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Post by maarts on Aug 19, 2008 5:01:39 GMT -5
Happy birthday Kats!
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Post by Thorngrub on Aug 19, 2008 12:51:38 GMT -5
Happy Birthday KATS ! ! ! ! Hope u're gettin good and drunk on that aussie brew.  |
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Post by maarts on Aug 19, 2008 17:15:10 GMT -5
Got a message from her yesterday saying she had a Trainspotting-themed party in her honour....
Hope that didn't including diving in toilet bowls.... ;D
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Post by ScottsyII on Aug 30, 2008 8:08:29 GMT -5
Aw, man, I miss Kat so much...I think both Mellie and I would give anything to be sitting on a porch chatting and drinking and generally piss - farting with you, Maarts and Kat... have I mentioned lately how much it sucks that the Star Trek - type transporter hasn't yet been invented in reality??!!
I'd be first in line for one, I miss my Aussie friends and family, and I know Melissa does too...
New job starts on Tuesday - already been to the school to get the low down on the kids I'll be working with and what their specific needs are - VERY excited about starting!
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Post by maarts on Aug 30, 2008 18:27:41 GMT -5
That is fantastic! Good news, mate- enjoy every second of it!
Greetings back to you all, would be great to sit down and chat the night away the lot of us.
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Post by ScottsyII on Oct 14, 2008 20:24:29 GMT -5
Well, the new job is GREAT! Treating me very well and very much a place where I feel "in the zone" as far as my mission in life and my professional calling is concerned! I am basically working with two students in particular, although from time to time I work with pretty much all the kids in the special education department!
In the interim, as this is only a partime (35hrs a week) position, I still need to get health insurance from somewhere, so I am still hanging around the old meat slicers... the coverage is cheap and reliable, and with three kids its best to remain under insurance, going without is just too much of a gamble we aren't willing to take...
So I am a busy and often tired but very satisfied boy! My two jobs complement each other pretty well - one is very much cerebral, and the other is kinda more of a manual job... so I don't find myself TOO drained either mentally or physically...
Although there is definitely something to be said for sitting down at the end of a long day with a cold one!
Beer is still very, very much my friend!
Miss Mia Grace is pushing towards the age of two at an alarming rate, which still astounds me to no end! Good god, it feels like only yesterday we were bundling her in warm blankets and putting her into the car capsule to bring her home for the first time..... craaaaaaaazy! :-)
Daniel and Madeline have once again resumed the school year and are doing just fine! I am proud of them as always, but still I am fearful that the little "ankle biters" will soon be towering over me.... lol! Especially Dan - that kid groooooows and grows constantly!
Melissa says hi to everyone! right now she appears to be deep in thought - most likely going to kill some sort of monster any time soon...
The kids are in bed early tonight too, so the notion of an early bed time is creeping over my weary eyes...
Talk to you all soon I hope!
All the best to Maarts, even though you aren't here - our thoughts have been with ya and your dad...
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Post by ScottsyII on Oct 14, 2008 22:41:31 GMT -5
Just gotta add... I really really really really wish Phil would come back! That dude was one funny / fun guy to have around... sorely missed!
Plus he always had a story or two to share - sure made this place a much more interesting place to be around...
*laments the boards' loss of Phil*
Always thought he would have been a scream to have along with us on our Maarts/Scotts/Kat/Mellie drinking sessions/weeks of boozing.... :-)
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Post by strat-0 on Oct 17, 2008 18:01:19 GMT -5
Nice to see ya, Scottsy, and glad the new gig is treating you well and that all the family is doing well also!
I miss ole Phil too. He's been known to take breaks from time to time and then return, so perhaps he'll be back. I've been meaning to email him for the longest...
Scott - pop in at the Car Corner for my photo travelogue of my new commute!
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Post by ScottsyII on Oct 18, 2008 13:25:04 GMT -5
I went and had a look! I wouldn't mind saddling up the ol' steel horse and driving that route every day! quite scenic and enjoyable looking! :-)
The new gig rules! The kids are a challenge as always, but I am loving that - a good challenge, somthing I have always been a big sucker for, thats for sure...
Right now I am home having a wonderfully relaxing day off - Mia has passed out on the couch, Melissa is out grocery shopping, and the other two kids are at their buddie's houses... so its blisssful peace for me! yay!
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Post by RocDoc on Oct 18, 2008 22:59:37 GMT -5
i meant to comment on strat's idyllic commute also....if ya gotta do it, you couldn't have it any prettier.
and as we know, PRIME music-listening time.
here, driving into the city, the first part of my drive is always effing wasted listening to traffic reports on wbbm 780AM.
could be worse i guess. at least i know where the shit is to avoid.
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Post by maarts on Nov 3, 2008 18:18:53 GMT -5
Well, I'm home. Been a pretty difficult couple of weeks at my folks but ultimately the most satisfying holdiay I ever had there.
May be a while before I get into some sort of groove but good to check up on you good folk over here.
Remember that you are loved.
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Post by maarts on Dec 1, 2008 5:15:20 GMT -5
Happy start of summer, Australians!
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Post by ScottsyII on Dec 26, 2008 23:05:50 GMT -5
So, what's doin' over here? I've barely been online much in an interactive sense... I go to various car and music websites fairly regularly, but as far as posting / chatting with anyone anywhere, I just generally don't have the motivation or energy late at night when I am mostly on - but tonight I plugged in the keyboard to the Wii and thought I'd give it a whirl for old time's sake...
Been pretty busy as usual - holding down two jobs can be something of a strain physically and personally, but I am holding up well... mainly its the sheer exhaustion and the inability to stay awake when I sit down on the couch at night... I often feel like a negligent / boring husband but Mellie understands, and she's usually worn out by the kids at night anyways!
Music listening - wise its mostly been rehashing my substantial CD collection... for some reason I've been playing alot of Type O Negative, particularly October Rust. There's some sort of timeless quality to that album that I can't quite put my finger on, but it just seems to draw me back in constantly...
I made a list of new albums I'd love to buy and unfortunately it just seems to be burgeoning and growing.
Well, it was a tough year, as I am sure you found it, Maarts... I really would love to just sit down on a porch again and just drink beer and compare notes with something atmosperic playing in the background - I know you've had alot of family turmoil overseas, and this year it is something I feel very much in common... albeit not as directly affecting as somethibg happening to my father...
My Nana's passing this year had a pretty profound effect on me - in some ways I am only just discovering the feelings I have about it all, given I was rather removed when it all happened. It was strange to think this christmas just gone that at the family gatherings all my brothers and sisters would be at, she wouldn't be there with her radiant personality and her smile and her positive nature. In many ways she was a strong inspiration to me, and i have made alot of decisions in my adult life based on a "what would Nana do" scenario...
I hope life isn't too crazy for ya Maarts - If I find the time to email you a lengthy one, I will do so - I miss you, and a whole lot of other people so much, and believe me when I say I think about each of my friends abroad alot during the waking part of each day, but I am usually so wiped out at night I can barely string a choerant sentence together....hahahahaha!
Just wake me when the southern cross turns over on its side... :-)
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Post by ScottsyII on Dec 26, 2008 23:09:14 GMT -5
And I just relaised that ironically, I was commenting on my ability to string a sentence together coherantly and spelt the word "coherant" wrong... ironic, really... hmmmm...
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Post by maarts on Dec 27, 2008 6:07:27 GMT -5
Damn Scott, I'd love to have a beer with you and just hang out! Things have been a pressure cooker lately and sometimes it feels like steam's coming out of my ears because my brain's overheating....
Scott, I hear ya on what you say about your grandmother and the strange void the loss of a family member leaves especially during the holiday season. Ever since I got back after the cremation of my dad I haven't been able to seriously relativate all that happened in the last few weeks. I've been busy with work ever since I got back. I didn't even take the time to unwind after I got back, develop the pictures I took from my dad's last weeks...I'm just doggone tired all the time as I make long hours at work and when I got time off there's always something to do around the house...nah, it's also a lot of unwanting to sit in front of the computer and do all that stuff as I'm in front of a computer every single day.
And as if the death of my dad isn't enough, the bad news keeps on pouring in. My sister and mother are doing it very tough- they have a measure of grief I've yet got to reach and talking with them is always dealing with their tears and fears. Last week I found out I'm being ejected from my place in Ashfield as my landlord wants to move into the place herself. Three days ago a very dear friend of the family died as well of cancer- she was the mother of my best friend and she was diagnosed with cancer last year too. My mother and sister are on the way to her funeral in Holland today....
Scott, Saturday I was on the verge of walking away from everything- I had just discovered that my 'boss' had halved my Christmas bonus for the year and I was seething...comes the news about the death....I don't know how I pulled it all together but I did.
I made myself one resolution and that is to change a lot of what I'm doing right now. JB's been clear about their purpose with me and quite frankly I've got to stop caring about that. I've poured so much extra time in that place and to what avail? Apparently not much.
I've also decided I want to move away from Sydney. I was happy in Newcastle and in retrospect I never should have left there. There are some opportunities in Queensland I want to explore too. I may apply for positions within JB (yeah, paradoxically I know but hey, I've got a good background there so I may as well use it; especially since the credit crunch fucked so many work opportunities over). I still have the dream to own my own place one day but next month it'll be 10 years exactly since I came to this country and I still have bugger all. I need to act now.
So I'm currently switching from being tired, to desperate, angry and hyperactive. Today was a good day because I was constantly busy, not taking lunch breaks, just keep on going. I don't take too good care of me on days like these and I need to do that. Fuck all that work! I need some downtime to spend time with my thoughts. But stone me, I have to move within 60 days so I'll be househunting, mopping up after the Christmas sales have faded from work and whatever disaster has been thrown in front of me. Don't worry, I'm not depressed or self-destructive, never been, never will be. Just want some time.....
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