Hey ma I'm on top of the world

Posted

Mood: Sick and sore, Music: The drone of Big Brother in the background

Lu and Rog have outvoted me and are watching Big Brother uncut. Why!!!! Why!!!!! They are only watching for the chance to see titties. I hate it so much.

I've taken over my boss's job for 6 weeks while his wife has their baby. It was a good feeling until I realised that I was the only one foolish enough to want to tackle the mountain of paperwork thats been left. Sometimes I'm too keen and eager.

OK something I recently learnt that didn't surprise me very much.

Australia recently did the stupidest thing since following the brits into WW1, they voted the Liberal (Conservative) party into both houses of parliament, giving them pretty much free reign to do whatever. One of their recent laws included: Giving our Prime minister the power to overrule our Constitution and call out Australian forces against Australians on Australian soil. 

Section 118 of the Aussie Constitution says full faith and credit will be given to the laws and judicial proceedings of every State. Which includes their police forces.  Section 119 gives power to defence forces to protect against invasion or, on the application of the Minsister of that State, against domestic violence.  But under the guise of 'anti-terrorism' legislation, the Prime Minister can overrule the Constitution and call the army out against our own citizens, without having faith in the State police. And did this get a second of airplay on any commercial channel? No ... we were too concerned about which celebrity couple is having a baby or who is dating who on Australian Idol.

Since there has been no obvious need to call out the army against rabid mobs since the Eureka Stockade, one has to wonder what prompted this law. Or is it simply preparation for when the tabloid journalism fails to cover up the cracks. 

 

 

 

Spring clean

Posted

Mood: Tired, Music: Justice to the People - Lee Perry & the Upsetters

Now that I have a place of my own and it looks like I'm staying put for a little while,  my parents have decided to dump all the crap I've accumulated over 29 years out of the family home to let me deal with it.

At first it was fun, discovering old things I couldn't live without. My favourite fluffy slippers, the very sexy 30s nightgown I used to wear to uni in my goth/hippy days and worst of all, the writing. Poetry from my pre-teens; angsty short stories from highschool; and diary entries from my early teens into adulthood. Needless to say, the cleaning up has taken a fair bit of time, especially if you factor in the time it takes to skim through 15 years of inane navel gazing.

One thing sticks out throughout my journals, a recurrent theme of disatisfaction. With my life, with my body,  with school/ work, with boys, with partners, but generally with myself. It was a surprise seeing that for a great deal of my life, I didn't really like who I was, what I was doing or who I was with. But instead of changing my situation, I plodded along, if things went sour, I moved, interstate or overseas, but never really found what I was missing.

I'm entering my 30th year and am finally beginning to feel satisfied. I love my life, my job, I adore most of my body (with the help of an appreciative second opinion), have a close circle of friends and a loving partner who brings out the best in me. Reading Skoob's journal entry today I can't help but agree with the sentiment. Hold close to people who inspire you and bring out your best. Life is too short to do otherwise.

Having said that, I'm not going to embrace the wonders of the world today. I'm going to waste my public holiday and continue cleaning out 29 years of rubbish ... in my fluffy slippers and my 30s nightgown. Yep, making every second count. :) 

New job glow.

Posted

Busy Busy Busy!

I love my new job! Didn't realise how much my other job was getting me down until I got out of it. In hindsight I realise how unhappy I was there. Which sucked because I loved the company.  I was working full time, getting paid part time, had to drop out of uni and was starting to hate getting up in the morning. I just didn't want to face it. 

It isn't as sexy to say that I work for a local council as it was to say I work for a dance company but I am loving my day to day. I've been there a month. Its just as hectic, probably more so,  but its a positive busy because I don't feel like I'm butting my head against a brick wall.  At the moment I'm organising a children's festival. It is a day of free activities, rides, workshops and performances for kids under 12 and their parents. The focus is on hands on, creative and healthy activities for kids to inspire their imaginations. I've been contacting circus performers, musicians, local artists and community groups to come on board.

Here are some of the things I organised last week - A recycled cardboard box city, built during the course of the day. A temporary one day adventure playground. - A Cajun Dance Band to get the parents and kids dancing. - A Hula Hoop workshop, make your own hula hoop and learn how to use it. - Beat boxing and Bboying workshops. Damn I love this job.

I feel pretty lucky to have it, but its not guaranteed to last. My contract runs out in April. Everyone in my department is on short term contracts, which is insane because we are all involved in long term planning. Its a bit hard to plan long term when you don't know if you are going to have a job in 4 months time.  I wonder if its a symptom of current political unrest or whether its just a sign of the times that a permanent job is a rarity rather than the norm. Very few people I know feel secure about their job. And with Howard's new Industrial Relations Policies - its only going to get worse.

The Liberal Government spent record advertising budgets trying to sell its IR reforms to the public. $26 million was spent in October alone on IR advertising. The reason quoted was productivity, but they can't even rely on this after their own reports stated productivity probably wouldn't be affected and that the poorest workers would be the ones to suffer the greatest from sweeping reforms to lower wages and abolish safeguards. Sometimes I have to wonder just how representative our democracy really is.

Xmas is around the corner.  Hope everyone has a safe one. x