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Of course, I wasn’t cleaning the whole time. The Snook and I managed to find time to work in both the new seasons of Survivor and The Amazing Race. I have to say, I am LOVING the “divided-by-race” thing on Survivor… mostly because the Asians are rocking the house. Two hot Korean-Americans on primetime TV? I really hope my Mom is watching. I don’t want to give too much away (in case Nine gets off their collective ass and decides to show it here), but let’s just say I’m enjoying this concept way more than I expected to. It helps that most of the contestants are good-humoured about the whole thing. (And did I mention Yul’s hotness?)

And then there was the Race… which I’m also enjoying. No one’s leapt out as a personal favorite yet, but no one’s really grated yet either. I admit I cringed when the Kentucky couple were introduced. I’m probably related to them. But you know what? They rocked. They were friendly; they were open-minded; and so far they haven’t embarrassed me one friggin’ bit. Unlike the dad who confessed to “a little disappointment” because his daughter’s a lesbian. (Me: “OH NO HE DI’NT!”) So yeah, I forgot about him. He grated. He’s trying to make up for it though, so I’ll grudgingly give him a momentary pass. He better improve. A big thumb’s up to the eating challenge though, and to that damn rope climb. I hope this is a sign of (legitimately difficult) challenges to come.

Lastly, there’s our very own Australian Idol. CONGRATULATIONS to all the ladies, I have to say! (Except Klancie. I like pretty Shania, but Klancie seems to be channeling slutty dominatrix Shania. *shudder*) Lavina was the most “fun” we’ve seen her and I really want her to do well. (Mostly because I was never a fan of her sister Emily, and I want her to do well by comparison.) Jessica was friggin’ INCANDESCENT though, and that was literally the best response I’ve ever seen to a judge’s comments. I was so cheering for her to get a touchdown. Suck it, Sandilands! Lisa has also completely turned it around and she’s now back in my good books. That was a perfect song choice for her, and she nailed her delivery. Good, good, good. The boys though? Not so great.

Amy: Dude, Bobby? Was not good tonight.
Me: I know! Bobby phoned that one in from the parking lot.
Amy: Ha! Word.

My boy Chris was a bit underwhelming as well. Damien gave a great performance, but it was so understated I’m not sure people will remember it. Ricky was okay, but he is so intensely desperate to do well that it makes me nervous for him. Dean picked yet another perfect song and gave it his (okay) best, but damn that boy brings the pretty. And Mutto… Mutto has constipation face. We have no need for Mutto.

So if we could just get rid of Klancie and Mutto, I would literally have no problem with *any* of them winning this year. Which is why, uh, I finally got sucked into voting. I can’t help it! They’ve gotten me emotionally invested. And here I am blogging about it, just as James Mathison predicted I would. Damn you, Channel 10!

Dude, it was NINETY DEGREES today. We have officially leapfrogged Spring and gone right into a blazin’ hot Aussie summer. (Literally.) What’s weirder is that we also had gale force winds. This? I’m not used to. In Indiana, when it’s hot it’s usually stinkin’ humid and hot. Today was like being in a fan-forced oven. An especially strong gust nearly tore down a section of the fence between us and the neighbours’! It was kinda extreme.

In more mundane news, the Snook and I did some much needed “spring” cleaning. We started with the closets and ended up taking two more large garbage bags full of clothes to the Salvos. (I’m still parting with FatWear.) I also finally broke out the space bags I bought a while back to store my sweaters and our doona. DUDE, THEY ARE AWESOME. I need to get about twelve more. Seriously, our comforter filled an entire suitcase; sucked down it’s less than half that size. We also washed a ton of laundry and had our first confirmed sighting of the bottom of the laundry bin in nearly a year. (How do I know that? Because the last thing we pulled out was my Sakei costume.) We also sorted and filed – I swear – several hundred bank statements and bills in the office. I feel our feng shui starting to improve already.

The garden got a big of a makeover as well. We’ve planted a new flowerbed along with basil, green onions, and pineapple. (Our old pineapple was kinda “budding,” so we figured we might as well plant the tops and see what happened.) I also picked up some new ceramic pots which we filled with tomatoes, capsicum, and cat grass. (Dr. Jones approves very much.) Today we walked to Newtown with the simple intention of filling up the gas bottle for our barbecue… and we ended up with this. Talk about your true blue Aussie impulse purchase!

Stop. The. Presses. Bobby Flynn is apparently going to be singing Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do) on Idol this Sunday. First off: that’s AWESOME. Secondly: Did he go see The Boy from Oz last week too?

At last! Photographic proof of my acceptance within the Sydney goth knitting community… 🙂

Ooh, NIDA are putting on one of the most memorable plays I saw in London: Shopping and F**king. I wonder if the Snook’s up for a night at the theater? I don’t even remember the plot, other than lots of references to sodomy and ramen noodles.

I went for a run this morning and found myself smack dab in the middle of the ABC strike. Huh. I wondered what that was all about.

“Karma is a bizzle, yo.”
All controvery aside, I thought the Survivor premiere this year was excellent. I liked that each group sorta had their own dynamic and issues to deal with. Their good humor about the ethnic divisions was enough to dispel any worries I had about the non-PC aspect. And yeah, give it up for the Asians! Anything that gets more hot, competent Koreans on the screen is a good thing in my books.

Austrian scientists suggest “that for a man, sharing a bed can momentarily decrease brain power.” Apparently we women disturb their sleep and stress them out, while we ourselves sleep too deeply to be affected. Unfortunately this study is FLAWED, because they failed to introduce the “F” factor. (That stands for “effing feline.”) Dr. Amy Jones has decided that since the sun is coming up earlier, she should get her breakfast a little bit earlier every day too. She got me up at 5am yesterday. The Snook somehow sleeps right through her ploys, whereas I go through a five stage process: 1) being rudely awakened by the feeling of four pounds of cat sitting on my stomach; 2) rolling violently from side to side to get her off me while I try to get back to sleep; 3) passive-aggressively wishing the Snook would wake up and deal with her while I frantically kick out with both legs at the foot of the bed, where she’s scratching; 4) throwing myself out of bed dramatically and stomping to the kitchen, where I kick open her automatic feeder and tell her to choke on it; 5) seething for half an hour in bed while recognizing that I should never, ever have children. AND DO YOU THINK THAT’S GOOD FOR MY MENTAL STATE, FANCY PANTS AUSTRIAN SCIENTISTS? I DON’T THINK SO. (Original rant-prompting link from Christopher, who has his own bed and no doubt sleeps the sleep of the blessed and just.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOEY! My little little brother turns five today, and he sang me a cheery song about it on the phone. Love you, bubby!

These are all from the Garbericks’ visit to Australia earlier this year. The first is me and Joey standing amidst the fountains at Darling Harbour. Next (my absolute favorite shot) is Snookums, Joey, and me kneeling at the Opera House railing and looking out over Circular Quay. Third is Joey modeling the Snook’s Boba Fett helmet and showing off some light saber action. Lastly is me and my little brother out in our garden.