" Observation " overload

Alright, so I'm going to admit it - I'm a perve. No, its true, I'm a dirty, dirty perve. Some of you may remember Banky McHands, and he's still on my perving radar, but its more than that. I am not going to mention exactly how long its been since I've had the " company " ( ahem ... ) of a good man, but suffice to say that its been long enough that I now find myself checking people out everywhere I go. For example, you know that underwear ad featuring David Beckham ? Umm... yes please. Or last night I'm watching " Baby Mama " at the movies and my first thought is " Wow, Tina Fey has sexy-ass legs ". This was followed closely by " I totally want her shoes!! " Good freaking Lord.

So aside from young Banky McHands, I am now checking people out at the gym. Thats normal right ? Half the people at the gym are only there to give other people the once over. So, anyways, I'm at the gym, on one of the machines that works your triceps - yes, I know the machines have names, I just dont know what they are - and I'm doing my thing, working up a sweat.... and I cant help noticing one of the regulars working up a sweat too. He's definately older than me, maybe around 30, could be married, and he's probably going bald because he has a really close cropped buzz cut but there he is, and there I am, watching the muscles in his legs move under his glistening skin. Of course, I'm watching out of the corner of my eye while i ( try to ) concentrate on what I'm doing.

Or this afternoon, after work, I'm in line at the supermarket, waiting for my turn with the cashier. There is a guy a few places in front of me, kind of tall, dark hair, scruffy, unshaven thing going on - just my type actually - and he looks around absentmindely. Just for a fleeting second I feel like he's giving me the eye so from that point until he's paid for his stuff and is out of sight I'm secretly giving him the once over. Nice bum, strong looking chest, nice arms under that t-shirt.... for God's sake Amy, just pay for your tzatziki and get out of here!

Thankfully, this newfound obsession with observation hasnt yet encroached on my life too much. I mean, its not likeI'm surfing the net for porn or chasing poor innocent young men down the street. I mean, I'm not THAT desperate ( yet ). But I'd like to think that maybe, sometimes, someone could possibly be perving on me and that this isnt just a one way street.

That would just be too, too sad, wouldnt it ?

My Weekend by the Numbers

So I totally stole this idea from Miss Em, right down to the idea of having a picture of numbers ( but not the same picture - that would be a little too Single White Female.... ). Feel free to steal it from me if you like ( but not my picture, I have dibs on that one ). Here goes:

30 - dollars spent on my almost-three year old neice when I took her shopping with me.

5 - dollars wasted when she only ate the icing off her donut and decided that her milkshake was too cold.

4 - goals scored when my brothers soccer team won their semi-final. That would be 4 - nil - bring on the final next week!

30 - millimetres of rain that fell on DubVegas over the weekend.

12 - how many of the soccer boys i predict will be getting pnuemonia after training and playing in all that rain.

55 - minutes spent practising yoga on Saturday afternoon.

1 - apology from my yoga teacher for subjecting me to one too many " roll ups/ roll downs " during my classes this week. No worries, my stomach is looking all the better for it!

800 - approximate amount of calories I consumed when eatingmy Dads homemade lasagne. But its Dads lasagne and its so delicious and cheesy and.....

0 - number of naps I took. Yes, i missed out on my weekend naps. What a travesty....

1 - book that i finally got around to finishing: " On Chesil Beach ", by Ian McEwan.


A little disappointing after " Atonement " but certainly not the worst thing I've ever read. It actually took me a little while to get into it, so i think that may have been half the trouble. Plus, and this might just be me, but one of characters is just really unlikeable, no matter how much the author tries to explain her perspective. Its hard to like something when you dont particularly like one of the protagonists....

Let the celebrations begin!

Happy Blog Day people! Yes, in case you were unaware, today, August 31st, is officially Blog Day 2008. Basically its a day for bloggers to celebrate other bloggers, to discover new blogs and share these discoveries with others. Doesnt that just sound like a splendid idea? I thought so, which is why I'm participating. There are, of course, posting instructions:

1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting

2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2008

3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs

4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st)

5. Link to the Blog Day website

So, the link mentioned in #5 is right up there ( go on, go check it out... ) so basically I had to go out and find five new blogs that I liked and wanted to share. Not necessarily an easy task, but a very interesting one. How do you decide who to choose do you ask ? Well I'm a member of 20 Something Bloggers so I thought i'd start there. I know its sounds superficial, but i used the blog avatars to decide what to read. That is, if you had an interesting or cute avatar, or a pciture of yourself in which you were pulling some quizzical impression, or you were just plain good looking - i opened up your page, clicked on your blog, and checked you out. The only other thing i went off intially was if the name of your blog amused me. So there you go - potentially shallow, but the next five blogs were chosen completely on the merit of their content. Read on ( and by that I mean read what I've said, and then go check the blogs out for yourself! ):

1. WildARSChase - okay, so this one isnt exactly brand new because I've had it on my blog roll for a few weeks. However, its a great blog so I choose to add it. Andy writes about, well, anything and everything, and so far its all been funny. I really click with Andy's sense of humour, whether he's disecting a past relationship ( co-blogging with his ex mind you ... ), reminiscing about awesome 90's TV, or trying to pass himself off as the boyfriend of an Olympic gymnast ( if i write " Alicia Sacramone " i wonder if my readership will go up too ? ). You want a lighter side to your day, go check this one out.

2. Like Spinning Plates - it was an avatar featuring a picture of my heroine, Audrey Hepburn, that drew me to this blog. I checked it out and found E, a woman who has just moved houses, started a new job and is trying to figure her shit out. She's in a state of transition, kind of like my good self. And if she likes Audrey, well she's alright with me.

3. Holden Caulfield Etc - the picture of Matt as featured in his avatar looks like he's giving you a cheeky wink ( cute! ) and he namechecks one of modern literature's cult heroes in his blog title ? Of course I was going to take a closer look. Turns out the avatar is a picture of his new buzzcut, but also that he's quite articulate, socially concerned and witty. I like that in a blog.

4. Late Bloomers Revelations - first off, her screen name is listed as ThatShortChick and her avatar is a picture of cute zebra print flats. I am also a short chick, and I love cute zebra print flats. I had a sneaking suspicion we may have been kindred spirits. Turns out I could be on to something - of what I've read of her blog, she's made a few lists and seems to like talking about celebrities. I like that stuff too! Ooh, and she does surveys - everyone loves a survey!

5. Starting Over at 24 - so the guy writing this blog blanks out his eyes and goes by the code name So@24 (what an enigma .... ) but his smile reminded me of a guy I once dated. His blog appears to be a guys perspective on dating, romantic mishaps and other everyday type stuff. So basically his a mysterious single guy with a nice smile, writing about the hardships of love in a mans world. I could use a guys perspective in that department right now....

So there you go ladies and gents. Five new blogs, five new people to get to know, five more things to distract me over breakfast. That better not make me late for work tomorrow....

Canary in the Coal Mine

Israel is a canary in America’s coal mine. Miners kept a caged canary in the mineshaft as they worked and watched it carefully. Should odorless poison gas creep into the air, the canary would be affected first. It it collapsed, miners had to do something or they wouldn’t survive either. Both America and Israel are threatened by the poison of Radical Islam. We face the same enemy.

Israel’s creation in 1948, or rather its re-creation after going out of existence for nearly two millennia, was improbable - indeed it was unprecedented in all of history. America’s creation was improbable too - a tiny strip of land between the Appalachians and the Atlantic in 1776 - fighting the British in the north and across the sea, Indians in the west and south. Both are outposts of democracy in a world hostile to it. Israel is on the front line. It’s our canary and we must watch it closely. Both will elect a new government soon and our victory or defeat against Radical Islam will be strongly influenced. Choices are similar too. Will we pick aggressive leaders or conciliatory ones? Will we show Radical Islam our fists or the tails between our legs?

Will Israel pick someone to carry on outgoing Prime Minister Olmert’s policy of appeasement? He wanted to give the Golan Heights to Syria and the West Bank to the Palestinian Authority. Considering how giving over the Gaza Strip worked out, Israel might as well commit suicide now and get it over with. Land for peace is a failed policy, as Neville Chamberlain discovered when dealing with Hitler. Europe’s Jews were almost wiped out for Chamberlain’s folly. Those who survived the Holocaust formed modern Israel. Israelis fought four wars in twenty-five years against larger, Arab-Muslim neighbors dedicated to its destruction.

After four humiliating defeats, those enemies changed tactics. They don’t invade with conventional planes, tanks and troops. Now they use teenaged suicide bombers and rockets launched from civilian population centers by Iranian proxies Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and by Hamas in Gaza. Meanwhile, Iran builds nuclear weapons and promises to wipe Israel off the map. In spite of fifty years in an almost constant state of war, many Israelis still believe Radical Islam can be appeased and Chamberlain-like policies will bring peace.

Winston Churchill defined appeasement as: “Feeding the crocodile, hoping he’ll eat you last.” Hitler gobbled up mainland Europe and took near-fatal bites out of England before America stepped in. If Israeli appeasers elect another Olmert, Israel is doomed.

Modern Israel was founded by Jews who were determined to have their own military to defend themselves against the Hitlers who would make them extinct. Today’s Hitler takes the form of Radical Islam which denies the Holocaust while preparing nuclear genocide. In the face of this grave threat, many Israelis seem to have forgotten their birthright - they’re losing their identity, and if they don’t regain it, they’re doomed.

To wake up fellow Israelis, Natan Sharansky’s latest book is titled: “Defending Identity: Its Indispensable Role in Protecting Democracy.” Newsmax’s Christopher Ruddy interviewed Sharansky and reports:

The thesis of [Sharansky’s] book is that democratic society, if it has any hope for long-term survival, must offer an identity for its citizens. Looking out at the world, he says “our enemies look so dangerous because they have a strong will.” This means they have beliefs they are ready to die for. “The free world, if it does not have values for which people are ready to die, will be powerless, its people decadent. It will be doomed to failure.” Identity, he says, gives people these values. It is not the enemy, as many [multiculturalists] in the West believe. “Europe is suffering the most from a loss of identity. Faith and patriotism have weakened as it embraces a super-identity — all in an effort to avoid war.”

What’s the best way to avoid war? The “Bush Doctrine” - adopted after September 11th - authorized preemptive strikes against countries planning to attack us, but America, and Bush himself, have backed away. Voters will choose soon between Democrat Barack Obama - an appeasing worshiper of Multiculturalism, and Republican John McCain - someone who understands our enemy and is willing to do whatever it takes to defeat it. Israelis must decide soon if they will attack Iran before Iran “wipes it off the map” and vote accordingly. Do Israelis have the will? Do we? Iran is betting against it.

Martin Luther King said: “If a man has nothing he would die for, he isn’t fit to live.” If such people comprise the majority in Israel or the United States, neither country is fit to live and won’t for much longer. The Israeli canary is teetering on its perch.

Freedom for free love

As of late this blog has been pretty light and fluffy. That is to say that my posts lately have been mainly of the " humourous rant " variety. Well it is not always sunshine and lollipops here people. I have a real rant today and i just wanted to see what you people thought.

See, I was absentmindely reading news articles on the internet today ( during work hours - i know how to waste time too... ) and I came across an article about Hallmark producing greeting cards for same sex marriages. I'd link to the article but the article itself is of little consequence really. No, its not the article that has me riled up but the barrage of comments left after it. Frankly, some people are dipshits.

Just to clarify - I am not gay. I like men ( although I'm starting to think that maybe they dont like me so much, but thats a whole other post ). So, yea, I like men, but I also like men who love men, and women who love women. I'm just in love with the human race so it doesnt matter to me who each specific human happens to be in love with. I also do not give two figs about who you choose to have sex with either ( unless you're into man+dog=love, or woman+horse=love - that shit is just sick! ) Basically I'm all for people, whether they be gay, straight, metro, retro, black, white, tran, tri, bi or otherwise. And not only am i for people, I am most definately for people being in love. So if your name is Elton and you love David, then I'm happy for you. If your name is Ellen and you're in love with Portia, then thats a beautiful thing. And if you all want to get married, then i wish you all the love and happiness in the world.

My bug bare is that not everybody else agrees with me. You know how when you're in love with someone there are still things about them that you might not like ? Yea, well like i said i'm in love with the human race but the thing i dont like so much is those of us who are close-minded, abusive and inconsiderate. The first comment after the article was a " God thinks homosexuals are wrong " rant, and it just carried on from there. Of course there were individuals such as myself defending the right to love whom you choose, and the right to marry whom you choose, but the majority of commenters were being downright homphobic and, frankly, disgusting in their arrogance and, in some cases, hypocrisy.

So many of the commenters claimed to be good, upstanding Christians who were disgusted in the fact that Hallmark would produce such trash in support of what is morally wrong and a deadly sin. Firstly - love is a sin now ? Secondly, I was rasied Catholic ( until the age of 15 when i told my priest that i didnt believe in God ) , I've read the Bible, and i distinctly remember the part about love thy neighbour and do unto others as you would have them do unto you. So why are these supposedly Good Samaritans treating others like dirt ? I'm sure they dont appreciate it when people call them, oh, i dont know , brainwashed red-knecked Bible bashers, so according to the book and, indeed the God they so revere, they should be treating gays and lesbians with the utmost respect. Thats what gets me about the Christian faith, or at least the way it has ingrained itself in society - so much of it has been twisted and warped and is nothing like the author of the stories intended. Yep, i said stories....

The second thing that got me about some of the comments was people who were saying they were against same sex marriage because marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman. By whom exactly ? By law makers ? By some fat old men hundreds of years ago ? Newsflash for those people - laws can be changed! Definitions can change too. Funnily enough, not that long ago the most common definition of " gay " was completely different, so why cant the definition of marriage be changed? To me, marriage is about love, not biology. Marriage is the best expression of love, of being so completely enamoured of another person that you want to spend every day of the rest of your life with them. And as far as I'm aware that depth of love is not exclusive to a man-woman relationship, so why should marriage be exclusive to hetero couples only ? It just doesnt make logical sense.

And to those who said marriage was about having children - BBBBRT, wrong. Sex is about having children. What we know about human anatomy and biology says so. Sex is completely possible without marriage, and marriage is possible without children, so your theory makes no sense at all. The whole idea that being married is partly for the purpose of producing children is just another Christian idea thrust upon as all.

I dont want this to turn into a Chrsitian-bashing post, or an anti-religion rant. Far from it. Unlike so many deeply religious people, I dont try to push my ideas and beliefs upon others, and try to uphold a basic respect for others rights to their beliefs, no matter how ridiculous, backward or just plain wrong i think them to be.

So what about you people ? Any opinions on the topic, whether you're for or against gay marriage ? I'm not usually so politically charged or socially controversial, but sometimes things get under my skin....

Here are some pictures

This is a picture of the Awesomeness that is my new pair of Converses.















These next few are of some pictures I drew

when i was like four or five.



The Sun.












Me- check out how I spelled my name!!





















See I thought of the Geico gecko

Apparently that's how I felt that day.

And this is why i'm going broke buying womens magazines

So, just to begin with, I am sitting outside in the sun, blogging from the beautiful sunshine-iness of my backyard - laptops rock! As do lovely almost - Spring days in Australia. Aaah...

Anyhoodle, I just wanted to discuss the female obsession with shopping. Perhaps i'm being cliched here, but girls like shopping. More to the point, I like shopping, even if i'm not actually buying anything ( thats called " window shopping " for the uninitated ). Guess its that whole
" thril of the chase " thing - there's something about having a vague idea of what you want and going on the hunt for it. And yes, most times i will have a semi-formed idea of what i'm after - especially when shopping for clothes. Which is what i was doing this morning. However, being that I am not so financially well-endowed, I went shopping with a view to lay-by ( or lay-away as you American type people call it ).

I really like lay-by. I know its incredibly " old school ", but i still like it. Yes, i know you can just put things on your credit card and get them NOW but somehow i always forget to put regular payments on my credit card and then you end up in a little thing called debt ( argh! ). So I rather like being able to find the things i want but dont necessarily need right NOW ( its all about now!now!now! these days, isnt it? ) and being able to pay them off when i actually have a little cash. Plus, if i forget to go and make a regular payment, someone from the store will ring me and remind me - unlike the credit companys who will just keeping piling more payments ( hello interest charges... ) right on top of your bill.

And i know you fashionista's out there are saying - " But wont the things you put on lay-by be waaaaaaaaay out of fashion by the time you pay them off ? ". Well yes, they would be if you were into totally disposable fads. However, i'm not - i'm trying to fashion myself ( ha ha! unintended pun right there ! ) in the Audrey Hepburn/ timelessly/effortlessly chic mold. Which is hard to do on a budget in a country town, but i'm giving it a shot. Sure, i'll incorporate some of the seasons trends into my wardrobe, but only if they suit me. I pretty much like to stick by the " wear what suits your body shape " rule. If i had a dollar for everytime i'd seen somebody wearing a trend that didnt suit them - shout outs to cigarette pants, micro minis and floaty maxi dresses here - just because they were in fashion, i'd be able to afford to start my own fashion label ( which would be called House of Amy, because " Amy " is French. French is always fashionable ). So many times i just want to walk up to impressionable young women, shake the shit out of them and say " Who let you walk out the of the house like that ?!? Go buy yourself a nice pair of jeans, a tank top, and some ballet flats and you would look SO MUCH BETTER! ". And its not like i'm against freedom of fashion expression - Kate Moss, Chloe Sevigny and Lou Dilloin almost always look fabulous - but most women are not Kate Moss, Chloe Sevigny and Lou Dilloin. We regular type women are more, say, Rachel Bilson, Jennifer Aniston or Susan Sarandon - that is, to say, still totally cute, gorgeous and sexy, just less suitable to eclectic, crazy fashion.

So i'm not saying lets all get about looking like clones of each other - hell no! If you're into vintage indie cool, then be into it. If you're all pin-stripes and ballet flats preppiness, then rock the prep-college look. If you'd rather be all street, then wear you're Chuck Taylor hi-tops and hoodies with pride. Just please choose pieces that work with your body shape. I just wanted you all to look good people. I'm all about the beauty!

P.S I put a dress on layby for my almost three year old neice. Its a tiny little collared shirt dress, red with white polka dots and pintucked sleeves. Too cute! If they had an adult version in the store i would have totally bought it for myself!