The Things Ashleigh says…

Lindzy: “I’m tired.”

Ashleigh: “Why, did you have a tough day?”

Lindz: “Nah… well I guess I exercised a lot…”

Ashleigh: “Exercised?”

Lindz: “Yah, went for a run…”

Ashleigh: “Were you being chased?”

Underwater the Fish Don’t Stink!

Music: see link at the end of the post

Recently my little buddy Lili Dose asked me why I stopped eating fish (again… I go back and forth on this one… it’s so damn good! It’s so damn hard to say no to a delicious Unagi Sushi or a grilled Baramundi or a fresh shrimp!).  While I was travelling around S.E. Asia I stopped after reading Collapse by Jared Diamond (i know, i know, for those of you who know me, you’re probably all like, ‘Get over the man!’.  I can’t!!!!).

You’ve got to read the book.  Anyways!  So I read the book, and I decide to go back to being a pure vegetarian.  Aaaa… i feel so good about myself… untill i smell the delicious smells of sushi downtown Brisbane that people are lining up for for miles during their lunch break.  Also, untill Ashleigh sends me a link

http://www.ted.com/talks/sylvia_earle_s_ted_prize_wish_to_protect_our_oceans.html

of a talk by Sylvia Earle.  I thought it was a really good talk, BUT, she didn’t really offer the normal person any solutions!  Babong!  Also, it was kind of like everything you ever read about when learning about the state of our fisheries…. sad, but you’re kind of left with this, “Oh crap, the world is going to shit, and i have to watch it happen.” feeling. (By the way, I’m sure this woman has tonnes on how to save the oceans!  Not just this!)

Ash also said something about, ‘now you’ll never want to eat fish again.’  Sure, maybe I won’t and maybe a few others won’t, but lots of people will.  Millions of people will!  So, I remembered my fave ol’ man, and that he mentioned something about sustainable fisheries (he likes to be unbiased… <3 J.D).  A few googles later (i <3 the internet) and I found what he mentioned in his book (and i’m sure others have advocated for):

http://www.msc.org/

Yay!  Guilt free maki rolls!!!

Check it out!  Also, you can get MSC approved fish at Loblaws and Whole foods in Canada. The more we support organizations like this, the more people will use them, the better the world will be… one person at a time.

On a side note, there is also a Forestry Stewardship Council of Canada… save our oceans and forests at the same time.

Peace! (^-^)v

http://www.fsccanada.org/

oh yah… and for fun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggkQ6JPew2E

in brief

music: Ca Plane Pour Moi- Plastic Bertrand

I saw my friend Fergus on Saturday!  I haven’t seen him in more than a year and a half!  He is working on cruise ships at the moment and lucky for me, he stops in Brisbane every ten days or so.

We planned a meeting spot downtown Brizzy and literally ran into each others arms.  We were trying to be cool and calm about it, untill we caught each others eyes, both clearly thinking: “Fuck it!  Run!”  Hugs and squeals and oh my god-ing in the middle of Queen St.

We headed for pancakes and didn’t stop talking for the four hours we were together.  We had a gazzilion questions for one another, and the answers got interrupted by a gazzilion other questions.  While i was in Japan and South East Asia, he had been on a cruise ship in Europe and backpacking around South America.

We see each other again next Saturday .  I can’t wait.  At the moment, he is working on a plan to get me on the cruise ship as a guest!  I won’t hold my breath, but that would be totally awesome. Though one thing I do remember about big, long boat rides, is that it puts you to sleep like no other.

Some Final notes: The wedding went well, St. Pats day was fun (and concluded an ever famous week long bender) and the rest of the week was spent trying to catch up on Gossip Girl and sleep… though the former hindered the latter and Sunday and Monday were reserved for numerous hours of R & R.  Also, I’m so over work.

Why not (blog) ?!?!

Music: The Cool Kids

As most of you know (do you?  have I mentioned this before?), I am staying with Natalie’s mother and step father in Brisbane.  They are a wonderful pair, and have been together for 9 years this March 16th.  They are also getting married March 16th!  This March 16th!  Monday!  I’m going!  To a wedding!

Yay!  I have mixed feelings about weddings, which I won’t get into at the moment, but one reason I am pleasantly pleased about this one, is that they are calling it a Commitment Ceremony, which just about brought tears to my eyes.  Also, Lachlan (Sharon’s second child from her first marriage) is walking Sharon down the isle.  Tear!! 

Anyways, when I first moved here, preparations for the big day were under way.  Unfortunately, Sharon came home one day dissapointed.  Her dress was not as she wanted it.

Leah and I both “commoned” and “it’s probably gorgeous’d” untill she put the dress on for us. 

“Coommmooon, it’s … it’s … it’s nice!”

“Yah!  I mean, with some jewelery and … you’re wearing lots of jewelery right?”

“And hair, and makeup and some nice shoes….”

This was quickly going downhill.

I’m not one for bullshitting, I tell the truth and say what I think if you ask my opinion (opinion askers beware!!!).  I stopped myself and thought for a moment, cause I learnt that after a few foot-in-mouth incidents.  I went in carefully…

“Is this what you asked for?”

“No.”

“Did you ask her to fix it.”

“She won’t.  She said that this is how it’s going to be.”

Alright, I see we have a case of the “I’m too afraid to put my foot down and tell someone exactly what I want, even if it’s my wedding dress and MY wedding”.  Memories of Nat in China having a bad hairstylist experience comes back to me and I realize the lack of putting ones foot down runs in the family.

“Well, it’s really a nice dress…. But these things here… and the lack of anything here… and…”  I offer constructive critcism.

I inform them that for co-op in high school, I worked at a Bridal shop, putting finishing touches (like beading and lace and sequins) on wedding dresses and could add something to this dress to spice it up.  (If you are wondering why the co-op job, it’s because I used to want to be a fashion designer… untill I realized how much of my life would then have to be dedicated to sewing…).

Anyways, I took the task on, Sharon and I went to their local craft and houseware department store and bought enough beads and sequins to … well.. to bead a wedding dress.  For the last week, before work and after work I have been slaving away at this damn dress.

At first I was excited about it, I started googling wedding dress images to inspire me, started secretly designing my own future wedding dress (not that i’ll ever get married and therefore won’t ever get a wedding dress… but Vera Wang… if you’re ever giving away anything for free…) and had fun beading while bawling my eyes out to the movie Love Actually (which I’ve seen/cried to 100 times).

I’m over the fun now… my eyes are sick of squinting at these tiny beads, my fingers are sick of getting poked with pins, I also have my moms habit of putting extra pins in my mouth, so my tongue and lips are also sick of the poking.  My back is aching from constantly crouching over this thing, and I’m tired of untangling the stupid invisible thread!!! 

But I must finish!  It is Thursday, and the wedding is Monday, and I work everyday until then and Natalie is coming home, and I think Sharon is secretly stressing that it isn’t done yet.  No worries!  My moto: Go Big, or Go Home… the dress WILL get done and it will be gorgeous!

So, last night I’m beading away and I start watching talks on Ted Talks and I come across this one:   http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/mena_trott_tours_her_blog_world.html

She talks about blogging and I’ll let you check it out yourself, but basically, she speaks about the importance of blogs.  Sure there are the political blogs, the news blogs, the people doing kind things blogs and the gossip blogs… but what about the regular, everyday life of everyday normal people blogs (coughcough… )?  Are they boring?  Are they narcissistic?

NO!  They are wonderful!  This talk by Mena Trott made me look at blogging in a different light.  Imagine everyone could blog?!  Imagine everyone had one?!  Every one of your friends and family members?  Wouldn’t it be great for a person like me, to go to their grandfathers blog and see what he was doing or what he looked like back in 1945 or something?!  My mother’s father passed away of alzeihmers when I was about nine years old… Imagine if I could just go on the internet and learn about him (cause I can’t really get to know him now…) any day, any time!  My father’s mother, my Nanny, one of my favourite people in the whole world, also has alzheimers… I have great memories of her and of our time together… but it would be amazing to have a whole diary of her life that I can just click a few buttons to get to when I am missing her.

I used to think blogs were cheesy… the only reason I got one, was because it was my first time moving far far away from home and all my friends and family, and i wanted them to have an easy way see what I was up too, without having to email 100s of people every week (yes, I have 100s of friends… ).  I’m glad I see blogs differently now and I hope you do to after reading this, and checking out the link.  Do your kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren a favour and start a blog today .

A Day of Firsts

Music: I’m not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you- Black Kids

I was walking to the train yesterday and I smiled.  A big smile… I think I may have skipped a little.  Just a little.

Yesterday was my first day of playing the part of a “domesticated person”.

The family I am staying with (Nat’s family, of Travels with Nat) is absolutely amazing.  Just right up there with things like Peanut Butter, tabs on cans that open the can without the aid of a can opener, the bicycle, daisies and cockroaches.  THAT amazing!  Basically they are taking care of me as though I was their own.  (ex. “Lindzy, don’t forget to throw your dirty clothes in the wash sweetie!“…. what?!?! I haven’t hear that since I was .. ten years old.)

Anyways, to show them how grateful I am, I have started babysitting their youngest, Kaitlyn, while the parentals are at work, as well as, giving the house a nice big clean, on mondays (my day off… not anymore obviously).

I woke up early, about eight am, just in time to wave goodbye to Lachlan (their older son) from the front door and see Sharon off to work.  Just me and Kaity.  Now, we’d had some trouble in the past, (Scene one: “Kaitlyn!  No peeing on the floor!  Get over here and clean this mess up!” Me, forcing paper towel in her hands; she wailing at the top of her lungs, throwing herself down on the floor.  Ashleigh suggested that she may be too young to clean up her own messes.  My thought process was that, hey, you break it you buy it… or something along those, eye for an eye lines.  Scene two: I hear the sound of crying from the toilet.  Oh great.  I get up and go over and, well, she’s no Picasso, but it did appear as though she was trying to make some form of art out of her feces … everywhere.  Gagging and inner raging I plopped her in the bath and took five min shifts at trying to clean up the mess.), but I felt like today would be different.

“Ok Kaitlyn, I’m gonna clean the house, take a shower, and then we’ll go the park!!”  She lights up and says something, I don’t know what.  She’s two, her language makes no sense to me.” Good, now go colour and stay out of my way, and don’t make a mess!”

Right

As I’m vaccuming, sweeping, mopping, cleaning, toilet washing, shower scrubbing and putting things away, I’m sweating buckets (it’s effing 30 degrees here!!).  Furthermore, I’m pretty sure I broke my toe on the weekend, so all of this walking around can be painful.

Cleaning with a two year old around is damn near impossible.  Everytime I turn around, she’s dropped the most impossible items on the floor.  Two year olds know, oh they effing know.  She climbs up on the garbage and finds an almost empty bag of chips… you know, so just the little stupid crumbs, that no body wants are left.  They easily find their way to the floor.  Also crackers.  Can’t bite into one of those without having crumbs falling everywhere.  I’m cleaning up after her, just as much as i’m cleaning the house.

Either way, it gets done.

It was also my first time using an electric steam mop… thingy.  Don’t ask.  It’s a mop that you have to fill up and plug in.  Things I wish I had known: don’t leave it standing for too long.  It takes a few minutes to heat up… so I walk away for a few seconds… next thing I know, the living room is flooded and starting to mix with cracker crumbs.  Also, being plugged into a wall really hinders how far you can walk/mop.

Kaity and I make it to the park.

It was also my first day of realizing that I finally have money!  After a mix up with the bank and my job, i thought I had missed a paycheque… when actually, for the last week it has quietly been sitting in my bank account.  I’ve had money this whole time?!?!  GOD! I sat on the train home just staring at my transaction record wondering how in the hell… (Got home and checked online banking, and sure enough, everyone lied to me about this missing a pay day bullshit; to think!  This whole time (the last week) I could have bought my own beverages at the bar and not made suckers out of men (boys) everywhere!)

It was also my first day of volunteering.  (Just to back up a bit for those of you that don’t know, I’m volunteering at a Center for Refugees who have experienced something traumatic or tragic… I’m a tutor on monday afternoons for high school kids seeking a little help in their studies).  I was a little nervous going in, but everything turned out absolutely wonderful!  I walked out thinking (after helping a kid with an essay he had for English class on how Youth are Represented in the media based on five sources) ‘I can’t wait to be a teacher!’ .  It’s nice to know what you want to do in the future eh?  Plus, kids that don’t pee their pants are an absolute pleasure!

On the way home, I thought, hey!  with all of this money, why don’t I pick up my own dinner, rather than eat whatever Lachy and Kaitlyn haven’t turned into a weird mushy mess on their plates.  So, it was my first time since I left Canada that I had Couscous!  Yum!  (Couscous and pumpkin salad, try it).

It didn’t happen yesterday, but it’s also my first time with a broken toe!  Same ankle that has gone through two sprainings (back in China and field hockey in high school… ugh, crutches were not awesome in grade nine).  How did it happen?!  For once, this was not my fault!  Some giant of a woman crushed my poor foot under her equally massive dagger like high heels.  I cry whenever I look at my beautiful foot turned black and blue and swollen, my cute little baby toe like a bloated dead slug.  Evil foot crushing barbarian.

Do you know what the number one thing is that people say when you tell them you might have a broken toe?  I do.  “Well, nothing you can do about a broken toe.” Ya, I know, kay?

Today’s Haiku is Sponsored by the Letter H: H is for Homesick

The first:

I want to go home

too bad i don’t have a coat

i need a hug now.

The Second:

got squashed by a heel

baby piggie is purple

lindzy poo is blue

The Third:

how is the winter?

the summer is too long here

no one to swim with.