Tag Archives: observations

what’s in a name ?

5 Jun

namesTonight’s nonsense is one of those stories that sound to odd to be real… but I swear on my keyboard it is the truth…. trust me I’m a Nurse…(well I was once).

Here we go…

You probably recall learning that WAY BACK that surnames originated from your occupation …  if you made barrels you surname would become Cooper, if you played with wood you would likely become known as Carpenter, if you were part of the constabulary you might be called a Constable…. I’m sure you get the picture.

But I wonder how that translates in the modern world … I mean is our name a self fulfilling prophecy ??

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Back in my school days I knew of a woodwork teacher called Mr Nailor, and a technical drawing teacher called Mr Drew. Later when I went nursing I met a girl called Joy Nurse.. (true) and what’s even funnier is that she was awarded “Nurse of the Year” so she became Nurse Nurse~ Nurse of the Year…then graduated and became Sister Nurse (yep..that’s telling, … but I remember I AM 50 Something)…. No doubt the list goes on … But why am I writing this ???

Well…because you see, today I sent an email to make an enquiry about the cost of  hiring a ‘snow machine’ (but that’s another story)… I near fell over when the reply came from Dean Sunshine …. SERIOUSLY!! (see the screen snip from my inbox).

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Now I just wonder if he got into snow because of …or in spite of… his name ???  Either way it was the highlight of my otherwise dull day, so thanks Mr Sunshine, you made me smile.

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it’s a fine line between pleasure and pain…

4 Jun

hairdresser1Those of you that have been following my musings, will know of my hairdressing dilemma. How to break in a new one that I…  like.. trust… can get to easily every 3 weeks… and that I can communicate with (especially given my vocal limitations).

I found ‘Ms J’  and, while she will never be able to ‘fill the scissors’ of my old super-hairdresser… she is lovely and ticks most boxes. However…there is a new dilemma.hairdresser

You see, she has a school-based apprentice working in the salon, who is a shocker….surly, unfriendly and really really ROUGH.

The first time I was treated to her fingers at the basin, I found myself wishing that I was having hot pokers stuck in my eyeballs… but I cut her some slack because she was so young and new.

The second time I was hoping for an improvement, but alas no !… More pain, less gain and the best part of a salon visit had been reduced to torture.

I finally found the courage to have a quiet word with Ms J and was happy (but not surprised) to hear that many had gone there before me. PHEW …I wasn’t imagining it… and it’s not just ME  that she doesn’t like.. she really is awful at her job, and yes… she is ‘being encouraged to do better’

THAT was 3 weeks ago.

hairwashingSo tonight I went expecting to find a slightly less aggressive approach with the suds …(I  even dared to look forward to it)…  You can imagine my disappointment when  she jumped in and  started ripping at the roots while scrubbing the same spot round and round in circles for what felt like 2 minutes of sheer agony. By the time we progressed to conditioner, to her credit, she did ask ‘is that pressure ok?’   … so I guess you could say that’s an improvement.

Having survived the basin Ms J asked me what I thought,  so I replied that perhaps she should encourage her young charge to consider a career change….as a hairdresser she would make a great accountant (or anything really, as long as it doesn’t involve touching another person).

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31 May

teethI have always had a ‘thing’ for teeth…. (I think you will agree, a great smile can really set off even the most aesthetically challenged face …within some limitations) and they are often the first thing I notice when I meet someone.

But this past week has been full of odd and very random dental observations.

Mid-week I read an article about the supposed ‘new fashion’ that it taking over from skin tattooing. It involved having tattoo-like images created on crowns, so you could flash your tatt when you smile. The crowns were portrayed almost like a piece of jewellery with custom art … ALL you need is to destroy a tooth or two,(and have a pocket full of money…they weren’t cheap).  BUT, as silly as it sounds…I guess when you no longer want it, you either keep your mouth shut or have it replaced with a sparkling new, pearly white one….

Next there was my very odd dream.. It was hailing canines and molars, and Mr50something and I were running around collecting them from the ground to see which ones looked, and fitted best  a bit like a treasure hunt ….. (I have nothing more to say about that … other than the words COMPLETELY BIZARRE)

Finally, we went along to the Lyric Theatre to see Strictly Ballroom; sitting in the nose bleed section, with an amazing birds eye view of all that ‘extreme fluoro and glitter‘ … the thing that glowed as brightly as all the disco ball, was the teeth of some of the characters. I don’t know if it was a costuming effect or simply a case of great sets of chompers being highlighted by stage lighting, either way they were dazzling.

I have no idea what if anything all this tooth talk is telling me, or why I am writing about it  but its just another one of life’s little curiosities and a window to my world.

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measuring up …

28 May

Well here I am home again after last nights drug induced adventure … a bit worse for wear but all good (thank goodness for ice cream) .ice cream

So tonight we go back to nonsense and trivia … and solving the big issues.

This morning while tucking into my mini ice ream tub, I noticed that it was a home grown Tassie brand of treat, carrying the usual nutritional information (did you know there is only 98 calories in a small tub?..well that one anyway)… BUT I was staggered to see that it was labelled as being 3oz content weight…. what the?

Is Tasmania seriously THAT far behind that they still talk in pounds and ounces? I know they are tucked way down low… but surely they heard we went metric back in the early 70’s.

tassieStrangely enough I then had a conversation with a buddy later  today who made the comment ‘ah the penny drops’….followed by… ‘or is that the cent?’  (yes decimal currency arrived in 1966).

It made me stop and think how confused we can get over different measurement systems…and how we pick and choose what works for us.

I mean …. I know my weight in kg… but my height in feet and inches; I talk measurement in centimetres but ‘Mr 50something’ ONLY talks in millimetres; I talk temperature in centigrade .. but when its damn hot will always think how close it is to 100deg F? It’s long enough since we changed from pounds shillings and pence … so no big problems there … but the metric changes are a curious mix.

Our recent trips to USA just highlighted our confusion, where everything is gallons, pints, miles per hour and fahrenheit temperatures …. (but then it’s still yesterday there right now …so I guess we can forgive 😉 )

BUT Seriously Tasmania what’s going on with my 3oz ice cream ??

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I like to watch …

25 May

There is no doubt that people watching is the cheapest and most entertaining way to spend your time.

If you add to this a perfect autumn day, a boat-ramp and a procession of men showing off the manhood through the size of their boats and their maritime skills …then it’s been a perfect day. boat ramp

Their need to abide by boat ramp etiquette… while being speedy and executing a ‘precision launch’ (because everyone is watching) is a recipe for disaster… Not to mention more than a few laughs (well polite sniggers) from the onlookers.

boat ramp 2From the shocking attempt to reverse in a straight line….and ending up the gutter…, to letting go of the rope and having the boat float ‘just out of reach’ … it’s a laugh a minute.

So if you are every feeling low and need that little something to give you a lift, take a chair, your sunblock  and  your dark sunglasses to hide behind… and head to the nearest boat ramp.

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let them eat cake…

20 May

Sitting in a cafe waiting for a friend and I stare in disbelief at those ‘perfect’ cakes in the rotating refrigerator. They looked amazing… almost TOO amazing…. like the goodies from the Cheesecake Shop only far more glamorous … How can they be so meticulously crafted ? (how can every one of them come out of the pan with straight sides and ironing board flat tops?).cake

Anyway .. back to the rotating fridge… I began to wonder how long they last? I’m sure I saw the exact same specimens in that glass display yesterday (and they were probably there the day before ~ but I wasn’t).

It got me wondering …. what IS the statute of limitations on a cafe cake? … and who has the job of actually disposing of something so luscious when it’s technically past it’s use-by date?

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same… same… but different

18 May

How weird is it when you look across the room and see someone you know.. but you DON’T actually know them ?? It happened in a restaurant tonight ….just as I got excited and leapt up to say hi to my ‘friend’ I realised that it was not really her !!!doppelgangers

Feeling like a silly git, I sat back down… but soon got to wondering …do we really all have a doppleganger somewhere in the world as legend suggests?? and if so, would their parents and kids all look similar to ours?? and would their personalities be the same too ???     (I wonder if mine has a voice disorder? LOL)

Apparently in the old days it was a sign of pending doom to see the double of a family member…(sometimes it’s a sign of doom to see an actual family member…) but even worse luck to come face to face with a carbon copy of yourself….that’s just FREAKY  ….!!

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haunted by a full moon…

15 May

full moon

Driving home tonight  I looked up and saw the amazing full moon…. then thought to myself …mmm where else have I seen that today?

Not once or twice …but THREE times in the one day I have had ‘full moons’ inflicted on me in the form of oversized, white and very very hairy male buttocks. What’s with that???

The first was a large and lovely young man who was helping load some things into my bum crackcar… As he bent into the back seat his ‘less-than-designer’ grey trakkie dacks crept waaay too low revealing waaay too much flesh and suggesting that there were no undies anywhere to be seen.

I soon got on with my day and headed to a meeting. There I met another ‘extra-generously’ proportioned young man who pulled up a chair to sit beside me. As he did HIS low-rise ill fitting jeans snuck well below his ‘crackline’ where they stayed for the entire gathering. (I must admit the ’50Something’ mother in me was just as worried bum crack bikeabout him being cold, as I was about his flesh oozing for the world to see).

Finally as I was heading back to the office, I passed a third heavyweight gent. He zipped past me on a motorbike with both cheeks hanging out and his jacket flapping in the wind…

It got me to wondering if this is some kind of sign … and if so what on this earth (or moon)  it is???

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wordswordswords

14 May

As I have mentioned several times … I’m a ‘words’ person not a ‘numbers’ person.

So whenever I am out and about I can’t help but notice the them  … signs, numberplates & adverts ….words are everywhere, and where they’re  not  there  I make them up  (sounding a bit like a Rainman now eh?) .

But I often wonder how many other people read what they THINK they see rather than what’s  really there….you know  like seeing  ‘shopfitters’  …. but reading  ‘shoplifters’ ???.. go on admit it, you know you do…(I hope).shoplifting

These days though, there is the added challenge of working out cryptic business names…. you know the ones that someone (often when they were drunk) thought were  really ‘funny’ or clever names and they  turn out to be completely obscure or lame in the light of day.

My favourites are the ones that run the words together into one long nonsensical word. Not like a portmanteaus which can be clever (think ‘labradoodle’ or ‘californication’) ….but more like a  wordsaladorjumblewordstryingtopull  them apart at the right spot to see what is actually there.

Today I followed billthewindowman.. and had myself convinced that it was something to do with a blind woman… mmm I wonder how much business you get if people can’t figure what your name is?

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spinning a story …

30 Apr

I have never pretended to be a naturist or have a very good handle on anything living …(other than people…I like to think). BUT it occurred to me today  just how little I know about spiders.cobweb

Not that I think it is an essential field of study … or that it is even particularly interesting …..BUT this morning I spied some of the biggest cobwebs I have ever seen. Spanning more than 2 meters between trees…they were massive, yet there was not a hint of the creatures responsible for putting them there.

Clearly these massive construction efforts happen overnight, presumably in an effort to trap their prey, but I wonder just where the owners disappear to when the sun comes up ? …Now, while I don’t particularly “like” them, I am not an arachnophobe… BUT all the same, I couldn’t help but keep a sharp eye out  as I passed by these amazing works of art, fearful that we might meet when I least expect it

I also contemplated what a waste of effort for the poor little critters … tomorrow they will have moved on and need to start spinning their homes all over again… I have never thought it before, but its a rough job having 8 legs and hanging around in silk all night.

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