Time for my naked scene? Oh wait, my life's not a musical.

Dammit.

So, for the first time in almost four years, I've had a haircut.
( Actually, I had a lot of hairs cut! Har! )

Not back for a 1/3 life crisis, eh?

Well, I'm feeling guiltily like I'm camping on my favourite handle, here, so how about I post some content? LJ readers, this will be cross-posted, thus the new journal reference. My apologies to those who'll get it twice. I only really have a little time before I must be in bed, but I've been meaning to do a run-down of the Cultural Events (tm) I've attended since I moved to Melbourne. Aside from work, I mean!

Comedy Fest gigs: Adam Hills, Josie Long, Tim Minchin.All charming and hilarious. Didn't get a dud gig in the lot, though I would have liked to have seen more performances if I'd been able. Next year!
Wicked - So, SO worth it. Really enjoyed it, and I thought it would be overrated, or something. We had the understudy for Elphaba, and can't imagine how anyone could do a more accomplished performance.
MSO kids' concert - MSO does little snippets of popular works to showcase each section. Elflet enjoyed, particularly stamping up and down the riser on which she was seated. Oh well. We can't dictate someone else's interaction with a performance, right?
The Magic Flute - Hmm. Really, really enjoyed the individual performances, but something about the direction left me a little cold. I was cheering on the Queen of the Night to win, and not just because she's a friend.
Cirque du Soleil - LOUD! And impressive. The Elflet managed to get through to the bows before melting down in over-stimulation, which I thought was excellent timing, on her part.
Star Trek movie - So THAT'S where all those pop-culture references come from! Not a Star Trek fan for the most part, but I'm glad I saw it.
Avenue Q - So glad I saw this. Very funny. Was a more low-key production than I was expecting, for some reason. Performers were very good, though.
August: Osage County - This was BRILLIANT. I'm not a theatre buff. I'll actively avoid plays, normally. But I might have to revise that attitude. I was brought very close to tears at one point, and laughed harder than anyone should at drug addiction and family collapse and incest.
Collingwood Children's Farm's Winter Solstice Bonfire - As I said on FB, this was all vegie burgers, hot chocolate, children everywhere, fire, and of course, Melbourne's entire complement of affluent urban white hippies. Enjoyed it, although very crowded. And, you know, now the sun will rise. :D

( And a getting-to-know-you-again meme )

No, no content beyond a REALLY SUPER YUMMY recipe. This rocks. Don't mess with the seasoning, it makes the whole thing just... work.

( recipe below )
It is not a particularly fragile dish, it would be great to take on a picnic. By the same token, it is unbelievably tasty and pretty enough to serve to dinner guests. Go forth and wallow.

OK, so I was going to start blogging again with a great big catch up post full of stuff about Melbourne acculturation, our visit to the US, Easter in Canberra and all things like that. But I just had a really disturbing conversation with my three year old, and I need to get it out, and get some input.

I was turning on the TV for her, and it went past "Dragon Booster", some mecha-battle cartoon thing. Maeve piped up with "Not that. It has scary bits, so it's for boys."
I froze, and turned around. "Pardon?"
"It's for boys. It has scary bits."
"Um, no, that's not how it works." I just found a prerecorded Playschool at that point, and sat down, head spinning. I've NEVER heard anything like that from her before, and it floored me more than is perhaps warranted. I thought that maybe I'd not been clear enough, so I took advantage of the boring last dregs of Night Garden on the recording to extend the conversation.
"Sweetheart, there's no such thing as shows for boys. There's no such thing as games and toys and books for boys, or for girls. Do you understand what I'm saying? You are allowed to watch or play whatever you like, and if you don't like it, that's ok too. But there's no such thing as stuff that's just for boys, or just for girls. OK?" This was all in a gentle voice, I didn't want her to think I was angry, or seriously upset (even if I was).
"Oh, ok mama," and she turned back to the TV.

She doesn't watch commercial TV, she doesn't have a totally pinkified wardrobe, her toys are rainbow coloured and constructive, her closest female cousin battles baby balrogs with a light sabre, her close adult friends and family are much more sensible than to say crap like that. It must have come from another kid at daycare, I guess. That's going to happen with all sorts of undesirable things, no doubt; swear words, headlice, requests for Br*tz merchandise... but am I doing the right thing? Do I address it head on and then let it go? Or just live my life as authentically and as hard as I can, showing her that we don't limit ourselves by foolish and arbitrary understandings about what we're meant to enjoy based on the configurations of our chromosomes?

OK, so many people asked about these, I thought I'd post a link to some of the ones I have, Onya Bags. They're fine mesh with a drawstring at the top, and weigh almost nothing.

The other version I have is a brilliant homesewn sort from a friend, Marnie. She's used very fine tulle-type material, and has gathered the top with elastic, so the bag's opening stretches to accomodate decent-sized fruit or veg, and then self-closes. Very cool!

You see, middle_marker and I had grand plans today. They consisted of a leisurely lie-in, wandering around a few local auctions/home opens and getting a feel for the market, meeting whooz_queen and taking a trip to the Reptile Expo, then heading to DFO for sheets (J.) and boots/coat (me'n'Elflet).

( cut for whinging )

There is a LOT to post about in terms of what's been happening in the last week or two, particularly Elflet's first trip back to Perth, going to see Wicked (phenomenal, go see it if you can), the adjustment to working/studying/mama-ing/co-habiting in a new city, but right now, I need to sleep. Night! xo

I've been pondering my recent reduction in use of disposable items, particularly my recent discovery of the brilliance of washable fruit and veg bags, and am wondering what everyone else is using, or if there are any good ideas I've missed! I've probably forgotten reusable things on the poll, but feel free to remind me.

Poll #1357060 Reusable Products
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Which of these reusable/washable products do you use, or plan to use?

Other reusable products?

As facebook status says, it's a weird feeling, being back in Perth. Not really at home here, as I don't have a home, but neither am I quite settled into Melbourne yet. Though, if proverbs and songs are right, both hats and heart are in Melbourne so that should be happening any day now. :)

It was just gorgeous seeing Maeve and her daddy greet each other at the airport. This isn't an ideal solution for any of us, this transcontinental handover, but I'm really glad we've worked out some sort of workable arrangement for the meantime. She deals with flights unbelievably well for a toddler, though lollipops were administered for takeoff and landing.

I get home tomorrow night, very late, then start work first thing the next morning. I'm a little nervous, but also very excited.

Uni is just a big source of stress at the moment. I've done not nearly enough preparatory reading, and am stumped for a topic. I need to email my supervisor something along the lines of "I have just enough daycare to cover my 0.6 job, never mind interviews and proposals and ethics committees, can we come up with something library-based that will still get me a decent mark?" but no idea how to say that without sounding like a complete wuss. I've done a coursework masters whilst single-parenting and working, *I* know I'm not a wuss or lazy, but she doesn't know that. :)

Anyway, tomorrow will be full of breakfasts with old friends and meeting new babies and depositing macbook-and-bills destined cheques and possibly going into town before heading to the airport at 4.30pm to fly home. I'm really glad I have a day, but I'll also be glad to return home (see? gets easier every time) and start yet another facet of my new journey.

There are very, VERY few times I faintly resent having a child and being prevented from dropping everything and doing something awesome for a night. This is one of those times. *wibble*

Ah well. Lots else cool happening over East when I get there. :)

Yes, I am still alive. Move has gone well, all the wee worries and irritations have kinked themselves out, and I think I'm good to go. Telstra sucks, though, just so's you know.

Oh, and I got a job. :) More on that when I have the energy to update properly.

OK, this is going to be extremely patchy. This blog entry will probably be a striking example of the kind of writing my high school teachers used to mark with "good content, needs MUCH more expansion".

I am moving to Melbourne. You knew that, right? Packers come tomorrow, movers come on Tuesday, cleaning happens Wednesday and Thursday. I have stuff packed to go into the car to cover the next week, the train journey East and the subsequent week(s) before my stuff arrives.

I have too many clothes, and I hate most of them. They're shabby and unflattering. I shall wear them anyway.

I had 40-ish kilos of barbecue-laden trolley edge hit me in the shins today. Ow.

My back hurts.

This makes me very unhappy. The train we're going on is the very next service after the currently cancelled ones. It'll be fine, right? Right??

In better news, I think I have everything we need for the coming weeks. I have ticked everything on my to-do lists.

I need to be awake in 6.5hrs, so I am off to bed. Night all. Probably will have net access at Chateau Hicks, but if not, see you on the other side.

Ugh. Just...ugh.

That is all.

OK, I'm up too late worrying, so I might as well obsess about something completely innocuous.

My hair.

Has anyone out there managed very long hair before? I haven't, this is the longest my hair has ever been in my life. It's mildly damaged due to the vagaries of a single mama lifestyle, i.e., "I have exactly 5 minutes to shower and be out of this house looking presentable, *rips brush through wet hair*", and so on.

I'd like to return to the style in this icon. It was dyed very dark brown (home job, using one box of dark brown and one of black, with the dyes amalgamated then applied), with a few loose extensions in weird colours.

What I don't know is if I should cut it. See, I have about 2 inches of damaged ends. Issues: I actually prefer the pre-Raphaelite look of non-blunt ends, but I don't want layers, either. I assume replicating that will involve hacking off 2 inches, then going into it with the texturing scissors, and I'm worried I'll lose more length than I'm happy with.

Or, should I say bugger it, and try the blunt cut for a while? A fringe? Layers? Bleh, no clue, ideas welcome. Anyone have recommendations (Perth or Melb) for a hairdresser that will listen when you say "don't take more than [blah]cm off"?

And no, I'm not cutting it back into that spiky-at-the-back, anime-fringe-at-the-front deal, but thank you to those of you who liked it. :P

So, at the time of my last update, I was still in Melbourne. ( Finding somwhere to live. )

( Where did that week go? )

( Stress cloud )

Telephones are the bane of my life right now.

I'm trying to make two telephone calls this morning, both fairly difficult and scary ones (Centrelink and accountant, need I say more?), and I am being thwarted at every attempt. Ringing Centrelink gets me a constant busy signal, not even through to the queue, so they must be slammed. Calling my accountant gets "Service to the area you are calling is temporarily congested. Please try again later." What?! Would everyone else get off the damn phone, please??

Given that both of these calls require fortitude and a mental run-up to each attempt, this is Not Good for my adrenalin/stress levels. The lions are tired of being girt! *snarl*

In less frustrating but rather more amusing and embarrassing encounters, I've decided that mobile hands-free kits are just someone's clever way of ensuring people can make total tits of themselves in public. I mean, my stereo kit is not particularly obvious, particularly as I have long hair and wear dark clothes. In general, I look a lot like I'm talking to myself.

In one trip to BigW yesterday, I convinced several people I was a nutter of the random and faintly threatening non sequitur kind.

Robin and I were discussing the possibility of his losing weight until he was within the weight limits for a kids' inflatable hovercraft I saw.
"...you don't have that much to lose. I'm afraid we're going to have to start lopping bits off," right as I walked past a (fairly round) OAP, who gave me A Look. :/

At least when I rounded the corner of an aisle, saying "I'm so GREAT!" right in front of a dad putting his kid in a pram, the look was more bemused and less gimlet.

( Well, we can't all have skiing holidays in Barbados )

As for NYE, well, I've spent it cleaning and doing laundry, and contemplating the fact that my life seems to have undergone seismic shifting and rearrangement during 2008, and that the year ahead promises to be challenging, exciting, scary and brilliant. I wish you all joy and blessings and challenges and amusements and delights. May 2009 bring you what you need, as well as at least some of what you want.

*sigh* Toddlers really do have a fixed worldview, and a strong desire to form patterns and constants, and apply them everywhere. They're built like that. It's how they make sense of the world around them and learn. But yeesh, it's challenging, sometimes.

Her cousin handed her one of two identical penguin toys today. They're both big into playing families, so Is. said something about "here, Daddy Penguin!" as she handed it over, then referred to hers as a Daddy Penguin too. Maeve INSISTED that the other one was a Mummy Penguin.

"Perhaps there are two Daddies, sweetheart."
"No, THAT one is a Mummy."
"Hmm. Well, they look the same. Did you know that Daddy Penguins all hang out together? In BIG flocks!"
"NO! There has to be a Daddy and a Mummy."

OK, so she does this with a lot of other things right now. All, and I mean ALL baby animals come out of eggs*, and she just laughs at me when I try to explain that most mammals come out of their mummies, and god help me when I got on to the topic of monotremes, and mammals that fly like birds but have live births...

But this bothered me more (not that I made a big deal out of it; I gently challenged, then let it go). I guess because I stress a lot about the effects on her of having separated parents, and also the heteronormative thing. I'd like her to see all family units and arrangements as having value, and not to feel diminished by not having her original nuclear family together.

*shrug* Ah well. She's only just turned three. She'll work all this out in her own time.

* Including baby giraffes and Maeve, as I was firmly corrected on today.

Ubiquitous Australian Meme, ( Cut for your viewing pleasure )

Interesting selection of quintessentially "Australian" experiences there.

Oh, what the heck. I could use the warm fuzzies.

^_^

(this is about as relevant as this icon will ever get, I think)

I have friends made of win and love.

I suppose I could have a sudden rush of blood to the head and get out the sewing machine at some point this weekend. Like, tonight, being my only real opportunity. :/ House not clean enough though, I refuse to cut fabric on a floor covered in schmutz and toddler detritus.

I had grand plans of making a bunch of kiddie dressups for Christmas presents; capes with pixie hoods, skirts/tutus, magic wands... how much of that do you think I've done?

Yeah.

( Thar she blows! )

My (not-great) photo of the smiling sky: