Eat Your Greens

With the growing number of obese, the government have come up with a new initiative to promote a healthier diet.

Voyage to Insanity

My grandmother has decided that she is ready to see her childhood home for the fist time since leaving it to work at a German Labor camp during World War II. It may be due to the passing of my grandfather that has led her to believe that her time is short and that she can no longer postpone it. I have, however, located it and went today to book the flying component to the trip. It should have taken no more that a few minutes as I have researched the airports and the road components to the trip. Like all things to do with my grandmother, I had to go to a Polish travel agent and have to listen to my mother and grandmother babble away to someone who thinks that I am just ignorant and don’t understand what they are talking about. Though I don’t speak the language I do understand it.

The Travel agent wanted to know a rough intermarry to do her job. I then listened to how my plan was turned upside down and places that were never mentioned to me were included into the trip. I was first told this would be a two week event and I planned for it to be so but was then told that an extra week had been added and that interrupted my plans. They compensated for this by saying they are leavening a week earlier.

I made rough appreciation of the locations they wanted to add and saw that if I did it in a particular order it was still a one way journey and that I didn’t need to cross the country five times to fit it all in. I based it on my original plan that had the same ethos. I only amended it so to have a few more stops. Anyone that has traveled any distance with me knows that I don’t think much of traveling form Sydney to Melbourne. (Which is roughly the distance to cross Poland).As I am going to need a car to travel with an elderly woman and the towns I need to visit are provincial.

Regardless of this the only thing the Travel agent needed to know what airport we were going to and which one we were leaving form. All my grandmother and mother needed to tell her was that and the dates. The rest was just academic. I can see this as a voyage into insanity as two hours later we left the agent with her being given my researched airport details with amended dates. If I had been given these to begin with it would have taken 20 minutes. This trip is going to be so much fun….Ha!

Vatican Exclusive

With the busy life of senior clergy, the Vatican has made arrangements to make giving adoration and devotion to prayer more convenient.

Four Weddings and a Funeral?

Most would know that this is the title of movie with the famous opening lines “Fuck it”, but today sees that I am invited to a wedding next Sunday as the bride to be is in the family way. One of my brother’s is also set to tie the knot this May and another if he ever gets around to planning it. So that means this year two out of three are confirmed with the other looming. As it is early in the year there may be another. So if the title is to hold true, where is the funeral?

Anyway I was wondering if my choice of outfit would be suitable as it seems I am going to have ample occasion to wear it this year.

News Flash

Sources today revealed that John Wayne Bobbit’s micro surgery has failed. Although it doctor’s tried for many years to save his appendage, constant exercising of said appendage led to it structural failure of the attachment point and buried by the family dog. When rediscovered it was too late for doctors to do anything. Lorena (John’s former wife) provided a memorial as an act of reconciliation to John for her actions in 1993.

Balloons and Cake

Why separate them when you can have both at once?

He Took It!

The finger of accusation never looks pretty.

R.I.P. Yesterday

There are issues that you have dealt with in the past that seem to reappear for you to have to deal with them time and again. Toward the end of last year I had one and again yesterday. Both matters I dealt with in my own way and with I thought was honor and respect. Yesterday I was brought back to a situation that I had thought a closed chapter in my life and was summoned back into it because of actions others had taken and drew me into. I had not asked for it, but was privy to private information that I should never had seen. To my own detriment I made the originator aware that I had seen it and another implicated party. I did so to deal with the matter without doing so behind anyone’s back and to give a platform for me to object to the information I received.

I respect that the originator of the information was betrayed in confidence but could not disrespect them by not informing them that I had knowledge of it. As it involved another, I made them aware of the letter and my reply to it. In the letter I objected to reference of another and myself being involved in a matter that had happened over a year ago and brining it to relevance to a recent occurrence, especially as it had no relation to the topic in question. I defended the other mentioned with me as information about them was being given freely to the recipient of the letter, Information that had no relevance and off topic. Even if it was, as claimed by the originator, public knowledge it had no relevance in being repeated and was an assumption on the behalf of the originator that the recipient knew. To me it was akin to slander.

All of which has put me in bad tidings with the other I have mentioned for drawing them back to the issue and giving them ample reason to think that the matter, dealt with over a year ago, was never dealt with at all. I respect that all parties have reason to be hurt because of my actions but I was caught between saying nothing and being deceitful or doing something and making the originator aware of my objections and the recipient aware that I did not agree with their confidence betrayal. The matter between the originator and the recipient is closed but with the other has ended tragically.

To that person I can only say that I dealt with what I had received because you are dear to me and took objection to the slander implied on your character. If my objections and manner in which I have dealt with anything have caused offence to you, I can only publicly give you my most sincerest of apologies.

Chronicles of Frodo (Week in Review)

It has been an interesting week living in the land of the giants. I don’t know anything about them till my little world turned upside down. Because Mum and Dad used to avoid them I thought they were scary creatures. I find now that they are quite interesting. They seem to get around a lot in boxes on wheels and have a magic box they get their food out of instead of hunting. They gave me a collar with a little bell that slips around my waste like a belt. They know quite a few tricks too like how to make fleas disappear (thank goodness because they were itchy). The giant that got me out of the canal fusses over me. I have trained him well because he feeds me every two hours and plays with me a lot. I have gotten a lot of energy back and he seems to have noticed because he is showing me more of his world. I will keep you all informed as to what else I find out.

Now this is a weird thing to happen but nearly every time I have family member pass away I see a bird at the house, near or at the time of their deaths. Yesterday I was looking in my back yard at a bird I had never seen before on the washing line looking at me. At the time I took a picture of it as it was an unusual bird. I got a call tonight to tell to inform me that a cousin that I had never met had died at the tender age of 34. She died of cancer and I remembered the bird. Like I said, every time there is a passing I have bird do something unusual or is unusual. I have no idea what kind of bird this is as I have never seen one like it before.

Chronicles of Frodo (Left in a Quandary)

It was only days ago that I was hungry, cold, weak and living in a storm water drain, I didn’t even have a name. My world was about hiding in pipes and waiting to see if my mummy would get me out of there. I would see her; Dad and my brothers and sisters looking at me form the top of the drain. I think I must have done something to upset them because they keep hitting me.

My world changed in the last few days when some two legged giants entered my drain. (they were scary). So I hid in a pipe in the wall of the drain hoping they would go away. It was going to rain, I could smell the water in the air and the sky was black so at least I would be dry. I could hear the giants doing things and shining lights into my pipe so I went in further, (they couldn’t reach me in here).

Later it was quiet and I could smell food and mummy appeared. The giants left something behind with some food inside (silly humans) so after mummy had got some for my brothers and sisters and herself I thought I should get some. That is where everything changed for me. The thing I was in must have been broken because when I went into it to get the food; it shut, trapping me inside it. One of the giants must have remembered where he left his food because he came back into the drain to get it. (I was very scared now because I couldn’t get out)

He took me to a place where there were other giants and they seemed to fuss over me a lot. Then back to the big cave next to my drain where he has keep me and fed me. He has given me my own pipe to sleep in, but this one is clean and warm. I am feeling a lot better can see out of my right eye again. The fleas that I had are gone and the giant that took me out of the drain fusses over me a lot. He gave me a name, he calls me Frodo, and I like it. I don’t know what is going to happen to me next but for now I am quite content.

How Far Would You Go For A Little Pussy?

After coming home and blogging about the thoughts of the year, I had slept very little due to the events that the night unfolded. I went outside and looked down the storm water drain close by and noticed a small kitten. I was too small to climb out and there were no other exits for the storm water pipes that entered the main canal. What ensued was a bureaucratic nightmare as a storm was coming and I know how quickly the canal floods.

I called the animal protection agency (RSPCA) and was told that because the cat was a stray it would not attend but I could try the State Emergency Services (SES) or Fire Brigade. I was going to see if I could do it legally myself by calling the water authority so that I could be allowed to enter the canal with an animal trap. I also called the local hire company to see if they had one and to keep one aside so I had a back up plan. There was a storm coming and it was starting to rain already, this kitten was going to drown.

After explaining to the Water Authority what I was proposing, I was given a stern warning that if I entered the canal that I was legally trespassing and that I would be fined if court. The Fire Brigade gave me the same answer as the RSPCA and the SES told me that I should ring Ambulance Rescue. I tried to find a number to the local Ambulance station by not ringing the emergency number only to be given a mobile phone number to a lady who had no idea what I was talking about. It was starting to rain heavier and I knew it would not be long before it started to fill the canal. In desperation I called the emergency number only to be told that a cat is not an emergency but put me through to the local station. I would have saved more time if I had driven there but would have lost sight of the kitten if I did.

The rain stopped, thankfully, and the Ambulance Rescue arrived. The kitten hid in a water pipe on the side of the canal and we could not get it out. So we did the next best thing and lashed a few fence palings together to give it an exit to climb up. They left as there was nothing more they could do without trying to flush the cat out but the fire brigade was not interested in coming at this stage.

It started to spit again and looking like it was going to get heavier. I jumped into my car and went and got the animal trap. I got some chicken out of the fridge and jumped into the canal myself. I got a piece of rope and lashed it form a fence at the top of the canal to the cage as I didn’t want it to was away if it did start to flood and set and baited it. I could still see the kitten in the water pipe that it had previously retreated too. The RSPCA then turned up and I thought they were the water authority coming to fine me. They said that there had been a miss communication as the girl who took my call was new and they did attend strays if they were in danger. He saw what I had done and I was to call them if my attempts had not worked in 24 hours and left.

Then I waited with a pair of binoculars watching as the local wild Tom and Tammy returned with the rest of their litter. Looking at the other two kittens it was easy to see that he was the runt. The appearance or the Tammy drew the little kitten form its hiding place. She sniffed the chicken and I prayed I would not trap it as the kitten in question would never enter it after. Carefully the Tammy removed the chicken without touching the trigger platform and took a swipe at the runt and jumped up to feed the rest of her litter watching her. She went back for another slice of chicken and ate it next to the cage. The runt then went to get some for it while the Tammy was busy and sprung the trap.

I enlisted the aid of two women out on a power walk to help me lift the cage out of the canal. I removed the kitten for the trap and wrapped him in a towel and drove to give him a vet check and possably surrender him to them.

I have named the Kitten Frodo and he is still not out of the woods yet. He is still in my care as he will be put down if I surrender him to the RSPCA or the local council as they have too many cats at the moment. He is malnourished and very underweight for his age. He is asleep now snuggled next to a hot water bottle quite content after his feed. I have to wait till I have him to 1 kg before the animal shelter will take him for sale.

After blogging about the failures of 2007, this could be a sign of change.

2007 a Calamity of Failures

Due to recent circumstances the previous two blogs were more venting than actually commenting on child welfare. I have no experience in the field and was recently presented with a situation that drew me back to deal with matters I had long since thought were in a state of statuesque. I do not usually put personal stuff into my blogging but the Father Riley interview happened close to the time of said events and made me think, if this man is exasperated at his inability, then what chance do I have with what I was presented with.

I will not go into details but suffice to say it did involve child welfare. The result of which, saw me having to conduct myself in a way that I have not had too for such a long time. I had to revisit people and use old skills that I really do not want anymore. These skills make you live in a constant state of paranoia and show you things that you are really better off not knowing.

2007 was a destructive year for me. So this year I am breaking free again and trying to look for the harmony I found at the end of 2006. I was a person that saw positives in nearly everything then and am finding it hard to find them in the events of 2007. To its credit, it did put me in a position that saw me grow as a person, find a retreat, and gave me a long forgotten drive I once so enjoyed.

2007 was a calamity of failures and I am taking time to recognize them. 2008 has begun as a wash up year that sees me as a cleaning maid to events in 2007. As I awake form a horrible night I find that one job is done with so much more to do.