What a happy chinese new year it was...

I am 30. Expect me to talk about this a lot. (Yes. I know I have been already).
I'm very excited about it.

Such a wonderful party. I spent the day before making fortune cookies - to which Mr M made up some marvellous queer fortunes.
Mr M and myself also made some wonderful Jiaozi (dumplings).
We hung red paper lanterns and balloons from a tree in the park and set up some furniture found in a recent chuck-out. Come to think of it, I haven't checked if the chairs are still in the park. Not to worry. We only needed them for the day.
People brought blankets and beer and bubbles. There was sunshine and dogs and photos and pressies and food and, most wonderfully, almost all of my gorgeous friends.













Folks peeled off at sunset and those of us left tottered down to the pub for a beer. I got birthday kisses. *swoons*. And I'm not sure what the generics at the pub thought of my outfit. *grins*
I had a red hairclip and a red chunky beaded bracelet and red leather clogs and a red bag and a red babydoll dress with white spots.

The rest of the night was a write-off, but all was well by lunchtime the next day. Mr M and I had a wee trip around the art gallery (quiet, cool, no people hassling, etc).
Then a small family dinner that night, to which my sister brought the yummiest homemade cupcakes ever.

Oh, and I got so many gorgeous pressies.
My boyfriend got me a Tiffany & Co necklace and my mother bought me pearls. (I feel so spoilt but shall enjoy telling you this because I've not received such beautiful things before).
I was also given tea, and books with paper dolls in them, and candles, candles, candles, and a jewellery box, and wine, and chocolates, and a bag with Eames chairs printed on it, and measuring jugs to do more baking, and oh so so much more.
I also got a great big silver toolbox with a marvellously strong lock and I put all my pressies inside.
And I lost the key.

For half a day I hunted.
Mr Z found it in the letterbox.
The funniest part is that at work today I remembered that I had put it there myself so I wouldn't lose it.
*sighs*

On the edge.

The year starts.
New year.
Chinese new year.
His birthday.
My birthday.

Here comes the year at work.
Here comes Mardi Gras.
Here comes life, full pelt.

The warm nights, the sounds of the city, the insects, the promise of noise and lights and people.

I love this time of year.
When it feels like we're at the tick-tock tipping-point.
The click of the frogs in the backyard are sounding like the dripping of water. One more drop and the wheel spins around.

Hope this year's a good one.
Feels like it's going to be a lot of hard work, but a lot of things will get done.
Feels good from here.

Found while searching for fortunes for cookies...

"Some rigid dyke once told me I wasn't a radical lesbian in her book because I eat meat and talk about sex out loud. I never said I was a radical lesbian! I don't understand that term! Wouldn't a truly radical lesbian sleep with men? Wouldn't that be the most radical thing a lesbian could do? Is it radical comma lesbian or what?" - Diane DiMassa, Hothead Paisan

And:

"A short note about bisexuality. You can't have your cake and eat it too. You can't be tied to male privilege with the right hand while clutching your sister with the left." - Rita Mae Brown

To which I say; I shall no more be recommending her books to patrons at the Library. Stupid bloody old school dyke. Stretch your brain a bit woman.

Party-time

If you're reading this and you didn't get an invite to my birthday party and I know you and you wanna come along - drop me a line. Maybe I don't have your contact details yah know.

Love, Miss Y.

p.s. It's on Chinese New Year! Guess what the theme is kiddies.

















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2 things:

From Jay Sennett... "I'm running an impromptu contest seeking the Top Ten Dumbest Things Said to You as a transperson, or as someone who loves, etc., a transperson... Let's find out how repetitive stupidity is! Put your favorite in the comments."
...here.

Something to send your vanilla friends to during Mardi Gras.
...here.

All grown up.

Amongst the 'Big Things' I do at work, like running training courses and managing budgets, I still find myself mixing up glue for papier mache and cutting out display materials.
I have these push-me-pull-you forces exerting themselves.
I feel like a competent adult.
Then I feel like a kid playing pretend.

Sometimes I get confused and act like a kid when people are expecting me to talk confidently about grant applications and collection development.
Am frocking up and heading across the north shore to be a guest speaker at another library tomorrow.
Really hope I don't cock it up completely.

********************
In other news:
Happy Birthday Mr M!
I love you, my dirty old man.
*blows kiss*

Quote changeover time again...

It's been a while, but it's time for out with the old...
"I thought I'd be a librarian until I met some crazy ones." Edward Gorey (Boston Globe article, 1998)

Book love

Today a colleague gave me a book I have been waiting a while to read. "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak (Picador, Sydney. 2005).

He has long been a fave author of mine - he writes wonderfully for the teenage boy market.
This is his adult novel. It is recent and apparently relies on his families memories of Nazi Germany.

It is wonderful.

I often brace myself before reading books on hefty topics. But it wasn't a 'roller coaster' and, thank god, it didn't seek to be at all emotionally taxing. Instead he writes with charm and grace, and with an affection for not only the characters but also for the words themselves.
And oh, I don't think anyone has written a book with Death as the narrator in as quite as wonderful a fashion before.

I started the first chapter in my lunch break, started the 2nd chapter on the trip home from work, and just finished the 584th page tonight.
I read through my flatmate going off to work, through dinner, through a visit from my boyfriend, through a weirdo skulking around the house next door, through mozzies and humidity and doggy smells and cicada sounds and sirens.

And at the end I let my head fall back and sobbed quietly for some time.

*grrrr*

www.angrylittlegirls.com


Last day of my holidays. Feeling tired and sad and introspective. Feeling childish and stroppy. Feeling foggy and floppy and weepy.

So, I shall try and get out in the sunshine in a minute - if it doesn't rain on me...the weather seems as mercurial as myself at the moment.

*pouts*

Shopping-girl

Yesterday I bought new shoes.
Rich bright purple strappy heels.
They are too big (of course), but I put in an innersole, and they have a strap to hold my foot in, so it's okay.
The only thing I could find in my wardrobe to colour co-ordinate was my purple bandanna.
I wore it as a alice band in my hair.
Such a cute way to flag.

I also found myself wandering around a bookstore with an armful of books.
I never usually buy books - and certainly not in great quantities.
It is quite possibly some sort of body memory/comfort thing. After all, I do spend so much of my time holding, moving, lifting, carrying, and looking at books.
Perhaps I am actually missing the physicality of work?
Not to worry. I'll be back to the library in a couple of days.

Do I have the resolve?

I have always resisted the idea of making New Years' Resolutions. There is always the sense of inevitable doom around even the concept of them.
I somehow prefer to think that I am able to make resolutions at any time of year, without the 'excuse' of the starting of a new year to prompt me.
There is also a touch of trying to outsmart the 'doom fairies' that I imagine lie in wait at this time of year. Like evil goblins they leap onto each new wish and resolution and ride them into the ground.
Of course mention this to me in daylight and I will strenuously deny having a superstitious bone in my body!

Anyway. I am in the last week of my holidays. Am blissfully relaxed, and have not yet reached that state of awareness about going back to work soon.
I have time on my hands to do whatever I would like.
I take each day as it comes, shuffling ideas like dominoes, deciding which one to choose to play today.

I am thinking about what I want to achieve this year.
And it appears that I shall be making a New Years' Resolution or two!
Egads.

What now?

I'm sure some folks will sook that Fantasy wasn't as huge as they'd like it to be. And sure I missed having some folks there - mostly lucky buggers who're up north for Tropical Fruits.
But the Dj's were great, the venue was comfy, it was easy to find people, the dance floors had enough room to dance, and I never had to queue for the toilets.
Commiserations to SLPA, Bears and NMG if they didn't break even.
I wore a chunky silver bead necklace, gems in my hair, halterneck top, leather skirt, and my silver glitter dorothy shoes.
I had a lovely night.

There was gossiping and dancing and flogging and fisting and fucking and stalking and bitching and drinking and wandering and smooching and sweating and laughing and ogling and yelling and jumping and clapping and snarling and sighing and tickling and flirting.

Our battle plan of recovery in the super-aircon of @Newtown didn't happen, and we fell asleep, curtains drawn against the sun and heat. My old 50's fan struggling clickety-clack to move the air around my room. Ventured out about 7pm to meet Misses R and B. @Newtown closed *bugger*, no aircon at the Duke, so beer and iced water at the Courthouse was the order of the day.
At one stage the pub door started moving of it's own accord. Huzzah! We cheered the blustery winds bringing the cool change through!

We all wandered back to mine to drink on the front verandah and watch the trees in the park get buffeted about. Collapsing into bed around midnight.

Right now it's hard to believe that the heat of yesterday happened.
The clouds are covering the sky. Mr M is napping again. Mr Z and Miss L are moving around down stairs. The dogs next door are yapping and the breeze is blowing cold through my bedroom window.
Wonder what I'll do with today?