Reason why I love Jason, #782.

Aly: [picks up ringing mobile phone] Hello?
Jason: Want some dog food?
Aly: [blank pause] Meh?
Jason: Would you like some dog food?
Aly: [trying to think of appropriate response] Wha?
Jason: Look, do you want some dog food or not?
Aly: [gives up] Er, sure.
Jason: Right. Bye.

Needless to say, I was well and truly puzzled by this point.

It turns out there a dog food company was holding a promotional giveaway at his work. He ended up signing up for it to get the freebie for us, despite the fact that he doesn't own a dog himself. Bless!

(He did later mention, quite bravely if you ask me, that they were also giving away chocolate for human consumption, but I wasn't asked if I wanted any of that, was I?)

Anyhoo, my dear boy turned up on the doorstep last night holding a (ha!) doggy bag, complete with the phrase, "I've brought dinner!"

Oh, he's a catch alright.

The fact that it's practically May already is something that scares the absolute pants off me. It's been said a thousand times before, but the year! It's going too fast! This year it freaks me out a heck of a lot more than usual though, there are too many things happening and I'd like time to slow the heck down, please.

That being said, I was flicking back through some old posts of note and realised that my 100 Things page looked awfully out of date, even though it was only written a few months ago. Therefore, in an effort to take my mind off the fact that I've been crying like a girl every fifteen minutes or so for no apparent reason, now is as good a day as any to introduce the re-vamped All About Me section.

Without further ado, I present the brand spanking new 100 Things.

(Author's note: Er, due to laziness, some of the points may read the exact same thing that they read in the earlier version.)

(Author's note #2: It was late when I re-wrote the post, so if the numbers are muddled up? Just pretend they make perfect sense.)

(Author's note #3: I probably shouldn't have mentioned spanking, eh?)

Since being given the a-okay to have the Laser Eye Surgery performed, it's been one of those things I just can't get off my mind.

Those poor folks at work who happened to ask me whether I did anything exciting in my break, I bet they never expected a step by step rundown of my visit into the city to have my initial eye consultiation. I've been asking all sorts of people for information and things to expect, and I've spent countless hours searching the internet for 'survivor' stories and reviews. (Probably not the smartest idea, since I'm already a wee bit nervous about the procedure and it's still a bloody fortnight away.)

As a brief background, let me just remind you that I rarely wear my glasses. I'm a contacts girl, through and through. The only time you'll find me wearing glasses is if I'm in the middle of a prescription and haven't had time to fill it yet, if I have a sty or other infection that the contacts bother, if I'm flying and the ventilation is horrible, or if I have an appointment to have Laser Eye consultations. Suffice it to say that 99% of the time, I am glasses-free.

The last week of Term 1, and this first week back of Term 2, are pretty much the only times I have worn my glasses to school for an extended period of time. The kidlets pick things up quickly and found my new glasses fascinating; and I always respond to the question "Why do you wear glasses now?" with the answer "All the better to see you with, my dear!" (Never fails to set the younger kidlets into giggles, thank goodness they know their fairytales.)

Some colleagues however? Are perhaps not so visually astute.

One person, after being given my excited spiel on the Laser Eye surgery was very polite and sounded genuinely interested in the procedure. Feeling chuffed, I continued the conversation without hesitation, happy to keep on discussing it. Until they exclaimed; "So glasses-free huh? You'll be like a whole new person without having to wear your glasses all the time, how exciting!"

Er. Let's just freeze there. It's true, I like the idea of being a new, all-seeing human being if the procedure all goes smoothly. But wearing my glasses all the time, what? I've worn my contact lenses to school practically every day for the last year and a half, and this person has never once noticed that? Ouch!

Repeat it with me now: I will not be offended. I will not be offended.

Oh, screw it. I am offended. Now excuse me, while I sulk just a little.

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?E?M?A?I?L?:? ?j?u?l?i?e?h?e?r?s?h?@?g?m?a?i?l?.?c?o?m?
?I?P: 18.142.1.246
URL: http://juliezilla.blogspot.com
DATE: 04/28/2007 06:36:10 AM
People are idiots.
It's that simple :)

I had Bella Rabbit put in for surgery this morning.

Even though I had declared that I would persevere with medicine and see how she went, my heart just broke when I went out this morning and her eye was swollen shut due to the facial swelling. We got the phone call at lunch time; things weren't good. Bella had a severe jaw infection that was basically inoperable, they took x-rays and still couldn't figure out the actual cause of it. Her jaw was practically destroyed by the swelling. There was nothing he could do.

The vet gave me the option of taking her home, or having her put to sleep. I think you can guess what I chose. My heart is broken.

Rest in peace, my Bella Rabbit. I miss you so, so much already.

I'm about to mention a not-very-important piece of information that has pleased me to no end, but is taken from the latest episode of 24. Even though it's not particularly crucial to the overall plot or anything, I thought I'd better throw the warning out there. See? Am nice!

What am I rambling on about? Why, Jack's handy satchel is back! When he ran towards the abandoned motel with his satchel fit snugly around his neck, all was right with the world. Jack without his satchel is like Superman without a cape. All hail the Jack-Sack!

Okay, that was it. Really.

But before I go, won't someone please just kill her off already? I've been wishing she would disappear since last season because of how annoying she was, and now this? Am disappointed, 24 powers-that-be. Very disappointed. (And sticking with the whole nice vibe, I'm not mentioning who I'm talking about, but you television dorks out there should know who she is, right?)

I think I've mentioned that I've started heading off to line dancing once a week on just a few occasions before. I can't say that I was very enthusiastic about going at first; I really don't even like much country music. But I decided to go for the fitness factor; mum gained herself some pretty impressive calf muscles after she started going. The first week back this year, I was close to piking out, but I ended up sticking with it. (I may or may not have been bribed with dinner out at the club that night, but I'm I'll never tell.)

Now that my self conscious brain has gotten over the whole 'I'm dancing in public without any fuzzy, alcohol-induced beverages involved, oh shit' factor and since I actually have a couple of dances under my belt, I feel much better about it now. I'm even attempting to do the little twirls that everyone else can do so beautifully. (This too is pretty impressive, coming from the girl who used to triumphantly turn to the next wall of the dance and keep on dancing, without realising that everyone else was facing the opposite wall.)

Now if only I could stop forgetting the dances as soon as I've done them! This line dancing business is something that would be so much fun to do with a bunch of mates. I'd recommend going with someone who is a worse dancer than you, because I am evil and find that makes me much more comfortable. Just ask mum, I'm sure that's why she brings me along. (Let's face it, I'm a terrible dancer.)

After all, what can be better than learning a dance choreographed to 'Who Let the Dogs Out?' Hilarious, but bloody fantastic all the same.

To dear Ajay,

I'm writing this letter to you on your birthday, April 23rd 2007. Today, my ickle baby brother, you are twenty years old. Seeing as I'm presently two years your senior, I'm feeling rather old myself. I can't even imagine what our mother is thinking.. wait! Actually, I can. I'll bet she's thinking something along the lines of.. "My baby! He's all grown up! Where have the years gone? Where is my sweet red-headed little baby?" These nostalgic thoughts are most likely being followed by.. "I wonder when he'll be moving out, I'd like to extend my scrapbooking room." Don't worry, I'm sure she's just kidding when she says that. (Sort of. Maybe. I hope.)

We've had a fairly tumultuous relationship, you and I. Not always in a positive light, either. You may or may not know that I've been jealous of you since the moment you were born. You recall our baby pictures, which have sat side by side on the cupboard downstairs for years? I've always envied yours. You posed all snuggled up in your baby blue blanket, eyes closed, sleeping peacefully and looking very angelic. I, on the other hand, glared out from my pink blanket with a red face and a death stare. Perhaps it was the sign of things to come?

I wish I remember more about us when we were kidlets. When I look through mums scrapbooking albums, I mainly get distracted by the fact that we were both so darned cute back then! My favourite photos are the ones of you as a wee baby, where I'm either standing next to you staring wide-eyed, or generally just being nosey and checking you out. Did mum ever tell you that she declared you an ugly baby? It's true! (Don't believe what she tells you now, it's just because you're bigger than her.) I never thought that though, and I still claim that you were a much cuter baby than I was.

You were the typical annoying little brother through school. You drove me absolutely batty at the best of times, always doing typical Ajay things that I would hate and that our parents would find endlessly amusing. How many times did you get me into trouble, pleading innocence the whole time? How many times did I end up grounded while you walked around giggling. (Brat!) I would get so frustrated by you and I'll admit it, sometimes I still do. Your ability to make me snap is award winning and rarely fails. I should know better.

When you were in high school I worried about you alot. I didn't like your friends, and I didn't like any of your girlfriends either. What can I say now, other than a) I was right about them and b) I'm your big sister, I'm allowed to hate them. When you left school before finishing, I wondered what the future would bring you. You looked after yourself though and the day you announced you were going back to school to finish your HSC I was so, so proud of you. You have no idea. I don't know that I would have been strong enough to go back, but you did. I'm also impressed that you found yourself a girlfriend that I actually like, so treat her well and be smart, alright?

In the last year, you have grown up a lot. You're funny, you're smart, and you've mellowed out, for lack of a better expression. Jase and I have talked about how different you are for the majority of the time, how you're turning into the only slightly annoying kind of brother that I have hoped for for a long time now. Someone who I can spend time with growing up when we each start our new lives, someone who I can ask for advice. As irritating as we are towards one another, I really hope you feel the same about me one day. It's sappy, but true.

So it's your birthday, and you're not the little boy I keep talking about anymore. Not that you aren't still annoying though, you know how to push my buttons better than anyone else I can think of. We've screamed at each other, we've had our shoving matches, we've become good at ignoring one another for days on end. (Bloody hell, as I type this, you just came into my room and stirred shit again, nothing changes eh?) I think we've shared more with each other lately; but don't think I'll forget about all those times I made you promise to keep your mouth shut, and you later blabbed! Slacker!

In conclusion? Although I like you much better as a brunette than as a blonde, I wish you'd let your beautiful ginger hair grow back. Oh, and one more thing? Quit shaving your arms, the sooner the better. One day you'll look back and wonder why you started in the first place. Trust me. I'm your sister. I know these things.

And Ajay? When I move to England, I'm really going to miss you.

Happy birthday, baby brother. I love you lots! [squishes cheeks]

I generally make it a habit not to talk about exercising or weight loss on this blog, purely for the fact that when I'm trying to be good? It's all I talk about. And I have to admit, my writing about that is not pretty to read; if you thought my whinging here was bad, phwoar. Instead, I ramble about that elsewhere, consider me sparing you!

But I will give you a really fast rundown to fill you in - I've been making a more dedicated effort to lose some weight over the last month or so. Not strictly dieting persay, just trying to cut out the crap and be smarter. Oh, and move my arse more. That's a big one. (The statement and the arse.)

I use this website to record any exercising I do, called "Get Fit on Route 66" - My slightly obsessed mum discovered it. Basically, it's a cheesy tracker, where 1 minute of exercise equals 1 mile on the Route from Chicago to California. It even lets you choose what car you drive, I'm driving an old Chevy truck.

Since March 12th, I've walked 1223 miles. Okay, so not really, but I have exercised for that many minutes. That's over 20 hours of exercise! I'm in Texas right now, soon to get into New Mexico.

Am very, very proud. Celebrations are in order when I get to Cali!

I haven't mentioned the bunny dramas of the past week, as I've been persevering with getting them to love each other. Alright, really I would have been happy with them just not hating each other, but I wasn't going to start getting fussy about it.

New Bun is beautiful on her own and loves cuddles, but just doesn't like the other rabbits. Bella and Lucy have started getting really grouchy (with her and me) and things aren't going smoothly at all. I've had them cage by cage all week to get used to one another, and have been introducing them together in small intervals.

I realised things just weren't happening when there was a three-way rabbit hatefest around the dining room floor; teeth gnashing, bunny grunting, floor sliding hate. After a while, I couldn't see which rabbit was the culprit; it was all of them. It was whilst sweeping up the tufts of fur from the floor that I decided things just weren't working.

It's with great sadness that today I'm going for a drive to give New Bun to her new momma. She's going to a place where she'll be the head bun, meaning she'll be loving all the attention. I will miss snorgling her cute furryness, but I know it's for the best.

Farewell, New Bun. I'll be sending celery and carrot wishes your way.

My laser surgery has been booked!

Friday 11th May @ 11am. Dad is going to drive me in and take me home, I'll spend the weekend at home all zombie-like, and Jase is taking me back in the following Monday for my first post-op checkup. It's all very exciting. Nervewracking, but exciting.

I forgot to mention, I'm not having Lasik done. The clinic I'm going to uses Advanced Surface Laser; otherwise known as Lasek. The procedures are virtually the same, though while Lasik cuts a flap in the cornea, Lasek removes the first layer of the cornea. The laser work performed in each technique is the same.

So exactly three weeks from today, I'll be having my eyeballs zapped. And hopefully once the healing settles down later that week, I'll be able to wake up in the morning and see! I wonder if Jase will look any different in the mornings once I have better vision, mwahaha. (Kidding, of course, I happen to think he looks just lovely!)

In the meantime, make sure you pay a visit to Zandria who is also having her eyes done very soon. Best of luck, chicka!