Where are you?

THIS is our year

And now for a cat post, because I am a cat lover after all. Susie (left) seems blissfully ignorant of how well her puddy pals are doing in the footy - but my hopes are high. I'm already planning my Grand Final party for September! Why? Because I really believe this is our year - the Cats now hold the top spot on the AFL ladder, and I can't see us toppling any time soon.

Did you watch us pound the Brisbane Lions by a massive 50 points today? Look out world - this year the Cats really are 'on the ball'!

Disclaimer: To understand the elation of Cats fans at gaining top spot on the ladder, you need to understand that the last time Geelong won a Grand Final was before most of us were born, in 1963.

When your sleep has gone to the dogs

Torturous. That's how I would describe my current predicament: What do you do when your neighbour's dogs will not stop barking, 24/7? Well, you lose sleep over it, of course. The culprits are two large labradoodles who happen to live very close to my bedroom window. They spend the best part of the day on top of a high veranda, and their barks go right through into our house, so that we might as well be right next to them for all the noise they make.

Why do they bark so much? Basically because they are big dogs, and they need exercise, but don't get walked at all. They're bored, and cold, since winter is coming on quickly here now (and their coats have been shaved).

So I rang the local council. Not so much because I want to cause the owner trouble, but more because I'm worried that the other neighbours might do something nasty to the dogs. Why? Because all of us are incredibly frustrated, tortured by the never-ceasing barking, and sleep-deprived people can do some crazy things when pushed hard enough.

The process with our local council is that they will first send a letter to our neighbour, asking her to keep the dogs quiet. After that, if there is still no action, we have to ring them again and complain. Then we will be asked to keep a 'bark diary', noting the times when the dogs are noisy. Mum tried this today, and so far the dogs have barked more than 72 times. If there is still no action, the council may take our neighbour to court over it. Then she'll have to do something.

Tonight I'm going to sleep in my sister's room, because after five nights in a row I'm sick of getting no sleep. I'll let you know how all this goes.

Two dog posts in a row... Mongrel, aren't I? ;)

Weird in the News: Japan Nurses Ageing Canines

As Australia faces an ever-worsening aged care crisis, some of us were surprised, perhaps disgusted, to read that Japan now have their first nursing home... for dogs. Yes, it seems that the Japanese no longer have the time to care for their grey-haired best friends, a duty that is usually embraced in Australia. To us Aussies, it would seem ungrateful to offload your doggy at his time of need - especially when he has faithfully stayed by your side through good times and bad. It is only our parents that we commit to homes.

Still, perhaps a life of spas and acupuncture is better for the Japanese canines than being left to age alone while Mummy and Daddy humans work to pay off a lifetime of debt. And if they can afford to pay the $800-per-month fee, why not?

Unless, of course, people are more important than dogs.

Done for another semester...

So I've finished the last of my assignments. Only got a few little things to do and then I'm finished for this semester.

What a hard slog it's been, and what a relief to finally be finished. I get about 1 1/2 months off now, a much needed time out from the crazyness of study. Much needed time to get well again.

All the best to all my friends who are doing exams right now - peace out guys, you'll be fine :)

Dyeing for fun

I help to run a lunch-time program for some local children, and a couple of weeks ago we did tie dying. The process begins by tying string tightly around sections of calico. Where the string is tied determines the resulting pattern.



Next, I took the kids' material home and dyed it in the laundry sink. It takes about half an hour or more, because you need to constantly agitate the material to ensure even distribution of the dye.



I dried the material (while it was still tied up) in front of the heater on a glass microwave plate.



Even Susie helped!



Finally, carefully cut the string to reveal the pattern. What an easy project - and the effect is impressive. The kids* loved taking home their very own piece of the '60s!

*I loved it too - when I get time I'm going to buy some more material and tie dye to my heart's content! Imagine the awesome skirts, bags and cushions I could make!

Don't leave me out: Brussels Sprout

This is an ode to the humble Brussels Sprout. Why do people despise you so? You are tasty in your own little way, and you promote good digestive health. If you are steamed, you provide a warm winter treat, and yet there is so much more we can do with you.

Some people prefer beans, others peas, but I will always treasure you, my dear green friend. I want to dwell with you my whole life in the vegetable stand of healthiness.

The good news is...

Bad news. We’ve all read that letter, seen that horror unfold, taken that phone call. We’re so used to getting bad news that all our good news is overshadowed by the possibility of another bad happening or reality.

How do you live life without the fear that another piece of bad news is waiting to jump you as you round the next corner?

Johnny Lee Clary wrote a song that says something like:

The good news is,
the bad news was wrong.

What if there was one piece of good news that made all the bad stuff fade into insignificance? What if you had one hope, that made you hang on until the darkness fades into a wonderful light – until the evil world would die and you would find yourself at last in the glory of what the world should always have been?

I have that Hope. I still get bad news, but I have it in perspective. Do you? If you don’t, click here.

If the bad news is that the world is going to forever head down the tube, or that there is no hope, Clary was right: The bad news is wrong.

Just a nobody

Anonymous has all the best quotes.

- Anonymous

When it comes to surfing the internet, anonymous is precisely what I strive to become (and to remain so). I do my best to keep my full name and location secret to you, my readers, and I withhold any information that could lead to my identification, including my picture. And yet, by virtue of sharing myself through this and other blogs, and through the many other means of interaction on the Web, I become increasingly less anonymous every day. Still, I strive ever more to remain, at least to you readers, simply Rachel.

Why do I fight to keep my anonymity? Basically, so that I can say what I want without reprisals. I don't use this in a negative way, however, as you would already be aware. I mean this in the sense that I can comment on issues and people in ways that they also remain anonymous, which is only fair to them.

Is this freely-available anonymity a good thing? Time and time again, when I overhear stories of web-stalkers and virus manufacturers, I begin to question whether anonymity is good for us. Sometimes it unleashes an inner monster, and we find that people say and do things to others (real people) that they would never imagine doing were they not name-and-face-less.

And yet, if we are not anonymous, we no longer have a place to connect on a different level with others - a place where we can take off the masks we wear in real life and allow people to connect with the deeper parts of ourselves. I would ask, is this form of interaction any less real than 'real life', where we usually don't show others our inner selves because we are too afraid of the very real experience of rejection?

I don't think (even if it were desirable) that it is possible to eradicate anonymity from the Web. We are, therefore, obliged to address its negative results and to appreciate the positives. I personally prefer to view it as a framework, through which positive life change can be achieved among those who I would never be able to engage were they not anonymous.