She's got the look.............

Hi all.

Life goes on.

I spent a day with my Dad yesterday. It was good. We went to Charlestown Square, then to visit my Uncle & Aunt in Mount Hutton, & then Mum's cousin in Toronto. All are getting are getting on a bit, & their health isn't the best. It was wonderful to see them. Mum's cousin, who was probably Mum's best friend during her teens & early 20's is missing Mum enormously. The poor love, as we were eating lunch was just gazing at me as we talked, and commented with a wistful smile; "You look so much like your Mum...."

I think that maybe I have mannerisms that are like hers, as I tend to physically resemble my Dad's side of the family more, I think, in the face, anyway. My body is simply a shorter, chunkier version of Mum's. GG & Sboy are very much like my Mum's side of the family. My Brother is very much the same as well. Beloved didn't get too much of as look-in with our children. GG has echoes of his maternal grandmother, & Vboy is built very much like Beloved's Mother's brother. He has Beloved's mother's large eyes, too. Sboy is slight, like Beloved's father' s side of the family. None have Beloved's red hair, or tall, generous body shape. They all have his over-developed smart-ass sense of humour........

Work is very busy. I'm on my last few days at the hospital. It's very unpleasant when someone takes a dislike to you, isn't it? I just can't do anything right as far as one nurse is concerned: I don't even bother trying anymore. I hate it when we have to work together......... on days like today........ And she is SUCH a grumblebum. Of course, I am never one......... I believe that you get back what you put out there: I just do not put out what I get back from her (at least at the beginning, anyway) I will concede that I might be a touch ambivalent towards her these days..... But I definitely do not give out the impatient, disdainful, hostile & aggressive vibes that come my way. She looks the other way when we pass in the corridor......I have a tendency to smile & say hello to her, (because I can...) ... When she has to speak to me, she tends to hiss & spit it out, especially if she thinks that I may have done something wrong. When she thinks she's right, the hint of a smug smile tugs at her mouth.....

It's one of life's skills, isn't it, to cope with the crap that some people deal...?

Bah! I will waste no more time on her. Tomorrow is another day.

Time for a shower & bed.

Goodnight all ;0)

Lost in love & I don't know much; I was thinking aloud & I fell out of touch......

God, how I love 70's & 80's song lyrics....

You know what?

My last post was quite a bit longer than was published.

I took us on a rambling walk through the the 80's weekend. A social commentary on the lost art of "the weekend".

Then I cut & pasted in the song article.

And my ramble was lost.

I didn't realise until after it was published.

And I'm too tired to write it again.

Now I am sad.

But never mind.

You get 2 posts in half an hour this morning.

Maybe the universe was telling me something. (Not just that I am techo/computer dumb...)

Working, working, working.......

I'm having at leat 2 weeks off in April/May........ I need a holiday.

Whinge, whinge, moan, moan......

Have a good weekend. ;0)

Everyone's wondering; Will you come out tonight....?

Friday.

*sigh*.

Enjoy your weekend.

And now, a blast from the past (since I'm there anyway).

Remember "Loverboy"? A there was a string of hits from this 80's "superband":

Working For The Weekend - Loverboy Everyone's watching, to see what you will do Everyone's looking at you, oh Everyone's wondering, will you come out tonight Everyone's trying to get it right, get it right Everybody's working for the weekend Everybody wants a little romance Everybody's goin' off the deep end Everybody needs a second chance, oh You want a piece of my heart You better start from start You wanna be in the show Come on baby lets go Everyone's looking to see if it was you Everyone wants you to come through Everyone's hoping it'll all work out Everyone's waiting they're holding out Everybody's working for the weekend Everybody wants a little romance Everybody's goin' off the deep end Everybody needs a second chance, oh You want a piece of my heart You better start from start You wanna be in the show Come on baby lets go (quick break) You want a piece of my heart You better start from start You wanna be in the show Come on baby lets go You want a piece of my heart You better start from start You wanna be in the show Come on baby lets go

With a string of three multi-platinum albums, Loverboy was one of the most successful mainstream hard rock groups of the early '80s. Comprised of vocalist Mike Reno, guitarist Paul Dean, bassist Scott Smith, keyboardist Doug Johnson, and drummer Matthew Frenette, the band formed in Toronto, Canada, in 1980 and immediately signed with CBS Records. Later that year, their Bruce Fairbairn produced debut album appeared. Featuring the slick, hard-rocking singles "Turn Me Loose" and "The Kid Is Hot Tonite," the album went platinum in both Canada and America. Loverboy recorded the follow-up, Get Lucky, in 1981. Driven by the anthemic "Working for the Weekend," the Fairbairn-produced record was a major success in the U.S. and Canada, yet it failed to gain an audience anywhere in Europe. Nevertheless, the band was a staple on AOR stations across North America, as well as a popular concert attraction. The band's good fortunes continued with the 1983 album Keep It Up. Again, Loverboy worked with Fairbairn, who kept their melodic yet tough sound intact; the album featured the hit single "Hot Girls In Love." Loverboy's fortunes began to slip with 1985's Lovin' Every Minute of It, which was produced by Tom Allom (Judas Priest). Allom gave the band a harder edge, which didn't prove as commercially successful as their past records; nevertheless, the band's fans managed to make the album go platinum. Fairbairn returned from working with Bon Jovi to produce 1987's Wildside, yet the combination didn't prove as potent as before. After an extensive two-year tour, the band returned to Canada. In 1989, their greatest-hits record, Big Ones, was released. The same year Reno and Dean announced plans to make solo records, which effectively put an end to the group; a reunited lineup returned in 1998 with Live, Loud and Loose. Tragedy struck in November, 2000, when Scott Smith was swept overboard by a wave while on a boat near the California coast and he drowned. — Stephen Thomas Erlewine

And I love the thought...........

Good evening!

It's so lovely & cool in Blogmuggle land this evening. The last few days have been such a change from the melting heat from the first week of the month. It was 46 degrees both days of the weekend the Victorian Bushfires, & we were at a bike riding weekend on the banks of the Hawkesbury river, not too far from Windsor. It was 41 degrees in the shade. I am revelling in the cool change. Today, when I was driving into Muswellbrook, the day was grey, but the scenery was crisp; green. I usually find that when the sky is overcast after a shower of rain, that everything in the surroundings seem to have more clarity & depth.

I have been busy at work, but it's been enjoyable. I had my 1st visit into an operating theatre as a nurse & watched a gallbladder being removed by keyhole surgery. It was interesting; not at all gory, but I don't think that it's really my thing. I like my patients to talk to me! And caring for a patient coming out of anaesthetic is not an easy task: they tend to be scared, hurting & in shock. Not fun. Lots of monitoring & number-checking.

Can someone please tell me what the pain is in my groin that won't go away?

Beloved has been working nights this week, which is a bit different for us. Luckily, I have been on 3 days off, so at least we have seen each other. I go back to work tomorrow, so we won't see each other until maybe Thursday...... I've now only 1 more day off until March 1, then only that day until March 7 & 8.

GG has her tutorials sorted out for uni, but is more excited about 'Soundwave' in Sydney this Sunday, as is Sboy about 'Soundwave' in Brisbane this Saturday. GG has rather diverse tastes in music, & loves a lot of older style stuff. It's funny the way some things work out. Today GG was trolling through MySpace music & asked about "that song that Simply Red sang: you know, the big one". It turns out that it wasn't the big one that I was thinking of; "If you don't know me by now.." But it turns out that the song that she had in mind was the song that I knew as "Fairground". The odd thing about this song is that it was my favourite song that I would play loud & often when GG was about 8 & Beloved was living & working in Muswellbrook whilst I continued to work for a year & lived in a shed at NanandPops with the 3 kidlets at Belmont. I played it even more on a Friday leading up to the time that we would all be together for the weekend. The girls at work all reckoned that I looked a kilo or 2 lighter and glowed like a hundred watt light bulb on a Friday.........

Anyway, I must have brainwashed GG........ she loves it too....... I love the simple lyrics, & the way the excitement builds with the melody & tempo..... The chorus is my favourite bit.

"Fairground"
Simply Red (1995)

Driving down an endless road
Taking friends or moving alone
Pleasure at the fairground on the way
It's always friends that feel so good
Let's make amends like all good men should
Pleasure at the fairground on the way
Walk around, be free and roam
There's always someone leaving alone
Pleasure at the fairground on the way

(chorus:)
And I love the thought of coming home to you
Even if I know we can't make it
Yes I love the thought of giving hope to you
Just a little ray of light shining through

Love can bend and breathe alone
Until the end it finds you a home
Don't care what the people may say
It's always friends that feel so good
Let's make amends like all good men should
Pleasure at the fairground on the way

(chorus)
I love the thought of coming home to you
Even if I know we can't make it
Yes I love the thought of giving hope to you
Just a little ray of light shining through

Pleasure at the fairground on the way

(chorus)
I love the thought of coming home to you
Even if I know we can't make it
Yes I love the thought of giving hope to you
Just a little ray of light shining through
Love (love the thought)
Even if I know we can't make it
L-l-love the thought
L-l-love the thought

And then I found these misheard lyrics on the website: http://www.kissthisguy.com/7176misheard.htm

"And I love the thought of coming home to you
Even if you're gonna be naked"

hahahahahah............. the real lyric:

"And I love the thought of coming home to you

Even if I know we can't make it"

hahahahahaahah................

I reckon the misheard ones were more appropriate for us.

I wish that I knew how to scan some photos from this time into the computer so I could post them. The kids were so gorgeous! We made every bit of spare time count as time was so limited. We lived apart for almost a year........ We had so many adjustments to make when we were all together again.

But we're still going........

One day I will bore you with my romantic tales. But Natalie ("Musings From the Deep" in my sidebar) has set the bar pretty high.........

Goodnight everyone. ;0)

PS. If you read this, Brother of Mine, you really are allowed to make a comment!

Free the people.....................

See...

I was right.


"Mobilising the power of humanity"


Humans are amazing.

Strong.

Committed.

Generous.

Supportive.

Caring.

Loving.

Industrious.

Resourceful.

Surviving.

Living.

And so much more...........

Have a good day.

In the heat of the night.........

Right now, I am glad that I don't have a conventional, unshakable faith in a religious icon. Glad because right now, that faith would be shaking in its boots, especially if I lived in Victoria or Northern Queensland.

How anyone could maintain their faith in such a "kind, loving & merciful" god is beyond me. Anger, despair & confusion would be what I would feeling. And a guilty relief that I might have survived such a cataclysmic event.

I have a tendency to put my faith in people instead. Over the coming hours, days, weeks & months, I know that faith will be justified. The stories of loss in Victoria make my heart quiver: the tales of survival astound me & make my heart beat faster. So much: too much.

I want to do something: there is no blood bank here in Denman or Muswellbrook, and blood supplies are urgently needed for burns victims, so that's out. Working as a volunteer? well I'm better off staying here at my little country hospital & letting more experienced professionals head off to where they are needed. So money it's then: The Red Cross have organised a hotline for donations, & I believe that the Commonwealth, National & Westpac banks are also taking donations.

Whatever you believe, organise some rain for our folk in Victoria: good solid, drenching rain. Dance, pray, wish, will it or simply hope that it will happpen.

Hope. And have Faith. There is no justification for the events of the last few days. But faith is necessary, whatever or whomever you have faith in. It's not a tangible thing, but then that's the nature of faith, isn't it?

I also hope that KRudd sends my manna from Kevin to where it is really needed, & without all the usual accompanying red tape.

Grab that cash with both hands..........................

Evening Bloggers.

I wasn't going to post anything today as I thought that I had nothing to say. But as I pondered the newest manna from Kevin, it lead me down a path.

Why the heck are we being given money to spend, when just today, a patient sent a pink lady on an errand to buy 5 boxes of tissues for the hospital because they had run out, & there was not a box in the stores department either? A palliative care cancer patient returned her "back-up" box of tissues to staff for other patients to use................

Why are we to promote the economy when people are waiting months for potentially life saving/enhancing/promoting treatment in a hospital because they can't afford to buy themselves private hospital services, & existing services are so stretched that beds are empty because hospital budgets don't allow the employment of staff to utilise them? Income levels should not drive the level of healthcare that an individual receives, yet.......

Why are patients forced to wait because budgets don't allow for more staff?

Why aren't more medications subsidised by the government, which would potentially improve access to medications?

Hospital staff are constantly reminded of the cost of every towel, sheet, flannel & pillowcase. Incontinence aids, types of tape used & gloves........ All are related back to the inflexibility of the hospital budget.

Why are waiting lists so long?

Why aren't more doctors & nurses being trained? Surely less overtime stress & shorter shifts would improve patient care. Staff are tired & stressed.

Why aren't doctors offered better incentives to practice in rural & outlying areas? What happens to the ones that are being trained? Hint; they don't end up in country hospitals. The majority of medicos in rural practice are imported from overseas......

Why is so much money wasted on fireworks? Every bang & flash of vibrant colour sees a hospital bed, education for our children or helping out a company that is going down the tubes disappear with the fading colour.

The same goes for the "Why aren't you a good enough Australian" campaign and just about any anti-smoking ad.... To me, they are just a huge waste of money. Our kids could be provided with an education that is appropriate for the individual rather than one that barely caters for the masses.

Money is wasted that could be better spent providing services that could make people more comfortable when thay are ill, aging or dying. Or setting up a decent pension & welfare plan. Infrastructure & teachers in our schools all gone up in smoke. And save our teachers from inconveniencing already stressed families with more strike actions.

I'd better stop now.

I could rant for quite a while if I get a roll on. ( and you thought that I was already... way more to go yet).

Of course, like most other folk, I will not give manna from Kevin back. Beloved & I have been paying taxes since we were 15..... I believe that I will still be working into my 70's: the government has decreed that there will be no pension for Beloved & I, so I'll take mine as it comes along.

*sigh*

I'm such a hypocrite.

Having said all this (actually whinged all this), you will receive good, safe & professional healthcare in our hospitals. Our system is still way better than the USA's. We'll just have to be patient, that's all. And in country hospitals, there is no benefit to private healthcover as there are no docs in private practice, nor are there usually any private rooms on offer/available anyway. It just means that private patients' care is charged to the health fund, & the goverment (ie you & me) doesn't pick up the tab.

Goodnight >_<

Pink Floyd: Money

Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and your O.K.
Money it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a football team
Money get back
I'm alright Jack keep your hands off my stack.
Money it's a hit
Don't give me that do goody good bullshit
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class travelling set
And I think i need a Lear Jet
Money it's a crime
Share it fairly, but don't take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're
giving none away

There's a party going on right here.....

Good Morning on a Monday, People!

If this post is confusing, & gives you a sense of dejavu, don't worry, you're not losing it: Blogger posted my text before the pics uploaded..... soooo slow..... then I re-published it......

There will be no deep & meaningfuls here today, mainly because I just couldn't be bothered. There never are any really, are there? Maybe I'm too shallow..... or insular...... or just plain lazy.

The latter, I think.

It started out a biggish weekend. SBoy, Yana & JackF (his bosses) arrived home on Thursday night while I was at work.

Sboy turned 18 on Friday........

Many drinkies for Sboy & various peoples over the course of the day, starting at lunchtime, both at home & at the local pubs. More drinkies at the pub later with family & friends. Then more drinkies at home with the patrons of the pub back at ours..... copious amounts of party pies, sausage rolls, garlic bread & potato wedges soaked up some of the alcohol..... Sboy slept through a lot of the latter proceedings...... We finally cut his birthday cake (sans "Happy Birthday" song) on Sunday for afternoon tea.
And the most dangerous bushfires are not in Victoria or Tassie, they're right here in Wattle Grove: They're concocted of white rum & tabasco sauce, I believe.

There were times when it wasn't pretty: not a family show at all.

I love being 18.....


still loving it, but... going.....


going..........

GOOOOONNNNNEEEEE................

All things considered, there were no hassles on the day/afternoon/night/early morning. Except that I never slept AT ALL.... backing up after 3 hours the night before & a full week of evening shifts...... *yawn* X 50 squillion.......

My 18 year old son is now my hero. You may be familiar with the scene in the movie, "Zoolander", where the 2 models, Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) & Hansel (Owen Wilson) have a "walk-off" on the runway & Hansel's coup-des-gras to win the competition is to remove his underwear by pulling them off & out of his pants from the waist........ well that was performed on Sboy by his "best mate", and without a stunt double...... Hopefully, he will still be able to provide me with some grandbabies.......

Please ignore those fingers that seem to have developed tetanus....

They were a rather expensive pair of bonds "very comfy undies" that I bought him for Xmas..... and as you can see, he wore his best clothes for the occassion.....

As you can see we're a party waiting to happen in our family.......

I DID NOT give Vboy that beer....... maybe he's holding it for his brother... brotherly love..

And I take absolutely NO responsibility for the behaviour of the young adults that I gave birth to....... those genes must have come from Beloved....... even though he says that I had them last.....

Saturday was necessarily quiet. Tea at the pub, then the younguns went to lovely Amy's 18th birthday party.

On Sunday (the day of the week, not the fashionably individual name chosen by our Nicole & Keith for their little darling), we purchased a new/old car for GG. A very functional and relatively attractive 2000 model Ford Festiva Trio.... Happy 21st birthday for 2010, baby....... She's happy...... And loving her new domestic arrangements at no 25 as well. She will be actively looking for work in Newie as she is desperate to "get out of this s'hole town..." Wickham is def better baybybee......

On a brighter note, I have solved my work dilemma in regard to the lack of surgical experiences on my surgical rotation, so that's a weight off all of our shoulders, isn't it????????

Vboy's happy back at school, with only one request at the moment: "more pimple wipes please Mum, cos my skin's gone off!" It could certainly be worse. Oh that's right: I forgot. He wants a $150 pair of skate shoes to wear to school "cos they're black leather like I'm supposed to wear". The black Dunlop volleys that he's previously favoured are certainly more economical........... damn those OH&S regulations......


Better go.

Cya ;0)