Public holiday and day off. There should be more of them, we just don’t get nearly enough.

It was a glorious morning, promising to be 30 degrees.

We washed the bulldogs, because of the beautiful day.

We walked them to the middle eastern bakery to dry them and get lunch, who says boys can’t multi-task.

Sam got Chalie lunch too, who was still in bed when we left midday. When we got back, Charlie, who is notoriously fussy about what food he eats, pretty much turned his nose up at it. He ate it, kind of reluctantly. We were watching him and he struggled. Afterwards he said he thought it tasted funny. No thank you for getting it for him. 

Sam still cooks his meals for him.

The food was great. Charlie just has immature taste buds. He usually smothers everything in chilli sauce.

Then it got hotter in the afternoon and we lay on the couches in front of the fan doing screens. Sam looks at Tik Tok. I’m still updating my blog.

It is a very easy day, lovely.

Charlie's Boyfriend

There is a packet of seasoned crumbles on our kitchen bench. I just naturally imagine it strawberry and white chocolate crumble, although I don’t take much notice of it. I briefly contemplate what cereal I could have to use them, but let it go almost as quickly as I thought of it

Sam gets up. He looks at the packet, of course.

“Do you think Charlie’s girlfriend…”

“Or boyfriend…”

“Or boyfriend gave him this?”

“I hope so.”

“You hope he was given this?”

“I hope he has a boyfriend.”

“Really?”

“Oh, it would be so adorable if he had a boyfriend.”

“Do you think so.”

“It would be gorgeous.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes,” I say. “Grandma might shit her pants…”

Sam laughed.

“All her boys she sends to Australia turn out to be gay.”

Sam just looked at me.

“But she’d get used to it?”

“It is roast garlic seasoned.”

“Oh, I just naturally imagine it to be a sweet topping.”

“You would,”

“Just like Charlie could be?”

“What?”

“Sweet top man.”

“I see,” said Sam. “It is Indonesian savoury crumble.”

“Oh, I was thinking sweet pie...”

“Do you think he is seeing someone from a restaurant.”

“Maybe he is screwing the owner’s son?”

“You are incorrigible.”

“Oh, it would be lovely to see him with a strapping boyfriend.”

“Or girlfriend.”

“Holding hands with a lovely boy he perhaps met at the gym.”

“A girl from uni?”

“He’s finished uni,” I say. “Maybe he has been seeing this guy since he finished uni, too nervous to tell us.”

“Why would he be too nervous to tell us.”

“Oh, you know, everyone has a coming out story which is difficult for everyone in varying degrees.”

“You think.”

“Yes, of course, everyone has to do it at their own pace.”

“You have thought about this a lot?”

“No, I am just winging it as I tell you now.”

“You’ve got Charlie deep into a serious gay relationship and you are just making this up now?”

“Yeah, sure. I guess it comes easily.”

“Does the boyfriend have a name?”

“I’m working on that.”

Sam laughs.

“I’ll let you know what I come up with.”

Sunny Saturday

It's a gorgeous day, the sun shines.

We did nothing until lunch time when we walked to Carlton to eat Taiwanese food.

Mark calls me while I was waiting for the food to be bought out. He'd been back in hospital for a day, or so, some unspecified infection that they (the doctors) may, or may not have got under control after numerous blood tests and a MRI.

There was a woman eating next to us with a small dog in a pram. During her meal, she took the dog out and posed it on her seat with her food and took photos.

We ate Taiwanese fried chicken. I had chicken on it's own, having sweet corn soup before, and sweet tofu after. The texture of the sweet tofu was off this week, it was kind of curdled, rather than silky and smooth. Sam had fried chicken with all the side dishes.

We meet a lesbian couple in the Carlton Gardens on our walk back with a brindle coloured greyhound. They were nice.

I leave Sam and the dogs to walk home on their own, right at the end of our walk, and I go and do tattslotto before I head home, in a desperate bid not to go back to work next week. I did OzLotto, which I never normally do, after going to the doctor a few weeks ago, and I won most of my money back, so I put the same numbers on again last week, when I won the exact cost of the ticket, so I took that as a sign to play again this week.

I get milk and bananas as well. Kind of staples, everyone should have milk and bananas. Brun and I share a banana sitting on the kitchen floor when I get back.

The sun continues to shine.

We lie on the couches for the rest of the afternoon.

Break in Usual Transmission

Third day off in a row, well, two and a half, okay two and three quarters. How many hours sick leave am I going to apply for? Hmmm?

The sun has been shining down these last few days.

Sam has been too busy working to make any demands on my time.

I've been busy generating AI images for all my old blog posts. Wasting my time adding images for two, and three, year old, and older, blog posts that probably no one is ever going to look at? Quite possibly. But, it is my latest fun thing to do. But it is time consuming, and I'm not getting any writing done.

I'll look at them, and like them.

Am I re-writing history a bit? Yeah, sure, a bit, but this ain't Shakespeare, let's face it. It's just drivel that once dribbled out of my mouth. Nyr!

Anyway, I can't think of much to write today when I am back three years in history sniffing around.

So, hang about, I guess I'll be done soon.

Conservative Right Wing Politicians

* not exact model, picture used for illustrative purposes only 

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, conservative got minister - shadow minister, I'm forgetting like the conservatives forget, they are not in power - charged taxpayers to fly husband to CPAC where she railed against government spending.

The Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price charged taxpayers $2,500 to fly her husband to the CPAC conservative conference in Brisbane last year, where she made a speech calling to cut government spending and implored attendees not to desert the Coalition.

Sickie

I took a sickie. I don't normally take sickie's, I haven't taken one since October 2022, but, really, I was sick when I did take that leave, after my eye operation, so, actually, in this job I have never taken a sickie, as such.

Oh, I don't know, the last few days just gave me the shits, and so I decided to take some of my sick leave, if I am going to resign any time soon, as it totally seems more like a possibility than it did not all that long ago.

Things just seem to be going from bad to worse. Our little department seems to have given up all it's authority to anyone else who seems to want to take advantage. Boris seems to have given in and is just being a doormat to everyone else. It all seemed to start when I took leave. It just reeks of Boris having got a bad review and now she is just doing anything for anyone who asks, and by association, i'm being expected to do the same.

And, I don't like it, because if you don't at least stand up for yourself a little, people take advantage, that is human nature, and that is what I see happening at work.

The Midget got a promotion to captain of the dog's bodies and has turned into a somewhat of a megalomaniac. 

And has The Big Poo taken a bit of a backward step since his brain tumour last year, or was that the year before, now? Time slips by so fast.

Kindness

Weird that the most radical act today seems to be kindness.

Monday

Oh groan, Monday again. I sound like a broken record, I realise that, but they come around so quickly, now don't they.

I feel bad that they expect me in the office, at the same time, I feel pissed off that they expect me in the office. I feel annoyed that this problem has been created, really for no reason.

I think nyr, and I work from home. Let's see what happens.

I see people crushed into public transport, or sitting in huge lines of traffic and I wonder why the workers accepted this again, seemingly, with little push back after being given the gift of working from home during the pandemic?

Out To Lunch

It's just lunch today, that's all that is on the agenda.

It's Sunday

Oh yes, of course, we have cleaned the house, it is Sunday after all, and Sam is a stickler for that. Me? I don't care about cleaning so much. My theory on cleaning is that when it looks dirty to me, then I clean it.

It's another warm, overcast, day. Sometimes I think warm overcast days are hotter than sunny day, I don't know why. At least there is a bit of a breeze.

It is humid, which I hate. Thank you to all the filthy conservative politicians who have ignored climate change causing Melbourne to be humid, where it never was humid. We're still used to the dry heat that used to be Melbourne weather. This humidity sucks.

Vote conservative politicians out of office who are climate change deniers, our lives depend on it.

Anyway, we're just walking to the next suburb, we're gonna eat outside, then we're gonna walk home. Job done.

Day done.

Mark is all better and home again. I thought he had a mesh wrap over his aorta, but he tells me, he thinks, they pulled the sleeve inside his heart and secured it on the inside. How is that? That just sounds miraculous to me.

Oh, us humans are a clever bunch, now aren't we.

(That is when we are not hating each other, eating ourselves to death, voting in wannbe dictators who are going to pass legislation contrary to our wants and needs, easily falling for racist tropes, going to war with each other, ignoring climate change which is probably going to destroy us. Lying. Cheating. Discriminating against each other. Being bigots. Getting sucked into nonsense religions, you know that old Christina nonsense kind and the new ooky spooky spiritual kind)

So clever. 

Mesh pulled inside someone's heart to stop an aneurysm from bursting all done through keyhole surgery. It is amazing.

And he is back home in a cuppla days.

If only the human race could use our powers for good. Just imagine what we could get done.

Imagine if we took all the money throughout the world spent on defence and used it for good, we'd be invincible. 

Imagine if Australia took the $350 billion Aukus submarine money and spent it on medical, and education, and poverty, we'd be an amazing country.

It is just a shame we are not that race of people.

I lay on the couch for most of the day, well, morning. Ah, well, what else is Friday for, I ask you? 

This generation of AI images for my blog is taking some time, very time consuming, it is, but also fun. Well, kind of fun. I just have to remember it doesn't all have to be done at once. Of course, I should be re-writing my blog entries as I go too, and while there has been a bit of that, it would take so much longer if I did.

Am I wasting my time, doing this for old blogs? Shrug. Probably. Nyr!

Sam quizzed me about going to the gym. "What happened to the gym?"

"Nothing, as far as I know."

"Exactly," he said. "Cancel your membership."

Oh, he's probably right, but I intend to go, I'm just not feeling it right now.

"Not since New Year," said Sam.

In the afternoon I made bolognese sauce. I make a great bolognese sauce. I pretend my name is Despina, I mumble a few words in Italian, and off I go. A bit of role play while you cook is good, to be encouraged even. Ha, ha.

Just waiting for my 20 year old son, Nico, to come home from soccer. (Perhaps, I should dress Charlie up in soccer gear and throw some mud at him)

That was Friday. It was hot and grey. Sounds like a sexy pensioner. Oo, I'm trying not to conjure that mental image. Oh, too late.

Everything All At Once

Sometimes do you find yourself wanting to do some many things at once?

I was just creating AI images, making coffee, needing to have a wee, and wanting to fix a James Blunt CD that hadn't loaded into my iTunes correctly.

I found myself feeling a kind of anxious stress, as I tried to walk away from the toilet bowl before I'd finished peeing, as my head was already in the study looking for the paper on which I wrote the titles of the dud James Blunt songs, yesterday when I was working, but I was already picturing myself looking at the coffee machine frothing milk, as I was craning my neck to try and see how the latest AI images of LouLou Brown had come out on my computer, until I suddenly shook my head, and shivered all over as my eyes refocussed on the wee water in the toilet bowl.

That feeling of your mind racing and you just wanting to get everything all done at once?

Does anyone else ever do that?

Or is it just me?

Ahhhhh, ahhhhh! Take a breath. And stop.

Good thing it is my day off, and I can just close my. eyes and breathe in deeply and clear my mind. (not that I couldn't do that if I was working, but you know what I mean?)

Heart Surgery

Mark had a big heart operation. He had his aorta sleeved due to a distension of more than 5 millimetres. It was a big, serious operation, with possible serious complications of paraplegia, and death.

They had to stop the blood flow to his heart for a certain amount of time while they pulled the sleeve into place, and if they cutoff the blood flow for too long, that was when he could lose future mobility. And Mark is very outdoorsy and active. Me, it probably wouldn't matter, chuckle.

It all started at midday. So, I played Dusty Springfield, his favourite singer, all day. Actually, The Dusty in Memphis album is kind of nice.

It was all done through keyhole surgery so the recovery time is much better, but still it was going to take hours.

I didn't hear all day, which I kind of took as a good sign, because, you know, if he'd died, I probably would have heard sooner, so assumed it was a good sign.

I was just falling asleep on the couch at 10pm when he called. It was all done, all successful, the big worry of the 5 millimetre distension bursting now gone.

He said he felt fine and that he was really hungry.

Rain Rain

It rained for most of the day, as it has for the last few days. The rain has fallen steadily. There has been alot of rain, hopefully it fell in the catchment ares, as they have fallen recently.

Don't get me wrong, I kind of like it, warm and wet, but then I've been working inside, of course.

The weather people said we were all at risk of some catastrophic weather outcomes, when two low pressure systems joined up, I don't know if that happened. Oh yes, heavy rain, causing some big puddles.

Birthday Lunch

It was that overcast, grey, very light rainy, warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt weather, which I kind of like.

Rain dripped from the umbrellas we were sitting under, which is kind of melancholic and heart warming, dare I say a certain kind of romantic.

Jane has always been that kind of semi alternative, Northcote set, so they were the people present.

All lovely to be with.

Step son Jay has grown into quite a boy.

His girlfriend is some kind of goth chick with multiple face piercings and heavy black makeup. Not sure what Jay sees in that? But, I don't have to, do I? You can just hear her in years to come when she has pulled them out and wiped off the heavy black eyeliner say, "What was I thinking."

Jay had some mates there, a tall one, and a fat one. The tall one sat back and got by on his good looks, dare I say like usual, the fat one was giving 'it' big time to make up for his, er, apparent inadequacies.

They all went and played games halfway through the arvo.

Jane had her friends there too and we chatted house sales and life and reminisced.

There were a few guys at the venue in really awful clothes, and Jane was quick to tell me that now a days, the worse the clothes, the cooler they are considered. Who knew?

Jules turned up towards the end, he'd been playing netball with his mob and was bruised and damaged.

We stayed until late afternoon when we headed home when Jules did. I gave Jay a hug and wished him happy birthday. Oh, to be 22 again, imagine what you could do if you knew what you knew now?

Sunday Lunch

I'm going to go and have lunch with my step-daughter and my step-grandson. It's his birthday today, he must be turning, er, um, I should know this, 22?

It will be nie. I never see them enough.

It is a weird kind of day, muggy warm, overcast grey, with intermittent rain. You know, one of this days. Well, at least it isn't cold.

David called a few days ago. He invited us out for dinner with some mates.

"You know something, David, I'm already doing lunch with Jane, and you know something, that is enough people for me for one day."

"I completely understand," said David.

Sublime Saturday

We went out for lunch, it was a gorgeous day. We walked the dogs. Walking through the park was sublime. We ate Indonesian food. It was kind of quiet in Lygon Street.

How quickly the days pass and I am looking down Monday morning, again. Apparently, I am supposed to go ito the office. I'm still thinking about quitting my job, because I don't want to go back to the office. Yeah, I know, even I'm sick of hearing myself say it.

Why am I so scared to do it? Those go-getting type amongst us would just quit and go onto bigger & better things. Why aren't I one of those go-getting types?

The day drifted away. The sun shone in the lounge room window. I fell asleep for a while on the couch. Nice. A good way to spend a Saturday.

Sunny Friday

I watched The Empty Canvas. Otto and I lay on the couch together.

Brun heads upstairs straight after Sam heading upstairs to start work.

I thought about going to the gym, I truly did.

The sun is shining outside, it is a gorgeous day.

I must do something other than sitting on my arse all day. I must.

Tra la.

Then my favouirte, handsome, South African car YouTuber posted and that's me accounted for until lunch.

It's my ex's birthday, Happy Birthday Lauri.

The Empty Canvas

I got my converted VHS Bette Davis movie back. Horst Buchholz is magnificent and I have been fascinated with Bette Davis ever since I saw Whatever Happened To Baby Jane as an 8 year old.

I had to drive out to the northern suburbs, which I kind of know. $30 later and I am kind of disappointed with the result, although watchable, it is pretty poor.

Now, I wonder, if this is just this conversion, or is this as good as I can hope? I don't know?

Could someone do a better job of it? I wonder?

Old black and white movies really have to be good prints/versions for all that contrasting light and shadows to shine.

I might ask someone else if they can do a better job of it. There is a classic movie shop in the city, I might ask them. One day. No hurry. 

The empty canvas is the only one I can truly put my name to.

Now, I have to find and English language version of The Scientific Card Player. The other Italian movie Bette Davis made.

The rest of the day, I lay on the couch watching car reno shows on YouTube. Day off, why not.

I fell asleep in the afternoon. You have to love that. The sun shone outside, the day went on regardless.

I didn't go to the gym, much to Sam's chagrin. I must go to the gym. I must go tomorrow.

The Last Day of the Week

Boris is away sick.

It's been a busy day.

3pm. Fuck it, I'm knocking off to walk the dogs. I need to get away from work and get some intelligent conversation.

Just as I say that, I get emails from Fish Face and The Ponytail, at once. Jasus! I might need therapy after that.

Fish Face asked me for a breakdown of some figures. So, I sent her the breakdown of the required figures. She replied to my emial, still with my spreadsheet attached and said, You know what, I need a breadown of those figures. Dumb as a box of rocks. Shake of the head. 

The Ponytail starts her email with, May you provide me with this information. A very senior staff member uses bad grammar, oblivious. May I? I choose the may not option. If anything, it makes me laugh. 

Anyway, life is too short. It is just a curious time of year. 

I'm out of here, it is a gorgeous day outside, just lovely, now I'm off to enjoy it.