Melbourne

Not a traditional birthday cake but we don't do traditional in this house

it has been a rough few weeks, team. I kinda wish I weren't off the booze, which means it's probably a good thing I am.

edit: before anyone's concerned, I've been off the booze all year, I'm just saying

My girlfriend has finished her first day of her final placement. It would be great if she got a job out of this. It's a more chill childcare centre because it gets direct government funding and it's a 5 minute walk from our place.

She could be out the door at 8 and home at 4. Unbelievable living for an outer suburb like this

Team leader spent the first five minutes of our group meeting talking about poop

Love is when you give your prized possession to the one you love.......🎤 and they have a great time.

4 days later and my toe is basically better. Still can't fully move it, but it's definitely muscular rather than bone-ular... Also massively overstretched my calf and shin muscles in the incident, which is the main source of discomfort now. Always tuck your backpack straps away people.

oh god I didn't get time to get a coffee before this god awful meeting. Send help.

I tried my best. I hope I didn't let anybody down. The competition was ferocious tonight but I'm happy to come out with a silver medal in competitive....... gin rummy. 🥈 🇦🇺

We will be commencing day drinking soon. Not too many because the third wheel has school tomorrow. Apologies in advance anyway because there will be soju involved. 🍺

Booked Mickey in for his next set of vaccinations (I forgot to do it last year 👀😭💀) for next Monday, and booked myself in for a CT at 7:30AM!!

I hate myself for saying yes to such an early appointment ugh. UGH! UDHDHSJKSCIBNSOpa(";';'7#92+383!$@)0{®=€}¢

-BSOD-

My new drivers licence arrived! Relief. I've been waiting for that to submit my stuff to my new job's third party ID/police check company which I just did. Also pretty nice to have unexpired photo ID for the first time in three years.

Now I just need to hope they don't have an issue with the murders I've committed.

Medicare: Please upload invoice Also Medicare: please manually enter all the details from that invoice you just uploaded.

For fucks sake!

Each time I get my tax info from the ATO, there's a breakdown of where the money is going.

About 30% of my paid taxes goes to aged care. I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of the elderly and we have an aging population, but imagine if we actually invested a chunk of that into our future and education.

I know that aged care employs a lot of people and provides good services, but the proportion just seems massive.

Honestly, I think I vent about this every year.

Had a radox salt bath last night (would've bought it 15 yrs ago). Haven't had an actual bath in donkeys ears. Trying to undo some back niggles from the weirdo twisting weight / angle stuff with this fukn retaining wall.

In my raver days used to come home at an ungodly hour, after the all night boogie, jump in the bath with that green stuff then really struggle to crawl out.

They were good times. These days not so much. No rave, only pain.

Housesitting this week which means I have a backyard momentarily. Am making to most of it and working outside in the sun. Need to find myself a good spot near home in the sun/nature that I can go to work sometimes because this is nice.

🦫Now Wynona took her big brown beaver

🦫And she stuck him up in the air

🦫Said, "I sure do love this big brown beaver

🦫And I wish I did have a pair"

The boys lasted until 10:30 before I got the call. I knew I should have kept them home but it was worth a shot

The big boys are on now. Aka the big speakers. 👍

Took today off to focus on uni, predictably I have been "busy" with life admin/house chores... gone out to get a coffee, organised a drs visit, bought groceries, doing heaps of laundry... 🤪

That said I have a meeting with an uni person at 2pm which will light a bit of a fire under my bum. And I have mapped out exactly which papers to read and in what order so I'm confident I'll make some progress.

I’ve been teaching Melbcat how to use a snuffle mat. She’s been needing some hints such as me scratching at where I hid the treat and flipping the fabric up a little bit but she’s definitely got the idea. She’s snaffled it a few times by biting at the hiding spot.

I’m even seeing some tentative paw boops and hoping it means she’ll learn to lift the flap.

(She’s very bright and was a fantastic mouser until no longer allowed to hunt. Going after something immobile like a hidden treat is just not instinctive for a cat. And it’s only been a few demos.)

Plans for this lovely sunny afternoon: have a nice walk with Mr Woof, do some sewing and cook some corned beef for dinner.

Beep Beep 🚚
🍏🍎🍐🍊🍋🍈🫐🍓🍇🍉🍌🍒🍑🥭🍍🥥🥦🥑🫛🍆🍅🥝🥬🥒🌽🥕🥐🍠🫚🥔🧅🥯🍞🥖🥨🧀🧇🥞🧈🍳🥚🥓🥩🍗🍖🫓🍕🍟🍔🌭🥙🧆🌮🌯🥗🍲🍜🍝🥘🍛🍣🍱🥟🦪🍥🍘🍚🍙🐠🍤🪼🦀🐙 🍗🥮🍢🍡🍧🍰🧁🥧🍦🍨🎂🍮🍭🍬🍫🥜🌰🍪🍿🍯🥛☕️🍵🍺🍶🥤🧋🧃🥂🍷🥃🍸🍹🧉🔋

Conveniently for me, I had a care team meeting earlier this Arvo, right after noticing the damage to the lawn. Apparently I'm once again being palmed off to yet another new child protection case manager. I think the last one lasted about 5 months, and the one before that 9. I don't get good vibes from this one, she seems quite dismissive and rude

I brought up the stuff about the lawn and the ex housemate coming back to the house, and to be honest I was pissed, and definitely less polite than I should've been. I almost lost it at the district manager (she's different (1 rank below) the area/regional manager). Both her and the regional manager promised all sorts of security upgrades (a gate to block the driveway, proper locks on the side gates, proper security cameras, and a deadbolt on the front door). None of them have even been logged with the maintenance team yet. They keep dragging their feet (which is pretty much the story of why everything that's happened, happened as it happened).

The only real good news of the recent week is that almost all of my stuff has now been replaced. I've ended up with a few upgrades (non working devices > working devices, and a couple of things have been discontinued and it worked out cheaper to buy a newer model, due to the old one being considered basically collectable). So that's nice I guess.

I'm once again left feeling unsafe and wondering if he's going to come back. I did manage to convince them to buy another security camera, which I'll sit in the old LTs bedroom which has a view of the driveway. I'm sure people on the street will be annoyed, because it clearly records the footpath and road too, but I don't think there's a lot I can do about that. It has the only decent vantage spot, and there's nowhere else I can put it which'll only record our property

💤💤

It turns out roasted cauliflower goes really well with corned beef. Ate lots, am now officially stuffed.

I'm trying to fit gym, tennis, swimming and other sports into my calendar and it's lookin a real busy. I want to gym 3x minimum but this is what I'm mostly struggling with. Maybe I could combine swimming and gym on Thursday and squeeze in a rest day on Wednesday? idk

Mon - Gym (during lunch) + Tennis (match play) 1.5hrs

Tue - Tennis 2hrs coaching

Wed - Gym

Thu - Swimming 1hr

Fri - Gym (during lunch; alternate with Monday) + Tennis 2hrs coaching

Sat - Tennis social 2hrs

Sun - Gym / other sports

such lovely weather today , I might catch some rays 🌞😎

and take a trip to bunnings for some clear acrylic varnish 👍

I had a dream last night about water some sort of edible plant and it was starting to wilt by the end of the dream.

I remember also eating one leaf or stem or something and it was the most flavourful delicious thing I've ever eaten.

Being awake now and it being a vegetable I know that's a lie.

I think my sports itch has been soundly satisfied for a while. That was a fantastic Olympics. We were in third place on the medal talley right up until the Japanese wrestlers wiped the floor with everyone over the weekend.

The heartwarming little video of the US Long Jumper and her husband got me to wondering how many similar stories were untold among the Ten Thousand athletes. A couple of the Marathon Walkers kissed at their introduction. Because they're engaged.They keep talking about the thousands of condoms issued to athletes in the village, but some of those hookups turn into something more. It's all very sweet. I love how positive the tournament has been in general.

Anyway, I still have a few events left to watch - probably tonight/tomorrow night. Maybe the Closing ceremony. Then I'll go back to not really watching sports all that much any more. At least until the 2026 World Cup.

I love being on a train through the city loop, and closing my eyes. I can feel the train take the turns in the loop, the slight sway and shift in my centre of gravity.

I imagine the train is going faster than it is, and I'm zooming through fantastical futuristic cities or alien landscapes or in space and it's like flying.

I love the local redistribution system of stuff we have here. I put out books yesterday, old beads n stuff in little bags, odd glassware, a decanter set I have never used and never will use. Today it is all gone.

That classic balancing act of whether to take the kids to childcare and risk getting a call to come pick them up, or have them stay home and deal with them the whole time.

My boy is in better spirits now the rest of the family is up, so I'll take my chances taking them in