Product Placement: My allergies have been terrible lately. I wake up with a sneezy, runny nose and watery eyes nearly every day. I was taking Clarinase and it helped, but it’s pseudoephedrine and it made me feel wired for hours. (Plus the pharmacists here are all worried that you’re going to use it to make crystal meth, so you can only buy seven tablets at a time.) I saw Zyrtec recommended on Glitter the other day and decided to give it a try. I’m on Day 2 and it’s great so far! That first little pill lasted a full 24 hours – no sneezing when I got up today. They’ve also got a neat website with a fun clicky-house thing that helped me determine that I’m probably allergic to dust and feathers. I guess it’s time to throw out my pillow!

One great side effect of our upcoming move is the opportunity to declutter. We’ve got so much crap! The Snook is such a little pack rat and it’s been rubbing off on me. I’ve been researching strategies to tackle the mess at Organized Home.com. I think the classic Four-Box Method is what we need. Unfortunately I don’t think we have enough non-junky stuff to merit a real garage sale. Maybe I’ll offer up some stuff online…

The other day the Snook asked me if I’d seen any of the commercials advertising the upcoming Sydney vs. Collingwood Aussie Rules match. I said I hadn’t and asked why. “Because,” he said, “they stole your victory march!” Tonight I saw the ad myself and was able to confirm that the Sydney Swans’ anthem is indeed the Notre Dame Victory March. They’ve only changed three and a half lines!

According to the World Terrorism Index, Australia is currently the 38th most likely to be hit by a terrorist attack in the next year. The USA is sitting pretty at #4 and the UK’s at #10. Hey, at least we moved in the right direction, right?

In Australia you can say the F-word on television. (Well, after 8:30 anyway.) In fact, you can pretty much say anything you want. For instance, we get uncensored episodes of Sex and the City and The Sopranos on normal free-to-air stations, and Aussie Big Brother even has a special “Uncut” episode each week where they show all the boobies and curse words. I sorta assumed that it’s always been this way, but instead it turns out that 1997 was the year when everything loosened up. Why? Four Weddings and a Funeral. Ha!

I just found out that a Fernwood Fitness Centre will be opening up at the Broadway, which is relatively close to our new apartment. These are a chain of “women only” gyms and they look pretty neat. My first impulse was to sell off my existing gym membership and join Fernwood. Upon reflection though, I don’t think I need to. I can’t honestly say that the men at my gym bother me at all. I don’t feel uncomfortably ogled or intimidated. I wonder how much of that has to do with my burgeoning self-confidence (courtesy of weight loss and better fitness) and how much has to do with the fact that the men at my gym are predominantly gay. 🙂

Do you think segregated gyms are a good idea? I can see where some people might be more comfortable with that, but it sounds a little ridiculous. Like, are “men only” gyms then okay? The only good reason for them, as I see it, are in places where the big bodybuilding guys feel like they have a right to the equipment and little girls don’t. Maybe I’m just lucky that my gym isn’t really one of those places.

Me: “Holy crap, Snookums! Thylacines (Tasmanian tigers) have been spotted in parkland not far from Melbourne’s CBD!”
Him: “Aww, somebody probably just painted stripes on their dog.”

All joking aside, that’s pretty friggin’ cool. The thing’s supposedly been extinct on the mainland for over 2000 years, and now they’ve suddenly got credible evidence that it might still be around! This country is pretty amazing.

I knew there’d be a catch with the new apartment. I called the agent today and asked about the possibility of pets. No go. I just felt like the time was right to go find our little Dr. Alowicious Jones kitty, but it’s not to be. Crap.

When I first heard the Flaming Lips’ song “Fight Test” I immediately recommended it to the Snook. “You’ll like this,” I said. “It reminds me of ‘Father and Son.’” I guess I wasn’t the only one to make the connection. The Lips have agreed to split all royalties from the song with Cat Stevens. I’m not sure I agree with that. I didn’t think they were trying to rip him off; I felt like they were quoting him, making a reference, and possibly even continuing on ideas from his song. That’s legitimate “fair use”, as far as I’m concerned.