Stationery Fiend

I've always been a stationery fiend. As a kid, I'd skip the toy department, the barbies and bears (well maybe not the bears), and head straight to the erasers and notebooks.
I fact, late last year I cleaned up my office and put all the empty notebooks on one shelf, and to my not-so surprise, they took up almost half a shelf. I've been on a personal vendetta this year to fill them all up so I can start buying new ones again.

So it shouldn't surprise anyone, and least of all me, when I decided there HAD to be a rubber band that would fit around my manuscripts better than the ugly brown ones I'd been using. I searched high and low people. I went to Kikki K, Officeworks, Penfolds, Borders and finally, successfully, the place I probably should've gone first - SMIGGLE. Mmmmm Smiggle. So many erasers, notebooks, pens, folders in so many colours. And of course, kick ass elastic bands like this one, that fit around my manuscript like a bum in a bucket.

Not sure what it says about me, that finding a frog green elastic band for $1.20 has made my day.

Also making my day and possibly week, is that the lovely vivacious Ziggy is coming for a visit.

This dog is the sweetest thing, although you have to be careful not to open your mouth while you're patting her because odds on you'll get a dog tongue right on in there. And yes, this is the voice of experience over here - I have been french kissed by a dog. Eeeeeeeeeek.

Ziggle is also quite fond of head butting you until you pat her, and less endearingly, launching herself uninvited,onto your solar plexus while you lie on the couch after a big dinner.


It's nice to have a dog in the house again. TJ's been away for a few days and I felt very alone and quiet there for a while.

Birthday Goodness

I think it's probably fair to say that I've been narky lately. Upset, angry, disenchanted and easily ticked off.
Not sure I've ever been this narky. Ever. The other day, the guy sitting across from me on the peak hour train alternatively sucked up snot and kicked my shin. I pushed back gently. I frowned at him, but then he kicked a little too hard and all hell broke loose. I yelled 'Move!' loud enough to get through his iPod and make half the carriage look up from their mobile phones/books/newspapers. He moved.
What I'm not telling you, is that as I yelled 'move', I also kicked him back. Not hard (I'm probably lying here, I had a lot of anger and i think it was pretty hard) but still, I physically assaulted a fellow public transport sufferer.
So not like me.
I am normally the soul of 'excuse me please'. I have manners my mother would be proud of.
Not this week.
I kinda hoped my birthday would yank me out of it, after all, I have an alter ago affectionately known by family and friends as 'the birthday monster'. I love birthdays - everyone coming over, the presents, the cake (perhaps a little too much) singing happy birthday etc etc.
It's not just my birthday, I get almost as excited at other people's. Notice the 'almost'.
So I tried. I really really tried to get into it, even going to the extreme lengths of singing happy birthday to myself along with everyone else.
And having all those people I loved there helped - for a little while.
But much too soon I reverted to cranky, annoyed, crying at the drop of a hat and generally being a pain in the ass. I miss my dog. I'm angry that she's gone and nothing makes it feel better.

I mean you know you're bad news when Zac (see below) comes to visit and spends the entire time watching the wall to escape you.







In good news, even my narky state of mind couldn't detract from the fact that i got some of the cutest presents a girl could wish for. Look at this (thanks Mel, she's beautiful!) :


and this (I haven't taken it off, Freya):




I have the best friends in the world. I hope they forgive me.

So if you see me on the street, seriously, walk the other way. I've got a bee in my bonnet and I'm not adverse to kicking total strangers.