Happy birthday to my Dad!

Diet Update: I’ve now lost just over 40 pounds. More remarkably, I can finally fit into everything in my wardrobe. That doesn’t sound like much, but when you’ve been lugging some of your favorite pieces of clothing around from continent to continent for three years in what you gloomily suspect is the impossible hope of ever wearing them again… to be able to finally fasten those buttons again brings tears to the eyes.

This just in… Channel 9 News just reported that vandals have knocked down the sacred Virgin Mary fence post at Coogee. The deluded – I mean, faithful – are very upset about it. Footage showed crowds of people staring sadly at a broken stump. Several flowers wrapped in plastic had been stuck to it. (It reminded me of the gates at Kensington Palace after Diana died.) A sad old woman who looked like she’d just stepped out of 1930’s Communist Russia knelt down and prayed in front of it. Yep, in front of a broken fence post. Sometimes religion is really weird.

Friday Five:

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn’t have breakfast, why not?
Nothing. I was hungover like a dog. Why do ‘morning afters’ get worse as you get older? I don’t remember feeling this crappy ever in college.

2. What’s your favorite cereal?
Golden Grahams. I’d kill for a bowl right now, but I can’t find it overseas and I don’t want to pay $10 a box to an importer.

3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change?
We eat out a lot, at least once a week (if not more). We’re lazy, we can afford it, and we enjoy good food. I just always have a nagging feeling of guilt about it. Must be the Hoosier upbringing.

4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that?
The Snook is making me his Thai green curry. It’s phenomenal. Chicken, coconut cream, lemongrass, garlic, onion, and lots of wonderful veggies… I’m salivating.

5. What’s your favorite restaurant? Why?
It changes a lot, mostly because there’s so much variety here. I mean, my favorite Newtown cafe at the moment is Lamina, which is right down the block. They have great coffee and food and I like the atmosphere. In terms of a proper restaurant, I love Wagamama’s, a chain of Japanese noodle bars. And if you’re talking really fancy, you can’t beat Rockpool. I took the Snook there for his birthday last year. It was one of the most memorable dining experiences of my life.

You know what isn’t nice? When you spend a couple hours making something and then offer it up freely on the Internet, only to have clueless jerks source it directly from your server. I try to be understanding but, as this is the second time this has happened with the very same image, it kinda pissed me off. I decided to get revenge. How long do you think before this guy and these people and the friggin’ Emperor notice?

For future reference, I’m really happy to have people put the Valentine on their sites. I’ve gotten some great thank you comments in the past week or two and I’m just glad that folks like it. But if you want to display it, save it to your hard drive, upload it to your own web host, and source it from there. (You’re welcome to link – as in, <a href=”whatever”> – to it all you want. I’m just talking about people who do this – <img src=”whatever”>.) I know this is a controversial issue, and I’ve had lengthy arguments about it with the Snook. Some people think that everything posted on the ‘Net is fair game. I think of it as more a question of courtesy. For example, consider the little old lady that gives away samples of food at the grocery store. Sure, they’re free, and theoretically you could sit in front of her all day eating the samples without any intention of buying the food. But it’s a jerk move, you know? Just because something is free doesn’t mean you should hog it, especially without asking the permission of the giver. Am I in the minority here? Does that sound totally irrational? I’m really asking, because it just seems like there are fewer people who care about such niceties, and more people who are only interested in taking whatever they can.

And it didn’t help that I was hungover today.

As some of you know, the Snook and I participated in the Walk Against Want last year. The Walk raises funds to help poor communities in over 30 developing countries worldwide. The Snook and I managed over $150, thanks mostly to the kind donations of you readers. Thanks for that.

Well, it’s that time again. This year’s walk will take place in a few weeks and I’ve decided I’m going to do it. I’ve signed up for the 15 kilometer walk, which is over 9 miles. Anybody want to sponsor me? American dollars and British pounds go pretty far here, so you don’t have to donate very much to make an impact. You can even use PayPal to send me the cash (and I’ll cover the transaction costs myself). In addition to the warm glow of helping out your fellow man, each person who donates will also receive something hand-crafted by me. I’m not sure what it’ll be yet (it depends on how many people donate), but I’m leaning towards marble magnets and maybe even sock monkeys (for the very generous). If you’re a tight-ass, I can even send you a receipt so you can deduct it from your taxes. So what are you waiting for? Send me an e-mail or leave a comment if you’d like to help out.

You all know of my deep and abiding love for Legolas, right? I’d just like to clarify however that I do not love Orlando Bloom, the actor who plays him. Especially after seeing pictures like this. *shudder* (I’d have linked directly to his bio in the “Cast & Crew” section, but the stupid site is all Flash.)

The first woman-to-woman HIV transmission has been reported. On one hand it’s silly to be surprised; of course this sort of thing could happen. But on the other, it just seems weird, you know? I feel like women have kinda gotten the idea that our gender is always on the receiving end of such stuff. It’s a good reality check. Play safe, kids.