Spyke
Tofureply
aussie.zone

๐Ÿง…๐ŸŒฝ๐Ÿฅ•๐Ÿฅ”๐Ÿ—๐Ÿฒ

๐Ÿซš๐Ÿ‹๐Ÿฏโ˜•๏ธ

6
PeelerSheilareply
aussie.zone

Sorry to hear that mate! At least you can snuggle with Mickey. Does your partner have it too or just you?

4

It's certainly around again. Hopefully its short and sweet.

3
Duenanreply
aussie.zone

Damn. I hope youโ€™re not feeling too bad from it.

How long did it take for the line to pop up?

Anyway get plenty of rest and lay low for the next few days.

Get well soon!

3

It was an immediate line, no delay or faintness at all, for both me and my partner.

It's definitely not as bad as the first time: was out for two weeks. This time it's just like a really nasty cold. We're both very whiny and whiny about it lol, but can move about and do stuff with effort.

Just made myself a honey tea, but forgot to get lemons lol

3
aussie.zone

I've accidentally learned to play piano.

So, I use a keyboard to play melodies on my PC to make songs. Usually playing one finger on each hand, like how some people type lol

Tonight I wasn't really thinking, just noodling away and realised I can play with all fingers on both hands!

Still awkward, but it blew me away.

Edit: later in the evening, I was listening to something I'd recorded on my phone. This is how Gibson felt about the noise:

11

Thatโ€™s a very dirty look!!โ€™ My cat is terrified of my piano. Feel guilty when I start to play and she runs out of the room

7

It took a while for Gibson to get used to the studio at home. Now she'll come nap on the couch while I'm playing.

1
aussie.zone

Eerrrrggghhhh. Late to the party this morning. We had some excitement opposite me in our street last night - 3 am firetrucks and cop cars. Cops carefully saying nothing, but the firetrucks were all hooked up to the water supply, and lots of firies everywhere in gas masks. The houses opposite and me and my next door neighbours all got woken up and asked to leave for a safe space up the street. Presumably a gas problem/leak of some sort I reckon as no smell of fire. After an hour or so they let us back home and the trucks packed up and left. PSA: Oodies and ugg boots are fantastic for evacs of this sort - pocket holds all sorts of things and very very warm. They did offer us blankets but I didn't need one with the oodie.

11
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

Ugh! As somebody who doesnโ€™t typically clothes at night this would be very extra. Upset cats stuffed in boxen and no pants. ๐Ÿ˜

6
aussie.zone

I am now at a point where I have lived more of my life in the 21st century than the 20th.

I knew it had to be close to that point and was thinking I should have a "half life" party to celebrate the occassion, but apparently it was nearly 2 months ago so I missed it.

10

You just need to find the secret of eternal youth and then you can celebrate yours some time in 2101! or hang on, is that 2201? math hard.

5
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

Which King though? Sausage fingers seems unlikely to last.

3
Thornburywitchreply
aussie.zone

With boyos in the next generation and the one after that, bound to be one or other of them. I'm not fussed as to which.

3
imoldgreeegreply
aussie.zone

Oh crap what a great idea. Except I've missed mine too (about 18months ago apparently). That's wild.

3
Nathreply
aussie.zone

Are you counting from January 2000 or 2001? I remember there being debate at the time over when the century starts. Either way, I have a bit to go.

2

Very good point. There was no year zero, so the official turn of century (and millenium) is 2001. This means I have nearly 2 more years and can have my "half life" party after all!

๐Ÿฅณ๐ŸŽ‰๐ŸŽŠ๐Ÿฅ‚

1

A kid in Miniest's class at school wants to be a butcher when he grows up. No wonder!

4
imoldgreeegreply
aussie.zone

Wow. How much steak was that?? There's a dude at my local farmers market that does four grass fed porterhouse for 30 bucks and that plus a pack of snags or some mince does me for a month or more (I am mostly vego).

I suppose when we start eating the rich we will know they were well fed at least...

3
aussie.zone

I think it's Sundays for me as well. It feels like saying farewell to another week of my life. Bittersweet in a way.

3
aussie.zone

Day 14 of the chilli ferment.

Pretty sure I'm not going to get botulism with this one go me.

9
aussie.zone

Booooo. My landlord wants me to take off all my plants from the balcony because apparently a crack (that was already there long before I moved in) has gotten worse. Fair enough because they want to get it fixed. But it's a lot of plants to lug down two sets of stairs, and then across and up another two to put in the common area...

I don't know how long they will take to get the balcony fixed - in the meantime, watering and maintaining these plants is going to be a pain and a half. I absolutely can't be carting water from my unit to the common area so I'll have to use the communal tap ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™€๏ธ

What I'm worried about the most is if they say I can't put any plants back on at all. I'll be absolutely fuming if that's the case. Let's hope they'll be reasonable. I know they've appreciated seeing the veggies and flowers on it and I know several of my neighbours have appreciated them too.

Trying not to spiral into negative thinking and assume they'll up the rent after this fix as well >_< mustn't jump to conclusions...

9
aussie.zone

I am over the worst of the cold but pretty fatigued and have a lovely hacking cough.. I am getting really depressed about the state of my home though - haven't had the energy to tidy/clean/cook much or generally adult all week.

So give me your best tips for focusing and moving and cleaning when you don't feel like it!

(and I will rest but the mental health impact of the clutter is bigger than the physical illness plus I think moving will help clear the snots)

9

When I'm super super sick, it pays to differentiate between "untidy" and "dirty". Deal with "dirty" first, and take frequent rests. "Untidy" can be done any time after that.

6
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

Close your eyes, click your heels, and say โ€˜I wish the goblins would take you awayโ€™

6
imoldgreeegreply
aussie.zone

Will that make David Bowie turn up too? I could live with that

5
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

Those pants and a set of washing up gloves would be quite the outfit

2
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

My ๐Ÿง !! Under pressure, Queen vacuuming, David in rubber gloves, a high power water washerโ€ฆ

5

Pick the thing thatโ€™s making it feel the most messy, eg kitchen. Then do the dishes and wipe the benches and make it tidy. If you have no more energy for anything else doesnโ€™t matter, the worst is done and the place will feel enormously better.

4
aussie.zone

My washing machine runs for about an hour. I pop on a load and then use it as a timer: I'll clean until the washing's done. Might not work as well for a slow front loader!

Some upbeat music or an interesting podcast helps too.

4

I use this tactic too. Doesn't matter how shit I feel, if I have something else running in the background (washing machine, dishwasher, even the rice cooking) my brain will be more likely to get stuff done in between. Music also helps.

I think the inertia for me comes from this sinking feeling that the work is unending. having an inbuilt timer in the form of the background machine activity, and the music, helps me trick my brain.

2

As per PeelerSheila - sort the problem. My prioritised list would be - kitchen (including washing up and countertops but not floors), bathroom, bedroom then living room. In short, do small bits with big impact, then work down through the list. The floors can wait, the washing up can't due to microbiology. A big area like the living room - find a dump zone (eg tabletop/sofa), then put all clutter there. Then straighten up the furniture (and floor if you have the energy) then depopulate the dump zone item by item into its proper place. There's a hundred ways to do this - it's finding one that's doable for you right now.

3

First I would have something to eat. Next pick up any rubbish and dispose of that. Then dishes. Then I would tidy the lounge room because that's where I spend my time when I'm sick. I just do a bit at a time.

2
aussie.zone

The cold is finally gone. Can't wait to do some physical activity tomorrow. It's been almost two weeks between injuries and being sick.

I need my happy chemicals stat!

Also, bedtime ๐Ÿ˜ด goodnight everyone!

7
aussie.zone

Yesterday was Lucha Fantastica day and we absolutely loved it! It was at Collingwood town hall and we got there early, so first we went around the corner to Raphs for a coffee and snack, a nice tiny cafe that Mr P said did a great moussaka.

The kids could get right up close to the wrestling ring and my eldest (the keen wrestling fan of the family) was particularly enthralled. He was very interested in inspecting the setup of the ring and how it was put together. I never thought I'd spend a Saturday enthusiastically cheering a wrestling man dressed as a giant taco but there I was. Captain Chipotle chugged Valentina chilli sauce from the bottle. Chico was a crowd favourite, throwing lollies into the crowd throughout the show. I hear during the later adults show it's tequila getting poured into the crowd ringside. One dude was wrestling dressed as an alien ๐Ÿ˜‚ Mr P was happy there was Mexican beer and a margarita which was surprisingly strong, it really slapped. It was the kind of light hearted entertainment I'd been missing. At the end they had a couple of pinatas for the kids to have a crack at (some of those kids were swinging for Australia lol). An all round excellent day.

7

I managed to potter around and get the house respectable. Tidied, clothes away, dishes washed, light vacuum. Need to wipe down the bathroom but I will do that when I have a shower.

Took all day because of an accidental naptime - the sun was streaming in on the bed and I had no choice but to be a cat.

Also what a gorgeous day out there.

7

Walked to Moon for some cruller treats and stopped at Eddy gardens for some dog watching on the way home. Surely this makes up for rotting in bed all day yesterday?

7
aussie.zone

It's taken me a while to get here, but I'm sat in front of the computer now about to research shit I need to get done for this trip. Sun streaming in the windows, Nujabes' Modal Soul playing, looking forward to work this coming week. Trying my best to channel the good feels, which I can't seem to hold onto very well...

7

@Seagoon_ Wanted to head out today, but ended up staying in.

Still have a blocked nose and want to rest up.

I'll do some grocery shopping a bit later, but otherwise I'm staying in and resting up...

6

Testing out a double walled travel mug with some off.

Found it in the cupboard when I was looking for some stuff and was still amazed it was wrapped out.

I might regret making a coffee this late in the day but I must test this out!

6
aussie.zone

Having spent a lot of time recently on Facebook groups about retirement and superannuation I think I can safely say about 60% of the content consists of three posts:

  1. It's not fair that I'm not eligible for the aged pension and getting free money from the government just because I worked hard to have lots of money
  2. How can I get rid of some of the money I saved up to qualify for the Aged Pension and get me some of that sweeet free government money
  3. It's terrible how many people are so entitled to think they should get the Aged Pension instead of working to support themselves

These three posts in multiple variations are on repeat multiple times a day, and always filled with comments arguing about who should be entitled to what. I'd be willing to support a Universal Basic Income being introduced just to get rid of all these tediously repetitive arguments!

I would also like to tell all of the people asking for advice on their self managed super funds that if you have to ask for advice on Facebook about how to manage it you should not have a self managed super fund.

6
aussie.zone

All for a measly 25k to people who have millions and millions in property and super.

Greed knows no bounds.

I'd rather those without independent wealth have a larger slice of the pie than old mate and his partner with 3 paid off properties and a million or 2 in super get any more.

7

People are obsessed with their pensions. People with large Super balances generally don't recognise that they have received and continue to recieve, more benefits in the way of tax exemptions on their Super than people on the pension get. Many seem convinced they will somehow be better off with less assets and the "free government money".

I personally think all of our welfare payments - unemployment, aged pension, childcare subsidies etc. should be paid regardless of income to anyone in the right category and keep a progressive tax system (that charges people with more means a higher percentage) with no tax-free threshold and higher taxes at the very top. Get rid of HECS - if the education leads to higher wages then those wages will be paying higher tax anyway, there is no need to double dip! People on high incomes would still be paying much more in tax than they receive back in benefits and the reduced time wasted on bureaucratic compliance and assessment procedures would probably free up enough working capacity to change everyone to a four day work week.

Obviously it would be difficult and destabilising to actually bring in such a major change, but when I become Supreme Leader of the world that is what I intend to do. Along with mandating that pets count as family for workplace leave policies.

3

I would also like to tell all of the people asking for advice on their self managed super funds that if you have to ask for advice on Facebook about how to manage it you should not have a self managed super fund.

Fully agree. They should ask their accountant(s). Sorry, registered financial planner as you need to have a licence to give advice on superannuation.

Mind you, my boss when he was a commercial law student asked his tutor for a quick 10 minute run down on how super worked. His tutor rolled on the floor laughing.

And a truly wonderful Tandberg cartoon came out in the 80s - two suits sitting at a table in a pub - one says to the other "Yeah it's a social thing. We get together on a Friday night, have a few beers and change the laws on superannuation". Says it all. I think I still have a copy somewhere as I had that stuck on my screen for years.

1

If we wish to save the planet "eat the rich" is definitely the right dietary choice.

5

Australia has such a terrible gambling problem.

It's shameful it's been allowed to happen.

5

More roast fennel adventures! Today I made a "creamy" base of broad beans with finely chopped celery, leek, and a couple of chillies sweated for 10 minutes. Then threw in some roast garlic that was in the oven with the fennel, finely chopped fresh rosemary and some dried oregano and thyme, plus stock powder. Then blended it all together (thinned out with copious amounts of pasta water), and threw in the roast fennel, a tin of tuna, a handful of nutritional yeast, and finally some cooked risoni/orzo pasta. Topped it off with some fresh chopped parsley.

An interesting mix of textures and maybe orzo wasn't the right choice (will it all congeal into a slab tomorrow?), but certainly tastes alright. If I had some capers or olives for a bit of extra briney bite, this would be ๐Ÿ‘Œ๐Ÿฝ

e: I also bumped into some friends in the shops, got invited around for a spot of tea, that was extremely wholesome and lovely :)

6

Just came back from Frozen Empire.

That was good in a way movies haven't been for a long time

5
Nathreply

Quite reminiscent of Flight Control. An early mobile game from Australia. From back when games cost $1.19 and had no ads or stupid psychological tricks to keep you playing daily. You played them daily because they were fun!

1

Help, the cat is rolling me out of bed

When I go to the other end to sleep she follows me and cuddle-shoves me out of there too

4
aussie.zone

Iโ€™m exhausted, but should probably eat something. Do not want to cook.

4
aussie.zone

Holding my breath generally works, but only if I do it like this:

  • breathe in and out as normally as you can
  • take a big breath in, big big. Fill your lungs alllllll the way up
  • hold for as long as you can
  • do not exhale suddenly!
  • when you cannot hold any long, let the air out slowly, shape your mouth as if you're whistling to do so. Like an small o shape.
  • nice and slow until you've exhaled completely.
  • repeat if required, but make sure you take normal breaths as per step one so you don't hyperventilate

This helps me, as generally hiccups are caused by the diaphragm spasming. The full-lung breath-hold helps to like, reset it. And the very slow exhale is to stop the diaphragm from starting again from the shock of a sudden big exhale.

8
Thornburywitchreply
aussie.zone

Hiccups happen when your diaphragm gets out of sync with your breathing. Most of the effective methods force these to re-synchronise. Drinking water out of the BACK of the glass makes you bend over forwards, which temporarily halts your breathing and when you straighten up to swallow, you start breathing again in sync. Usually. Also you might like to slow down the rate of eating, as gulping air along with food can set off hiccups. As a survivor of a boarding school where food happened in a lions on the kill fashion, I learned to bolt food as fast as possible. This caused quite a few issues that I had to learn how to slow down eating to fix. Hiccups was only part of it.

6
aussie.zone

Due to some conspiratorial misdirection, you will not find โ€œiceโ€ tea in the tea section. Nor will you find โ€œiceโ€ coffee in the coffee section.

3
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

One would hope there was no ice in the supermarket at all

4
Tofureply
aussie.zone

i couldnโ€™t find ice cream in the cream section

4

Watched the other two Wong Kar-Wai films in the supposed trilogy. I think because I watched them back to back they feel closer together than In The Mood For Love.

I havenโ€™t watched this much film for ages. Something about it hits different than my bouts of voracious consumption aka binge watching. I had to pay attention.

The Steven McCurry Icons at Seaworks is definitely worth a visit. If you go in the evening make sure youโ€™re rugged up. Itโ€™s a giant shed so it gets bloody cold.

2
Tofu
aussie.zone

Breakfast ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐ŸŠ๐Ÿ‹๐Ÿˆ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿ“๐Ÿ‡๐Ÿ‰๐ŸŒ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿฅญ๐Ÿ๐Ÿฅฅ๐Ÿฅฆ๐Ÿฅ‘๐Ÿซ›๐Ÿ†๐Ÿ…๐Ÿฅ๐Ÿฅฌ๐Ÿฅ’๐ŸŒฝ๐Ÿฅ•๐Ÿฅ๐Ÿ ๐Ÿซš๐Ÿฅ”๐Ÿง…๐Ÿฅฏ๐Ÿž๐Ÿฅ–๐Ÿฅจ๐Ÿง€๐Ÿง‡๐Ÿฅž๐Ÿงˆ๐Ÿณ๐Ÿฅš๐Ÿฅ“๐Ÿฅฉ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿ–๐Ÿซ“๐Ÿ•๐ŸŸ๐Ÿ”๐ŸŒญ๐Ÿฅ™๐Ÿง†๐ŸŒฎ๐ŸŒฏ๐Ÿฅ—๐Ÿฒ๐Ÿœ๐Ÿ๐Ÿฅ˜๐Ÿ›๐Ÿฃ๐Ÿฑ๐ŸฅŸ๐Ÿฆช๐Ÿฅ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿš๐Ÿ™๐Ÿ ๐Ÿค๐Ÿชผ๐Ÿฆ€๐Ÿ™ ๐Ÿ—๐Ÿฅฎ๐Ÿข๐Ÿก๐Ÿง๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿง๐Ÿฅง๐Ÿฆ๐Ÿจ๐ŸŽ‚๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿซ๐Ÿฅœ๐ŸŒฐ๐Ÿช๐Ÿฟ๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฅ›โ˜•๏ธ๐Ÿต๐Ÿบ๐Ÿถ๐Ÿฅค๐Ÿง‹๐Ÿงƒ๐Ÿฅ‚๐Ÿท๐Ÿฅƒ๐Ÿธ๐Ÿน๐Ÿง‰๐Ÿ”‹

2
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

You have a cavalier attitude to expiry dates I see

5
Catfishreply
aussie.zone

May I please have a raspberry smoothie and a SpaceFood stick

3

Well I shanโ€™t be needing lip balm for the rest of the day

3
Duenanreply
aussie.zone

Iโ€™m sad that my Cats lost and they I tipped a few upsets and I got them wrong this round :(

3

Thatโ€™s true, better to lose now than to lose the prelim.

I didnโ€™t expect the team so be so rattled from the pressure though. Maybe a good wake up call.

1