Flamingo Dancer’s blog

I am putting together an english unit for grades11/12 and I am using Frankenstein for the novel, Twilight as the movie and would like a poem to sync with those two items. Does anyone have any suggestions of the poetic kind?

Have you ever been drawn into a conversation, just to be polite in a social gathering where, as it progresses it takes on a turn that makes you feel comfortable, but once again, out of politeness you maintain a presence?

Well, that happened to me last night and even hours later I am upset about it. Last night was Daughter1 and The Boy’s engagement /housewarming party. It was at their home, I just had to supply most of the contents of my kitchen. The person who delivered this distress upon me is MrFD’s  Rotating BIL. We call him rotating because he had an affair [after 25 years of marriage and it was more a symptom of a bad marriage than the cause if you get my drift], Mr FD’s sister threw him out for over a year,  took him back, then wanted to throw him out again but he refused to go so they lived in separate parts of the house and now after another year she has taken him back [ to what degree I don’t want to know].

He is very tall, very loud and always negative and competitive. She thinks everyone thinks he is a god. We know everyone is just being nice for her sake. In 25 years of knowing him, we have never come close to being able to stay close to him for any length of time. Mr FD bristles with him very fast, so it always fell to me to spend time with Rotator – of course Mr FD paid for it later, as he does whenever I am lumped with quality time with MrFD’s father also. I think his sister just married a bigger version of her father but that is another blog.

ANYWAY, Rotator is a burned out teacher and has gone into an unsuccessful career in real estate. He was talking to another person, also a long time teacher though semi retired. One thing I have found in this age group is that they don’t like change... mention powerpoint presentation to them and they grow pale and shake. They are the type of people that should have left teaching a long time ago as they are not willing to equip the students with the skills they need for today. And while I am mentioning this, let me be clear that there are a lot more teachers in this age group who do embrace change and technology and are exactly what the students need.

Rotator thinks he is an intellectual giant too – yes has an opinion about everything and always negative. So he launches into a tirade against the government and outcomes based education and starts asking me questions, because obviously I have the most recent information on what is happening in the field. I tried to answer the questions honestly and fairly with the knowledge I have, but am honest that I don’t understand it all as yet, maybe never will. Rotator always has his negative agenda working though and so starts to twist the questions so that I have to answer things in a negative way about teaching, the education department and the university I attend. Now, not that there aren’t negative aspects but there are some really positive ones too, and as we all know that some issues have multiple parts to them.

After awhile I noticed that the people around us had stopped talking, probably because Rotator has such a BIG VOICE. They are listening and some are sitting with heads on the side to listen better....I feel embarrassed that they may think that the opinions being addressed are really my own. They aren’t. Rotator is working to put down something that I appear to be achieving that he failed at doing...agenda item 1. I was also trying to be polite as this is the first time we had seen him with Sister since last year – for her sake, because she will tear flesh from Mr FD otherwise we remain polite [ MR FD was collateral damage in the first break up due to no fault of his own] .

As the conversation went on and I exhausted myself trying to put a positive on the negative I gave up. I said I was feeling ill, not untrue, and Mr FD and I left. Other people were leaving so we felt that it was ok to come home – Daughter1 understood.  

Well, Daughter understood to the point that Rotator and wife were the last to leave, bar Daughter2. Apparently they led them to the front porch in the hope they would go home but they continued talking and talking until Daughter1 was going to say WILL YOU GO HOME ALRIGHT!

So today, I am feeling horrible. I was drawn into participating in a conversation that was not me, and I didn’t say , you are full of crap, to someone who is full of crap. Someone should have said that to him years ago. And someone should have said that to Mr FD’s sister too, except she has a vicious tongue – one of those people who can dish it out but won’t take it in return. I did it out of loyalty to Mr FD, to maintain family harmony, and to be polite. So if all those things are so honourable, why do I feel so bad today?

I guess that I don’t want people to think that might be the person that I am. I don’t want people to have received information that is tainted.  I would hate if Daughter1 and The Boy’s friends thought that I was a horrible old battle axe. Sigh.  Can’t win this one I know, but I am angry that Rotator is back in the fold and causing issues again. Luckily we only socialise at major family events... and if lucky they may be separated by the time Daughter1’s wedding comes around!

On the up side, as Mr FD and I were leaving the party we were able to reunite a lost dog with its owners, so maybe that will balance my karma for the day. I suppose in my own heart I know that I am a better person than that and maybe that is all I should worry about. I can live with me.

stop complaining and lie still, can't you see I am saving you!

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I did a senior first aid course today and despite my best efforts I passed!

 The day started with my partner and I down on the floor trying to perform CPR on a dummy. We huffed and puffed but couldn't get the chest to inflate and were about to declare him dead when our instructor realised it was malfunctioning and took its gizzards apart and repaired him. Then we were off, 2 breaths and 30 chest presses all in 24 seconds. We were a whizz at the change over process too. We got to bring our face masks home for show and tell too! Oh it was so exciting. 

Then we got to look at great photos like nails in eyes, and fingers ripped off due to wedding rings being caught on things and stuff that had more than one person turning green.

After lunch we got to bandage each other and knot each other up in slings. It is amazing what one can do with a large triangle of gauze bandage - not all of them should be shown in polite company either! I also got to use a training epipen on my willing victim - she said ouch so I think I got carried away slamming it into her thigh, but gee she would have lived if that peanut allergy had been real! We dropped hints to get jelly beans for pretend low blood sugar levels but the instructor said we could only have a sticker to take home if we were good.

The last thing we had to do was pass our written tests and like all good teachers we all cheated, I mean, helped each other a lot. We all passed. I was in such a do gooder mood that I even paid $5 for a tiny little disposable face mask to hang on a key chain - so next time I see a body by the side of the road I can perform CPR without fear (because I am always finding bodies by the side of the road as we know!)

As the instructor said, it is better to try something rather than nothing - but don't leave your name and address! Yes, be afraid, be very afraid... 

The girl who shared her germs with me nine weeks ago and gave me a cold to start my prac with and commenced the downward spiral of my immune system, sat beside me in a lecture today. I coughed all over her.

Life lesson 962: Take your revenge, how, when and where you can get it...it won't solve things, but hey the instant gratification goes a long way!

The fortunes of one Queenslander changed dramatically overnight as the biggest Oz Lotto jackpot in Australia's history finally went off.
 
The lucky winner will share the $106.45 million first division booty with a South Australian resident who also managed to score the right numbers.
 
The furious rate at which Australians bought tickets for the draw pushed the jackpot - originally $90 million - past $106 million.
 
Division two paid $33, 468.25 to 60 winners nationwide, while 1,114 people scored $3,711.25 in division three. More than 6,800 Australians won a handy $312.25.

NOT ME!

and the number is Flamingo Dancer!

if you don't hear from me after tonight, it will be because I won the $90million lottery drawn at 8.30 tonight, and I left for the airport so fast that I didn't have time to say good bye....so goodbye.

If I am back tomorrow, I may be in a bad mood...

I said to a friend that my favourite jam [jelly to USA] was rosella jam and of course she thought :

Eastern Rosella Parrot

and I said, no not rosella ....rosella, silly!

Rosella, also Queensland Jam Plant (Hibiscus Subdantta)

Botanical Name: Hibiscus sabdariffa

Family: Malvaceae

Plant Description: A native of tropical West Africa, it prefers warm climates. Rosella is an attractive annual shrub to 1.5 m high with large, lobed reddish leaves and attractive yellow hibiscus-like flowers. Rosellas are easy to grow, with no pest problems, hardy and productive. Most soil types are suitable, provided they are rich and well-drained. Plenty of water is needed to maintain growth, flowering and fruit development, mulching is beneficial. Three to four plants is all that is needed to produce a good crop. Plants normally begin to crop when about 3 months old and cropping may continue for 9 months or until the first frost. The fruit is ready to pick about 3 weeks after flowering.

Uses:

• Food: the fleshy calyx is used in salads, jellies, cranberry-like sauces, jams, syrups and wine. Dried the red calyx is used for tea and it is an important ingredient in the commercial Red Zinger, Hibiscus and Fruit teas. The tea is very similar in flavour to rose-hips and high in vitamin C. Seeds are roasted and ground into flour. Young leaves can be steamed or stir-fried and are known as Red Sorrel in the Pacific.

• Hedge: Rosella is an attractive annual hedge or windbreak for the summer garden.

the flower of the rosella plant

this year's crop of 4 rosella plants

The only thing that I am going to say about Michael Jackson is that it makes one think about one's own mortality. Sure, I don't have a dependence on drugs (well not that I am admitting anyway!), but Michael and I were both born in 1958.... As I have mentioned previously, MJ, Prince, Madonna, Sharon Stone and I are all 1958 babies - it was a great year for fabulous people, dahling! So, when someone dies who is the same age as you it makes you realise that you need to make the most of what you have, while you have it. [And yes Snowy I can make anything about me!]

Oh and one more thing - how long do you think before all the sordid Michael Jackson biographies and tell alls hit the bookstores? I would say 2 weeks. Maybe 3. [Ubi Caritas waiting for you to report on that one!]

Mr FD is still suffering and hence so am I. The ultimate in care to Mr FD is a hot lemon and honey drink, so I just made one for him. I can hear him mewing in the other room now. I am playing with his mind again, just when he gets used to me being nice to him, I will slam him with a "you expect what? Excuse me!" It works everytime. He lets his guard down and I whammy a zinger in - it is what I live for... well that and chocolate.

Daughter2 and The Boy were over this afternoon. She is selectively packing up her belongings and has a removalist booked for Tuesday to come and empty our house....well, it will be empty when all her stuff goes. When I say selectively, no doubt you know what I mean - good stuff to go with her, crap and crud to stay at Mum and Dad's. I can't complain, I did the same to my parents - it is like the revenge of the generations.

I am back to Uni on Tuesday - wow wasn't that a great 4 days of holiday. I should be working on assignments already, but still feel so wretched that I have no motivation. It gets to early afternoon and I am so weary that I have to go and have a nap. My lungs still wont expand enough to take in the oxygen I need without a major coughing spasm, so I am putting the lack of oxygen down as the reason for my brain feeling as though it is loose from its moorings. I have a first aid course to attend on Friday, at this rate I may be the body!

This afternoon I was on the phone talking with my Mum when Son did something to our home network and disconnected us. Poor old Mum got quite confused as one minute she was talking to me and then she got a click and was busy saying "hello, hello" when next thing her sister replied. It seems that sister just happened to phone at the moment my call dropped out. Poor old Mum thought the angels were speaking to her for a moment I think - it was all too much for an 82 year old.

I think I need to go out and buy a large bottle of motivation and maybe a new attitude, in the large economy size. I seem to have lost the dance in Flamingo Dancer. Maybe it is in that pile of boxes Daughter2 has piled near the door - must have a peek and see what I can do. 

Mr FD is sick now. He came home from work yesterday and said he need a little guardian angle to look after him - in his opinion he was dying. He was in danger of death too because I almost throttled him. Excuse me, you expect what, by whom? And where were you when I was so ill - IN ANOTHER STATE! We are now locked in a very competitive coughing contest.

I went to the optometrist today - yes time for new glasses. She told me I had a "beautiful pupil". I think it is up there with one of the more unusual compliments I have had. Apparently my long vision is twice as good as it was 6 years ago and that is quite common as we reach our 40s and 50s it seems. Our long vision improves but our short vision gets worse! The human body huh.

Had to get my passport renewed to - where did that 10 years go, not oversease obviously - and of course the photo looked like a prison mug shot as they always do. I looked like something that had been in the back seat with Hugh Grant down on the wharf sometime in the 80s! The girl at the post office where I had to go to have the application processed looked at the photo twice and said it doesn't look like you. Eventually she agreed it did "I guess you would look like that after travelling for 30 hours". Thank you dahling. Then she asked to see my drivers permit, which is probably about 3 years old. Of course I have perky little pixie hair and a dark burgundy brown hair colour - and now I am standing in front of her with longer grey blonde hair - and she says without a flicker of an eyelash, "I prefer the driver's permit look". LIKE I WAS ASKING!

I am going to bed, I may not get up until 2014.

Happy birthday Sis

Yesterday was my sister’s birthday. My sister is 8 years older than me, but even though we grew up in different decades, we are very close. My sister has lived a quiet life in a quiet town.  She left school at 15 years of age and worked as a secretary until she married, as most women did at that time. Life has not always been easy for her, there have been ongoing financial worries that have always set boundaries on her life, and after giving birth to her daughter she was never able to have that longed for second child.

My sister’s life is rich in other ways. She has a very generous heart. She will volunteer the assistance of her husband to anyone who is in need (she is a flamingo dancer after all, you didn’t expect her to do it, did you?). She gives her time, attention and energy to all who come within her realm. In turn my sister has an army of loyal and loving friends, and a family that adores her.

The only problem is my sister has no sense of humor.  Nothing. Zilch. She takes everything very seriously.  I think the nuns may have taken it away from her. A throw away quip can find you given a 10 minute dissertation on positive thinking and relaxation techniques. Or an offer to sort your linen cupboard.  Of course it also means that she is often the butt of family jokes – well ,maybe when we were younger, not so much now. Maturity makes one kinder.

So you can see, that my sister and I are like night and day, cheese and chalk, fire and water. I am fire. She is water. At times I get very frustrated with her and her small world view. I think there are many times when she doesn’t understand me or the world that I live in. She bound her daughter to her, I encourage mine to fly free. We have the same love of family and home, of doing the right thing. My courage out reaches her so I am often the one to step up when the hard jobs come, such as taking action to have our Dad removed from the family home when his dementia became too much to be handled in the family home, but I long ago accepted that. I can handle the guilt that his death soon followed better than she would...

There are times when I wish I was my sister, living her life of quiet and calm. Regular, routine, secure. At other times I know it would be the end of me. I think there may be times she  wishes she had been braver and followed some of the paths I took – mature age education, some sort of career. I guess that we all build the life we need with what we are handed.

I guess this is all just to say, Happy Birthday, Sis, no one could wish for a better big sister. Or any sister.