One Chapter Ends, Another Begins

Today is my last day at my current employer.

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!

I'm ready to begin my next challenge.

Hurt

Is this what I get for being a good person to you?

And all of the things I'm finding out now, how could you do?

But I will not change, I will just grow

From now on I know

Let the silence be heard. Let the silence be heard.

Life Changing Experience

Life's messages come in various forms. Tonight, mine came to me sitting down to dinner at the local pub. When you least expect it, it happens. Phew!

Amazing Weekend!

I think I have fallen in love with horse riding. Well, I've always enjoyed it, but this weekend, I had an amazing time at the Ranch, riding them, looking after them, learning so much about them. They are awesome creatures, and I have never understood just how powerful and how beautiful they can be until now. Obviously, the more I ride, the more confident I get and the more I understand about their behaviour. The more confident I am, the more control I have when I am on one, and the more exciting it gets.

I took two out today, the first one being Happy, who is a relatively safe, calm horse and then I took out Jack, who liked to run a little wild. I found him breaking out into a canter when I least expected it and I would often have to pull him back and settle him down. Its so amazing that you can have such a powerful creature under your control!!!

My Travels

You all know that every now and then, I like to post these to remind myself of the amazing experiences that I have had.

The good news is that from next week, there will be more travels!

Mixed Feelings

I feel the need to respond to EC's post "On Helping Others", which you can find at http://www.sotheotherdayiwas.blogspot.com/.

I feel the need because..... well, I'm bored. I am sure EC wont mind me responding here, and using some of her words, because I know she loves a bit of a debate on issues like this.

EC writes:

"I can see no valid argument for sending aid to foreign countries, when we have starving citizens and children within our own borders. I can see no Good coming from choosing to help someone with abundant means and resources to help themselves - while overlooking the truly needy and desperate amongst us."

I am going to play devils advocate here (again, it comes with boredom).

EC, could it be because you are an American, that you have this view? Could you be a citizen of a country that has not had adequate distribution of funding to the domestic poor, because your government has been too busy spending billions blowing up certain parts of the Middle East?

With that dig aside, I have got to say that I dont agree with the view that there is no good to come from choosing to help someone with abundant means and resources to help themselves, while overlooking the truly needy and desperate amongst us.

Why do I not agree? Because I believe that poverty arises from many many causes. Poverty is often caused because of the system in which the poor live in - they can have all the resources in the world, however their inability to access basic infrastructure does not allow them to access those resources, because of civil war, dictatorship, poorly run economies by corrupt governments.

EC, I would much rather my $100 to be given to a malnurished Ethiopian 4 year old who has been left to fend for themselves because their mother was killed during civil war, than provide my $100 to some poor Australian who has the luxury of living in a democratic country and is not living in fear of having a machine gun held their their head simply for being of a certain race or creed.

At the least the poor in our countries could most probably (depending on their individual situations) CHOOSE to get out of their situation if they really tried.

Anyway, just a thought.

Horror-scope

Are you in a dreamy mood? Don't let depressive thoughts bum you out. It's best to keep away from drugs and booze, heavy tunes, and worrisome projections; substance abuse frees up the boogie man from the subconscious. Pop the bubble of any scary thoughts and feelings that meander through your mind. All will be well.

http://www.astrology.com.au/daily/cancer.asp

Oops. I drank a glass of wine tonight. And I played my iPod in my ear quite loudly on my way home. I took a paracetamol because of a bad headache this afternoon. And is drinking lots of coffee considered substance abuse?

Public Announcement

Shoot me now before I go crazy.

Wait. I suspect I already am.

I need the next 10 days to go by, and I can get my sh*t back in a pile and refocus. I need to get into gainful employment once again so that I can be tired each night.

Until then, I shall continue to randomly blog.

Dont Wanna Go

Thanks to the wonderful communication tool that is Facebook, I have now been invited to my high school reunion. I has hoping that I would fade into oblivion when it came to my high school, however it appears that once you add more than ten high school friends to your Facebook page, it's cause for a "Reunion". Fifty five invites later and we have ourselves a rather large "Reunion". I now have to decide whether I want to put myself through the torture of three hours at a suburban venue full of women with whom I have absolutely nothing in common... except having gone to the same high school as them.

I look through each of their Facebook pages and I cringe at their indulgence in baby pics, hens party plans, and wedding photos. What the heck am I going to say to these people?

"Oh, you had a stripper at your hens night? I saw a man stripper once but that was because I was incredibly intoxicated and out at a work function and he was one of my colleagues...."

"Nice, what a cute baby that is. He's gorgeous. If only I could stop suing people and arguing contract clauses long enough to create one myself."

"Congratulations on your wedding but you really should have come to me first for that pre-nup."

I am concerned that I will not be able to spend the entire three hours without realising that I am, in fact, a barren, overworked, far-too-successful-for-my-own-good female that left her high school days well and truly behind her. And should I come to that realisation while I am still at the function, there is a good chance that I will get myself drunk and commence telling each and every person there that the only reason why I was nice to them for all of those years was because it was for my own survival and sanity, not because I actually liked them.

Cry Me A River

This is a shout out to Maria "My Life is Nothing" Ferroever (www.ihaveaboat.blogspot.com). I know what it feels like to be stuck waiting for the next chapter of life to begin. I think the sailing term is "the Doldrums". Where there's no wind, you arent moving forward, you are just waiting. 9 days to go until the next chapter of my life can begin. So glad. I'm well and truly over the current chapter.

What the Heck?

"At least 12 people have been killed in the South African city of Johannesburg since Friday in a wave of violence directed at immigrants, police say."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7407055.stm

What is wrong with this world??? This stuff makes me sick.

Counting Down the Days

Its 2.30am and I can't sleep. So I have turned on my laptop and am now sitting, reading the newspaper and thinking about how very lucky I am to be me. There is so much death and destruction in the world right now. In Burma, hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of dying from disease as a result of a government that is failing to support its people after a destructive cyclone. In China, 33000 are now confirmed dead after a large earthquake hit the region and the death toll is expected to rise. Here in Sydney today though, we had such a gorgeous autumn day - the sun was shining and a cool breeze was blowing. We are so lucky in this country.

I Was Tagged

EC tagged me - so I am compelled to do this.

So here goes:

List 5 things in my bag:
perfume, Dior sunglasses, ipod, lip gloss, box of matches from the Loft.


List 5 favorite things in my room:
my laptop, photo of my sister and i, bright red chair, my journal, makeup bag.


List 5 things I've always wanted to do:
skydive, work in a third world country, be a travel photographer, drive a ferrari, find a cure for depression.


List 5 things I am currently into:
horse riding, coffee with my girlfriends, tennis, buying makeup, sleeping

Fulfilling a Life Long Dream

I am going skydiving on 4 June 2008!!!

Singing My Song

All you regular readers know these lyrics - I put them on my blog every time I'm feeling like kickin' butt.

They are back!!


Keep On Singin' My Song
Written by Christina Aguilera, Scott Storch

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face
And nobody's gonna bring me down today
Been feeling like nothing's been going my way lately
But I decided right here, right now
That my outlook's gonna change
That's why I'm gonna

Say goodbye to all the tears I've cried
Every time somebody hurt my pride
Feeling like they won't let me live my life and
Take the time to look at what is mine

I see, every blessing, so clearly
And I thank God, for what, I got from above

I believe they can take anything from me, but they
Can't succeed in taking my inner peace from me
They can say all they wanna say about me, but I
I'm gonna carry on (carry on)
I'ma keep on (keep on)
Singing my song, yeah yeah

I never wanna dwell on the pain again, ooh no no
There's no use in reliving how I hurt back then, oh, oh no
Remembering too well the hell I felt
When I was running out of faith, oh
Every step I'm about to take
Well it's towards a better day
'Cause I'm about to

Say farewell to every single lie
And all the fears I've held too long inside
Every time I felt I couldn't try
All the negativity and strife

Cause too long, I've been, struggling, couldn't go on
But now, I've found, I'm feeling strong and I'm moving on

I believe they can take anything from me, but they
Can't succeed in taking my inner peace from me
Now they can say all they wanna say about me, but I
I'm gonna carry on (carry on)
I'ma keep on (keep on)
Singing my song

Every time I tried to be
What they wanted from me
It never came naturally
So I ended up in misery
Was unable to see
All the good around me
Wasting so much energy
On what they thought of me
Than simply just remembering to breathe, ohh ooh
Ohh, I've learned
I'm humanly unable to please
Everyone at the same time
So now I find, my peace of mind
Living one day at a time

In the end I answer to one God
Comes down to one love
Till I get to heaven above
I have made the decision
Never to give in
Till the day I die no matter what
I'm gonna carry on
I'ma keep on, mmm
Singing my song...

I Have a New Job

I am leaving my current job.

I have been appointed as a Legal Counsel - Asia Pacific, for another company.

This means that I finally have a job which will allow me to combine my work with travel.

Let the champagne flow!

Charlotte - Too Cute for Words!

Charlotte - Growing Up Fast!

Gorgeous, isnt she???

Little Ellie Bellie - Miss Personality

My Little Ellie Bellie