Bonnet Styles of the Eighties

Ah baby photos. I had to wear a bonnet, as was the style of the time.

Explosions!

Well small explosions.

A small explosion at a substation plunged the entire North Shore into darkness last week and guess where I happened to be at the time? I was at the Gym. I know! Again! Who would believe it. Anyway I was at the scody gym this time. The lack of emergency lighting was a bit shocking but being the modern age we all whipped our cell phones out and guided ourselves to the exits by our glowing screens. Of course there was a few munters who decided to keep lifting (I was in the weights room) in the pitch black, but they were eventually kicked out.

Heres what the scenes of chaos looked like at the gym

Then driving home the traffic lights were out and without the glowing green and red to guide them the North Shore had forgotten how to drive. I saw several near misses at some major intersections. Munters.

The I had to quickly change out of my gym gear by candle light and face the roads again to go check the lab. We have lots of equipment that runs overnight and the emergency power at the hospital isn't the most reliable. But hurrah everything was fine (It's a Miracle!) and I went home again.

Oh and strange man in red station wagon was at the substation when I drove past. Some weird guy with a semi professional looking video camera (and an unprofessional looking station wagon) has been turning up at events around the North Shore. A few weeks ago he was at the flood at the hospital. He has no news logo's or channel designations on his car or equipment. Who is this weird guy and is he a free lance journalist or amateur news collector?

I Kick You!

I went to Les Mills.

Don't all die of shock. But it really happened. It was part of my "try new things" policy. A kind friend offered me a free pass to class at Les Mills.

It was body combat.

I feel like I've been in combat.

Actually the class was great, the perpetually cheery instructor and kicking beats made the time fly buy. I do have sore shoulders from punching the air too hard. No pain no gain though.
The rest of the gym looked kind of scary and furturistic in an eighties kind of way. There was all this orange light and black grating in the weights area. It would be like lifting weights in a faulty holodeck. I dont think I could do it. And I doubt I could afford it anyway. I'll stick with my scody community Gym thanks. Thats where my rate payer dollars are going, its half the price and half as flash.

Weekend Wrap Up

Or rather, spent the weekend wrapped up.

This is the coldest I have ever been, well so far this winter. I've had more cups of tea than my kidneys should logically be able to handle (but they're hanging in there thank god!) and I've turned my couch into a fort of sorts with all available duvets and pillows. Theres not much to be done when the weather is like this except watch a lot of crap TV. Sundays are great as there is the Star trek re-run marathon. 4 glorious hours of Star trek. I followed it up with some episodes of "The Outer Limits" 90's version (something tells me the 50's version may have been better) I'm saving the good stuff, Battle Star Glactica for later tonight.

Unfortunately I blew up the TV in the bedroom (there was a flash and a bang, very exciting stuff), usually in winter its nice to go to bed a couple hours early and watch a movie or some X-files in bed where its nice and warm, but CURSES! I cant even do that now. I'm trying to decide if I should buy another TV for the bedroom, by doing so I have to openly admit I am addicted to TV and that I cant live without it. You know you lead an extravagant life when you can live without a second TV.


In good news my Threadless T-shirts turned up on Friday!!! I have been wearing my "interpretive dance" shirt all weekend.

"Action shot"

Perhaps the most exhilarating thing I did this weekend was tag along on the teenagers driving lesson. Slapping on the L plates like they were some kind of defensive shield that would prevent us from being run off the road I wondered if this really was the best way to spend what could possibly be the last Sunday afternoon of my life. But it wasn't all bad, there was the occasional hairy moment but it couldn't have been any worse than my driving at 5am heading to work on Friday morning still half asleep.

Well its been an uneventful week at the hospital. Very boring. None of the floods or power cuts that plagued me last week have recurred. But its only a matter of time. This building is falling apart.
The flood at least added excitement to the day with much of the North Shore's fire service turning up as well as a couple of trucks from Ponsonby. It is usually my daydreams at work that are full of strong men in uniforms purposely striding into the building.
As for the power cuts, seeing how many multiboxes you can safely plug into the emergency power outlet is a fun way to spend the afternoon. Oh the lengths I go to make sure the public get their results in a timely manner.
Of course now we have all the strike action to deal with. It makes for very quiet afternoons. I'm non-union (so is my whole department) so I am still working away, but there's nothing to do as our work flows on from other departments. So an early finish and off to the pub for a beer in the crisp winter sun. Good to see your tax payer dollars hard at work eh ;-)

Oh yeah and check out our nifty new sculpture being installed. (Notice how I say "our sculpture"). Feel free to comment on its phallic nature.

Hey Guys, look what I saw.

Worst parking ever. (I took this photo with my phone) Just happened at link drive last weekend. This was the first time ever, that having a camera phone came in handy. (and it was to take a photo of some idiot car crash... man I am really capturing those moments)

If you actually want some hints on some good ways to use your camera phone you could check out this article Camera phones: ten ways to use them.

Its everywhere!

LOL CATS

Still my favourite thing on the internet. I cant stop searching for MOAR!




I cant get enough, even O RLY owls and lolruses. My addictions knows no bounds! I need cute animals with captions and I'm not above stealing to get some!
Actualy I think they could be used for therapy. Combine with cuteoverload and I may even have a cure for cancer. Man I have got to get a cat. We have been putting it off since we live next to quite a busy road. But I miss having a furry little bugger around.

Holy Crap I am on Bebo

Well crap, just like that I have a bebo page. Its my brothers fault. He's off to Spain so he started one to keep in touch with all us fullas stuck here in the freezing winter while he is off enjoying the Mediterranean.

It seems to be a whole different crowd of people. Anyway here is the hideous badge they lump you with. (Small and understated is not part of the bebo language)
So if like me you've decided to whore yourself all over the internet why not give bebo a try! (oh and add me as your friend so i look popular, k! thx, bai!)

Susie Whttp://Suselore.bebo.com/

Ten Thousand dollars

Its a lot of money.

He he he!

On being big, its a small thing

Sometimes, something very very small gets me thinking about something big.

That something small was just a throwaway line at a cafe. When you ordered cake at this cafe you were asked if you wanted cream on the side. I sure did. So I ordered it. In everyone had cake and everyone had cream on the side. Of course I was the only one who finished my entire dollop of cream (it was delicious!) and thus the small thing, the small thing that made me think of the bigger thing.
The small thing that was the throwaway line.

"Somebody enjoyed their cream didn't they."

Yes, I did enjoy my cream thanks. (As if perhaps not finishing my cream would have somehow been more virtuous.) I don't know what was meant by the line, and as its a small thing. Probably nothing. But it got me thinking. Thinking about women and food and how we treat each other. How value has suddenly become related to size. How interesting a woman is has to do with how thin she is. And why do we perpetuate this towards each other?

Probably nothing was meant by this line, and that might be even worse. That something like this is said without thought. That to think less of a person because of the way they eat is some how so ingrained into our psyche now.

Of course I've had it both ways. I may have had a tuna salad for the third day in a row at work in an effort to eat more healthy, only to be asked " oh you're eating that again!?" which again is a small thing. Its a throwaway line. No doubt if I was eating hot chips for the third day in a row from the cafeteria I would also endure some snide remark.

If it seems I am being oversensitive, you're right. But these small things have got me thinking about something bigger.

Susie 64kg
Can run 3km in less than 20 minutes
Can do 10 reps of two 9kg dumbbells in a chest press.
Can lift more than my body weight in a calf raise
eats salads, cream, steamed broccoli and pizza.
Is a woman with a waist, hips, muscles, breasts and thighs.
Always trying to do better and always trying to enjoy life and sometimes that means eating all the cream.

Thanks you ol' Dame for the Long Weekend

Ah heaven is the long weekend, hell is the rest of winter with no public holidays. Labour day of course marking the first day of summer (this I know from my childhood as camping ensued from that day forth).

I am actually going to spend the glorious three days catching up with family and friends, sleeping in, possibly weeding the garden if its not raining, watching movies, eating a pizza, lusting after hoodies on threadless, Tonys 21st of course and loads of wine.

Yep perfect plans for the long weekend.