Product junkie

May 27, 2009 at 2:23 pm (General life)
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With all the hair product I have hidden in my linen/medicine closet, you would think I was one of the vainest people and the kind of person who

  • never has roots showing (2 boxes of hair colour)
  • has perfectly straight hair (1 straightening iron, 4 straightening, flattening or frizz-free balms/creams; unused)
  • has perfectly curly hair (4 different types of curl product, not including the 2 I actually use in the bathroom)
  • washes her hair daily (2 different colour saving shampoos/conditioners; 1 curl enhancing conditioner; 1 anti-dandruff shampoo – not including the ones in the shower)
  • has perfectly styled hair (3 bottles of hair spray, 2 bottles of gel cream)

The sad thing is that I am none of these people. I am, instead, a product junkie who is hit with frugality. I spent the money and then it doesn’t work as well as I like, but there’s still a half-full bottle left. I’m not going to throw it out – god forbid! Instead, I keep it, I hoard it, thinking that one day, I’ll be in desperate need of X product, and voila, there it’ll be.

I’m also a “ooh, it’s on sale” shopper at times and hence the repeat bottles of stuff. I also have 2 unopened boxes of Q-Tips. Anyone need a brand new box of Q-Tips?

It’s a disease and now that I’m planning a major move, one that I need to curb. My plan of attack: Work through the stuff I’m using and try work through the stuff in the cupboard. If there’s no way I’m going to use it (ie, it really didn’t work for me) and it’s not something I’m prepared to box up and move with me, it’s going outta the door. I’ve gotta learn to be brutal and not think of the poor product and its feelings.

Anyone else suffer from this disease?

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Being a good friend is hard sometimes

May 25, 2009 at 11:20 am (General life)
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So I have a good friend going through a breakup. We were roommates when I first moved over here and we go back years and years. We have our ups and downs and I’ve accepted that our friendship is a certain kind of friendship – this is not someone who’s moods I can rely on. This is not someone who is unselfish in her friendship. There are conditions and as long as I’m fine with it, we’re good. And I made a decision a long time ago that I value this friendship enough not to expect more from it than is offered.

But this breakup. It’s a tough one. They were together for over 2 years – living together for about 8 months of that. It’s been going downhill for a few months and came to a head about 2 weeks ago. So the breakup has been going on for about a week really. I’ve been a supportive friend throughout I think – dropping things and going over to sit with her and drink and let her cry. I’ve talked her through things on the phone, I’ve been there via email.

The final talk of the breakup was scheduled for the weekend. I had previous plans I couldn’t get out of – family commitments and another friend’s 30th birthday. I knew it was going to be a tough weekend for her but I had to stick to my plans. I tried to call her on Saturday and on Sunday and got nothing.

Today, I dropped her an email and responses are 1 line and very curt. Something tells me that she’s angry – at me, at her ex, at the world – and I’m trying to understand her and be understanding and not take it personally but I feel off about it. She’s generally fairly moody – PMS around her is a challenge – but it gets difficult not to take personally when you’re getting all caps 1 line responses to questions.

Trying to breathe here and not get defensive. Any suggestions or should I just walk away and let her calm down?

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Murphy and his stupid laws

May 21, 2009 at 9:04 am (General life)
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It’s a beautiful day today – high 20s (celcius for my US pals), bright sunshine, beautiful blue skies. Truly not a day to spend in an office. So I made the brilliant decision to work from home today. My thoughts: I can drag a chair onto the balcony, make a massive pot of tea, work quietly without email interruptions and throw some laundry in at the same time. Brilliant and productive – what’s not to love.

Enter Murphy.

Goddamn Murphy.

I got home last night at about midnight (yummy dinner with friends) and saw that there were some building-wide notices on the elevator noticeboard. I made a concious decision not to read them and now I wish I hadn’t made that choice.

Notice 1: The water will be shut off Thursday from 9-5.

Superb – there goes my sleep-in if I want to shower/eat/drink/be merry. And that also means no laundry.

Notice 2: Renovations across the road will be in full-force (they’ve been on and off for about a month) from 8am.

Brilliant – there goes sitting in quiet on the balcony. And having any windows open. And keeping sane.

Now I’m not actually upset that they’re finally renovating across the road – the view from my apartment has been awful since I moved in. Looking directly at a building with rusted balconies and crumbling concrete is not fun. But really, 8am? And really, do they need to keep their truck in reverse the whole day? I get it – you’re thinking about reversing, now turn off the beeping noise that is going to drive me to drink.

Oh wait, I have no water. No drinking for me.

Super.

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Decisions

May 19, 2009 at 9:55 pm (General life)
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How do you make major life-changing decisions? I ask this seriously because while I’ve made some major decisions (hello moving across the world because I was bored!) I’m not entirely sure how to go about making them.

Do you follow your gut? Do you make them impulsively and hope to hell you got it right?

I remember the moment I decided to move to Canada. I was at a Tony Robbins seminar with my brother – my father had sent us mainly because he thought my brother needed it and then he didn’t want to seem like he was favouring one sibling over the other, so I got to go too. I think I ended up benefitting more than my brother did.

I remember the moment – it was on day 3. We were asked to make 2 decisions – one small and one major. The small decision would seem insignificant, just take us 10% off the path we were on. The big decision would be huge but we would set a time frame and make it definite. My small decision was to stop caring what people thought of me. Yeah, that’s still a work in progress. But my big decision, made in September 2006 was that, in one year’s time, I would be living overseas. Done.

And I made it happen. I got the visa, I got the job, I picked up, packed up, and moved my ass across the world. I figured that I had nothing holding me back other than family and I was young so yay adventure. I was stuck in a rut – professionally, socially, everything. The only way I knew how to break out was to GO.

And the move was the best thing I ever did. I settled down, made friends with people who didn’t know my brother, my parents or had any expectations of me other than that I was the crazy Aussie chick. I got fit, got healthy, got happy.

And then I met Lee. And now I have some more major decisions to make. Because we need a plan to be in the same country, same city. And nobody said it was going to be easy.

I’m torn but I’m not. I know, that makes no sense. On the one hand, I’ve build myself an awesome life here. I have a job that I love (most of the time), friends who are amazing and who I feel super close to, an apartment I feel at home in and generally, a good life.

But now I’ve met Lee. I’m  sorry, I did promise no more posts about him but seriously, I lied.

So I know that the chances of him getting a visa to come over here are very slim. I know that he could get work in Australia very easily. I know I could get work back home very easily. I know that we would be closer to family and support. I wouldn’t have the issues with credit that I have here. I’d be out of the rut that I was in before so my move would have achieved everything it needed to.

And to be honest, I’m coming around to the idea of moving back over there. It wouldn’t necessarily be moving home per se as we’d probably move to Sydney, not Melbourne (*sniff*) but it would be closer. And if you’d asked me 2 months ago if I would be thinking about moving back, I would have laughed.

But here I am.

I’m a little scared to be honest. I don’t know why. I’m scared that all this will have been for nothing. That I’ll revert to who I was before even though I know I won’t. It’s like that’s the big bad wolf and I escaped but i don’t know why I’m even thinking that. I’m actually mentally getting myself ready to move, even though it wouldn’t be until the end of the year if anything. I’m still going through with my Canadian paperwork, mainly because I think taking options off the table is silly. I’m thinking about getting rid of my stuff (anyone need any kitchen stuff? I have good stuff …) so it’s easier to move.

I guess I’m excited and scared at the same time.

Yeah, this was a ramble. Sorry about that. Regular programming to resume tomorrow. I promise. In fact, I’ll write the post now. It’ll be about my first ever tennis lesson. It’s a funny one.

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Yes, I know. It’s been a while

May 19, 2009 at 9:31 am (General life)
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I’ve started this post a few times really. I mean, I have a lot to share – I went on vacation to Vancouver and Vancouver Island, I finished a major project at work, I ate like crap for 2 weeks, a took a ridiculous number of photos. Oh, and I fell in love.

So yeah, busy month or so.

But how to write about it without sounding so sickly sweet that you develop a cavity? I mean, I’ve already subjected a few friends to the soppiness that is the situation and they’re already backing off quickly when they see me.

In short, I’m living a Hollywood story at the moment and while I know life is not all Hollywood and romance, I’m a little in awe.

Except for the fact that he lives in New Zealand, although that fits in perfectly with the obstacle as always appears in Hollywood and romance novels.

So I’m not going to go on and on about him to save your poor brains from the soppiness. See, I’m so considerate.

So more posts to follow – I’m dealing with a friend’s breakup right now, my mother flying to South Africa, my insanely bad eating habits, my asthma, the fact that my ex is currently reading my blog (hi mike, can you maybe stop reading this?) and a few other issues, so I promise that the posts will be regular, the soppiness will be kept to a minimum and life will go on.

I may, however, mention the fact that I hate all couples walking around holding hands when my boy and his hand is on the other side of the world. That is all.

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