I don’t have to go back to work until 17 September. How good is that. Not that work has been bad lately, as said in previous posts it is actually quite fine but holidays rock. And I am really happy that in the next two weeks I am going to see my mum, my sister and my dad not to mention some other awesome people who I don’t see much like David and Keith and Steve and Mim.

My grandparents came to visit today. It was the first time they have seen my house and I was a bit worried that they would not like it very much. However they said they loved and I think they really did. They like old things so were fascinated by when it was built etc. The back step which is sort of in the shape of the bum which I always look at and think about all the people that sat there and laughed and cried and drunk tea they too were excited about and asked the same questions. We had brunch and they asked about my paintings and my teapots and how we are settling in. They talked about their trips and the family and even some of their struggles with getting old and losing many of their friends. It is not always easy with but today was all just lovely so I will cherish it.

Now we have a local peruvian family coming for lunch and then Hannah in the evening so I better go prepare for hospitality number two.

I have been finding work pretty hard for the last couple of weeks. Not feeling all that inspired by the job to be totally honest and finding it so hard to get anything done. Every task seem to be constantly interrupted by another task that ends up taking a lot longer than I thought for less results than I hoped. And everyone keeps cancelling or rescheduling their meetings or ringing me to complain about something.

However, today was a good day. I had two emails from volunteers filled with thanks and praise for the organisation and the support and care they get. That on top of a good meeting was just what I needed cause I also managed to finish some things that have been in the in-tray for weeks. Not to mention book myslef two speaking engagements that I have been trying to organise for awhile.

It feels good. Hopefully the start of some more good days….

Martin has been watching a fair bit of Olympics so I have found myself watching a little bit too. I think the diving and the gym is okay and some swimming but it is a cruel world really. In the diving the other day someone did a dive. It was really pretty incredible but apparently the diver was a bit close to the board and the commentators just kept going on and on about that. They then replayed it so we too could all see it was a bit close.

And to be honest I find it hard to care much. And I don’t think that most people care that much either. I was at a church the other day checking out a minister and he projected four names on to the screen and asked the congregation if anyone knew who they were. Some people made some guesses but nobody got it. It turns out that they were all people who won gold in the last Olympics. I guess at the time it is all big news but four years down the track most of us don’t know the names of most of the winners. Perhaps some of the really big names we’ll remember for a bit longer but I reckon once someone beats their records we stop caring about them either.

I have to say also that TV commercials are disgusting. I think because I don’t watch enough TV to become immune to it, it really affects me. The other day I saw one for some kind of TV or something like that. In the ad there was some guy going on about how he wants something and he wants it now and he’s going to get it now. He was saying it was a revolution. I don’t know maybe I have the wrong definition of revolution but in my definition revolutions change things, they’re counter cultural. This attitude doesn’t seem counter cultural to me. In fact it seems very much in keeping with today’s culture.

I think the title says it all. It is very beautiful (I can not really believe I am using that word to describe a computer). And this is my first post from it. Yay.

I was just reading an article about second hand clothing. The good news is that new clothing sales are down by 3.8% and the sales at Vinnies and the Salvos are up by 11% (especially good news for me as that it what pays my salary). The article attributes this to the rising cost of living as well as the green movement. Compactors gets a mention as well.

However, the article also mentions that the average Australian woman under 30 buys 102 new items of clothing a year. 102!!! I couldn’t believe it. I don’t think I would even get over 20 and I am not compacting or anything like that. I do very intentionally try not to buy much but I didn’t think I was trying that much harder than other people. Maybe I am.

Last night I had a dream about magnums. In it I ate two and I felt really sick. I am not sure why I dreamed this as I have not had a magnum in years. Anyway just now I ducked out to buy a coffee and I saw an ad for magnums and it made me feel really queasy. In fact I still feel a bit grose. I didn’t realise dreams could affect life so physically like that.