Random Facts about Miff

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Old Observatory

Last night I went on a tour of the old Melbourne Observatory at the Royal Botanic Gardens with a bunch of people from work - even managed to convince husband to come.

Now, at the risk of becoming even more of a science nerd, astronomy is really cool. We got to look through two of the old telescopes as well as looking at the stars using night scope thingies they use in the armed forces (everything was green! I felt like I was playing Splinter Cell).

Last night we got to see the Jewel Box (near the Southern Cross, can't really see it with the naked eye) which is this awesome cluster of different coloured stars. We also saw two of the three stars that make up Alpha Centuri (the brightest of the two pointer stars, our closest neighbour at 4.4 million light years away, gooooo science!) which was quite special.

Because I've been working in the Planetarium quite regularly (I still get that South Park urge to say "Planearium") I actually learnt some stuff (shock horror) and am considering getting out the telescope I bought for husband a couple of years ago. Although the light pollution here is pretty terrible, probably won't see much!

I've been very proud of myself being able to translate the Planetarium to the actual night sky, although it would be much easier if I had a laser pointer to show people things.

I still remember the time Sherdy and I taught ourselves to use the Questy Skylab for a holiday program and then had a party in there afterwards - alcohol and moving stars make for an interesting evening!

Yay for science!

Where did Saturday go?

I woke up on Saturday at 8:30am with a migraine. Joy. I medicated, had a shower, a cuppa and attempted to feel better. For some reason, just wanting to feel better didn't work and husband sent me back to bed at about 9:30am.

Next thing I know it is 2:30pm and I still feel like crapola. Husband kindly brought me more drugs, scrambled eggs and a cup of tea. I had another shower (because my hair was standing up on end) and again tried to feel better. Again, this didn't really work.

Drugs finally kicked in by about 5:30pm when I began to feel like my brain wasn't trying to squish out of my ears anymore. Ahhh.... so much better!

But now I feel like I've been ripped off! My weekends are very precious (considering I only get two actual weekends off a month) and I really only got a Sunday. I did manage to have some champers and laughs with cousins on Saturday night, and Sunday saw an early morning full of cleaning in preparation for grand-parentals arriving this week, followed by the purchasing of an X Box 360, followed by husband playing said X Box and me sun bathing reading a Phryne. At least Sunday was a nice relaxed day (except for the cleaning) but I want more, MORE!!!!!

I really feel like I've lost a day, and it feels really wrong. I'm feeling a little out of whack, and know that I have a seven day working week ahead of me. Bleargh.

I only enjoy bottlenecks that are followed by beer.

Yes, this is another traffic whinge.

I really, really don't understand how traffic can be at a stand still on a freeway. It's understandable when there's been an accident, or road works, but there's no traffic lights, no roundabouts, no turns, nothing!

Today, the ring road was bumper to bumper all the way to Sunshine (that sounds like it would be a happy place to live in, but I think names can be deceiving). It was sslllooooowwwwww. And there's always a couple of dickheads who think they should be allowed to travel in the emergency lane to get in front of everyone else. I wish I were that important.

Melbournians explain this phenomenon* to me by saying the traffic is stopped because of bottlenecks. Yes, there are some points where there is traffic merging, but as long as you merge at the right speed there should be very little delay. And for some reason today, the 'Big Boys Lane' (the right lane) was even slower than the left lane that people were merging onto!

I say 'bah!' to bottlenecks.**

I suppose the reason I haven't really experienced this before is that even in 'berra I never had to travel on freeways in peak hour (or peak minutes), just main roads with traffic lights.

Why oh why do I work 40km from home?


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* Well, it's a phenomenon to me.
** As in 'Bah Humbug!' not 'Bah' like a sheep.

Weekend in 'Berra

Had a short trip to Canberra on the weekend. Although I was there from Friday to Sunday it felt very short.

Arriving Friday lunchtime I was able to see Squinky the Two Eyed Kid (aka my brother) for the first time in months, as he left for the US before I moved to Melbourne. The mohawk suits him, although it is probably more on the road to being a faux-hawk (not that I have anything against any sort of hawks, faux or otherwise).

The afternoon was spent with Lan and Fitzy shopping for baby shower stuff and rubbing Fitzy's tummy in the hope of waking up the baby. I think it's mean when people explicitly say 'No poking the baby' because they know you want to wake it up (pre or post natal).

Friday night was dinner with ma famille (including Lan, cos twenty year anniversaries have to mean something in terms of family status), where I met Squinky's new squeeze. Squeeze of Squinky was very nice, although we'd had a few champers by the time she arrived so not sure what she thought of us (or me, specifically). The guitar was brought out, vocal chords stretched, and the Tambourine Man even made an appearance (that is, dad and the harmonica) which we were all secretly hoping would happen, and then fell about laughing in surprise when it did. One doesn't usually expect someone who has recently had major throat surgery to play harmonica that well (or at all).

Saturday morning saw me being the surprise guest at the birthday of my now nephew (thanks to certain wedding vows exchanged last year) who turned 12. I gave the generic aunt and uncle gift of $20 in a card. Was mortified when other aunt and uncle gave $30. Inflation has been kind to children.

It was nice to see husband's family and got the low down on brother in-law Rup and Bek's upcoming wedding. I feel like such an old hand at weddings now, what with having organised a whole ONE wedding. I'm so totally pro.

My domestic goddess peaked through for a bout of cooking for the baby shower - caramel tarts and cannoli.

The baby shower was great fun - lots of giggling, telling funny baby stories, and scary baby stories (did anyone else know there were four degrees of 'tearing'? Bring on the C section, I say). Of course this just served to make me incredibly clucky. I've had to begin slapping my hand and saying 'No babies' at regular intervals. I've asked husband to do the same, but he seems hesitant on the whole domestic violence front, which is good, but it just means I'll have to keep my legs crossed for a couple of years to prevent the making of any babies.

Baby shower was followed by Beer shower at All Bar Nun - which has doubled it's premises, but not doubled its seating. It also got a bit crap with music way too loud (it's a pub, not a night club) and some drunk shit heads who kept throwing beer at one another, which then got on us, which the bouncer didn't seemed to worried about. We moved outside to avoid the dick heads, but at 11pm we were told that 'outside was closing' and we'd have to moved indoors. I had no idea that nature turned off at 11pm. That was our signal to go home.

It was awesome to see my fabulous Canberra people, and it was really great that the ex-colleague who sat with us didn't stay long. Turns out you can have 'us' without 'Gus'.

Sunday was a beautiful warm day, and that morning saw second breakfasts with Sherdie and Lan, shopping at Unit Concepts and the Hive (hurrah!) and then off to the airport with the parentals. This time I wasn't found to have explosives on me at security, so that was nice (although I hadn't been playing with artillery shells last time, but they seemed to think I had).

Of course it was fucking freezing in Melbourne, but that's what it's all about (I don't think the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about).

No beer and no TV makes Homer something something...

Feeling a little 'something something' as our modem at home has bitten the dust, and we won't be getting a new one for 2-3 weeks. Oh bother.

So, some stories I have to share will have to go unaccompanied by pictures because the pics are at home and the internet is not.

Story 1
I had my hair dyed last week and now have bright purple stripes instead of red ones. I must admit, it does worry me somewhat that my hair has been severely bleached, and as has my toilet. It concerns me that chemicals similar to those I put on rubber gloves to use when cleaning as perfectly acceptable to put on my hair.

Every time my hair has had bleach on it I am always surprised at how quickly it works and how easily it strips the pigment from my hair. On this occasion, however, the bleach (strong as it was) wasn't able to get the red stain out of my hair from the last dye. That is scary - strong, dangerous chemicals can't get out other strong dangerous chemicals. Damn chemistry.

Story 2
Funerals suck. I know this isn't news to anyone, but I just had to mention it. Although the funeral wasn't for a direct relative, they are still sucky. Plus I'm getting over that 'You Raise Me Up' boy band song that has been played at the last two funerals I've been to - it just makes me a big soppy hanky girl.

Story 3
Have been returning to my domestic goddess roots by preparing a gift for baby Fitzy in my RDO's last week. It was nice as it reminded me of when I had no job, and my days were care free! Every time I have my two day working week (following my seven day straight one) I always feel like perhaps I should return to my domestic goddess lifestyle - but then I remember that I would have no money. Which is crap.

Story 4
First sunburn of the season - hurrah! Every year I get secretly (or maybe to so secretly) excited when I get burnt as it means Summer is on the way. I know it is wrong to be happy that I'm sun burnt, and yes, yes, skin cancer, blah, blah, blah... but I figure these days it is just a matter of choosing the cancer! Not really. Once I get burnt I'm actually pretty good with using sunscreen, but there's just that warm, tinlgy little thrill (warm because my skin is hot and tingly because it then gets itchy) I get when I know it is warming up again!

Story 5
I'm traveling to Canberra this weekend for Fitzy's baby shower which I'm very excited about. It has been interesting researching baby shower games, especially the 'Guess the Poo' game where you mush up chocolate bars or ice cream to make it look like poo, put it in a nappy and then get everyone to guess what the poo is made of. Thankfully there is no eating of the poo after this games.

Also looking forward to seeing my dad, who is looking a little like a butternut pumpkin post removal of lymph nodes and jugular vein.

Miff's Excellent Adventures

Although I am stuck at work all weekend, today I got to drive both a steam traction engine and a tractor. Random.

Flat Chested City

Driving on an over-pass yesterday I took a quick look around at my surroundings. Melbourne is really, really flat.* If it wasn't for the pollution, you could probably see a really long way.

I've lived my whole life between two mountains in Canberra, and now that I've realised how flat it is here I'm feeling a little exposed.

I'm told (I could be entirely wrong) that the name "Canberra" is derived (or partially derived) from an indigenous word "Ngambra" which is the name for the space between breasts (the flat bit, not the cleavage) - Canberra is essentially a flat bit between two mountains, hence the indig naming "Ngambra".

So I've come from a busty, voluptuous city to a flat chested one (not forgetting the spiky bit - a nipple ring perhaps?). Perhaps this is why I feel an affinity with Canberra??

Or perhaps rather than Canberra being the arse end of Australia, it is the busty part? Hmm, but what does that make Melbourne then?

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*Except for the tall spiky city bit.