Wayfarer: The River

I love this EP. Hymns in a Fleet Foxes style. It's creative and singable. I'm singing "What wondrous love is this, oh my soul" all the time. I like hymns that don't have epic lyrics with 8 lines a verse; I like hymns that you barely need a powerpoint slide to read from, because they are plain and simple. I predict a trend in that direction.

You can get it on iTunes, Bandcamp, Noisetrade, etc etc (re Noisetrade, it's free, but it's worth a donation, I think, so I "bought" it there rather than funding apple with their outrageous prices and the cut they get from it).
http://noisetrade.com/wayfarer

Hard Magic by Larry Correia

I sprung $4.95 on an audible sale and bought a book I've never heard of, Hard Magic. It's the concept from X Men or Heroes, ie, some humans have evolved magic powers, so it's set in a well-developed alternate reality. The 20th Century is there but different. It's set in the 1930s depression, in America, with gangsters and prohibition and Oakies from the dustbowl and flying blimps and fedora hats, but with different wars and politics. And it's got a big cast of characters with intertwined stories, I always like that. $4.95 well spent.

The Way I Am

http://youtu.be/9SnhmIqxpDo

This is by Ingrid Michaelson. Official, ugly, music video here.

This would be a good cutesy song to have at a wedding, but I like it anyway. It's short, simple, sweet, and it has more to it than sunshine and romance. Marriage vows sort of do contain promises that you will love each other when they go bald, or you want to borrow their clean hanky.

All the more.

Another love song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OpN9YHo-5A
This is the only video unfortunately, it's barely worth watching. The first verse is about cute romantic first love, and the second verse is about wrinkly lasting love. These are words worth contemplating.

The beauty of loving through time
is the intimate knowledge of lines and of 
creases that tell all the stories we've written together.
You're in love with the truth about me,
all the scars that no-one else sees,
and that vision you hold speaks louder than a thousand love letters.

I think it's something that's true of all long-lasting love—friendship or family.

My love is my love.

Peter Bradley Adams. I like his really laid back croony sort of arrangements.

I'm going to start blogging love songs that have depth, that have issues in them, or are in some way grown up. But are still easy listening.

I spent all my money trying to look stable
Bought you a diamond before I was able
But a man's got to gamble if he wants to look proud
My luck is my luck and I guess it ran out

http://vimeo.com/27543309

Braces update.

Well, I think the gap shrunk a little in the last month, maybe 1/3mm smaller. Not small enough, however. Today, some of my top teeth were filed a bit, the microscrew was deemed to be getting loose and coming to the end of it's useful life soon, some more rubber chain was wrapped around my teeth, and I have a long appointment in 2 months time to change the screw. So it doesn't sound like I'll have braces off anytime this year. I should really stop making up these deadlines, it's such a letdown.

Busy but good.

I had a really nice weekend. I'm always torn three ways on weekends, I want to do nothing and rest with a book or the TV, I want to see my friends and do fun things outside and enjoy the weather, and I want to get my life and house in order and shop and exercise and be productive. All three is a bit hard. This weekend I kind of let go of what I wanted to do because there was just stuff I had to do, music for a kids event at church taking up half of it. But miraculously, I managed to get all 3 weekends in one anyway! It was actually a bit hectic and went fast, but it didn't feel hectic.

I had dinner with 2 friends in Chinatown after work on Friday, tick social, went to bed early, got up and did some Jillian after breakfast, tick exercise. Got summer clothes out and put some coats away, tick productive. Went to vote at my flatmates church with K, had a sausage bun for lunch and saw a car accident, tick do fun things, did my grocery shopping on way home, tick food. Walked to M Junction and EG Westfield to find a new fluro tube for the kitchen. Couldn't find one, and also got a bit lost on the way so was very hot and angry and tired by the time I got to church for music practice, in a foul mood. Fail. Oh I forgot, being so hot and tired I wanted a smoothie but couldn't buy one. After a few hours learning kids songs I got a lift home, and I was complaining about how hard it is to find a fluro lightbulb, and it turns out the couple driving me home had a lightbulb store in the boot of the car. What are the chances? "Mr Good" installed it for me and everything! Tick changing the light, and tick I feel happy because someone randomly helped me!

Then I was about to start cooking dinner but I remembered I should make soup for church dinner instead, so I went back to Coles and bought pumpkin etc and made soup. THEN I vegged out with Season 1 of Criminal Minds, tick relaxing. My flatmate likes the show but I find it scary and also the characters are pretty dull and I have no idea who is who, so I thought I'd start at the beginning, and it's a lot better at the beginning. The characters actually have personality.

Sunday morning was the kids thing at church, tick serving others. After lunch I watched some more Criminal Minds with my flatmate and a bag of freddos, tick relaxing. Then walked to church, tick exercise and enjoying sun. Soup after church but didn't have to wash up because had cooked, tick not washing up. More Criminal Minds after church. Made my sandwich for Monday, tick getting stuff done.

Your Song: cover

I really like this cover. It's done quite differently. The Ewen version is good too but this is my new favourite cover.

It's not for sale on itunes except on an album so I can't buy it, I just watch this video a lot. It's a cute and happy video as well, so it might cheer you up like it does me. Makes me want a cat and some autumn leaves and maybe dye my hair blonde and shave a bit of it off.

Call the midwife.

Loved the first episode. I have just enough history to recognise things. Post WWII era means the baby boom. No contraceptive pill. Rationing, so food and clothing very simple. Poor people have always lived in the East End of London because that is downwind of the city and the air is worse. Before the Clean Air Act the smog+fog was sometimes so bad that people died. The 50s is recent so there was a very real and unjudgmental sense of place and time, although the era is completely vanished, which makes it quaint and interesting. Also, childbirth is a yucky thing, just as I suspected, and which I have not really picked up in other movies and tv shows featuring a birth. Bicycles film well, they lend themselves to long travelling outdoor shots. There was a quotable quote in the first 5 minutes: "The time has come for us to go in search of cake."

Scooting!

I scooted today. I've had a long break from it, but once again I've had buses to the limit, so I went to bed at 9.15 last night, woke up at 6.30, left at 7.10, and arrived at work at 8am, for half an hour quiet time before work. I was quite pleased because I think it took 48 minutes. Broke the 50 barrier, so I'm closer to 45min than an hour. Big difference in my mind. Also, I gave up and walked the last 50 metres of Anzac Parade, cos I think I'm a little bit unfitter.

However, by the end of the work day I was really tired.

And because it is cold, I can't dress light enough to avoid a really sweaty back from my backpack. Might have to have a change of shirt.

What I did on my weekend.

Engage conference. Next year I aim to not be tired. I looked forward to this conference every year, and yet again the late nights and strange bed and the cold weather turned me into half a zombie, which makes me crave chocolate and wish the music would be quieter and the talks shorter. I saw my brother up there, but didn't catch up with many people.

I also helped the friend of a friend tidy up her house for her in-laws to visit on Saturday afternoon. One of those crafty people who see potential in everything and have more inspiration than discipline in their life. I really couldn't sit there and do cross-stitch while she flapped around among the mess and babies saying "I'm just not motivated" so I helped her. And I do believe that other people's mess is a bit easier to work with, because you are undistracted by the sentimental value of the mess, and can get more quickly to the 'before and after' transformation. Anyway, it was a weird and sort of taking-over thing to do in an almost strangers' house (it was the second time I was visiting), but on the other hand it was a practical and loving way to help. It's hard to know where the boundaries are, sometimes.

Life.

I want to blog something edifying and whimsical. Right now I can't think of anything very good. I could tell you that I cooked another batch of cookies and followed the recipe better and improved it also, and the results were pleasant. But I baked leftover dough the next day, and the results were deformed. The dough doesn't keep. Oh, here is something interesting, smh.com had this on it this morning:

I thought: the secret to long life is not exciting enough to be the main story? it's at the bottom of the screen? and the picture is soup? is soup the secret? I didn't click and read because it so obviously was NOT much of a secret.

How I measure the gap in my teeth.

Dad gave me this calliper set. It is lots of thin slivers of metal. For ages I could fit the whole set into the gap, which means it was more than 2mm, but now I fold one back (one that is 25/1000 of an inch) so I can tell that the gap is smaller, and the set I can fit in is a bit over 1.5mm wide.

This is a lot more accurate than putting a ruler in my mouth.

Braces update.

Yesterday I had my ortho appt delayed from 2 weeks ago. The hygenist said I had a cavity, but privately I have decided I'm not going to the dentist until my braces come off, because I'm sure there will be more surprises under those bands, besides needing a clean.

The appt was to remove a screw in my jaw and put it in a different place. In the end, he changed his mind about the xrays and moving the screw in my jaw, (second time changed mind about that!) because the gap is smaller. I thought it was wishful thinking. He put some more rubber chains in my mouth, and a few hours later my teeth were tapping again (when I try and clench my teeth 2 teeth bump into each other and the rest can't meet) and when I stick the spark plug calliper into the gap, it doesn't fit! I have to fold back a piece! So it has very quickly gone from over 2mm to about 1.6mm.

He said that when the gap gets to 1mm, that will be it. 

Next appointment is 11/9 so he seems optimistic that the rest of the mm can close in 4 weeks, I guess. I wonder what else will happen after the gap being closed, or if that's it and my braces can come off? I'm starting to get excited that the end of the year is a realistic goal for biting into an apple.

Pillow retraction.

It's still a good pillow, but it doesn't stop whatever it is that locks me up. Another weekend, another terrible night's sleep, another Monday with a stiff neck, killing my whimsy. I did some stuff on Saturday, sanding and so on, that might have made me stiff, but it doesn't make sense that I'd tense up in my sleep on Sunday night. I can't pinpoint it to any trigger, which is frustrating. Can only try and be consistent with the stretches. Maybe I'll try and avoid sitting on the couch next weekend and do a straight backed chair instead.

Seems like a good time to share my fav Carpenters song. It's a Monday, the weather is wintery, and I'm grumpy. Can't get much closer to living out 'Rainy days and Mondays always get me down'.

I wish I could play the harmonica.

Tonight, however, will be guacamole party night. Which means that after I've done Jillian (if I risk Jillian on a sore neck) and my flatmate gets home, we will watch Once Upon a Time and eat a bowl of home made guacamole and a bag of doritos.

Pillow update.

My neck tension has subsided again. I've had two attacks of neck-shoulder pain, about a month apart, with some neck stiffness the rest of the time. I think it's triggered by my braces, because my teeth are uneven at the moment, but I'm trying to cover every possibility.  I've swapped things around at work, moved my mouse to the left hand. I've tried different hairstyles to reduce the weight on my head. I'm keeping my jaw tucked shut even if my teeth don't meet. I'm minimising carrying a heavy bag where I can. I've had a massage. I'm doing physio stretches. And because I went to bed relaxed from a massage and woke up tense again I have bought a special shaped foam pillow for sleeping. (FYI, a Denton Medi Rest on sale from My House $66)

It is higher than I am used to, and the foam is more rigid than the feather pillows I had, but that's what I need because I was mashing those feather pillows into all sorts of neck-twisting shapes in my sleep. I wish I didn't have to use it, but I think it is beneficial. After a week, I think I'm getting used to it.

Photo Recap: Stonehenge and Chawton.

We drove to Salisbury to find wifi which was at Hungry Jacks and I bought some clean socks at M&S. We walked past the cathedral. Then we left, and found Stonehenge. Which was so wonderfully strange. You're driving along, looking at maps, and you look up and it's suddenly right in front of you in real life. It was raining really hard, so the getting out of the car and taking photos of it was not that great. So although it's stupidly tragic that Stonehenge is surrounded by roads, I think the experience of finding it on the side of the highway, like a truck stop or a big pineapple or an alien spaceship or something, is pretty wonderful.

Then we went to Chawton and I visited Jane Austen's house. AMAZING. It was quiet and pretty and full of treasures. It's manned by lovely volunteers who sit around quietly and read books.

Then we went to some boring motel for the last night of our England part. In the morning we drove to London, refilled the car, returned the car, pulled our suitcases back to Earl's Court, took pictures with the TARDIS, of which I have none. No photos. Weird. Caught train back to Heathrow, hung around a little while and then flew BA to South Africa overnight. The plane was half empty! and therefore it was the best flight we had. I moved over to an empty row and spread out and managed to doze a little.

Reality check.

Meanwhile, in the present day, the holiday is far behind me. For the sake of authenticity in social media, my life is currently nothing like those pretty holiday photos. It is this desk, and Sydney buses, and freddo frogs, and sleep.