'Touch Me' Day

After being rudely woken up at 5am by some lovely period cramps, I washed down my last couple panadol tablets and tried sleeping on my stomach to help the contractions. While sleeping on my stomach may have been more comfortable for my uterus/abdomen, it was not so comfortable for my neck/back/arms or anywhere else. I woke up a few hours later unable to feel my left arm from the shoulder down due to the weird position I was sleeping in. My neck and back were also sore too. So what to do? Time to treat myself to a little TLC...

I needed a haircut anyway (that sheepdog effect with my bangs/fringe in my eyes just isn't a good look!) but instead of washing my hair just before going to get the snip, I decided to treat myself to a scalp massage in the form of a shampoo. Why does it never feel that nice when you shampoo your own head, dammit? So while getting my hair shampooed by someone else was a nice treat (it's been over a year and a half I think), I felt bad for putting the hairdresser through the detangling hell. My hair looks innocent enough, but it's naughty....very knotty. Anyhoo, just got an all-over trim, no biggie, but I can now see without having to push my hair out of my eyes...the scalp massage was just the pre-lude though. What I was really craving was a massage.

I really am not into the idea of those public massage set-ups where everyone can walk by and watch you getting a massage, but for $20, I couldn't resist. I got the neck/shoulders/back deal. It was fantastic. It was bordering on the slightly 'too rough' zone, but it was exactly what I needed and most of the massage was in that "oooh, baby, it hurts so good" zone (well, except for the back pummelling, he got a wee bit carried away, but oh well). I've decided that I simply cannot go this long without a massage again. I've also decided that the next guy I date must give somewhat regular neck/back massages. That's right, I've upped my criteria from just 'must have good hygiene,' and 'remembers my name' to 'must have good hygiene,' 'remembers my name' and 'must give me back massages.' Call me picky. ;-) He doesn't have to give fantastic massages, he just has to be willing to try and to take instruction! I give good back massages and I'm all for equal opportunity and reciprocation! Again, if I could massage my own back, I'd be all set, but alas, my arms just aren't quite long enough.

Cleaning Up My Act

Guess where I'm sitting? Yes, at my computer, doh, but guess where my computer is sitting? On my desk! - you see, for the last 6 months, my desk has become yet another 'resting spot for Lori's crap' - much like any other flat surface in my apartment. But I've decided it's time to reclaim my 'writer's corner.' I've finally put my postcards up on my walls in my bedroom. In the corner where I will now be writing - this is the collection of postcards I started over 5 years ago - I've now got beautiful scenery to look at: Sydney, Cairns, Hobart, Melbourne, London, Boston, Cape Cod, Dublin, Barcelona, Paris, Phillip Island, Great Ocean Road, Bay of Islands, Taupo, (New Zealand) etc. Just gotta find my post cards from Darwin, Perth, and Byron Bay...looking at the pics makes me feel very grateful. I've been lucky enough to travel to a lot of gorgeous places. I really haven't done much travelling in my day, I haven't been to many countries, but it's still a good start.

New Shades

So I finally got new sunglasses ('sunnies'). I lost my first/last/only prescription pair about 2 years ago...these new babies are so expensive that I'll be wearing them for the next 10 years, I don't care if they go seriously out of fashion ;-) Heh. Nah, seriously, I really do like them and it's so nice to not squint in the sun. When I went to pick them up, the lady at the counter was like, 'Have you had prescription sunnies before?' and I said I had, but not for ages. And she said, 'Oh well, you need them in Australia, with this sun, it'll help with all those little lines around your eyes." Um, WHAT?!?! I admit, I definitely do have little (not so fine!) lines around my eyes, but I was under the impression that I was the only one who could see them unless someone was standing way too close to me. If I'm 25 but could pass for 15, I don't think I should have to deal with lines ;-) Anyway, I'm not sure if she was talking about the lines around my eyes or about getting lines around your eyes in general, but I was feeling a tad paranoid. Oh well, what can you do. Looks like I am aging after all ;-) Also, I've noticed that these eye lines get really crinkley when I smile and I smile all the freakin' time and I'd rather be smiley and wrinkley than look a tad younger and appear mean and grumpy. :D

P.S. I'm PATHETIC

I ventured out this evening to go to Broadway around 9pm. I checked the temperature online before going out to figure out how I should dress. I was wearing jeans, a short-sleeved shirt, and a sweater. It was 18 degrees Celsius. So what did I do? I put on another sweater! (As all my sweatshirts/jackets that aren't fully for winter are currently in my dryer.) For all you metrically challenged yankees (hey, that includes me too, but I'm getting better with temps), 18 degrees Celsius is like 64 degrees Farenheit. SIXTY FOUR DEGREES! That's lovely and warm to normal New Englanders, but not to me - to me it felt cold and I had to wear TWO SWEATERS over a shirt! P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C! 64 degrees! That's probably about 20 degrees F warmer than what it would be in Springfield around this time of the year. I'm saaaaaaad. I've had it way too good here - now anything below 68 F feels nippy! And when the hell are we Yankees gonna join the rest of the world in using the damn metric system? It's just embarassing! Give it up, already! As long as you never ever plan to leave America, you're fine, but as soon as you do (and hopefully you do at some point!) you're screwed. I'm actually pretty good at working out Celsius without doing any math in my head or on paper, but I have been here long enough, so that's not particularly genius of me. It's weird, because we do have to use the metric system in science classes and what-not but it's as though we treat science class as 'magic' and as soon as we leave the classroom or the lab, the metric system fails to have any meaning for us. Can't we just pick a year and say, "Okay, from now on, we're using the metric system!" and start phasing-out our half-assed system? Or keep them both - I don't care - just as long as Americans can be in another country and understand temperature and distance.

Music Mania
Saw lots of great music this weekend! Friday night at the Hopetoun rocked acoustically, including the sweetly sexy Shane Nicholson, the gorgeous and powerful Sarah Blasko, Amiel, and lil' ol' Alex Lloyd, etc. Such a great show! Everyone gave me a warm and fuzzy on that crappy cold rainy night. ;-) On Saturday night at Vic on the Park I was extremely impressed and put in the mood to groove by theHEAD's debut performance. You'd think they'd done that performing thing before or something! Well done, boys! I was kinda let down by the next two acts, nothing against them, it's just theHEAD made me want to dance, and the mood changed during following groups - until amazing Audiophile turned up. I had intended to leave much earlier, but once these guys hit the stage, I had to stay until the end. Absolutely fantastic! If I had 10 thumbs, they'd all be up. Keep an eye out in the street press and go see everyone I just raved about. JUST DO IT (I mean, they're so good I'm infringing on Nike trademarks here, people!)

(As Craig would say, this entry was lovingly written while listening to Radiohead and Tracy Chapman, especially "Let Down" and "Big Fat Man" ;-)