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kin_thalas domesticholly I know you two are going through a lot right now for different reasons, but just a reminder you do bring a smile to peoples faces when you post.
- Mood:
cheerful
Thank you for your email, it is important we receive feedback to continue to improve our customer service. I have spoken to the Customer Service Supervisor regarding this issue and it will be followed up with the person concerned. The Customer Service Supervisor is happy to talk to you about adopting a cat if you are willing to return.
Regards
- Mood:
exanimate
Imagine 3 kids, 2 parents and 2 grandparents being told by an Adoption officer that it was not appropriate to adopt an adult cat because the youngest was not 4 yet...It got heated because of the condescending way it was delivered, because we were 'stupid' enough to say that we having been teaching our youngest how to treat animals, which does take a bit to get toddlers not to pull on tails or get in their face. So according to this lady, we weren't ready. So we went back to the original cat haven, got Tip, got charged half price because they were devastated about Smudge, and wished us well. We have also filed a complaint against the Adoption Officer because frankly that was pure bullcrap and while I can understand the overriding concern about the welfare of animals, but labelling us unable to care for a cat? oooh bitch.
Busy weekend and 2nd son's 'official' birthday which was fun. I was repainting the front area of the house, got out in the garden wtih the line trimmer (it started and stayed on this time, I didn't flood it but I think my fuel/oil mix is wrong) and cleaned up the garden. Cleaned the master bedroom, found some cake, had pizza for dinner, played with the cat, cared for and fed my Champions Online (my girls needed some attention, man I need to post a roster soon) and watched 300 with the wife, since we decided on a Frank Miller week for movies. (Sin City next)
- Mood:
annoyed
WEEK SUMMARY After a week of recording it pretty much shows I am good at the start of the week and then trail off towards the end of the week in both diet and exercise. My portion control is good, but softdrink consumption is still way too high. Not sure how I am going to beat that, since banning it from the house would cause a riot. I am trying to take healthy options but still have some work to do.
( Daily Diary )
- Mood: annoyed
( Daily Diary )
- Mood:
sore
( Daily Diary )
- Mood:
accomplished
Case in point, we got our Christmas Hampers this year. If you dont know its a scheme where you pay a fortnightly fee and then in November they deliver a truckload of goodies to your door. We got into it because while we aren't the 'popular' side of the family so we have no issue about entertaining, we just dont have to buy food apart from staples for two months. Very sweet deal.
Uh anyway...
As part of the hamper we got a few boxes of chocolates, which don't last squat in our house, but I am careful since I have three young
Of course today chocolate sensor obviously went off in middle child who locked on box securely in the fridge. It apparently took him a few minutes to figure to stick his fingers in the holes of the fridge shelf to push the box up enough to tip over.
I have 5 chocolates left....
- Mood:
aggravated
( Daily Diary )
- Mood: accomplished
Saturday poker was entertaining if anything but with a massive turnout of players it got tight and aggressive really quickly. A lot of people fell that I wouldn't have expected, but I hung around. I did enjoy quite a few drinks, and made some good calls, including a heart rending decision to fold KK to a potential blood bath between two other players. I won some pots, but Sunday morning I counted my winnings and trying to figure out how I managed to get so high. I think as part of health kick before Christmas Season officially kicks in the next poker night will be sober, or I just take some pre-mixes and leave it as that, play the game for the game, not just to have a loud boys night.
Sunday was verge rubbish collection day, where the council will collect anything with large trucks. So along with some old computer equipment, couches and other ancillaries, we threw out the broken toys...and OMG there were so many! We technically haven't finished either, but its a strong start. What I am more cheesed about is that a lot of toys are gone because the boys just don't know to keep parts together, which is highly frustrating.
Oh and I bought a line trimmer or whipper snipper depending on the locale. The damn thing just doesn't like starting, I have managed to stuff up my hand trying to start the thing. I must be missing something here, so will try again next weekend, after painting.
.
- Mood:
drained
Been a reasonably quiet weekend. I did get some paint and been working on the walls, though what was a 20 minute job was compounded by the kids wanting to help with EVERYTHING, and no one listening to what I was saying so I had to redo some sections. It seems its the eldests turn to act up this week getting a real sullen look on his face when you tell him off. If its not one its the other.
Seems to be this Saturday should be a good one as the parent's in law rang up out of the blue and wanted us over for dinner, and then wanted to keep the boys overnight. OK that was cool, a free night off, but then I remembered I have poker with the boys that night. However to my surprise the wife was very pleased she would get a night to herself to continue on her NaNoWriMo work.
OK works for me :D
- Mood:
tired
After my worry a week ago about my middle son I think I have finally started hitting a breakthrough. Looking at my own behaviour, I was obviously feeding into him being able to control the situation and obtain the attention, particularly if he could find ways to boil over, and unfortunately I was having issues being unable to control him or control myself. This involves;
- Keeping a calm voice when things start boiling over
- Not making threats or punishments I cannot carry out like revoking planned visits
- Clearly explaining the requirements of a task and the consequences of not doing it.
Its so weird, but I love my jujitsu but HATE exercising still. Whats up with that? An hour and a half can breeze through on Tuesday nights and I want to go even after the crapiest day at work, but do you think I could get on the bike after dinner and a good day at work? noooo. I don't know what I need to do for motivation, but I need to find it quick.
What is it with book to movie conversions of late? It feels to me that you need to read the book as study material to watch the movie so you don't get lost. Certainly the way I felt with the latest Harry Potter movie where I ended up staring at the screen in utter confusion of why people and scenes are acting this way. At one stage I was convinced I had skipped a movie somewhere. I mean wasn't Harry running a secret dueling club in the last movie only to get pussy whipped by Snape at the end of this one? Apparently Potter is still playing Quiddich, but the scenes in that seemed totally irrelevant, if only to bump up Ron. While I will say I am not a Potter fan, I really enjoyed the first two movies because of the attention to detail that you didn't need the book to understand the movies. Apparently this was complained about by the fans that it made the movies overly long, so subsequent directors ended up going for style
Dare I watch Twilight without reading the book??
- Mood:
thoughtful
Halloween was rather low key as always is in Australia. The wife dressed up the kids and they went to a few houses, and I think I got one set of kids in total for the night. Oh well these packets of lollies are just going to have to eat themselves I think :) They did look rather good in their costumes though.
This weekend has been a while since we had the full weekend to ourselves which has been very refreshing. Did quite a bit of cleaning up and gardening as well as watching a few movies, playing some games and playing the various Halloween events for City of Heroes and Champions. I was extremely disappointed with Operation Flashpoint Dragon Rising. I was a huge fan of the first Operation Flashpoint, with over 40 missions, most of them running blindly from an enemy and feeling rather weak against insurmountable odds, over a rich storyline. I was hopeful for the new game. 12 missions later I was thinking wait I am nearly finished? All those toys I played with in the original, Helicopters, Tanks, huge weapons. Not this time. Talk about lazy coding.
Sigh oh well, at least I enjoyed the movie The Tournament in a sense that cheesy over the top, 90s action flicks with stupid amounts of blood letting (stupid in a sense that people seiously don't bleed like that) are still being made.
.
- Mood: sore
Saturday night was poker night, and we can say a game of high spirits and high emotions. Quite a few of us were drinking...lots. Well there was a special event on in the valley so lots of wine and probably every police officer in the state down there. One of the hosts brothers was drinking quite a bit and started with the aggressive play. Unfortunately I got bad beated again, when my pocket pair of Queens got busted on the River to an all in. Sigh. I bought in again and brooded a bit as the trash talk ramped up from the winner, despite repeated calls to shut up and stop talking about the hands. However the aggressive calls backfired and in turn had his hand cracked.
I don't care what anyone says, seeing a grown man suddenly cry is extremely awkward. Stormed off after hurling accusations of cheating, so pretty much killed the evening. Counted the cash and I broke even. We then played 5 card stud, which I think to this day a rather dull variant of poker, but I cleared out the tale pretty quick. Then tried watching something with Vikings and Samurai...and that was that. Bit of a hangover, bit of money in my pocket, and the brother turns back up this morning apparently in the dog house. All in all great fun! :D
Terribly unmotivated for a Sunday. Should do something, but the kids are relatively quiet this morning, and the Mrs is resting. I will give her that since I am out having fun while shes at home all night with the boys.
- Mood: thoughtful
"I can't believe its been ten years."
...or something like that. But to be honest, I can and have. I should also say something like;
"It feels like only yesterday"
but it doesn't. Why would it? To me it sounds rather patronising to thing that being married 10 years an in a relationship for almost 15 was a piece of cake. Yes I guess time does feel like it speeds up the older you get, but we have been through a lot to get where we are. Really good times and dark days, and those unique feelings you go through
- That comfortable feeling over the years of brushing up against a naked leg just before sleep.
- That cautious optomism and that gentle squeeze on the arm as you step out that door on the first day of a new job.
- That incredible wonder as you stare at your new baby in your partners arms for the first time, it doesn't matter whether its your first or third.
- The abject fear of waiting in a hospital room while you let a stranger take your partner's life into their hands.
- That small reassuring smile when you look from the mirror as the skin gets a little wrinklier, the hair a bit thinner or whiter.
- That hollow despair as you struggle to make ends meet, just hoping that you can last out a few more months so you can finish study and not have to defer.
- That frustrated feel of just wanting to be left alone for a few hours or a day, only to realise that after that feeling is gone, you go searching for them to make sure they are ok.
- Those dark feelings when you think it may be coming to the end, only to open up a bit more, and listen a bit more to finally understand what each other goes through.
- The realisation when pulling up to your house in the evening, that may not be completely finished, its a home you made with someone all those years ago. From timid fumblings in the back of a 1984 Gemini, to walking into our very own apartment to try to make it work, to looking at two cars, bikes on the lawn and excited shrieks of small children. (and the raucous shouts of a woman pushed to the edge! ;D )
I guess the thing I take away most of this, is you do get tired...but you never get tired of the one you love. Considering I started this LJ due to a very tumultuous period in my lifetime, it has been something that brought those feelings and thoughts very much to the fore. It also hasn't been a one way street, and I have needed to be strong in her time of need. Is being married an easy street. Not a chance, it takes a lot of guts, and you have to be a real man to make it work.
Happy Anniversary Reijiro
- Mood: accomplished
Dear TV,
I know our relationship has been on the rocks since DVD came onto the scene, and could single handedly entertain the kids and blow my mind with decent movies...or at least movies I like to watch repeatedly. I thought since my relationship with Cinema has been rekindled, I thought we could..you know...start again.
Its not like I haven't tried, and we certainly aren't doing anything like pay for Cable, because we dont really watch all that much TV. I have been hearing some good reviews of shows coming up. But since Lie To Me...well lied to me that it would be an edgy drama filled with good science and real characters, but it pretty much jumped the shark in a pair of rocket boots by the fourth episode. I did enjoy Master Chef so it hasn't been a complete loss.
I really wanted to enjoy Flash Forward but aghasl;ghogoaghosbdoffsa wtf was that crap that assaulted my eyes that is supposed to be called Drama?? Was I supposed to shout "What a Twist!" sarcastically more than twice at you? And then you had the gall to attempt an encore screening? Then this week you had to drag the rotten corpse of Hey Hey its Saturday out of its 20 year old grave and beat it with a baseball bat so the random jerking and squirty sounds would qualify as entertainment. It was dumb 20 years ago and I was freaking 8, I knew it was going to be bad so I didn't watch it, and pretty much after that skit it won't be again.
I hate to say it TV, but the relationship is over. We can get together for brief catchups over coffee and an ocassional nolstalgia session of old good times, but no I don't think we can rebuild it.
Plus my wife puts out.
- Mood:
sick
It is really starting to look like I have a Radiology Team and a Cardiology team looking after my case, and they aren't talking to each other as not two weeks after an Echo, I get a letter Friday that 'your doctor' (read someone) that they want another CT, which usually means more needles, dyes and hours of entertainment during work time. My levels of frustration at having heart issues at my age considering it has been assumed down the phone that;
- I have been mistaken for a woman (I can blame my first name)
- I am a Veteran
- I am over 65 - (more than a few times a nurse has blurted out 'but you are so young)
- That I am not working or looking after small children
I have hope for the entertainment industry of late if the movies I have seen are any indication. While storylines haven't been innovative, I have been impressed of late with what I have seen. District 9 was a gripping story that made me viscerally uncomfortable when confronted with raciscm, abject poverty and the depth the human condition will go to for any achievement. The Hangover, while not an original story, was an absolutely hilarious 'guy flick' which had the wife in stitches. We also took the kids to see Up yesterday the cinema, and really Pixar cannot do anything wrong, having mastered the digital technology, they are really pushing the boundaries of original screenplay. A powerfully mature story of love, relationships, friendships, and utter sadness/lonliness I will admit, I had a tear in my eye in a few spots. I would not be surprised if it is up for a few awards this year. I hope to watch Gran Torino tonight, which I hear is another great story.
The concepts and the plan for the wife and I attempting our hand at writing a story have gained momentum, and we have been busy doing research and putting together storylines. Our obsession with Japanese Culture and Japanese History have given rise to a rough outline of what we want to do. From a personal perspective, I have been fascinated by the concept of lifetime servitude to the point of it being your whole core has fascinated me, particularly from a female perspective, and particularly in a country that 400 years ago was being torn apart by wars, and that entire communities were destroyed on a perceived insult, it seems like a great setting to put it. At the moment we are looking over history books to get a feel for a good location for our fiction, that is fairly believable, and trying to get rough outlines of the plot.
Breaking news: it may be a week late, but period looks to be on schedule -fist pump-
Wife deserves two blocks of chocolate during "I hate anything with a penis" week...which in our house....
- Mood:
artistic
Got back from our getaway down the South West. Three days of good food, good drink, lazing around writing plots, watching movies and in various states of undress. It was fantastic. The kids enjoyed their time with the grandparents which is great as well. Feeling very recharged but incredibly tired at the moment. Sort of rather strange really, but we did seem to be up quite late at night.
Nice to drive around a country town/port and get the sights and sounds. Found a really nice place that did a divine wonton soup and really good shopping. The only real hiccup was accidentally setting the fire alarm off in the hotel whenu my butter sauce burned on the fish really steaming it up. Oops.
Other than that. Wonderful!!
- Mood:
bouncy
( Champions Online Stuff... )
- Mood: bouncy
It has been nearly a month since I started jujitsu, and its certainly been going full bore. Since the school I have joined also uses Kempo for 'Atemi' (strikes) its a bit new in how I have previously being doing combat. Still quite enjoyable and certainly working for my money. My instructor wants me to do a couple more lessons and then look to completing the first Kyu to get a belt. I am happy with that since the syllabus is fairly straight forward. It only gets harder from here, and watching one demonstration during class I seriously thought to myelf I am going to have to get some serious weight off so I can even do those exercises.
On the diet and exercise front, I have been working on increasing my exercise output so up to 7km on the stationary bike and a quick power walk at lunchtime. I watched a TV show on Monday night in regards to tips on losing weight. Most of them were pretty self explanatory, though the concept that cheese can turn fat into a soap like substance that is excreted was new, and that thick soups actively prevent the stomach emptying too quickly so were a good staple for lunch was very interesting. I have tried it with a thick chicken and sweet corn soup to very positive results.
I plan to look this weekend at a short routine of weights that will improve the power of my legs and arms to manage my kicks and stikes. Mostly resistance training, I don't need to put on muscle, just take off the fat. Also I will try to give myself a bit of time each day to work on Zen Candle Gazing to refocus my mind a bit better.
Work is work, is work. Nothing out of the ordinary, though taking Tuesday off threw my schedule out, but I recovered quickly.
This weekend sees quite a few family members be baptised in the Catholic Faith, more as a promise to my Brother in Law's mother who passed away recently from cancer. I don't believe they will be particularly observant about the canons of Catholicism (contraception anyone?) It is just going to be interesting that my wife is going to be a Godparent, considering we are mostly agnostic. It makes me appreciate that organised religion is trying to keep up with the modern family structure while remaining true to its original canons.
Ooh ooh, sorry I found this article that seriously made me go WTF...and it has NOTHING to do with my Jennifer Connolly fantasy.
Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America'
The film was chosen to open the Toronto Film Festival and has its British premiere on Sunday. It has been sold in almost every territory around the world, from Australia to Scandinavia.
However, US distributors have resolutely passed on a film which will prove hugely divisive in a country where, according to a Gallup poll conducted in February, only 39 per cent of Americans believe in the theory of evolution.
- Mood: aggravated
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