The Sailing Penguin

The Long Lost Penguin

2009-07-21T18:07:00.002+10:00

Hello everyone. Wow, I cannot believe it has been a year and a half since I last blogged!!

So much has been happening both in work and life, that I let blogging slide.

I am now in my own place after the bf and I finally bought our own place back in Potts Point where we used to live a few years back. Very happy to be back in the area again and even happier to be in our own home.

We have been through the whole renovation saga and nearly at the end of it, with only the floors and painting to be done.

I am now working in the new(ish)Navy Ward at St Vincent's Hospital and loving the new position. I have even been promoted since my last blog and am now a Chief....no not the Native American type....lol

Both the bf and I are taking some very well earned long service leave in just under a month and going travelling overseas for three months which is going to be awesome. So once again my blogging days will probably be numbered unless i get to an internet cafe or better still, I will see if I can blog on the iPhone.

Love to all

altraeis

Jeff Dunham and Peanut

2007-11-29T00:38:00.001+11:00

Search your feelings.....hehehehehehe

Jeff Dunham - Achmed the Dead Terrorist

2007-11-29T00:11:00.001+11:00

Silence!....I kill you!! hahahahahahahahahahahaha

The Move

2007-11-16T22:04:00.000+11:00

Even though we had only three weeks to find a new place to live due to major repairs that were needed to our current unit, we have finally secured a new abode...phew, talk about a weight off the shoulders.

The move is planned for Thu/Fri this week so will be in our new residence in a weeks time. Chippendale is where the new place is and is located on Clevelnad st about two blocks down from the Seymour center. Thankfully the apartment is facing a back st and so is rather quiet, which is good.

So once set up we shall have to have a house warming....any excuse for a few drinks...lol

Remembrance Day

2007-11-11T16:48:00.000+11:00

It is Remembrance Day today and both the Guvnr and I where down at the Cenotaph. He in his official capacity and me just as a sailor in uniform remembering.

Was a decent turn out and an excellent speech by an Army Colonel that brought tears to many eye's, including myself.

I was rather disturbed though on the walk back home with the amount of people, mostly Australian, that asked me why I was in uniform. Most had simply forgotten what day it was, though quite a lot didn't even know what Remembrance Day was.....very sad indeed.

Sigh...

Cup Day

2007-11-06T20:55:00.000+11:00

Hello again one and all, seems every time I say Im back and will keep the blog up to date I get busy and can't ... so I wont...lol

Today of course was the Melbourne Cup and down here they really get into the swing of things. Half day for most people. Spent the rest of the day in the Mess having a few drinks and doing the sweeps. No luck there I'm afraid.

I find it quite fascinating how one small sporting event can have evolved to such a major international event, simply astounds me.

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Things down here are much the same, though I am starting to feel more a part of the furniture, so to speak, and getting used to the new routines and how things are done.

I have even started up dancing lessons again. Started a beginners ballroom class when I was last here 6 years ago. Started up again and going Wednesday night for Latin class and Thursday night for Ballroom. A lot of fun and a really nice bunch of people there. So that will keep me occupied for a while.

That's about it for now....hope all are well

Simon

XOX

Word of the Day for Saturday, November 3, 2007

2007-11-03T20:32:00.000+11:00

politic \POL-ih-tik\, adjective:

1. Of or pertaining to polity, or civil government; political (as in the phrase "the body politic").

2. (Of persons): Sagacious in promoting a policy; ingenious in devising and advancing a system of management; characterized by political skill and ingenuity; hence, shrewdly tactful, cunning.

3. (Of actions or things): Pertaining to or promoting a policy; hence, judicious; expedient; as, "a politic decision."

He's not dead yet.

2007-10-30T23:21:00.000+11:00

I managed to complete my annual fitness test this morning a lot easier then I had anticipated. Especially seeing as I have done no sport of any type at all since the last test 12 months ago.

So completed the mandatory flexed arm hang and the sit ups, and then went for the 2.4km run. Being over 35 I have 15 min to complete the run and managed to run it in 11 min 22sec, so was very happy with that time.

Unfortunately for one of my young sailors who was playing soccer yesterday and managed to fracture her arm near the wrist. Ouch would be an understatement. At least it was her left arm and she is right handed, so I can at least still put her to work ... lol

Hope you are all doing well, I have been very slack and have not read anyones blog in a couple of weeks. Very bad of me I know, but I will endeavor to catch up on all your exploits over the next couple of days.

Till then take care

Simon

The Middle Aged and the Restless

2007-10-17T20:48:00.000+10:00

I seem to be coming to a stage of my life where I think I may actually be growing up. Yes wonders will never cease as they say.

In my new job down here in 'Hell's Toilet' as I have named it, I am what they call the regulator, or in simple speak, I look after all the staff from there job placement to their leave, to their training etc etc.

Up until now I had never really looked at a 20 odd year old and thought of them as, 'The younger generation', they have simply been younger then me. But alas things have been slowly changing and I have several times now looked at the silly things they do and shaken my head in wonder.

Seeing as over the last year I have been treating patients that were born the year I joined the Navy nearly 19 years ago, I think I can officially call myself middle aged, well early middle aged might sound better .... lol

When have those that have reached an age, thought of themselves as an adult?

Love to hear your thoughts.

Simon

XOX

The Penguin is back online

2007-10-16T21:27:00.000+10:00

Yes believe it or not I have finally managed to organise the internet down here in sunny Nowra, which for those that are unaware, it is about 2 1/2 hours south of Sydney on the coast.

Down here posted to HMAS Albatross which is the Naval Air Base. I am the Chief Regulator and Senior Clinical Manager of the Hospital here which is all a bit new but good as well. Who knew I would ever reach the dizzy heights of Chief!! lol

So I will now be based down here during the week and back home in Sydney on weekends. Bit of a crap arrangement in the short term, but very good for the long term career.

The base down here is pretty cool and the staff at the hospital all seem a pretty nice bunch of people. The next door town of Nowra on the other hand, well what can one say? I have not seem this much flanalette worn or so many people wearing Uggh boots since the 80's. Though the majority of the natives are friendly so thats all good.

So no I will have no excuse about not keeping my blog up to date.... If I don't, you can all slap me around a bit.

On that note I shall sign off and get the rest of the net stuff organised. Hope you are all doing well and I look forward to reading everyone's blogs to see how you have all been.

Simon XOX

Word of the Day

2007-10-05T17:55:00.001+10:00

Word of the Day for Friday, October 5, 2007

paroxysm \PAIR-uhk-siz-uhm\, noun:

1. (Medicine) A sudden attack, intensification, or recurrence of a disease.
2. Any sudden and violent emotion or action; an outburst; a fit.

We were fabulous

2007-10-03T15:15:00.000+10:00

Our Level Two scene presentations last night went off very very well and thankfully the audience laughed in all the right places. It was a real buzz and thank you to all those who came along to support me and the rest of the class.

Have the video and as soon as I can figure out how to get it from the camera to the MAC i will add my scene here and everyone else's to my Youtube profile.

Love you all ... Simon

Level Two Acting

2007-10-01T22:26:00.000+10:00

Well the time has come around again, sure seems to have flown by, nearly finished Level Two acting class and our performances are on tomorrow night.

Im doing a comedy scene from a play called 'After Dinner', by Andrew Bovell.

Basically two guys half drunk in a pub who open up and say a little too much about their personal problems.

Should be cool ... fingers crossed.

As you can see below, I have finally managed to buy a good video editing software program and managed to slice and dice our Level One performance and uploaded all our Monologues to Youtube. The one below is obviously mine.

Will also tape tomorow night's performance and have that up in the next couple of day's.

If anyone is interested and will be around the area tomorrow night are more then welcome to pop along and support local theatre. Only $5 so just send me a message for the details.

Till then .... Si

Simon Hooper

2007-10-01T21:44:00.001+10:00

This is my Level One acting class performance from the 10th of July 2007.

Australian Idol

2007-09-16T12:50:00.000+10:00

Don't forget to watch and vote on Australian Idol tonight ..... yes I know but a friend of mine is in the top 11 so vote your little hearts out. Go Carl!!!!!

The Sailing Penguin is back in port

2007-09-16T12:04:00.000+10:00

YES! ... I am alive

My most humble apologies for the lack of posting in the the last month or so, but with the critical shortages of Medics of my level, I have been filling in at several places over the last six months and have till now been on 4 different ships and 2 establishments in the last 9 months.

I am currently doing time on HMAS Melbourne and will be there till early October before heading back to HMAS Albatross near Nowra on the South Coast. Until another ship's senior Medic falls over and needs a relief that is ... lol

As annoying as it seems being all over the place, it is actually quite good at the same time, and I am rather enjoying doing the temp thing.

That's where I am work wise and alas because of all the work, there is very little to tell from a home point of view. The Guvnr and I are still plodding along nicely but with both of us working a lot recently there has been little socialising apart from the odd dinner here and there. Which hopefully with the ship being alongside for the next few weeks, we may be able to change that and stop neglecting all our friends as seems to be the case recently. Never fear, we both still love you all ... :-)

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My level II acting class is going well, though I did miss 3 weeks in a row due to being at sea and was afraid that I would not be able to finish this level. Thankfully they seem to think that I am doing ok and are letting me finish this level.

This level as I have previously spoken about finishes with a scene. The scene I am doing is from the play 'After Dinner' by Andrew Bovell. It is basically a pub scene were after a few beers two guys start to confide to each other about personal issues. It is a very funny scene and fingers crossed should go down well on the night.

The scenes from all the class will be presented on Tuesday night the 2nd of October and once again anyone that would like to come along and support local theatre are more then welcome. It is only $5 and you get to see the level I class do their monologues and then after a short intermission my level II class will do our scenes.

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I shall leave it there as I don't want to make this post too big. I know from personal experience that when I see a very long blog, I tend not to read it. Short and sweet I always say.

One last thing though is to thank everyone for their birthday wishes for last month. Even though I was away it was lovely to get all your wishes. Thank you and a big hug to everyone.

Simon

XOX

The 80's - Oh dear!!

2007-08-02T15:14:00.001+10:00

My apologies for my lack of posts this week, but it is amazing how busy you get doing nothing when you are on holidays .... lol

The Blogger meet on Sunday at the Tilbury was excellent and I got to meet several of the bloggers whom I read, which was awesome.

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The rest of the week has been fairly uneventful but nice in a bumming around the house way. Certainly enjoying my last few days off before the move down to Nowra on Sunday.

Tuesday night saw me at the first class of Level II acting. It was great to be back at it, and amazingly it was evident to myself how much more confident I felt this time around. Had heaps of fun and stayed out with a few of them till well after midnight having a few drinks ... ooops

Wednesday night we took a friend of ours to Slide for a dinner and show for his birthday. The show, which was called the Super Supremes, was excellent and by far the best show I have seen there. It was a comedy musical show with three white girls dressed up in Mowtown get up and doing songs by Diana Ross and the Supremes and Aretha Franklin etc. Very funny and musically awesome. The harmonies and arrangements of some of the songs were just amazing.

The show was such a success that Mark is going to rebook them to do another show a bit later on down the track. I will def be going back for seconds and encourage anyone else that likes that style of music to go along.

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As requested by other bloggers, here is a bit of a blast from the past, come embarrassing thing that is going around the blogger world at the moment. This would be posting pictures of yourself from back in the good old 80's. So without further ado here are a few pics of both myself and the Guvnr from way back then ... please don't laugh TOO loudly. lol

HOME SWEET HOME

2007-07-28T17:55:00.000+10:00

Yes; I am back from our little week-long holiday to Wellington New Zealand.

It was an excellent week of rest and relaxation; just what we needed.

The weather of course was cold and very windy, no wonder the tour guide called Wellington the 'well-ventilated city'. But aside from a light morning shower on one day, the sun shone for the rest of the week, so we couldn't ask for much more.

We did a lot of the tourist things; including an organised city tour and an all-day tour up to Palliser Bay that included showing us some of the sites where Lord of the Rings scenes were filmed and a visit to a seal colony, which was excellent. We were able to get right up near the seals without too much drama at all; they just lay there and looked at us. I guess they were wondering who the hell we were!

The altar inside Old St Paul's Cathedral

The Guvnr in front of a working windmill at a flax plant.

Me in the mountains somewhere on the way to the chocolate shop.

Palliser Bay

Another image of the Bay; no wonder so many ships came to grief here. Beautiful though just the same. We 'enjoyed' climbing the 258 steps up to the Cape Palliser lighthouse... The view was well worth it, with the South Island clearly visible across the Cook Straight.

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I of course had to take the Guvnr to a restaurant called Hummingbird, where I had been when I was in Wellington with the ship a couple of years ago. My memory didn't disappoint- the food was awesome and the coffee perfect, especially as they do it in a bowl.

The majority of the time we spent just walking around the city, seeing the local culture and doing a spot of shopping. We did get the chance to go and see a local musical put on at the Cirque Theatre called "Monarchy The Musical", which was very funny and quite witty. Especially if you know anything about the monarchy through history. With any luck, someone will pick it up and there will be a production here in Sydney some day. Well worth seeing.

The national Museum, called Te Papa, was excellent, very well thought out and set up with a lot of interactive stuff for the kids and even us big kids. This would have to be the best museum I have ever been to and well worth a visit.

On one of the days we drove up the coast and then inland to a town called Martinborough, which is a big winery area. The Guvnr got to taste some nice wines. Meanwhile, I awaited our arrival in a village called Greytown just up the road and a visit to the Schoc shop, which as the name alludes to is a chocolate shop. As soon as you walk in the aroma of fine chocolates just rolls over you. Yummm... Needless to say, we spent a fair amount of time in there and walked away with plenty of chocolate. Their hot chocolate drink was even better then the Lindt one here in Sydney.

That is about the trip in summary and a really nice place for a relaxing visit if anyone is thinking of going. The landscape is of course just beautiful, but do not expect it to be very touristy as it isn't. That's what Auckland is for, although that is one place I certainly don't want to go back too.

So good to be back home and how very nice it was to sleep in my own bed last night. Nothing quite like it really....

Blogger Meet!!

2007-07-19T20:06:00.001+10:00

Just been reading through my favourite blogs after being tipped off by monty and have discovered that in fact there is a Sydney Blogger meet planned.

I will be there for sure, especially seeing as we only live up the road from the venue, though the Guvnr may be working but will be there if he can.

The meet is at the Tilbury in Woolloomooloo on Sunday the 29th of July from 1700 so I hope to see as many of you fellow bloggers there as can make it.

PST and other things.

2007-07-19T17:32:00.000+10:00

Well it is PST (Pink Shirt Thursday) once again and I had the pleasure to have lunch today with none other then the veritable PST man himself Monty which was of course lovely. Very tasty indeed, and the lunch wasn't bad either..lol

Here is a pic taken by Monty on my PDA.

There is very little to report this week as I have been on leave and doing very little aside from vegetating at home and completely relaxing, which really is what I needed.

Someone did ask me about the meaning, or more accurately, the derivation of the user name altraeis that I use for just about all my online chats and the like. Well I thought about how to answer this and tried to come up with some exciting reason, but instead I will tell you the truth, and that is, that it is a made up name.

Many years ago I was getting mighty annoyed at having quite a few different user names and passwords for all these different web sites. Was getting to the point of mass confusion on my part. So I decided I needed a unique user name.

For those that don't know, I am a Pagan and so I performed a small spell casting before I went to sleep one night to help find a name. I awoke the next morning quite forgetting the spell and went to work as normal. After I got home I went to log in and I typed altraeis instead of the usual user name for that site. I just looked, smiled and thanked the Goddess..... and there you have it.

This will probably be my last post for a week as the Guvnr and I are off to Wellington New Zealand in the early hours of Saturday morning for a week and a well earned break. Will make sure I take plenty of pics and post all about the holiday once we get back. I have a new digital SLR camera now, so I certainly have no excuses now.

My sister and her husband got a Nintendo Wii for Christmas and through a website for that you are able to make up a cartoon type character of yourself. Not very accurate, but as close as one can with a computer generated program. So here is what we came up with for me....

Have fun with whatever you are all doing over the next week and I shall speak again on return from the land of the long white cloud.

Hugs to you all....

Putting It Together - onstage blooper - w/John Barrowman

2007-07-13T17:46:00.001+10:00

This is an absolute classic of a blooper.....I laughed so much i had tears. Very funny indeed.

Word of the Week - abstruse

2007-07-13T15:28:00.001+10:00

Word of the Day for Monday, June 25, 2007

abstruse \ab-STROOS; uhb-\, adjective:

Difficult to comprehend or understand.

Einstein's theories of relativity, so abstruse yet so disturbing in the popular press of the 1930s.
-- David J. Skal, Screams of Reason

Revamp

2007-07-12T21:03:00.000+10:00

I decided to have a bit of a play and update my blog. This is what I have come up with so far, though still needs a few tweaks. I'm not very confident with HTML, so all a bit of trial and error....

Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

The last couple of days have been nice and relaxing at home and popping into town for a little shopping and coffee with the Guvnr. Noice

Tonight he is out having a few drinks with the work crew, though due home soon to have some Leek & Potato soup that I whipped up this afternoon. I cooked a Corned Silverside last night for dinner and instead of throwing away the seasoned water it was cooked in, I decided to use it as a stick base for the soup. It has turned out quite well, even if I do say so myself...

Going to have a movie day tomorrow and go see a couple of movies, probably Transformers, Fantastic Four and Harry Potter, just for a bit of culture....lol Has anyone seen either of these?

Hugs S

XOX

The Day After ...

2007-07-11T08:50:00.000+10:00

WOW, it all went so well last night. Feel so relieved but proud all at the same time. A real sense of achievment woohoo

I was starting to get quite nervous during the afternoon, but managed to control my breathing and was doing ok. Got to the Theatre and we started setting the place up and getting our props in the right spot etc etc and all was well.

Then we had a run through for the first time on stage in front of the lights, but without the audience, i freaked and forgot my lines three times. I felt like walking out right there and then and felt like I was letting everyone down.

This is one of my biggest fears and the reason why I decided to do the acting course, im fine till im up in front of everyone and know that everyone is looking at ME.

But I told myself to stay and just do it, if I forget my lines I will just improvise and say anything, as long as I didn't let everyone else down.

When we were all offstage waiting for our entrance we ALL got very very nervous but thankfully we all realised at the same time and we had a bit of a chuckle which helped settle the nerves somewhat.

Then it was on with the show and as they say, it WAS all right on the night. We all did really well with no forgotten lines or any major dramas and the audience loved it all and we got a huge reaction.

Thank you to those that came to see us and thank you to all those who have given me words of support over the past few months. It was and is very much appreciated and respected.

I have contacted my boss to be down the Coast and arranged to leave work early on Tuesday afternoons so I can drive back to Sydney to do Level 2 Acting ..........!!

Thanx to you all

Huggles XOX

The Big Day !

2007-07-10T11:37:00.000+10:00

What a great week it has been.

Had an awesome time with my son and it was good to see the family again for his birthday which went really well. He had a ball and got heaps of presents.

He flew back to Melbourne Sunday night and now it seems very quiet here without him. It always amazes me how much he changes in just a few months each time I see him.

Today of course is my big stage debut and I must say I'm rather nervous but at the same time very much looking forward to it. The rehearsals have gone really well and barring any incidents, it should all be right on the night as they say.

To all the friends and family that are coming to be in the audience, I thank you in advance for your support. It will be great to see you all there and afterwards as I'm sure we will all need a small glass of something to celebrate.

I will let the rest of you know how it went tomorrow, and all the monologues will be taped as well and I believe they will be put on youtube. So I will let you all know the link when I do so you can have a look.

Another Week - But with a good ending

2007-07-01T01:00:00.000+10:00

Well another week has sped past with no posting till now. Seems work just keeps getting in the road of a good social life ... lol

As busy as it was, it was good in a sense as it was my last day on the ship, and I am now on a five (5), yes you heard it right 'FIVE', week leave period before I move down the coast into my new position as the Clinical Manager of the base's Health Centre.

Aside from work, the week went well with the Tuesday night acting class going really well and I actually did manage to get all my lines out and not get too nervous when up in front of the whole class. Just over a week now till the big day.

Last night was the best night of the week with the arrival of my son Callum from Melbourne on the very last plane into Sydney airport. It is always awesome to see him again and after not seeing him since January, there has been quite a growth in him. Not to mention the new 'apparentley in fashion' long shaggy hair.

So the plan for the five weeks goes something like this:

Week One - With Callum, including a few days out in Dubbo to see the grandparents on Callum's birthday.

Week Two - Nothing but ME ME ME ..... No plans just relax and indulge and go out.

Weeks 3&4 - Guvnr and I are off to Wellington for a week which will be great. Some time for ourselves for a change.

Week 5 - Nothing but ME ME ME again, lol. Which ends with my going back into work for a couple of hours to get promoted, woohoo!!!

Now that I have no work, there will be no excuse for me not to post more frequently. As a penance I will post here a man of the week I came across and thought very worthy to be displayed for all to see.

Word of the week -

2007-07-01T00:54:00.000+10:00

convivial \kuhn-VIV-ee-uhl\, adjective:

Relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company; merry; festive.

Young Sam, steeped in the family's endless storytelling, confessions, musings about their aspirations, and bickering about politics, seemed destined to become happy and convivial.
-- Andrew Hoffman, Inventing Mark Twain

p.s. ..... sound like another Sam we know perhaps? ...... lol

PST - uncovered

2007-07-01T00:46:00.000+10:00

At the behest of a couple of fellow bloggers, I have decided to get a little more adventurous with my PST pics. These ones where obviously done inside, but my goal is to get a couple outside, eventually. Once I work up the nerve. lol

Oh Dear

2007-06-23T13:02:00.001+10:00

Way too annoying to leave up....lol

Word of the Week - Quiescent

2007-06-23T11:38:00.001+10:00

quiescent \kwy-ES-uhnt; kwee-\, adjective:

Being in a state of repose; at rest; still; inactive.

The solution, Dr. Wilmut discovered, was to, in effect, put the DNA from the adult cell to sleep, making it quiescent by depriving the adult cell of nutrients.
-- Gina Kolata, "Scientist Reports First Cloning Ever of Adult Mammal", New York Times, February 23, 1997

The week in retrospect

2007-06-23T11:23:00.001+10:00

Once again I have been very slack in the posting stakes, the only excuse being that I have been exceptionally busy.

Last weekend saw me working Friday night and then jumping on a plane to Dubbo early Saturday morning after work for a surprise 40th birthday party for my brother which went off really well. This was a big thing in my family as you can NEVER keep anything secret ... lol But this time they managed and he had no idea at all which was great. My sister even managed to find our brothers best friend from school who he had not seen in 20 years, so that was a huge surprise as well.

I was off on course again this week, EMSB (Emergency Management of Severe Burns), or the BBQ as the students nick named it. A very good course aimed at teaching us a bit more then the basics we already knew and how we can best look after a burned patient when we are out at sea and away from definitive care, where there will be a delay in getting the patient to a proper burns unit. Very worth while.

Acting class is going well and next week we all have to get up in front of the rest of the class and deliver our monolgue. This is the week where we have to have all our words down... scary. Only a couple more weeks till the big day ...... gulp. The big day is Tuesday the 10th of July and anyone can come along and watch. So if anyone is interested then just let me know. Heckling not allowed.... lol

One more week of work ont he ship and then I am blessidly on leave for four weeks before I start work down the coast. So looking forward to some time off. Callum, my son, will be coming up for the first week as it thankfully coinsides with the Victorian school holidays. I will have him for his 12th birthday which will be awesome. He is very excited about the plane trip back as he will be able to fly as an adult and not as an unaccompanied minor. He hates being down the back of the plane with the women as he calls the hosties. lol

That's the update for now, take care of yourselves...

Si

XOXOXO

PST for the Guvnr

2007-06-18T18:14:00.001+10:00

A little late I know but here is a pic of the Guvnr on PST last week......What a handsome fella.....

The week of woes, worries and wonders

2007-06-11T19:39:00.000+10:00

Yes I have finally arrived home and here I sit to fill you all in on the week-and-a-bit that was.

As you know, I headed off to sea on HMAS Newcastle on Monday for the week as they headed up to sunny Cairns. Though Cairns was in fact sunny, nothing about the trip up the coast was. Rained almost non-stop the whole way, but thankfully it was not rough, so only had to treat three for sea-sickness thank goodness.

The week in total was really good and it was interesting to see what life at sea is like on an FFG (Fast Frigate Guided) as I had never served on one previously. The layout of the place took me a couple of days to work out, but thankfully, I didn't find myself too lost.

A good bunch of people all up and had a good time, though alas I managed to pick up the dreaded 'lurgy' off one of my patients, which has not been the most fun. Especially descending in the plane on the way back to Sydney and being unable to valvesalva.....ouch would be an understatement.

Speaking of the plane trip, until I arrived at Carins airport I had never in my life had a problem at an airport. Not a lost bag, not a rude staff member and never a delay of more then half an hour. Apparently, I'm told I have been very lucky. Well, that all changed when I arrived at Cairns airport 40 minutes before my plane was to depart, thinking to myself that the rush was worth it to get here before the '30 minutes before the flight' routine.

I was told by the quite rude lady behind the Qantas desk that I was too late to catch the flight. With a startled look on my face I questioned this and said that the cut off is half an hour and I still had 40 minutes before the flight was to depart. She promptly and curtly informed me that in Cairns the cut off time for flights is one hour.

I further questioned this and said that it was normal policy for it to be half an hour for domestic flights and one hour for international flights. "Not in Cairns", she spits at me. She then goes on to dismiss me, but I managed to get out of her who I should speak too in regards to this.

So in a very annoyed stride, I strode to this other lady in question, reminding myself to be calm and reasonable. Well once this COMPLETE bitch opened her mouth I knew I was not going to get anywhere. The best she could do for me was to book me on the next available flight, which was not until the following morning. So I shut up and let her rebook the flight and went outside to breathe.

To cut a long story short, I contacted the Qantas business centre to see if they could do anything. Thankfully they were wonderful and even though there were no available Qantas flights on Friday night, she booked me on a Virgin flight. I was happy with that, even though it meant a 2-and-a-bit hour wait, at least I would be home.

Unfortunatly due to the horrible weather down the coast, the plane was delayed several times and didn't leave till much later. Still I got home just before midnight.

Yes I will be lodging a formal complaint about the Cairns Qantas people.

The following day, the Guvnr ending up having to pop into work for the morning to make sure everything was going along well due to the wild weather and we finally departed for the Blue Mountains mid-afternoon.

The long weekend in the mountains is an annual event that a big group of friends go along to called the Queens Ball. It is hosted by a local GLBT group called the Three Sisters Social Club. It is a fancy dress ball with a main theme and each group of people come up with their own adaptation to the theme and get dressed up. It's a great night every time and this year was no exception.

Unfortunatly the Guvnr was recalled to work at 0200 Sunday morning....ewwww.....though he didnt have to leave till 0700 so that wasnt tooooo bad. So he drove back to Sydney to start a 12 hour shift routine...ughhhh

The theme this year was 'A Latin Affair', so our group went outside the box, as we usually do, and went along as the Brazillian football team. We looked great and the table that we had set up as a soccer field looked awesome. Here are a couple of pics of the night.

I shall have to leave it there for now as it is getting late, the Guvnr has arrived home, it's time for dinner and I need to get ready for a Military Legal Proceeding tomorrow........more about that tomorrow.

Love to you all and I hope you all had a great long weekend....for those that got one..lol

Simon

XOX

The Last Post - for a while

2007-06-03T18:38:00.001+10:00

Well my friends I am off to sea for the week so this will be my last missive for around 10 days. I am off sailing on HMAS Newcastle, which is heading up to Cairns.

I then will be flown back to Sydney on Friday night and pretty much jump straight into the car so the Guvnr and I can head up to the Blue mountains for the annual Queen's Birthday Ball, which is always a great weekend. Back home Monday.

One thing I have been remiss in mentioning in my blog is the fact that after several years of saying that I should, I finally worked up the courage to go to Drama School!! Yes the Drama Queen is going to Drama Lessons.....no comment necessary there. I am doing it with the Darlinghurst Theatre Company and it has so far been excellent, both in learning confidence, and the sheer fun of it all. I certainly didn't think that acting could be so much fun.

This week marks the halfway point in the course and, if i was going to be here and not sent off to sea, would be receiving my monologue. At the end of the course in mid July I have to give it not only to a live audience, but to a live paying audience!! To say that I am a little nervous of the whole performance would be a gross understatement. Thankfully, or maybe not, the audience will be filled with all the performers friends and family who pay a staggering $5 to watch us at our acting debut.

Even though the monologues are only around 3-5 min in length, it is still at this point in time a daunting challenge, but one that I am looking forward to. Mainly to proove to myself that I CAN get up infront of an audience and speak without stammering and speaking so quickly that the 5 min monologue is delivered in 30 sec.

Let's just hope that the saying, "it will be alright on the night", is true.

Well that is about all I have for now and so I shall go and talk to you all again in about 10 days on our return from the Mountains. Look after yourselves and take care of each other.

Love & Hugs

Simon

My friend Kim

2007-06-03T18:33:00.000+10:00

A dear friend of mine has recently signed up to a model agency and her first set of pics are awesome so I thought I would share them with you all. I am SOOOOOOO proud of her for having the courage to persue her dream. Well done Kim.

Of course if anyone is interested in hiring the lovely Kim for an ad or walkway somewhere exotic then please feel free to let me know.......

Word of the week - bon vivant

2007-06-03T18:32:00.000+10:00

bon vivant \bon-vee-VONT\, noun:

A person with refined and sociable tastes, especially one who enjoys fine food and drink.

For the unregenerate "peasant" (the term that he often used about his mother, whom he despised) had gone there with the successful glass distributor, shrewd investor, versatile talker, and . . . bon vivant whose motto was "The best is good enough for me."
-- Ted Solotaroff, Truth Comes in Blows

PST - Pink Shirt Thursday

2007-05-31T19:54:00.000+10:00

Well I have finally gotten myself organised to join the PST fraternity, though had to do it surreptitiously under my coveralls...hehehehe

Puberty Pals starring Amy Sedaris

2007-05-29T09:57:00.001+10:00

Who, What, When & Me!

2007-05-28T16:28:00.000+10:00

Thanx to Much Ado About Monty whom i pinched this from...

ON THE OUTSIDE
Me: male
Date of birth: 07 Aug 69
Current status: Partnered to the Guvnor
Eye color: Hazel
Hair color: Dark Brown
Right or left handed: Right.
Zodiac: Leo

ON THE INSIDE
My heritage: English /Scottish/French
My fear: Drowning
My weakness: Chocolate & Cigarettes
My perfect pizza: Cabanosi, olives, mozzarella, BBQ sauce, onion

YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW
Your first thought waking up: Wheres the snooze button?
Tomorrow: Day off to be home with the builders
Your bedtime: Any time around 2300
Most missed memory: Where?

YOUR PICK
Pepsi or Coke: Pepsi
McD or Burger King: McDonalds.
Single or group dates: Group dates
Adidas or Nike: whatever I like the most at the time
Lipton Tea or Nestea: Billy tea for me
Chocolate or vanilla: chocolate of course, what a silly question
Cappuccino or coffee: Latte

DO YOU...?
Smoke: Yes
Curse: When needed

IN THE PAST MONTH, HAVE YOU...?
Drunk alcohol: Is the PM a ditz?
Gone to the mall: Im in Potts Point sweety, we dont do malls, we have arcades
Been on stage: Not yet, get back to me in 7 weeks
Eaten sushi: No way, never, not on your life, over my stone cold and rotting corpse

WHAT WERE YOU DOING...?
1 minute ago: Answering this
1 hour ago: Leaving work
1 month ago: I was duty on the ship
1 year ago: Just arrived home after being in the Gulf for 6 months and happily on holidays at home

FINISH THE SENTENCE
I love: my son and the Guvnor
I feel: Tired from workign all night but good all the same
I hate: Idiot people doing idiot things
I hide: too much of who i really am on the inside
I miss: my son
I need: to win powerball

What Tarot Card are You?

2007-05-25T23:21:00.000+10:00

You are The Magician

Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.

Eleoquent and charismatic both verbally and in writing,
you are clever, witty, inventive and persuasive.

The Magician is the male power of creation, creation by willpower and desire. In that ancient sense, it is the ability to make things so just by speaking them aloud. Reflecting this is the fact that the Magician is represented by Mercury. He represents the gift of tongues, a smooth talker, a salesman. Also clever with the slight of hand and a medicine man - either a real doctor or someone trying to sell you snake oil.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Firefighters fight bondage centre blaze

2007-05-24T21:46:00.000+10:00

Here is a news story from the Sydney Morning Herald on the 23rd of May. Very funny indeed.

Fire has whipped through a room in a bondage and discipline centre, causing about $100,000 damage.

Metropolitan Fire Brigade crews were called to The Correction Centre in Fitzroy, Melbourne, shortly after 10.15pm yesterday.

They contained the fire to a room on the first floor of the two-storey building.

No one was injured but much of the upper level was damaged by heat and smoke.

The fire was under control in about 30 minutes, Acting Commander Ala McLean told Southern Cross radio.

"It was fairly quickly controlled. It was a small fire. Once they gained access into the first-floor area it was reasonably quickly extinguished," Mr McLean said.

A candle is thought to be the cause of the fire.

The Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services board said: "MBF firefighters were tied up for some time but disciplined and controlled firefighting contained the blaze to one room on the second floor of the two storey building."

What Follows

2007-05-22T17:04:00.000+10:00

How hot is John Barrowman!!!!!

He can sing,

He can dance,

He can Ice Skate,

He can act,

and he's Gay!!!

I think I'll swoon now....

Found these clips when doing a search for the following Dr Who skit that I had heard of. It is a comic relief sketch featuring David Tennant and Cathrine tate. Very funny indeed.

Enjoy

David Tennant & Cathrine Tate comic relief sketch

2007-05-22T17:02:00.000+10:00

John Barrowman - Sunset Boulevard

2007-05-22T17:01:00.000+10:00

John Barrowman - I am what I am

2007-05-22T17:00:00.000+10:00

John Barrowman - Maria

2007-05-22T16:57:00.000+10:00

Two weeks of ??

2007-05-20T21:31:00.000+10:00

Evening one and all, yes I am still alive and here I post......

Been a very busy couple of weeks since I last posted anything of import and with the Guvnor on his way to Bathurst for work, I find myself with some time to sit down and hopefully write something meaningfull. If that fails, then I will just prattle on as I normally do.

The biggest news is that I finally worked up the courage to start a Drama Course. Started two weeks ago, every Tuesday night for 4 hours and runs for 10 weeks with the Darlinghurst Theatre. Been a lot of fun so far, though a little nervous about the last night....that's when we have to get up on stage at the Theatre and do a monologue in front of friends and family...eeeek Though I am hoping that by then my confidence will be higher and I will have learnt what I need to not make a complete fool of myself.

The Guvnor and I went along to our first outing to the BSB last Sunday afternoon with the gorgeous Superchilled and the Frenchman, The Patient Man, Much Ado About Monty, and finally got to meet Aussielicious. Was a lovely afternoon and the coffee was good, though I am led to believe that their Hot chocolate is to to go crazy over, so I shall have to try one of those next time.

Superchilled's race around the world has been alot of fun and I narrowly missed out on winning the last leg by a huge margin of 2 minutes.....argghhh.....lol Well done on that one Peter.

As much fun as taking part in these little adventures is, I am not sure I am up to Aussilicious's latest task, that of nude phototaking in compromising locations.......though certainly looking forward to seing the entries.....lol

Came across this pic a while ago and loved it, so thought I would share:

The latest word of the week word have to be this:

sapid \SAP-id\, adjective:

1. Having taste or flavor, especially having a strong pleasant flavor.
2. Agreeable to the mind; to one's liking.

I've raved about the elegant and earthy lobster-and-truffle sausage, the sapid sea bass with coarse salt poached in lobster oil, and the indescribably complex and delectable ballottine of lamb stuffed with ground veal, sweet-breads and truffles.
-- James Villas, "Why Taillevent thrives", Town & Country, March 1, 1998

The last theatrical outing, aside from the Drama course, was to go along to the Mosman RSL and see an amature production of Bat Boy the musical by the Mosman Cinema Arts. I must say that it would have to be the best Amature production I have seen in a long time. Very funny and musically apt. Well worth seeing if anyone is in the mood.

Well that will have to do for now as it is past time I was heading off to bed......I will endeavour to post more frequently in future and prattle on about something else.

Do svidaniya,

Simon xox

Madonna Vs. The Eurythmics - Another Sweet Dream Dies

2007-05-12T11:38:00.001+10:00

Now Im not one to usually like remixes, especially any featuring my fav singers. This one is one of those exceptions. Who would have ever thought that these two would sound so good together. The video is well done as well.

Doll Face

2007-05-12T10:24:00.001+10:00

Wow.....see what happens when we try to be what we see on tv!!.....a great video.

Chris Evans!!!

2007-05-03T18:37:00.000+10:00

To celebrate the appearance of Chris Evans in Sydney last night I shall put up a couple of my favourite pics of him. As for you Monty and The Patient Man who got to see him last night...........pftftftftftftfttftftftft, i hate you for at least the next 5 minutes....

Word of the Week Wednesday

2007-05-03T18:14:00.000+10:00

termagant \TUR-muh-guhnt\, noun:

1. A scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman; a shrew.
2. Overbearing; shrewish; scolding.

The termagant who had dragged him out on long, boring walks, who had tried in vain to censor his reading, who had labelled him an impious liar and criminal, was dead at last, and the boy, hearing a servant say 'she has passed away', sank to his knees on the kitchen floor to thank God for so great a deliverance.
-- Jonathan Keates, Stendhal

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Wednesday nights I have been hooked into watching Heroes, I must say from a less than impressive beginning, the show has really started to come along in it's pace and the characters are now starting to have a bit of depth.

Last night's episode was one of the best i thought, much more into understanding who these people are and where they came from.

I must say I have not been as excited about a tv show since the last series of Dr Who. Now thats a show I am hoping we get again soon. Apparantly they had trouble with getting the rights for the third episode.. Though after just finding out that none other then our Kylie Minogue will be appearing in this years Dr Who Christmas special as a female cyberman, or is that cyber women? or cyber person?...hmmm I'll leave that one to the experts. Needless to say it will interesting to see it come December, but then again we havn't even seen last years Christmas special. Sigh!!!

-------------------------------------------------

I just had to post this pic when I came accross it today. My apologies for those who dont like looking at wilies......

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Temptation Tuesday

2007-05-01T19:39:00.000+10:00

Another Tuesday has crept up on me already. The day's just seem to be flying by lately. All feeling very weird to be honest, I have been feeling quite 'out of it' for a while now. Must be an early mid life crisis I think.....I feel life is going by too fast and Im always playing catch up at the moment. May be I just need a good holiday, and speaking of such I am having a sort of mini holiday this weekend. Flying to Hobart on Saturday afternoon an not coming back till Tuesday, so that should be a good time to rest and recoup. Im not planning on doing anything but spa bath's, shopping, reading and of course one cannot go to Hobart without visiting the Chocolate factory.

------------------------------------------------------

OK, time for the temptation part of Tuesday.......who shall the lucky one be this week?

None other then Josh Wald........yummmm

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Musical Monday

2007-04-30T20:20:00.000+10:00

Had a huge weekend with all the Melb boys coming up to Sydney to see a few shows. Was fantastic to catch up with them all again.

So on Friday Night we went to see Pippin at the State Theatre. Not the best performance I must say, very weak vocally but certainly a great deal of enthusiasm by most cast members. One in particular should learn where on stage he is meant to be a bit harder.....

Straight after Pippin we stayed and watched 'Up close & Musical', which was great. It is basically a showcase of established and upcoming singers. Everyone was great but Genevieve Lemon stole the show. What an amazing lady with an amazing voice.

Saturday the boys saw her again in her current role in Priscilla the Musical and they loved it as was expected.

Saturday night was meant to be a nice early dinner so the boys could get a good nights sleep before flying back to Melb Sunday morning. Well a few of them went home, but the rest of us didnt get home till after 0230 and we managed to polish off a bottle of Bombay....ooops...lol

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Word of the Week Wednesday

2007-04-25T21:47:00.002+10:00

Firstly I must beg your forgiveness for the lack of posts over the last few days. I can only claim to be too busy and too lazy as my excuses.......

I have just added Michael Buble's new film clip to take care of Musical Monday....Now to find a nice pic for Temptation Tuesday....Be right Back......ok as penance I have uploaded two pics.....

We do like them angry, you can just imagine how that argument would end up!!.......drool

This is a cute pic I found somewhere on the net several years ago that I always liked. If anyone knows the artist then please let me know, I would love to see more of his/her work.

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Today would be Wednesday so that would mean that it is time for the word of the week......and the word of the week is?...............(drum Roll)........................

brio \BREE-oh\, noun:

Enthusiastic vigor; vivacity; liveliness; spirit.

Though my judgment was no doubt affected by all the wine we'd consumed, I remember being elated by our performance that night: our inspired spur-of-the-moment dialogue, the actors fleshing out their roles with such brio.
-- Gail Godwin, Evensong

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Today of course was Anzac Day and as a good little Sailor I got up early to attend Dawn service. I was a little excited as after all these years in the Navy, I had yet to experience an Anzac Day in Sydney, so was very much looking forward to it.

The persistant rain certainly didn't help, but I was well pleased to see so many people in Martin place for the service, though it is the service itself that I was sorely dissapointed in.

It was very mechanical and lacked any heart at all. It was simply a guy reading from a prepared speech and program who's voice lacked any sense of feeling or dignity.

It lacked greatly in pride and produced very little emotive response in many people there, whom I also overheard many commenting on their dissapointment in the service.

Hopefully things will be better next year.

The march through the city on the other hand was great. A good feeling of warmth and love and above all else pride. Not even the on again off again rain and the eventual downpour, which thankfully didn't last long, could put much of a dampner on it.

From there I visited a couple of the RSL clubs to catch up with friends and as a big surprise I caught up with a few friends I had not seen in years. Was an awesome morning, and of course talking to the diggers made it even better.

Lest We Forget,

Simon xx

Michael Bublé - Everything

2007-04-25T21:47:00.001+10:00

Here is Michael Buble's latest film clip for his new single Everything....enjoy

Free For All Friday

2007-04-21T11:16:00.000+10:00

What Cheeses me off!

I'm sure I get worse as I get older, things that I once would not even have noticed now really get to me.

1. People going to the 10 items or less queue in the supermarket with obviously more then 10 items cheese me off.

2. The fact that the signs always say 10 items or less rather than 10 items or fewer cheeses me off.

3. People who are so stupid that they will believe any old pseudo-scientific rubbish cheese me off. (i.e. these tablets will 'melt fat' from your body).

4. People who drive huge gleamingly polished 4x4 fuel guzzling, pollution blasting, dangerous- to-pedestrian vehicles in town cheeses me off.

5. Trying to telephone a company and getting a long-winded badly designed automatic anwering system that just pointlessly runs up my phone bill cheeses me off.

6. One that is more a frustration then a cheese off for me is starting a new roll of double layered toilet paper. Sometimes it's really difficult to get those two layers synchronised.
Just when you think you have it right (after wasting half the roll trying) you find that those little serations STILL don't line up! lol, I wonder if the Queen has this problem. Maybe she has a special servant assigned to the task, though how that position would appear on one's resume, I dont know.

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Happy Feet - Gloria and Mumble Boogie Wonderland

2007-04-20T13:56:00.001+10:00

I love this movie.....

Theatrical Thursday

2007-04-19T13:08:00.000+10:00

Wednesday night I went to Slide to see the Nina Simone tribute show by Lias Schouw. Lisa I must say is a very talented performer and what a unique voice, and I would love to her more of her singing other songs.

Not being an afficionado of Nina Simone, or even being able to name a Nina Simone song, I was open minded yet unsure of what to expect of the show.

Although I very muched enjoyed the performance by Lisa, and was surprised at not only the variety of songs and indeed the amount of songs that I did actually know, just sung by other people, but - yes there is always a but - I will have to say that I am not a fan of Nina Simons style of singing.

Rick of course was pherklemp and n arriving home immedialty put on some real Nina Simone, but alas I liked that even less then the show. Still we can't all like the same things I guess.

I will say though that if anyone is a Nina Simone fan, then you really should go along and see the show.

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Word of the Week Wednesday

2007-04-18T18:35:00.000+10:00

bedaub \bih-DOB\, transitive verb:

1. To smudge over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and dirty.

2. To overdecorate; to ornament showily or excessively.

The patient's signature is less neat than usual, not only because of his agitated state but also, quite possibly, because the pen is so bedaubed with chocolate that it slips through his fingers.
-- Marcel Beyer, "The Karnau Tapes.", Grand Street, Fall 1997

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What is there to say, im still on holidays and all I have done today was to get a massage.....oh it's a hard life.....lol

Just about to head out to Slide to see a show, so will talk about that tomorrow.

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Temptation Tuesday

2007-04-17T19:18:00.002+10:00

Yes it is Tuesday again and time for a new 'temptation', hope you like.

First day of my mini holiday today and it was great to have a little sleep in and then do nothing for most of the day. So no work for me till Sunday....Yeah!!!!

Once again America has another masacre and still they have no intention of changing the gun laws. Will they ever learn!?

And now for a couple of stupid jokes...

1. Why was the archeologist depressed?

Because his career was in ruins!

2. What happened when the wheel was invented?

It caused a revolution!

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Musical Monday

2007-04-17T19:18:00.001+10:00

This week's pick is Michael Buble's new single 'Everything' from his upcoming album 'Irresponsible'. Slightly different and has a more modern feel to it, yet still has the buble edge to it.

If the album is the same then he will have another best seller on his hand.

The weekend seemed to shoot by way too quickly, even though all I did was relax at home and have friends over for Sat night dinner and of course Sunday brunch.

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Michael Buble' - HOME

2007-04-17T19:17:00.001+10:00

While we await the new album, we can enjoy one of my favourites.

Free for all Friday

2007-04-13T21:30:00.000+10:00

Where to start?.......

1. Drivers who reluctantly slow down at pedestrian crossings and give you a testy little wave, as if to say, “I am doing you an enormous favor, now scurry along before I change my mind and run you down.”

There needs to be a new obscene hand gesture that indicates, “Hey Moron, guess what? I don’t need your permission, pedestrian crossings aren’t optional, so don’t act like you’re so very generous and that I should be so very grateful. Your a Moron.”

I must begin work on this gesture immediately.... To the laboratory!....................

2. If you are interested in people born with disfigurements, then this is the place for you, http://freaks.monstrous.com/

It has a good selection of the more famous people such as the Elephant man and a surprise for me, a section (no pic) of Quasimodo whom I thought was only a characture, but in fact was a real person.

3. Once again it is the dreaded Friday the thirteenth!

Did you take any chances today on this day of fright and fear? If so, you are clearly not superstitious, nor do you suffer from paraskevidekatriaphobia, the pathological fear of Friday 13.

However (according to the online encyclopedia) Friday the 13th is actually unlucky for some of us. Psychologists have found that people are especially likely to have accidents or fall ill on Friday 13th, due (according to them!) to a heightened state of anxiety on that day. The Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute in Asheville, North Carolina estimates that in the United States alone, $800 to $900 million is lost in business each Friday 13th because people will not travel or go to work.

So a lot of people think Friday 13 is an unlucky day, but why?? To answer this, there are two or three questions we must first ask ourselves about the luck of Friday the thirteenth:

Why Friday? and why the thirteenth? and Most important of all, is it really unlucky?

In ancient times, before the development of Western Civilisation as we know it, people had a very different conception of the world from the view held by most Westerners today. In the first place, their relationship with natural energies and powers was much closer and more intense than that of today's urban dweller. The mechanised, electrified environment of the 21st century city is a place where natural cycles can easily be overlooked — or to be more particular, deliberately overcome.

Life in those times tended to be a series of ritualised and sanctified interactions with nature. With close ties to family and community. These sacred events have crystallised over the years into the festivals, saints' days and holiday cycles we still celebrate today (such as Christmas and Easter), although with little general understanding of their primary intention and meaning, as the majority of these "christian" holidays are actually based on Pagan festivals.

Angels of the Days

Every hour of every day had its genie, or guardian angel, and every day was ruled by one of the pantheon of divine beings who were worshipped under various names in the pagan world, dating back to the days of ancient Babylon and even beyond, in Armenia, which can be shown to be the very birthplace of civilisation. The names of the days still celebrate their ancient guardians, which were identified with the planetary lords and ladies:

Saturday, ruled by Saturn

Sunday, ruled by the Sun

Monday, ruled by the Moon
Tuesday ruled by Mars (Tiw, the ancient teutonic god of battle was parallel to Mars in the Roman Pantheon, giving us mardi in French and cognate names in other latin-derived tongues)

Wednesday (Woden's day, the saxon Mercury, giving mercredi in French)

Thursday (Thor's day, the thunder god, equivalent to Jupiter, jeudi in French) and

Friday, Freya's day (the teutonic Venus, in French vendredi).

Venus was the holy goddess of love in the Roman World and Freya was the most holy primeval goddess of the north. Christian monks decided that her day, Friday, was unlucky, as indeed it was, for Jesus Christ, who was crucified and died on a Friday. The Christian religion has sought to overthrow the goddess in all her forms, but has simply succeeded in causing her to reinvent herself under other names.

The Lunar Year

These "primitive" folks had a rather more fluid conception of the year than we do and their calendar was based on the cycles of the moon. Now there are approximately 13 lunations in our solar year, so the year of the seasons had thirteen months, the thirteenth, according to Robert Graves, being the Sun's "death-month". If we divide the number of days in the year by twenty-eight, the number of days in a woman's menstrual cycle (and of course the approximate length of the lunar month), again we get the number 13.

The Moon is another expression of the goddess, as the monks well knew. Therefore its cycle of 13 had to be an unlucky number—and Jesus at his last supper sat down to eat with his twelve disciples, making thirteen at the table. Friday 13 is thus considered to be especially unlucky when it falls on Good Friday. In this light, the pagan Scandinavian belief that the number thirteen signified bad luck sprang from the idea that their twelve gods were joined by a thirteenth, Loki, a cruel god, who brought misfortune to all. This really relates to the lunar cycle versus the solar cycle of the year, and the reshaping of society based on the transition from the lunar to the solar year.

Thirteen, a goddess number, is one beyond twelve, and, in the eyes of the new "solar" world order, symbolised a move away from harmony and completion into the "evil" of chaos. The ill-fated Apollo 13 Moon mission boldly took this in their stride when the mission was launched at 1313 hours Houston time, from pad 39 (13x3) and had to be aborted on April 13, 1970. Apollo, you might remember, is the name of the ancient Greco-Roman Sun god, so in this light, the number 13 was sure to be more than a little problematic...

Friday is still the "sabbath" of the Moslems (it is a day of prayer rather than rest). Many cultures perceive it to be the best day for marriage, since it is ruled by Venus, the fertile goddess.

Jacques DeMolay and the Knights Templar

Curiously, the last Grand Master of the once-powerful Order of the Knights Templar, Jacques DeMolay, suffered his betrayal into the hands of the Church on Friday 13, October 1307. He was imprisoned and later executed by King Phillip the Fair, the French king who had conspired with the Vatican to remove DeMolay. Phillip and Pope Clement V had concluded that the Templars had become altogether too powerful.

For some two hundred years the Templar Knights had been bastions of the Catholic Church, but their secret faith in the Goddess aroused accusations of heresy that then led to their downfall. Indeed the Templars had been major figures in the courtly revival of goddess worship in the twelfth century, which had reawakened the idea of Mary as Queen of Heaven. Impeccable timing then, on the part of the conspirators...

Oddly enough, Jacques DeMolay suffered betrayal on Friday October 13 and according to the Mayan Calendar, the end of the Age will come on Friday October 13, but happily not until the year 4772. So those of you who have been sweating about the Mayan end-date December 12, 2012, can relax for a couple of thousand years. In actual fact, the 13th day of the month is slightly more likely to be on a Friday than on any other day of the week.

So is Friday the thirteenth really unlucky, or is this belief just a hangover from the time when the patriarchal, male-centred religion of Christianity was trying to differentiate itself from and destroy its ancient, pagan, goddess-loving competitors?

You can tell my view, but I will of course let you decide for yourself?

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Theatrical Thursday

2007-04-12T17:58:00.000+10:00

Saw Priscilla again last night, yes for the second time, and it was even better the second time around. The costumes, the humour, the voices...all blend together into an awesome show.

Booked in to see several shows in the coming weeks, and I shall endeavour to give my own little review of them here.

One bad thing about seeing Priscilla last night is that I forgot to record Heroes on TV...NOOOOOOOO. That makes two episodes I have missed now, will just have to wait till the first season comes out on DVD now i guess....sigh

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Word of the Week Wednesday

2007-04-11T19:07:00.000+10:00

putsch \PUCH ('u' as in 'push')\, noun:
(Sometimes capitalized) A secretly planned and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government.

Hitler operated from Munich where he enjoyed a fair degree of support, and it was here that his Putsch took place in an effort to seize power in Bavaria.
-- Alan Jefferson, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

Putsch comes from German, from Middle High German, literally, "thrust."

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I had to post this once I saw it. A bit silly, but they have gone to so much trouble and are obviously huge Star Wars fans.....

Dailymotion blogged video
The Store Wars
Video sent by thenelaware

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Temptation Tuesday

2007-04-10T22:18:00.000+10:00

Today I have decreed to be 'Temptation Tuesday', and henceforth from this day, now and forever ( or until i forget to blog or run out) I will post a man of the week to temp, tease, tantilise and transmogrify your Tuesdays.

The Easter weekend is now over and it was a great weekend. Started out with the Pet Shop Boys concert on Friday night, which was great, they certainly have not lost anything over the last 10 years.

Saturday , alas, I had to work so no real exciting things to tell you about that one.

Sunday we had brunch with a friend of mine called Jackie, whom I had not seen for a few months. My goodness what a difference in such a short time. She has managed to loose just under 15kg and and she looks fantastic. Way to go Jack........ Sunday night saw us at Bar Me to see he last of three shows by our friend Elliot Wilshier. A great show from the heart.

Monday saw us have a nice sleep in before heading off to the Royal Easter Show. Had a lovely day wandering around the show and seeing all there was to see, though it did seem strange as this was the first time I had been to the show withough my son. So I had no excuses to go on the rides....sigh!!!!!! lol

Do svedaniya,

Simon xox

Go Qantas

2007-04-09T02:31:00.000+10:00

Dailymotion blogged video
Chaser's War on QANTAS
Video sent by DanIlic

The first post

2007-04-01T00:54:00.000+10:00

Hey everyone and welcome to my new blog.