Category: Stuff

Missing my footy

/ Renae / 11 Comments

I love my footy. What can I say? I’m a Queenslander and I started following the Broncos when I was about 12 years old and have loved them ever since. In fact, I love watching most sports; I’ve even been known to watch a round of golf or a game of lawn bowls on the telly. (But I must say that I draw the line at motor sports.) Back to the footy.

Living in an AFL-obsessed state, it’s not often that I get to watch rugby league, so when I found out that Game 1 of the 2009 State of Origin was being played in Melbourne, I jumped at the opportunity to go. The fact that the Queensland team is made up of mostly Broncos players, only confirmed the decision. My good friend Adele who’s also a mad-keen Broncos supporter is coming down to watch the game AND we found out that the Broncos are playing Melbourne 2 days later IN MELBOURNE!! So I’ve been starved of my addiction for months, and this week I’ll be going to 2 games within 3 days!!!!! PLEASURE OVERLOAD!!!!!!!!

GO QUEENSLAND!!!!! AND BRONCOS!!!!!!

Two’s company

/ Renae / 3 Comments

So as you know, Hubs and Wifey are planning a trip to the USA!! Ahem. Let me rephrase that. Wifey is planning a trip to the USA, and Hubs will be tagging along. Ha ha. Actually I LOVE planning trips, whether it be a weekend away (you know, like this weekend!) or a month long coast-to-coast road trip across America. The plans are coming along nicely and we seem to have similar expectations of the trip which is always a good thing!

The one thing I’m finding annoying/frustrating/hilarious is the accommodation. We have considered arriving in LA, driving to Walmart, picking up a tent and some camping supplies, and doing a bit of camping across the states, though the problem with that is that it’s going to be quite warm (think: camping in Queensland in the middle of summer) plus we’d have to arrive before dark to set up etc. Then I started looking into hostels. They’re all very well and good, except that to book 2 individual people, plus taxes, it ends up costing almost as much as a hotel! Almost…

So we’re looking into couchsurfing at the moment (after a tip from a couple of friends of mine) which sounds like a fun option, but might be tricky to coordinate. We shall see.

I’ve never been so interested (daily) in the US Dollar! I believe the Aussie dollar has been progressively getting stronger which is good news for us. Another funny thing I’m finding is that when you book hotels on line (which I’ve done for Palm Springs and New Orleans) is that you don’t have to pay for it now. You pay when you arrive. But what if the Aussie dollar is weaker then? Too bad…

Aaaaaah the joys of travelling! If anyone has any travelling tips for the States, don’t be shy! We need all the help we can get 🙂

ho-hum diddly-dum

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I haven’t really been in a very blog-postie mood as of late. Not really sure why. I have plenty to talk about – like how I’ve been playing hockey again this semester and we won 3 games then lost the semi-final 5-4 in overtime this morning, but have made it to “grand final B” this coming Sunday. Or that I’m entering a bake-off this Sunday with the Newman SCR and my entry is going to ROCK! Or that we’re popping up to Home Hill for the Home Hill Races on the weekend of the 23rd/24th May with some friends which is going to be a wild and crazy adventure. Or that we’re currently planning a trip to the USA for 4 weeks in June/July that we’re hoping we can pull off. Or that, you know, life is going pretty damn well.

So I guess “watch this space” would be a good word of advice from me, cos once I get back into my blogging mood, I’m going to be going NUTS!

Dreads on a skateboard

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A couple of months before we were due to leave for Melbourne, Hubs asked if he could buy an electric skateboard. Yes, you read correctly. Now being married to a nerd who loves all things gadgety, I wasn’t terribly surprised with the request. He showed me some YouTube clips to convince me of how teyodally awesome they were. He even suggested we get one each!! This is where I suggested he hold his horses.

I’m not against all things fun, in fact, I don’t mind a bit of mischievious behaviour every now and then, but I really couldn’t imagine myself on one of these things. I mean, the ones he was showing me weighed between 25 and 30kg!! I suggested that it was perhaps something we could look into getting once we got down to Melbourne, and a sad look fell upon his face. So I asked him:

“Do you really want to get an electric skateboard?”
(Hubs with his head bowed and a sad look on his face) “yes”
“Do you really want to get one before we go to Melbourne so you can show off your cool new toy to all your friends?”
(Hubs, with a smile creeping onto his face) “yesssssss”
Decision made. (Yes. I’m a totally awesome Wifey!)

So “to ebay to ebay!” to buy an electric skateboard! And I gotta say, it rocks just a little bit. Okay, a lot! Hubs’ friends thought it was really cool and had lots of turns on it before we left. I was worried Hubs wouldn’t get much use out of it down here, but he rides it to uni most days (cos, you know, we live about 800m from his lecture rooms!) and takes it on bigger trips as well. And yes, I’ve had a turn and it’s a lot of fun! The first time I rode it, I had on a helmet, wrist guards and knee pads and looked ridiculous! But, you know, safety first.

It turned out to be a great investment, not only in transportation, but in Hubs’ happiness. And you know me! Anything to make Hubs happy! 🙂

Hubs and his beloved skateboard. You can see the wireless trigger remote in his right hand.

Life’s small pleasures

/ Renae / 2 Comments

I have a sweet tooth – that’s no secret – but I’m finding that my favourite little treat at the moment is a piece of toast, (must be pumpkin 5 seed or something equally grainy and textured) smeared with crunchy (low fat!) peanut butter; cut into 4 squares and enjoyed with or without a cup of tea (chai, black or chamomile!)

Bliss!

A visitor from the North

/ Renae / 3 Comments

A Beer (and some passion pop… and $3.50 cowboys…)

My friend A-dele came to visit a couple of weeks ago now and, as usual, we had a ball together! I ordered some typical Melbourne weather for her visit, and it delivered: Warm and sunny Friday; rainy and windy Saturday; freezing cold Sunday! Regardless, we had heaps of fun!

We danced at the Turf Bar:

Walk like an Egyptiannnnnn….

It’s fun to stay at the Yyyyyyy M C A!

Billie Jean is NOT my lover (ow!)

“Dancing’s for sissies” (says Hubs & L)

Yeah right!!! (do you like the new shirt I bought for Hubs!?)

We discovered what is now my new favourite coffee shop, Bebida on Smith st, we did LOTS of window shopping, we visited Abbotsford Convent, we ate yummy cupcakes (check out that awesome cupcake-to-frosting ratio!!!)

And we walked and walked and walked! Saturday we covered around 8km and Sunday we did about 5km. We also stumbled upon the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival down at Fed Square, but it was very crowded so we just had a quick look before heading back home for a cup of tea and a rest. Looking forward to some more visitors booked in over the next few months!

So’s your face

/ Renae / 3 Comments

A HUGE Whine!!

“I can’t find you on facebook.”
“Why aren’t you on facebook?”
“Are you coming to my party? I sent out a facebook invite. Why haven’t you replied?”

These are a sample of the questions, comments and near accusations we are regularly subjected to, because we choose not to subscribe to facebook. Now I would consider myself to be a fairly open-minded gal, so I signed up to facebook just under 2 years ago. Then I unsubscribed just over a year ago. Let me tell you why. (If you don’t want to read a rant about the evils of facebook, then this is not a blog post for you.)

1. What ever happened to “what happens at the hen’s night, stays at the hen’s night.” Or substitute “hen’s night” with any type of gathering where there is drinking and silliness – many Friday nights for some of us! These days it’s a case of “what happens at the pub, is sure to be splashed over the pages of facebook 10 hours later.” I don’t like this. I don’t like the feeling of “well I WANT to be silly and get a laugh, but where are the cameras? Who out of these people are likely to ignore common courtesy, not ask for my permission to post photos of me, and share them like crazy in a few hours time?” Answer? Most of these people are in that boat. Which brings me to my next point:

2. I pride myself on the fact that I ask my friend’s permission to post photos of them on my blog – a blog that perhaps a dozen people read (I have no idea who reads this thing!!) and a blog where I like to share fun things that Hubs and I have been doing. Whilst a facebooker, I had VERY dodgy photos of myself being put up on other people’s pages and being “tagged”, and when I asked for them to be taken down, I was told to get a sense of humour. The word “friend” started to lose it’s meaning. Which brings me to my next point:

3. What is a “friend”? I don’t know about you, but my “friends” are people I have things in common with; whom I share a history with; and who’s life journey I would like to be a part of, whether regularly or sporadically. “Friends” are not people I once met through an ex-boyfriend 6 years ago and had a beer with. I don’t want to know what they are up to, and I don’t want them to know what I’M up to. I know I can choose who I want to be friends with, but after getting friend requests and ignoring a certain person I did NOT want to be “friends” with 3 TIMES, enough was enough.

4. I don’t feel that my life is less fulfilling by not knowing what people are doing every second of their lives, (don’t even get me STARTED on twitter) nor do I have the need or desire to keep my friends up to date on my daily goings-on. And call me old fashioned, but I like receiving actual invitations to things, even if it’s in a group email. At least I feel like the person inviting me has taken the time to think of me. I just find facebook so impersonal.

If facebook is used the right way, for the right reasons, with the right intentions, then I’m fully supportive of this online tool. But generally it’s not. Generally it’s used to embarass and make fun of people’s silly antics. There is no trust and no courtesy. There is no thought as to how the person in the photo will feel.

I know my not having a facebook account isn’t going to stop “me” from being on facebook, but what I can’t see can’t hurt me. So if you love facebook, great! Good for you. No, really – each to their own. But believe me when I say that I’m okay with not being on facebook. It’s just everybody else who seems to have a problem with that fact.

Sexy husky voice

/ Renae / Leave a comment

A whine

Yeah yeah, I’m sick again. After a relatively uneventful January and February, I have picked up the “Fresher Flu” (first years are called freshers and apparently every year they pass around this nasty chest infection that they’ve nicknamed!) and I’m not happy about it! I actually don’t feel TOO bad, except for the fact that I’ve all but lost my voice which makes answering the phone super-sexy! I currently sound like Myf Warhurst (stand back gentlemen!) which is not necessarily a bad thing! 🙂

Apparently this is an occupational hazard, working at a university college. Let’s see how long it takes me to pick up the next bug….

Ice ice baby

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How is it that one week we’re scorching in +40 degree heat, and the next we’re being thrust into the depths of winter? How is that possible? Because it’s Melbourne, that’s how. I’ve been doing a fair bit of swimming over the last 2 months, but I gotta tell you, it’s hard to get motivated when I get home at 5pm and it’s 17 degrees. And to be honest, it’s not even the pool temperature that I dread – it’s an indoor heated pool kept at a pleasant 26-28 degrees, just like swimming up the Sunny Coast in summer – it’s the walk to and from the pool that’s the killer. Granted, it’s a 200m walk, but with wet hair and the wind factor, the walk home can be quite an unpleasant experience for even the most dedicated Eskimo!

But kudos to me (yes, I’m giving myself kudos!) for coming home to a cozy house and a warm Hubsband, and STILL deciding it would be a good idea to go for a swim this afternoon. 1km later, it was totally worth it.

Oh, and it’s currently 12 degrees…… where are Hubs’ uggs?

Nothing up my sleeve…. and PRESTO!

/ Renae / 2 Comments

I love magic tricks – the ones that my brother used to do at our big family BBQs used to entertain everyone, and used to leave me wondering how on earth he did it. I always wanted to be his assistant, but he knew that I wouldn’t be able to keep the secrets of the tricks to myself so he always politely declined my kind offer 🙂 One of my favourites was when he would turn a $50 note into 2…. into a $2 note, that is (when $2 notes were still around!!) It used to amaze me! And being the gullible little sister that I am, I was the perfect audience.

I’ve never really been a huge fan of big stage magic/illusionists though. You know, the Harry Houdinis and the David Copperfields. It always makes me nervous. How will they get out of the water tank! He’s hand-cuffed! He’s tied up!! It just puts me on edge and I don’t enjoy the experience.

Having said all that, Hubs and I had a date night last night and we decided to stay in and watch a movie on our data projector (it’s so awesome!!). We chose The Prestige (careful, there are some spoilers on the imdb site) and I was quite excited about the potential of this film. It was a bit hard to get into to start with, and the middle part of the film started to confused me. But I did my best not to be that annoying person who asks “who’s that?” and “why is he doing that?” and “ooooooh… but I thought (insert spoiler here) was going to happen.” I did my best, but I may not have done well.

The last half an hour was spent with me just going “oooooh! Oh I seeeee” and then the last 10 minutes it was more like “huh???” Of course I had crazy dreams about the movie afterwards, but I’ve also spent today (after reading the full synopsis on imdb) working it all out. It all makes much more sense to me today, and in a way I’d like to watch it again, knowing all of the “secrets”.

I enjoyed this movie on a number of levels – the suspense and excitement, the intruiging storyline, the twists and turns along the way, but I also didn’t enjoy it for all the same reasons. I was so nervous the whole time and the ending turned out to be completely unexpected, and as I said, it left me quite confused. I didn’t want to appear stupid, so I pretended to Hubs that I understood it all (I DID have 3 glasses of wine throughout the movie which may have impaired me ability to follow the crazy plot) and waited til today to look it all up. It all makes perfect sense to me now!

I’m not sure if I would recommend this movie. It certainly isn’t one for a relaxing night in, but if you like a good plot twist, then it might be for you. A word of advice, though, don’t drink too much whilst watching it!