Month: January 2009

Twilight: The Puppet Saga. I think most people will agree this is a big improvement on the original. (Though not cousin Jenny!)

Happy blog-birthday to me!
Web-goddess is now officially eight-years-old. Good grief. Have I really been doing it that long? Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time on Facebook, and it’s been weird to see how many of my high school and college classmates have kids now. I guess – for better or worse – this blog is my baby. This is what I have to show for the past eight years. Each anniversary has become sort of a special point of reflection for me, when I can look back over the highlights of the past twelve months. As usual, I’ve compiled some fun statistics to celebrate. (Previously: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.)

• Number of posts: 868 (A 7% increase from last year’s 811. Going back to a desk job probably helped.)
• Number of comments: 2195 (An 11% decrease from last year’s 2454.)
• Comments to post ratio: 2.53 (Hm. Lower than last year’s 3.02.)
• Posts mentioning the Snook: 193 (Up from last year’s 167. I must like him more.)
• Most commented posts: My first half-marathon, getting laid off, losing my step-brother, Ron Howard’s endorsement of Obama causes family arguments, getting a new job, and the now deleted “Sorry Day” post. (Man, most of those are heavy. Remember when we used to talk about silly Internet stuff?)
• Top 10 commenters excluding myself: Bex (130), rachel (104), Emily (104), Jenny (76), eileen (66), M-H (66), aim (50), jp (42), Kevin (41), and crumpet (38).
• Number of polls: ZERO! I think I, like, completely forgot about those.
• Moblog posts: only TWO! (I haven’t got it working on my new host yet, so no big surprise there.)
• Oscar contest entries: 386, won by Gerald Granozio
• Nike+iPod total distance run: 811km / 504mi (That’s a 64% increase on 2007!)
• Races run: Mother’s Day Classic, Sydney Half-Marathon, City 2 Surf (third in a row!), Bridge Run, Melbourne Half-Marathon, Tough Bloke Challenge.
• Finished knitting projects: twelve, including my “highly-commended” Road to Golden, several pairs of socks, and two novelty jumpers
• Media appearances: two (interview/photo for JJJ Magazine which never got published; interview/photos in October issue of Knitting magazine about WWKIP Day in Sydney)
• Jobs: three (knitting shop, software developer, software developer/BA)
• Trips: Los Angeles for work in July; Melbourne for a race in October; Eungai for Christmas in December
• Natural disasters: EARTHQUAKE!
• New additions to the family: Professor Death (aka “Petey”), our new kitten; and Indie Marie Carbo, my new niece

So goodbye to 2008! I just had a look over last year’s resolutions, and I did pretty well at keeping them! I ran regularly through most of the year and completed my first half-marathon (along with a second and several other races). I took swimming lessons and learned to do a proper stroke. I got a new job back in I.T. that paid better than the knitting shop. I was more organised both at work and at home. Not too bad!

Okay then, what’s for 2009? I’d like to keep up my running and improve my half-marathon time, with a goal towards running a full marathon in 2010. Towards that end, I need to drop about 10kg. I’d like to take a few more steps down the path towards becoming a full-time Business Analyst. I’d like to win a blue ribbon at the Easter Show. I’d like to do some volunteer work. Here’s to a great year, everybody!

Petey Update: Isn’t he a gorgeous boy?

This week Petey saw the vet and got his microchip inserted, which means he’s officially OURS. (Snookums insisted I register his name as “Professor Death,” which was slightly embarrassing.) He’s already much healthier than he was three weeks ago! His coat is getting shiny, and he looks a lot less starved. The huge improvement has been in his sociability. He’s gone from being very nervous and skittish to being incredibly affectionate and sweet. He loves to be petted and scratched. He’s even letting us hold him and pick him up!

We kept him sequestered in the laundry room for the first few days, but we soon gave in and let him have the run of the house. It’s been hilarious watching his interactions with Amy. Since he’s too small to be a threat, her main reaction seems to be one of SUPREME EFFING ANNOYANCE. He keeps trying to make friends, and she mostly rebuffs him and stomps away. I nearly made her head explode last night when I put down a big bowl of kitten milk, and she was torn between the urge to flee and the greedy desire to slurp it up beside him like the little piggy that she is. (Her pride won out. She gave me a dirty look and slunk away like a sullen teenager.) Progress is happening though. I’ve seen them touch noses once or twice, and the past two mornings we’ve woken to the sounds of cats chasing each other up and down the house. (Which is awesome, considering that one of the main reasons we wanted another cat was to give her exercise.) He’s just this stubborn little brother, wearing down her resistance. Yesterday morning she was lying on the floor in my office when he crept in and stretched out beside her. I immediately snapped a photo before she remembered that she hates him. Score one for Petey!

Meeting of the Top Secret Twi-Hards Club
Today myself and four other ladies-who-shall-not-be-named (though three of them are bloggers and you could probably guess!) slunk into Hoyts Broadway to finally see the awesomeness that is Twilight. I was the only one that had read the book, so they were all coming to it fresh (other than certain details – LIKE SPARKLINESS – that I may have let slip). Anyway, I was pretty much prepared for it to fully suck… and it kinda did. There were a lot of cringeworthy moments, like the whole biology class scene and Jasper’s horrendous facial expression and Volchok‘s scenery-chewing. And it didn’t help that one of our group was pissing herself with laughter through all the intense romantic scenes. But at the same time… I also kinda LOVED IT. I know, I know! Yes, the silly hair, the brooding glances, the ridiculous special effects, all of it. It was just ridiculous cheesy teenage melodrama, you know? But so’s opera, really, and sometimes I like that stuff. And hey, some reviewers thought it was good! I don’t need to be ashamed for enjoying it… right? (I know. I suck.)

New Year’s Eve Fireworks
Okay, I’ve had a little sleep so hopefully I can stop ALL-CAPS SHOUTING now. (Sorry about that.) The SMH has posted their official fireworks photos, which focuses on the Bridge and probably looks like the bits you saw on TV. Our view was from a roof in Pyrmont, which meant that while we couldn’t see the Bridge itself, we got to watch the fireworks exploding from six different locations. And we were pretty much level with them, which was exciting. Here’s the video I shot. (The music is from the party. The spots where it goes dark are where I’m trying to focus on my fellow partygoers, but my little camera just couldn’t make them out.)

Thanks again to Tim for inviting us!

Far Side Reenactments done in photography. Nice! I’m just disappointed nobody’s done my favorite (“Llook out Llarry! It’s the llandllord!”) yet.

Happy New Year! It’s 1:30am and the Snook and I just got back from my friend Tim’s New Year’s Eve party. He’s got an eighth floor apartment in Pyrmont, which meant that we could see six of the harbour fireworks locations. It was AWESOME. I took quite a bit of video that I’ll upload in the morning. We also had our first go at Rock Band on the PS3, and ZOMG, I NEED THIS GAME. I had a reluctant turn at the drums, thinking I’d suck, when in actuality I ROCKED. We need to get this game as soon as possible. Seriously.

Also, when we got home, we discovered that Petey had thrown up ON OUR BED. Poor little guy.