I have been crowded into a corner of the kitchen table by Her Majesty and her multiple toys, and am being driven to distraction by Clive's screaming and Sparky's need to share the latest high score of some iPhone App.

See, nothing changes.

Tales From the Trip - Cape Cod Photos

2010-07-06T02:03:00.004+10:00

So I finally found some time to post some photos over on Facebook. Photos like these:

You can find them by checking out my Facebook profile page or going here and here.

We're now in New Mexico with Momma Mooselet and Shepster and still having a good time. I haven't slept in so much in ages.

More to come later, honest.

Tales From the Trip - Another Thing

2010-06-27T00:03:00.001+10:00

Ok look. I get that a lot of hard-core right wing Republicans don't like President Obama. He's not the guy you wanted for the job and you don't like his policies. And although I've only been here a short time I can see he has problems.

But will you stop referring to him as "The Anointed One"? Seriously... I'm sure you think it makes you sound clever and intelligently sarcastic or something but it only makes you sound petty and like a sore loser. The man was elected by a majority of the country to be its President. Sure YOU didn't vote for him, but your guy lost. Suck it up, buttercup. Work on a better choice for next time and stop wasting time and energy calling him childish names.

Thus endth today's soap box talk. Carry on...

Tales From the Trip - Conflicted

2010-06-25T23:58:00.002+10:00

OK, I admit it. I'm feeling a bit conflicted about being back in New England.

I didn't think this would happen as I didn't feel this way in the slightest when I came back last time in 2004. Maybe because I'm back in summer - or what passes for summer in New England - and it's a lot nicer than winter in New England. Maybe it's because Her Majesty and Clive are really enjoying their grandparents. Maybe it's because I'm older and am feeling nostalgic.

But when I get a whiff of the salt air of the Atlantic, or hear how much I can earn back at my old hospital as an oncology nurse, or see how inexpensive everything here is (dear Americans, stop complaining as you have no idea), or think about how close I could be to my family... and I haven't even been to New Mexico yet to see Momma Mooselet... I'm tempted.

There, I said it.

HOWEVER... what would I have to give up to come back to all that? A job I love. National health care. Schools I trust. University education for my kids that won't cripple us financially. A pretty sweet life.

And not everything here is tempting. There is little rational political discourse, at least none that I see. Of course my in-laws watch a lot of FOX News so my views my be coloured. I suspect that if I fully came out of my agnostic closet it would be more of a big deal here than back in Australia. New England winters suck. I don't have a lot of faith in the school system (and yes I acknowledge I come from them... what does that say?) There is more to life than cheap soft drinks.

But when I look up at the sky and the Moon looks normal to my Northern Hemisphere-raised eyes... man I'm tempted.

Tales From the Trip - Random Thoughts

2010-06-18T12:04:00.003+10:00

I've been back for a few days now and am nearly over my jet lag. Unfortunately I can't shake this sinus congestion I've been fighting since a week before I left. It's just the right side, so I'm wondering if maybe it's more serious than your typical head cold. Then again it's not funny colours so I'll likely put off going to a doctor a while longer.

Anyway, some thoughts on my first days back in the States:

Less than impressed with all the freakin' security checks at the airports. The initial customs/immigration guard herding people into lines was shouting at passengers like we were convicts. “Have your passports and customs forms IN YOUR HAND! Get with the program, people. LET'S GO!” Yeah, welcome to the United States. How about some signage on the long ass walk from the gate to immigration telling us to have our passports and forms in our hands rather than just you step into line? How about just being polite and having a pleasant tone of voice?

On the bright side, the customs guy checking our luggage was funny. He asked if we were bringing anything in and I replied “Just some cookies.” He must have looked at our form where I listed the TimTams and Mint Slices, because he said “TimTams?” I nodded. “Well TimTams are illegal.” What??? Uh... “Yeah, you'll have to give those to me,” he said, making smacking noises with his lips and giving me a sly grin. Ah... “You'll have to fight my mother for them then,” I answered. Sparky was most impressed that the guy had a sense of humour.

Flight from LAX to Boston was delayed for an hour due to mechanical problems. Something about a window... and the co-pilot not turning up on time. Good thing some window had to be fixed then, wasn't it?

Summer in New England? Sucks. I'm freezing. It's colder here than in Brisbane and it's winter there!!! I was watching the weather last night when they said it would continue muggy and warm, with temps in the mid-60sF (18ishC). That's not warm to me anymore. That being said it's supposed to warm up tomorrow and for the weekend.

I must admit I do miss the shopping here. Everything is so freakin' CHEAP!!! 10 2-litre bottles of Coke for $10? A kilo of chicken breasts for $4? And I haven't even been clothes shopping yet (I'm saving that for New Mexico), although I did check out prices today and was sorely tempted by the sale at The Gap (that's the clothing store, not the suburb back in Brisbane). Sparky was saddened by the fact the way-cheaper-than-Australia Xbox games won't work back in Oz.

We've become reacquainted with our cat, Junior, since being at Mother and Father Hermit's. They took her in when we moved for our initial 2 year jaunt to Australia... she's 12 now. Whoops. Her Majesty was a little freaked out by her at first, and Junior is a little schizophrenic, but they have reached a detante. Clive is not bothered in the slightest, and Junior has to good sense to still hide from him.

A 40 hour travel time helps with the jet lag. I was so disoriented when I arrived on Cape Cod, especially with having to stay awake for large chunks of that for kids and airports, that it no longer mattered. The little kids, who slept for longer periods (but never more than 4 hours at a stretch) have faired a bit worse than I, but then again I'm used to functioning on limited sleep.

Yes, it really did take us 40 hours to get here what with airport waiting times and the flights.

Air Pacific is a nice airline. The food was good as was the service. My only complaint is the movies only played a couple of times. With a 10 hour flight I would have thought they would be on a continuous loop.

Why bother to have 3 flight attendants on the American Airlines red-eye flight from LAX to Boston? The safety demonstration was done via video and the only service was beverages, which went down once at the beginning of the flight. The rest of the flight they sat in the back galley and talked. When I got up towards the end to use the toilet and asked for a glass of water I didn't even get a smile. Nice...

Clive's favourite toy at Grandma and Grandpa Hermit's house? The automatic garage door opener.

Massachusetts drivers still earn the title Massholes.

That's all for now. I've taken some pictures which I'll post to Facebook a bit later. I've had enough of trying to figure out how to interface with Father Hermit's Mac and why Blogger won't completely load on Firefox.

Tales From The Trip - Starting Soon

2010-06-12T08:19:00.003+10:00

Like this poor blog hasn't been neglected enough, we're flying out tomorrow for a month long visit back to the land that spawned us, the US of A. The journey to Massachusetts, our first stop to stay with Mother and Father Hermit and see Hermit's Big Sis, will be long with layovers in Fiji (5 hours) and LA (8 hours). We did it this was as it saved us thousands of dollars, which I hope will be worth it. Given the behaviour of Her Majesty and Clive this morning I'm starting to doubt it. And I'm trying not to dwell on the trouble Miss Thing will no doubt get herself into as she stays behind and prepares to head back in August.

After two and a bit weeks in Massachusetts, we head to New Mexico for two weeks with Momma Mooselet and Shepster with a visit from brother Gabe and Mrs. Gabe while we are there. Talk about a crowded house!

I am taking my netbook computer with me and am hoping to get some updating done on the blog in terms of redesign and more consistent posts. I did briefly consider taking some work stuff with me to get done, but then I came to my senses. The only other form of recreational distraction I'm bringing are some books I've bought and haven't had time to read. I'm sure the kids will keep me busy enough that I still won't finish them, but hope springs eternal.

A virtual wave to all you US-based readers as I fly over or close to your state. To all my Aussie friends, I will see you in 5 weeks.

Tales from the Trip starts now...

Match Report Monday

2010-06-07T19:18:00.005+10:00

Ok, so not really a match report like I used to do but I do have some great picture's from Her Majesty's game on the weekend.

Before I get to that, an update on how Sparky's team is going. In a word, fantastic. The Mighty Wests Panthers U15s are very competitive this year and it's nice to watch them FINALLY come together as a team. I wish I had some pictures but all their games have been on Friday nights bar one so far - makes for a long Friday for Yours Truly but on the flip side Sunday's are easier with only Her Majesty to worry about. Coach Thom does have some video which I may pester him for when I get back.

Her Majesty is indeed playing again this year and she's just a little legend. As a testament to her mad skillz, one of her team mates (all boys) decreed that she must be "half-boy" because she plays so well. Six is probably too young to explain the whole concept of feminism so we took the compliment in the manner in which is was delivered.

Miss WTF, photographer extraordinaire, came out to Her Majesty's game yesterday to take some pictures for me. That's a friend for ya, I tells ya. You can find the other pictures on my Facebook page if you're my friend, and if not then why not? What have I ever done to you? But here are a few for you here:

This is how you tackle.

This is NOT how you tackle... Her Majesty was hurt in this tackle when the young man choked her with her own jersey.

And this is what Clive thinks of those who hurt his big sis.

Westy Update - The Short Short Short Version

2010-05-27T04:53:00.003+10:00

I know I said on my Facebook update that I'd do a post last night, but it was Origin! Game 1 was on which Queensland won 28-24 and where at least 8 of the New South Wales points came off refs calls that the U7 refs would have caught.

But ANYWAY... I digress. Westy came home yesterday afternoon! He's cut upon from just under his sternum to his pelvis, shaved on either side of his belly, has a skin tear on one of his front paws, is bruised on his belly, has a few other sore spots on his limbs from IVs... but he's so much better. He had a trot around the yard when I brought him home, was out several times during the evening, tried to pinch the bags of chips and lollies that were left out at halftime when I put Her Majesty and Clive to bed, ate all his dinner, is licking the barrier cream off his wounds and was totally loving the painkillers at dinner if the look on his face was anything to go by.

He needs fattening up - the tumour and kidney alone weighed over a kilo so he still lost weight while hospitalized - and check ups. Going by the pathology the tumour is looking not quite as deadly as it could have been and his lone kidney seems to be functioning okay. It's probably taken a few years off his life but not as many as first feared.

Will try and get some photos up. Thanks for all the good thoughts and comments. We're very glad to have our boy home.

Westy Update

2010-05-23T22:15:00.003+10:00

I've just had another chat with the night shift vet looking after Westy so I thought I'd give you an update.

He's doing remarkably well for a dog that's just had a kidney removed and was bleeding into his belly. I've been told he woke up very rapidly after the anesthesia, had the IV pain meds taken down this morning and is on a pain patch, is eating and wagging his tail and is just doing fantastic for a breed of dog more known for its slow recovery times.

There are a couple of concerns, however. One is his clotting factors were all used up during the bleed out and have been slow to recover. He's had 2 units of very pricey fresh frozen plasma and may need another one tonight. In for a penny, in for a pound I suppose. I mean, I can't very well go and save his life with surgery only to let him slowly bleed to death because he can't clot his blood. And then it seems he is almost producing too much urine. This seems to be the most puzzling - is he producing so much because he's getting plenty of IV fluids, or do they have to give him IV fluids to keep up his hydration because he's peeing so much? Hopefully I will have an answer to this tomorrow.

Thanks for all the kind words and thoughts for Westy. Like a lot of pet owners, we feel he's more than "just a dog". He's part of the family.

What About Westy?

2010-05-22T20:37:00.006+10:00

Poor Westy. He's had a lot of trouble lately that I feel I should update you on, as it's one of the many things that have been chewing into my time.

About a month before Easter, Westy started to lose his appetite. Well, not all at once. He'd go off his food for a meal or two and then would eat again. At first we thought he had a virus, and then that he was just sick of his food. We tried different things, all of which worked for a while and then he'd not eat for a day or so. He started losing weight, and in a greyhound they don't have a lot to lose in the first place. But otherwise he seemed himself, if a little tired. Nothing we could put our finger on.

So off we went to the vet. His heart murmur had gotten worse, but all his bloodwork came back okay so we tried him on some medication. That seemed to work for a bit, but then it was right back to what he was before. Back to the vet and some more medication with some talk of ultrasounds the next week, but nothing glaringly obvious.

Well after lots of back and forth to our vet and the vet specialists, we finally found out what was wrong with our furry child. And it was exactly what I didn't want to hear... you know what's coming. The 'c' word - he had a tumour on one of his kidneys. The solution was to run a few more tests to make sure his chest was clear and that his other kidney was good before doing surgery to remove the diseased kidney.

Fuck.

We did the tests last week and all was looking good. I had a friend lined up who has two greyhounds of her own to look after Westy when we head to the US next month. Surgery was scheduled for next Thursday. On Thursday night Westy was pinching Clive's chicken nuggets.

But last night Westy wasn't looking so hot, and this morning The Hermit saw blood in Westy's morning wee. Westy was clearly in pain, something which up until this morning hadn't been an issue. I grabbed the phone and The Hermit took him in. It was decided the surgery couldn't wait, not even until Monday.

Now the story has a happy ending for the time being, so don't worry. Westy made it through the surgery; as of 6pm tonight he was awake, if very groggy, and doped to the gills on painkillers. The kidney had ruptured and he was bleeding into his "retroperitoneal space". It's always at this point in conversation with medical people, be they of animal or people variety, that I interrupt with the point that I am a nurse so they don't need to explain a lot of terms. Saves time. Anyway... he was bleeding internally. He will be there at the hospital for the next 24-48 hours, perhaps longer, depending on how he does.

I keep looking for him in the house, expecting to see him on the bed or the couch. I want to go to the vet hospital and physically touch him. I know he's in good hands, but they're not my hands dammit.

I will keep you posted on how he recovers.

In Just a Few Minutes...

2010-05-17T22:08:00.003+10:00

That phrase? Has become the bane of my existence. Really.

I've given it a lot of thought and decided that the sheer number of things I have to do that take "just a few minutes" add up to several hours a day. Sure it only "takes just a few minutes" to make the kids a healthy lunch, make a fruit salad, make a garden salad, fold the laundry, wash the floor, vacuum the floor, clean the toilet, go for a walk, shave my legs, shave under my arms, condition my hair, cut the kids nails, read a story to the kids, make a decent dinner, eat breakfast, make breakfast, hang up the laundry, do a blog post, take out the garbage, clean out the fridge, make a shopping list, make a dinner list, make a cup of tea, feed the dog, wash the dog, wash the kids, take a shower...

Sure there are other people who can do some of these things. And sometimes they do. But I have to spend just a few minutes nagging them and/or guilting them into doing it.

Plus I have to squeeze in work and sleep. And everything else I haven't named because it's 10:19 on a Monday night and I've been up since 4:30 this morning and I just can't think anymore.

So don't tell me the thing you want me to do will take "just a few minutes". I just might deck you. That only takes a few seconds.

What They Meant

2010-05-08T21:18:00.007+10:00

Very often you'll hear people, usually Fundamentalist Christians, tell you the US is a Christian nation. It's what the Founding Fathers really meant.

Really?

More information on this campaign from the Freedom From Religion Foundation can be found here. I don't care what religion people are, or are not for that matter, but I do expect them to keep it to themselves. That, I believe, is what the Founding Fathers meant.

Saturday Skinfest

2010-05-08T08:51:00.000+10:00

It's here! And on time! Because I'm doing it the day before! It's not cheating, it's taking advantage of technology and time that I have! Oh shut up and just get your eye candy...

Shirtless Bunnies never looked so good... or so inky. Not a fan of so many tatts but I will do my best to ignore.

Hubba Hubba Halatau. So says Miss WTF.

Does the sun not shine in Canberra? Some Raiders need some sun, or a good fake tan.

Ok, ok she's gorgeous. Bitch.

More skin, I hope, next week!

Photo Friday

2010-05-07T08:45:00.002+10:00

Clive and The Hermit. What else is there to say?

Just for the Day

2010-05-07T07:57:00.004+10:00

Before we get to Photo Friday, I should tell you why I'm home on a Friday blogging instead of being at work.

I have to have surgery today.

Ok, so now that we've got that out of the way let's get to Photo... Wait, what? You want to know just what's going on? Surgery? Today? And I'm only telling you NOW?! At least that's what I can hear Momma Mooselet saying.

So here's the deal. You may remember this post back in '08 where I had a huge spray about the monthly bloodletting. Well mine's been a real bitch for the last 2++ years and this surgery will hopefully sort that out. I'm not having the uterus removed - I don't have the time to recover from that sort of thing, nor was it offered right now - but what I am having done should fix my problem. It's strictly day surgery, scheduled for 2pm this arvo. I didn't bring it up sooner as I only saw the doctor last week. When he said we need to do this procedure I certainly didn't expect him to say "How about next Friday?" A quick couple of phone calls to my boss and my husband and we were in. And since then... I've just been too busy. Story of my life.

Fingers crossed it all goes according to plan, and that I'm home curled up on the couch by dinner. I promise to find an easier way to have a day off work next time.

Playhouse Disney FAIL

2010-04-25T19:35:00.002+10:00

This afternoon I sat down with the family, minus Miss Thing who was in the other room watching her own movie, to watch Toy Story 2 on Playhouse Disney. For those who don't know, Playhouse Disney is the preschool Disney channel on Foxtel, our cable provider.

So I was very disappointed when they cut the "blooper reel" out of the credits at the end of the movie! WTF? While it is an awesome movie, the bloopers at the end make the movie what it is and I can't understand why Playhouse Disney cut them out. So courtesy of YouTube, here they are:

The Tackle That Started It All

2010-04-13T21:16:00.004+10:00

And it was with that intensity that I fell in love with rugby league, with Gorden Tallis and the Brisbane Broncos (which is who Gordie played for at the time - damn lucky that).

Bubblegum

2010-04-12T21:44:00.001+10:00

I absolutely fucking LOVE this movie:

Saturday Skinfest

2010-04-10T09:46:00.000+10:00

I'm only a day late with this week's Skinfest. Although if you stick me in a different time zone I'm still on time! Hey, at least you have it this week:

Even from the back Willie Tonga is niiiii-ce!

Is it too much to hope that Billy Slater will hit his head on something hard, knocking some sense into him so that he'll stop being such a ratbag when he plays and I can go back to perving on his bod without feeling dirty about it? Yeah, I thought so... damn.

I'm pretty sure I used this one last year, but my files are in a bit of mess. Are you complaining? Nah! Personally I think all games should be played with this look.

OK, so this week's cheesecake has a side of beef with it. Sue me - I have nothing snarky to say about her either. I will do better next week, m'kay?

More skin next week.

Photo Friday

2010-04-09T09:32:00.000+10:00

From last year:

Her Majesty and her fourth place ribbon in the 6 year old girls 60 metre sprint final, after coming first in her heat for her house (hence the blue shirt) at her school Sports Carnival. She may be small, but she's speedy.

Saturday Skinfest

2010-04-04T20:46:00.000+10:00

I promised this sooner, I know. Just got busy with the little kids, Miss Thing, laundry... oh the list never freakin' ends! Anyway here it is:

Feleti Mateo goes for a bit of a swim... don't they all?

Nice legs on these Broncos. About the only thing nice about my boys these days.

Hey look, Count Chocula... I mean Anthony Minichiello!

Gisele Bundchen and her hair extensions again, hiding her girls from view.

I'll try and be on time next week, m'kay?

Quickie

2010-04-04T06:42:00.002+10:00

First off, Happy Easter everyone!! It's Easter Sunday here in Brisbane, and Her Majesty woke me up at 5:15am to tell me the Easter Bilby had come. It's been the Easter Bilby since her Prep class went to a bilby conservatory last year, and who am I to argue? I got her to go back to bed til 6 but she and Clive, who woke up about 15 minutes after she did, didn't go back to sleep. Neither did I, but I got to lay in bed til then.

I hope to get caught up this 3 day weekend. A lot of people had a 4 day weekend, but I had to work on Good Friday. Since it was the first holiday I had to work since I started the new job last year I can't complain, and it wasn't very busy at all. I'm about to put some more laundry on and will tackle the bills sometime today.

Before I get to my real life chores, I want to say I will get to the Skinfest later today. And I have gotten several emails from new readers with various questions. I have read them and I will answer you this weekend! Thanks for all your kind and generous comments about the blog - I still find it amazing that people enjoy my posts. So thanks ever so much.

Right, the laundry is calling my name. Times like this I wish I was deaf.

Photo Friday

2010-04-02T23:10:00.000+10:00

Photo Friday

2010-03-27T17:48:00.004+10:00

This week's Photo Friday's credit goes to Mumfies:

Chez Mooselet's leading try-scorer Her Majesty, with 3 tries from 2 games so far this season, and one of Wests newest refs, Mumfies eldest son Fuzzball. The source of his name should be obvious.

Mammary Update

2010-03-24T22:32:00.004+10:00

Got my mammogram results today and all is well. No signs of cancer detected. Phew!!! The twins recovered nicely from their squashing, although they have requested that I don't do it to them again any time soon. And now I can assure them that so long as they stay healthy we won't have to repeat the experience for another 2 years.

I did want to touch on the whole ultrasound thing that came up in the comments from that post. Mammograms are a screening tool, which means they need to be used on a high volume of women at the lowest possible cost. They are not a diagnostic tool - that is what surgery and biopsies are for. An ultrasound can also be used as a screening tool, but anyone who has ever had an ultrasound knows they take time. My mammogram was over in 30 minutes - that included an extra set of pictures to make sure the lower parts of the twins were properly captured and explaining everything to me as it was my first one. I don't know exactly how long a proper ultrasound of a pair of breasts would take, but I imagine it would be a lot longer than half an hour. It just wouldn't be feasible, which means they would not be able to screen as many women as they currently do.

Mammograms have come a long way in the past few years:

The image on the right is the old film-style mammogram, the one on the left is the new digital mammogram. What a difference! The tech was good enough to show me mine on the screen after she took them and I was pretty blown away by the detail. Looking at the old ones I wonder how the hell the radiologists ever saw anything that wasn't bleeding obvious. The digital films will allow even smaller cancers to be found, saving lives.

So ladies, while mammograms will remain our own private few minutes of torture - or not so private if you have a blog such as this - please have them done on a regular basis. The life you save could be your own.

Sappy

2010-03-21T23:32:00.001+10:00

I have the sudden urge to see this movie:

Why yes, I am a sap at heart. Don't tell anyone, though - it'll ruin my bas-ass creed.

The Triumphant Return of the Saturday Skinfest

2010-03-20T23:55:00.005+10:00

Bet you thought it was gone for good, didn't ya? Silly you.

I do have some new readers who believe I am a fine and upstanding person and aren't fully acquainted with the Skinfest, so indulge me for a moment while I explain. Now I am a fine and upstanding person who also has an appreciation for the male physique, and particularly for the male physique of rugby league players. The Skinfest is my weekly indulgence of said appreciation. As a nod to my male readers I offer a slice of cheesecake at the end, usually served with some commentary that is laced with equal parts scorn and envy.

Since the 2010 NRL season kicked off last week, what better time to bring back the Skinfest! What's that? You say last week would've been good? Shut up.

Oh and newbies? We're (meaning me) not very subtle here with the Skinfest where we feature stuff like this:

Darren Lockyer, or as I like to call him the Shirtless Wonder.

Jonathan Thurston, who has an ass I could happily bounce a 50 cent piece off of all night long.

Cooper Cronk, his snail trail and his too small speedos (and very pale thighs - yikes) which leave little to the imagination.

And supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who clearly is too beautiful not to have been airbrushed to oblivion. Honestly, how do her boobs stay like that??

Still with me? Cool. More skin next week - same bat-time, same bat-blog.

Photo Friday

2010-03-20T09:53:00.003+10:00

Another one of Clive:

And this is where we're off to in about 45 minutes. He's been moved up recently and is quite unhappy about it as it means a different area of the pool. Clive does not cope with change very well and since he's never been an enthusiastic swimmer it's not going well. Wish us luck!

Ouch, Ouch, OW, OW, Ouch Ouch

2010-03-17T21:46:00.005+10:00

That was my Facebook status this afternoon, and if you are my Facebook friend and caught the earlier status update you know why. If you're a little late to the party, this is why:

Doesn't that look like fun? That's not me, in case you are someone who is completely unfamiliar with my appearance. It was that position that made me go "OW" instead of merely "Ouch". Not so much because my boobs were compressed from the width of a typical paperback to what felt like the width of a community newspaper, but because my shoulder had to be pinned down as well. She's not smiling, she's biting her lip to keep from shouting, "Fuck me, that hurts!"

The twins were not happy at such treatment, I assure you.

But let's put things into perspective. "I'm sorry, I know this is very uncomfortable," apologized the nice tech as she assisted with the positioning of the girls into just the right position to be squashed.

"Yeah, well so is cancer," I answered through gritted teeth.

Because really, what's worse? Having one's tits compressed to the point of pain repeatedly for a few seconds only or dying of breast cancer? Sometimes it comes down to making it that simple.

Although I do think if guys had to have their bits squashed like that on a regular basis they'd have come up with something better. And don't even TALK to me about prostate exams, okay? Because if you bring that up I will be forced to mention Pap smears and declare us equal on that score.

I should get my results in a couple of weeks. I'm not particularly concerned, as my risk factors are low, but of course one never knows. Which, of course, is why I took the Queensland Government up on its offer for my first ever mammogram. How thoughtful of them to get me a present on my 40th birthday!

So ladies, if your doctor recommends it just go and get the mammogram, okay? It really could save your life.