Ms Fifikins

1. 1st February 32/365, 2. 2nd February 33/365, 3. 3rd February 34/365, 4. 4th February 35/365, 5. 5th February 36/365, 6. 6th February 37/365, 7. 7th February 38/365, 8. 8th February, 39/365, 9. 9th February 40/365, 10. 10th February 41/365, 11. 11th February 42/365, 12. 12th February 33/365, 13. 13th February 44/365, 14. 14th February 45/365, 15. 15th February 46/365, 16. 16th February 47/365, 17. 17th February 48/365, 18. 18th February 49/365, 19. 19th February 50/365, 20. 20th February 51/365, 21. 21st February 52/365, 22. 22nd February 53/365, 23. 23rd February 54/365, 24. 24th February 55/365, 25. 25th February 56/365, 26. 26th February 57/365, 27. 27th February 58/365, 28. 28th February 59/365

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys.

February

Originally uploaded by fifikins

Still going with the twitter365 thing! Here is February for your viewing pleasure!

Another meme. Why not. It’s Friday night and I’m home alone! This one is rather bizarre. My iTunes Music Library contains 15,129 items, a lot of which I don’t necessarily listen to but are from my past, and even I was amazed with some of the ones that came up! Oh yeah, and I am beyond the tagging!

RULES:
1. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, etc. on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS.
4. Tag 25 people in your note that you want to do this activity. You must tag the person that sent you this note.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS ‘ARE YOU OKAY’ YOU SAY?
Take on Me (a-ha)

2. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
I Want to Live (Grace)

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Hungry like the Wolf (Duran Duran)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Pictures at an Exhibition (Mussorgsky)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Reverence (Faithless)

6. WHAT’S YOUR MOTTO?
Come Down O Love Divine (Trinity College Choir)

7. WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Uptown Girl (Billy Joel)

8. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Corelli: Sonata Da Camera In E Minor, Op. 2/4 – 4. Giga: Allegro

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Africa (Toto)

10. WHAT IS 2 + 2?
Disenchanted Hero (Xzibit)

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Strange, Strange (Augie March)

12. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Revolution (Beatles)

13. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
John Laws, In One Bucket (Martin Molloy)

14. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Fly Me Away (Goldfrapp)

15. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
It’s a Sin (Pet Shop Boys)

16. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
The Honeymoon Song (The Beatles)

17. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST??
Covers are Thrown (Josh Pyke)

18. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR??
Who do you Think (Interpol)

19. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
Power Tool (Regurgitator)

20. WHAT DO YOU WANT RIGHT NOW?
Drop The Bomb (The Plan)

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
You Could Be Mine (Guns n Roses)

22. WHAT WILL YOUR CHILD’S FIRST WORDS BE?
Around the World (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

23. WHAT DO YOU SAY WHEN YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR?
I Think I’m a Clone Now (Weird Al)

24. WHAT DID YOU SAY IN YOUR SLEEP LAST NIGHT?
Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode)

25. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Borg Destroyer (Kinetic A.T.O.M.)

Yes, another meme imported directly from Facebook!

1 – Go to “wikipedia.” Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 – Go to “Random quotations” or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 – Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days
Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 – Use Photoshop (or MS Paint or whatever) to put it all together. I used Skitch!

5 – Post it to Facebook as a note and tag the friends you want to join in. Or blog it or whatever!

And hey, Gullinbursti is not such a bad name for a band after all!

Tonight MIML™ and I managed to catch our 100th canetoad for the year. So we had a bit of a party to celebrate, complete with ribbons and a cup of tea!

Little Dot surveying her kingdom prior to execution… Lucky for her she got a few more minutes outside the freezer so photos could be taken to commemorate the occasion. We are still waiting on the telegram from Regina QEII.

Not sure how many we will catch for the year. I know we tend to get less in the cooler months, but I still wonder if we will reach 500. If we do we will have a huge party with party food- toad in the hole, toad in the pond and no doubt some cocktail invented for the occasion. Suggestions?

Oh and no canetoads were harmed in the filming… But they are in the freezer (or garbage depending on when you are viewing this!) now!

Facebook has been buzzing with memes. I have resisted the 275,326 requests for the 25 random things as I have 100 of them on here. Maybe if I get bored this week I could come up with 25 more, but…

This one tickled my fancy though! Here’s how it works: Google “[your first name] needs” and share the first 10 results. Be honest! Tag etc! Not sure I will tag, but if you read this feel free to copy and let me know in the comments that you have done it!

Now just what does Ms Fifikins (aka Fiona!) need?

1. Fiona needs her Shrek. Actually I have had enough with ogres and am rather happy with my MIML™… but sweetie, we do need to drag out those Shrek ears again…
2. Fiona needs support. Actually I do need some new bras…
3. Fiona needs London. That wouldn’t be bad! But does London need Fiona?
4. Fiona needs a home. OK… this is a page about a recently spayed cat!
5. Fiona needs CGI. Now I think that means Computer Generated Imagery. Interesting thought!
6. Fiona needs to go on a diet seriously. Yes, please note the seriously! Actually I think 5kg in 5 weeks isn’t too shabby!
7. Fiona needs loving. Don’t we all!
8. Fiona needs advice for her Hong Kong Trip. Yeah, perhaps some as I have just booked the accommodation for June!
9. Fiona needs money. Yep!
10. Fiona needs to eat. That too! Taking the kids out soon!
    

A friend of MIML™s gave him a pretty blue stone. He had picked it up somewhere and didn’t want it so he gave it away, not even knowing what it is.

It has been one of those ’round to it’ things and this afternoon MIML™ remembered it. I finished work early and we met for coffee. He suggested we head over to a jeweller next to his favourite computer shop. So we went in. MIML™ showed this awfully nice and very enthusiastic jeweller the stone and he went and had a look with a few different magnifying glasses.

Now MIML™ said when we went in that he had been given the stone and just wanted to know what it was. And we were told. It is a blue topaz. But no, the jeweller decided to go into sales pitch! ‘Oooooooh… it will make lovely ring or pendant for your lady, here let me show.’ And before I could say blue topaz he had ring moulds and examples out and had placed the stone on my left ring finger pointing out how nice it was. That was after I had offered my right ring finger! And he has 4 or 5 different rings and is shoving them onto my fingers.

So I am like all shocked and all and MIML™ says, yes they are nice, but we will talk about it and perhaps a pendant. So he shows more rings! I think I started freaking a little, but not in a flight or a fight way, more a whoa… Eventually he let us look at pendants, but we knew he really wanted to make it into a ring. And we left!

We have talked about it and how our first anniversary is coming up and MIML™ said he wants to mark the occasion and would love to give me something for it. I said he should do with the stone what he wants, but he still wants my input. I would love a ring for my right hand, or a pendant, or even a bracelet. I really want it both ways- I want to make my own decisions and yet I want MIML™ to choose what to do with the stone!

It has been ages since I have had a roller coaster ride of emotions like today. And most of them revolve around money. The almighty dollar, pound, euro, franc, yen or rupee, or lack thereof.

I have started a new job. But I really have to wait on federal authority to come through before I can leave the office. And to get that I have to be deemed ‘fit and proper.’ Whatever that means! But I did have to undertake some sort of assessment which apparently I passed. And the stoopid internet here is sooooooo slow. It is bizarre that twitter, facebook, my bank and Centrelink have been the quickest pages to load today and the work page, my blog, and several news sites have been the slowest.

So yesterday is my first payday. I am salary sacrificing 5% of my income to superannuation because then my employer kicks in another 10%- 9% compulsory, plus 5% from me plus 10% from them will add up over time, especially to someone like me who currently has less than $5,000 in super to my name! Plus there are other deductions like social clubs and memberships which I am cool with.

But as I have discovered, whilst it looks like I am getting a substantial amount more than in my previous job, I am in the next tax bracket and I have a HECS debt so I am losing quite a bit to the tax department. Yes them… I will get back to them!
I am trying to tell myself that with the car and phone incorporated into my package then in essence I am a lot better off, but seeing cash in the bank…

Then this morning I received what was meant to be my final pay from my old job. Except it is a little wrong- they haven’t paid my holidays owed to me. But that’s cool! I can deal with that. I also received my fortnightly money from Centrelink. And whoa! Upon lodging my 07/08 tax return on time I have received some back pay. So I am all excited and happy and dreaming of paying off my credit card once and for all and then even getting a motorbike and then I find a nice looking bike online and I think that at last I might be able to afford it…

But I have an appointment with my accountant. I knew I had a tax debt with the ATO. When my ex lost his job and therefore we lost the house that came with it, I sold a whole lot of shares, bequeathed by my grandfather to me and bought the house I now live in. What I didn’t reckon was the capital gains tax bill. Well I knew there would be one, but it is 3 times what I anticipated. And now because I have lodged that tax return late they are slapping on over 11% interest over 3 years.

I gave my accountant my budget and my list of assets and liabilities. She then said that the ATO have said that based on my history of late lodgements they are not going to wave the interest charge or fines etc.

My accountant doesn’t know what will happen because really I can’t afford to sign up and say it will be paid off in x number of years. I can pay off bits and pieces, but in reality I am a single mum caring for 2 children with no support from their father.
Then I got my accountants bill which basically has taken what Centrelink gave me this morning. So no bike, or credit card paid off or anything. And every tax return for the next 50+ years will go to the ATO.

MIML™ has been wonderful and has tried to put thing in perspective. He thinks I can pay it off much sooner rather than later. We have planned to go to Hong Kong in June for a fortnight. I saw last night the airfares have come down dramatically so I am going to just book them before I can convince myself that I should be giving the money to the tax department. And I will try not to feel guilty about it.

Oh and the glass half full way of looking at it- the interest charges are tax deductable. So my tax returns will be greater and go towards paying it off sooner. Or something. Sigh.

I don’t know what it was, but last night I had a series of downright scary dreams. Perhaps it was cheese (but I didn’t have any!) or alcohol (but I didn’t have any!) or a lack of something…

First dream I was standing on the shore. I saw MIML™ in a white perspex box floating out to sea. I was yelling and screaming at him to come back, but he looked all calm in this box- a sealed prism made of plastic. Then someone came up and said he wasn’t coming back as he was going to see his girlfriend. Then I started trying to tell this person that I was his girlfriend and they were arguing with me and next thing I know it is 3.17am and I am sitting up in bed in a sweat.

After drifting back to sleep I then dreamt that I was pregnant. But I didn’t know I was pregnant until I went to the doctor and they told me I was pregnant, but the baby had died. And I was relieved and saying how great that they baby had died. Then the nurse told me that I would have to deliver the baby, even though it had died. And I was all ’sweet’ and ‘awesome’ because I remember enjoyin giving birth. And I was telling the nurse how relieved I was that the baby had died because I didn’t want a baby.

So I am in labour and out pops the baby, except it wasn’t a baby, it was a plastic doll. And then I seemed to lose it and kept saying that I had to feed the doll and that would make everything right, except my boobs kept squiring out cottage cheese, not milk and I was trying to argue that it was colostrum and in this dream I had MIML™ on the phone telling him all about it trying to feed this doll cottage cheese from my breasts. Then I woke up!

So please indulge me and analyse this! Coz I’ll be blowd if I understand what either dream means!

14th February 45/365

Originally uploaded by fifikins

Today I received the best card I have ever received on this day- and remember Gee and I have been exchanging Valentines since year 6- 1984! Except I have been slack the last few years and she has probably given up on me. And no, after all these years I am not still dreaming of Boy George sweeping me off my feet…

No, MIML™ did not forget me on this day of lerve… I got a chocolate heart and the most awesome card- a sympathy card ‘thinking of you at this sad time of commercialized celebration of a fake religious festival’ and some other mushy stuff

If it is possible to be made of more than awesome and win then he is! And I <3 him to bits!

I am kinda glad I am not living in Melbourne this week.

I have avoided the television news like the plague. I have read stories online, on my jebusPhone where there are no pictures. I did see some newspaper headlines, but turned away.

In doing this I have missed plenty of stories of survival. Stories of hope. People in the ruins. People hugging. But I have also allowed myself to miss the devastation. Sharon has lost her house. Her family is safe. Her town is gone. She has lost the wooden necklace she bought in Cairns. I’ll find her another one, but I suspect nothing will replace the lost one. Or the many other things that are gone. Factis non verbis. By deeds not by words. I don’t know what to say to those who have lost everything. Those whose friends and family have died.

I remember Ash Wednesday 1983. I was Imogen’s age. Dad had gone off to fight the fires as a CFA volunteer. For a few days no one knew where his crew was. And they knew fire crews had died. Mum was beside herself. Full of anger. I remember the smoke, the ash, the dust and the glow over the Dandenongs. I remember the stories. The friends whose daughter had lost everything except some underwear she had grabbed. And the smell.

No words perhaps for today, but I hope some deeds. The necklace for Sharon and some other goodies for her. Friends from school who had lost contact apart from 5 yearly reunions, reunited through Facebook. My news coming from online sources. Commentry and opinion from Twitter friends. Communication. Change. Growth. Renewal.