The Word B

the time has come. the time is now. frijole johnston emmons will you please come now? yep, that's right. we are in the early stages of labor. actually, i think early was last night, cherry is now in the middle of labor. we are all systems go. the sun is up this early morning, the kiddy pool is blown up, the water system is ready, the towels are washed, etc. i am running around doing last minute things in preparation, but the time has come. contractions are now less than 5 minutes apart. the midwife has been called.
cherry is moving forward like a trooper. all is progressing well.
if you do read this- do not call us. we will call you! or else stay tuned to this site for more details and the final result.

"and god said: it is o.k. to lie, cheat, steal, and kill (forget about the above 10)."

case in point, sydney's hill song church for the born-again, nu vou jesus freaks of the southern hemisphere. the organization just got busted big time for money fraud, and you can buy their c.d. at the local gas station.
then there is the nazi pope, who has implied that islam is a violent religion and therefore... (it alright to kill muslims).
then there is israel (they follow the ten comandments to, remember that guy moses?), and all the bullshit atrocities going on in that country and their conflict with their neighbors, palestine, lebanon, syria blah blah blah. seems like it has been going on for a thousand years.
fuck, it is good to be religious.
it is much better not to be.

who's that ringing the doorbell at 1 a.m.! that is correct, last night the door bell sounded and then continued to hum with an infernal buzz, incesantly.
i knew no one rang the bell, as we have been having trouble with the button lately. so last night, in the middle of the night, i went downstairs, opened the front door to try and unstick the button. it did not help. it was only after standing out the front of my house, with the light on, for about a minute, i realized i was naked. what a sight the neighbors must have had.
i went back upstairs, put on my sarong, and returned to the scene with a screw driver, in order to disconnect the wiring of the buzzer. in the process of fixing the problem, the humming buzzing noise grew louder, and the bell sounded off and on erratically at least 50 times. in the quiet stillness of the night, it must have alerted the entire neighborhood to the fact that someone was at our front door. it was me!
before this event occurred, i was having difficulty falling asleep. ironically enough i had just began to doze off when the bell sounded. after i finished removing the button from the wire, turned off the lights, and returned to bed, i tossed and turned for another hour trying to get back to sleep. at least i had a giggle about the whole incident. it is even funnier the day after, but i am tired.

i am now a citizen of australia. the ceremony was about an hour long. there was a moment of pledging an affirmation and that was pretty much that- i was official. as predicted, bronwyn bishop, a.k.a. the wicked witch of oz (representing warringah) was there. i swear she is in competition with queen elizabeth the 1st, for the most make up put on ones face. it was horrible and she smelled like moth balls. but that was the only down side. after receiving my certificate, i was given a native plant (which turned into 5 because they wanted to get rid of them). then we were out of there and down the road to have dinner and celebrate. we even had champagne.
no, i will not forget my roots. no, i have not lost my american citizenship. yes, i am now a dual citizen. yes, i did turn down the offer for the role of ambassador to tahiti, which i was immediately offered straight after the ceremony. i have principles- we must sell our house first.
i hardly slept last night. i am not sure if it was excitement over the aussie thing, or anxiousness over the frijole thing. however, i will state that it is most likely a combination of both.

this evening, i will become an australian citizen. i sometimes wonder why? lucky for me, i won't be undergoing the gruelling interogation the current government is hoping to implement upon future would-be citizens of this country. rumor has it, the test would be to define the idea of the "aussie fair go." my interpretation of this is- if you are white and speak english, you can easily have a worthy opportunity to do anything you like. however, if you are aboriginal you are too drunk and hopeless to accomplish anything. if you are asian, you can get a job but we will never truly accept you. if you are middle eastern in appearance or a muslim, you are therefore a terrorist. (i am being totally fecitious, so please don't take the above literally).
i am sure that the ceremony will go on about what it means to be a good aussie... blah, blah. i am worried that ugly, old bat, bronwyn bishop (she is the representative of the local electorate) will be the one handing out the awards- another close minded bigot in politics. but i will over look that, too.
you may be wondering why i live here much less want to become a citizen of this country... the answer is this. i moved here for love and that is what has kept me here. australia from what i have experienced has the potential to do great things and promote a great and wonderful ideology of peace amongst its people, but unfortunately it does not. this, in my opinion is due largely to the current government and their wrong wrong wrong political hegemony they exert over the citizens of australia and the islands in the surrounding region. and despite the recent global policies of many so called democracies, i still believe in the democratic ideal. therefore, by becoming a citizen of this country, i can exert my right to vote. voting is something many aussies take for granted and do not appreciate, some even condemn. i want these bastards out! i will vote for the better, healthier alternative.
after tonight, i will be a dual citizen. unfortunately, there are bastards running the countries for which i hold citizenship in. however, to quote bob dylan, "the times, they are a changing."

today was spent outside. after getting out of bed at 10am (felt so good to sleep in- something i NEVER do anymore), i had a quick breakfast and it was off to the beach. a friend had called and told us a whale was jumping off in the water close to shore. by the time we arrived, there was no whale. but that didn't keep me from swimming and having a run up the beach. next friday is the lifeguard physical tryout and i am just testing and preping my body for the day. i will do well enough to get a job. go figure after being cut open last may 17th!
returned home to eat lunch and then begin mowing the lawn. fuck, we have a lot of grass to mow. i don't enjoy it as much as i should, but the end result is always a pleasure to look upon. the yard looks so much better with a fresh cut lawn. by the time i finished, i realized my skin was screaming in pain. like a complete moron, i neglected to put on any sun screen the entire day. so needless to say, i got a fairly wicked sunburn. my own stupid fault, as i know better. life goes on.
thanks to all those who have left a comment recently. keep 'em coming.
it is now dinner time.

there seems like there is so much to do in my life and so little time. i find that making lists and checking things off is the best way for me to cope. otherwise, i turn into an oozing bucket of stress and anxiety. fortunately, i have learned from the past experiences. going to uni, studying, work, interviews, homework, house renovations, baby preparation, cooking meals and a little quite time all before i go to sleep is enough to wear anyone down. all this, let alone finding time to sit down on the blog or email and catch up with current events, is enough to drive a normal person insane!!
how do some of you people do it? blog all day long, everyday. i figure you either have stress free lives, or sit in front of a computer for work while trying to avoid your work. am i right or wrong?
last night, i went the old fashion way, and after blogging, i actually sat down and picked up my journal. go figure. i used to be so faithful and pedantic about writing in my journal. then i got hooked on this blog thing, originally to put some of my creative work out there, but that has turned into an egocentric desire to be the center of peoples attention, even for just a moment, and to have that gratification when somebody leaves a response. (are you with me? are you even tempted to leave a comment? some people say they read this site from time to time, but leave no comment. why not?) yet, last night i wrote in my journal, and all i can tell you is this- it felt so good. it is pure freedom on the page that i don't get to experience on a computer. i can draw, i can glue things in, i can even write down a few words, that make no sense at all. if i want to make them public, i can rewrite them here on this site. but that seems like alot of work and i may as well, come up with something new. am i rambling? yes.
i will get off my trip, now.
in other news, naomi robson was arrested in indonesia. fuck her and her over sensationalized journalism that only breeds hate and ignorance leading to racists discrimination in this country. australia can certainly do without her sort of rhetoric. indonesia can keep that ugly bitch.

this afternoon i came home from work early. i didn't have a last period to teach, and i am still not getting paid- easy decision. since today was the first day in several weeks where the sun was shining and i wasn't desperate to finish other projects around the house, cherry and i decided to plant the seeds for our vegetable garden...finally.
what we planted in order of back row to front. corn, zucchini, eggplant, cucumber, radish, lettuce, and carrots all in the newly created planter box designed special for the vegetables. then in the side garden against the fence, i planted green beans and tomatoes. throughout both gardens we also put in marigolds to keep away the pests. we also had a few sunflower seeds to plant around the entire yard for fun and a bit of color. i went a little crazy with the planting of them but we will see what grows and where. i am looking forward to seeing the outcome of our sowing effort, and even more, i am looking forward to eating the outcome of our sowing effort.
with all the rain we have had, the plants all look so healthy. i am looking forward to watching the entire garden grow with the beginnings of spring. everything except the dreaded buffalo grass. that means mowing the lawn, which in a way, is needing to be done now. no time no time.

so sydney and most of new south wales is copping it pretty good with the wet weather. so much for all those out there campaigning for the pro-drought platform. it has been much needed rain.
the other day i had a flat tire. the cause was a nail in the rear right tire. pain in the ass really, i put the spare on and left it at that (i still need to get the original one plugged up). on my drive home, after changing tires, the radiator began to steam. the bottom radiator hose connecting to the engine sprung a leek. oh great! so a trip to the auto part store and a new hose and coolant later, the trouble was taken care of. cars. the shit never stops with all the issues, hassles, and problems involved with them. my advice, buy a bike and stick with that.
we got the house rendered (stuckoed) this past week.it looks great. the guy did a fantastic job, but left a mess all over the gardens and lawns for me to pick up. do to the heavy amounts of rain, i have only been able to look at the mess and do nothing else. but this afternoon, between rain showers i have picked up some of the mess, broke up the concrete globs in the gardens that were choking many of my plants, and moved the 2 cubic meters of sand he left on the grass. the guy over ordered on sand. basically, it was still on the grass- killing the lawn right in the middle of the front yard. so i moved it, basically spread it around the grass and the garden beds. one can easily "hide" a lot of dirt or in this case sand, by spreading it around the gardens. so i am hoping that it will piss down again with rain over the next day or two to help soak in and gently spread the sand around. however, with my luck, the weather will dry up. who the hell knows?
and then i find out that mini skirts are back in fashion- in a big way. what a world! what a life! where does all the time go?

yesterday evening i heard the news, steve irwim had been killed by a sting ray. i too felt saddened by the incident like so many people around the world, i am sure. the feeling i had was similar to that back in 1991 when the news announced magic johnson had contracted the HIV virus. these people who were larger than life, somehow became mortal human beings in an instant. life is so prescious, yet fleeting. it can alter course, or be taken away in a swift moment.
so, we face the passing of another inspiring human being, the crocodile hunter. it is a shame to have it happen, but when our number is up, we all must go. however, irwins death was inevitable. he was a man who flirted with disaster, danger, and death on a daily basis. i am reminded of the saying, "you mess with the bull, you get the horns." in this case you can substitute the ray for the bull and the sting for the horns. yet, the irony remains. farewell, steve irwin. thanks for all you have done for the planet, humans and animals. thanks for the memories.