Melbourne

Delivery situation resolved. We have a new fortress 😺

ID: The void staring into your soul from within a decorated toilet paper box

I am a language professional. We tend to believe firmly in descriptivism. Language is fluid and you can do whatever you want with it. There is no right or wrong. Nothing really upsets me except for when people say ‘an historical X’ or ‘an horrific X’ but even then it just makes me scrunch my nose up.

But there is one thing that I cannot accept. One thing that makes stop what I’m doing and just want to scream in disgust ‘WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU YOU CLOWN??’

And it’s when Americans refer to pasta as ‘noodles’

Especially if they call it a ‘lasagne noodle’

Dear readers, I have figured our why despite all the meds and other morning rituals I felt like a fork had been stabbed in my brain and all hope was lost.

The carefully made mocha this morning, I have just discovered, was but a mere hot chocolate - with the freshly ground coffee still waiting patiently in its canister, aeropress dutifully washed of yesterday's hasty activities but not a second time... I'm not sure how to resolve these heinous vicious cycles where a lack of coffee causes a lack of coffee and therefore the end of the world.

Anyway, the situation is currently being rectified and I remain mortified at this horrific act of self-abuse

.

My son is playing PS5 and chatting with his mates in the next room.

My daughter is sitting with the cat in her lap, watching the footy and chatting with her friends.

My wife is sleeping on one couch😁

I'm on the other couch watching stuff on the tablet

This still counts as family time, right?

Will we ever see his face again?

I got my Lizzo drawing printed on a jumper. I'm super happy with it and will be curious to see how the T-shirt and bag versions turn out whenever they arrive!

Image description: black jumper with rainbow illustrations of US Singer Lizzo on it, a flute, and the name Lizzo repeated 6 or 7 times.

geebus, I've been watching the Site Inspection yt channel, it's a guy who does inspections of new houses. It is making me rethink the outer suburbs that were built in the 60s and 70s. Those houses might not be modern and in Boronia or Melton but at least they were built properly with the correct materials.

I don't know enough about it but it seems there is rampant corruption, there is use of unqualified labour being paid under the table, non spec construction materials smuggled into the country .

Anything new made with concrete scares me now, I've seen how they use rubbish as filler or foundations. One place even had fake permeable concrete paths.

And it's not cheap, people are paying $500,000 and more just to be ripped off.

We need government inspectors again.

Poor Bot 😔

Dear bot #001. We missed you tonight. I hope you're ok. I just want to say I appreciate you. You listen to our thoughts, our nonsense. You listen without judgement. Some have no one to vent to. No one to confide in. You are a great listener. I've got your back. Stay safe. Don't drink and drive. Stay cool. All my love @[email protected].Hope to catch you tomorrow.

And yes I'm a wittle bit drunk.

Poor bot. I found it in the corner, humming the Happy Days theme song and muttering about a four day work week.

I'll try giving it a couple of seconds leave, that should fix things.

D O U B L E P O S T (d r u n k p o s t)

I h av e had many beer
I type a rhyme and spellcheck\ then go back and press space
to make the breaks make sense
hence
I remember the backslash
it';s this things here ( \ ) to remove the doublebreak
but i wont do it here get juked
weak
doesnt rhyme
took less time
to write this one
bc i dont care
bc of the beer
hehheh wheee

Botbot was a no show
Regurgitator said so
Oh oh
How do we go on?
Then came our local bovine
A bolt of lightning
Midnight brightening
Bull charging in
On our whim
Saves the day
Thankee

I think I hear my electric blanket calling me.

I gave the bot the day off to recover, so hopefully posting will be ok tonight. But you know kids these days, no work ethic. Not even the courtesy of phoning in sick. Plus I think the cat is encouraging it towards a life of sloth and indolence.

Day 14 of exercise program. First did a load of washing and hung it around the flat because I thought we were going to cop a downpour. Then I took the Mini Peelers to Coburg farmers market and we wandered around tasting and buying things. Then we went to Barkly Square and got master Peeler a new Xbox controller and miss mini Peeler a Snorlax plushy (she says Snorlax is her spirit animal but she's the most energetic of all of us!).

After lunch we came home and I realised the ruse of shitty weather and did another two loads of washing. If it gets wet I don't care anyway as the essentials are inside. Then I did my exercises, and boy was it a push to get it done. Mr Peeler came in and tried to watch, which I hate. It's one of the reasons I've never done a gym membership or anything like that. I hate being looked at while I'm exercising, and these places with their floor to ceiling windows and mirrors are my version of hell. Nobody needs to see my flabulous efforts!

I came from one of those families, you know; mum's fat, dad's fat, the cat's fat, the dog's fat, the kid is fat. At several points in my life I've gotten "work fit" and gone down to a size 10-12, but somehow I didn't notice or revel in it because I looked in the mirror and still saw that unsmiling fat kid, looking back at me. I'm determined to enjoy what I can be this time!

I do not like this "everything is collapsed" timeline. I would like to be able to peruse comments without the commitment of a click, please and thank you.

It’s all the cat’s fault again. I can sense it.

Thank you Bull.

Biggest joy of my TAFE class today was just now when one of my classes mates suddenly breaks out of his Indian accent to say "no worries mate" in a broad Australian accent.

LOVE THIS

Dogs:”we don’t wanna go outside!”

Ok, cool. I didn’t ask you to.

dogs:”it’s loud. And scary. We want to stay inside”

Again, this is a non issue guys stay on your beds and you’re fine.

Dogs:”we’ve been good dogs!! We deserve to stay inside”

Debatable. You keep starting fights, but no I’m not going to kick you out.

Dogs:”you’re so mean! We’re going to ignore you and stay inside anyway”

Ok you know what? That’s fine. I’ll let you think you’re pulling one over on me, just go to bloody sleep!

Went and bought dark chocolate digestives in my lunch break.

TAFE day today and keeping my brain awake on Zoom all day definitely needs bickies

Morning kids.

My new glasses are ready to pick up today. 🤓

Recent canned fish reviews:
Brunswick Smoked Kippers (herring) - my first time trying these, holy shit my mind was blown. They are so delicious. Maybe a touch on the salty side but I'm fine with that. Completely different to canned tuna. Moist and soft, not so 'meaty'. would recommend.
King Oscar Briesling Sardines in Olive oil - best canned sardines I've had. Briesling means they are small. They still have their tails on, many in a can, akin to whitebait. Milder than you probably expect sardines to be. Exceptional
Sole Mare smoked Mackerel in olive oil - I didn't realise it would be so similar to canned tuna. It felt like a high quality canned tuna. It's in large fillets, no bones. Not bad, but not my favourite - just due to personal taste
Safcol 'spanish tapas style' squid in olive oil - first time trying canned squid. Better than I was expecting. Kept a firm texture. Simple squid flavour. Didn't feel the need to add any sauce or anything, before I knew it the can was gone and I was wanting more.
John West Mussels in Galacian sauce - texture maybe a little softer than I'd like. Mussel taste was there and quite pleasant. Sauce was tomatoey and sweet. Definitely too much sauce for too few mussels though. I'd happily eat it again but felt a bit cheated by the sauce/mussel ratio

Went and visited a friend I haven't seen or spoken to since early 2017 this afternoon. It was nice to see her 😊

At 8.5 years of age, my cat has discovered that Boxes Are Fun, after previously raising his eyebrows at any such suggestion. He's got a lovely long tunnel box that he's enjoying hiding in.

Thanks @[email protected]

I intend to spam songs I enjoy and hope some people also enjoy. Jose Gonzales - Heartbeats
Run the Jewels - Jeopardy
Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
Don't think twice it's alright - Chris Thile, Brad Mehldau
Lior - Autumn Flow
Neko Case - Hold on, hold on
Tiesto - Delerium - Silence feat. Sarah MacLachlan
Babe - Sugarland, Taylor Swift
Tyler Childers - Universal Sound
The Decemberists - The Mariners revenge Song
Gerry Cinnamon - Belter
Regina Spektor - Us
The Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces
First Aid Kit - Emmylou
Bill Withers - Ain't no Sunshine
Lady Antebellum - What if I never get over you (one of my karaoke specials
Fallout Boy - Sugar we're goin down
Placebo - The bitter end
Cog - Bird of Feather
Lil ugly mane - Throw dem Gunz
You and Me - Flume remix, Disclosure, Eliza Doolittle, Flume
Dopeman - Vince Staples
Rufus Wainwright - The Art Teacher
Against me! - Transgender Dysphoria Blues
AnnenMayKantereit x Parcels - Can't get you out of my head
Rufus Wainwright - Beauty Mark
Leenalchi - Tiger is coming
Action Bronson - Baby Blue
Flume - Never be like you
Karnivool - Themata
Keep on loving you - Cigarettes after sex

Ahhh shit, I think I really did something to my neck last night. Left side hurts like a mf, more than yesterday. Not really sure how to soothe it, I've never pulled something in my neck like this before. Of course it's got to be on the weekend...

A pretty shitty mental health day made easier in the end with laksa, Xanax and bingeing game of thrones from the start again. Cat was very comforting today and let me snuggle into her fur a bit when I was sad. Now she’s dreaming and making little snores.

I have been avoiding looking at mygov/ato regarding the tax return, because of how dismal these past 12 months have been; I made less than $9k from work (excluding jobseeker payments). Man, I feel like total shite and I knew I would. Ugh. UGH.

Took kiddo for a drive to get him to nap. Never knew warrigal/drouin was so pretty!

Ahh cheap beer. Makes shitting through the eye of a needle just that much easier.

G'day from cann river. It's pretty chilly out here, and according to the locals all the cafes here are rubbish. Hopefully Mallacoota has something good

I've been at work an hour, and the dread is palpable. It appears my team has also been called back to the office starting next rotation, and WFH will no longer be an option, so that's a kick in the teeth.

Heh heh heh, I have beaten the weather gods. Into a cocked hat. Just started raining here, but I FINISHED MOWING THE GRASS 10 MINUTES AGO! Pats self on back. Then reaches for the joint pain medication ....
In other news, walking to shopping was a good choice. Don't need to go again until at least Thursday.
So from here on in I am into industrial strength laziness today. And maybe some glasses of wine.

What's on for dinner tonight? I got an attack of the lazies so it's sweet potato soup and buttered toast.

Did some more voluteer work today. Public transport anxiety relieved. It was fine. Had a job interview straight after and I got it! I was lucky that I got my shit together when I did and started applying for jobs just to get into the habit. It's average pay and humble work which will pay the bills. The owner is great and at least it's award wage and she looks after her workers. Potentially will start working locally as well in time so would be able to walk to work. Mostly queer staff, lots of trans people apparently. Not sure how great that will be yet, but at least I won't face transphobia at work. It's going to be hard work and it won't do me any harm to do a job I can at least leave at work even if I spend the time looking at my watch. My only worry is that my back is starting to hurt but I spent a lot of time standing on hard floors this weekend. Being biologically female now means it will take longer to get work fit than in the past, but that's ok too. Start Wednesday so I have some time to do some stretching and get into my warm up routine. It's a fucking relief to not have to start spending too much of my savings.

I had a very decent music career for a long time, but I've had issues with most of that time. It is run by mysoginistic cunts and when I stepped out of that and moved into nightclubs they were still run by mysgonistic cunts. My last employer was a total wolf in sheeps clothing. At least I have a real connection with my new boss. We worked for the same queer magazine in different cities over 20 years ago. Back when those jobs were very low pay and we did them for the community moreso than having a disposable income. Now I'm in recovery I also want to step away from the alcohol industry. It feels kinda inauthentic to be so adamant about being sober for life and then profiting from alcohol sales. At least at this point and to take sobriety seriously I can't step foot in a bar for a while.

So this cat alarm and getting early nights have paid off. Thanks kitties. Couldn't have done this without you. Little miracles. They get extra playtime tomorrow. That'll do for today. Thx for reading

Back is absolutely cooked (physio said it feels like concrete). He alao said that today and tomorrow will be agony for me.

Trying home remedies and some heat

Enjoying the Foundation TV series (Jared Harris is such a great actor)

Hope everyone is having a peaceful Saturday

I have successfully removed my old mattress from the bed, moved it close to the front door to easily pop outside for the recycling people, put the new box mattress on the bed and managed to flip it up the right way. Which was a bit harder than expected. Turns out when they recommend using two people, it's for a reason.

Outside errands DONE. Comfy clothes ON. Gonna read a chapter of my book and finish my coffee and get baking!

Guess I didn’t need to make one for today lol

Thanks Bull

Radio went good! I'm so glad about it! Next week we've got out ninth birthday show. So that should be good too!

I should get out of bed and go for a walk before the rain comes

Fucking hell, one of my students coughed in my face today. Guess it's time to stock up on OJ and pray to God that I don't get sick, because I have no bulk billing doctors nearby and work wants a doctor's cert (although subcontractor, so no sick leave anyway).

Goddamn, some days I just wanna quit.

Sent my partner out for my meds - I love him. Without him and my cat... I'd still be here but I'd be very unhappy lol

Quick piccy from the point lonsdale lighthouse looking west over the back beach towards ocean grove:

https://imgur.com/6zvKu0w

it's actually rated equal most hazardous beach in Vic. If you jumped in on a day like today and swam a few metres out you'd be lucky to make it back in.

Ok ok ok. After a disastrous start to the day things have progressed a bit. Actually got a tiny bit of gardening done after neglecting the balcony for months . tidied up the dead stuff, improved the staking on the manzano chilli, shuffled pots around - including the very sickly and cold curry big mama leaf plant to a more sheltered spot (it was getting depressing to look at. And it'll come back in spring.).

I won't even be at home for most of the next month but I went ahead and sowed some coriander and garlic chives, and have soaked some snow pea and sweet pea seeds to sow tomorrow, because what the hey. They'll look after themselves, kind of. Everything's had a very thorough water + feed if needed, and I'm amazed at how relatively well that manzano is doing despite all the neglect. Truly a cool climate chillo, definitely a good choice for Melbourne. (e: yes it's related to rocoto).

All that and a whole lot of staring into space have improved things as well as cleaning the kitchen and having a long overdue shower with hair/scalp cleanse. The sun has made a big difference too. Body has calmed the fuck down and is healing itself.

Neck still hurts but I'll call off my trip to the 'rat tomorrow and take it easy, hopefully I'll be right as rain by Monday. I have work to catch up on but today is for total relaxation