Earth Hour: Saturday 7.30-8.30pm

I signed on at Earth Hour. This basically means I agreed to turn all my lights and any unused appliances off for an hour on Saturday night. I was quite keen to go for a walk up the street to look over the city to see if there is much visible difference between lights on and lights off. Of course, then I remembered that we're going up to my sister's this weekend. Erg. Still, I sent a comment to the organisers saying I think it'd be a great idea to post during and after pics. I guess I'll find out if they agree.

Cable Ties are the Best Things Ever

On Friday came across this article on Life Hacker. It instantly fired me up to fix the state of our computer desk, mainly the cable mess.

I didn't tackle it exactly the same way that Adam did on Life Hacker, but I'm still very pleased. He used a cable basket screwed to the back of his desk. I have a beautiful desk, custom-made to my design by my brother-in-law and I wasn't about to screw anything into the back of it, especially since one day it may not always be our computer desk. In the future it might be a hall table or something.

So I bought some cable tie mounts and cable ties (zip ties) at an electronics store and went to work. I also cleaned up stuff that didn't need to be there, moved the lamp into the bedroom, etc. but still! Just compare the cable chaos alone! So much easier to slide the chair in the use the computer now.

BEFORE


AFTER


We could still use some more storage so we have homes for all the blank cds and dvds... have to work on that.

Energy

Not the kind that allows me to get up in the morning and go for a walk, but the kind that powers my house, etc. I've been thinking a lot about cleaner energy lately and I've taken a couple more steps towards being less wasteful.

I've been using 100% Green Power for almost two years. I signed up with Jackgreen then found out that they were using already established hydro power and weren't actually contributing to establishing new renewable sources of energy. Not what you want to hear when you just signed up for a three year contract. I recently discovered that they now use mostly wind turbines for their electricity, but still use some hydro as backup. Good news.

I'm not against mining coal because we need it for producing steel and cement. As for the production of electricity. Do we really need coal for that? Can't we build more sun and wind farms and create (or at least replace) jobs in the process?

The problem for Australians is that coal is our largest export and the economy would collapse without it. When is this clean coal production supposed to get here? How clean is it anyway? If only we could not use it at power stations or sell thermal coal. If we could sell fuel cells containing solar generated power instead... how awesome would that be?

I suppose I should mention nuclear too. I can't get my head around the fact that everyone, all of a sudden thinks it's great again! We'd be moving from one finite resource to another. It is a far more dangerous option than renewable resources, for those who work with it and those who live near the reactor, where it's being transported through and where it's being buried. It produces radioactive waste and we still haven't figured out how we fix emissions from coal! I don't think that burying radioactive waste in the ground and hoping it isn't disturbed for a long time is a very good solution. Also, how do you replace parts at a nuclear reactor? Parts become contaminated over time. Do we bury all that as well? At what time do we run out of low-seismic ground to bury everything in. What if that ground does eventually become active? Erg. I don't like it.

In nicer news.. On the weekend we changed all our incandescent bulbs to compact flourescent bulbs. Just on replacement value they end up being cheaper than incandescents. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner given that it costs less to use these. I'm also very interested to see how it effects the energy bill.

I did an energy comparison between my little car and a Toyota Prius. The Prius uses 4.4 L/100km and my car uses approx. 6.5 L/100km. That's not that bad. I'm not super motivated to go for a hybrid car just yet because my car doesn't guzzle a lot of fuel, I'm not ready to buy a new car anytime soon, hybrid's are so expensive, the batteries only last eight years (Honda only guarantee their batteries for 5) and cost approx 3k to replace. How does the rest of the car go after ten years? I'd probably sell a car after owing it for ten years, but this will effect resale value. I'll revisit the issue when I'm thinking about buying a new car.

How is it March already?

Really... weren't we half way through February just a few days ago?

Haven't felt theres much to report. Really there's not. Having said that...

I've started getting up before work to go for a walk most days of the week. I feel better for it and I'd like to do more of it, but as the mornings get darker, the waking up is getting harder!

Even though the interest is only inflation for that year, I've started attacking my old student loan more aggressively. I'll be glad to get rid of it.

We went for a drive to the northern beaches on Sunday for the sake of getting out of the house and so Shawn could see another part of Sydney. It was raining so there really weren't any photo opportunities, but it was a nice drive regardless. I like the feeling that summer is on the way out.

Valentine's Day

(Yes, yes, I know this is a little late.)

I've not been that big on celebrating Valentine's Day, but I think that when you're in a great relationship, it's worth celebrating that. People say that this day was originally started by greeting card companies to make money. I would suggest not buying cards if it makes you feel better. These days I think it's worthwhile celebrating whatever love you have for someone. It's too easy for all days to be the same and to not take some time to actually think about, celebrate and appreciate love.

So on Wednesday night we went to Elio for dinner. I had roasted veal rolled with buffalo mozzarella, spinach and pancetta on balsamic button mushrooms and Shawn had venison with an au jus and pumpkin souffle. Really, the best dining in Leichhardt. So we ate, chatted about our days, celebrated this being the second Valentine's Day that Shawn has been in Australia and sampled some boutique beers. So a really nice night was had by all... except the couple we saw on the street, arguing and having a struggle over a bunch of roses... but that's another story and someone elses to tell, I'm sure. Glad it wasn't us though!

Lazy

I've become a very lazy blogger. I'd like to try and remedy that because I'd actually like to have a rough idea of what I've done over the years. I was talking to someone who had recently given up smoking. This made me realise that I don't actually remember how many years ago I gave up! Five? Maybe...

Permanent Position

A couple of weeks ago, Shawn was offered a permanent position at his current job. Nice that he actually gets paid for sick days and holidays now. It also seems like a good environment to work in.

Hat and Boots

Friends of Shawn's had a baby about three weeks ago and I've made them these hat and boots. Hopefully they'll like them. I love them: a little bit funky, a little bit vintage and very cute.



The yarn is Paton's Powder Puff. The pattern for the booties is from CraftBits. I wanted it to be a little less frooey so I decided to forgoe the shiny ribbon. I'll be interested to see if they stay on without it.

The hat is just a rectangle of garter stitch sewn together. I was really guessing with size for this, so I hope it fits.

I'd like to try making a jacket to go with these at some point.

TV brain won

The TV centric part of my brain won the debate, so I now own a shiny new TV that fixes a lot of the problems we had earlier. Our old TV really was very small. The HD tuner cleans up the signal coming through our "bunny ears" antenna so well. The new TV has an energy saving mode where it can be dimmed slightly and you save on electricity. If you watch most of your TV at night like I do, then this is perfect, during the day you may want to use it on standard so it can compete with natural light. As an LCD it doesn't generate as much heat as plasmas do and is cheaper to run (Oh yes, I did my research. This is one reason I went with LCD). I can now see DVDs a lot better. The PS2 can be plugged in permanently. No more having to swap between PS2 and DVD cables and less mess now that everything has it's place. The screen has a matt finish so reflection is reduced. The sound is in stereo. It's very nice.

Having said all this, I'm suffering from consumer guilt. I really don't like the idea of spending largish amounts of money on something like this, even though I really did get it at the cheapest possible price. I look at this way though: It did fix a lot of problems and I won't be needing to buy a TV for a very, very, very... very long time.

Work Review

I had my yearly work review yesterday. They still love me. The imp in me had the urge to say: "Woo! So I'll be expecting a raise then! Thanks!" I refrained. It was nice to hear good things about me. It helped to lift my mood.

Having said that, I am hoping for a simliar bonus to last year. When thinking about the best use of this bonus, my brain tells me two things: "This money would be better off used in my online savings account, accruing interest, or knocking some of that old student loan out with", but it also says:"You've had this TV for 6 or 7 years now. It wouldn't be so frivolous to upgrade it now. Every time you watch dvds, the 16:9 content is scaled down to fit your 4:3 screen and it makes the content annoyingly small. If you set it to crop the content, you miss vital detail and nobody wants that... You should buy an LCD TV with that bonus." It puts forward a very logical and persuasive argument. Don't you think?

CD Afternoon

I arrived home from work yesterday to a little package from a friend. This friend and I haven't conversed via mail for ....oooh 15 years? Upon seeing her handwriting, I experienced a personal zeitgeist, since we used to write letters to each other all the time. It was a most welcome feeling. She'd been thinking about me and about how I must be doing of late and decided to send me a couple of CDs. My favourite was from Mew. Their harmonies remind her a little of Ride and their soundscape approach to guitars reminds me of My Bloody Valentine. So I forgot all about the things that needed doing and just let myself lie there for a good couple of hours listening to music. I think it was a good idea to spend some time just being still, rather than trying to distract and busy myself.

Kimba ?/09/1991 to 29/12/2006

Kimba was put to sleep on Friday evening, the 29th of December 2006.

Initially we were trying to stop an infection with antibiotics. It turns out that the infection she had was due to a rupture in her gut which was caused by either a tumor or an abcess. In either event it was inoperable for several reasons, not the least of which was that she was so anaemic and unfit that she wouldn't have survived an operation.

So, given the above info and that she was weak, not enjoying life, no longer had an interest in food, which had to be force fed daily via a syringe (those who knew Kimba will know how telling this is), and no interest in water, which was being administered via subcutaneous injection daily, the vet and I came to the conclusion that it was time to let her go.

She was quite a unique cat: very vocal, never wandered outside our fence line unless she was chasing off another cat, and for a lot of her life she took to following me around like a dog might. She was very affectionate and was far more interested in getting pats and time on my lap than chasing toys. Often, when I'd try to entice her to play, she'd look at me as if to say: "You must be joking". Those times when she was inspired to play, it'd often end with her pausing as she realised I was watching, then trying to make it look like she was just cleaning her paws, or just stretching, or that she was engaged in some other sensible pursuit.

Kimba was friendly to other cats when she was a kitten and as young cat, but a after a few bad experiences she would readily attack any other cat (or dog) who came onto our property. She was still tolerant of animals that she had seen me accept, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She suffered family dog Chan, a little Shih Tzu that loved her dearly and wanted to play with her all the time, and never hurt Ebony, a sensitive domestic shorthair cat that belonged to my sister.

At this stage I don't know if I could own another cat. No time soon at least. People say that getting another cat helps you to get over it. I think that getting another cat would be unfair to the other cat given that I'd only be wishing for Kimba back.

Visits

This last weekend we drove up to Newcastle. We had lunch with Dad and Donna, then went to a friends house for dinner. It was really nice to see everyone.

Both Dad and friends plied us with DVDs to watch this Christmas. This is great, we love nothing better than to sit around watching DVDs, but I also want to get out of the house and take Shawn some places he hasn't been yet. We aren't going away anywhere so it'd be nice if we could inject some holiday feel to our Christmas break. We could go to a museum, to the aquarium, the new city zoo, or perhaps catch a ferry to Manly.

Shawn and I made some chocolate orange triangles to take to our friends place for dessert.

FRIEND: "Is this a specialty of yours?"
ME: "Ah sure... in that it only consists of store-bought puff pastry, cooking chocolate and orange zest, is really uncomplicated, but tastes great and so I make it when I cook for other people because it can be made ahead of time so I can socialise or transport it to other places for dinner, then it just needs 15-20 minutes in the oven... Life is too short to make your own puff pastry."

Really, these things are very yummy and I recommend them to all and sundry.

Improvement

The xrays, scans etc. tell us that I have three herniated and bulged discs, as well as a torn tendon in my shoulder. Lovely. Having said that, it's all been improving, I'm virtually pain free at the moment and I know from experience that it can be much worse. I really need to take this cue and strengthen my back and stomach to protect my spine a little better.

Xrays, bloods, an ultrsound and a CT scan later

I think I know what's wrong with me, I'm getting old. My older sisters roll their eyes when I say that, but at the moment I can't sit or stand pain free, I can't lie down with my hands behind my head without my rotator cuff behaving badly and one of my nails is trying to escape the tyranny of it's finger (the nail is lifting away from the nail bed, not a nail infection, a little freaky looking though). I wish at least the blood could've been taken in winter, then people might stop staring at my bruised arm before eyeing me suspiciously.

I pick up my xrays, printouts and reports today and go see my doctor tomorrow. I'm thinking that my doctor will check I'm eating right (mostly), that I'm taking vitamins and that she'll send me to physio for the back and shoulder. We'll see tomorrow I guess.

I won some books

At yesterday's book frenzy I put my invite into a draw for a door prize and won six books. One I've read and the others I wouldn't have picked for myself. Maybe it'll broaden my horizons or something... or maybe they're just getting old stock off their hands. Can't really complain about free books though can I?!

Thanksgiving? Kinda

Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I don't celebrate it. Being an Australian, why would I? Well, Shawn is American so I like to observe it in some way. So he doesn't miss all his treats from home we'll have a Christmas dinner seperate from my family and I'll add a pumpkin pie to the equation. I made it for him last year as well. It tasted alright, but it took an ungodly amount of time to actually cook, so if anyone has a simple, failsafe recipe they have tested for this then please post it in the comments or email it to me.

Aside from that I also had a members invite to a book store so we had hors d'oeuvres and wine while we shopped for books we were going to get 20% off (go ahead and picture me sighing happily). We followed this up with Japanese for dinner. It's not exactly Thanksgiving with all the extras, but it wasn't a bad substitute.

Old Friend and her Idyll

Catching up with an old, dear friend feels really good. I was very happy to see her life going well. It was really nice to spend time with her and interesting to see how she's changed and how she's stayed the same. To see where she lives, her very cute little daughter, her little idyll with a real backyard, complete with a rainwater tank, a vegetable patch and chickens was actually quite eye opening for me. For so many years I've lived in Sydney and for so many of those years it's been impossible to have a backyard that I can stretch out in due to the price of rent. At the moment I have a courtyard with room for outdoor dining, herbs and one tomato plant. I'm very nesty by nature and have often pined for the things I had growing up (such as the aforementioned chickens and veggie patch). Life is not all bliss I'm sure, but I am sure that she possesses the calm, good grace and the reserves to lead a happy life.

I go to Newcastle often to visit family, but it was strange to be reminded of all the others I knew in Newcastle. It was a little like hearing about a past life because it has been a very long time since I have lived there. It made me wonder how they are all doing, what their life is like now and what stories have they picked up over the years. Maybe I'll get to hear some of those stories at some point.

Birthday 2006

Yesterday was my birthday. I had a really good day.

Work organised a cake which was very tasty and very filling.

Shawn organised a picnic at home by buying all my favourite stuff from Relish. Relish is my favourite healthy takeaway place... although I suspect the potato salad is laced with some sort of class A drug, because it tastes so good! He also ordered this amazing and gorgeous little triple chocolate torte from Mezzapica. So good. The choux pastry, of the profiteroles that were on top of the cake, was ultra fresh. So impressed.



This was all very well, but the weirdest thing about my day is that I got a phone call from the person who became my best friend at my second high school. Unfortunately, I hadn't seen her for ten years though, so this was a complete shock, but a most welcome surprise. When someone who you haven't seen for ten years says "So, what've you been up to?", it's just plain funny. Neither of us had any problems deciding where to start though. It was great to talk to her and I'm looking forward to catching up with her in person next week.

A Year Ago Yesterday

Shawn arrived in Sydney to live (not just visit).