Sew Me Up

My friend Jodie sent this to me and I felt the needed to share it with the world.

The Big Issue

I love to buy The Big Issue magazine, and not just because I like to think it makes me a good person, although I am all for helping those who are willing to help themselves and also those that can't. I buy it because it's interesting.

Henry and I bought one tonight from a big, burly, two-toothed man selling it outside our local supermarket. Although this man smelled of BO brewed over 100 days and looked slightly like an unkempt Incredible Hulk he was amazingly soft and gentle by nature. While we chatted Henry stared up at him as though certain this man might sit on him and crush him to death. After we paid and prepared to leave The Hulk offered Henry a lollipop from a canister he kept in his milk crate along with all his worldly possessions. Henry took it with a little trepidation, as though he couldn't believe such a giant would willingly hand over such a morsel of sweetness. He smiled and said "thank you" with a surprised lilt to his voice.

I read that magazine over dinner tonight. It included an article about food and our modern means of ensuring we have enough, read our wasteful ways, another about the lack of role models in the arts and how the behaviours of celebrities is excused because of who they are but most fascinating of all was an article written by Helen Razer, Radio Presenter, author and comedienne. She wrote about the incorrect use of our english language and those who are too lazy to use it correctly despite their long list of degrees, diplomas and PhDs. She also wrote about our overuse of the word "lifestyle". This is when I really admired her because I've been known to bring up that very subject myself many a time. Unfortunately some who have been subjected to my diatribe have glazed over two minutes in.

It's a word that's used as often as "ipod" but what the hell does it mean? It's used in property advertising, and in reference to holidays, diets, clothing, sexuality and even hair products. We've become so sucked in by the word and believe that we can justify anything as long as we use the word "lifestyle". An over priced $1000000 property can be worth it as long as it suits our "lifestyle". I guess that's true if your lifestyle dictates that you work 24/7 in order to pay for it. I'm about to spend some time re-evaluating my "lifestyle" and am wondering if I am prepared to take on millions of dollars worth of debt to live in a bigger house than anyone I know.

Of course we all know I never will because my "lifestyle" means I can't afford a million dollar house or even a one hundred thousand dollar one but still I can dream. If I had one big enough to fit my own family and several disadvantaged children it would be worth it.

Facebook Positive

I thought I had better balance out my previous post about Facebook with a positive story in relation to it. I know I said that there are certain people in the world I would be happy not to have contact with again but I was contacted via Facebook by the sister of a very good friend of mine who I have not had contact with for years. Last time I saw this friend, approximately 12 years ago, she and her husband were desperate for a baby. They had tried IVF a few time and anything else one might try to get a baby. Turns out they've recently had twins after 15 years of trying. Now that is news I like to hear. Thank you Facebook for getting that to me.

Facebook Farce

I'm on Facebook but I'm still not 100% convinced that it's a good thing. People have been able to track me down despite my use of a pseudonym of sorts. I guess they've seen the people I've added as friends and put two and two together. Why should I be so worried? I have a blog that is available for all the world to see right? Well, no one would know about my blog unless I told them about it. My surname is not on it anywhere and no one would really go looking to see if I had one but on Facebook people deliberatley seek you out. People I may have wanted to forget about (even though that has not yet happened) and I have been surprised by the people I had forgotten about who have made contact with me.

The thing about Facebook, aside from the fact that my very good school friend adds all kinds of nasty messages (which I love by the way) is that it is sooo time consuming and difficult. To do anything you are required to add three million applications and send it to every one of your friends before you even get to say "hello" to them. I don't care if they send me a diamond ring or feed my pet or add fish to my aquarium. For these reasons alone I rarely look at it. When I do however I'm surprised at how much activity has been unleashed since I last logged in. Do these people sit on Facebook all day everyday? Are they there just waiting for someone to throw a mudpie at them? Do they hang out everyday to see who sent them a bottle of vodka at happy hour? Are they so desperate for companionship that they see nothing wrong with throwing gross images of bums with exposed haemorroids at each other? Whatever happened to doing that in real life with a close circle of friends that you actually spent time with face to face?

I can see the advantages of Facebook. For example my brother was able to arrange his twenty year school reunion through it. He tracked down all manner of people who all met in our home town over the long weekend to drink as much booze as they could guzzle at the World's Greatest Pub Crawl. Having gone to my 20 year school reunion just a couple of years ago I can see why it was worth it. Mine was a hoot, even though I hung out that night with the same people I hung out with 20 years ago and promptly ignored the rest, just like I did in school. I would like to think I had grown somewhat since that time but apparently I haven't. Let's face it, they were boring then and were still boring at the school reuinion. Some people just don't change. Maybe that's my fear with Facebook. The boring people will contact me and they will still be boring and that, combined with the hard work that is Facebook, will finally see me deleting my profile and searching for something easier.

Best $99 I ever spent

I had to get out of town for the weekend. After all it was a long one and I had originally planned to head to my home town to join in the World's Greatest Pub Crawl...only to help boost the numbers of course and keep them number one. That was proving to be too difficult to organise so I headed up the coast with the kids instead to see some friends who have recently moved there. Since they now live only one block from the beach, have a fully stocked liquor cabinet and access to the best prawns I've ever tasted, they will from now on be known as My Best Friends and I will be spending so much more quality time with them than ever before. They deserve it.

The only downside to the weekend was the weather. It didn't stop raining. It wasn't enough though to stop us from enjoying ourselves immensely. On the way up there I decided to stop off and buy a portable DVD player just to make the trip a little quieter by keeping Henry entertained. That turned out to be the best money I have ever spent in my entire life. It came in handy too while I was busy taste testing several new wines and eating the best prawns I have ever eaten. The free Dora the Explorer DVD that came with it is now all worn out.

We did get to the beach late Friday afternoon briefly and then my friend and I headed to the surfclub to taste test some local beers while Maya and his wife (my other best friend) took Henry home for a hot bath. Since he won $360 on the pokies he decided to add to his liquor collection on the way home and we continued to live it up as only the luckiest of us can. All in all it was a lovely, relaxing weekend full of sea air, great company and new wines.

Henry's Washing

Henry likes to help me hang out the washing. He also thinks that unless he uses 1000 pegs it will blow away in the wind.