Literally.
For the last two years or so I've had a horrible bed. The slats have slowly been falling out of it, snapping in half as the (at least) 15 year old wood rotted. My mattress wasn't much better, the fabric splitting to let the springs dig into my leg through my blankets-though thankfully not through my electric blanket.
Finally, after much complaining to my parents Mum took me out to get a new bed.
She was very restrictive on my choices. I wasn't allowed to have the Disney princess one. I wasn't allowed the race car bed. No bunk bed and nothing too expensive. There was a bed that was also a lounge I liked but the logistics of fitting it into my room (I would have had to move most of the furniture) made me decide not to get it.
The one I picked had drawers under it because I had a bedhead on my previous bed and I was so sad that no one made beds like that anymore so I wanted one with storage space. It was also much higher than my old bed. I did not get a new mattress as my brother had kept the one he had before my parents had brought him a new bed and mattress two years back.
Now, the bed was delivered the next day. In two boxes.
You see where this is going.
It arrived about 10:30am. By midday my brother was up and the pair of us set to work building the bed. First we had to remove the old bed. It took us ten minutes with a hammer, minimal splinters and we were able to save my bedhead!
But then the fun part started. And the screwing jokes. Throughout the day, the amount of screwing jokes reached epic portions. I had never realised you could stick a 'screwing' into so many sentences.
Did you know, the instructions for building a bed are actually rather simple. It's like they think you are an idiot. Rereading that sentence I think I see a problem with it but I'm not going to mention it. In a way, the instructions were like my brother who assumed I was of no use and basically a complete fool. Somehow we managed to get through the first hour of building with little shouting.
And by the end we had built the two drawers. We got bored and had lunch.
After lunch we started on the next step, had a fight and gave up. I ungave up about a half hour later when I realised if I didn't I was sleeping on the floor. My brother returned when there were things to be hammered (with a hammer! Dirty minds).
After much screwing; the realisation that one piece was missing the holes it was supposed to have so it would stay in place and will thus have to be glued in; and finally noticing one piece wasn't put on straight; we had managed to build my bed.
We moved his old mattress onto my bed and then I had to kick him out of it so I could test the new (old) mattress. At this point I went and played games on my computer because it was 6pm and we had been building a bed all day.
The point of this entry? Beds are much more comfortable when the mattress doesn't touch the floor, screwing jokes are always funny and building a bed to lie in is really, really hard work.
Monday, 19 August 2013
Friday, 26 July 2013
Morbid Thoughts
I've not posted in a while. Mostly because I'm the most productive when I have other things to do and being on holidays meant I had nothing else to do; but also recently because my Nana was hospitalised.
And I have no clue how I'm supposed to feel about it.
She's physically fine (well, not really but it's not the reason she's in hospital), which could be a part of the reason I'm having trouble knowing what to feel. Offically, my Nana suffers from Dementia. There might be an underlying mental issue but it's not been diagnosed and it's too late to tell because of the Dementia. It causes her to be really paranoid, often cruel, forgetful (ten calls a day to ask the same three things...) and just really hard to have a conversation with.
Anyway. A week and a bit ago, she threatened to jump off the balcony of her nursing home. The nurses had her hospitalised. She's been moved from one hospital to another and is looking to move to a different nursing home capable of caring for her once they sort her medication out and a place is available.
And I don't know how to feel about it.
This is not the first time she's been hospitalised for talking of suicide. It's not even the second time she's talked of killing herself. Mum is stressed beyond belief but I'm just...not caring? I'm beyond caring at some points. She's still my Nana, I still love her but I'm tired of her drama. Even though I know it's not her fault, I'm tired of it all the same.
A part of me just wants it to end, one way or the other.
Another part wants my Nana back. Not this woman who hates my Mum and is barely functioning as a person. My Nana who we visited as kids and was a loving, generous woman (Though fond of complaining).
And a selfish part of me doesn't care what she's like, just wants to know she's still there. I don't want her to go, she's a constant in my life and I really don't want to lose it. Like I said before, physically she's not in that much danger but there's signs she's lost the will to lie (signs like her saying it) so this might not be the case for much longer.
Hence not knowing what to feel.
(I wonder if I'm even supposed to know what to feel)
And I have no clue how I'm supposed to feel about it.
She's physically fine (well, not really but it's not the reason she's in hospital), which could be a part of the reason I'm having trouble knowing what to feel. Offically, my Nana suffers from Dementia. There might be an underlying mental issue but it's not been diagnosed and it's too late to tell because of the Dementia. It causes her to be really paranoid, often cruel, forgetful (ten calls a day to ask the same three things...) and just really hard to have a conversation with.
Anyway. A week and a bit ago, she threatened to jump off the balcony of her nursing home. The nurses had her hospitalised. She's been moved from one hospital to another and is looking to move to a different nursing home capable of caring for her once they sort her medication out and a place is available.
And I don't know how to feel about it.
This is not the first time she's been hospitalised for talking of suicide. It's not even the second time she's talked of killing herself. Mum is stressed beyond belief but I'm just...not caring? I'm beyond caring at some points. She's still my Nana, I still love her but I'm tired of her drama. Even though I know it's not her fault, I'm tired of it all the same.
A part of me just wants it to end, one way or the other.
Another part wants my Nana back. Not this woman who hates my Mum and is barely functioning as a person. My Nana who we visited as kids and was a loving, generous woman (Though fond of complaining).
And a selfish part of me doesn't care what she's like, just wants to know she's still there. I don't want her to go, she's a constant in my life and I really don't want to lose it. Like I said before, physically she's not in that much danger but there's signs she's lost the will to lie (signs like her saying it) so this might not be the case for much longer.
Hence not knowing what to feel.
Saturday, 15 June 2013
Video Games
I recently got a 3DS. It's a great console, I'm enjoying having it a lot.
But in order to be able to afford it, I had to trade in $180 worth of games and consoles. And now I'm looking at game prices and realising the only reason my brother and I had games for our DS as cool and as recently released as we did is because our parents brought them.
I want a brand new copy of Nintendogs. It's going to cost me $50. The game came out soon after the console did- at least a year, if not two years ago. I brought a game today for $59 which was released today. And the $50 price is in one store- another wants $68 (the same store actually, that I brought the game today in).
I'm trying to find the logic here. I'm failing. I thought prices decreased as time passed...
But in order to be able to afford it, I had to trade in $180 worth of games and consoles. And now I'm looking at game prices and realising the only reason my brother and I had games for our DS as cool and as recently released as we did is because our parents brought them.
I want a brand new copy of Nintendogs. It's going to cost me $50. The game came out soon after the console did- at least a year, if not two years ago. I brought a game today for $59 which was released today. And the $50 price is in one store- another wants $68 (the same store actually, that I brought the game today in).
I'm trying to find the logic here. I'm failing. I thought prices decreased as time passed...
Wednesday, 12 June 2013
Television
I love to watch television shows. I'm an obsessed fan by most definitions, of course I love to watch T.V shows. I can sit here and list a dozen different shows (British for the most part) with their actors (sometimes) and then argue with you over which has more depth or which is cooler. I'm a fan and I'm proud of it.
What I don't like to do, is watch television.
That is not a paradox. I hate sitting down in front of a television and watching my favourite shows. Unless they air on channel ABC, they are always full of ads. One show I watch (Sherlock) went from an hour and a half DVD run time, to two and a half hour air time on T.V. Why would I bother watching it on T.V when I can get the DVDs and watch it without constant reminders to buy this or that?
Or these shows air at times I just can't watch them in. We do have the ability to record shows but I rarely bother because, one I have a delete happy father but also because simply setting it to record is no guarantee of recording the full program as most channels tend to view the starting times as more guides than anything they need to follow.
There's also four people in my house and only one T.V with Austar. Which isn't an issue when it comes to watching normal T.V but of the two remaining digital T.Vs, one is in my brother's room and the other is used by Mum. So really, there's one T.V and Dad gets priority.
So really, it's easier for me to watch things online.
If only it was that simple. Yes, the ABC gives me online access to shows less than 12 hours after it airs in other countries but that's about it. The other channels are nowhere near as good at fast tracking- it took a full month for Nine to air Sherlock. And those are no help if the show I want to watch aired over a week ago. I can go hire them if they're in my video st-oh wait, no I can't. It closed down. And the one left has no where near as good a selection of T.V shows. And if I feel like watching a show at 2am? Well, too bad, you can't...
What am I saying? I want something like Netflix in Australia. I know it's not a perfect system but it might reduce piracy if access to T.V shows was that much easier. Pay a fee each month and you can watch all the movies and shows you want. It might take a month or so for new shows to get onto it but hey, if a year after it airs I want to watch it guess where I'll find it?.
And maybe I want companies to recognise the fact piracy happens because it's easier, easier than waiting for months and having to pay large amounts of money for hiring or buying shows ($75 a season for Doctor Who? FORGET IT). Piracy is hard work, you make doing it legally easy and people will do it legally.
Well, most people will do it legally.
What I don't like to do, is watch television.
That is not a paradox. I hate sitting down in front of a television and watching my favourite shows. Unless they air on channel ABC, they are always full of ads. One show I watch (Sherlock) went from an hour and a half DVD run time, to two and a half hour air time on T.V. Why would I bother watching it on T.V when I can get the DVDs and watch it without constant reminders to buy this or that?
Or these shows air at times I just can't watch them in. We do have the ability to record shows but I rarely bother because, one I have a delete happy father but also because simply setting it to record is no guarantee of recording the full program as most channels tend to view the starting times as more guides than anything they need to follow.
There's also four people in my house and only one T.V with Austar. Which isn't an issue when it comes to watching normal T.V but of the two remaining digital T.Vs, one is in my brother's room and the other is used by Mum. So really, there's one T.V and Dad gets priority.
So really, it's easier for me to watch things online.
If only it was that simple. Yes, the ABC gives me online access to shows less than 12 hours after it airs in other countries but that's about it. The other channels are nowhere near as good at fast tracking- it took a full month for Nine to air Sherlock. And those are no help if the show I want to watch aired over a week ago. I can go hire them if they're in my video st-oh wait, no I can't. It closed down. And the one left has no where near as good a selection of T.V shows. And if I feel like watching a show at 2am? Well, too bad, you can't...
What am I saying? I want something like Netflix in Australia. I know it's not a perfect system but it might reduce piracy if access to T.V shows was that much easier. Pay a fee each month and you can watch all the movies and shows you want. It might take a month or so for new shows to get onto it but hey, if a year after it airs I want to watch it guess where I'll find it?.
And maybe I want companies to recognise the fact piracy happens because it's easier, easier than waiting for months and having to pay large amounts of money for hiring or buying shows ($75 a season for Doctor Who? FORGET IT). Piracy is hard work, you make doing it legally easy and people will do it legally.
Well, most people will do it legally.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Ladies and Double Standards (aka Fancy Ranting)
"Don't do that, it's not ladylike."
Seriously, this has been something I've been wondering for ages. What, exactly, is a lady?
Now I could prattle on about a lady being traditionally a woman of higher class, born into society. Women of the middle and upper classes in the 18th and 19th centuries are a very good image for a lady and they were expected to stay at home and raise their children- seen but not heard. But while I'm sure this influences the concept now, I'm not really interested in that. I'm curious as to what being a 'lady' is in a modern setting.
According to my parents, a lady seems to be a girl who does what her parents tell her; who always sits in a proper position; never makes rude noises or farts and always uses decent language. I cannot tell you how many times I've been told to not sit like that, it's not ladylike or to not swear because it's not ladylike. Not that I do swear a lot, but my brother, at the same age can drop a swear or two and it's written off as him being young. In fact, for a old time there I was critical of others swearing as they failed to live up to this standard I had been taught. There's a time and place you don't swear, I'll admit that, but neither should the well deserved fuck after a dropped phone be told off by a parent who wasn't meant to overhear that.
But anyway. That is not the point. The point is, a lady seems to me to be someone who isn't confrontational. Who doesn't do things outside the norm. Who doesn't make waves or do anything that might upset anyone. Who keeps her contrary opinions to herself
Someone who is seen and not heard?
Now, I wonder if you raise your daughter to be this lady, when is she going to speak up? When is she going to make her voice heard and protest things that she does not find correct? Or assert herself in a job interview like employers seem to want?
I don't think she is.
Maybe I'm taking this too far. Maybe being a lady is just not swearing and sitting in a correct position. But, why must I change my ways to be this lady? When the concept has already proved to have double standards in how it treats the matter of swearing...
Then I think I shall continue to answer "Don't do that, it's not ladylike." with "I'm no lady."
Seriously, this has been something I've been wondering for ages. What, exactly, is a lady?
Now I could prattle on about a lady being traditionally a woman of higher class, born into society. Women of the middle and upper classes in the 18th and 19th centuries are a very good image for a lady and they were expected to stay at home and raise their children- seen but not heard. But while I'm sure this influences the concept now, I'm not really interested in that. I'm curious as to what being a 'lady' is in a modern setting.
According to my parents, a lady seems to be a girl who does what her parents tell her; who always sits in a proper position; never makes rude noises or farts and always uses decent language. I cannot tell you how many times I've been told to not sit like that, it's not ladylike or to not swear because it's not ladylike. Not that I do swear a lot, but my brother, at the same age can drop a swear or two and it's written off as him being young. In fact, for a old time there I was critical of others swearing as they failed to live up to this standard I had been taught. There's a time and place you don't swear, I'll admit that, but neither should the well deserved fuck after a dropped phone be told off by a parent who wasn't meant to overhear that.
But anyway. That is not the point. The point is, a lady seems to me to be someone who isn't confrontational. Who doesn't do things outside the norm. Who doesn't make waves or do anything that might upset anyone. Who keeps her contrary opinions to herself
Someone who is seen and not heard?
Now, I wonder if you raise your daughter to be this lady, when is she going to speak up? When is she going to make her voice heard and protest things that she does not find correct? Or assert herself in a job interview like employers seem to want?
I don't think she is.
Maybe I'm taking this too far. Maybe being a lady is just not swearing and sitting in a correct position. But, why must I change my ways to be this lady? When the concept has already proved to have double standards in how it treats the matter of swearing...
Then I think I shall continue to answer "Don't do that, it's not ladylike." with "I'm no lady."
I have no idea
I've decided to get a blog.
Okay, good first step. Why? Because it looks like fun and I've subjects I would like to write on.
Brilliant. But you already have a tumblr where you post personal thoughts. Why do you need a blog?
...Because I can? Actually because my tumblr is anonymous. I want to keep it anonymous. And I don't want it to be serious. I want to be serious here.
I'm aware my real live friends will probably end up reading this. I don't want it to be that private. But there are things I want to talk about, have wanted to talk about for a while but have no idea how to bring them up in conversation. I'm also relying on my parents being computer-illiterate and thus unable to find it.
That's why I used the same username as my youtube account. Because I'm smart like that.
Later: Okay, changed that. Using French because I want to learn French. And while it's not exact, this is a translation of my usual English username.
Okay, good first step. Why? Because it looks like fun and I've subjects I would like to write on.
Brilliant. But you already have a tumblr where you post personal thoughts. Why do you need a blog?
...Because I can? Actually because my tumblr is anonymous. I want to keep it anonymous. And I don't want it to be serious. I want to be serious here.
I'm aware my real live friends will probably end up reading this. I don't want it to be that private. But there are things I want to talk about, have wanted to talk about for a while but have no idea how to bring them up in conversation. I'm also relying on my parents being computer-illiterate and thus unable to find it.
That's why I used the same username as my youtube account. Because I'm smart like that.
Later: Okay, changed that. Using French because I want to learn French. And while it's not exact, this is a translation of my usual English username.
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