Saturday, October 20, 2007

Sundays- great days

Last Sunday Max the Beagle and I did the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk for a cure around Albert Park Lake. This Sunday I'm thinking of going to the Mornington Wine Festival. Often on A Sunday I will head for this hills for breakfast at the Ivy. With the fabulous Spring weather I think I'll start riding my bike again on Sundays and going for long adventures. This year my birthday even falls on a Sunday so I'll be having a few friends around, polishing off some Dolcetto and Syrah or a fine Rhielsing and enjoying a traditionally Ozzie BBQ.

What I won't be doing next Sunday, the Sunday after or any other foreseeable Sunday is getting up and stressing about what to wear that is respectable enough for the morg; no worrying about preparing lessons or doing reading; no dehydration or hunger pains or fear of embarrassing myself at starve and tell; no sitting on hard benches in a cramped room with dreary songs, robot speakers and cheap perfume wafting through the air.

I LOVE Sundays!!!!

Conversation with mum

Mum brought me into the church but I definitely surpassed her when it came to being churchy...until I left once and for all and turned into the fabulous "sinner" that I am today. Regular readers may vaguely recall some conversations mum that I have had to cut short when she starts reminiscing about the good old days when we all went to church together (woo what a great time we had!~!!)
Well lately, mum doesn't seem to have been going, and when I say lately it would seem about 6 months. So obviously the TBMs have suddenly started appearing out of the woodwork. When I popped in last week she had a food parcel from her visiting teachers. All good I suppose especially as she doesn't like 2 minute noodles and my step daughter loves them. Then she mentioned that her home teachers had also visited. I looked at the calendar- odd, I think, as usually you get inundated with such visits towards the end of the month when they realise they haven't done their duty this month and need to visit before they have to report back. Yet it was only early in the month.
SO last night she rings a little annoyed. The last four nights she's had four visits, all unannounced and at meal time. Furthermore, she's in the middle of cleaning out the spare room so the place is in chaos and she has to put up with their condescending looks and offers of a working bee at her place (they want to clean her oven and windows next weekend!). To top it all off she thinks they're idiots because when they see the patch of hair growing back on her kitten's side they reel in horror, when she explains its where she's been spayed they freak out because they don't know what this means and even struggle with the term de-sexed (I guess month python was right...every sperm does count)...now mum makes the observation that these people are ignorant because all they think of is church - she mentioned that they started a book club but it turned out all they wanted to read were church books (how many times can you drag out and analyse a Marvellous work and a Wonder before you realise the author is insane???) "We have to live in this world!" she bellows down the phone to me. So at last, I think, she has truly seen the light and I think she's finally told them to leave her alone. Then she tells me not to drop by on Sunday as she's going to conference.

Monday, October 15, 2007

TBM Quote of the Week

"...but scrap-booking IS housework!"

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Burma

OK This has nothing to do with my escape from the Morg - but it is to do with freedom. So read it and if you feel you can please sign the petition.
Cheers

Wendy

Dear friends,
Burma's generals have brought their brutal iron hand down on peaceful monks and protesters -- but in response, a massive global outcry is gathering pace. The roar of global public opinion is being heard in hundreds of protests outside Chinese and Burmese embassies, people round the world wearing the monks' color red, and on the internet-- where our petition has exploded to over 200,000 signers in just 72 hours. People power can win this. Burma's powerful sponsor China can halt the crackdown, if it believes that its international reputation and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing depend on it. To convince the Chinese government and other key countries, Avaaz is launching a major global and Asian ad campaign on Wednesday, including full page ads in the Financial Times and other newspapers, that will deliver our message and the number of signers. We need 1 million voices to be the global roar that will get China's attention. If every one of us forwards this email to just 20 friends, we'll reach our target in the next 72 hours.
Please sign the petition at the link below -if you haven't already- and forward this email to everyone you care about: http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php

The pressure is working - already, there are signs of splits in the Burmese Army, as some soldiers refuse to attack their own people. The brutal top General, Than Shwe, has reportedly moved his family out of the country – he must fear his rule may crumble. The Burmese people are showing incredible courage in the face of horror. We're broadcasting updates on our effort over the radio into Burma itself – telling the people that growing numbers of us stand with them. Let's do everything we can to help them – we have hours, not days, to do it. Please sign the petition and forward this email to at least 20 friends right now. Scroll down our petition page for details of times and events to join in the massive wave of demonstrations happening around the world at Burmese and Chinese embassies.

With hope and determination, Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Graziela, Galit, Ben, Milena and the whole Avaaz Team