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I think everyone has them; those quirky little routines and habits that make their personal world go round. Some are so simple as to barely register a mention while others seem strange enough to be worthy of medication but the fact remains that most of us have them and stick to them like glue.

Mine is a cup of tea first thing in the morning (following the glass of water that is actually the first thing, now I come to think of it) but where as I can cope if I don’t have that glass of water, the whole day just feels wrong if I don’t get that first cup of tea. It’s just part of my routine and where as I’m happy to guzzle coffee for the rest of the day, it totally lacks appeal for that First Hot Drink of the Day. Look, I don’t know either, it’s just the way it is with me!

It’s rare that I vary from it and when I do it’s only because it’s been forced on me by an empty tea cannister. I get that moment of “oh no!” followed by an entire day that feels somehow out of sync and it’s all because I didn’t get that morning cuppa! By the way, why is it that tea is referred to as a cuppa but coffee isn’t?

Anyway, compared to some of the quirky behaviour I’m aware of in others, maybe my little tea thingy isn’t all that bad and I know other morning tea drinkers in the same boat here but there are others out there that strike me as more “bent” than quirk. Like one acquaintance from years ago who could not cope if any of the foods on his plate touched each other and as a result, he never ate out. Then there was another would have to hang out her washing using pegs the same colour as the wash items. “But what happens if it’s more than one colour?” I asked her one day “Lisa! How many times have you seen me in, or with something multicoloured?!” she replied. Even her linen was mono-hued.

At least I am not that extreme when it comes to hanging out washing! I may use pegs of the same colour for each item but they don’t have to match the item colour as well!!! I mean, really!

But I also remember the work friend who had a different sock colour for every day of the week. Like, he couldn’t wear grey on Mondays because that was the Thursday colour and so it went on. It drove his wife nuts apparently.  And another simply had to test the water temperature of his swimming pool before he’d immerse so much as a toe. It might be a lovely hot sunny day and the rest of the family in there having fun but he’d be at the edge of the pool, thermometer in hand and if the water temp had not reached whatever it had to be in his mind (and I don’t remember on account of it being his quirk not mine) then he was not diving in.

So there you go, my cup of tea thingy sounds almost normal now, doesn’t it! Even to me!

My apologies in advance to everyone who owns a Wii. That being said however, I find I am continually asking myself why anyone would feel the need to fork out for a game console thingy so they could get active/fit/whatever in their lounge room when they could just as easily pop out into the real world and do it all for a lot less and in many cases, for free!

It would be a safer for a start because there’s a lot less chance of flinging yourself into the TV, tripping over the coffee table, shattering the prized antique object, hyping the dog, scaring the cat or dumping an entire bookshelf on yourself  in the heat of the moment if you are not actually leaping around in the lounge room to begin with. Secondly, you get to meet real people when you go outside so you can up your social skills at the same time as you hone your fitness level. Seriously, this has gotta be a plus in most cases. Besides, going out and doing it for real allows you to get some fresh air, sunlight and a better sense of the world outside your door.

But my feelings about popping out to buy a thing so you can play tennis or something inside the house had me close to popping a gasket when I saw an article about putting them in classrooms so the kiddies could get “active”. Hello!!!  Playground outside with lots of play equipment and space to run around!!! So why the Wii???

Thing is, I know people who have forked out for one of these along with all the accompanying games and attachments and guess what? They got one hell of a workout to begin with but it rarely gets used now that the novelty has worn off (which happened pretty quickly) so I’ve come to the conclusion that if a pricey gadget fails to get people regularly off the couch then not much else will. Plus these things take up a surprising amount of  space. And collect dust.

Meanwhile, retailers are still plugging them as a great way to get entertained, get active, get fit and to get social (?) but the whole thing just bores me silly. Sorry but it really does and in all honestly, I’d rather watch grass grow and before anyone starts…yes, I have played a few Wii games at a friend’s place and no, I did not get all spaced out on joy and bliss as a result. I really was just bored.

Scrabble is way more fun anyway!

 

I love books. I love the smell of them and the feel of them and sound of the pages turning. I can lose myself in a good book very easily and once I’m in I’m deaf and blind to things like ringing telephones, kids wanting things, repeats of repeats of The Simpsons etc, etc. It’s what happens when you’re an avid reader I guess and could explain why I get all fidgety when I don’t have one on the hop.

Fortunately I have a good library at my disposal in my closest town and a bloke who is also a big reader and doesn’t mind me casing his titles when I’m at his place and, to make it fair, I will happily lend him any of mine that he hasn’t read so it all works out even in the end.

I can’t say the same for films though. It’s not that I don’t enjoy them but they obviously don’t have the same all-consuming effect on me because the telephone and the kids etc, can actually break in, even when I’m really engrossed in what’s happening on screen. With a book you can pop in a bookmark to save your place and pick it up again whenever, whereas with a flick on television you can’t. Sure, with a DVD you can pause it and even go back to a bit you missed because of kids or telephones but it’s just not the same thing at all. DVDs don’t have that lovely smell either.

Fortunately, Twin I is also a reader so if I’m buried in a book he totally understands and will actually go and make his own snack (he’s definitely old enough to do so and food is usually what he’s after) whereas Daughter is only really discoving the joys of the printed word (outside of Facebook, emails, texts etc) now. She does like books though and despite her penchant for words on screens she is drawn to actual books for the same reason I am; the feel, the smell and the sound. At this rate she may actually read one from go to whoa one day, unlike during her school years when the thought of having to read an entire book almost sent her into a decline and then we all suffered.

Being a big reader though means I have to be very strong and resist the urge to pick up the latest one and start reading when I know I have other stuff I need to do because I know that once I’ve picked up that book…!!!  So it’s a great exercise in will power and I’ve found the exercise can even carry over to other areas of my life. I actually walked down the confectionery isle the last time I visited the supermarket and did not..repeat…Did Not…grab a couple of packs of Peanut M&Ms on my way past. That’s a biggie, I’m tellin’ ya!

Meanwhile, I have three unread books beckoning from the coffee table. I haven’t decided yet which one to read first but that’s okay, I can work that out while I’m doing the dishes.

There’s a few things I think I’d  like to put in motion for the future and, assuming the world doesn’t end this year, they just might play out well over the next 12 months and hopefully, into the years that follow. That’s the game plan anyway.

For starters, having recently completed one book, a novella that’s currently under perusal with a publisher (fingers crossed!) I wouldn’t mind starting another and going for novel length this time and while one side of me is squealing “OMG Lisa! What are you thinking…!!!” there’s the other side that’s urging me to go for it and tossing ideas at me left, right and centre. Sure, writing a book is a challenge but if you hit the right formula and write a good one…

But anyway, that’s just one of the things simmering away there. Another is a move to a quiet coastal area with a more moderate climate and a pretty view. Right now a second book is looking a lot more likely than a move to the coast but where there’s life there’s hope which inevitable leads to where there’s a will there’s a way! I know I could definitely write a great book in a setting like that but if I’m going to be honest here I should add that I could write it just as well where I am so I have no valid excuse whatsoever for not getting stuck into it. (Sigh)

Manuscripts and house moves aside though, I am also on a feverish search for a hair straightening product that doesn’t require heat treatment via hairdryers and straighteners to “activate” it’s properties in order for it to actually do the job. Current treatments are pricey and don’t do the deed without the heat! Thing is, the heating gadgets will do it without the product which is raising a lot of question marks with me. All the same, I just know that such a find would definitely make 2012 and beyond just dandy for me, assuming the planet doesn’t go south on December 21, so I’m on the hunt.

But seriously, I would willingly tramp barefoot across a huge stadium liberally scattered with Lego for a nice, time-saving wash-and-wear straightening product so if anyone out there actually knows of one please, pleeeeeeeeeze tell me what it is!

I’m also planning a more practical layout for my home office, a general de-clutter (less to move if that coastal thing comes good) and to generate my own good luck. Sounds like a good life-plan to me!

Unless the planet goes kaput in December. I’ll be really peed off then!

 

 

 

Okay, no doubt just about everyone out there is planning some sort of knees-up for December 31.  But are you planning the kind of Do where you will actually remember it in the morning or are you leaning towards the other sort where you could wake up just about anywhere and chances are you won’t have a clue where that is, let alone who all those people are that you must have partied so hard with?

The general assumption is that if you can’t remember a darned thing then you must have had a really good time. Pity it’s all a blank though. Ditto if you wake up so hung over that you just want to crawl into a hole and die as apparently that’s also a fair indication that you had a wow of a night.

Something to ponder though regarding the above. a) If you had such a great time, why is it that you have to feel so totally You Know What the following morning and b) is it really worth the blinding headache, fuzzy vision and the queasy tummy? If you think it’s definitely worth every painful episode you’ll experience upon waking than by all means knock yourself out!

But what is it about New Year that makes so many of us want to get totally leglessly drunk anyway? Sure, it’s definitely a drink-worthy occasion and I can appreciate that, even though I’m a minimal type drinker myself, but do people seriously enjoy taking unscheduled face-dives into floors/pavements/carpets/whatever? Having never ever drunk myself into a state of such oblivion, I find I’m unable to appreciate the attraction of falling flat on my face (or any part of my anatomy) so maybe I’m missing something here. On the other hand, I still have all my teeth.

Which brings us back to what you have in mind to see out 2011 and welcome in 2012 and even more to the point, whether you plan to remember it! I like to go outside with some nibblies, a glass of red and stargaze. It helps that I live in a rural area as there’s no relflected light to spoil the view and because it’s summer here in Australia, it’s very very pleasant to be outside. It’s even better if I can do it with a few close friends but it’s just as good when I spend it with the kids instead as they are old enough now to stay awake and not whinge. It’s just a laid-back kind of night and it’s lovely.

And I can even remember it in the morning!

 

I don’t know,  seems like Christmas 2010 was like,  just a month ago and yet here we are again in 2011! To be honest I haven’t even thought about it and then realised it’s about a week away and I haven’t even sent out a card. But hey, I have been busy with a lot of things at once so…

As a result I have nothing planned but maybe that’s not such a bad thing and I have also decided that I’m not going to run myself ragged trying to prepare for it because I just don’t see the point. To be honest I abhor the rabid commercialism that seems to get worse every year and am totally over the whining that I get lumbered with from a couple of aquaintances over gifts someone has given them. Whatever happened to “it’s the thought that counts”?

The good thing about Christmas now that I’m an adult is that I can choose who I spend it with. With my kids naturally and we have a really good time together but I can avoid those I’d rather…well…avoid! I know, that sounds terrible but who ever said that one must spend Christmas Day hanging with people  that one doesn’t really like? I don’t see the point in spending a day, or even part of a day with people I have nothing in common with and am grateful that these days I don’t have to. That’s the beauty of moving to a completely different and distant area. A lot of  the people I used to know have no idea where I am now. It wasn’t something I did deliberately, it just turned out that way and we all lost touch a long, long time ago. The upside of losing touch though is that surprise visitors are very, very rare and to be honest I tend to see this as a good thing as I can’t get caught in my daggy trackies and bad hair by the sudden appearance of someone on the doorstep who will pass it around to everyone else “Oh my god, Lisa looked a total mess!”

In my own defence, I don’t generally look a total mess but do have the occasional day when I just want to veg out and Christmas Day tends to be one of them. We eat casual and there’s no structure or rush or any other organisation and it’s just great! I love it! We can just relax and be ourselves and not have to try to please everyone at once. It’s definitely the way to spend the day. Doing absolutely nothing.

Just so long as there’s lots of chocolate.

 

 

I’m cat sitting this weekend. I know,  it’s not exactly news but this little cat’s story is an interesting one and unlike many stories about abandoned animals, this one has a happy ending…

A few years ago a close friend of mine (The Bloke) decided to get another cat, having lost his first in tragic circumstances and he figured the best way to go about getting a new feline friend was to pay a visit to a cat shelter and save a little life. He’s like that, which is one of the reasons he’s my friend.

Anyway, having made the decision he took himself off to said cat shelter to choose a new little mate to join him out on his rural property. He found several potential little mates there actually who were all affectionate and cuddly and one little tortoiseshell who was none of the above. The shelter didn’t have a lot of history on her other than that she’d had kittens and had been desexed but they were fairly sure they would never be able to place her in a home as she was very aggressive and unpredictable.

No one really knows for sure, but it’s my guess this little cat had a very bad start to life and her only exposure to humans had been traumatic which would explain why she would lash out if you got too close. Even if you didn’t get too close! Chances were she may have been just plain feral but everything about her screamed just plain cruelty case! The staff at the shelter added that the only thing they felt they could do was to have her put down. Anyway, her fate struck a chord with The Bloke and being the kind of guy who tends to stand up for the underdog (in this case, undercat) he decided to take her off death row and cart her home with him instead and the people at the shelter were probably relieved to see this pussycat get a reprieve but to be fair, they did offer to take her back if it didn’t work out.

And so began the process of showing her that life could be good after all and that there were decent humans in the world who would not hurt her or frighten her or do any of the things that we think must have happened to her before she ended up at the shelter and, over time, she started to believe it. It’s been a long road though. Sure, she still has her little ways but hey, what feline doesn’t, but she no longer sees everyone as a potential foe who needs killing and maiming etc. (We didn’t call her Lightning Paws for nothing, hon!!!)

Initially she was the hissiest, bitiest, scratchiest little bundly of feisty fury you ever saw in all your life! Admittedly she did have the odd calmer moment that could deceive the unwary but touching her was still akin to dicing with death and, well, it was often better to just talk to her in soothing tones from a really safe distance. We all did that for quite a while actually. But time can heal many things and it eventually began to work on this cute little cat.

Today she is no longer as inclined to take your face off as she used to be.  Still could if she wanted to but she no longer seems to see it as the only option. You can actually pat her now with no fear of losing an arm and even pick her up for a (cautious) cuddle! Pretty amazing for a pussycat who would kill you as quick as look at you when The Bloke first brought her home.

It’s all been so worth it though and to see her playing with toys, coming up for a pat or a cuddle with no fear in her eyes and generally running around like any happy puss does is really something. Right now she’s rubbing against my legs while I write this and I can’t help thinking that had it not been for The Bloke, she would not be here at all and I’ve come to the conclusion that “something” must have sent him to that particular shelter to find her. I believe in things like that.

See what I meant about the happy ending?

I’ve just recently finished the book I’ve been writing! At 4.06pm on November 3 to be exact and suddenly I have whole blocks of time on my hands with which I can now do whatever I want and what did I decide to do with that time? Believe it or not I decided I should start a second book.

Whaaaat? Am I nuts?

Maybe…but the thing is, I spent five years writing my novella, tapping away at my computer whenever I had a spare moment and I think I must have become so used to “working on the book” that it’s now become ingrained in me to the point where I’m finding myself pulled toward writing another one because, well, having finishedthe first one I now have the time to write another one. I know, it sounds like I should get a life but hey, writing is my life so like, hello…!

Anyhoo, I already have the plot outline because it will actually be an extended version of a short story I penned about 20 years ago for a competition. But the comp had a strict word count (3000 max I think…) and it just wasn’t going to happen really as there was so much I wanted to do with this story but couldn’t because it would have exceeded the count. I can’t remember if I even entered the eventual, greatly condensed, story in the competition but no matter because now I can write it as it should have been written and it should easily make the word count for a full length novel.

But I’m still wondering if I might be a little nuts. Writing a book, while incredibly satisfying and really exciting as the word count grows, is also more exhausting than I ever realised it could be and I’m sure I could find other things to do with the time I now have on my hands. I just don’t want to though. I want to write another book.

The upside is that at least I know what I’ll be in for so that’s got to be a plus and I know that should I come down with a dose of writer’s block it will pass. I’ve also come to realise that writing into the early hours of the morning because I just happen to be on one heck of a roll is also okay. I can always turn in early the following night to catch up on sleep if I need to. That’s the thing with being on a roll; the adrenalin can keep you firing on all cylinders for hours and by the time you finally drop, you’ve written two or three full chapters so you go down happy. It’s  how it seemed to work with me so I don’t figure I’ll change my tack with Book II.

All the same, much as I want to get straight into writing my second book I am taking a brief hiatus because I think it would probably be good for me. Just a couple of weeks to unwind from Book I so I can be completely refreshed to begin Book II. I intend to catch up on a few things and might even have a few nights veging in front of the telly. What I’ll defintely do is spend some time reading and picked up three titles from my local library with just that in mind.

I feel good though. Really good and have put it down to the fact that I feel I have actually achieved something here and the psychological impact  is amazing! Book I is with an agent now and with luck, she will like it and like it enough to want to help me to take it further.

I’m a very happy nut right now.

 

 

 

 

So what gives with the Fat Tax? Does our current government really believe that such a tax is going to deter people from making junk foods their main source of sustenance? Really?

Okay then, introducing a price hike or tax has long been used as a way of socially engineering  populations into doing what a government either wants them to do or not to do but in doing so it removes the option of free choice. Personally I feel this is wrong and in many cases it doesn’t work anyway because the section of the population being targetted over whatever it is that government wants to change will inevitably find a way around it. As individuals, we are going to make our own decisions and those who knowingly opt for the wrong ones need to be the ones to wear the fallout. It used to be called taking responsibility for your own actions, a good one as people having to step up usually learnt from the experience but this has been sidelined for quite a while now as progressive government-type departments have created all kinds of excuses for people to fall back on so they don’t have to cop the flak themselves.

In the case of junk foods (and some vague figure has jumped into the debate wanting the tax to be attached to confectionery and soft drinks as well) those who have chosen McDonald’s, KFC and the like as their main foodlines are not going to suddenly turn around and buy fruit and vegies because the other stuff has become too expensive for daily consumption. What they will do is cut back on genuine essentials so they can still manage to retain the funds for their regular fix! But hey, that is their choice and even if it’s the wrong choice (and they know it is), they should still be able to make it for themselves. If their health is a mess as a result, well, that’s the fallout. Can’t blame anyone else for that one. With the right encouragement they’ll try though.

Sure, a lot people should make better nutritional choices and common sense really does specify what those choices should be but the fact remains that some people would rather stick pins in their eyes than shop for the right stuff and then go home and cook it. Even without the price hike, takeaway on a regular daily basis works out to be more costly than dining daily on a better alternative but those who opt for the former do so by choice and making them pay more for it will not force them into swapping the junk for the better deal. But it will make them give some serious thought about what to drop from their lives so they can still afford fried chicken, chips and hamburgers every day and this is where the whole exercise will fail.

Certainly the health of a nation’s population is important and those in power are responsible for ensuring the country thrives on all levels but popping a tax on particular items that will affect the entire population in order to force a percentage of it to change it’s ways will not stop people from eating the wrong things and ruining their health. Trying to “assist” by engineering people away from unhealthy food choices will not solve the nation’s obesity problem. Help lines spouting nutritional info won’t either as, believe it or not, people really do know what the healthy alternative  is, they have just opted not to take advantage of it.  Letting them wear the consequences of their own laziness and stupidity will do it though. Especially when the message hits home that they cannot foist the blame onto anyone or anything else and can’t claim any form of compensation for their own bad choices either.

That one inevitably works, every time.

 

 

 

Ever noticed how time can mean different things to different people? Like, with me five minutes means five minutes, tomorrow morning means just that and if I say I’ll be wherever at a particular time then that’s where I am. At that time.  The only deviation was when my kids were little and I’d respond with  “in a minute!” at least twice a day as this could mean any timeframe from 60 seconds to the next week, depending on what it was they wanted and why they wanted me in on it.

Well that’s probably typical of many parents (mothers mostly) but like I said, different things, different people etc. Take teens for example, time is a very flexible thing with them but they also do the “in a minute” thing and like parents, it can mean just about anything, depending on what it is you want them to do or where it is you want them to go. In extreme cases “in a minute” can mean like, next year or preferably never. As I said, it all depends on on what the question was. But teens can also be hazy about days, as in “I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon.” They might be but perhaps it would be best not to hold your breath as it could mean the day after, the week after or some time further into the future. Depends on the kid, where they are and who they’re with. Hopefully the location and the company are all good!

Some people are just naturally punctual and assume that others will be too which is a problem for those couldn’t turn up on time even if their life depended on it. For them, on time means whatever time they happen to get there and when they finally do, they totally fail to pick up on the angst. Don’t know how they miss it though because how does anyone not see all the tight-mouthed expressions or hear the quips about the time or even  pick up on the frustration if everyone else had somewhere to be and now everyone was very, very Late!

As a result, there are some people I just don’t do time-related things with. If it’s imperative I be somewhere at a particular time then I don’t invite them along or offer them a lift or anything else that has something even vaguely to do with them being involved. It’s either leave them completely out of the picture or throttle them. But to be fair, I’m sure I’ve driven tardier aquaintances up the wall by not only turning up when I say I will but also especting them to be ready to go when I get there. When will I ever learn?

Whatever, I’m not alone in my frustrations with people to whom time is an enigma and I really try to be reasonable, but the next time the teen that’s still in residence says he’ll be home and then fails to show I think I may blow a major fuse…and then I’m going to go out and not even bother to to leave a note, let alone allude to how long I’ll be.

If he actually turns up he might even see it!