Working up a stink

You know that dream (nightmare really) you have where you’re walking out of the toilet cubicle (felling rather relieved and relaxed I might add) having just rid yourself of a big stinker, only to find that someone you know is about to walk in right after you (only you don’t know them well enough to be able to laugh about it afterwards and you just KNOW that there are going to be people whispering about it behind your back for the rest of the day – or it feels like it at least...)

Yeah... that one...

I think that this is up there possibly the top of the worst personal embarrassment nightmares for one very important reason... it actually happens! (I mean let’s be honest – how many of us are really going to stand up on stage in front of thousands of our co-workers to talk about the technical aspects of important global issues such as global warming, biotechnological innovations or Suri Cruise’s new kitten heels and “forget” to put on some clothes in the morning... I mean seriously!)

I know that I’m a girl and maybe I’m not supposed to talk about the dirty matters such as these... I’m probably committing some sort of social faux par just thinking about the issue, but the fact is that it has or will happen to us all... we’re only human after all and human is as human does (or something like that)... I’m just opening up the lines of communication... putting it out there... everyone’s semi solid waste stinks! NO EXCEPTIONS (and if you say yours doesn’t then I’ll call you a liar because either its true or you’ve sniffed so much coke that its destroyed all of the sensory receptors in you nostrils)

And that’s all I really have to say on the matter... (no point just a trip round the bends – no, sorry, I didn’t really mean that!)

Hope everyone’s well

Darcy is off on a shopping trip to Melbourne tomorrow!!!! :D

Much love

D.

MS Sydney to Wollongong bike ride 2009

So, as some of you may or may not know, Morpheus (aka Darcy's dad) and I (Darcy) recently (and I use recently loosley) completed the Sydney to Wollongong bike ride for MS. So I thought I'd share a few of my comments throughout the trip with you in a shorified (just thought I'd make up a word there because hey if shakespeare could then why can't I :P) re-enactment of the day... (oh and please forgive the pics taken with my iphone and not edited at all... just because)

For those of you who don't know, this is a map of the course.... its 90km!!!!!! only someone stupid would choose to bike ride for 90km on one of their only Sunday's off during semster (and then back it up with a full days work and an oz tag game the next day) Oh wait! I did that! opps! :P... but it was fun :P...

but thats nothing compared to whats about to come next.... this is  is an elevation map of the same course...

Now really... why did I sgn up for this again??? look at those hills!!!! *eek* I'd point to them and circle them in big red circles if I knew how but as of this very second I can't so you'll have to look and see for yourselves...

But In all seriousness, it was a great day and the hills weren't too bad... for most of the trip... and the weather was perfect, I mean just the right amount of sun with a wind @ our backs the whole way kind of perfect... and the scenery was glorious! So much so that I think I'll do it again next year :P

Anyway, here's your short re-enactment... as seen on my facebook page updates throughout the day...

So we started the day at 6:00, left the house at 6:15 and started the ride at about 7:45.

To start with its great... the ride is capped at 10,000 people all of whom start in a three hour period, so you can imagine that its rather crowded in the begining, until everyone spreads out across the track... anyway its there are all of these people sharing one lane of trafic and many many trafic lights - so you don't really ride faster than 5km an hour for the first 40 minutes :P

Thinks it should b illegal for men to run in speedos... @ Dolls point on the gong ride

Has lost her riding buddies and has reached the loftus morning tea area 

Is off to enter the national park.., wish me luck... And apologies if I'm filling up neones news feeds

At waterfall waiting for dad to catch up...

Lunch!!! woot, after a 3km downhill run that was fun :P. Now its time for a lil' lie down and scenery appreciation...

 And there are the discarded bikes...

And then before we know it were off again...

Made it to the top of the hill without getting off my bike phew!... Waiting for dad again

Omg another hill... They didn't warn us about this one! Sea cliff bridge was awsome and u don't believe I ever really appreciated oranges until now 

(you see they give away free oranges at one point on the course, they are pre-cutt and thrown in cardbord boxes... normally I wouldn't touch them with a 10ft pole... but this day... I couldn't get enough)

But wait! there's more... by about 3pm we had reached anther of the many recharge sites which up until this point we had been taking great advantage of, we weren't in any rush after all... but by about 3... well lets just say that my butt was starting to show signs of an irriversable imprint of a certain bike seat... and I thought that if I dared get off, there was no chance I'd ever get back on and finish again...

and so we continued on, along the coast...

 Finished! And sleep. (or what really happened... sausage sizzle, golden gaytime ice cream, wait for lift home, slushie on the way home, cook banana choc chip muffins, sleep... whilst Eddie who graciously accompanied mum to pick us up takes my laptop hostage to chat online and most of the room on my bed too... lol)

and thats all for this day...

lots of love

D.

sigh

So, its the 8th day of my summer holidays (don't you just love uni... I mean where else in my life will I ever get summer holidays that run from mid November to the beginig of March!) and what have I achieved???... well nothing much

Its kinda funny, and I only mention it because, for the first few days I had this undeniable sense of guilt and overwhelming aimlessness surrounding me and my lack of drive for accomplishment. But, as with all such things, all I had to do was lie down for a few days and wait for the feeling to pass... :D ... and it did.

And I am not not only rid of the guilt, but happily wallowing in my freedon to do whatever I want... a freedom that includes, as all good freedoms do, the ability not only to do whatever I want but to do absolutely nothing, if that is what I so desire :D *Cheshire cat grin*

So I'm thinking that some time in the near future, I'll probably want to do some sewing... a carset ot two here, and a few dresses there... reading, reading, and oh! have i mentioned reading??? then there is the all the test cricket that I must watch (starting tomorrow, woot!!!! :D - Incase you didn't know, Darcy loves the cricket, and all of the sugar hangovers that ensue)... some photography around the place... finally getting down to sorting and picking my fav Europe pics (which I will of course post asap)... oh! and there is the matter of a Melbourne shopping trip which will be happening next week with a few of the girls... and I intend on taking snappy on an excursion and annoying all who wish to read with excrciating details about the trip and photo's to boot :P

anywho, just thought I'd fill you in on the happenings around the place. Hopefully some fun posts up soon... but lets be honest... that really depends heavily on my inclinations for creativity... I think I've almost reached the end of my enjoyment of doing nothing and am about to head into boredom territory... thats good (or bad depending on your perspective) news for you :P

much love
D

A night at the cinema

I WON! I WON! (does anyone else notice how strange that word looks in caps? Like its missing some letters or something?)… I BEAT THEM!... umm, err, I mean – I WON!!!!!! :D

My life has now been fulfilled and I may die a happy woman. The world has meaning today and life is good lol :P

Okay, so, I don’t know what everyone else does whne they go to the movies… but for my old school buddies and I, well, the best part is before it begins… during the previews… that’s where all the important stud happens… that’s where the games begin *insert evil laugh here* 

(And I always feel sorry for all the other poor sods who have to share a movie cinema with us… opps… we’re not exactly a quiet bunch, and have a tendency to wear our hearts/judgments on our sleeves (and we have no issues with voicing these opinions with volume, although I claim that for me its an involuntary motion that I have no control over whatsoever… but we’re getting a little off topic here…)

So here are the rules; its quite simple really… movie trailer comes on and the first to correctly “name that movie” gets bragging rights for the rest of the movie (or at least until the next movie trailer comes on :P)

Now there are two in our group (sometimes three but on the night in question there were two so we’ll leave it at that) who are just so quick (and by quick I mean that the music comes on and about 2 micro-seconds later – before even any footage has been shown – they’re already whisper-screaming out the name) that the rest of us have given up and just sit back with our popcorn enjoying the show… after all this is entertainment at its finest.

What’s that I hear? You are disappointed in me for giving up so easily? I should try harder you say???

Well… ‘Sor-ry!’ I don’t spend all my free time trawling the internet (youtube) for all the forthcoming movie’s and their respective previews (*cough cough* you know who you are, but what would we do without you ;P) And anyway… I have issues with names… ask me for its storyline or what the critics are saying about it and I’m good but for goodness sake don’t ask me its name!!!

Anywho, last night we were sitting in the theatre watching the previews before New Moon (omg soooooo much better than Twilight. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s the best movie adaptation of a book that I’ve seen in a looooooooooooong time – well since the Lord of the Rings at least… but I haven’t actually read that book so it doesn’t really count). About 2 or 3 trailers have already played, can’t remember what they were but that’s not important to the story anyway – then… an new one comes up on the screne and… *silence* … the cicada orchestra chimes in and pins all over the world can be heard dropping… what?! No urgent naming of that movie? Oh no! The world is about to end! Armageddon is here!!!!

But wait!... I know this one!!! No really… I KNOW THIS ONE!!!

But I can’t remember the name *sheepish grin*…. Argh! What is it! Oooo, I know… it’s the one advertised on my slushi cup! Damn this light, I can’t see a thing!... Ahh that’s it AVATAR! AVATAR! Lol I got it! I got it! *bobs up and down doing a happy dance in the middle of a full cinema*… its AVATAR! :D

Heheheheheheheheheeeeeee….

I won! My life is fulfilled… :D… and then the movie starts… which is why I still have bragging rights :D hehehehehe :P

And on with the show!

D.

The thing…

I have this thing… yea, that’s what I’ll call it, a “thing” (very descriptive I know but bare with me here)

Its more of an issue really, or a problem,... I have this problem in that I find it hard to say no to authority figures… especially in the heat of the moment.

When did I discover this you ask? And more importantly, why do I suddenly feel the need to disclose this information to you? – its simple really, ever since I can possibly remember and, well… we’ll get to that last part in a minute…

I think I need help *insert scared, slightly abashed ‘I didn’t do it’ face here*

As I mentioned though, its not a new problem. I mean its always been there, its just that up until now all its cost me is my spare time and mental health… like that time in year 11 on my first day back at school after a 3 ½ week tour of Europe (representing the school) when I had one week to catch up and prepare for final exams and assessments, and just about 2 weeks before my complete meltdown.

When my school’s religious education co-coordinator cornered me in the corridor and ‘politely requested’ that I prepare a presentation about the trip – you know, a speech, and slideshow with some pic’s and music… that kind of thing – for the next whole school assembly. Oh! And btw, its this Wednesday… who’s reply to my paltry excuses and lack of time was “Oh it’ll only take you 30 minutes or so”…

*blank non-emotional face hiding a litany of emotions, none of which should ever be expressed verbally infront of a teacher, followed almost instantly with a smile*

“sure”

*Walks off and has the sudden urge to hide in a small dark corner singing somewhere over the rainbow until the world disappears along with everything in it*

Yup, its definitely not a new issue, but up until now it has only cost me my free time and mental health… but now, oh no, now that it has resulted in my hip pocket is feeling decidedly lighter… something MUST be done! This hast to STOP!!!

So, what was the straw that finally broke the camels back? What did Darcy do?!

Oh I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you alright… here it is… are you sure your ready? Yes? Oh no, of course you not… I have to set the scene first (now, now no groaning, this won’t take long)

It was a cloudy Friday morning, the Friday morning that followed the Monday and Thursday night end of semester exams and preceded the Following Friday night exam. For some reason on this particular day Darcy decides that it would be the perfect time to end the gross abuse and neglect she’d been inflicting on car over the last 2 years by ‘forgetting’ to wash and vacuum it. To Finally ‘suck it up’ and pay for someone else to do her dirty work.

The only problem is that its 9:30am and her sister Ariel has just left for a hair cut, taking the car in question and leaving Darcy with the other family car… it was a sign, I can see this now, but at the time it was only thought of as a slight inconvenience…

No problem, Darcy drives to the shops to swap cars, Oh! And while we’re here why not get the old eyebrows waxed (as it was getting kinda hard to see through the bushes – if you know what I mean). So now Darcy has red, slightly puffy skin surrounding her upper eyelids as she ventures towards the car park to collect her poor car. The fuel thing-a-mijigy is on empty so a trip to the petrol station is also in order for a fill-up (even though its not a cheap day – hey when you’re a stingy uni student these things matter!) and tyre pump (hey, if its going to be a ‘fix the car’ day, why not go all out? Right?!...) That’s it by the way… there’s your clue right there… its all going to hell…

Anywho, she then ventures home to remove all personal items and large pieces of rubbish that have accumulated over time (as tends to happen when you have 2 adolescents sharing a car – no one takes responsibility) and then drives down to her local car wash café…

So Darcy has just parked her car and is immediately greeted by a salesman… Darcy wants a $20 wash and vacuum… sales man wants a polish… sales man wins… 67 dollars later… (in my defense my eyebrows were still a little raw and I just wanted to run and hide… not the transaction would in reality have gone any other way even if I was 100%, but that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it! And after all… the car deserves some TLC after 2 years of neglect)

So now Darcy is sitting in the café reading her book when from behind her comes a mysterious voice “excuse me, are you the girl with the white car?”… yes… “could you come with me please”… Oh no, what now? I knew it I knew it, something terrible, all the paint has washed off or something… this was a bad idea, I should never have gotten out of bed this morning…

Now in Darcy’s mind she is already feeling very guilty and just a touch paranoid *everyone is looking at me. They all know that I’m the one with the bruised and battered car… they’re judging me… looking down their noses like they are so superior… well I saved the environment by not wasting water. Okay!*

In all seriousness thought, “if we polish your car its just going to make it worse, you need a full detailing”…

*they’re looking, just staring… everybody is just waiting for me to stuff up*…
“Ummm… okay? How much will it cost me?”

“Oh, we’ll do you a good price… very good price…”

A further $223 later… (that’s 300 in total!!!)… Darcy is feeling a little sheepish… opps!

For the record though… the car looks great, better than it has in decades… Sunnyboy is jealous… in hindsight it was necessary, just with I’d been prepared for it…

Until next time
D.

Just another day in this topsy turvy land

Today has been another topsy turvy day, and so instead of writing about last Sunday when my dad and I decided to do the 90km Sydney to Wollongong bike ride for MS I thought I'd do a bit of sharing (plus this involves significantly fewer brain cells and synapse function so I'll leave the creative writing for another day :P) ... it was my last day of semester so I should have been doing one of 3 things:

1. Freaking out because its the last week of semester, exams start next week, and I haven't even started studying... or,
2. Celebrating (it is after all the end of semester and almost beginning of summer holidays)
3. All of the above

Anywho, instead I turned up to uni after waking up on the fragile side of the bed and all was well, until... the final slide comes up on the projector and its of these two beach chairs on a snow topped mountain looking out into the distance... it is at this point in time that said lecturer decides to quote Henry David Thoreau....

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them"

He then asked us, pleaded with us, not to lead a life like this and of course it is at this point in time that my nose got all tingly, and the back of my throat started constricting involuntarily and there was this funny wet stuff coming out of my eyes, oh no... it was happening again... crying! (and for the record a similar thing - but without so much drama - happened last Friday in ASA when we were told that we should search for a job that we would be prepared to do for free)...

*sigh*

Damn this confusion and paralyzing fear of the future of what I want to do with my life, of whatever... I just, I don't know and thats the problem, I want to take control of my life and be happy but I have no idea how... yup thats right, Darcy is going through the early 20's life crisis (or whatever its called) - which is funny because when I was younger I always thought I'd just skip over this whole phase, in fact if I'm honest with myself I was also quite judgmental of those who did... lol

It's like I'm pulling myself in all different directions and I can't decide which one should win so I resist them all and instead stay in the same place not moving forwards or backwards or even sideways... got to figure that stuff out...

Anyway, the day picked up as it does when its hot and the sun is out :D and I had a strange sense of de-ja-vu as I was walking home and my thongs (now we are talking the rubber ones that go on your feet not the other type) started rubbing and getting uncomfortable... really must build up those calluses for summer again... anywho I just took them off and walked bare feet and all like the little homeless girl I truly am on the inside, all the way home :P...

I like walking around in bare feet :D.............................