What do you want for Christmas?

This is a prime example of a typical conversation that I get to have these days:

Him: So, what do you want for Christmas?
Me: Naughty Alice.
Him: Naughty Alice, huh?
Me: It's perfume, you pervert!
Him: Suuuure it is.

but I'm not sleepy

I should be in bed sound asleep but for some reason I feel wide awake, unable to switch off my mind from being in "creative hypothetical situation" mode. That, and I'm still all giddy about our random trip to the zoo yesterday - giraffes and monkeys are just so freaking adorable.

Dress classy, dance cheesy

I happen to really like Gangnam Style.

I get that a lot of people find it incredibly annoying, and I don't really expect people to appreciate the humour in the music video or anything. I'm a fan of asian pop anyway, so when I saw the video and fell about in fits of giggles ages ago, I really didn't think it would end up being mainstream enough for my news feed to be clogged up with complaints about it playing on commercial radio. Alas, that has happened and kind of ruined my buzz.

It's not all bad people! Even my mum finds it amusing (and her taste is about as far from asian pop as you can get - think Brooks & Dunn). Just embrace the cheesiness, you know you want to.

random roadtrip

Apparently Glenn likes to be a little spontaneous and his planning is more like a series of loose suggestions. Friday morning the plan was to head to Burrendong Dam for camping and kayaking. Saturday morning we headed out towards Tottenham, in the opposite direction.

We  got to Tottenham in time for a spot of breakie in the local cafe, and I happened to spot a roadsign to Centre of NSW Cairn across the road and mentioned it to Glenn. So  instead of taking a direct route to Condobolin we decided to head to the geographical centre of our state.

 

It wasn't all that exciting really, just a pile of rocks with a sign. At least we can say that we've been there. After taking a quick gander at the cairn we choofed off towards Condo. We were sure we were heading in the right direction, but when we got to an intersection the signs were all knocked about and pointing the wrong way (we didn't know for sure at the time it was the wrong way, we only suspected). So we turned off and we were sure we were heading back to Tottenham instead. Turns out we were, we just took the extra-scenic scenic route.

Once we got to the Cobar-Condobolin Road Glenny was in familiar territory and we safely arrived at the Shell servo in Condo. I have to confess at this point that I am an avid people watcher, and so is Glenn. Only he is really vocal in his observations, and there happened to be a campdraft going on so there were RM Williams wearing, Akubra toting country folk everywhere. There were two girls in particular who were looking down their noses at absolutely everything and everyone they saw. I can't really repeat what he had to say about them, but I was in stitches for a good 15 minutes which I'm fairly certain offended the cowgirls.

By the time we got to Forbes we decided we were headed to Wyangala. Before we were even halfway there the clouds started rolling in, but we chose to ignore them and ploughed onward.

I've always wanted to see the Japanese Gardens in Cowra, so after a lot of pleading Glenn finally relented and we headed out that way. As we were pulling up we were scratching our heads trying to figure out why there were so many cars parked there, till we saw the formal clothes and seating and realised there was a wedding on. Bloody wedding, I still haven't seen the Japanese Gardens. We also had a sticky beak at the POW campsite, which we found a little underwhelming.

So we ventured on to Wyangala, already starting to freeze our butts off. Well, I was, he seems to be immune to the cold. It's shorts, t-shirt and thongs everyday. It is good value to camp at Wyangala, $15 for two overnight.

The only reason we had to camp was Glenn really needed to test out how his gear held up with the new ute. I'd say it went pretty well, the 30 second tent only took about 40 to put up.

That night we had mad, deep conversations about the origins of life on Earth and evolution.

One thing you need to understand about Glenn is that he is allergic to being photographed (his words, not mine). I spent ages trying to get sneaky snaps without any success. So the next morning, I tried the sneaky video recording while he was cooking breakfast:

As you can see, not a very good effort but that was all I could get. So everyone, meet Glenn: the cranky bugger ;P

The trip home was just as random. We stopped at the Age of Fishes museum in Canowindra. Biggest waste of money ever, but now I know that the plural for fish of the same species is fish and the plural for fish of different species is fishes.One of the displays mentioned both the theories we had debated the night before, without any definitive conclusion. So that debate will probably rage on for awhile.

Anywho, after Canowindra we headed to Parkes and saw all the Back Yamma Bigfoot riders out in force along the way. We then stopped at the Dish, which we decided was much better than the Age of Fishes museum. We did make the mistake of buying lunch there, $25.60 for two sandwiches and a couple of drinks. Glad we didn't feel like the $17.10 burgers.

Looking back over the weekend it really was fun and random and all that good stuff, and now that I've got this all typed out I can't imagine how anyone else could actually appreciate how good it was without actually being there. So let me reassure you that I'm still smarting about that bloody wedding, and we froze overnight in our little tent.

The end.

Superheist - A Dignified Rage

I've been in such a Superheist mood lately, they've what I've been mostly craving to listen to. I miss this band. Admittedly this is probably the most mellow song they've done but I can't help loving it anyway. This song and Dear Enemy are now topping my playlist.

Le sigh. I'm missing the good old days of playing poker at Bazz's, listening to Superheist because that's about the only thing all of us could agree on (well, Bart and I would choose it and everyone else could just suffer, hehe).

Flu-induced musings

I've been feeling a little off colour for about a week now, sniffling and wheezing my way through work and essays. It came to a head this weekend when I started to get a little feverish. Thankfully it was nothing that prescription drugs and some TLC couldn't fix, but my mind went a little... well, wonky.

Glenny and I watched The Woman in Black early this afternoon, and I am so glad I didn't watch it all alone. It scared the hell out of both of us, and as a fan of all things supernatural themed it's no small thing to scare Glenn. When it was over, he had to head home. After he left, I texted him to ask him to let me know when he got home safely, knowing that it usually only takes him about an hour and fifteen.

Two hours later I was imagining he saw the woman in black and something horrible had happened to him.

Three hours later I was sure of it. She had caused him to veer off the road and hit a tree from the shock of seeing her. She made him stop off at the bottlo in Warren and drink drive his way into a huge kangaroo. She somehow managed to make his ute explode.

It's all ridiculous I know, but somehow I had my flu-clouded mind convinced. I mean honestly, the bullbar would've damaged the kangaroo more than the kangaroo would have hurt him!

Three hours ten minutes later: he'd been home for ages and had only just received my messages thanks to poor reception out his way.

The moral of the story is don't ever allow Skye to watch scary movies. EVER.

I'm a nut

Skybie news in a nutshell:


All  moved and settled into the new flat in Narromine.

All settled into the new job in Dubbo.

Spent my tax return on bills and a little Nikon camera.

Met Glenn's family, he met mine. No one has cried yet, so seems promising.

Been disgusted with the WIN network's coverage of the Olympics.

Rekindled my love for Superheist.

Random weekend roadtrips.

Met a nice Telstra tech who was actually helpful and knew what he was talking about.

Turned 28.


Yeah, that's about it. It doesn't seem like much but I'm pretty well exhausted!

My mute mate

My old uni flatmate Lucinda is going mute for a month to raise awareness and funds for animals who do not have a voice of their own. All the funds she raises via GoFundraise and at her work will go to the RSPCA.

I've been following her blog since she started this on June 5th, and the reactions she's been getting are very interesting. A lot of people don't really understand what she is trying to accomplish, and I can only imagine how difficult that has been for her.

Not only that, but I can only imagine how difficult she is finding it to remain silent, considering that Lu is one of the more talkative and social people I know! She is also discovering that she has a tendency to use exclamation marks more than necessary :P

Please consider looking into her journey of mutedness at Lucinda's Blog - The Sound of Silence. I for one could not do what she is doing, and think that she is doing a great job.

Turtle Update

The new sump is in, and Glenn & dad are currently brainstorming all things Turtle performance. Should she run nicely, there is a guy lined up to buy it who can fix her up if she throws a tantrum. That means a profit right there, so fingers crossed that the gents are having lots of luck and things are proceeding smoothly.

I am feeling awfully lucky right now :)

Bye Bye Turtle

It finally happened, Turtle died on me. I was driving Gradgery Lane near mum's when Turtle and a very rough ramp decided to have a fight. Turtle lost and ended up wounded with a cracked sump.

This left me in quite the predicament, seeing as I need a working vehicle. So I used up the rest of my savings and a small loan from my family to buy myself a new second-hand beast: a lovely metallic green 1998 Holden Commodore VT, which does not leak oil or have a fanbelt squeak.

Seeing as there isn't anything else wrong with Turtle, Glenny is going to try replacing the sump and seeing if she will still run. If she works, I'll sell her to the Irish backpackers that work where Turtle is currently residing so they can move on (it'll cost them a small fortune to repair their current car) and replenish my savings account.

I'm not particularly sad to see the last of Turtle. She gave me so many problems, was noisy and embarrassing, and was a fourth-hand vehicle at the very least. So goodbye Turtle, thanks for at least managing to make the move full of boxes and crap from Forbes to Narromine :)

Home Sweet Home

I have now officially moved from Forbes and am living with my sister in Narromine. This change has been a long time coming, I've been needing to be closer to my family to have a solid support network around me. Even though this meant leaving my job, it was definitely the best decision for me and seeing as I'm so close to Dubbo there will be a greater chance of finding work while I continue to study.

The past few months have been really rough on me and even though the change is huge and pretty damn scary, the knots in my stomach have disappeared, the headaches are less frequent, and I can actually relax and sleep well. If that isn't a change for the better I don't know what is!

Massive downside to this change: there are a few people in Forbes I'm going to miss terribly. However, I'll be back to visit and crash on the lounge at La Casa de Ben from time to time and annoy the staff down at the Van :P

Changes

The trip to the USA is postponed for awhile, as I get my priorities sorted out and try to focus on my studies and my health more. This includes some pretty major life changes, so stay tuned.

To say I'm scared would be a massive understatement!

Snap Happy

When my mum came to visit me a week ago, she mentioned I should keep an eye out for digital compact camera I might like for my birthday to take over to Texas and record the entire thing for her.

I don't need to think about it, I've been eying off this little beauty for awhile now:



And considering the rave reviews this camera is getitng, it's fairly affordable as well. So bring on August, I want to try it out now!

My First Thanksgiving

Provided all things go according to plan, I will be in Texas for my first ever Thanksgiving. Yay turkey day! Kyle and his family were kind enough to invite me over to stay with them in November, and it would be incredibly rude to turn down such a generous offer from my best mate. There is so much to organise and get done before then, I don't even have a passport yet. But, my first overseas trip is now a "when", not an "if".

I'm coming up with a list of things that need to happen when I'm over there:

• Eat turkey on Thanksgiving
• Try cornbread
• Go to Ren Fest for a celtic Christmas
• Visit the Tyler Rose Gardens
• Go to Lake Nacogdoches (weather permitting)
• Meet everybody I've heard so much about over the last few years
• Find an American beer I actually like

It feels great having something to look forward to, and to do something just for me. Expect excited blogging for the next eight months or so.

Hiatus

I think I'm going to need a little break from blog posts till I figure out what the hell is wrong with me. Let you know when I figure it out.

life goes on

Right? Plenty more fish, etc, etc. Eh. I don't have the energy for "pep" right now, work used it all up.

Love Letter

Love Letter by Istimiel