Gawd, three photos in a row! running the risk of becoming a photoblog here people. I'm really busy and really boring and really haven't ingested enough sugar to say much lately. Okay, I know that hasn't stopped me before and, quite frankly, it's not going to stop me NOW. a) Amazon package arrived. Oh Lord how a simple synthetic green sack can bring so much joy. Now I just need to find some time to read my new books and half a brain to understand them. b) I forgot what b was. c) My fridge is full of food - that's unusual. Mostly my fridge is full of beer [mmm be'or] and tonic [in case I have a sudden urge for a G & T] and a couple of lemons [see previous square brackets] and a half empty [full?] bottle of milk for tea/coffee/cereal and a carton of eggs [usually only 2 left at any given time]. But right now, its jam PACKED with food that will probably rot and I'll throw in the rubbish next Thursday. Okay - maybe I'll eat it - Don't let me forget!! d) there's a d? e) I meant to tell you how much I enjoyed Matchstick Men with Nicolas "god i hate that guy" Cage. I suffered through a "sound settings in progress" home theatre screening of the movie and got quite grumpy at everyone who talked and interrupted because I couldn't quite hear it even when they didn't talk and interrupt. I liked it though, and Cage's quirky obssessive-compulsive character seemed a tad too familiar for comfort but the movie was good that's fer sur. f) Realising [after above] I'm going to be the grumpiest old lady around - I know some of you saw that coming, and I sort-of knew it too, but seeing how intolerant I was with my inability to hear I can tell I'm going to be the most cantankerous biddy on the block. When I'm 64? Try by 4pm tonight! g) I want to go and stroke my new books. To flick through them and glance at this page and that. I want to unstack them from their prefectly stacked pile and open them one by one without creasing the seams, then to restack them in their flat-new-book tower. FYI. h) No, I have no idea why I took a photo of processed cheese. i) And yes, I know it's not good practice to put 50kb photos of cheese on a site that is accessed by many dial up connections. j) when I say "many" I mean all six of you. I know Jonathan is on jetstream and he's number seven. k) [deleted due to extreme language and general confusion] l) I did post my FridayQ [thank you Rosie] the other day but I guess I forgot to save it because it never did make it to thejar. I was going to suggest I might do it later but hell, why don't I just do it now? [that almost seems like I'm not procrastinating by "doing it now" and not putting it off til later, until you realise that I am in fact procrastinating by posting to the 'jar at *all* !! and putting other stuff off 'til later - I am a complicated person]

FQ TOPIC [it's really Wednesday]: Vent [this is still l) btw] FQ1: What's the one thing above all others that drives you insane... that one dreaded event that causes you to completely lose your composure and want to kick, scream, and beat something with a big stick? Doing things over and over again. An example from this week - having to go through a 100 page document and putting a hyphen between e and mail so it reads "e-mail" [yes it does have "search and replace" but who really trust those anyway you have to go check too, right?] to then have to go *back* through two days later and *remove* all the hyphens again. This is typically a symptom in some projects that is repeated throughout the development and has certainly been a theme of the project I am working on at the moment. FQ2: Is that all? Surely there is something else that will cause you to freak out! Here's your chance to vent and list a few other things that make you go nuts... Oh, well, I didn't want to tell you because i) you'll think i'm a bit unstable and ii) you'll be like everyone else who finds out about this and you'll do it in front of me *just* to annoy me but I'm going to tell you and you alone and ask that you do NOT smudge your eyebrows making the hairs all run the wrong way. That you will smooth them down along your brow as God intenended - from the top of your nose to the corner of your eye. I mean you really should brush them with a purpose made brush. And you most *certainly* should have them trimmed regularly if you are a male and especially if you climb mountains for a living. And holding my wrists and disrupting my eyebrows with the tip of your nose isn't funny either. And don't sit on the bed or the couch after I just made/straightened it either. And for God's sakes DON'T BEND THE SPINE OF THAT BOOK!! and.. put.. put that back no.. no don't touch that, sheesh, put *put* that down. and ARG those are fabric scissors not *paper* sissors *pulling hair out* FQ3: When you've been driven crazy by something or someone... and are barely containing your frustration... is there anything you can do to calm down, dispell the rage, and be happy again? A rant on the jar or at the pub works wonders. Mostly, everything is better after a good nights/afternoons sleep. My mum always said when I was grumpy that i'd either had too much, or not enough sleep. At the end of the day it's very true. FQ DARE: Admit it, you're not perfect... what is something you do that drives other people crazy? Well I know I have a list of faults as long as my arm - but which of them are annoying to *other* people? I asked around, mostly everyone said I was perfect - but i sensed a flicker of fear in their eyes at being asked that question, and a cool backwards eyebrow swipe as they turned away. My ex was more forthcoming though he was more interested in listing my faults rather than those which actually annoy *him*. Personally, I think, I annoy a lot of people a lot of the time - there is a microscopic line between annoying and charming. Mostly I think I annoy people by not doing what I say I'm going to do - making promises and being late doing them if I do them at all. I think I tend to hold this annoyance for my private life but it does leak all over my professional one too. I procrastinate and that's annoying I'm sure - HELL it annoys ME. [my use of the remote control to watch all channels all at the same time isn't annoying because i am so_damn_good at it]

m) stands for mmmm it's lunchtime. [thank goodness i had nothing to say]

Could I be any happier right now? This is so nice. Warm and showered, Origins Sleep Time[highly recommended if you have trouble relaxing and falling asleep] softly filling my senses, Greg Johnson in my earphones, reclined on perfectly piled pillows, iBook on my lap, wearing silky pyjamas in my toasty warm bed. I've had such a good week - worked 38 hours which is pretty impressive seeing as that was as of 10am this morning and I didn't do much on Monday at all. I've decided to stop beating myself up about the way I work. I am the way I am. So long as I meet my deadlines and committments who cares when I do my work - that's the entire point of working for myself, right? I've been amazed with this project I am working on. How I don't have the stomach ache and sleeplessness I normally have with projects. It's not that it's smooth, or easy, or seamless or anything - it's that I'm in control of my own destiny within it I think. It's me saying Yes I Can Do This By This Date and then doing it. The mistakes I make I own. I'm only responsible for those, and conversely I own the success of it too. I'm not being sucked dry by creativity vampires anymore. OH I still rant - ask rosie and james, I was pounding the keyboard to them today ranting and knit-picking. It's not all tranquility and serenity - but it's so much nicer. I'm even getting a perspective on my procrastination too - it's all good, it's all part of how I work. So this afternoon, with work done and emails sent, I lay down at 5pm for a nap - waking up somewhere around 10pm. This weekend's weather forecast promises very tightly packed isobars so I'm planning on wearing coat/gloves at the Warriors vs. Eels game tomorrow night. YAY! I love wearing my coat though I have to admit it's starting to look a bit worse for wear. I will make it last the rest of this winter - but next Winter, I plan to buy a new one - not black either - red or orange or lime: oh yeh. I got a bit worried about what I write online just then. I know lots of people write about far more important things on their websites than how high their pillows are stacked or what colour their next-years coat's going to be - I don't have any interest in politics or news or religion or all the other topics I see on other people's sites - plus, they do a hell of a better job that I ever could manage. I like work, and funny people, and television and movies, and going to live sport and music. I like taking photos and i love sending pxt. I like my bed and I love my computer. I like to travel but hardly do it, and I love to drink coffee in cafes with friends. My world is small and compact, and built on routine and measured paths. I only know what I know and I only type what swims around on my brain at any given moment. And I do it so I can read it again later and remember my past which, I often forget in the busy'ness of living. My mind is full of collage and ripping paper, of paint and glitter glue, of painting and drawing of things that have been pushed out of the creative space of my mind by pixels and deadlines. I've been told I'm funnier when I'm miserable, you might have to get used to a more squishy, happy Mish. It's nice - I'm beginning to remember what it's like to not be angry all the time.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): July is Reinvent Your Family Month, and today begins Home Improvement Week. Your short-term assignment is to beautify your sanctuary. Get rid of stuff that tends to keep you locked into sterile memories, and fill the place with fresh symbols and accessories that make you excited about the future. That should get you in the mood for the more demanding task, which is to change whatever needs to be changed in order to create the exact family feeling you have always wanted. (read your own) It's like it was "meant to be" - my stars read that I need a lot of home improvement on the day I discover Ty. It seems it is meant to be. Cheeky, spikey and good with his hands - did God make him especially for me because I've been such a good girl lately? I have so!! Two things I don't have that other people have: pictures of their cat, and an "about" section. And seeing as an About section isn't coming any-time-soon, here're cat pictures. I don't have a cat but I know one - she pretty much hates me but she sure in heck loves that troll doll. GOD DAMMIT.. I want this RIGHT NOW. When I bought my Mac this was $10,000 more expensive than it is today and i want it RIGHT NOW. I don't like the look of the new flat panels from Mac, plus the 30" weighs a ton! (well, a dozen kilos or so) and my trinitron's making funny click-cricketing sounds that only mean one thing - it will die the same day Totally Mac sells their last discounted flat panel display to some_one_else.