How've you been?

"Busy as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest."

I keep thinking I should give you a call, suggest getting together, etc., then remember the three projects, and final in Stats all due in the next 8 days (while still working, taking Kung Fu, taking Irish lessons, etc., ad nauseum) - and somehow slip back into Hermit Mode.

How's you? Any news on the employment front?

Aaaaaand, it would seem that nighty-night calls. Well, some of us. Some of us were supposed to be just taking a brief chat-break after finishing off one project before putting in some labor on the next. So, guess it's Good Night, All.

and somehow slip back into Hermit Mode.

Any news on the employment front?

The company (to be known as "they") is actually talking to my rep (to be known as "her") finally which is a step in the right direction.

But... They don't want to pay her placement fee because they (really just the owner, the other five "decision makers" are all on board already) don't realize that it's cheaper and safer for them to do so.

I ranted a little about this in an email to her this afternoon and she made it into a kicky little chart that she sent the company. I just pointed out that the time and hours involved in hiring someone are more than what she wants for finding me and sending me to them.

It's looking not terrible.

That's all for me tonight. I think I meant to go to bed an hour ago. Well, at least, I thought about it. My face is washed and moisturized, it's fate.

thinking about bed. not really sure if it is time or not....

Hey guys - I posted a big ol' smoochy thank you for the gift in Beep Me, but I really wanted to say a specific thank you to the folks who contributed, and to JZ and deb for masterminding. I don't have everyone's e-mail addy, though, and I am not sure I'll be able to find them all, but most of everyone posts in Bitches so I hope y'all see this (and I'll try to hunt down deb somewhere and thank her also).

OK, not the most graceful writing ever, but it's morning and I am caffiene-less.

Robert and I are both floored by your generous gift, and more than a little heartwarmed. You guys rock!

Kalimera, Raquel! So glad it arrived safe and sound!

::smooches up the Raquel family, including Legion::

::staggers off to bed::

Cheers, Raquel!

Well, looky here. Here I am with the usual insomnia, and there's a brand new Bitches thread.

'Course now I have to catch up in the last one.

Evharistume, JZ! Evharistume poli, y'all.

(heading over to bus stop with Leatherman to steal Star Wars poster in Greek)

Hi everyone. I really haven't been able to spend that much time on the board over the last few months, so I thought I should provide an update, and of course I decide to do so when the F2F is kicking off. Marvel at my sense of timing!

Um. In a nutshell, I'm happier than I've been in over two years. I feel better about myself than I have in six. This is not at all where I expected to be after six months.

At this point I need to mention that Melbourne has peregrine falcons. And I work on the 34th floor of my building, with a view overlooking the city. I've seen them a few times, spinning lazily on thermals, and once I think I caught one pulling out of a stoop. I like this in an office.

Not sure where to start with things. I've had some pretty black times over the past few months, all I could do to keep putting one foot in front of the other. But about six weeks ago, things started to brighten, and they've been improving since. I've found a psychiatrist here, though to be honest it doesn't feel so urgent now. I'm still in touch with the therapist in Philly too. We've started doing some cognitive behavioural therapy work. VW, if you're around, I was reading through some archived threads, and it's a book that you covered too, Feeling Good by David Burns. It's kind of fun. Oh, and my therapist is telling me that an advantage of starting Pilates is that I could meet women there.

Not that I'm ready to start dating again. I want to get my single life sorted and ensure I'm comfortable in my current circumstances before I go looking to change anything. I have, however, signed up to some speed dating services, for when I am ready. They keep sending me emails titled "Girls Sold Out!" I had no idea it was that kind of service. Then I start imagining a room of women wearing stickers anouncing "Closing Down Sale" or "Everything Must Go!". When I get to "Children get in for free" I realize this may be counterproductive. In any case. Not ready to start dating yet. Not while keeping a straight face, anyway.

I've been in touch with Bec. We've somehow managed to negotiate matters into a friendly correspondence. To be honest she sounds like she's struggling more than I am right now, her work's very demanding right now. She tells me she's so proud of how I'm adjusting, she thinks I'm amazing to be able to cope with all I've been through. So that's nice. There are some things I'm especially proud of, with my mother's eulogy heading the list. I know she would have been proud too.

No new family dramas. There's a warrant out on my older brother, but it's nothing new. D was in Melbourne last weekend, he seemed a lot better than he's been in some time. My nephew is apparently scooching around merrily as a quadruped, and now standing with the aid of furniture. I'll be seeing him in about three weeks when I visit Canberra next.

I've been to a couple of trivia nights too, one with my younger brother and his girlfriend, the other with my youngest brother. The former is a pub trivia night, and we won (go us!). The other was organised by Melbourne Uni postgrads, and was of a significantly higher standard. And we still won, because we rock. There was one question that, out of the entire room, only my brother and I worked out: two men and two women want to have sex in all four possible heterosexual combinations. However, it has to be safe sex, and they only have two condoms. How can they do so? (The people running the night even brought a banana in case they needed to demonstrate.) They also asked who the governor of California was that got replaced by Schwarzenegger. I could've done with more US questions.

Apartment living is good, very pleasant. My brother makes great company. We watched a biography of Mary Shelley the other night, which provoked the following exchange:

( continues...) >Monster: [harshly] "I demand a female creature as hideous as myself! We shall live apart from civilisation with no one to disturb us. Our lives will not be happy, but they shall be harmless."
Brendan: "Now I want to put that in a dating video."

So, y'know, quality company. It works out well, barring the occasional Frasier/Niles comparisons. And it means I have someone to play Ticket to Ride with. Once my dining table is (finally) delivered, we're going to have people around for games nights. This is a social occasion I can cope with very well, usually, so I've actually planned for the eventuality. Brendan already has some interested parties lined up.

On which note, I've taken steps to ensure I have a social life to get me out of the house occasionally. First, there's family and friends. My two younger brothers live in Melbourne (one with me, as noted), so I get together with them sometimes. Plus, occasional trips back to Canberra. Second, I've been playing a lot of D&D. There are some good people around (and some that I find rather hard to deal with at times). I'm rather proud of my characters, and apparently I'm getting something of a reputation. Finally, I've rejoined the Toastmasters club I attended when I lived here before. This is especailly good for me, I think. I work in a highly qualified profession, and so the people I meet through work tend to be rather rarefied, shall we say. That's fine, but after a while it gets stifling. At Toastmasters, I get together with a much broader cross-section of people. I feel it helps keep me grounded. I don't want to be in a situation where I feel like "You must be this qualified to ride this attraction". When I was in the FAC, it provided that service; then, being married to Bec did that (she's very down-to-earth; though sadly, I took that for granted when things started turning bad for us.) Plus, I rock at public speaking, so TM is good for personal validation too.

Just being back in Oz, too, feeds my soul. Everything about it just says "Ahhhhhh". Bright, clear, sun-drenched days. The smell of gum trees and the sound of magpies. The occasional parrot encounter. (There's a supermarket near here that has a whole flock of raucous rainbow lorikeets that nests outside at sunset. I was gobsmacked.) Driving on the left. Indian food! There's a place not far from our apartment that does some wonderful things with (I think) cardamom, and it delivers. Oh, food generally. The produce is excellent, and I can get alfalfa sprouts that aren't all slimy on the bottom. I bought ten tins of flavoured tuna yesterday, with no duplicates. So many choices. Lamb! Oh, the lamb is sensational here. And I can get lemon squash to my heart's content. I can pick up kahlua slices any time I feel like it. Oh, BTW, there are now chili chocolate Tim Tams as well. (Seriously!) And Red Rock sour cream and chili chips are sensational.

Work is good too. Well, it's a bit slack right now, which doesn't sit so well with me. That'll change soon, though, I'm sure. My company is a good one too. I just completed a survey which included voting on what charitable endeavours they should get involved in. And they offer a lump-sum payment to support things like taking up an exercise program or learning a foreign language. They are impressing me. (Plus, in two months my long service leave kicks in!) It's not seeing me bounce out of bed each morning, but I certainly can't complain. (Plus, my view includes - apart from occasional falcons - Port Phillip Bay, so I get to watch the big ships coming into port and the yachts scooting around

In other related news, I've been asked to give a couple of lectures for one of the actuarial units at Melbourne Uni. That should be an interesting experience. It'll be at the start of August. I have a fair amount of leeway on what I want to cover (within reason, and no mole rats).

(continued...)