Sunday, September 30, 2007

You guys understand, don't you?

I went out last night and during the course of the night I was given grief about having a blog by three different people on more than three different occasions.
Apparently Christian, Lachlan and Mike don't feel that blogs are worthy of their attention and would prefer to be mean to Netties who do...

Christian (being Christian) got really vocal about how blogs are shite and couldn't understand why I use one. I have explained to him on numerous occasions that due to a thing called 'time zones' and the fact that I have 'friends' that live in other 'countries', a blog is the easiest way to keep in touch. That didn't sway him though. He still thinks they're shite.
Mike was talking like all I do is post random everyday crap that no one in their right mind would ever want to read about (I won't give you the examples he used because it's just childish toilet humour but I'm sure you can guess).
And Lachlan just laughed derisively at me.

So I've come to seek reassurance from you guys that I'm not insane and dumb and boring (just to name a few).
I guess I'll never truly fit in with the people I hang about with in real life, I'm just too different, even from Christian. They're super intelligent, confident, everything I'd love to be. But instead you've got bumbling, daft Nettie with a knack for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. If I wasn't Christian's wife I know that none of them would give me the time of day. I'm just not the sort of person they'd chose to know.

Gah, this is turning into a self-pitying post, isn't it? You really must stop me when this happens you know!

Anyway, so I won't post about what we did last night and where we went and with whom because no one wants to read about that now, do they.

Instead, I'll harp on about something completely random.
Now, I've mentioned before that certain songs or smells evoke really strong memories in me. Well, lately I've been wearing my Vanilla Perfume oil and it's the same one I took with me to Edinburgh last year. So every time I turn about and get a whiff of it, I keep on remembering all sorts of things about my trip.
Like how amazing it was to meet up with people I'd never actually met before but with whom I clicked right away.
How much fun did we have gallivanting around the place, climbing the big hill, looking for orbs, going Goth for a night and generally misbehaving?
The excitement from being so far from home with no preconceptions, nothing to live up to and having people love you just for being you.
The regret that our blatant lesbianism didn't quite eventuate (your bathroom just wasn't big enough Boo ;-) ...)
And the anticipation of our next get together.

So, who is going to come visit next year?

Smerk is a given (living in the same city kind of helps), Boo and Mouse have assured me they're still coming, but what about the rest of you?
I haven't heard from Amber in forever so I don't know if she'd be up for another adventure.
I really hope that Alex can make it, it just wouldn't be the same without him. I can't believe how much I've missed him since we got back. Emails and messages just don't cut it.
Tah, Neo and MC, I know you've all got kiddies so it'd be hard to get away but I'd love it if you would come.
Acci, your passport excuse is wearing a bit thin. You'd better get your butt here or there'll be one mighty pissed off dragon!
Trans, I think you'd have a right laugh with us.
Joe and LaMa, you definitely need some R and R, this is the perfect place!
And Thundy, I know you want to go to Spain next year but I think you should come here instead!

There's a party at Nettie's and you're all invited!

Ok guys, hopefully I'll catch you all up sometime on the forum, until then.
*hugs*

Monday, September 24, 2007

Why can this not be simple???

I've been trying to share some photos I've taken recently with some friends but to share pics through snapfish or facebook it seems you have to create an account. How bloody annoying is that? So I thought bugger that, I'll just do a blog post.
I have no idea if photobucket is the same or not. Hopefully one of you guys (Neo, Tah or Transfrmr) will be able to enlighten me on the best way to share pics without running into all this crap. You know how useless I am when it comes to technamological things like this, I'm lucky I've got you guys round ;-)

Okies, here goes (and sorry to Acci in advance)


The boys were mucking about with my camera, taking pics of the Levin and GTR with a 15 sec exposure time. It looked awesome when a car drove past in the background.






These next ones were from across the street. We loved the fact that the tree was outlined against the blue sky and we had fun turning on different lights on the cars and seeing the effect.



Mike flicked on his fog lights for just a second in this pic.

They must get some kick-arse fog in Japan to need fog lights like these...

Kat and I...you've all seen a billion shots like this before but still, we keep on taking them.

Kat sneaking up on her Mike.


Christian avoiding the camera, as usual.

Got him (kind of).

The following shots are of Jacoby Park up near Mundaring. I thought I'd posted them here before but obviously not.

I love the pine plantation thing they've got going on. Jacoby Park is my favourite place in the whole world. I love going there. It's just so beautiful.



Spider web. This was my fist attempt at the manual focus thingy. As you can see, it didn't work out the best.

This hill is actually quite steep but you know how it is, photos just can't capture it. Standing at the top though, the pine needles are quite slippery and you feel like you're going to just topple over. It's awesome being up there and the climb is heaps of fun.


This is 'The Big Tree' in the middle of the park. She's lost most of her leaves because it's winter but in summer she's really beautiful.


The little creek that runs through the park.

Gotta love the pipeline. When we were kids we'd take towels with us and 'slide down' the pipe. Of course, it's too rough to really slide so you kind of just scoot down on your arse. Again, in real life it's much steeper than depicted here. With my intense fear of heights I really don't know what the hell I was thinking as a kid...

Just a another view from the top of the hill.

Boo and I are kindred spirits. We just can't go past graffiti without getting a snapshot...

Baby maggie. Gotta love my zoom.

My old dog Sam used to love swimming in this dam...
I love taking photos of water and seeing the reflections that you get.

Naked tree! Cover your shame!

I love the stark difference between the white gums and the other trees.

I haven't played with the macro setting yet (I need a tripod first) but I did have fun playing about with the manual zoom.

Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry bout the two posts in two days and the ridiculous amount of photos. Catch you later loves.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Cinema advertising

On Friday night we went to the movies to see Stardust with Barb, Tiho, Mel and Mike.

Our fridge is still broken (God, how I've adapted to living in the dark ages...) so Christian, Barb and I went out for dinner first at a place called Retro Betty's. As we were eating our tea, Christian and I were telling Barb about the latest series of The IT Crowd which is just fucking hilarious. By the end of it I was in such a fit of giggles that I could hardly breathe, let alone finish my food. Barb, who has seen the first series but none of the second, just looked at me like I was odd or something but Christian and I has so much fun re-living our fave bits from the first three episodes.

Anyway, so we meet up with the others and head into the cinema about three minutes before the 'start time'. I was sitting next to Tiho and after about twenty minutes of ads he turns to me and says 'I haven't been to the movies in ages, I forgot just how many damn ads they make you sit through' to which I replied 'Yeah and all the crap about how cinema advertising can work for you.' Tiho then asks 'Have you seen the latest series of The IT Crowd?'.
I couldn't even answer, we just burst out laughing and started quoting bits from the anti-piracy spoof from Moss and the German. We both just had exactly the same things on our minds. If you haven't seen it yet, here's the spoof below.




I swear if they had actually shown the proper ad, I would have wet myself laughing so it was best for everyone that they didn't.
Anyway, so the movie was fantastic. Robert DeNiro stole the show in my opinion, he was hilarious but the movie overall was great. I really enjoyed it and I'd recommend it to anyone.

And that's really about it for news from me at the moment. I'll keep you all posted :)

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

I haven't posted in a little bit and it's all Barb's fault! And everyone else's too! I shall blame everyone on Facebook as for some reason I've been spending all my time there and not bothering to do blog updates.

So there :-P

I never had any interest in joining the Facebook ranks even though Barb nagged and nagged me. She keeps in touch with Dad and my brother on there and wanted me to join in.
But I resisted.
Then MC goes and invites me to join so I did (I don't like ignoring requests to be friends!). Barb then finds out and that's my resolve down the drain.

I'm on the bloody thing way too much. And don't even get me started on that pirate game! I always say the next island I come across I shall bury my coins but I just can't resist looking for treasure! Gah, I'm pathetic!

Anyway, so that is my blog update. All I have been doing is wasting time on Facebook. I'm hardly even bothering to do more than have a cursory glance at MoH. What is the world coming to???

I shall make more of an effort to keep this up to date though, I promise. Until then, ciao!

Monday, September 10, 2007

Blatant disregard for the law

Well I've kind of recovered from my bout of self pity from the other day. The problem is still there, it's not something that's going to go away in a hurry but I'm learning to deal with it. Thanks for all the hugs though, it really does help.

Now, I have a story to share with you all.

Last night Christian and I went to the movies (saw Bourne Ultimatum again - it's good) and ended up seeing a late session. We'd gone to a cinema complex rather far away from us as we met up with Kat and Mike ... ok, I wasn't going to mention the name of the suburb as it's just plain embarrassing but I may as well so you can all have a good laugh at us Aussies and our funny names.

Innaloo.

Yes, we've heard all the jokes before, there's no need to repeat them people!

So, Innaloo is about a half hour drive away from us, depending on traffic and we were heading home rather close to midnight. We come up to a set of traffic lights and needed to turn right. The lights were green but with a red arrow, meaning you have to stop.

Apparently the rules don't apply to my husband though! He just drove straight through it. I saw what he was about to do and I let out a babble of words along the lines of 'Red light, it's a red light, Christian it's red, red means stop, red light, can you not see that?' but it didn't do me any good as he drove straight through it.
I was shocked I tell you, shocked! His reply to my minor panic attack was 'There was no one about and if I had stopped we'd have been there for another five minutes, I just want to get home.'
I then spurted off a whole heap of reasons why he should have stopped anyway including that there could have been a cop behind us, a pedestrian may have been crossing, numerous other unlikely events. Christian shot them all down and then demanded to know why I was so worked up. 'Because it's a blatant disregard for the law!' I managed to splutter indignantly.

To which all he could do was laugh.

As we continued to drive home Christian then pointed out other people flaunting the law.
There was one guy who didn't fully stop at a stop sign. I told Christian that he must be part of the same club, that I'm sure he reads his blog and they attend meetings together, figuring out the best ways to break the road rules.
A little old lady with private plates hurtled past us doing about ten k's over the limit. I said Christian is probably chummy with her too to which he replied 'Oh yes, Ida and I go waaaaaaaay back, she's a veteran when it comes to speeding.'
The guy who drove through the orange light in front of us is apparently just a newbie but he'll get the swing of running red lights soon enough.
And on it went.

I guess I've just taken better notice of all the road safely campaigns and their catchy slogans over the years. When I was in Edinburgh we all talked about different slogans and I don't think anyone had any as fun as ours. Here's a few.

Pedestrians have right of way - ok!

If you drink and drive, you're a bloody idiot.

Drop five - stay alive.

Remember, yawning is a warning.

Road safely is no accident.

Driving this Christmas? Don't be a turkey.

Tired if living? Drive tired.

As Christian doesn't read my blog perhaps I should email him a list of these slogans and hope they'll sink in that way?
Or maybe I'll just save my breath.

Friday, September 07, 2007

Gah, I've caught the bug

*sigh*

As Thundy pointed out in her blog the other day, everyone seems to be having a rather shit time at the moment.

It seems to have caught up with me. Dammit.

I was rather hoping to avoid it.
So, life isn't the best at the moment, everything seems to be going wrong and I've spent a good deal of time lately in tears. I'm just lucky that I have such a wonderful and understanding husband. I told Christian the other day that I'm thinking of running away somewhere but he managed to put it a little into perspective.

Anyway, I apologise for the rather abrupt change of tone, I try not to be too down when posting.
For that reason (among others) I won't go into details on here but I do promise that as soon as anything exciting or upbeat occurs, you guys will be the first to know.

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Humble Pie

Not that he'll ever read this, but I'll kick off this post with an apology to Christian.

I seriously doubted his ability to move his wonderfully heavy table into our dining room without causing irreparable damage to either our house, the table or someone helping with the move.

I was wrong to ever have such doubts.

The boys pulled it off in about two minutes with nothing untoward occurring and then with many snide remarks thrown in my general direction after the move was accomplished.
I deserved most of the remarks I must admit!

So instead of capturing that horrible moment when it all went wrong, I instead have a photographic step-by-step guide on how to move a table.

Enjoy.

1)First of all, decide that four people is enough to move the table as no one can be bothered waiting for the latecomers to arrive to help.

2)Stand around for several minutes discussing the wonderful workmanship that went into making said table and generally admiring table. (Please ignore the seriously messy back yard. It will be transformed come summer comes, I guarantee!)

3)Turn table on it's side.

4) Position helpers around the table at strategically placed leg positions.

5) Lift.

6)Manoeuvre table through the doorway, making sure to avoid dropping table on feet or pinning digits against door frame.

7) Lift table fully into room and then turn right way up.

8) Tadda!

I must say I was very impressed with their effort! As I am usually wrong, I have learned to be the first to admit it so well done boys.

As usual with any LAN, there are always people that turn up horribly late and so it takes a rather long time to get everything hooked up, downloaded and connected, ready to go.
Tiho had been the first person to turn up at about half ten that morning and I think it was about three thirty that the boys played their first proper game.
In this in-between time I amused myself by sorting through old photos. The gym are having a photo wall and want everyone to bring in baby pictures of themselves and then everyone has to guess who is who. I don't have a lot of pics here of me when I was younger that aren't school photos, but I eventually found one to take in. I hope to get my scanner up and running soon so I can post some of the photos I was looking at, but the one I found is of me and my two sisters. I must have been about two or three as Barb is just a baby in it and I had rather blonde hair. I also found a 2nd birthday card from my Nanna and Grandpop calling me their 'little goldilocks'. I had almost forgotten that in the first few years of my life I was a natural blonde! How things change! Of course, my mother has no qualms now telling me she always thought I was a little evil looking, blonde hair with black eyes. Apparently I freaked her out as a baby! lol Makes me feel so loved! ;-)

Anyway, the boys finally got everything sorted and then played a flurry of games. I know they played Company of Heroes because Christian has played that so often lately that I recognise it, but as for the other games, they did tell me what they were called but I honestly can't remember. One of them was quite fun to watch, one team are some kind of dodgy aliens and the other are humans and they run around trying to kill each other. Christian morphed into some big spider type of alien so big that he couldn't fit down some of the walkways and had to go the long way round to kill people...
This really isn't interesting, is it?
I'll stop going on about it and just show you some photos then.

Tessa kicked Ben off his chair at one point and sat watching the screen. Of course as soon as I came anywhere near her with the camera she's jump up and look at me, trying to figure out what I was doing. It was much funnier when it looked like she was playing :(

This is just a shot of some of the guys playing around the 'table'. I didn't actually manage to get a very clear photo of any of them, you can just see Mike from around the side of his puter (he didn't know I had my camera at that point - after that anytime I came near he pulled his hat down over his face to hide). Scott is in the corner, Spencer has his back to the camera (I hadn't met him before tonight, he came with Tiho when Tihos' brother couldn't make it) and Lance is off to the side in the striped shirt. Glen hadn't yet arrived, but in the end they managed to fit five guys and their puters around the 'table'.

Ben grabbed my camera and took this photo. I just had time to hide behind Christian slightly so you don't get to see my huge arse! ;-)

At the exact moment I took this shot, Christian had just finished killing Mike's character. He let out a huge whoop and Mike swore at him for about a full minute (apparently it was a rather nifty shot). One of these days I'll remember I have video on my camera...

Tiho looking cute as usual.

I tried three times to get a photo of Sexy Mikes' shirt. I thought it rather appropriate for the evening.
At seven I left the boys and went and called Mouse. It was wonderful to chat to her again on the phone as with the time differences between us, it's rare that I get to have a good chat with her on msn or MoH. Plus, you just can't beat an actual conversation.
We chatted for about two and a half hours about various things, and it was great to catch up. She made the comment again that I sound very Aussie (not as Aussie as the actors on Neighbours or Home and Away but still Aussier than she remembered) and said it was funny to hear Aussie geeks in the background as opposed to the Scottish geeks she's used to. I told the boys to say hello and they did so very unenthusiastically I must say. I then mentioned that I was talking to a hot Scottish chick and that got a slightly more enthusiastic response (what did I expect really, they are geeks after all...).

After I got off the phone I sat about watching the guys play Soldat (I think it's called anyway). By half eleven I'd almost fallen asleep onto Mike's mouse pad so I thought it was about time I went to bed. At seven this morning I woke up and Christian, Sexy Mike and Ben were just finishing playing their last game. I honestly don't know how they do it. I'm not passionate about anything enough to forgo my sleep.

Of course, now Christian is asleep and the house is quite. I should start cleaning up, my house is a pigsty now.

One thing Christian didn't think of however is that I now have a huge heavy table sitting in my dining room and no one to move it back outside.

*sigh*