The problem with being out of work for so long is that I got in the habit of thinking of my days as “mine”. Now I resent working 9-5 because it sucks up all my time. How do I get back to the place where I simply accept that my job is my life (at least, during the day)?

My mom’s box of Christmas presents finally arrived, containing (among other things) my long-awaited DVD box set of My So-Called Life. The Snook had never seen it, so we sat down the other night to watch the pilot. It was… uncomfortable. On so many levels. I remembered it being more funny and less angst-y. Where was the funniness? (I’ll cut ’em some slack; it was the pilot.) Also, Jared Leto is so not as attractive as I’d remembered. He’s just a jerk and I feel embarrassed for both Angela and myself for liking him. Further embarrassment was provided by the clothes. Why did I ever wear grunge? Why didn’t any of us realize that flannel baby doll dresses are never a good idea? Don’t get me wrong; it’s still a great show (as evidenced by the fact that I compulsively watched the next five episodes in one sitting today). But somehow it’s also embarrassing, you know? It reminds me that I used to be a totally different person, and that person can still make me cringe.

Should Gollum get an Oscar? If he does, I’d like to officially place the first bet that he’ll use the words “my precious” in his acceptance speech.

Happy blog birthday to me! web-goddess by the numbers…

Years online: two
Continents blogged: four (Europe, North America, Asia, Australia)
Site designs: just two
Posts: 2416
Posts with “bad” words: 192 (but most of those were just “damn”)
Comments: 5383
Most commented posts: Attack of the Clones recap, lurker call-out, Goonies DVD review
Unique commenters: 262
Most frequent commenters: I think we covered this already…
Most famous commenter: Wil Wheaton (but he flamed me, which I recount with pride)
Polls: 44
Poll votes: 2410
Hits per day: round about 5000 now
Most popular “nude” search requests: Nigella Lawson, Andy Roddick, and the Olsen twins
Number of times I’ve mentioned those people, respectively: 4, 3, 2
Number of times I’ve mentioned “the Snook”: 426

The Sydney Morning Herald is running an interesting story about research on lab-grown meat. The first sentence is what caught my eye: “It’s possibly the vegetarian’s dream, and the meat-eater’s worst nightmare: flesh grown in a Petri dish for human consumption.” You know, as a carnivore I don’t think I’d have any problem with this. I don’t eat meat because I like killing animals; I eat it because I like the taste and texture. If I could get that without hurting anything, so much the better. (Truth be told, unless we’re going out I find myself getting more and more bored with food. It’s this new impatience I have with maintenance. It just annoys me that in 2003 we still have to spend over a third of each day sleeping and eating and washing and evacuating wastes. Shouldn’t science have fixed that already? Screw the lab-grown fillet mignon; I’ll have mine as a pellet, thank you very much.)

Nominations are now open for the Bloggies. Oh, that’s interesting. They have a category for best Australian weblog! And best weblog cam! Isn’t that interesting?

Friday Five:

1. Do you wear any jewelry? What kind?
Earrings (3): small silver hoops. Rings (2): chunky silver flower ring on my left hand, ND class ring on my right. Watch: silver Swatch on my left wrist. I’ve also got an assortment of random beaded necklaces and stuff that I break out on special occasions.

2. How often do you wear it?
The only ones I wear 24/7 are the earrings, because I can’t be bothered to take them out. That’s why I like these; they go with everything and I don’t have to give it any thought. I wear my rings when I remember, except for random times (like now) when for some reason my class ring gives me a rash. I used to wear my watch all the time, but I got out of the habit when I got the iBook last year (the wrist rest area made it awkward).

3. Do you have any piercings? If so, where?
Three in the ears: one in each lobe and one in the right’s top cartilage. (Me: “What’s this part of the ear called?” The Snook: “The top bit?” Exactly.) I’ve also had my navel pierced twice, neither of which worked out. Take heed, future piercers! For my navel is now all wonky. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

4. Do you have any tattoos? If so, where?
Yup. I got it a few days before my 20th birthday. It was my last act of self-destructive teenage rebellion. It’s the Korean word for “rite of passage” and it’s on my lower back on the right side. My jeans usually cover it up. It’s just black ink, though lately I’ve been toying with the idea of somehow adding some color. There’s a tattoo parlour around the block from our house with some great designs in the window.

5. What are your plans for the weekend?
Saturday the Snook, Steve, and I will be at the Sydney Cricket Ground all day watching the Aussies take on the Poms. After that we’re supposed to head over to Kenya’s for “Poker Night”. (As I suck at poker, however, I’ve instead volunteered to sit out and play “Beer Bitch” all night.) Sunday will be our last day of vacation, so I’ll probably just watch the cricket and finish up Moire’s scarf.

Sorry, fanboys. Eowyn got married yesterday.

Ebert has posted his list of the top films of 2002. I still haven’t seen Minority Report. Is it as good as he says?

Yeah, so I’m a day late. Given that I was actually only conscious for, like, eight hours yesterday, I’m just writing that day off. Anyhoo, my New Year’s Eve pictures are now online! We spent most of the night at a party in north Sydney, but we all walked down to the Harbour to see the fireworks. Here’s the Snook and I before the big show…