New iPad

My first post using my iPad. Very exciting. No, it is. Life at the moment isn't the great adventure that people think it is. I know moving to the bottom of the world is more adventure than a lot of people experience, but really if I am honest, all I really did was sit on a plane for 20 Hours, and exchange houses. That probably sounds more bitter than I mean it. It has been fun meeting new people, and doing the few new things that we have experienced. However, because we have come here to live and work, not a lot of real adventuring has gone on. (I am aware that there is a certain amount of hormonal blah going on here, but can't help that.)

Neil works, the kids do school and I potter around the house doing bits and pieces. I have retaught myself to knit. And have knitted two scarves and three hats. (One hat and scarf ended up being for a Baby Annabell doll as I got the proportions completely wrong!) I am going to dig out the sewing machine and see what I can accomplish with that.

I realised that the deadline for the 101 things to do in 1001 days passes. I didn't do them all, but at least I did some of it. I am going to try and start another list, with the ones that I didn't manage with some new ones added. Depending when I start, the finish date will be around date will be about February 2015.

Missing my chums in the UK, and witchy peeps. I haven't found any other like minded people so far, although I have been told they are around. Until then, I will have to suffice with being more active online.

On a lighter note...

We human beings are all the same. It doesn't matter who you are or what you do, we are all the same quirky, slightly flawed beings finding our paths in the Universe. I will never be intimidated by ANYBODY ever again, thinking they are better than me because of their position or wealth, intellect or circumstance. Because they are often just as silly, funny, nice, naughty, and rude as I am if you get them in the right circumstances.

(And if any of my fellow readers have a clue who and what I am talking about, then please keep stum (quiet). I am probably on enough lists already! :D)

Sometimes I wonder if I was born on the right planet.

Seriously WTF is going on?

I am watching the UK government tear the NHS apart to make it more like the United States system.
I then watch what the US government is doing to their system, and wonder whether this is not only of the beginning of the end of the NHS, but also the start of something much much more frightening?

A circle cast.

She sat in the circle. Alone and vulnerable, with only a line of salt to protect her. Her only light a single candle. They looked at her from the outside. They couldn’t reach her without breaching the circle.

They knew what she was getting herself into, but they could not warn her. They knew nothing would be the same once again. They hope it would not burn her soul too much.

Placed in front of the woman was a goblet. Dark liquid filled its bowl. They watched her mutter some strange incantation and lift the vessel to her mouth. She drank it down. Her eyes opened and her Universe shattered into sharp pieces.

Ó Michelle Ward Feb 2011

Here be Dragons...

Do you believe in Dragons?

Dragons are real. But they don’t give a rat’s arse whether we believe in them or not. They don’t suddenly disappear if someone says, “I don’t believe in Dragons”, and we don’t have to clap to save their lives. You might be walking down the road, and walk past one without truly seeing them. I did that once. It was probably a mistake on their part, since when I looked again; it was just another plane flying through the sky. But I know it really was a Dragon.

They aren’t massively impressed with the Human race. We are, as they say, Crunchy and Taste Good With Ketchup. However, sometimes we can strike up conversations with them, and if we don’t irritate them too much, develop reasonably good relationships. I mean, you don’t want to push it too far. They don’t take too kindly to our silly sense of self-importance, and that frazzled hair looks doesn’t look good on anyone and smells bad to boot.

Traditionally they are meant to have large hoards of treasure, but to be honest, the ones I know tend to have, umm, collections of Tat. They like their shiny bits and pieces, and they probably do have some priceless artefacts in there, but you have to get through the piles of strange object d’arts first. (And don’t even ask about the MacDonald’s Happy Meal toy collections!)

Dragons are getting really old these days. Think really eccentric University Professor that might eat you if you piss them off. You have to stay on your toes to even be interesting enough to have a conversation with them. As to why you would want to have a conversation with them, they do have an extraordinary sharp insight on the universe as we know it, or more importantly as we don’t.

So if you ever have the pleasure of meeting a Dragon, then remember to treat them with respect. Bring something for them to add to their Hoard of Treasure (Obviously Disney Happy Meal toys work well. Or something from Regretsy, that will always crack them up!) Tread carefully and speak thoughtfully and you might find you have the time of your life.

29th February

Since I won't get to post on this day for another four years, I thought I should.

Sad news in show business today, as Davy Jones from The Monkees. has died. I had quite the crush on him as a kid.

Daydream Believer

Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings of the bluebird as she sings
The six o'clock alarm would never ring
But it rings and I rise wipe the sleep out of my eyes
The shavin' razor's cold, and it stings

Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean
To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?

You once thought of me as a white knight on his steed
Now you know how happy I can be
Oh, and our good times start and end without dollar one to spend
But how much baby do we really need?

Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean
To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?
Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean
To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?

Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean
To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?
Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean
To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?

Cheer up, sleepy Jean, oh what can it mean
To a daydream believer and a homecoming queen?

I Am A Feminist.

I am a Feminist. I will put my hand up and shout loudly that I AM A FEMINIST. I am getting more and more pissed off with the continual attempt to make Feminism out to be something it isn't, and that any one who considers themselves to be Feminist is somehow a misandric sociopath.


WHY I AM A FEMINIST:

 * I have automatic and autonomous rights to my own reproductive system and sexual behaviour.

 * I have the same right to work, earn money, save money, spend money as any other individual, irrespective of their gender. If I am have the same experience and qualification, am doing the same work at the same level of competence, then I have the right to the same pay.

 *I also have the right to choose a more traditionally viewed way of life, to stay at home and raise my children. However, this right is also not dependent on my gender and is a role that any parent should be able to choose, rather than have to make a decision purely based on economics.

 * I believe that sex is a natural part of healthy life, that has been trivialised and demeaned to a state where it is used a commodity to subjugate society into behaving in particular ways.

 * I believe that raising healthy, independent children is one of the most important things that human beings can achieve, but there is no BEST way of doing this, and the hetero-normative view of Married, Female Mother and Male Father is not always the best way of achieving this.

 * I believe that all people are equal, and this equality is not defined by gender, sexuality, religion, race or any other such definition. I do also accept that equality does not mean that every one is the same, and should be treated as such. Every person will have different needs or have different limitations, just that no one person is worth more than someone else.

I could elaborate more on these points, and add more, but I think at this time, this encompasses the most salient points of my Feminism.

More Links to my Feminism:
http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2010/10/what-would-you-call-it-then.html
http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2009/03/froyw.html http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2008/10/pro-choice-does-not-equal-pro-abortion.html
http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2008/09/quick-simple-post.html
http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2008/09/fertility-at-any-cost.html
http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2008/09/feminism-for-all.html
http://hystericaljugglings.blogspot.com/2009/03/patriarchy-hurts-men-too.html