my space...

no, not MySpace, but my space - but alas no, darrell still doesn't have the key to his place - hopefully he'll get that today (i'm waiting in anticipation for his text message now!!!!) he has been staying elsewhere the last few nights though and only has a few things left here to collect once he can get into his space - can't wait for the last of his stuff to go because then i'll be able to feel totally relaxed in my own space - but to totally reclaim my sanctuary i'm feeling the need to rearrange the furniture again as soon as every single thing of his is gone!!!! that might be one of next weekends activities!!!!

i had a full house on saturday night though... irene and the gang came down from malmsbury and stayed the night - that meant all 4 of the poodle clan, along with allie and shadow - yep, 5 dogs, 1 cat and 2 humans in the flat - and believe me that was much easier to deal with than having just darrell here!!!! guess i'm just more of an 'animal person' than a 'brother person'!!!!

we had a nice relaxing evening just eating, smoking, and watching a grouse 'cutesy' family movie - beverly hills chihuahua - now, i don't know about you but i luv a well-done disney animal movie - and we both got a lot of laughs out of this film - one of the major 'characters' - papi - reminded us both of a tough wee chihuahua that once shared irene's life and that i had the pleasure of knowing - cheech (see right) aka cheechie-boy, cheechie-wowa, cheech-mcfeech among others - and he was sure he was the size of a german shepherd - so much bravado - he was a grouse little fella...

of course the evening was interspersed with long walks because the flat and courtyard just aren't like their country space - definitely not big enough for 'rough-house playin' so we had to wear'em'out with walkin' and off-lead runnin' - they loved it!!!!

unfortunately i had to interrupt my weekend with another sunday shift yesterday - that's four weekend shifts in the last five weeks - oh no, and another one next sunday - we don't seem to have enough staff these days because we all seem to be working more weekends - it's harder to swap shifts let alone give them away - you just end up working way too many in a row - everyone's just too exhausted...

we have lost some staff out of the 'weekend roster mix' due to higher banding - that stretches the existing staff even thinner - not good for the already overworked, over stressed team!!!!!!

if you take something away without replacing it, eventually 'something's gotta give' - usually sanity first, followed rapidly by physical deterioration!!!!

luckily i enjoyed catching up with my co-worker yesterday - someone i don't get a chance to work with often - and i'm working with another 'goodie' next weekend - and believe me the team you're on with can make all the difference to it being either a good or bad day!!!

reclaiming my life...

yay - i'm going to have my space back this week!!!! after 4 1/2 months here, darrell's finally been offered housing!!!!! he was originally supposed to get the key last week, but it's been moved to tuesday or wednesday this week now due to needing a new stove - certainly takes "housing" a long time to replace  an electrical appliance!!!! it's a bedsit in flemington - it has an open-plan livingroom-cum-bedroom with separate kitchen and bathroom - his own compact but self-contained space in an over 55s block of units with a community room and useful facilities -  a library, flash new computers with free internet, a communal vegie patch with his own allocated plot should he want to 'get down and dirty' -  the paperwork's been signed, it's affordable on the dole at $65 per week - there's 'light at the end of the tunnel' for both of us now...

it's going to be grouse getting my life back - and having my bedroom back... i can finally get off the couch and stretch out - especially now that the old girl never even tries to get up on the bed anymore - she's happy just being under it these days... at least while he was here he was really good with allie and shadow (yep, the old girl survived another summer - i really didn't think she would but she's a battler - one determined babe!!!) - and he respected my beliefs and never cooked animal in my home - he also cleaned up a lot of piss too (yeah, old girl's incontinence can result in massive amounts of piss to clean up some days - especially when no-one's been home so she's had no access to outside all day!!!)

i can't wait - it's been hard work having someone around most of the time - it became really 'claustrophobic' in my 1 bedroom flat - and we don't have that much in common!!! we're sorta like 'chalk and cheese' actually... but never, ever again!!! i can't be bothered compromising anymore, nor dealing with radically different attitudes to beliefs i hold important - ohh, and there's the use of misogynistic and racist terminology i find totally abhorrent!!! i have to deal with that shit the best way i can to survive in the outside world, i won't do it in my own home anymore - it's not good for the sanity or the health!!!! - as you age your space as sanctuary becomes really important - you become comfortable with yourself... you realise you don't need anybody else's approval to be you...

wasn't the storm yesterday incredible?? i was working in albert park and saw the most spectacular hailstorm... and then there was the water that totally engulfed the footpath outside the library (the picture shows dorcas street south melbourne - 'just around the corner') - i watched people wading through knee-high water and saw an amazing lightning display - and was glad i was inside - although we did spring a few leaks in the library!!!! we didn't need to close like st kilda did though - and it had abated by the time we finished work...

i recently finished reading "charles manson: coming down fast" by simon wells... it's disturbing to say the least - frightening that one person could have total control over so many people - he was incredibly misogynistic and racist... he used and abused womyn terribly and was totally paranoid about a black uprising... he was a wannabe rock star with a delusional god complex - and LSD was used in vast quantities in the 60s - it made the perfect mind control drug and manson used it superbly (while creating a lot more delusions and psychoses in very malleable people searching for some direction and stability in life!!!) -  it is a very interesting read...

this is my current read - cleo, how an uppity cat helped heal a family... i've only read a few chapters and already shed tears - the beginning is heart-wrenching with the death of a young child... i think it's going to be a real heartwarming story though... and that'll be my day today - reading and resting my back which is killing me - one problem with library work - all the pushing and pulling full bins and all the twisting and bending that goes with returning, along with reaching and stretching...






it's been such a suck of a week at work - phil's gone for 12 months to explore other pursuits (good luck, but who's going to replace you???) - it's been soooo busy with lots of sickies to cover - a lot of frayed tempers and extremely tired workers (who still had weekend work to look forward to!!!)  cake and 'council function leftovers' were provided for 'the team' during the week though as a form of thank you for getting through a difficult time - unfortunately the vegans couldn't partake (no, i'm not the only vegan there) - now this strikes me as somewhat 'unfair' - hey, even fruit would be fine - it's about being valued equally, being included!!!  consequently i refuse to be silent about my exclusion - we work hard too - i know i do - is it absurd or naive to expect to be treated as an equal member of 'the team'?? i was brought up to fight for my rights and beliefs - i just can't help myself - 'don't rock the boat' has never been part of my philosophy!!

equality and inclusion are fundamental human rights as far as i'm concerned - and  i'm pretty sure the council i work for has as part of its ethos a commitment to equal rights and the inclusion of all regardless of political beliefs, religion or 'special dietary requirements' for whatever reason - guess there'll be a lot more times when those that are 'different' will feel like 'second-class members' of 'the team', or even worse - non-members!!! how the hell did phil stay a silent, compliant 'outcast' for so long??? if you stay silent nothing changes - so long as you're silent people can pretend you're just like them, therefore they don't have to think outside of their comfort zone - differences aren't taken seriously, differing views aren't explored - no 'seeds are planted' - the status quo never gets questioned or called to account and society pays a high price - it stagnates...


okay - i'm adding this paragraph Tuesday 9/3 after getting home from work - i have to say a BIG THANK YOU on behalf of the vegans at work (4 i know of,  but there may be more!!!) for the treats provided today!!!!!! i'm not sure if anyone read my post or whether it was even in response to it, but it certainly made a difference to me being able to participate (and partake of) along with everyone else today when we'd all been sooooo busy after the weekend's storm and subsequent closure of the library on sat and sun (and of course monday was a public holiday)!!!!! we all worked really hard and i am glad to be able to say i felt like part of the team!!!! vegan rum balls, pretzels and fruit - yummmmm!!!! THANK YOU (especially for taking notice if it was either Kitty or Lil - a very positive and understanding response!!!) - and now i need to go and get the animals' dinner but i needed to acknowledge vegan inclusion  today first!!!!!!



ohh, i'm getting way too old for this work caper - wish i could afford 12 months leave without pay!!! roll on retirement!!!!!



and you wouldn't believe it - after all that rain we have no water in the flats today - don't think the drainage system is coping too well with the downpour - oh well, another reason for not doing washing and mopping kitchen floor (as though my sore back wasn't enough of an excuse)!!!! hope it's back sometime soon though so i can fill the animals' water bowls!!!!

it's international womyn's day tomorrow so to all the sisters - be proud, be loud - celebrate your womonhood - revel in your female power - stay strong - maintain the fight against inequality and suffering - maybe even indulge yourself...

happy international womyns day...

last weekend turned out to be quite a pleasant one... i caught up with Larry the librarian on friday evening - we just got 'takeaways' from fitzroy street and came back to my place and ate, chatted and 'choofed' until it was time for him to pick up his partner - a nice couple of hours 'whiled away'...

saturday, well - i just watched st kilda lose the grand final - but there's always next year!

sunday was a miserable day outside so it was just the day to curl up and watch a few episodes of 'weeds' - i'm midway through season 4 at the moment...

irene, louie and the country cuzzin clan came down on monday - it was irene's 55th birthday (she's 6 months older than me) so we went to tien tien in fitzroy street for dinner... it is soooo nice eating with another vegetarian - you get to share different dishes without having to check which dish you're 'tucking into' - and you don't have to watch animal being devoured in front of you!!!

irene and i met in the 70s - she was going out with my brother then - well, they even ended up marrying after a short time (it was one of those 'rebellious' things - they were getting married regardless of what anyone said!!!) it was either late '71 or early '72 and i would have been 16 going on 17 (and the engagement to james was obviously no more because he wasn't at the wedding!!!) - but, like my engagement, the marriage didn't last long (unlike our friendship!!!)

here's a photo of the wedding - check out darrell's coiffured hair and velvet suit - such a 'sign of the times'!!! and i'm wearing hotpants!!!

ahh, the 70s - so much style - colour anyway!!!! pity the photo doesn't show the shoes too - i was wearing really high cork platforms - what's old is new - what's new is old!!!!

sites and sounds...

The Palais Theatre - such a grand old building, an icon of St Kilda. i used to spend a lot of time there when i was young and saw some incredible shows - i guess it helped that me mum was the head cashier when i was growing up!!

Originally starting life as Palais Pictures in 1927, it was hailed as "one of the largest theaters in the southern hemisphere" and was one of the "first suburban cinemas to screen talkies on 3 July 1929, five months after their first Australian exhibition at the Athenaeum. Until the fifties, it was the place to go to the movies. You saw two full-length films, preceded by Harry Jacobs and his Band with 30 minutes of singers, music, dancers or other variety performers." ... you can read more here if you're interested in 'its-story'.

amazing that here it is, still surviving in the 21st century as a venue for home-grown and international performers, providing luxurious - although somewhat shabbier than I remember from my childhood - surroundings for the comfort of appreciative audiences.

I went to a Jimmy Barnes concert at the Palais on friday night with my brother and we had a great time, although it had the potential to be disastrous with the mixing quality being appalling for the first few songs. Elly-May, youngest of the 'Barnsie clan' was suppporting her father, but the sound was so bad - it seemed like there'd been no 'front of house' sound check (either that or the sound engineer hadn't turned up!!) - everything was distorted - you had to feel sorry for her because she was just getting no audience appreciation - Darrell and i were starting to wonder if we'd be better off out in the foyer - or just going home!!!

Luckily, by the time she got to the song "Gone, gone, gone" that Alison Krauss & Robert Plant have recently released (and one of my favourite from their Raising Sand album) you realised she did have a good voice - she could sing, and do it well... obviously the 'soundie' had either turned up or finally worked out there were problems!!! ... and then the lead guitarist could have toned it down a bit - her voice isn't as raw and powerful as Jimmy's (although she can do the "Barnsie screech" - you could really tell she was her father's daughter when she hit some notes!!) - she needs a less 'blasting' band where she doesn't have to compete with the loudness i think...

of course, Barnsie was grouse!!!! although i could have lived without hearing 'working class man' (twice!!! never has been a favourite song - he started and finished with it!!!!)

He did perform one of my favourites - Flame trees - and it was one of the best versions i've heard... he's playing around with different music styles and had incorporated the Mexican "mariachi harp" - also known as the jelisco harp - ooooh, there appears to be a lot of variations and names - played by Victor Valdes - the performance was stunning - it added such a different quality to the song... beautiful...

he's not doing too bad for an 'old man' of my era... he's still 'making a living' out of his music and his new album "the rhythm and the blues" has gone into the aria charts at #1 - he did a few tracks and he does the style really well... have to say though that after all these years he still can't boogie!!!!

it was an enjoyable evening... after a couple of hours of Barnsie we got pizza on the walk home and sat, smoked, talked and laughed about 'the old days' until around 5 am ... it was a pity i had to work the next day though - luckily i was able to swap my first half and only had to start at 1 pm - it was busy though and today i feel exhausted - everything aches...

the ABC website has a really interesting interview of Jimmy by Fran Kelly - you can either listen to it or watch it... it's about his influences for this album - and he does encourage everyone to listen to the original versions of all of the songs if possible - he does some wonderful covers (tributes) of great rhythm, blues and gospel artists and talks about the evolution of the music...

and of course i couldn't do a post about Barnsie without adding some of his music...

back to the 60s...

I found this 1966 newspaper cutting amongst me mum's photos last time I went through them... it's from The Sun newspaper of June 1, 1966 - The Sun used to come out in the mornings, and The Herald came out in the afternoons... that was way before they merged in 1990... I couldn't resist posting it (sorry about the quality... paper's really, really fragile!!!)

this was how Judy (me mum) found out that me brother Darrell was wagging school (and had been for months!!!)... the article makes it sound like he was on a school excursion... being in the newspaper was a dead giveaway of not being at school!!!! but it was also a catalyst to finally getting out of the christian brothers college that he hated so much.... some of the 'brothers' and the 'sisters' could be violent people - and of course corporal punishment was allowed in the 60s!!!!

the column 50-50 (does that still exist in the Herald-Sun?? - I don't know, I don't read it!!) gives a 'window' into what concerned some people in 1966 - apparently whether bread should be baked and sold on Sundays was one of the issues... hard to imagine these days not being able to get bread on a Sunday, hey??!!!

and here's some of the music we were listening to in 1966... enjoy...