As promised, welcome to the continuation of my trip down memory lane. Thanks to the inspiration of fellow bloggers, as well as the stack of 90's music currently shuffling through my Ipod, I've been writing a Time Capsule saga; documenting random memories from across the years.

If you've just arrived, head over to Part One; the Primary School Years first.

Welcome to Part Two, the High School Years.

Ah, the high school years. I loved and hated this time in my life, though looking back on it now I have mostly good memories. Things seemed so hard at the time, yet seem so much easier looking backwards. It's strange, isn't it? I wonder what it would be like to go back and experience a day in the life of the fifteen year old you. Since that's impossible (at least for the time being) the old thoughts will have to suffice. Here are some snippets from my high school years, ready to lock away in that imaginary time capsule.

-Watermelon Chupa Chups; our school canteen started selling these for a while, and we would buy them in bulk, take them to the oval and sunbake during lunchtime.

-A DVD of "Titanic"; did you know that I had my first real kiss during a session of this movie? Ah, how romantic.

-My first formal dress, worn when I was in year 10. I still have it, actually.

-Pictures of Dug & Sitty, my two dogs who passed away in 2000.

-The steps to the Macarena. Because everybody needs to know the Macarena.

-The "Tomb Raider II" computer game, before Angelina Jolie skankified it. I could kick arse at that game.

-A screenshot of the www.teenadviceonline.com website, where I volunteered as a peer counsellor about eight years ago.

-The frigging tie that I had to wear as part of the student representative council.

-Tickets to the local bowling alley, where we used to go for school sport every week. They sold the best hot chips ever.

-The twisty candleabra that I made, the first and last time I ever took Metalwork.

-A copy of Memoirs of a Geisha, I remember sitting in the library reading this book in my free periods, like the bookworm that I am. Adore the story.

-My discman. No car trip was the same without it.

-The ring that my first 'real' boyfriend gave to me, as we were together a good three years of my high school life.

-My year 12 jersey, complete with "Ali" on the back. I wasn't Aly then. Don't ask me why.. perhaps it was just easier that way?

-A pair of yellow gold studs, that I was forced to wear for about two months after getting my ears pierced with their second holes. The sterling silver studs that came with the piercing kept getting infected, and I had to resort to proper gold until they healed. (I hate gold, unless it's white gold and in the form of well, bling.)

-A McDonalds staff discount card, for remembering my first job.

-The "Backstreet's Back" CD by the Backstreet Boys. I can sing along to every single song on that album, and still have half on my Ipod. Good times. Actually, scratch that. Try every Backstreet Boy album.

-Oh, and the Spice Girls "Spice" CD. I remember taping myself and another certain someone singing along, thinking I was wonderful.

-An assortment of cow printed stuff; at one point, my whole bedroom was cow-themed. Seriously! The bedspread, the pillows, the decorations.

-Blue light disco passes, as everybody went to those. Even me.

-My DUX certificate. Because once upon a time, I was smart. S-M-R-T!

And the music? Well, I don't think I could list all of the songs from those days which I loved and adored. How about a teeny tiny selection instead?

• It's My Life - Bon Jovi*


• Torn - Natalie Imbruglia*


• Five - When the Lights Go Out*


• Everybody - Backstreet Boys*


• Bye Bye Bye - N'Sync*


• No Diggity - Blackstreet*


• Mouth - Merril Bainbridge


• Turn Off the Light - Nelly Furtado


• Fast Love - George Michael*


• Beautiful Day -U2*


• Missing - Everything but the Girl


• Tubthumping - Chumbawamba


• Gettin' Jiggy With It - Will Smith


• Graduation - Vitamin C


• Honey - Mariah Carey*


• Drops of Jupiter - Train*


• Bent - Matchbox 20*


• Rock DJ - Robbie Williams


• Don't Let Go - En Vogue*


• Carnival - Natalie Merchant*


• Mambo No 5 - Lou Bega*


• That Thing - Lauryn Hill


• Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden*


• Livin La Vida Loca - Ricky Martin


• It Wasn't Me - Shaggy


• Coco Jamboo - Mr President


• Your Woman - White Town*


• California Love - Tupac*


• Baby One More Time - Britney Spears*


• Twisted - Keith Sweat*


• Here With Me - Dido*


• Trouble - Coldplay*


• Never Ever - All Saints*


• My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion


• Come on Over - Christina Aguilera


• Man! I Feel like a Woman - Shania Twain


• Smooth - Santana & Rob Thomas


• Crush - Jennifer Paige*


• You Get What You Give - New Radicals


• Pony - Ginuwine


• Hanging By a Moment - Lifehouse*

(*It's incredible how many of these I actually have on my Ipod. I'm such a nerd.)

Stay tuned for yet another tantalisingly terrific post in the Time Capsule Saga in the coming days. In the meantime, what do you remember from your own High School days? Get reminiscing, people!

You know your day hasn't been particularly eventful, when seeing a lone cloud floating in the sky that resembles the alien spaceship in the X-Files title credits, is the highlight of your Thursday.

Yep, I'm a nerd. I know. But seriously ... it looked just like it!

[Cue spooky music.]

If you've never visited Janet's blog before, I suggest you head on over. Not only is she sweet and lovely with cute hair, she also started the brilliant Love & Hate posts. (Why yes, I'm totally jumping on the bandwagon today, thankyou for asking.)

Love: Jase has practically been approved for a rental place of our own in London.
Hate: I haven't seen any pictures of it yet, so can only imagine what it looks like.

Love: Getting things in order, searching for a teaching job in London in January.
Hate: Paperwork. And talking to people on the phone. I sound like an arse.

Love: Finding pretty blog themes over the past week, as you may have noticed.
Hate: Being a fussy, fussy chook who went back to option one.

Love: Supernatural Season 1 - those boys are hot.
Hate: Not being able to sleep after watching it, because I'm a giant wimp.

Love: Random blog searches that literally make me laugh out loud.
Hate: Hearing sad news from blog friends that breaks my heart.

Love: It's just about Thursday! First week of term is almost over.
Hate: Tired. Already. After three days. What's up with that?

Love: I'm flying out to see Jason in about 10 weeks time. Wahoo!
Hate: I'm flying out to see Jason in about 10 weeks time. Too long!

How are your Loves & Hates looking today?

The Good: The fact that air conditioning units were installed in every classroom last month, ready for the upcoming warmer months.

The Bad: Being informed we can't use said air conditioners yet, because the school isn't permitted to draw the extra energy needed yet.

The Ironic: Experiencing a 33.5 degree day ... in October! (92.F)

This summer is going to be insane.

It's October 15th, at least here in Sydney. Along with thousands of other bloggers world-wide, I decided to take part in Blog Action Day, a day dedicated to the environment.

I've had my fair share of worries when it comes to the environment, including a rather long rant about a certain 'Inconvenient Truth'. But I thought long and hard about what it was that I felt I needed to say today. What about it is most important to me?

I think I figured it out. To me, it's all about the children.

When I was growing up in Sydney's western suburbs, the summers were scorching. It wasn't uncommon for us to whip out the sprinkler and spend an entire afternoon simply cooling off under the water. That part of my childhood is something I remember, something that I enjoyed. And it's already something that my future children will not get to experience, due to the current water restrictions that have been put into place, due to the current crisis.

The students that I teach at school are young, mostly seven and eight years old. Most don't come from well off families, or well educated ones. And subsequently, most just don't know how important the environment is to us, other than from what they are taught at school.

It's my responsibility to show them that. A big job yes, but oh so important. In twenty years, these kidlets will be making the decisions for themselves. These kidlets are the ones who will be raising their own families. And these kidlets may be responsible for the way our environment is changing, particularly here in Australia. It's my responsibility to open their eyes.

So today on Blog Action Day, and on any day, my one request is that you talk to your children. Chances are, they will have some sort of understanding as it is. But if they do not, if they aren't discussing the environment in their classroom, it will fall onto your shoulders to tell them the facts, and to tell them what is going on around them. Let's get informed.

Some people like routines. Some people like change. Me? I'm a little bit of both, though I'm quite happy to admit that change freaks me out. But I have always been, and most likely will always be, a fan of sticking to a routine. Now that I've finally got my stats under control, I'm hoping the Sunday Google-age will return to it's usual scheduled programming.

Aly
Alright, I'm putting on my cranky teacher face now; which one of you hasn't added me to your links and/or feed reader, and still comes looking for my blog through a search engine?

Wearing Mary Janes
Usually when you wear Mary Janes, you just slide your foot into the shoe and do up the ankle strap. Fairly simple. I suppose if you were feeling creative, you could toss them over your shoulder or wear them on your head, but really, I'd stick to your feet if I were you.

Gloria Estefan
Turn the beat around ... love to hear percussion! [launches into a Dean Geyer backflip.]

No Makeup Pretty
Thank goodness for that, since the most makeup I own is a tube of tinted moisuriser (in skin tone "ghostly white pallor", or something along those lines), brown mascara and a bunch of lipgloss.

Pretty Hair
You think my hair is pretty too? Aw, you're too kind, thanks!

Ugly Hair
... Or perhaps not? Excuse me, while I go cry myself to sleep. [On my huge pillow.]

Blog Dentist Drilled Fillings
Last year I blogged all about my first visit to the dentist in ages, in three parts: One, Two & Three. I ended the series saying that I would be happy to go back to that dentist the following year, or when the need arises. Yeah, er, no. When I started having phantom tooth pains a couple of weeks ago, I decided I didn't want to go back to that practice. I'm following the recommendations of a friend, and am booked in for a visit next week. Cross your fingers for me!

Panadol Slogan 2007
Ooh, let's see what I can come up with for this one ... although it won't be a super catchy jingle because let's face it, nothing rhymes well with Panadol. You saw it here first, folks.

Use it when you're sick and use it when you're ill,
Panadol is the pain killing pill.
You can store it on your sink or on your window sill,
But don't use it while operating a working windmill.

Cute Kiwis
The New Zealand Kiwi's really are cute, even if they are secretly all robots. You decide.

Stomping Stanley
I do enjoy a good stomp every once and a while, it's good for venting frustration. But I've never been called a Stomping Stanley before ... but there's a first time for everything!

Thong Scandal
I'm curious, what sorts of scandals do thongs get into? I suppose having a smelly thong could be considered scandalous, whether referring to the shoe or the underwear.

Short Skirts
Short skirts are skirts that are short. Quite a clever creation, wouldn't you agree?

Christmas Beetles What They Don't Like
I'm not sure what they don't like, but I can tell you what they do like: they like dive bombing innocent swimmers at night and causing them to be paranoid in the future.

Thunder Thighs
Alright, I'll admit it, I didn't exercise at all this weekend. I haven't since Friday. But that's no reason to start calling me names, alright? I'll be back on the bandwagon on Monday.

Straddling
Is quite a naughty sounding word when it's sitting there all by itself like that, isn't it?

Brandon Boyd Pirate Hat
In last week's Google-age, I complained about not being able to find a photograph of Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd, where he is donning a pirate hat and not much else. The gods were smiling today on me today though; I found it! Behold, a rather sassy pirate .. phwoar.

Brandon Boyd Shirtless & Brandon Boyd Topless
Uh-huh. I get what you're looking for. You guys just can't get enough, can you?

Strangle
Hey now, let's not resort to strangling. Why don't you try stomping instead?

How to Get Rid of Bogong Moths in Clothes
Shake your clothes (while outside, unless you are someone who enjoys having moths of doom take up residence in your curtains) like a polaroid picture, with your arms as far outstretched from your body as they go. Think Inspector Gadget arms, people. And should any moths dart out from the clothes and try to attack; Shriek like a girl, throw the clothes across the lawn and run inside while flailing your arms. That'll do it.

Arse
Short and to the point. Am referring to the search term of course, not my arse.

Self Spanking & Spanking Equipment
If I keep getting these searches, I think I'll need to start researching the topic for future reference, because I've officially got nothing to offer on this one. Help?

Photo of Ricki Lake's Legs
I bet when they followed this search link, all they ended up with were pictures of Ricky the rabbit. Poor things, I don't quite think that was what they were looking for.

Red Eyed Rabbit
Aside from their eyes being a wee bit creepy at first, you don't notice it after a while. Really.

Rabbit Genitalia
Am sorry, but since last week's request for help regarding bunny genitals, I am still completely clueless on how to tell the two apart. Tricky wee things, they are.

Camel Penis
All this talk about nether regions reminds me of one of my favourite quotes from Grey's Anatomy.

Izzie: You're my penis fish.
George: You don't even have a penis, why am I the fish?

Contiki Grand Southern Review
Look, I really do have to go on the tour first before I can give you a decent review. You should probably bookmark this page and come back in about a year or so.

How to Treat Contiki Cough
I didn't even know this condition existed until I came back from Europe, when I realised that I'd had the dreaded thing. (I remember snuffling my way through Monaco, coughing my lungs up in Lyon & buying nasal spray in Rome. Good times!) But really, what can you do about being couped up in a tour bus breathing in other people's germs? All part of the experience.

Going on Contiki Sex & Sex on Contiki
How I ended up being the expert on sex on Contiki tours is beyond me. From the reviews I've been reading lately, there seem to be more girls and less guys on tours, I wonder what impact that has on the sex that happens. Wouldn't this be an interesting thesis topic?

Sweaty Girls at the Gym
Looks like I've been sprung: I sweat like crazy when I work out. It isn't pretty. And anyone who doesn't sweat at the gym is automatically on my hate-list. Haaaaate.

Brushing Teeth at 6:00am and at 10pm
Well done, I'm sure your dentist loves you. I'm usually snoring at both of those times, though.

John Mayer is Sexy
Word.

Acrostic Poem for Keira
Aha, another opportunity for me to get my creative juices flowing.

Keira, this poem was written from me to you.
Even though I don't know who you are.
I like your name though. It's pretty.
Really hope you like my poem.
Although I apparently suck at writing acrostic poetry.

Badgergirl
Ah, you've come across my term of endearment for a fabulous blogger: Velocibadgergirl.

Tacky Wedding Outfit
Oh, let's see what good ol' Google can find for us. You want tacky? I can get you tacky! How about this revealing little number, I wonder if she has a smelly thong? Or perhaps this sassy bridal ensemble is more to your taste? And nothing screams tacky like Hello Kitty.

Blotchy Skin & Broken Out Skin Age 33
Considering my face resembles a piece of sandpaper with paint splodges on it at the moment, my hearty recommendation is to keep googling until you find someone who knows what they are talking about. And then come back and give me all the answers.

Can I use Proactive and Different Cream?
Well sure you can, if you enjoy having your face burned into a crisp. (Despite what Jessica Simpson said, ProActiv wasn't good for my skin at all. It burned. BURNED!)

Picture of a Sneeze & Bless You
Even more disturbing than someone searching for a picture of a sneeze, is the fact that I just googled it myself ... and found an image. Completely gross. You can see it here, if you're so inclined. Ah well, at least they used their manners appropriately.

Distract
This person got distracted before they could finish typing what they were searching for, ha.

Hi there! Great to see you, care for a slice of banana bread? No, you haven't gotten lost, this is still Aly's rambling old blog. Yes, it's another new theme ... again. I think I'm a trifle obsessive-compulsive when it comes to blog styles, because as much as I adored the stylish dotted theme, it just wasn't ME.

Fast forward to today; I had some time to kill and the services of a poor innocent blogger who happened to be online at the perfect time. The search for the perfect theme was on ... again. The temporary result; well, you're looking at it. (Ahem, feed readers, you may have to venture out and come visit me.)

The Good:

• I adore the colours. The blue, white & black are very pretty.
• It's easy to read.
• It's simple and plain and more 'me'.
• The commenting field is simple to use and nice and clear.
• It focuses on the most recent post, which is perfect since I blog daily.
• The links are easy to use; if you know where to look, that is.

The Bad:

• It's very white. Some people don't like white. I kind of like white.
• I can't modify much. In fact, what you see now is basically my limit.
• There is no cheesy photograph. Or sidebars. Or pages. It's very post-focused.
• It works best on Firefox, and has a tendency to get laggy in Internet Explorer.

The Interesting:

• Click on the images on the top righthand corner, and see what happens! You see, the pages, categories & archives are there, just concealed. There is also a handy search bar.
• To get rid of the above info, you just click the image again.
• You can see my recent posts at the bottom of the page, including comments.
• If you click on one of my individual posts, you are able to skim one post forward & one post backward, one at a time.

So, what are your thoughts? I really love it, but I'm biased of course. Feel free to let me know what you think; just don't be too mean. ;)

Thanks to some early morning inspiration courtesy of Maya, I decided that I would jump on the bandwagon and head on a trip down memory lane.

After I thought about it for a while, I figured that if I really did have to throw the assortment of bits & pieces from across the years into an imaginary box, it would turn out to be one giant haphazard mess. Plus, I'd probably need a large storage unit rather than a box, but that's beside the point. I've decided to split up my Time Capsule Saga into installments; the Primary School Years, the High School Years, and the 20-Something Years.

Welcome to Part One, the Primary School Years. (Or should I say the Elementary School Years?)

I actually wish I remember more about my early years of school. Being the teacher now, I look at some of the things that the kidlets say and do, and I wish I could go back in time and actually watch myself at their age. That being said, I have a lot of mementos that belong in this capsule, each for their own reason. Let's get started with the random items, shall we?

-A random school workbook, possibly one from each grade. I loved school and I loved to write. Oh, and also a school photo from each year.

-A pile of the books that I used to adore; the Trixie Beldon series, the BabySitter's Club, Goosebumps, Sweet Valley High in the later years ... Am a nerd.

-Rollerblades; you could often find me skating around my street after school.

-A plaster cast, because I broke alot of bones in primary school. Really. (Some thanks to the aforementioned rollerblades. And basketball. And sport at school. I used to be a rather talented bone-breaking freak.)

-The first few CDs that were purchased just for me: "Spin Doctors", "Ace of Base" and "2 Unlimited". (I still love "Two Princes" to this day. Classic nineties goodness.)

-Some random trolls; I used to collect them, was a trifle obsessed.

-A Wonderpass to the now defunct Australia's Wonderland theme park; I spent many a weekend going on the rides and spending the day with my friends.

-A poster of Jonathan Brandis and Jonathan Taylor Thomas (JTT) who I thought were just gorgeous. Oh but they were ... back in the day. I know you thought so too.

-A pair of jelly shoes, which I wore to my year 6 farewell. Everyone had jelly shoes then.

-A casette tape with Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise" on it, the first present I ever gave to a boy. (Gasp!) Ahem, I'll have you know I only ever had one boyfriend in primary school, and the most risque it ever got was a kiss on the cheek. He was the cutest thing.

-Speaking of the er, boyfriend, if you can call it that, I'd keep the "I Love You" painting that he gave me. Be jealous! (Swoon!)

-A pair of Moccasin sandals, because they were so darned cool.

-A plain pencilcase, covered in random texta writing with things like "Dean Cain is HOT", "2 Unlimited", "I heart PB", "Boys II Men Rulz", "David Duchovny is hot" & "I Luv No-One Important".

-An electric keyboard, I used to play the piano once upon a time.

-The video my parents captured of me when I entered the Year 3 Talent Quest, singing along with two other girls to Mr Big's "To Be With You". It shows yours truly straddling a chair wearing a flared green and black polka dot skirt. Classy!

And then of course there are the songs, the important soundtrack of my life back then. Of course, you would be buying these on cassette or CD single, because that was how it was done. I remember dancing away at many a disco in those years. Here are some favourites I can remember;

• Dreamlover & Fantasy - Mariah Carey


• All That She Wants - Ace of Base


• Jump - Kriss Kross


• Gimme a Little Sign - Peter Andre


• Boom, Shake the Room - Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince


• Another Night - Real McCoy


• Waterfalls - TLC


• Kiss From a Rose - Seal


• This Is How We Do It - Montel Jordan


• Boombastic - Shaggy


• Stay - Lisa Loeb


• What is Love - Haddaway


• Sweat - Inner Circle


• I'll Be There For You - Rembrandts


• I Swear & I Can Love You Like That - All 4 One


• Back For Good - Take That


• Runaway - Janet Jackson


• Wonderwall - Oasis


• Shoop - Salt n Pepa

Stay tuned for more tantalisingly terrific posts in the Time Capsule Saga over the next few days. In the meantime, what do you remember from your own Primary School days? Get reminiscing!

If there is one thing I love most about my family, it would be their sense of humour. My dad has a typical 'dad' sense of humour, with fantastically terrible jokes that most people usually groan at. My mum has a similar attitude to me, she loves snark and finds most things amusing. My brother is hilariously annoying, and usually has a quick answer for everything.

Sadly, I'm probably the least humourous out of everyone, but that doesn't stop me from jumping in with lame one-liners when I can. I try.

We're especially fond of quoting movies. Terribly lame movies. Movies that most people have never even heard of, or think are just woeful. And one of our long-time favourites, would have to be So I Married An Axe Murderer.

I mean honestly, what could be better than stupid poetry, bad Scottish accents and hilarious dialogue. It didn't win any Academy Awards, but it has carved out it's own special niche in our DVD cabinet, that's for sure. And as I'm thoroughly recommending you check it out, it's only fair that I leave you with some random quotes to make you curious ...

Alcatraz Guide: My name is John Johnson but everyone here calls me Vicki.

Stuart Mackenzie: Alright, we have a piper who's down. It's alright, he's just pissed. We have a piper down, I repeat, a piper is down!

Stuart Mackenzie: I'm not kidding, that boy's head is like Sputnik; spherical but quite pointy at parts! He'll be crying himself to sleep tonight, on his huge pillow.

Charlie Mackenzie: Dad, how can you hate "The Colonel"?
Stuart Mackenzie: Because he puts an addictive chemical in his chicken that makes ya crave it fortnightly, smartass!

Charlie Mackenzie: I'm smitten. I'm in deep smit.

I'm sure there is a reason why Murphy's Law is called Murphy's Law, but I really can't be arsed figuring out the history of it. All I know is that whoever Murphy is, he needs a swift kick in the rear end.

I don't particularly like Murphy much.

I spent today with my grandma, who I love to bits and think is absolutely gorgeous. I'm only off work for a few more days, so when she asked if I could spend some time with her, I agreed. I drove the thirty minute distance to her place to pick her up, then drove us another forty minutes to our location for lunch; a cute hotel near the Nepean River, towards the Blue Mountains.

(See the second gazebo at the back of the picture near the trees? That was our spot. Now can someone please explain how I got sunburnt arms whilst sitting in the shade with sunscreen on?)

Anyhoo, we began the drive back to nan's place after lunch, and had cruisy traffic all the way there. I even made sure I left early, so that I wouldn't get stuck in the after-work peak hour freeway traffic; do you see where this story is headed? The first five minutes were smooth sailing cruising, I was singing along to my Ipod and enjoying the ride home with virtually no traffic.

Along comes Murphy, bringing all traffic to a halt just around the bend. Turns out there had been a car accident, so the three freeway lanes ended up being one. I settled in for a long haul of crawling along at a snail's pace, grumbling but feeling generally okay; let's face it, I hardly had anywhere else exciting to be. I figured I'd just put the Ipod on shuffle, and bop away the minutes.

Turns out Murphy had other plans for me, because my Ipod? It froze. It's done that exactly once in the almost two years I've had it, and I knew there was a way to remedy it ... but do you think I could remember what to do? Instead I resorted to cursing at it, pulling it in and out of the car-kit, holding down random buttons, waiting for it to magically fix itself, banging it repeatedly against my steering wheel and shooting it filthy looks.

(None of those worked, in case you were wondering.)

After being forced to listen to the radio all the way home, I pulled into the driveway an hour later, yanked it out of my car-kit and guess what happened? It unfroze. Of course it would right itself when I didn't need it anymore.

You anger me, Murphy. You, me, carpark, bring it oooooon.

NB: I suppose I should remind all that this post was written with my tongue completely in cheek, if it wasn't otherwise apparent..