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Add page to: Add page to: Hi all,
While my address book is reasonably up to date when it comes to email, I don't have everyone's current address and so being the time of the year where we think of everyone, I'd like to take this opportunity to update my address book and fill in any missing information that you are happy to provide.
Any of you who have known me for any amount of time will know I'm not so great at Christmas cards n' stuff... (I make up for it by being rather good at spur-of-the-moment and no-reason-really gifts and silliness).
I also want to warn people not to excitedly run to the post box in the hope you'll be getting a Christmas card from me - as I've said I'm hopeless with these things and with only 4 days until C-day, it's probably would not get there anyway - but please don't think the lack of card means that I'm not thinking of you... I do think of my friends and family often and at some of the oddest moments too - especially when something happens I want to share, or when I read, see, hear or smell something that reminds me of someone.
I have received some really delightful cards, emails and messages from friends who are randomly scattered (pretty much everywhere) that have made me smile. I must admit that with every card I have received, I have felt a slight twinge of guilt at not having got organised and sent cards out this year... I mean, some of you wrote seriously nice stuff in those cards.
This year is not so different to other years, I could say that I've been doubly busy having had a few weddings in the midst of what is considered the 'silly season' - but that's not really the reason for me being slack... I'd much prefer to write you a post card, email or sms/text, telephone you or see you face to face... just coz I happen to be thinking about you or want to see you - it's more my style.
In terms of updating the address book - just supply what is appropriate or what you feel comfortable with... if that's nothing, or simply the email I've already contacted you at, then there's no need to reply :) The kind of guff I put in my address book includes:
In the emailed version of this message, I supplied my own details but I'm not going to supply them via the web, the main purpose I put this message on the web at all is I've lost all of my contact details for one or two people and hope they will use the contact details for this website to foward their information to me.
As always, friends and family should feel free to invite yourself over to dinner sometime - I've finally got a *real* dining table (some people like to call it adult, but I'm not sure I'm ready to be grown-up yet) that seats six and I'm always happy to provide a meal for friends and family.
Thanks - have a very happy Christmas and New Year (if it's your thing to celebrate them - otherwise just enjoy the end of this year and the start of the next. :)
- grudknows
It's a sign of the times when I go to a rally against the new IR laws... and feel proud to be an Australian.
For the most part I have not been a member of workplace unions (other than while at high school when I had a part time job as a checkout chick and it was 'mandatory').
The reason I haven't really joined any workplace unions was because the Industrial Relations laws actually gave me the choice of whether I wanted to be in a Union or not as the laws protected my rights. At 16 when I was being unfairly treated by an employer, I was able to get advice and cite the Act to get fairer treatment.
If you look at the early history of Australia, workplace Unions were a necessity. I was lucky enough to grow up and begin working in a time where I had the choice and where the laws protected me either way.
Today (15 Nov 2005) I attended the Industrial Relations rally with Union members, religious groups, civil rights groups and any number of concerned citizens (including some bosses and managers) who turned up to show their lack of support for the new Industrial Relations laws.
While the majority of people there would have been members of a workplace Union, this definitely was not the case for everyone there. The rally was not so much about Unions - it was about supporting fair working conditions and about the implications for the individual, families and communities if we don't have the protection of fair and equitable Industrial Relations laws.
If joining a Union becomes a necessity to help maintain workers rights and fair working conditions and to protect against Australia having the extremes of poverty at one end and wealth at the other, that countries such as the USA has, then I'll be more than willing to join one in the future.
With anti-terrorism laws, ASIO Bill and IR law reforms, I feel it's definitely the time to speak out, stand up for my own rights as well as those of other Australians (peacefully) and not be be apathetic... otherwise I may not get a chance. [Poem: First they Came]
Anyone who would sacrifice a freedom for safety and security deserves neither.
Benjamin Franklin.
My favourite magazine (at this time in my life) is 'The Big Issue'. It's fantastic, full of articles, opinions and reviews - and in every issue there is at least one article that inspires me. It has entertainment, opinion and current affairs (and we're talking real issues, not the garbage you commonly see served up as current affairs on commercial television). I absolutely love it and enthusiastically recommend it.
The first time I bought 'The Big Issue', it was out of charity. For those who don't know, vendors selling 'The Big Issue' get to put part of the sale price in their pocket to help them better their circumstances and positively change their lives. The rest goes back to the magazine - money which is obviously well spent because the quality of the content is excellent. So... ever since the first issue I purchased, I've been buying the magazine for more selfish reasons... it's a good read and I actually read most of the content rather than just bits and pieces of the magazine.
When I bought this issue, the vendor told me there was a calendar coming out on December 10, which would be available for $6... vendors will get $3 out of every sale. The vendor also informed me through selling 'The Big Issue' he got to visit his family in Townsville for the first time years.
My recommendation is to buy it... not only is it one of the better magazines available that will give you much reading pleasure, it will help someone help themselves - which, at the end of the day is much better than trying to force your aid on those who don't want it. :)
Vist 'The Big Issue' website at: www.bigissue.org.au
PS: While this may seem like blatant advertising, I have no association with the magazine other than buying it to read. I really just love it that much that I wanted to share.
Thanks to all those who fought for my right to have the freedoms I've had up until now and the freedom to say what I think, even if it means disagreeing with new Goverment policy.
It worries me that some of the freedoms I've taken for granted up until now might be disappearing - you only need to look at the new anti-terrorism bill, the ASIO Bill, the new Industrial Relations laws to begin to see a future where civil rights are headed down the drain. On an amusing site, it's funny to look around and see the Government funded media are currently the ones who go that little bit further with their reports.
If you look at anyone who has had to live with too many rules, they rebel. Whether it be a child who had overly strict parents, or a country living under a dictatorship/police state. When there is no freedom to disagree peacefully and speak ones mind, people do it in much more radical and sometimes violent ways as they see no point in being peaceful and suffering the same consequences and violence seems to have more impact (in actual fact, it seems to create more vicious circles). I hope the Australian Government is wise enough to leave people room to protest peacefully and speak their minds.
I guess it's not quite time to cry yet... there's still time for the Government to be brave enough to admit they may have been a little rash. Thanks again to those who made it possible for me to have the freedoms I have had to date.
Here’s some little known facts: 1) ghosts are mostly people who are sent back from the afterlife because they happened to die in that small, one-hour window of time just before clocks get set back, 2) the zombie population is comprised mostly of bad spellers, and 3) Hell sprung from the imagination of a Toledo, Ohio shoe salesmen, who for some baffling reason, continued to suffer a bad case of athlete’s foot even after his death.
- 'Halloween Time Facts' by Keith on Scrine
Are testicle piercings that natural?
Well, people don't generally seem to be born with them, however, many cultures have been piercing various parts of their body for centuries, so it is not probably as unnatural to humans as some might think...
The hermit crab simply changes its shell as it grows using what it can can find - preferably a discarded shell but sometimes they end up using human waste, such as cups and lids (which they don't tend to keep too long as they are awkward to hold on) - so humans are definitely not the only creatures that adorn or enhance themselves with artificial body parts and decoration.
So, yes, I guess it's a relatively natural thing.