pj in the city

don't worry, it’ll grow back

2008-12-20T17:48:00.001+13:00

The Boy knows me well enough to know that I have expensive taste. The budget may not always match, but the taste is always expensive. So, while we were looking at engagement rings, the odd comment passed his lips about having to sell a kidney to pay for what I’ve been calling The Rocks.

Never mind the kidney, baby, just sell part of your liver. After all, that grows back!

you're kidding, right?

2008-12-10T19:25:00.000+13:00

I’m the sort of person who likes to have all their ducks in a row, to know exactly where they’re going and how they need to get there. I describe it as being organised. Being more of a ‘free spirit’, The Boy would be more likely to describe it as anal.

So, being an organised sort of person, I’ve started to do a bit of research into this whole wedding gig. In the course of that research I’ve looked at a few different weddings websites… Never mind Nightmare on Elm St, some of those wedding sites are the scariest things I’ve seen in my life. And the forums – oh my god! You’d think deciding whether the bridesmaids should match or contrast was a matter of life and death. Or that the world will end if you choose the wrong flowers. It’s all so over the top and somewhat ridiculous.

I know a wedding day is important, as it should be, but why do people go so overboard with it? Whatever happened to small, simple and elegant? Shouldn’t there be some element of fun in the planning?

I’m really looking forward to marrying The Boy. If my nerves survive the research, that is.

mrs boy

2008-12-07T09:16:00.001+13:00

After so many years together, it’s relatively rare for The Boy to catch me completely and utterly unawares, to do something that really shocks and surprises me. He managed to do so a couple of weeks ago, though.

Yes, completely out of the blue, and not exactly at the most romantic of moments, The Boy asked me to become Mrs Boy. After checking that he was actually serious (was it rude of me to ask that twice??), I said yes.

So there you go. After many years of singledom, and quite a few years of happily living in sin, PJ Inthecity is going to become PJ Boy. A scary thought, but scary in an “I have to jump but I know he’ll catch me” kind of way, not a “this shower is good, but I wonder why this place is called Bates Motel” kind of way.

hey, I’d forgotten I had that…

2008-12-05T21:13:00.000+13:00

Well, it has been a while, hasn’t it? So much for posting at least once a week. I’d actually forgotten I even had this site, until an email about it reminded me. It’s kind of like going through old storage boxes. As you wade through the accumulated junk, some of it makes you think “why on earth did I keep that?” but a few things make you think “hey, I’d forgotten I had that. I should take that out of the box and start using it again.”

I suppose I ought to try to resurrect the site, huh?

evil net-nazis

2007-07-10T18:37:00.000+12:00

Well, it has been a little while since I managed to post on the blog. I'd like to point out that it isn't due to a lack of interest on my part, though.

Unfortunately, the evil net-nazis at work revamped all our hard- and soft-ware a couple of weeks ago. They also updated all the web-marshall prohibited sites. Guess which was one of them? Yep... blogger.com.

So now, in order to post, I need to try to find a time at home when The Boy isn't already occupying the computer. Easier said than done...

So please bear with me. The Little Black Rocket and I will do our best to post at least once a week. More if we can.

back to the grind

2007-06-19T17:17:00.001+12:00

Supposedly, taking a break means you come back to work refreshed, revitalised and raring to go. Well, having just taken a week and a bit of holiday, I can say it ain’t so. I like lolling around the house, reading books, playing with the kitten, going shopping etc. Work pays the bills, and it could be worse, but give me a winning Big Wednesday ticket and I’d quit tomorrow. No doubt about it.

going gold

2007-06-07T09:49:00.000+12:00

The Boy and I went to the movies last night, but with a bit of a difference. It was part of a function being hosted in the Gold Class Lounge at the VillageSkyCity cinemas, so it also included an open bar and yummy nibbles.

For those who haven’t heard about them, the Gold Class theatres have full-on reclining armchairs and on-call service throughout the movie. It’s certainly an excellent way to watch a movie – curled up in a recliner with full bar and snack service just the press of a button away. As an added bonus, the function’s hosted bar continued throughout the movie, so the copious amounts of Shiraz consumed by The Boy didn’t break the bank (well, not ours anyway – maybe the host’s!). I was driving, so could only have one, which was a bit of a bummer.

It was just as well the seats were comfy, because the movie was a whopping 2 hours 50 minutes long (and not terribly gripping). The hardest part of the whole experience was trying not to fall asleep.

flavour of the month

2007-06-06T09:38:00.000+12:00

What is it with weddings in Rarotonga lately? It seems like every second person is rushing up there to tie the knot. For the second year in a row, I’ll be heading up to Rarotonga for a friend’s wedding (different friends, obviously). The wedding is in late August and The Boy is coming with me this time. We’ve just booked our tickets and accommodation, and are looking forward to a week of fun in the sun (with a wedding thrown in).

With superb timing, she’s getting married a few days before The Boy’s birthday. This is a double bonus for him, considering he’ll not only get a trip away but he’ll actually get a warm birthday instead of the chilly winter day he usually gets. Mind you – I haven’t told him this yet, but every time I’ve been to Rarotonga, it’s rained pretty much the whole time I’ve been there… Oh well, at least it’ll be warm.

bliss

2007-06-05T10:30:00.001+12:00

Our bed has been on its last legs for a while, so we finally got around to getting a new one last weekend. It was delivered on Friday, and the whole weekend has been full of blissful sleep. We knew the old one was bad, but having a lovely new bed to bounce on showed us just how bad the old one really was.

Nothing beats a good sleep. Well, not much anyway.

my short-term solution

2007-05-31T12:02:00.000+12:00

Well, maybe I can’t get Monday’s banned, but I do have a short-term solution: just take them off. Between Queen’s Birthday Monday, and a bit of well-timed annual leave, I don’t have to work on a Monday again until 25 June. Works for me.

not that kind of rocket

2007-05-30T08:25:00.000+12:00

It’s quite funny looking at some of the hits on The Kitten’s blog (http://www.littleblackrocket.blogspot.com). From time to time there are some very random hits from places like Russia, Israel, Venezuela and suchlike. They’re always very short visits – a couple of seconds, at most, and never more than one page view. I can’t help but wonder if they did a search for “Rocket” and she came up? Not exactly the little black rocket they were looking for, perhaps!

ban them!

2007-05-28T08:31:00.000+12:00

What do you think the chances are of getting Monday’s banned? I’m sure if I started a petition I’d be able to get loads of signatures. I guess the real question is who would I send it to? Who is responsible for Mondays??

unnatural?

2007-05-25T12:30:00.000+12:00

Here’s one in the eye for those people who say gay couples adopting is “unnatural”.

A pair of flamingos in Britain, who happen to be a gay male couple, have just become surrogate parents for an abandoned egg. Apparently, gay flamingos are not uncommon, and this couple has a well-known affection for stealing other flamingos’ eggs to raise. See more about this pink couple (pun intended) here.

If it happens in nature, who are we to call it unnatural?

bugger

2007-05-23T09:33:00.000+12:00

If there are gods up there, they’re laughing at me today.

I was feeling quite desperate for a “duvet day” today, but decided I really couldn’t do it. Work is really busy at the moment, plus I had an important meeting today that would be difficult to reschedule. So, up I got and came to work.

But guess who did call in sick today? The person my important meeting was with.

Bugger.

kid in a candy store

2007-05-21T14:18:00.000+12:00

The Boy was recently given an Auckland Museum membership, which covers both of us. The Boy has an endless fascination with history and anthropology, and the museum is one of his favourite places, so it was a great present.

Anyway, we used it for the first time on Sunday. We wandered around for a little while, then decided to check out the Member’s Lounge. The look on my Boy’s face when he walked into the lounge (and saw the lovely reading room and free coffee machine) was priceless. I think he has a new favourite place.

deliciously girly

2007-05-18T14:03:00.000+12:00

Is there anything more deliciously girly than being pampered? Whether it’s a manicure, pedicure, hair or makeup, there is very little else in the world that can make so many women feel like purring.

I decided to treat myself to a manicure at lunchtime – it’s been a while since I indulged myself, and I figured I must deserve it by now. I thought I’d try the little hole-in-the-wall nail bar around the corner from work, since they’re half the price of the bigger salons (and my budget is a bit limited at the moment). I have to say, though, they were fantastic. I haven’t had a French manicure that good for years, even at twice the price.

So there you go – the key to justifying more frequent indulgence: find a small business that gives great service for half the price, then you can go twice as often…

odd but true

2007-05-17T13:33:00.000+12:00

I had to stop by the pet store today to pick up kitten food and litter. As I was approaching the shop, it started to drizzle. By the time I came out with my purchases, it had started to pour. Now that I’m back at work, it’s stopped raining completely.

Thinking back, every time I go to that store, it’s raining when I come out. Odd, but true.

survey this

2007-05-16T15:29:00.000+12:00

What is the obsession that big companies have with stupid surveys? We seem to have in-house surveys coming at us left, right & centre lately. If they ever actually shared the results with us, or did something with them, I wouldn’t mind so much, but that isn’t the case. Seems to me it’s just that our HR managers have too much time on their hands and a desperate need to justify their enormous salaries.

I wish they’d send us a survey asking what we think of all their surveys – that’s something I’d have fun filling out...

peace, tranquillity and power tools?

2007-05-15T12:14:00.000+12:00

The Boy’s latest obsession is bonsai – it’s his new big thing. He has just started learning more about bonsai, and has already created a really nice cascade.

When most people think about bonsai, the images that spring to mind are things like peaceful Japanese gardens and patient nurturing of plants over a long period of time. What springs to The Boy’s mind are power tools.

Apparently even a peaceful, tranquil and refined pastime such as bonsai can be made better by the use of power tools. Accompanied by manly grunting noises, I’m sure.

so far, so good

2007-05-15T08:47:00.001+12:00

Happy Anniversary, Boy. We managed to make it another year, still happy and (relatively) sane.
x

shocked

2007-05-14T12:30:00.000+12:00

I discovered yesterday that one of my cousins, whom I would have thought had far too much sense for that sort of carry-on, has had botox treatments. Not to mention another “filler” treatment (which isn’t actually approved in NZ yet). In fact, a total of $1600 worth of cosmetic procedures on her face. I have to admit I was quite shocked at the news.

Sorry, Boy – you’re just going to have to live with my wrinkles. I can’t imagine letting anyone with a needle full of poison anywhere near my face.

personal shopper

2007-05-11T11:24:00.000+12:00

I think I should be charging The Boy some serious Personal Shopper fees.

He loathes and despises shopping, and always expects me to do his clothes and shoe shopping. Because I’m a Good Girlfriend, I usually cave and do it for him. I suppose one benefit is that I get to choose what he wears, including the swag of winter clothes I’ve picked up for him over the last few weeks. And he knows the rule – if he doesn’t come with me, he can’t complain about my choices. It would help if he was there to actually try things on before I buy, though.

Anyway… I’ve been doing some research, and have discovered that personal shoppers for men’s clothing charge at least $110 per hour. Be prepared, Boy – an invoice is on the way!

if it looks too good…

2007-05-10T14:00:00.000+12:00

As the saying goes, “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is”.

People amaze me – they’re so willing to believe scammers. There is a scam doing the rounds at the moment that involves travel. Being in the industry myself, I received a warning about it this morning, which I forwarded to friends and family.

Despite this, some of The Boy’s workmates seem to think that it’s really all above board. Why? Because the scammer told them so.

So, go ahead – book your “free flights”. And after you’ve done that, can I interest you in some money I have trapped in Nigeria? It’s just waiting for a kind person like you to help me liberate it! All I need is a small deposit up front from you (to cover legal expenses)…

new pick up joint?

2007-05-09T10:21:00.000+12:00

The city has several well known non-bar pick up joints, some quite bizarre. For example, you should avoid putting your bananas pointing upwards in the trolley at a particular local supermarket on certain nights of the week, unless you’re looking for a bit of action. Well, The Boy seems to have inadvertently discovered another random joint last night. And not one that would ever be his cup of tea.

I had a work dinner last night, so The Boy decided that he’d go to a movie then we’d go home together. This was fine by me, and it meant that he could see a boy-flick that I have no interest in.

Anyway, the dinner went a little later than I’d expected, so after the movie The Boy was killing some time in a nearby bookstore. He was sitting in one of the chairs they provide, reading a magazine, when the magazine was suddenly “bumped” by a set of male buttocks. After a rather curt word from The Boy, the buttocks moved away. Then, shortly afterwards, a pretty young man invited The Boy to come home with him “for a drink”. And didn’t want to take no for an answer (until the no became somewhat less than polite).

I’d like to point out that The Boy is definitely a manly man – he doesn’t look the least bit effeminate. He certainly wouldn’t normally be hit on, let alone so aggressively, by not one but two guys in a bookstore.

After this, The Boy took a look around at the store’s clientele and their behaviour, and came to the conclusion that the bookstore in question has a gay singles night on Tuesdays. Talk about wrong place, wrong time…

why?

2007-05-08T08:29:00.000+12:00

Explain this to me, please. Why, when we spend a fortune on super-premium food for The Kitten, does she still insist on supplementing her diet with bugs? Nothing on legs (or wings) is safe from the little black rocket – if she can see it, she can catch it. And if she can catch it, she will eat it. Crickets are her favourite, but if they aren’t available she’ll make do with any old creepy-crawly. So much for feeding her only the best…

a bit of random trivia

2007-05-07T08:36:00.000+12:00

In case you ever wondered, being “kissed” on the cheek by a beluga whale feels like being softly head-butted by a half-inflated volleyball. Really.

are you sure this is all ours?

2007-05-04T08:22:00.000+12:00

Since our new place is much bigger than our last one, and has much more storage space, we decided that it was a good time to clear everything out of the storage unit we share with my parents. We thought if we at least got all our boxes into the new house, we could sort through them and see what we should keep and what we should get rid of (and hopefully be able to give up the storage unit altogether).

Sounds like a reasonable plan, doesn’t it? Well, I’m sure those boxes are part rabbit, because they seem to have been breeding like crazy in there. I didn’t think we had that much stuff in storage, but apparently we did. Half a truck load, in fact. Some of which hasn’t been touched in ten years.

At the moment they’re mostly stacked up in the guestroom waiting for me to pluck up the courage to attack them. It’ll certainly be interesting to get them all opened up and see what’s inside. I guess you could say it’ll be half like Christmas and half like Halloween – good but scary!

a new experience

2007-05-03T08:43:00.000+12:00

I talked The Boy into trying something new last night. No, don’t let your imagination run too wild – it was just a restaurant!

I’ve always really liked Chinese steamboat food. How it works is you sit at a table that has a big pot of broth sitting on a gas burner in the middle. You order what food you’d like, choosing from a range of meat, seafood, veges and noodles. The food comes raw, so you drop it into the broth to cook (a few pieces at a time) then eat it as soon as it’s ready. After all the food is cooked and eaten, you drink the “soup” that is left. Yummy!

The steamboat restaurant my family used to go to closed down years ago, and I’d never found another one. I was sitting in the car a couple of weeks ago, waiting for The Boy to get coffee from his new local, when I happened to see a sign that said Steamboat Restaurant. After a few loud squeals of joy, I told The Boy we had to go. Soon.

The Boy had never tried Steamboat, and was frankly quite dubious. The look on his face as we sat down and they brought the pot of broth over was classic. Nearly as good as the look on his face after the food we’d ordered arrived, nicely sliced but completely raw. The good news is that once he actually tried it he loved it, so I won’t have to struggle to get him back there.

See, Boy? Sometimes, different is good.

little black rocket

2007-05-02T08:25:00.000+12:00

Well, there is no denying The Kitten is loving the new house. So much more room for her to explore and all sorts of odd corners for her to poke her whiskers into. Plus the fact that we still have boxes and suchlike everywhere, which make the place one big kitty-jungle-gym.

But I think the thing she likes best of all is that she now has room to get up a bit of speed when she’s racing around. Her personal motto seems to be “never walk if you can run”. Well, one of her personal mottoes, anyway (along with “if the fridge is being opened I should be getting fed”, “who cares if it’s 5 am – if I’m awake then you should be too” and other such gems).

So beware of the little black rocket rushing around the house. It only has two speeds – dead run and dead asleep.

how can it be May already?!

2007-05-01T09:07:00.000+12:00

I don’t know where this year has gone – how can it be May already? Unbelievable. So much has happened in the first four months of this year, I’m starting to get a bit desperate for a moment to stand still and catch my breath.

We’ve just moved house again, which wasn’t really planned. Our lease was up for renewal and, since our landlord was proving to be a bit of a Dodgy Dan, we thought it would be sensible to at least look around and see what else was out there before we committed to renewing the lease. As it turned out, that was a great idea. We found a place 5 minutes down the road that is twice the size, and on a full size section with garage, for the same price we’d been paying for our wee split villa with no off-street parking. I guess that means we’re well & truly suburbanites now! The timing could have been better – we moved a few days before I had to leave on a business trip to the USA. Not fun, but worth it in the end.

The Boy is beside himself, though – he now has an official “man cave”. The smallest bedroom is all his, and he is having a great time turning it into “Boy Space”. He has set up his computer table, a desk, all his books and his other guy-toys, including dragging our enormous old speakers out of storage and hooking them up to our old stereo. Boy Heaven indeed! Now all I have to do is convince him that his ugly ceramic cows would look much better in there than in our living room…

procrastination king

2007-01-25T12:23:00.000+13:00

I have to say, The Boy really is the uber-procrastinator. Never mind “why do today what you can put off until tomorrow”, his motto is more like “why do today what you can put off until next year”. Or, better yet, get someone else to do for you.

A classic example of this is today: he has finally taken one of the suits he brought back from his last trip to Brazil in for the alterations it needs. His last trip to Brazil was in September 2005.

With skills like that, I think he can proudly claim the crown of Procrastination King. If he gets around to it, that is.

what did we do without it?

2007-01-24T09:02:00.000+13:00

How did we ever manage without internet banking? Yes, I’ve just been paying bills online, specifically phone & electricity. I was remembering what a nightmare it used to be having to go down to the post office and line up for at least half an hour (on a good day) to pay those particular bills (since I never remembered early enough to have time to post a cheque).

Internet technology may have disadvantages, not the least of which is the amount of time The Boy spends online, but it certainly makes life easier in a lot of ways.

the cloud inside the silver lining

2007-01-23T14:00:00.000+13:00

I’ve just been told that my company is sending me on a week-long business trip to Milan, Paris and London. Sounds good, right? Ordinarily I certainly wouldn’t complain about a free trip to Europe, even if most of time will be taken up with work.

I guess you could say that the trip to Europe is the silver lining. The cloud is the fact that it is going to be in February. Yes, February, which is the height of summer here in New Zealand and the depths of winter over there… I’m not very good at really cold weather at the best of times, let alone when I’m leaving my nice hot summer for it, so I’m not entirely sure how I’ll go.

It is a good excuse to have to hit the shops for the new winter season clothes that are starting to appear, though. Sorry, Boy, but I really have to go shopping – it’s a work thing, what can I say? By the way, can I please have your card??

upholder of the law??

2007-01-22T18:00:00.000+13:00

The Boy has the joy of Jury Service to look forward to all this week. He had his first day today, and was less than impressed by the people and by the lack of organisation. After waiting around all morning, he was told he wouldn’t be needed today but come back tomorrow.

He had some rather pithy remarks to make about the huge waste of his time. He also made some rather pointed remarks about the type of person to be found hanging around the courthouse, but then what did he expect?

I don’t think I’d like him to be on the jury if I were ever to be on trial. Although he has many fine qualities, fair and impartial are certainly not words I’d use to describe him. Put it this way – he was giving a monologue this morning and laughing like a loon at it. It went something like this:

“Guilty!!”
“But Sir, we haven’t started yet”
“Guilty!!”
“Sir, can you please wait until you hear the evidence”
“Guilty!!”
“Sir, please refrain from making judgement until the end of the trial”
“Guilty!!”
“Bailiff, please remove this man”
“Guilty!! Guilty!! Guilty!!”

Need I say more?

high revenue weekend

2007-01-19T11:17:00.000+13:00

So, how much money do you think the police will make on the roads into Taupo this weekend? And how many drivers do you think will get those last few demerit points on their licence and be taking the bus for the next six months?

Yes, it’s the A1GP in Taupo this weekend (http://www.a1gp.com/), and every petrol-head in the country seems to be heading that way. The Boy and my dad are both down there today for the practice day, having left at the crack of dawn this morning (The Boy has taken his bag of essentials with him: sunscreen, sunglasses, binoculars, camera and, most essential of all, his big Brazilian flag). Apparently there wasn’t too much traffic, but there were a ton of cops and speed cameras on the road.

Come to think of it, my last speed camera ticket was just out of Taupo, on the way home from a friend’s wedding a few years ago. But hey, its pretty hard to do 100 km/h when it’s the middle of summer, the sun is shining and you’re on the open road in a convertible. Mind you, that ticket did make the weekend away a bit more expensive than I’d anticipated…

dangerous delusion

2007-01-18T14:39:00.000+13:00

As you may have heard, a vaccine has been developed for cervical cancer. Well, sort of. The vaccine prevents certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus which is apparently linked to 50-70% of all cervical cancer cases.

At the moment, Australia and the US are both instituting vaccination programmes for young girls (around 11 years old), and New Zealand is considering doing the same. The vaccine has been approved for use here in NZ, but the next changes to our national vaccination schedule aren’t likely until 2008.

Anyway, back to the point: a vaccine that prevents a virus that is linked to up to 70% of all cervical cancer cases. Fantastic, isn’t it? Well, not according to some people in the US, who say it just encourages promiscuity. After all (according to these rocket scientists), “if you are good folks who raise your daughter to be chaste and pure until she reaches her marriage bed, she won't need this”. To quote the billboards: Yeah, Right!

In the western world, most parents who think their daughters won’t have sex until they’re married are dangerously deluded. Besides, even in the incredibly unlikely event that she is a virgin on her wedding day, who knows where her future hubby has been…

Why would you take the chance?

softy dad

2007-01-17T13:29:00.000+13:00

Since the arrival of our kitten a couple of weeks ago, I can definitely say The Boy is Softy Dad.

We went to the supermarket on Saturday for the first time since we picked up the kitten. Getting The Boy past the pet section was a mission and a half. He was going crazy over all the toys and was pretty much ready to fill the whole trolley with loot for his little girl.

After about 15 minutes of negotiation, we managed to compromise on a “tickle stick” – a long flexible stick with a bundle of bright feathers on the end – and a few little treat meals to supplement her regular kitten food.

They were good choices, though – she goes bananas over the tickle stick and wolfs down the food. Well done, Softy Dad – I’m sure your little baby appreciates the efforts.

his kingdom for a coffee…

2007-01-16T17:15:00.000+13:00

One thing The Boy is missing about living in the city (in fact, probably the only thing) is having a coffee shop right on our doorstep. The closest coffee shop is 10 minutes or so walk away, which is apparently a lifetime to a caffeine addict desperate for a fix.

We’ve made a couple of excursions to check out some of the local options, with varying success. There is one wee café which has quite nice atmosphere and food. Apparently it also has ok coffee but, since I personally think the only good thing about coffee is the smell, I’ll have to take The Boy’s word for that.

The other place we’ve tried was pretty dismal. Put it this way – I don’t think their cleaner is in danger of dying from exhaustion, judging by the amount of work it looks like he/she does. It wasn’t as disgusting as Brucie’s (but then what is??), but it definitely had a somewhat unwashed look.

I guess The Boy is just going to have to make his own or put up with my meagre coffee-making skills more often than he used to. On the plus side, think of the money it saves…

watch this space…

2007-01-12T08:54:00.000+13:00

We all know that there are differences between males and females, beyond the obvious physical ones. Any two people can have the same experience and not only describe it differently, but take different things from it, and this is generally even more so from male vs female perspectives.

The Boy, being a mad blogger and internet addict, has suggested that we make a blog from this – one where we each write postings about our own perspective on the same outing and/or experience.

So, we’re looking into this at the moment. We’ve found a very appropriate website address and name, so now all we need to do is decide on our first topic and sort out the details of how the site will look.

Watch this space for more details…

spiritual?

2007-01-11T09:00:00.000+13:00

The Boy discovered a website yesterday (as he does) with a quiz that asks a bunch of questions about your spiritual and humanitarian beliefs and then tells you which religions are most compatible with those beliefs. They rank 27 religions, and number 25 on The Boy’s results list was Catholic. This is pretty funny, considering he actually is Catholic.

His number 22 was Islam. That really should have been number 27, because I know there is no way The Boy could ever be Muslim. Not because of any of his spiritual beliefs, but because he could never in a million years give up bacon… Think of Homer Simpson in a drooling daze, and you’ve pretty much got the picture.

Interestingly enough, 4 of our top 5 results were the same, although in different order. Considering he is Catholic and I’m completely non-religious, that isn’t what I’d have expected. Some of the religions on the list are pretty random, though – many of them I’ve never heard of, and some look more like pseudo-cults to me. I’m not going to be rushing out to join any of them, anyway.

If you’re interested, the site was http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html. One way to kill 5 minutes, I guess.

ruining the boy’s day

2007-01-10T08:31:00.000+13:00

I completely ruined The Boy’s day not long after we got our kitten. He was teasing me about giving her too much attention and saying (jokingly) that maybe we should take her back. He asked me whether I’d be able to take her back to the SPCA, to which I replied that knowing there was a chance that she’d end up being put down, no I couldn’t.

He was completely appalled, and was really upset for days afterwards (and still is every time he thinks about it). He had no idea that the SPCA put animals down if nobody adopted them within a certain time frame, and thought that any unadopted animal would just be kept there for as long as it took. While I’m very sure the SPCA would love to be able to do so, there is a limit to their space and resources, and it really isn’t possible.

Fortunately for our little girl, there is no way The Boy could give her up – he is completely wound around her little paws. Unfortunately, not all animals are so lucky.

the new addition

2007-01-09T15:55:00.000+13:00

Back to work today, dammit (since we failed to win lotto over the holidays). I must admit it was a bit hard heading out from home today, not least of all because we had a new addition to the family just before New Year… But no, the ‘p’ in ‘pj’ doesn’t stand for ‘pregnant’ – it wasn’t that kind of addition. Our new addition is a gorgeous wee black kitten.

The Boy & I have been discussing getting a cat for a while now, and it’s something The Boy has been really hanging out for. It wasn’t possible while we were living in a shoebox (aka a city apartment), but we’d agreed that when we moved we’d find somewhere that would allow a cat.

So, 10 days ago The Boy and I took a drive out to the SPCA to choose our new ‘baby’. Well, actually, I think she chose us. After she’d come trotting up demanding our attention, to the point of climbing up the inside of the wire cage to get closer to the potential hugs, we couldn’t really say no to her (a theme that has continued, I have to say). She certainly seems to be thriving, and has grown astronomically since she came home with us. I don’t think she stopped purring for 3 days after arriving, but I guess anything is better than a shared cage at the SPCA. Although the SPCA staff are certainly very caring and professional, it isn’t the same as a home of your own.

No doubt there will be more Adventures of the Crazy Kitten in days to come…

home alone

2006-12-29T09:35:00.000+13:00

The Boy is entering his 3rd day of being home alone, since he’s lucky enough to have leave this week while I have to work.

So far, as you’d expect, his days have been filled with computer games, net surfing and updating his website. He says he misses me, and that being home without me isn’t the same. However, I don’t think he’s actually missing my company, as such – I think he probably just misses having coffee and food provided for him, and being generally looked after.

101 posts & still standing

2006-12-28T15:14:00.000+13:00

Yup, that’s right – this is my 101st blog posting. Not bad going for someone who only started blogging to shut her partner up. I bet he never thought I’d make it this far (see Boy – proved you wrong!).

I think I can officially say I’m no longer “the virgin blogger” – just plain pj in the city.

i might be winning…

2006-12-28T10:16:00.000+13:00

I hate to tempt fate by saying so, but I think I might be starting to win the ‘battle of the ants’.

I made bacon for breakfast on Christmas Day, since it’s The Boy’s favourite. The greasy paper towels I’d put the cooked bacon on, and the empty bacon packet, were in the kitchen rubbish bin. I’d intended to change the bag before we left the house to spend the rest of xmas day and night at mum & dad’s, but stupidly forgot. When we got back home, more than 24 hours later, there wasn’t a single ant anywhere near the bin.

I also discovered this morning that The Boy had left an open container of brownies in the lounge when he came to bed last night. Again, not one single ant.

Considering that when we moved in doing something dumb like either of the above would have meant we had an ant swarm within half an hour, this is serious progress.

So there you go. The Boy can mock my attempts at ant-genocide (as he likes to call it) as much as he likes – at least it seems to be working. Touch wood.

go santa!

2006-12-27T10:32:00.000+13:00

I have to say Santa was very good to me this year – all his ‘helpers’ delivered great gifts that I’ll get a lot of use and enjoyment out of.

I was particularly impressed by The Boy’s delivery. As any regular reader of the blog (if there are any!) would know, The Boy hates shopping with a passion. I’m sure he’d rather spend 8 hours at the dentist than one hour shopping. In fact, I think the only thing he hates more than shopping is salsa dancing.

But, despite this loathing, he did venture out and found me a gorgeous Christmas present (which I absolutely love). And knowing the time and research he put into it makes it an even more impressive gift.

Thank you bebezinho – you did an amazing job.

Some people are never satisfied, are they?

2006-12-22T08:45:00.000+13:00

Last year, our first xmas living together, The Boy was less than impressed by the little star I had on top of the xmas tree. Admittedly, it wasn’t the most salubrious decoration, but I didn’t think it was that bad.

Anyway, I’d had in mind that maybe I’d be good and get something a little nicer this year. So when I was at a sale at the Christmas Heirloom Company’s factory shop a few weeks ago, I had a look at a few options.

Not being religious, I’ve never had an angel on my tree, so I was looking at stars. Then I started thinking that since The Boy is catholic, I should really ask his preference. I sent him pixts of the angel and the star they had and told him the choice between the two was 100% his, or if he didn’t like either then I could look somewhere else. He chose the angel.

So, that was fine – I brought the angel home, and he was happy. For all of 2 minutes.

Since then, he has been bad-mouthing the poor angel to everyone who comes round, saying it’s the gayest angel he has ever seen, and how bad it looks on the tree. Despite the fact that he chose it.

So there you go – next time I won’t give a toss about which he would prefer. If he’s going to whinge about it anyway, I may as well just get the one I like, right?

4 more sleeps…

2006-12-21T08:27:00.000+13:00

I do envy people in jobs that let them slack off a bit in the week before Christmas, so they can start getting into the holiday spirit (or even take that time off). Unfortunately for me, my work is always absolutely frantically busy in the lead up to the festive season.

Still, it could be worse – I could be a courier driver. Not only are they flat out at this time of year, but they have to brave the madness on the roads. Mind you – considering they’re big contributors to that madness, maybe its just karma.

my new crusade…

2006-12-20T08:46:00.000+13:00

I’ve been on a bit of a mission since we moved, and that mission is to eliminate all ants setting foot on our place. It’s a bit of a losing battle, considering the whole area is rife with them (with a thin layer of soil over volcanic rock, the conditions are ant-heaven). Still, I’m out there daily, refilling the ant-bait stations and fly-spraying anything that moves.

The latest discovery was a load of ants actually in my car. I must have used a good half can of fly-spray on them – we’re now in danger of suffocating on fumes if we drive with the windows closed, but at least there aren’t any crawly things in my poor wee car.

The Boy thinks its hilarious watching me race around with the ant bait and fly spray in my vendetta against all creepy-crawlies, but so long as I can at least keep them out of our house (and my car!) then I’ll be happy.

showing some christmas love

2006-12-19T08:55:00.000+13:00

Partners of friends can be difficult to buy for, don’t you think? They’re often not people you have all that much contact with, even when the relationship is long term. Besides, when you’re on a bit of a budget, you don’t necessarily want to have to spend a lot of money on “partner presents”.

My solution to that for the last several years has been home baking. I make chocolate brownies and/or biscuits and buy some nice plates to put them on. Wrapped up in cellophane and tied with curling ribbon, it looks good and doesn’t cost the earth, but is still something that shows a bit of effort.

Since we had a Christmas gathering on Sunday, I spent a good part of Saturday evening and Sunday morning doing the baking (see how exciting my life is in the suburbs?!). This year it was a couple of batches of brownies and loads of cranberry & white choc chip butter cookies.

It occurred to The Boy & I that, since we had all this Christmas baking, it would be nice to do the neighbourly thing and give some to the people on either side of us. We still aren’t really used to this whole “chat to the neighbours” thing, but we’ve been trying to improve. Anyway, they seemed to appreciate it, so I guess we’re learning.

Actually, I suppose neighbours and friends’ partners are similar in a way. In both cases, you don’t necessarily have a lot in common with them or see them very often, and sometimes you don’t even like them that much, but it’s wise to maintain civil relations with them.

how do they do it?

2006-12-18T12:47:00.000+13:00

Children really are amazing creatures. How can beings so small and so cute be capable of creating such bedlam, such ear-splitting noises and leaving such a trail of destruction?

I had the annual Xmas get-together with a few old school friends yesterday, which it was my turn to host. The party included 4 young whipper-snappers ranging from 1 to 6 years old. Two of them had just come from a birthday party, so they were already sugar-shocked before they even arrived.

Don’t get me wrong – I love the kids and always enjoy seeing them, but they could definitely teach Genghis Khan and his ravaging hordes a lesson or two. My utmost respect, and somewhat bewildered admiration, has to go to all the parents out there who deal with these little critters 24/7. I’m always completely exhausted after a few hours!

a cure, but only temporary

2006-12-15T08:33:00.000+13:00

We discovered one cure for computeritis/internetitis last week – just blow up the power converter. Unfortunately it was only a temporary cure, because The Boy got a new one on Wednesday. Oh well – at least I got a few days with him off the computer and spending more time with me, even if he did spend most of that time whinging about not having his computer…

how many more sleeps?!

2006-12-14T08:42:00.000+13:00

How the hell did it get to be only 11 more sleeps until Christmas??? Am I the only person in the world who hasn’t got the xmas spirit yet? Or, more to the point, the only person in the world who hasn’t made even a small dent in their xmas shopping?

Best I get my butt in gear on that, I suppose. Avoiding the malls whenever humanly possible, though – I like to think I’m a reasonably easy-going person, but the crowds in malls at this time of year do bring out the worst in me. Mind you, I never give anyone a discreet elbow-jab or heel-spike unless they really, really deserve it… honest…

movember

2006-11-29T18:18:00.000+13:00

Well, “Movember” is drawing to a close. I don’t think anyone is NZ can possibly be unaware of what Movember is by now, but if so then check out http://www.movember.com/nz. It’s great to see prostate cancer getting a higher profile. After all, breast cancer and skin cancer both get a ton of press time, but an awful lot of people aren’t even aware of what prostate cancer is.

All the worthiness aside, though, one thing this past month has proved is that the mighty mo really isn’t a look for everyone. Honestly, have you ever seen such a sad lot of wanna-be-Magnum-PI’s?? The thing that has amazed me most is the number of guys who, after a month of trying, still only have the smallest wee bum-fluff mo.

One colleague of The Boy’s (who shall remain nameless) came to work one day with a mo that looked suspiciously darker and fuller than it had the day before. On closer inspection, they discovered that he had tired of being teased about only having weeny peach fuzz, and had used mascara to beef it up a bit…

Anyway – well done to all the guys who participated. Quite aside from raising money and awareness, you’ve also provided no small amount of amusement to the rest of us!

neighbours

2006-11-23T09:34:00.000+13:00

Neighbours are funny things, aren’t they? I’m not really used to having neighbours that you do more than nod hello to as you pass on the street – I haven’t really been “buddies” with neighbours since I was a child. In fact, the last neighbours I had were an old pair of alcoholics, who must have single-handedly kept the local liquor store in business. They liked to have nasty arguments at the top of their lungs, smoked like chimneys (which doesn’t seem to have weakened their lungs any, given the volumes they could achieve) and regularly set off the smoke alarms with their cooking.

So you can see how I’d find it a little odd getting used to neighbours who not only seem quite normal, but who are actually friendly. To give you an idea, they brought us a cake when we moved in. Seriously! A very yummy strawberry cheesecake, in fact. And knocked on the door last night to invite us over for a quiet beer.

They seem like a lovely couple, though – about our age with a young baby. And, funnily enough, it turns out we know some of the same people – never mind 6 degrees of separation, New Zealand is more like two or three.

So there you go – a new experience for pj-now-in-the-suburbs: friendly neighbours.

relapse

2006-11-15T09:17:00.000+13:00

The Boy has had a bit of a computeritis and internetitis relapse in the last few weeks. Just when he’d been getting a little better, too.

It started when we were out appliance shopping, of all things. The store we were in had a massive game section, which I didn’t realise. I foolishly suggested he occupy himself with something else while I looked at washers and dryers, since he has the attention span of a two year old about such things. Anyway, he found the game section…

After I’d sorted the appliances and organised delivery, it was time to leave. He wanted to buy a computer game first. These things aren’t cheap, and we’d just spent a fortune on whiteware, so I wasn’t really keen for him to do that. The resemblance to a two year old reared it’s head again and, one big tantrum later, we left the store with Civilisation IV (kind of an ironic choice, considering the behaviour).

He was just starting to surface from spending 95% of his at-home-and-awake time playing that (the other 5% being spent eating) when his new broadband connection finally came through. Yup, he’s been almost impossible to drag away from the internet ever since.

I know that it’ll taper off eventually (until the next big thing comes along, anyway), and I know I should be happy that he is happy, but I’m afraid I really just find it annoying.

Has a cure for computeritis or internetitis been discovered since I last asked? If so, please let me know!

invasion…

2006-11-14T13:50:00.000+13:00

Not to sound like a girly wuss or anything, but one thing I am finding hard to adjust to again is insects.

We had a bit of an ant invasion over the weekend – the local ant colony apparently decided it didn’t like the stormy weather outside and decided to come on in. Fortunately they didn’t find the pantry (touch wood), but they did find the rubbish bin and spread themselves far and wide through the kitchen and dining areas, with a few hardy front-runners making a foray into the living room.

A can of Raid and a quick trip to buy ant bait later, we seem to have it pretty much under control. It’s just another one of the “features” (as opposed to the benefits…) of living in a villa, I guess, but I’ve always been a bit of a girl when it comes to creepy-crawlies.

ps – happy birthday dad!

suburbia…

2006-11-10T14:40:00.000+13:00

Yes, we’re well and truly moved – PJ is now officially a suburbanite. I do still get my daily dose of the city at work, though, so I haven’t gone entirely over to the dark side.

We’ve been there 3 weeks tomorrow. It seems both longer and shorter than that, which I know doesn’t really make sense. Still, I never claimed to make sense.

In the three weeks, we’ve had multiple barbeques, unpacked the majority of the boxes, bought a few sets of drawers and abandoned the idea of taking the bus to work. We’ve also bought a washing machine & dryer, which seems like a very grown-up thing to do (my mum was a bit horrified when I said that – I think she thinks that someone my age shouldn’t find appliance ownership scary).

One thing I’ve realised is that I’ve been well and truly spoiled over the last few years by the excellent insulation that modern apartments have – I’d forgotten how cold villas can be. We’re definitely going to have to invest in an amazing heater (or three) before winter.

apartment or tardis??

2006-10-20T09:27:00.000+13:00

We’re well into the packing now, and the place is looking absolutely horrendous. We have boxes everywhere, rubbish everywhere and very little room to move. It isn’t exactly the most pleasant environment right now.

I have to say, though, I’m astounded at how much stuff we have. I knew things were jammed pretty tight into that little shoebox-sized apartment, but it just keeps on coming. We have boxes stacked to the ceiling along the wall, and we’re not even done yet! I’m starting to suspect our apartment is actually a tardis…

too sexy?

2006-10-19T08:32:00.000+13:00

I don’t know if I’d go quite so far as to agree with the whole men are from mars, women are from venus thing, but there is no denying we have our differences. And one of the big ones is self-image.

Its something everybody knows, but it really struck me this morning that the average male self-image and the average female self-image are absolutely miles apart. What brought it to mind this morning in particular? Watching The Boy, fresh out of bed, unshaven and wild-haired, singing I’m Too Sexy into the bathroom mirror… Ok, it was a little tongue in cheek, but how many women do you know who would do that, especially when they’d just got out of bed??

rent to own, my butt…

2006-10-12T08:50:00.000+13:00

One thing we’re going to have to do with this new place is buy whiteware, which I’ve never needed before. Everywhere else I’ve lived has already had all the whiteware – either belonging to an existing flattie or as part of the package. The new place has a stove and dishwasher, but no fridge, washing machine or dryer. So we can cook but not store fresh food and we can wash our dishes but not our clothes… not exactly ideal!

So, we’re going to have to sally forth and learn about the wonderful world of home appliances. One thing we’ve learned already, through the wonders of the internet, is that DTR is a rip-off. Rent to own, my butt. When you multiply their “low weekly payments” by the number of weeks you have to pay, it works out at least double what you’d pay if you just bought the things from a normal appliance shop. You see “2 years interest free” specials all the time, so it isn’t like you have to have all the cash up front, so why on earth would you do DTR??

A trap for young players, that’s all it is.

pj in the suburbs?

2006-10-10T14:21:00.000+13:00

Yes, its true – we’re moving to the suburbs… The big move is happening over Labour Weekend.

We’ve finally had enough of living in a city apartment the size of a shoebox, and are ready for a bit of greenery and a real kitchen. Maybe once we have a kitchen bigger than a ship’s galley, it’ll be easier to get The Boy to cook a bit more often. We’ll definitely be having a few bbq’s in the summer, which should keep my Brazilian Gaucho happy.

So, now we have the super-fun task of packing and planning what needs to come out of storage. Plus what needs to go into storage and what just needs to get chucked. I really hate packing and moving. You’d think it wouldn’t be so hard, considering the size of our current place, but its amazing how much crap we have jammed in there. The Boy is a bit of a hoarder…

I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to go with the whole taking the bus to work thing. That will definitely be a shock to the system. I’ll give it a go, anyway, and see what happens.

welcome to daylight savings…

2006-10-03T13:39:00.000+13:00

What a crap start to Daylight Savings this year is having. Despite having great weather for most of September, the first two and a half days of daylight savings have seen some of the worst thunder storms Auckland has had for ages. I know its all about Murphy’s Law, but someone should have strangled that bugger at birth. If this is a sign of the summer to come, lets all move to the Gold Coast now.

By the way – if anyone is wondering how The Boy’s vegetarianism is going… he hasn’t had a meat-less day yet!

it really isn’t that bad…

2006-09-25T09:18:00.000+12:00

Why is it that men are so phobic about shopping? It really isn’t that bad. In fact, it can even be fun.

The Boy’s work shoes reached the end of their life last week, and needed to be replaced. I’d heard about a shop that had an amazing sale on men’s shoes, so I suggested that we go.

His counter-suggestion was that, since I was going shopping with mum on the weekend anyway, I should just choose for him.

Now, we’re not talking about a new toothbrush here. We’re also not talking about something that he could do without. We’re talking about shoes that he has to wear most days of the week, including walking home from work, and be comfortable in. So don’t you think he should come and try them on? Well, apparently not.

His theory was that I’d chosen shoes for him before and they’d been fine, so why did he need to go? I did point out that they were running shoes, which are pretty much always comfortable, and that I’d been overseas so having him try them on was impossible, but that didn’t even put a dent in his determination not to go shopping.

In the end I gave up and included his shoes in my shopping trip with mum. After checking that we could exchange them if they didn’t fit, I did choose shoes for him. Luckily for him, they fit and are (he says) comfortable. I guess that means my chances of getting him to come shopping next time are now even slimmer…

a grain of salt

2006-09-22T12:37:00.000+12:00

I’ve learned by now that I have to take some of the things The Boy says with a grain of salt.

His latest ‘yeah right’ statement came yesterday, when he declared that he was going to become a vegetarian and drink nothing but green tea and water.

Much as I love my Boy, we both know that will never happen. In fact, I’m starting to think he says some of these things just to watch my reaction or to make me laugh. And I’m sure my reaction to the thought of my south-Brazilian carnivore giving up meat would have been everything he hoped for.

Anyway, that’s gone by the board already. He had meat in his dinner last night and, although he had a cup of green tea before leaving for work, he only lasted until about 10 am before he had a coffee.

Oh well, I guess I wouldn’t recognise him if he wasn’t bouncing off the walls anyway…

ick…

2006-09-20T13:47:00.000+12:00

I’ve been doing a bit of overtime at work in the last few weeks, and The Boy has had to take on more of the cooking than usual. Last night I knew I’d be late, so I told The Boy I’d just grab some noodles at work and not to worry about cooking for me.

As it turned out, I got home a bit earlier than I thought – just in time to watch him prepare the most disgusting concoction I’ve seen in a long time.

This was: 1 can of tuna (large), about half a jar of mayo and a good tablespoon of garlic. He then proceeded to slather it about an inch thick onto bread to make a huge stack of sandwiches. Just the smell of it was almost enough to drive me out of the house. It was certainly enough to drive me out of the kitchen. I don’t like canned tuna at the best of times, but that was just gross.

Certainly not his finest moment in the kitchen.

new people

2006-09-18T15:51:00.000+12:00

Isn’t it interesting the little dance you go through when getting to know new people and making new friends?

The Boy and I had dinner with a couple and two of their friends on Saturday night. One of the couple is an old friend of The Boy’s, but he doesn’t know the partner all that well. I’ve only met the couple once or twice previously, quite briefly, and neither of us had met the others.

Dinner was prepared by the couple, and they did a lovely job. I was noticing, as the evening progressed, how everyone was sort of feeling their way with each other. Conversation covered a number of different topics, and it was funny watching which ones were abandoned quickly as it became clear that one or more people really weren’t into it (or when the conversation came to a crashing halt). Everyone was searching for that point where it all becomes easy and relaxed, and trying to enjoy the journey to that place.

It’s something we do almost every day, but its still interesting to take a step back and watch the process now and then.

go madrid!

2006-09-14T14:00:00.000+12:00

Apparently the organisers of Madrid’s fashion week have placed a ban on overly-skinny models. This year they’ve set a minimum BMI (body mass index), and will have medics on hand to check the models. So far, this has ruled out about 30% of the models used in the last event. The organisers say they “want to promote an image of beauty and health”.

The mayor of Milan has said she will seek a similar ban for Milan fashion week, but I don’t like her chances there.

Good on you, Madrid – being able to count the ribs and vertebrae as a model struts the catwalk is beyond disturbing. Well done.

alcohol advisory

2006-09-13T13:38:00.000+12:00

Anyone who lives in Auckland is pretty much guaranteed to have heard of Brucie’s. It’s a takeaway grease-pit right opposite Sky City, and has been around for a million years.

My question is this: if you wouldn’t eat there on a dare when sober, why do people flock to it when drunk?

It seems to be mostly a male thing, but Brucie’s (in the early hours of the morning) is always full of drunken partygoers in search of some late night grease. I’ve always managed to avoid going into the place myself – until last weekend, that is. And it’s all The Boy’s fault.

I ended up there at about 5.30 am Sunday morning, with The Boy, at the tail end of a night on the town together. He ordered our food, and I made the mistake of actually watching the “chef” while we were standing waiting for it. Good lord, it was an education and a half. I did point out to The Boy that I wasn’t sure I was drunk enough to actually eat what he was preparing. I definitely had to look away. Mind you, the sight of the other patrons really wasn’t any more appetising.

If anyone needed confirmation that alcohol consumption causes lapses in judgement, all they need to do is go into Brucie’s in the early hours of the morning.

the sad decline of captain kirk

2006-09-08T09:40:00.000+12:00

Apparently, Richard Branson has offered William Shatner (aka Captain Kirk) a free ticket, yes I said a free ticket, on one of the first Virgin Galactic flights. However, the not-so-bold captain has declined. The UK’s Sun newspaper has supposedly quoted him as saying “I’m interested in man’s march into the unknown, but to vomit in space is not my idea of a good time.”

So much for your mission being “to boldly go where no man has gone before”, captain. Despite the fact that I’m definitely not a trekkie, I’m willing to bet that Gene Roddenberry is rolling in his grave.

happy father’s day

2006-09-04T09:40:00.000+12:00

It was Father’s Day yesterday, so The Boy and I spent the day with my family.

Part of the day involved a bit of a reversion to childhood, with a family expedition to play mini-golf. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to finish the round in quite the right Father’s Day spirit, as poor dad ended up last. Mind you, I was only 2 ahead of him, so it was pretty close. The Boy was the overall winner, which (as you can imagine) put him in a very good mood for the rest of the day.

So, Happy Father’s Day, dad – sorry about the score!

not enough sleep…

2006-09-01T10:51:00.000+12:00

I should know by now that if I’m laying down ground-rules for something I need to be very, very specific.

Last Saturday was The Boy’s birthday, and I told him that he wasn’t allowed his presents at 12.01 am because it wasn’t his birthday until he’d been to sleep. What I failed to specify is that he had to sleep until at least 6 am…

At 4.30 am he decided he was wide awake and wanted his presents. It quickly became clear that I wasn’t going to get any peace, or any more sleep, unless I gave in. I did briefly consider smacking him, since that’s what happens to naughty boys, but I suppose that sort of behaviour is frowned upon when it’s the person’s birthday (unless you have certain highly specialised interests, which neither of us are fans of).

So, there we were at 4.30 am, opening presents. The Boy managed to get over his disappointment at not getting a full Darth Vader suit, helmet and real light sabre, and was pretty happy with the PSP. At least it kept him quiet for a while so I could get a little more sleep…

one more sleep…

2006-08-25T16:21:00.000+12:00

Only one more sleep until The Boy is officially one year older.

Which means one more sleep until he stops going on about me being an old woman (at least for another 6 months). Yes, I’m 6 months older than him, which he likes to tease me about. To hear him talk, you’d think I was 60 years older. Older and wiser, I like to say.

I think he’ll like his presents – if not I’ll just have to keep them for myself… He always has amazingly high expectations (considering we haven’t won lotto yet), so we’ll just have to see. I think I’ve chosen pretty well, but he'll be disappointed not to get the working Light Sabre he wanted (sorry, Boy).

truly a little Boy at heart

2006-08-22T08:26:00.000+12:00

It’s The Boy’s birthday on Saturday, and he is currently swinging between being very excited about presents and not so excited about turning another year older.

He is sure he knows what I’m getting him. Mind you, that’s what he thought last year too, and he turned out to be dead wrong.

I drive him crazy because I believe presents should be a surprise, and won’t confirm or deny anything. I don’t play the yes/no game, because then people eventually guess – I just stick very firmly to my ‘no comment’.

One suggestion, Boy – this could be a good time to be on your best behaviour…

pj who?

2006-08-21T10:42:00.000+12:00

Despite The Boy’s protests of innocence, I think it is safe to say that he gets completely and utterly hypnotised by his computer.

Yesterday he asked me nicely if I’d make him a cup of coffee, which I did. We’re talking a proper flat white made with an espresso machine, so it isn’t a quick or quiet process. I made the coffee, leaned across in front of him to put it down on his computer table then left the room. All with absolutely no response from him.

About twenty minutes later he came into the bedroom, where I was lying reading a book. When I said to him “oh, so you’ve finally decided to say thank you for the coffee, have you?” his response was “what coffee?” Despite the fact that I’d made it less than 3 metres away from him, at his request and in a less that quiet process, then had to lean across in front of him to put it down, he hadn’t noticed. Seriously.

So, Boy, you win the Computer-Struck award this week, with a special mention in the What Girlfriend? category. A dubious honour at best.

yes, he paid…

2006-08-18T17:56:00.000+12:00

I’ve had a couple of people ask whether The Boy paid up last Saturday night and took me out for the nice romantic evening that was promised (as per the 7 August posting).

The answer is yes – he took me out for a lovely dinner in Herne Bay. Well done Boy – it was a beautiful night. And it only cost you about 5 times as much as if you'd come out the previous Saturday like you were supposed to...

a new money spinner?

2006-08-10T10:14:00.000+12:00

The Boy is doing extra-mural studies at the moment, and was working on an essay last night. He asked me to proof read it for him, which I did. I usually proof read his website stuff, so I’m quite used to it and didn’t really think anything of it. His English is generally very good, but he does have a few grammar and spelling quirks that need fixing. Plus, when he is studying he tends to think in Portuguese, so his sentence structures can sometimes be kind of odd.

Sadly for him, he let slip that when he used to have to pay someone to do the same job, through the university, they charged up to $100 per essay… hmmm… sounds to me like I could have a new source of income sitting at the computer desk… I don’t think I could make myself charge him cash, but you’d better believe I’ll be milking it in other ways!

what is the fascination?

2006-08-08T11:19:00.000+12:00

Can someone explain to me why men have such a fascination with kung fu movies? I think its definitely a guy thing – I don’t know too many women who are really into them. The acting is always terrible and the action totally unbelievable. In fact, the only kung fu movie I’ve ever seen that I thought was ok was Kung Fu Hustle, and that was because it was taking the mickey out of itself.

Mind you, I’ve certainly never claimed to understand the male thought process, so I guess this is just one more inexplicable example.

pay now or pay lots more later

2006-08-07T11:42:00.000+12:00

The Boy & I were supposed to go to a 30th birthday party on Saturday night, for a colleague of mine who is currently on maternity leave. After I’d spent half an hour doing my hair (which I never do, because I’m completely useless at it) and another half hour doing a full-on evening makeup (which I hardly ever do, because I’m too lazy), he decided he was too tired and too sick to go out. Wonderful timing, sweetheart. Especially considering you were well enough to go out Friday night…

So, as penance, he has to take me out on a proper “date” this Saturday. That means a nice romantic night, getting nicely dressed up, going to a nice restaurant and out for drinks somewhere nice afterwards. It would have been cheaper and easier for him if he’d just got off his butt and gone to the 30th, but you know boys – sometimes they’re slightly slow learners.

exhausted but intact

2006-07-24T09:25:00.000+12:00

Well, we all survived the weekend exhausted but intact. There were no tears, no major tantrums and no screaming “I want my mum”. And the kids were okay too.

We managed to keep them entertained from about 10.15 am Saturday to 5.30 pm Sunday, so did pretty well for amateurs, I thought. Especially considering they decided they were wide awake at 5 o’clock on Sunday morning, which is not an hour I consider civilised. I must confess, though, I’m glad I don’t have to do this every day. Parenthood / Caregiving is certainly not an easy job.

wish me luck!

2006-07-21T09:24:00.000+12:00

The Boy and I are looking after my 6 year old godson and his 4 year old sister this weekend, which should be interesting. Although we’ve spent time with the family on holiday, and I’ve had one of the kids at a time for short periods, it’s the first time we’ve had them overnight without “parental supervision”.

Fortunately The Boy loves kids, so I know he won’t abandon me to it (not if he wants to live, anyway). Plus, he is already a favourite with The Godson due to his willingness to kick around a soccer ball for extended periods of time.

So, wish us luck – hopefully we won’t be complete physical and emotional wrecks by Sunday (and hopefully neither will the kids!!). I figure if all else fails, we can always go visit my mum…

cooking machine

2006-07-20T10:47:00.000+12:00

I’m not sure what’s got into The Boy lately, but he’s been a cooking machine for the past couple of weeks. He would definitely have cooked more than I have in the last two or three weeks, which is pretty rare.

I don’t know what has caused it but, believe me, I’m not complaining – long may it last!

selective blindness

2006-07-19T09:17:00.000+12:00

I have a question – do guys have the same eyes women do? I’m starting to think that the male of the species has a genetic defect that causes selective blindness.

How many times have all the women out there heard “Babe, where is the XXX”? Yet when you tell them precisely where to find whatever they’re looking for, they can’t see it. Even when they’re looking right at it.

How many times have you seen a guy staring blankly into a cupboard (or wherever) completely unable to see what they’re looking for. They insist that you’re wrong and that the item is not where you say it is. So, you interrupt whatever you were doing (which is clearly less important) and pick up the item from right in front of their nose. Every time.

If someone could find a cure for this selective male blindness, I’m sure there are millions of women out there who would happily pay any sum of money for their men to receive the treatment. I know I would.

tough decisions

2006-07-18T09:52:00.000+12:00

Never mind “First Up, Best Dressed” – in our house its “First Up, Warmest Shower”.

The fact that I love my long showers has been a standing joke in my family most of my life. Now the biggest joke of all (and its on me, sadly) is that these days I live with someone who is even worse than I am. And compounding the problem is the fact that we have quite a small hot water cylinder.

So, every morning, especially in winter, it’s a race for the 2nd person in the shower to finish before the dreaded cold water starts flowing. Unfortunately that person is usually me, since The Boy starts work earlier than I do (and therefore gets out of bed before I do). What a horrible decision to have to make – get out of bed earlier, which I also loathe and despise, or have to have a super-quick shower. I must really love that Boy to live with this.

sold out

2006-07-17T10:06:00.000+12:00

Don’t you hate it when you’re really looking forward to seeing a movie but its sold out when you arrive? That happened to us on Saturday night with Pirates of the Caribbean 2. We would normally have pre-booked online, but I had free passes which couldn't be pre-booked (but could be used at No Complimentary movies, so obviously not Hoyts passes…).

The other choices weren’t too hot. The Boy refused to see Take the Lead, I refused to see Final Destination 3 and we’d already seen Superman and X-Men. That left a choice of Click or RV. I’m not a big fan of Adam Sandler, but it seemed better than watching a Robin Williams family vacation movie, so we saw Click.

Even when the movie you end up seeing isn’t too bad, you still have that dissatisfaction of missing out on your first choice. Oh well, no doubt we’ll see it another time.

one for the record books

2006-07-14T09:57:00.000+12:00

You may remember the posting about how much cheaper the trip to supermarket was without The Boy along making all his usual impulse buys.

Well, we made the personal record books last night – a trip to the supermarket with The Boy with no impulse buys! Amazing but true.

We had a little chat before we went in about how we're supposed to be saving money and how the little things have a habit of adding up. We decided to see if we could make the rounds without picking up any wee extras, and we actually made it. It really made a difference at the checkout, too. I’d hate to promise that we’ll manage it every time, but its good to know that we can if we have to.

shameless plug

2006-07-13T09:57:00.000+12:00

My friends Danika & Andrew are heading off to compete in the Salsa World Champs in Las Vegas in December (go guys!). They’re having a fundraiser on Thursday 27 July at Guada Bar in Manukau (Ronwood Ave, opposite the mall). Tickets are only $10 each, which includes a free drink, free salsa lesson, a band and a bunch of performances by some of NZ’s best latin dancers. There will be sales at the door, if there are any tickets left by then, but why not secure your tickets beforehand? It should be a great night.

For details on how to get tickets, see www.sensalsa.co.nz or email me at pjinthecity@gmail.com.

super long

2006-07-13T09:54:00.000+12:00

The Boy & I went to see Superman Returns last night (not my first choice, but the timings were best). It was better than I was expecting, which probably wasn’t hard, but it was a bit long and waffly. The new guy looks eerily like Christopher Reeve in some of the shots – its quite bizarre – and Kevin Spacey is a good Lex Luther. Its definitely more of a wait-for-dvd movie, though.

zero bubbles

2006-07-12T08:53:00.000+12:00

As everybody not living under a rock will have seen, Coke Zero is Coke’s latest ‘new big thing’ here. Although I agree that the taste is a bit more like original coke than diet coke is, I’m not going to be rushing to buy more coke zero. Why? Because it goes flat faster than a popped balloon or a New York gang member hearing gunshots.

I can’t understand why, but zero seems to lose it’s bubbles ten times as fast as original or diet coke. Strange but true.

what is it with guys & chicken?

2006-07-11T08:55:00.000+12:00

There is a bit of a standing joke in our house – whenever The Boy asks what I’m making for dinner, my answer is chicken (whether that’s the truth or not). Although he has become better about it over the time we’ve lived together, along with learning how to eat veges, he doesn’t really consider chicken to be real meat. Thinking about it, my dad and my brother are pretty much the same – its not real meat unless its red.

So my question is this: why is chicken seen as ‘chick food’ (no pun intended)? What is it about chicken that makes it ‘unmanly’??

ah, nostalgia…

2006-07-10T09:15:00.000+12:00

I popped in to a dvd sale on the weekend and picked up a few $10 dvds. The title selection at these sales is always pretty sad, so it was slim pickings. I did find a couple I couldn’t resist, though. Not necessarily because they’re such fantastic movies, but because they take me back to my high school years and memories of watching them again and again with friends. It was a real nostalgia trip, and I loved it.

Of course, since he doesn’t have those memories and was just judging the movies on their actual merits, The Boy thought I was totally mad. Maybe I am, but it was fun.

where does it come from?

2006-07-07T08:46:00.000+12:00

I’m in the process of moving offices at the moment, which is a pain in the butt. You don’t realise how much stuff you have until you have to move it, although at least it isn’t as bad as moving house. Mind you, what could be?

The thing that really amazes me, though, is how dirty things are. I like to think I’m pretty good at keeping my office clean – I clean my desk and shelves regularly, ditto my keyboard, mouse and phone. And yet I was looking at my hands after moving a bunch of stuff yesterday and they were seriously black with dust. So where does it all come from? You’d think an environment as sealed as an office building would be cleaner (its not like our windows open or anything). I guess it just goes to show how shoddy and unhealthy our air-conditioning system is.

girly-ness gone mad

2006-07-06T08:55:00.000+12:00

Mum has always been the ultimate girly-girl, with a ‘pink is good and pink & fluffy is better’ kind of attitude. So you can imagine how happy she was to see Telecom’s new offering – the Pinkilicious mobile phone. Yes, it’s a pink phone, with pink casing and pink buttons. And yes, she got one on Monday, the very same day they were released (and wanted it bad enough to go to three different shops to track one down).

Oh well, it may be way too frou-frou for me, but I guess it will go nicely with her pink keyboard and pink mouse…

extreme ambience?

2006-07-05T09:14:00.000+12:00

I know many restaurants like to have ‘mood’ lighting to add extra ambience, but SPQR in Ponsonby really takes the cake. The lighting is so dim that you need a torch to read the menu. Seriously. I had dinner there last night with a couple of industry friends, and the waiter was giving patrons a torch to read the menu with. And, believe me, it was necessary.

Mind you, dim light is my best light, so I shouldn’t complain too much!

Despite its wee quirks, or perhaps because of them, I do like dining at SPQR (aka Camptown). The food is always good and the waiters are always entertaining.

overly desperate

2006-07-04T09:08:00.000+12:00

The first season of Desperate Housewives was great. It was quite camp, quirky and funny – a true guilty pleasure. The second season has turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, largely because of that dropkick Susan. I swear she gets more ridiculous every week. I think what the show needs to improve it 100% is for the psycho young guy in the basement (Caleb? I can’t remember his name) to do us all a favour and kill Susan off.

can I get a refund, please?

2006-07-03T13:40:00.000+12:00

I was wondering – who do I need to see about getting a refund on a crap weekend? Surely there must be somebody I can complain to about this.

With the exception of a lovely dinner with friends on Saturday night, this past weekend wins the Most Crap Two Days Of The Year So Far award. It was one of those weekends when you wonder why you bothered getting out of bed, because everything that can go wrong does. It was so bad that the highlight of the whole two days (other than dinner Saturday) was giving the apartment a somewhat overdue spring clean.

So, if we can be refunded for products that don’t live up to their promise, doesn’t it seem wrong that we can’t be refunded for time that doesn’t?

surprisingly ok

2006-07-03T09:16:00.000+12:00

Well, Brazil’s World Cup is over for another 4 years – ignominiously bundled out in the quarter finals. I was expecting some tantrums and tears, but The Boy is surprisingly ok about it. I think the fact that Argentina and England are also out helped a lot. I was sorry to see Brazil go – I was hoping they’d win – but at least we can go back to having a decent sleep now.

oblivious or polite?

2006-06-30T11:33:00.000+12:00

Ok, I’m getting a bit of a complex here. Last night I dyed my hair chocolate brown, which is very different from the dark blondes and copper blondes it’s been for many years.

You’d think that people would notice a change that big, but it’s pushing midday and not one person has said anything. Its not like I’ve been hiding in my office either – I’ve interacted with dozens of people this morning.

So my question is this: Are people really that oblivious, or is it so bad that they politely don’t want to mention it?

progress update

2006-06-30T09:22:00.000+12:00

For those of you are wondering, here is a progress update on The Boy’s resolutions. There has been one wee setback - he has decided to defer the start of the alcohol-free one until after the World Cup. He isn’t doing too bad on the added sugar and coffee ones though, as far as I know. He’s been good at home, anyway (although work could be a different story).

sleep deprived

2006-06-29T09:57:00.000+12:00

I think sleep deprivation could do The Boy in before the World Cup is over. It’s not just the fact that the games are in the early hours of the morning that’s the problem. Unfortunately, if Brazil is playing, he can’t sleep the night before. Brazil played (and won) at 3 am yesterday, and he would be lucky to have had an hour of sleep in total before or after the game. He was in bed by 8 pm last night and slept like a rock until the alarm went off this morning.

The real bugger for me is this: when he can’t sleep, neither can I. I don’t even like soccer, but I’m nearly as sleep deprived as he is. July 10 can’t come quickly enough.