A Work In Progress

I just heard the following on the radio and then saw on line: A midlife crisis at 35 Wednesday, 29 September 2010 13:52 Lonely, depressed and stressed...the midlife crisis now hits at age 35, and people in their thirties and forties are unhappier than any other age group, according to new findings. If you're about to turn 35, then brace yourself for the most depressing decade of your life. In a new study carried out by relationship advice charity Relate, everyday worries about work, money and loneliness are taking their toll on those of us aged between 35 to 44. The midlife crisis is hitting us earlier than ever before because of mounting pressure to have a successful career and raise a family in our thirties. Relate teamed up with phone company TalkTalk to quiz 2,004 British adults of different ages on how happy they were in their lives and to 'fess up to any issues they had in their relationships. A fifth of people aged between 35 and 44 admitted to feeling depressed or lonel...

I am the first to admit that I do not understand AFL, but after this weekend, I am even more confused. On Saturday we had the AFL Grand Final - Collingwood vs St Kilda. I support Geelong (who have been in the finals the last three years but alas not this year) so I was not really passionate about either team winning, but living in Melbourne, you are obligated to watch the match (I think they make you sign something when you settle in the city). Anyway, at full time the score was tied. And then, as the final siren blew, the players just stopped. I couldn't figure it out. In rugby, you go into extra time until there is a winner. I thought perhaps in AFL that they just end with a draw and everyone wins. But no, apparently, in the case of a draw in the Grand Final, they come back the next weekend and play the whole match again. I couldn't believe it! Those poor players have hyped themselves up for this big match and then have to do it all again. Not to mention the fans who have to ...

Am a bit concerned at how cat centric this blog has got of late. Not my intention at all. I have always feared that I walk a fine line between normal and crazy cat lady, and that I am only one scratching post away from tipping over the edge. Anwyay, I met "iTwinkle2.0" last night (name still a work in progress) and she is very friendly and sweet. Not the most attractive cat in the world, but then again, I am not known for picking attractive animals. Her head is unusally small compared to her body - which will no doubt become a point that bothers me as we move through our relationship. Still, she can say that my ass is too big for my body, and hopefully she will still put up with me. Assuming she gets better (she is in the vet at the moment as she is sick from cat flu) I will bring her home next week. I tried to take photos of her on my phone but technology got the better of me so will have to wait to post a pic. I promise the next post will not be about cats!!!

Me!!! Seriously this was not rigged at all. It cost $255 to get Twinkle cremated. Now I appreciate I did not give details of what I was having him put in. I imagine if I had ordered a fancy urn it would have cost more (I just had him put in a simple tin with flowers over it). So in the spirit of fair play I am willing to reward those who guessed over $250 to a coffee. Anyway, now you all know should that question come up in a trivia night.

Tonight I pick up my cremated cat. When I dropped him off, I forgot to ask how much is cost to cremate him. Tonight I will find out. I am taking bets. Winner gets to have Twinkle on their desk for a day (or if that does not appeal, I will buy them coffee). Stu - $300 Catherine - $220 Leanne - $150 Emily - $600 Sian - $575 John - $550 Mark - $170 Eva - $85 Betting closes at 5pm EST.

Sitting at work this morning, I receive a call from my builder. He asks me how high I want the rails in my wardrobe to be. Let me explain - I am getting two rails put in. One runs the full length of the wardrobe and is at the standard height. I am then getting a second rail put in, lower down, that will run 3/4 the length of the wardrobe. One section (the part with one rail) will allow me to hang long items. The second section (with two rails) will allow me to hang two layers of shorter items like shirts/tops etc. Anyway, the builder wants to know how high each rail should be. Because I am at work and can't really guess the measurements, I have suggested he grab some of my clothes from the spare room and use them as a guide as to how high and low the two rails should be. Given how the reno has gone to date, I have a sneaking suspicion that this could go horribly wrong.....

Penzance and I have decided to get a kitten. It has been mentioned that I am not very good at naming animals. So, as someone who tries to take on board feedback, I have decided that I need to open the naming of the new kitten to the public. We don't have the kitten yet, and realise that some people like to name things once they see them, but still, I think we can start a list from some of the suggestions I have recieved to date. Once kitten arrives, I will post a picture and we will have a vote. Names that have been gathered so far.... Sparkle or Browny (From Tom aged 6) Pinkle (From Kate aged 3) iTwinkle2.0 (One of my choices) Paris (Thanks Cam) Relish or Jub Jub (Mark) Let me know if you have suggestions!

Now I understand that my blog has not been very funny lately, and dwelling on my cat passing away has been a bit sad, but that is no reason for the universe to throw events at me that are incredibly frustrating for me but no doubt mildly amusing for everybody else. So I submit, for your entertainment, the events of this evening. After a hard day at work I arrived home to a sign on my door that said "Do not enter this property". Further reading indicated the reason I could not enter my house was because asbestos removal had been carried out and the inspector had not cleared the house. I rang the renovation company and pointed out that: a) I thought we agreed that they would not start on the second bathroom until the first was finished and b) Since they obviously HAVE started on the second bathroom, could I actually go in my house or was the sign correct and I had to sleep on the porch overnight. Turns out, they THINK that it okay for me to go into my house and that the sign ...

Okay so that is a bit of an exaggeration - it has only been 203 days but it FEELS like 274. Got a text today assuring me that ensuite would be complete this Friday. Hmmm, colour me cynical but I am not so sure. I still have no working shower, no vanity, holes in the roof, no rail in wardrobe, no doors on wardrobe, no hot water unit, and walls/doors unpainted. But I will be optimistic!!! To be fair, they are a lovely company and they are working fast. I just have a short attention span and always want immediate gratification. My logic is, if I see it and want it, surely I should be able to have it instantly!?! While this method works for handbag shopping, it does not appear to work with bathroom renovations. I will try to be patient, but you and I both know that that's not going to happen.

It has been so remiss of me not to update you! I got one of the burly tradesmen to undo the light shade that had bested me for several months now. Funny thing was that he struggled getting it off too! And when he did, it fell down and hit him on the nose. He tried to be all manly about it, but I could see that it hurt. Still, new light bulbs are in place, light shade back on and I am sitting here in illuminated bliss. Thank the lord for burly men!!

Why is it when you have lots to do, you often can't be bothered doing anything. Here is my to do list and my very good reasons for not doing the things on it..... I need to tidy my back yard, weed, sweep etc etc (Excuse One: Too wet) I need to do some paperwork, filing etc (Excuse Two: Who wants to do paper work on a Sunday - that is a time for relaxing) I need to clean out my wardrobe and donate old clothes (Excuse Three: Should wait until reno is over and do it when I move all my clothes back into bedroom. No point doing it twice) I need to tidy the house (Excuse Four: No point given reno is going on, just do one big clean when reno is over) I need to do some study (See Excuse Two) I need to go for a walk (See Excuse One) I need to scan in my old photo negatives Okay, well I did some of the last one but still have a heap more old photos to go. Here are two of my old cat Sputnick. Am up to scanning the photos from my time at Uni. Brings back lots of great memories. ...

After being caught coming out of the shower a few weeks ago by tradesmen on a Saturday morning, I am now paranoid that they will catch me out again!! So every weekday morning I am out of the house by 7.30am and every weekend I make sure I am at least decent by 7.30am. I REALLY wanted to sleep in this morning but am also equally motivated by the fear of tradesmen walking into my bedroom as I am in bed. God I can't wait until this reno is over!!!!!!! PS Here is another photo of Twinkle and Penne, just because!

Been a few hours now and had time to process. Was such a shock to find him - took me completely by surprise and the grief was crushing. The hard part is that he did not come in last night and I did not search for him as he normally comes in, but you wonder if I had, could I have saved him. But there is no point thinking about those things as I can't change the past. I remember feeling the same way when my first cat Sputnick went missing and later was told he had died. You just feel at fault when really you probably could not have stopped it. I know Twinkle knew he was adored and I know he lived a wonderful, pampered life. I will focus on the positive fun memories that I have and give his brother big cuddles so he knows he is loved. I guess it has been such a hard year with Mum and with work that this feels a bit overwhelming. But I am strong and I am loved and I will be okay. I just hurt right now and feel a bit alone. So cheers to Twinkle aka Twinkle Bell aka Bella aka ...

This morning I discovered my cat Twinkle had died. I know that non pet owners won't get this, but it hurts so much. Twinkle was such a beautiful soul, who was scared of most things in the world except for me and his brother Penzance. He was a huge cat, very fluffy, with an extremely loud purr. I will miss him so very much.

I stayed in a hotel in Dusseldorf and every time you turned the TV on, it went to the hotel channel which showed a repeating ad for their chain of hotels. Normally I skipped past this ad onto an actual TV channel but at one point I watched the whole hotel ad. I repeat it now for your enjoyment, so settle back and imagine a montage of attractive young people laughing by the pool, laughing at the bar, watching a sunset over the sea, gazing romantically into each others eyes etc etc and some soft piano music playing in the background: You are the journey With us travelling is not just going from one place to another. We have reinvented our space. We have reinvented our cuisine service. You are the origin and the destination We are the place where you can design the journey We create moments that time will hardly erase Get ready to experience the best journeys, because your journey starts here Then a section specifically on weddings: You have decided to set out on a never-ending journey al...

On visiting Potsdam, it was clear that there was a local election going on. Around the city where many posters of candidates. Most were your typical shot - carefully coiffed hair, big cheesy grins. There was one exception.... I really hope she wins.

Found an ad for this watch in the plane duty free booklet. In case you can't read the instructions, it says (and I quote): "To read the time simply add the numbers on the top row for the hours and add the numbers on the bottom row for the minutes". Hmmmmmm.