urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982 I'm staring at a new sunset without any memories yet Melissa 2009-11-03T12:24:50Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:752229 2009-11-03T12:24:50Z 2009-11-03T12:24:50Z finally got a dresser and a (yet to be assembled) nightstand from ikea.... still need to get a table/chairs (wouldn't fit in the car. lol) work's work. tis okay. will be flying home in 6 weeks for xmas. w00t! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:752043 2009-10-24T12:24:01Z 2009-10-24T12:24:01Z okay, so i don't post here too much anymore... i should tho. but i've decided that i should put the news stuff i wanna share here instead of facebook (but i don't know who even reads this anymore) <br /><br />anyway, here's a couple stories...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/world/is-hope-in-obama-fading-20091023-hde4.html">Is hope in Obama fading?</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/bono-why-i-believe-in-obama/story-e6frf7jo-1225790616420">Bono: Why I believe in Obama</a><br /><br /><i>"America is not just a country but an idea, a great idea about opportunity for all and responsibility to your fellow man.<br /><br />All right - I don't speak for the rest of the world. Sometimes I think I do - but as my bandmates will quickly point out, I don't even speak for one small group of four musicians.<br /><br />But I will venture to say that in the farthest corners of the globe, the world wants to believe in America again."</i> <br /><br />i think this sums up things quite well and i think bono's right. the world wants america to overcome. america has long been a country of ideals - 'freedom and justice for all' - but we seem to have lost it in the last decade or so with all these petty disagreements and so much fear of EVERYthing (tho it's probably been coming on for a lot longer). and i believe it's rather unfair to blame obama for not curing all that's wrong with america in the first 9 months of his administration. there's so much to be done and so much to overcome in the process. it's gonna take years but it seems that america's love of instant gratification is starting to win.... i wish people would realize that things are starting to go in the right direction, even if it will be a while before we see real results. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:751709 2009-09-30T11:39:50Z 2009-09-30T11:39:50Z 2 1/2 months til i come home!!! it'll go quick. hard to believe it's already october (well in a few hours it will be)<br /><br />Wed, Dec 16, 2009 - Melbourne, Australia (MEL) to Los Angeles, CA (LAX)<br />United 0840<br />Depart: MEL 1:00 PM<br />Arrive: LAX 9:52 AM<br /><br />Wed, Dec 16, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA (LAX) to Chicago, IL (ORD)<br />United 0840<br />Depart: LAX 12:30 PM<br />Arrive: ORD 6:30 PM <br /><br />Wed, Dec 16, 2009 - Chicago, IL (ORD) to Grand Rapids, MI (GRR)<br />United 7074<br />Operated by: United Express/mesa Airlines<br />Depart: ORD 9:32 PM<br />Arrive: GRR 11:23 PM <br /><br /><br />~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br />Thu, Jan 07, 2010 - Grand Rapids, MI (GRR) to Chicago, IL (ORD)<br />United 7208<br />Operated by: United Express/mesa Airlines<br />Depart: GRR 1:20 PM<br />Arrive: ORD 1:19 PM <br /><br />Thu, Jan 07, 2010 - Chicago, IL (ORD) to San Francisco, CA (SFO)<br />United 0137<br />Operated by:<br />Depart: ORD 3:00 PM<br />Arrive: SFO 5:35 PM <br /><br />Thu, Jan 07, 2010 - San Francisco, CA (SFO) to Sydney, Australia (SYD)<br />United 0863<br />Operated by:<br />Depart: SFO 10:40 PM<br />Arrive: SYD 8:10 AM<br />Arrives 2nd day<br /><br />Sat, Jan 09, 2010 - Sydney, Australia (SYD) to Melbourne, Australia (MEL)<br />United 0839<br />Depart: SYD 9:40 AM<br />Arrive: MEL 11:20 AM urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:751167 2009-09-14T00:40:51Z 2009-09-14T00:40:51Z "I'll do that when sober and have a clue what I'm doing. I'm English so may be awhile."<br />-- chris urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:751063 2009-09-05T09:51:19Z 2009-09-05T09:51:19Z lions v blues afl final... non-updatey-ness....<br /><br />nothing to update. work. football. work, work, work. sleep. football. work, work, work....bah. is it december yet??? i need a vacation!!! 3+ months to go...bah.<br /><br />oh and my thyroid is f-ed up like usual. *grrrrrr* definitely not helping the situation any. *grrr* urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:750804 2009-08-04T12:48:02Z 2009-08-04T12:48:02Z "You look like a mozzarella."<br />-- my italian friend after i told her that she looked tan (having just returned from italy) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:750055 2009-06-27T11:08:37Z 2009-06-27T11:08:37Z <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=7880954&amp;page=1">Doctors Baffled, Intrigued by Girl Who Doesn't Age</a><br /><br />amazing.... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:749623 2009-06-24T03:30:47Z 2009-06-24T03:30:47Z "Excuse me, mate. You didn't happen to see a man stealing a gate just now, did you?"<br /><br />"Yes, I did actually."<br /><br />"Well, why didn't you stop him?"<br /><br />"I thought he might take offence." urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:749313 2009-06-16T02:46:39Z 2009-06-16T02:46:39Z RIP Tom and Uncle Bud....<br /><br /><br /><b>If Today Was Your Last Day</b> - Nickelback<br /><i>My best friend gave me the best advice<br />He said each day's a gift and not a given right<br />Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind<br />And try to take the path less traveled by<br />That first step you take is the longest stride<br /><br />If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late<br />Could you say goodbye to yesterday?<br />Would you live each moment like your last<br />Leave old pictures in the past?<br />Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?<br />What if, what if, if today was your last day?<br /><br />Against the grain should be a way of life<br />What's worth the price is always worth the fight<br />Every second counts 'cause there's no second try<br />So live like you're never living twice<br />Don't take the free ride in your own life<br /><br />If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late<br />Could you say goodbye to yesterday?<br />Would you live each moment like your last?<br />Leave old pictures in the past?<br />Donate every dime you had?<br /><br />And would you call those friends you never see?<br />Reminisce old memories?<br />Would you forgive your enemies?<br />And would you find that one you're dreaming of?<br />Swear up and down to God above<br />That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?<br /><br />If today was your last day<br />Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?<br />You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars<br />Regardless of who you are<br /><br />So do whatever it takes<br />'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life<br />Let nothing stand in your way<br />'Cause the hands of time are never on your side<br /><br />If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late<br />Could you say goodbye to yesterday?<br />Would you live each moment like your last?<br />Leave old pictures in the past?<br />Donate every dime you had?<br /><br />And would you call those friends you never see?<br />Reminisce old memories?<br />Would you forgive your enemies?<br />And would you find that one you're dreaming of<br />Swear up and down to God above<br />That you'd finally fall in love if today was your last day?</i> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:749064 2009-06-09T02:57:59Z 2009-06-09T02:57:59Z <a href="http://shop.comedycentral.com/detail.php?p=76596">we wants it!!!</a><br />...and we would buy it if shipping wasn't so bloody expensive! gotta represent with my ganglion cyst and all... ;o)<br /><br />oh, and <a href="http://shop.comedycentral.com/detail.php?p=73963">this</a> is freaking awesome, too! LOL urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:748937 2009-06-07T05:14:17Z 2009-06-07T05:14:17Z horoscope for this week...<br /><br /><i>Few of us articulate our every thought. We learn, early in life, that it isn't wise. You take more risks of this kind than most people. You don't burble every notion that flits through your mind, but nor do you suppress opinions for the sake of polite pretence. You're silent only when you suspect you're in company where honesty is unacceptable. You come alive with people you can speak openly to. Right now, there's something you need to say. Find someone willing to listen. You can change your understanding of the past in one conversation. Through that, you can transform your idea of what lies ahead.</i><br /><br />...if only i could say what i need to say....bugger! urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:748650 2009-06-05T13:25:05Z 2009-06-05T13:25:05Z richmond v bulldogs afl on tv... ...mostly for my own record 'coz no one else will care....<br /><br />"The turning point was the starting whistle."<br />- broncos fan when the broncos were down 36-4 to the storm (broncos ended up losing 48-4)<br /><br />heh.<br /><br />me &lt;3 rugby. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:748295 2009-05-30T04:27:04Z 2009-05-30T04:27:04Z turning me on - keri hilson heh...and i only had to move halfway around the planet to finally get a fast connection. lol<br /><br /><a href="http://www.speedtest.net"><img src="http://www.speedtest.net/result/484537265.png"></a> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:748259 2009-05-25T12:29:52Z 2009-05-25T12:29:52Z uh-oh....<br /><br />humorscope!<br /><i>Nobody knows the trouble you've seen. Except for Bob, that is. You know - the quiet neighbour, with the binoculars? </i> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:747906 2009-05-23T07:18:53Z 2009-05-23T07:29:55Z horoscope....<br /><br /><i>Your Week Ahead: You deserve to be rewarded, respected, recognised and repaid. You have done well lately, despite difficult circumstances. Because, though, you have been making so much effort to overcome adversity, you have become tired and disillusioned. Your energy has gone into the fight and now, even though theoretically you are starting to win, it does not seem like much of a victory. You are smiling on the surface, but deep down, you doubt whether your struggle has been worthwhile. The triple conjunction of Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron is about to show you a very reassuring sign. Soon you'll have more energy, enthusiasm and belief in yourself. We are in the 'Dark of the Moon' - and a rare triple-conjunction</i><br /><br />....hmmmm...one can hope, i guess....<br /><br />and humorscope....<br /><br /><i>You will contemplate nothingness today, but somethingness will keep intruding upon your thoughts.</i><br /><br />...that sounds about right. LOL urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:747640 2009-05-20T03:28:08Z 2009-05-20T03:28:08Z waiting for the sun - powderfinger was just rereading the last post. could repost it again and it'd still be the best description of what's going on. LOL<br /><br />tho there is some nice stuff at work, too.... we'll see how that goes. ;o) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:747410 2009-05-01T12:57:56Z 2009-05-01T12:57:56Z yeah, i'm still alive. lol busy, busy with work, tho. not lots of hours (38-40 per week..plus 2 sleepovers) but lots of split shifts and lots of commuting. bah. nothing much else going on. been in my little apartment now for a few weeks. still don't have any furniture other than my bed. lol my tastes are higher than my budget, apparently. (my budget = near nothing) hmmm...otherwise just hanging out with friends when i can and going to football games (aussie rules and rugby). life is good, tho.<br /><br />...and it's may already. wow. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:747092 2009-03-06T06:51:59Z 2009-03-06T06:51:59Z yayayayayayayayayayayayay!!!!!!!!! me gots my visa!!!!! now i just need to book my flight. probably tomorrow when i'm more awake. looking to leave on the 18th....returning dec 16 for a few weeks for xmas. :o) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:746858 2009-03-05T07:20:20Z 2009-03-05T07:20:20Z so i went to chicago last weekend (thurs-mon). took amtrak. no crashing fortunately but my train was delayed by 1h 40min on the way home but it was still faster than greyhound would've been. lol and it was wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAy better than driving. so glad i didn't drive. so much more relaxing that way. not sure if i'll ever drive to chicago again. LOL <br /><br />anyway, it was tons o' fun. met up with one of my friends down there....who was down from alaska (yes, the state) for a wedding.... i met her in NZ. small world. did shopping (browsing, actually lol), lots of coffee, went to the lounge in the hancock a couple times, sears tower, bahai house of worship (beautiful!!...albeit f'in freeeeeezing that day!)<br /><br />i stayed in a hostel that was in a great location (just a few blocks from the art institute and a block off off michigan ave)...but my room was also literally 30 feet from the L. sounded like a plane landing everytime it went by. fortunately it doesn't operate at the odd hours of the night. <br /><br />on sat night i went out with a group from the hostel to dinner (v.v.v. good vietnamese restaurant) and to a blues club. a very odd moment at the restaurant, tho. i was near the window. at one point this small army of 20-something year old guys walked past in snuggies. LMAO! so, of course, the random cute irish guy sitting next to me didn't know what a snuggie was (or about all the parodies and such) so i had to try to explain it. not easy. LOL actually what was even funnier, a few minutes later one of the guys in a snuggie ran back past the window...in the middle of the street...flailing his arms....chasing after a bus!!! it was the funniest thing i've seen in aaaaaaaaaaages. ROTFLMFAO!!! well, later we went to the blues club and for some reason brian dennehy was there...not that i've ever actually seen any of his movies/tv shows. but anyway.... good music.<br /><br />hmmm...what else...oh, pizza.....mmmmmmmmmmm..... and went to some museums. art institute, contemporary photography and contemporary arts. actually took a free tour at the contemp arts museum. definitely worth it since i know nothing about contemp arts but i like looking at it. lol good to have some sort of explination for it.<br /><br />well, i think that's about it. did some other restaurants and such but no exciting stories. still loads of fun, tho. :o) urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:746525 2009-02-23T07:33:36Z 2009-02-23T07:36:10Z oscars...yeah. didn't watch that much of it. haven't seen any movies that were nominated except for australia (and that was only up for costume...didn't win). <br /><br />but there's a good review over <a href="http://oscars.movies.yahoo.com/news/313-best-worst-of-the-oscars-hugh-jackmania?nc">here</a>...my fav part (of the review)<br />"Assault With a Medley Weapon: The top-hat-and-tails number with Beyoncé, Zac Efron and the rest totally summed up the year in movies. And that year was 1936."<br />amen. it was still an entertaining medley, tho...but i'll watch hugh jackman ANYtime. ;o) but even he couldn't make me watch the whole show. different? yes. better than usual? relatively speaking, i think so. still boring? absofreakinlutely. i loved the opening number, tho. and i'm glad they gave an achievement award to jerry lewis. he's awesome. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:746420 2009-02-22T20:11:25Z 2009-02-22T20:11:25Z Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)<br />Good time to invest in stock. (The canned kind, not the dry kind.) <br /><br />but actually it IS a good time to invest in stock of the dry kind, too.....buy low, sell high. now if only i had money to do so. bah. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:746123 2009-02-21T07:34:26Z 2009-02-21T07:34:26Z wow. just wow. never knew this existed. it's totally me.<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome&quot;">Delayed sleep phase syndrome</a><br /><br />i stumbled across a mention of it in an ADD book (which also mentioned that a possible new "criteria" for ADD diagnosis may be sleep disturbances).<br /><br />~~~~~~~<br /><br />a few bits that definitely apply to me...<br /><br />Delayed sleep-phase syndrome (DSPS), also known as delayed sleep-phase disorder (DSPD) or delayed sleep-phase type (DSPT), is a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, a chronic disorder of the timing of sleep, peak period of alertness, core body temperature, hormonal and other daily rhythms relative to societal norms. People with DSPS tend to fall asleep some hours after midnight and have difficulty waking up in the morning.<br /><br />Often, people with the disorder report that they cannot sleep until early morning, but they fall asleep at about the same time every "night", no matter what time they go to bed.<br /><br />People with DSPS tend to be extreme night owls. They feel most alert and say they function best and are most creative in the evening and at night. DSPS patients cannot simply force themselves to sleep early. They may toss and turn for hours in bed, and sometimes not sleep at all, before reporting to work or school.<br /><br />DSPS patients who have tried using sedatives at night often report that the medication makes them feel tired or relaxed, but that it fails to induce sleep.<br /><br />People with normal circadian systems can generally fall asleep quickly at night if they slept too little the night before. Falling asleep earlier will in turn automatically help to advance their circadian clocks due to decreased light exposure in the evening. In contrast, people with DSPS are unable to fall asleep before their usual sleep time, even if they are sleep-deprived. Research has shown that sleep deprivation does not reset the circadian clock of DSPS patients, as it does with normal people. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:745805 2009-02-17T06:43:31Z 2009-02-17T06:43:31Z "Lousy lovers do well with their hands<br />But I'll reach you like nobody can"<br />-- Jakob Dylan, This End Of The Telescope urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:745304 2009-02-13T19:23:10Z 2009-02-13T19:28:56Z hmmm....they may be onto something here!<br /><br />Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)<br />Having trouble sticking to that diet, aren't you? It's even harder when you see all those enticing commercials for fast food on TV. The trick to dealing with those is to use your imagination - mayonnaise becomes shaving cream, a burger becomes compressed compost, and everything else is coated with synthetic motor oil. Which, these days, is pretty close to the truth. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:mia982:745137 2009-02-10T06:14:44Z 2009-02-10T06:14:44Z i really need to do some posting here....too bad i don't really have anything to post about. i REALLY don't do anything these days. bah. still waiting on the visa to go thru....should get an answer in another week or two...hopefully. in the mean time...hmmm... oh, i'm looking at going to chicago for a weekend at the end of the month. (i know of at least one person who will be jealous of that. LOL) i'm debating between greyhound and amtrak....both are evil. bah. amtrak would be a bit easier and theoretically shorter (by 2 hours) IF everything is on time (big "if", really). both are about the same price. yeah, so that's about all the news with me. thrilling.