I'm not one that is naturally and continually happy, hot-temperedness describes me better. My sister calls me a sabra, a prickly cactus on the outside with a soft inside. But I'm a firm believer in the ability for people to change and grow. And with that, I thought I would focus on what I am grateful for.

• My family, and the wonderful memories I have growing up with parents and siblings and grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins all around. My family isn't particularly big, but there were close, so my childhood life was full. Now that I live so far away, I miss this closeness even more.
  
• My fiance', who can mostly handle my hot-temperedness, for some unknown reason likes my back with a crack in it butt, and all my freckles. He's kind and patient, and way to good to me.
• My friends, particularly the Suede. You can't do much better than a practically stream of consciousness continual conversation. And with all my other friends, I know it's like I never left whenever I come back!
  
• My little apartment by the sea. I never valued living by the ocean, until I moved 25 metres away from it.

That's it for now. Just putting that out there in the blogosphere.

How could you not be grateful for a view like this?

As a foreigner in a foreign land (though admittedly it could be a lot more foreign) there are a lot of aspects to life in Australia that I both love and hate. A big one is how there is much less product choice here compared to America. On one hand, having fewer options means making a choice is easier. But on the other hand, I go on websites based in America and look at all the beautiful things that could be at my fingertips if I just had stayed home. It's probably a good thing, both for my bank account and for my personal development. It's hard to break a consumerist culture mentality. I still wouldn't mind being to buy used books as easily as I can in America on Amazon (without having to pay international shipping rates).

A pretty thing from Etsy
www.etsy.com

Why I'm Not on Facebook

a) I'm not 18 (Bad First Impressions)
When Facebook first got popular, I was in graduate school at University of Texas at
Austin (grr) and my first experience with Facebook was listening to freshmen talking
about using it to hook up/stalk people. Not. Interested.

Also, the people I knew on sites that were precursors to Facebook (like Friendster,
livejournal, etc.) annoyed the heck out of me. They just wanted attention and to get
the most links/friends. So I started a blog. Yay hypocrisy!

b) I Don't See How It Will Improve My Life
If I want to be in contact with you, in general, I am. I already have enough
distractions on the internet, why add another?

c) I'm Not Interested in Stalking People
Let's be honest, that's the main reason my age would be on it- to find out what that
ex from high school or college is doing, or to see if the prom queen is living in a
trailer park.

d) I Don't Like Sushi
I tried to like sushi, but just really hate fish. Then I realised that I really was only
trying to like sushi because it was popular and hip, and I've never bothered to try it
again. Same goes for Facebook.

Now that this list is all said and done, watch me go sign up any day now.

who's a homeowner? ME (and Jacob)

I wonder how much my soul is worth. I think we'll find out July 1st.

Well. I set up this blog 3 years ago now, and promptly forgot about. In that time, Saddam Hussein was convicted and hanged, Pluto was declassified as a planet, and Google bought Blogspot. (Though one thing has stayed constant in all that time- George Bush is still a jerk). What does that mean for you, dear reader? Other than the fact that the solar system we all know and love is no longer what it was, it also means that I no longer had a log-in. After trying all of my Google accounts (I'm a bit of a hoarder, even digitally), I finally figured out I apparently had to use my Blogspot username. Eureka!

So here I am. Actually posting. It's about damn time. For goodness sake, my DAD has a blog.

For your viewing pleasure, a portrait of a woman and her gift of meat.
(taken on Pitt Street, Sydney)