a Beer, a Whine and The Spirit

I just finished writing a post that I'm yet to publish, that outlines my extensive job history. It's frightening. No, really. I'm almost tempted to hit the DELETE POST button and just forget that I ever composed such a hideous list. But in the spirit of not taking myself too seriously, I'm going to keep it and publish it in a wee while.

So in the mean time, I would like to ask y'all, particularly those who know me, to hazard a guess as to how many jobs I've had. And I'm talking about from my first job as a paper deliverer to my current position here in Melbourne. I'm talking, temping, casual, part-time, full-time, permanent, semi-permanent, (are we talking about hair dyes now??) and my favourite, cash-in-hand.

Go on, give it a crack.

Posted by Renae at 4:15 PM Comments

Is it just me, or are stray pieces of hair annoying to other people as well? I sometimes get a loose hair down the back of my shirt and it drives me insane. I have to go searching for it and get rid of it, otherwise it just irritates me. And for those particularly illusive ones that take a while to find, the feeling of satisfaction when you finally get that sucker out is pure bliss. I've even been known to utter such things as "gotcha ya bastard" or "ah ha you little sucker!" Yeah. I told you I was crazy.

And what about when you get a stray hair in your mouth?? (How many of you are gagging right now thinking of it?!) Hubs and I were briefly talking about people who chew on their hair and then get a big hairball in their stomaches that they can't digest. Eeeeeeew! Okay, I'm gagging thinking about it now...

But yes. I was mainly talking about the hair down the back of the shirt. It drives me nuts. Is it just me???

Posted by Renae at 9:05 AM Comments

It's grand final weekend!!!! Exciting, I know! Hubs and I have only just started to get in to the AFL down here. We've picked our team - St Kilda - and since they're not in the final (they've only ever won 1 premiership) we'll just be watching the final tomorrow because that's what everyone else will be doing. There's a big parade through the city today which is a tradition that about 50,000 people go to see. I won't be one of them.

So to get into the footy fever, here's a photo of Hubs and I at a game a few weeks ago. We were barracking for our second team - the Bulldogs. (Not of the NRL!!! Yeuck)


The Bulldogs ended up winning this game which was exciting for our friend who is a HUGE Bulldogs fan (and isn't too happy that we've chosen the Saints over the Dogs). One of the most amusing things I find about AFL is that there are little breaks throughout the whole game, where someone is kicking a goal, where the number of people on the field suddenly doubles! There are people running in from everywhere with towels, drinks, pats on the back, and no doubt some magic spray! Here's what I'm talking about:


See all those people dressed in white?? They're freeloaders! Trying to get their 15 seconds of fame! Anyway, the atmosphere around here is very exciting and I'm sure Hubs and I will have a good time tomorrow.

Oh! In case you're wondering, the two teams in the final are Hawthorn Hawks and Geelong Cats. We're going for the Hawks because a) the Chaplain at the college is a huge fan and b) because my bro and his girlfriend live in Hawthorn... Brisbane. It's NOT because of their colours. Who wears Brown and Yellow together?? I mean, really...

Posted by Renae at 8:18 AM Comments

Thanks Durdlin for informing me of the technical term for a misheard lyric or line in a poem: Mondegreen! What a fabulous word! I knew there was some fancy name for my bloopers, so thanks for letting me know!

Now I can happily sing my own lyrics to songs and know that I'm not the only one out there... until this guy falls down on me... (the sky! the sky!!)

Posted by Renae at 7:51 AM Comments

A Beer

Hubs and I were invited out last Saturday night to a going away party for one of the current college residents. She's off to live at Oxford University in England for a few years which is all very posh and exciting. For those of you who aren't Queenslanders or who hate the footy (shame on you) you may not be aware that the Brisbane Broncos played against the Melbourne Storm in the NRL semi-finals. And being a HUGE Broncos fan, I really wanted to watch the game. In Melbourne, the only time they will EVER broadcast the NRL is if Melbourne are playing, so I was very excited that we were going to a pub for the night!

Alas, when we arrived, it wasn't a "pub" as much as a "trendy la-di-da bar with fancy-pants coctails and ritzy beers on offer". (It's not so fancy that it has it's own website though!) So I had to rely on my good friends Adele and Neil who were at the game in Brisbane to give me updates! Unfortunately the Storm were too good in the end, but this post was supposed to be about The Alderman! See what happens when you get me started on the Broncos??!!

Right. Where was I? Ah yes. One of Melbourne's lovely little bars that you wouldn't look twice at walking down the street, but is well worth the visit. Hubs and I had champagne (okay okay, it was sparkling white) and had a lovely time getting to know our fellow Newmanites off-campus. It was an old Victorian house (or 2) that had been converted into a bar and restaurant with a gorgeous little area out the back that would be best visited in the warmer months. It even had a dart board that kept the boys entertained while us girls talked about girly things together.

I just feel like there are all these amazing places to discover, but we just don't know where to start! Local knowledge is the key! I wish I had some photos to share with you, but maybe next time!

Posted by Renae at 9:42 AM Comments

YOU thought Huey Lewis and The News were singing
"It's hip to be square"
but what I hear is
"Let's hit the beats yeah"

Makes sense to me!

Posted by Renae at 9:42 AM Comments

I do love a good "before and after" sequence (see College Life). Whether it be seasonal change, people's before and after shots, maps showing how an area or country used to be. It's all good. In my own life, I'm pretty good at the after shots, but not so good at the before shots. For example, the trees have been completely bare since we arrived in Melbourne, and I keep thinking to myself "I must take some photos from each season down here." But alas it hasn't happened. And today it's just too darn cold and windy for me to want to venture outside.

I DID however just take an "after" photo of the flowers that Hubs bought me last weekend! (Okay, so I bought them for him to give to me, but a gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do! I went to a flower market and these gorgeous gerbras only cost $3.99!! Cost me NOT to buy them!!) They have lasted beautifully all week and now they're droopy but still gorgeous! They're sitting on my window sill as I write this.

Don't I just have the most wonderful hubs in the world??

Actually, Hubs has only ever given my flowers once, but to be fair he did make them himself:

And I still have them after 18 months! They're the most beautiful flowers I've ever been given.

Posted by Renae at 10:16 AM Comments

I MISS about Brisbane

1. My friends and family (you know who you are :-)
2. Working at YACMU
3. The convenience of having a car
4. The predictable weather
5. Being able to see people whenever I want
6. Mt Coot-tha lookout
7. The warm water at the beaches
8. My Nanny
9. TEA Party & Toowong UC
10. Having a friend or 2 who can just drop around when I need them :-)

Posted by Renae at 9:01 AM Comments

I realise that Melbourne is a place of extreme crazy weather changes, but come on! Last Thursday was cold and miserable, Friday spring came along - it was 23 degrees, sunny and lovely, Saturday was pretty damn nice, apart from the crazy wind, Sunday was cold with the most violent winds I've experienced, (and I'm married!!), and yesterday and today have gone back to 9 degrees during the day!! Freezing!!!

Just when I was getting out the summer dresses. *sigh*

On another Melbourne note, if you ever come to visit this wild city, make sure you buy tram and train tickets. Seriously. We've been here for almost 3 months and we've encountered 3 lots of ticket inspectors. Of COURSE we had tickets every time (we're so good like that!) but we saw a few people try and talk their way out of it but got TOTALLY busted. That'll be $130 thank you very much. It's funny cos it wasn't us...

Posted by Renae at 4:05 PM Comments

The Spirit

I feel like I've been being a bit airy-fairy on my blog. I also feel a bit censored. It's like when I used to write in my diary, and I'd be scared to write what I REALLY felt, in case someone read it and thought I was a nutter, or in case they got offended. It turns out that I AM a nutter, but only a little bit. I still think I hold back a little when I write in my current diary. I guess I just can't help it. Maybe I should try and be a little more out there and honest with the world. My friend once told me that I was one of the most self-aware people she knows. And I am. I'm aware of my crazy thoughts as I'm thinking them; I'm aware of my irrationality at times; even as the craziness is escaping from my mouth and eyes and nose, I'm thinking to myself "Noooooooooooo.... don't doooooo iiiiiittt". What's the use of having self-awareness, when I have no self-control?

It reminds me of the Scrubs episode where Elliot starts dating Nurse Flowers and is trying to act all normal around him. Then one day, "the crazy" just bursts out of her and she spills her guts all over him. And even though she thought it would completely turn him off, he just digs her even more.

I think I come across all together and composed, but really my head is constantly racing with a million thoughts and feelings and insecurities and insane assumptions about people. I'm so hard on myself and am constantly assessing and re-assessing and trying to figure out my place on this earth. And then once I figure it out, I doubt myself, and the whole process starts all over again.

I often wish I was one of those confident, super-cool chicks who seemingly run their lives with perfect precision, knowing exactly what they want, and how they're going to get it. But I wonder if they have the same crazy thoughts running around in their heads. Maybe if I WAS like that, Hubs wouldn't have fallen desperately in love with me. Maybe I'm lucky that he finds my craziness endearing. Yes. Very lucky. And so very blessed.

So maybe I need to embrace this characteristic and let myself be myself, within reason of course. Except for once a month. Once a month I have neither control NOR awareness of what comes out of my mouth.

Stay tuned for more crazy to come.

Posted by Renae at 3:18 PM Comments

In Aerosmith's song "Dude looks like a lady" I thought they were saying something along the lines of "Do me like a lady." I have NO idea where that came from... I apologise if anyone found this offensive (I think it's pretty darn funny!!!) :-)

Posted by Renae at 11:20 AM Comments

For a number of years now, some friends and I have been celebrating "Pigtail Friday". What does this mean, you ask? It just means that we all wear pigtails on a Friday in unity. We wear high pigtails, low pigtails, plait pigtails... "As long as there's 2, it doesn't matter what you do!" And sometimes we might take a moment to think of our friends, no matter where they are, and perhaps send up a prayer for them.

So if you'd like to participate, all you need is a couple of elastics and a part down the middle of your head. Here is one way you can wear your pigtails!



(Okay, so TECHNICALLY we're only wearing 1 pigtail each, but I'm allowed to make up the rules!!)

Or if you want to go for 2 on your own:



Get creative ladies! And please feel free to send me photos of you wearing your pigtails on a Friday to put up on the Blog. We can take over the world! One pigtail at a time!!!!

Posted by Renae at 9:00 AM Comments

When it comes to public speaking, I'm the type of person to either a) be completely prepared and read off a piece of paper or b) be entirely unprepared and joke my way through it. I've never really been great at public speaking, and unless I'm reading off a piece of paper, or joking around, I don't have the confidence to stand up in front of a group and deliver something to remember. I also generally just get through it and then not really remember much about it afterwards. But last Saturday night, that all changed.

Hubs and I have been audience to quite a number of speakers since living on college, and in our opinion (well, his more strongly than mine) the best speakers are those who a) don't read their notes, b) don't memorise their speech and then just say it from beginning to end, and c) come across naturally and genuinely, only needing notes to prompt them.

Over the weekend, Hubs and I went up to the Vegas for my cousin's 21st birthday and after being there for a couple of hours, I decided that I would like to make a speech. I frantically scribbled a whole lot of notes and started putting something together. Then I stopped. I thought to myself "I can do this on my own. I don't need to write this out word for word. I can do this!" So I wrote down 4 things that I wanted to mention, and left the rest up to fate. I gotta say, I don't think I've EVER been so nervous in my life. Those 3 glasses of Lambrusco (yes, I drink Lambrusco) that I had just drunk vanished from my bloodstream from the adrenaline pumping around my body. My mouth went dry, my palms got sweaty, my legs felt like they were going to buckle and I started questioning my decision to fly solo.

All of a sudden, the floor was open to anyone who wanted to make a speech. I stood up (rather shakily) and as nervous as I was, delivered a pretty damn good speech. (Well I thought so anyway!) I was in the moment. I was actually listening to myself, instead of just reading something word-for-word. It was one of the most exhilarating experiences I've had with public speaking.

So thank you Hubsband, for giving me the courage and encouragement I needed to give something new and exciting a go. I'm actually looking forward to the next time!

Posted by Renae at 9:26 AM Comments

Okay, so I sang SO many words wrong in this one. This song was on a mixed tape of my Mum's that I memorised as an 8-year-old. Firstly, I didn't even know what a Centrefold was - I thought it was some sort of centipede.

Centrefold - Status Quo

Does she walk? Does she talk?
Does she call the police? (Does she come complete?)

Slipped me notes under the desk
Flowers flicking about her dress (While I was thinkin' about her dress)

I was shakin' in my shoes
Bless those blasted betty-boos (Whenever she flashed those baby-blues)

Consealed in that negligee (Too see her in that negligee)
Still it's just too much (Is really just too much)


So yeah. Only found out the real lyrics when I looked them up just now. Hubs finds it rather amusing.

Posted by Renae at 11:37 AM Comments

I'd like to show off my mousepad and tell you all that it's the COOLEST MOUSEPAD EVER!!!!!



And yes, I still LOVE the 80s!!!

Posted by Renae at 11:30 AM Comments

See, I'm not the only one!
Check out FAILblog!

Posted by Renae at 2:49 PM Comments

Whilst my good friend A-dele was visiting a couple of weeks ago, we stumbled upon the most delightful little cupcake shop called, well, Little Cupcakes! And I gotta say they were little beauties!!

I would be most happy to take anyone along for a treat when they come to visit! (jazzy cat - you are going to LOVE this place if you haven't tried it out already!!)

We teamed up with our friend Tegan from high school and had the belgium button chocolate cupcakes.

Posted by Renae at 4:05 PM Comments

I'd like to paint a picture for you. A lovely Sunday afternoon in Melbourne (such a thing DOES exist), some wine, cheese and bickies, a picnic blanket, great company, and a huge oval field of luscious green grass. At each end, 4 giant poles stand in anticipation of the game that's about to begin. The referee takes the field, looking a little worse for wear - like he'd had a big night out the night before. On one side are the Ormondians, geared up for the 4th and last game of their short season. And on the other side are the Newman Stars.

For those who don't know much about arial ping-pong (aka AFL) 18 players from each side take the field and not only did 18 Newman boys run on at the start of the match, they had another full team on the bench. Such is the excitement of playing college football.

A bit of background information for you about the Newman boys: They have 2 teams at the college, The Firsts (like Australia) and the Stars (like Australia A). The Firsts generally do very well (incidently they are playing in the finals next weekend.) The Stars have got a lot of heart, but not much of that translates to points on the scoreboard. In fact, the Stars team hadn't won a game since 2005. But in the first few minutes, they proved to their opposition that they were going to put up a fight. With 2 early goals in the first 5 minutes, they just about passed their total number of points scored all season. And it didn't stop there!

The points kept coming, and in the middle of it all was a young Queensland boy, in boots bought only an hour before kick-off, who was putting his body on the line for his team and for College pride, and on the sideline sat the most proud, impressed Wifey you can imagine! I was also accompanied by a few friends who came down to watch and it was so much fun! One of Hub's friends even came all the way from Brisbane to watch him play!

Hubsband had an absolute ball and after his first game a couple of weeks before, he started using tactics (trying not to get killed) and really got in to it (sometimes involuntarily!!) The final score was something like 65 to 20 and it was a great afternoon. Here are some happy snaps:

Hubs about to take a classic catch (oops, wrong sport) a MARK during warm-up (doesn't he look sexy in his jersey!!??)



A few members of Hubs' fan club



The Team Victory Photo 24th August 2008

Posted by Renae at 3:30 PM Comments

I LOVE about living in Melbourne!!

1. Trams - they come ALL THE TIME!!
2. Public Transport in general - I've mastered the trains, trams and buses and am finding it so easy (okay okay, so I've caught the wrong tram, the wrong train, and missed a few stops on the bus, but I'm getting there!!)
3. Coffee - you can find a decent coffee almost anywhere! AND CHEAP TOO!! I can get a soy flat white or soy mocha for 3 bucks!! (FYI I was paying up to $4.50 in Brisbane at one stage!)
4. Living on college - it's still a little weird sometimes, but generally we are loving it here. The people are great, the location couldn't be better, and the food is... well... it's college food. Let's not get TOO excited!
5. Walking everywhere - It's been great walking to work and just generally getting around on foot
6. The unpredictable weather - okay, so I don't love this, but if I don't embrace it, it will get me down! Actually, it really hasn't been too bad!
7. Great food - ahem... outside the college that is! (in all fairness, the college food isn't THAT bad, I'm just missing my veges!! There's lots of meat, pasta, rice, and potatoes and desserts. Lots of desserts. I'm trying to be good!!) No, the food I'm referring to is on Lygon st, or any other little alleyway you come across!
8. The opportunity to get to know my hubsband - this is the first time Hubs and I have really lived together alone (for more than a few weeks) since we got married and I must say it's been just lovely. We're still learning each other's habits and moods and having lots of fun doing so!
9. The lovely old pubs - Melbourne has a way of doing up a pub without gutting it and ripping out all the old character and style (exhibit "a" in the Vegas - Dooleys aka "The Valley"... yeuck!) We haven't found a favourite yet, but if you'd like to come and visit and help us look, come on down!
10. The endless number of alleyways that I keep discovering - by day they are empty, but at night time the umbrellas, heaters, tables, chairs and menus come out and out of the blue there are a dozen restaurants to choose from!

Posted by Renae at 9:37 AM Comments