Now There's A Question

Most days start off the same in my little stopover here in Brisbane. Reluctantly leave my bed cozy, shower, dress (important one, that!) then take a gentle stroll to the train station, about 10 minutes' walk. Normally, my mind remains in a blissful early hours blankness at this stage, soothed with the tunes Trusty IPod™ provides into believing I could still at any second return to my slumber. Little known to me, today was to be full of vexing imponderables.

This morning, as I reached the station, I saw two birds sitting between the tracks, fighting over a worm (well, they do say the early ones get them!)

But here's the thing...as I looked closer, I saw it was a gummy worm. Yep, candy, in an (apparently) all-too-convincing worm shape. It brought so many questions to mind, most far too taxing for that hour of the morning. Are they fooled by anything worm shaped? Would they squabble over, say, a broken hair band (being long and stretchy also), or is the pretence of being a worm with a wee face painted on a must? Having won the battle for the worm, will they taste it decide they like & become eternal devotees, or leave it in disgust, feeling cheated? Most important, where can I get one?!! These questions remaining unanswered, perhaps for eternity, alas, alas, I continued along the platform.

Boarding the train and snagging for my very own bottom a coveted rush-hour seat, I spied with my little eye a helpful public service sign: "Please give up these seats for elderly people, people with disabilites and expectant mothers/adults carrying children". Very thoughtful, Queensland Rail are. So thoughtful, in fact, that they had translated it into Braille underneath. This posed for me a second set of questions for my brand-new day: Is blindness not considered a disability?Would you be perfectly within your rights to refuse to give up a seat for a blind person, saying, "Sorry, mate, feel the sign"? Do they list them in order of importance - what if you were forced to choose between giving your seat to an old lady or a lady pregnant with twins? Does QR provide guidelines for just such a dilemma?

As we neared Central station, Trusty Ipod™ kicked up a gear with "Sexy Bi&*@". This song is somewhat of a favourite with me right now, and every fibre of me wanted to break into the kind of shake-your-booty grind usually reserved for the drunker hours of Saturday mornings. For serveral seconds, I contemplated doing just that. What, do you think, would be the reaction of the 300 or so early-morning commuters, dressed identically in their white shirts/blouses and smart black pants, quietly and unobtrusively reading their novels or playing games on their IPhones, if this innocuous looking fellow commuter suddenly stood up and began busting moves to rival those of MCHammer? Answers on a postcard, please. Maybe one day I'll have the guts. For those of you who know me (and for those who don't me, how did you come to be reading my blog exactly?), you know this isn't just an idle threat. I'll keep you "posted" (tee hee).

Later, I happened upon a site that translates words into a multitude of other languages while searching for something for work (I swear). This site, too, was to leave me wondering. I typed in the word "plunger" in the hopes of gaining a valuable word to use in any situation, in any language when abroad (plus, I already know how to say it in Swedish, thanks Sarah!). Take a look at these two translations and tell me if you can guess what my question was:

Chinese (Simplified)) 跳水者, 活塞, 潜水者, 冒险的投机者

Chinese (Traditional) 跳水者, 活塞, 潛水者, 冒險的投機者

After work, tired and ready for a good sit down in front of FlashForward (and it's amazing, no?) I realized there was one more question in store for me that day, only this time, it's one shared by women everywhere and one to which, no matter how many times you answer it, it's ready and waiting to pop up on you the very next day. That question?

What the heck am I gonna make for dinner?!

UPDATE:

I found an answer to at least one of my imponderables (thank you Google/YouTube). See the post below for what would happen if you dance in a train station. Pretty cool. However, if you only want to watch one video today, that led me to the one below that, which is even more amusing :)

Dancing In the Train Station

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkBepgH00GM

Frozen Grand Central

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwMj3PJDxuo

Dog Days

So. I was flicking through ads for houses for rent this August. I'd been looking for 4 weeks and had seen every combination of bedroom, kitchen, living room and bathroom possible. Then I was hit by a pic very similar to this one. Look how cute! It must be the house for me. I met Ben, my lovely housemate, had a quick peek around and moved in shortly after.

Oh - but he 'forgot' to mention that there actually resided in the house two dogs - the 2nd quite a bit more enormous than Dennis, above.

What a joy it has been for me to have these two little fuzz-balls in my house. Such different personalities! Dennis, or Little Dog, is quiet and manly. He kept his distance until he got to know me a little bit better but surprises me every now and again by hopping up next to me and nuzzling into my lap. Often, it is just me and him at home, and he sits staring at me for a while, from a safe distance, then sits at the other end of the sofa. Then creeps closer. Then snuggles into me. Once, he surprised me by jumping right onto my chest and resting his head on my shouler, and promptly falling asleep!

Prawn, or Big Dog, is a baby in a giants' body. She only just turned 1 and is a puppy in every sense of the word. Watching her explore her world is such a delight. Yesterday, the fish pond in the garden was partially frozen with a thin layer of ice. I watched her trying to catch the fish moving under the ice, prancing in excited circles, dabbing at the ice with her front paw, ending up with 2 paws in the pond and the shock on her face when she stuck her head under the freezing water - so sweet!! She has NO idea just how enormous she is (she comes up to my waist and weighs a ton) and tries to fit into the most improbable places.

Doing shift work, I come and go from the house at all hours of the day and night, and they are always there at the front door with tails wagging softly , ready to sit silently and contemplate the world with me. What a treat it is to have dogs around. And plus, they're not mine, so I don't have to feed them, walk them or clean them. Bonus!!

(Things You Probably Didn't Know About Me)

T.Y.P.D.K.A.M #5: I once dressed as a giant cucumber (from VeggieTales) or a Kid's Holiday Camp at church. The costume was probably 6 feet tall and I looked through a tiny screen near my stomach :)

Sunshine On My Shoulders..My Biking Story

Today, I am feeling insanely, smuggly happy.

Things just seem great. I had an early night, fell straight to sleep, dreamt about nice things (although in that tantalizing way, I can almost remember what but can't *quite* remember) and woke up refreshed and ready to get up.

Soon, my lovely man will pull up on his amazing motorbike (CBR600 RR, red and black, sooo nice) and I will hop on the back for a ride in the sunshine.

I admit now, motorbiking has lost a bit of that sheen it used to hold for me. I remember how much I loved it when Mike first took me out. I could not stop grinning from ear to ear. It was the best thing ever to me and I was amazed at his handling of this huge machine. I was content to cling tight to him and enjoy the feel of the wind, the sun on our faces and the different smells as we drove through town and country, the small joys that make all the difference from travelling in an enclosed car. I said in an off-handed way that I would love to try driving myself and, generous as always, Mike offered to let me try his. I knew I would drop it though and declined. After all, I wasn't really serious, it was just a flash in the pan pipe-dream. Everytime we went out I would enthuse, saying how much I would love to be able to drive one myself, but not thinking it would ever really happen. It was like, wouldn't it be great to climb Mount Everest? A fun thing to dream about but the reality of doing it a little too daunting, always in the "what if?"future and never advancing to here-and-now reality.

It was thus I felt a little guilty when, with a huge grin, Mike presented me with a new shiny red helmet for Christmas so that I could pursue my dream of doing my motorbike training. Our relationship still relatively new, he obviously didn't know what I was really like, a big talker, afraid to be a 'do-er'.

I let my mind play about with the possibility more as it came into Spring. It was true Lindsay style decision-making. A little bit of internet research, "just too see". A million and one reasons why I could not (What would my parents think? What if I got hurt? What was the point when I could not afford to buy a bike anyway?) After a bit of fantasizing, the decision was always firmly made. No. It was ridiculous. I couldn't. I wouldn't.

But I always found myself back on the internet, researching. I even popped into the British School of Motoring to find out about their training. I scrounged up all my courage and called a trainer, expecting to get a bit of information. Instead, by the end of the phone call, my training day was all booked. My stomach literally went cold when I realized what I'd done. Then, typically Lindsay, immediately I began to worry: What if I failed? In fact, of course I would fail. I'd never ridden a bike in my life. Clearly, I would not even be able to make it move. There was no way I would be able to do it. How embarrassing to have to tell everyone I had tried and not even managed to get the bike going. Best to just cancel now. Oh...but I'd paid the deposit. OK. I would do the training, but I would not tell anyone.

So it happened that bright and early one Sunday morning, I was there at my training, clutching my still-gleaming red helmet, pathetically underprepared with no gloves, no jacket, no proper footwear. Jeans, runners and several sweaters to try to keep warm. The two other guys I was to train with had all the gear, leathers, gloves, you name it. And not even clever enough to think of a reason I would not be contactable all day, I had told Mike only that I was 'busy' and that what I was doing was none of his business (charming!)

Somehow, miraculously, I didn't do too badly. Sure, it wasn't easy. I felt like crying. But at each step, somehow, I managed to do what was needed. Start ignition, depress clutch, into gear, clutch out...hop, hop, stall. Hmm....start ignition, depress clutch, into gear, clutch out, hop, hop...I'm moving. OMG! I'm moving! I'm driving a motorbike!!

At the end of the day my head was pounding, I could have fallen asleep standing up and my shoulders were so tense you could have broken rocks on them. But I was clutching a piece of paper that said that I could ride a motorbike. Legally. On real roads and everything! I debated not telling anyone, but flush with excitement, could not keep it from Mike and showed him my certificate.

Of little use to me, though, as I didn't have a motorbike to drive and practice on. I looked around a little bit online but could not really afford to buy one anyway. It was still fun to go on the back of Mike's but I was jonesing to drive myself. I used to sit outside on beautiful sunny evenings and think, "I could be out riding now". Imagine my surprise when my lovely boyfriend showed up at my house one summer evening and announced that he had found a great bike at a great price and had bought it for me as an 'investement'. Meet Noel.

Noel and I were pretty much constant companions for the next year, as I moved further away from work and he was my only means of commuting (buses don't run when your shifts finish at 2am, and the hospital has very limited parking). I would strap into several fleece layers and hop on most icy mornings throughout the winter, and Noel never let me down.

It was thus, with a heavy heart that I handed over Noels' keys this August to a lovely young guy in Coventry. Reason: One rainy and I mean rainy day in the not-too-distant past, I got up at 5am to go to the Kingstanding Test Centre in Birmingham. There, Lee (ex-army, quite scary) put me through my paces in the torrential rain. U-turns, slow rides, manoeuvers, and...what? I passed?! I PASSED! Freed from the constraints of being a learner biker, Mike and I wasted no time in upgrading me to a Kawasaki ER-5.

It's been quite a journey and I have truly loved every second of it. Mike and I love going out for bike rides together (although his is still much more powerful than mine, I'm getting there at catching up with him!). Although one "near-miss" where the bike slid out from under me did knock my confidence a lot, I'm feeling like biking could be a part of my life for a lonnng time. I'm so pleased I have found something that I truly love and enjoy and can be proud of achieving. To be honest, this is the feeling I thought I would get from nursing but so far...well, that's a story for another time!

Anyone else out there have something in their life like this?

Winter Chilling

I want to blog but cannot think of a topic for today. Have just finished night shifts and only had 2 hours sleep, so there is always that nauseous, delirious feel to the day, but also a delicious feeling of being at liberty to be lazy without feeling guilty!! Having just started the official 6 weeks 'til Christmas Countdown, I am really getting into the winter mood. It is already dark and windy outside, adding extra reason to stay in and not feel guilty! I am curled up on the couch in my coziest Snowflake PJs and boyfriend's oversized sweater, wrapped in my soft fleece blanket, heating on full and fire roaring away. Drinking hot chocolate (if I was Holly I would have made it soo much better by adding Bailey's, but I can't find my bottle!), eating biscuits and watching the movie of the day on channel 5. It is truly bad 90s made-for-TV movie at its worst.



Thoughts I am currently experiencing:

• I have recently noticed my number of Facebook friends has dropped by 3, even though I've added a few new friends. Who has ditched me? Why? I can figure out who 2 of them are but not the 3rd. Did I offend? :(


• This movie I'm watching (called Suburban Madness, if you're interested in numbing your brain cells!) has been rated 2 out of 5 stars by the network, leading me to ask why they are showing it if even they realize how criminally bad it is!


• Why am I still watching this?!


• Am I the only one who sees absolutely no point in an air guitar contest? Call me girly but if someone suggested to me a night out watching people stand on a stage in a local beer-soaked pub pretending to play guitar, I would have to go with no


• Speaking of nights out, am excited for next week, to go to the Christmas market for a girls' day out, finished off with Strictly Come Dancing (yah, go Matt!) and curry. Also, Julie and I booked a mini-trip to London near Christmas for some a major shopping spree and to see The Lion King in the West End. Yah!
• Congrats to my cousin Jay and his lady Angie, on the birth of their new baby boy, Stanley, who was so desperate to be born that he was delivered by his Dad in their living room before the ambulance arrived.

Ciao, friends!

This Is My Life!

Eavesdroppers, UNITE!

I simply love people watching. I have a strong early memory of waiting in a parked car while my parents attended to some long-since forgotten errand. An extremely easily bored child with a scant attention span (nothing has changed into adulthood, alas, alas...) I was spoilt rotten by the constant attention of my 2 older siblings. On this occasion, my sister Bryony was amusing me by speaking outloud the thoughts of passers-by. I delighted in it, and it stuck with me - still to this day, I could people-watch for hours, conjecturing their names, occupations, nationalities, shopping lists, reasons for being in that exact place at that exact time and so on.

I go to extraordinary lengths to eavesdrop on an interesting conversation (I like to think I have perfected the "Don't-mind-me-I'm-just-minding-my-own-business" look) and indeed, my boyfriend has been amazed time and again at my ability to listen to and participate in a conversation between himself and I, while at the same time keeping one ear firmly on the goings-on around us. I will happily and without embarrassment deviate out of my way to pick up pieces of interesting looking debris or read signs on doors or tucked under windscreen wipers. It is therefore with a cry of joy, and a rallying call to all other nosy parkers, that I intend to become a regular at this website:

FOUND magazine - www.foundmagazine.com/find

Inquisitive minds from around the world send in things they have found (notes, pictures, whatever) for us to feast our prying eyes on. I love it!

On the topic of websites, I must offer up this gem of a quote from my Mum a while back, with a disclaimer that my Mum is actually very up on all things cyber-space and is not often caught out:

Jan: "You really seem to like this Facebook website. Do you think I should get an account?"(Affirming murmers from my direction) Jan: "You'll have to write the website down for me, I won't remember it. What is it again? Something like http://www.get-on-my-face.com/?"

No, Jan - that website may well take you to something quite different.

For Fitch

He says he was in Canada, but I can exclusively reveal that in fact, Ben Fitch was on a coach somewhere in the back streets of Albania last week! Time to fess up, Ben. And remember, next time, look to see if Lindsay is lurking just a few seats behind you! :)