I finally got hours at work this week.  I didn’t get any work for two weeks before I left for New Zealand and then I returned home to find they’ve hired a charming group of younger, cheaper employees.  I’m here to tell you that the amount you pay for your staff represents the quality of work you’ll get.

This week I’ve been called in numerous times to cover for staff who can’t fill their shift or just don’t bother showing up.  If you put reliable staff on to start with, you won’t have this problem.  If the same thing happens next week I’m going to look for another job to sustain me until I hopefully return to university next year.

I’m sick and I’m still going to cover for someone today.  Customers better be nice to me or heads will roll.  I have some feral sort of headcold – nothing bad, but enough to irritate me with the sneezing and body aches.

Snags’ computer has died, which in turn means my gaming life is dead.  It feels too cruel to sit here playing games in front of him while he slaves over his computers carcass.  Instead I half-sleep on the couch watching movies, occasionally patting his back in a supporting manner.  This can’t go on forever though, Pokémon Black and White comes out this week and I will allow it to eat my life.

Time to prepare for work… Happy, happy, joy, joy.

<3 DarkSlinky.

Just so you know, my brain isn’t exactly working tonight.  I know what I want to say but every time I type it, it doesn’t seem to make sense.  My train of thought is very disjointed, so I apologise in advance if something doesn’t make sense.

It feels like I’m stuck in a cycle of bliss, contentedness and misery that seems to work on what I like to think of as a ‘trigger-system’.  By that I mean that if I feel happy I think it’s only a matter of time until something goes wrong, and if I feel sad I think I just have to wait for something to go right.  It could take a few hours or a few days.  How sad I feel doesn’t affect the time span; I can be either very distressed or just feeling mildly disconnected, like I do now.

I realise it’s completely irrational to be feeling upset when things are going well.  I think I’m feeling this way now because I’m emotionally and physically exhausted.  My back has now been aching for 12 days and I’ve had very little sleep in that time.

I’m also very nervous about my job interview tomorrow.  I’m really looking forward to it and I feel excited about the fact that I’ve found the beginning of the road I want to walk down and I don’t feel completely lost.

However, this afternoon I was talking to one of my friends who had been trying to help motivate me since my break-up.  He asked me where my job interview was, and when I told him, he had the nerve to say, and I quote, “Get a real job.”  I felt deeply offended and disheartened, even if he was just ‘joking’, which I don’t think he was because when I tried to explain why I’m passionate about this line of work, he told me working at the local supermarket would be more of a ‘job’.

What the hell?  Apparently teaching parents, babies and children about pool safety that could very well save their lives one day is a waste of time.  It also means I’m a ‘babysitter’ and not a ‘teacher’.

What-ev-er.

The other issue I have at the moment is that I’ve found out a few of my close friends are moving away.  Emma already lives in New Zealand and I have two more friends who are moving overseas to be with people they love; one to the US and one to the UK.  On the one hand, I can go visit them and see more of the world, but I’ll still miss them dearly…

A good representation of how I’m feeling now would be a song most people would know quite well, Evanescence – Going under.

My next blog will either be ecstatic or bleh, I imagine… you know, as opposed to all the other things it could be.

Haha. Oh, I amuse myself.

<3 DarkSlinky.

I’ve been having nightmares again, so I haven’t been sleeping well.  Last night was the first decent night’s sleep in a while, and even then I woke up halfway through the night and couldn’t stop coughing.  I’m surprised I didn’t wake Gavin up.

I’ve had this horrible cough for days.  I think it’s safe to say it’s a result of the sinus (or whatever it was) infection I had.  I probably caught it at Big Day Out last Sunday.

I also got really badly sunburnt at Big Day Out , despite putting sun cream on.  It was such a hot day that they had hoses spraying water out over the crowds to keep everyone cool, so I think all the sun cream was washed off.  On Wednesday my back was covered in blisters and a few days ago it started peeling.  It’s really quite disgusting.  Big Day Out was awesome though, so it was worth it anyway.

If you’d like a preview of what Big Day Out was like, there are a lot of pretty good clips on YouTube of different bands and stuff.  Muse was by far the best, though.  Here is a decent clip of them singing Stockholme Syndrome – Keep in mind I was up the front, just in front of the bigger screen on the right, which was also where the EPICALLY HUGE speakers were.  They played great songs.  I could feel the bass shaking every part of my body.  Delicious.

Unfortunately dermatitis has come up on my hands and scalp again, probably from stress.

A couple of days ago a big cut appeared on the inside of my gum (the side that’s under my tongue).  I suspect there may be a loose piece of bone under there (from when I had my wisdom teeth removed last year) that’s cutting through my gum.  I’ll have to go to the dentist to get it checked out if it doesn’t heal up.  I hope this cough goes away before then.  I don’t want to be coughing in the dentists face… it must be pretty gross being a dentist sometimes.

I’ve made countless attempts to retrieve my old mobile number, I still haven’t been successful.  It’s getting to a ridiculously frustrating level now.  I went as far as to submit a complaint to my phone company – Virgin – and I will definitely be posting my story on a few forums, although I won’t tell it here now.  It’s definitely getting its’ own rant.

Despite looking for a job, I can’t apply for anything until I get my number back because it’s my only direct point of contact apart from e-mail and I’m pretty sure employers aren’t going to contact me over the internet.  Not having a job and not attending university is giving me a sense of worthlessness and I feel really pathetic depending on my parents while I’m an adult.  I’m so financially strained at the moment too; it’s a terribly stressful situation.

Thursday was a good day.  I spent the morning cleaning Gavin’s car from top to bottom.  As a thankyou gift he took me out for dinner and then he bought me a pair of very expensive, leather, thigh-high, stiletto, Mollini boots I’ve had both my eyes on for a few weeks (I’m a lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky girl!!! >.<)

Boots to die for.

Thursday evening Alex came over and brought with him a Nintendo 64 game I’ve been looking for for years; Pokemon Stadium 2.  In most shops it’s worth $60 – $80 but he managed to get it for me for $45 which is great because I think the classic Nintendo 64 games are only going to increase in value now.  I found out my Nintendo 64 is worth up to $130.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling really under the weather after a bad nights sleep, luckily I had my wonderful boyfriend there to comfort me and give me sympathy.  He got out of bed and while I slept a few more hours he cleaned my house; bathroom, kitchen and lounge room before making a cup of lemsip for me to wake up to.  Thank goodness I have one less thing to worry about.

The rest of Saturday, Alex, Lynnette, Gavin, Nicki and I spent with Emma.  We hung out at her house for a while and had lunch at a nice cafe before it was time to travel to the airport to say our “See you laters.”  It was truly heartbreaking to witness.  Emma told us she was nervous and wasn’t ready to leave yet.  Everyone knew I would be upset so all their eyes were on me.  I couldn’t look at her for fear of bursting into tears, which I did as I watched her walking to the gate.  I hope I get to go see her in New Zealand this year, but oh, here comes the money issue again…

I’ve been really snappy.  I’m finding it increasingly difficult to trust people, whether they are friends or family, and I’m not exactly sure why.  This, in turn, makes me feel very alone, especially since I keep a lot of my troubles to myself.  I’m very good at putting forward a happy persona when it’s just not how I’m feeling.

I know it doesn’t seem all bad but it’s been a pretty rocky road and I just wish life would cut me a break at the moment.

The only thing I can really do is harden up and keep pushing forward; wait for my health to improve, see the dentist, sort out my phone number and then apply for jobs.  It’s important to focus on the positives, and I’ve definitely had a few days this week where I’ve been spoilt by my loved ones.

On a better note, Gavin spent this afternoon teaching me how to play Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 and I really enjoyed it.  After a couple of failed games I managed to grasp the concept and got the ball rolling.  There was one point in the game that made me laugh…

Gavin:  “How are you going over there?”
Computer:  “Your enemy has been defeated.” (By yours truly!)
Jayne:  “Yeah, pretty good.”
Gavin:  “Oh, nice work.”

I also had a game with Gavin and Fen from Pants Party.  I think the boys found my noobness highly amusing.

Jayne:  “Oh, look!  There’s a cute puppy in my base!”
Gavin:  “He’s not on our team…”
Jayne:  “Oh, what?  Crap.”

Check out my awesome shirt.  Thank YOU SplitReason!

"Forget headshots, I aim for the NUTS!"

Yes, that is a bacon sticker on my head.

<3 DarkSlinky.

Last Thursday Emma, Alex, Gavin and I went down to the Gold Coast to stay in a 5 star resort for 4 nights.  Leigh also joined us for Friday and Saturday nights.  It was just what I needed; friends, beach, dancing, sunshine, games, delicious food (cooked by yours truly + Emma) and relaxation.  To top it all off, the resort was actually on ‘Hope Island’ – haha.  This amuses me because my nightmares and insomnia stopped while I was away and they haven’t yet returned.

On Sunday Lynnette caught a train from Brisbane to join Gavin, Emma and I in attending one of the biggest music festivals of the year; Big Day Out, along with 54,996 other people (seriously – 55,000 tickets were completely sold out).  I saw Muse, Powderfinger, Lily Allen, Eskimo Joe, The Mars Volta, Dizzee Rascal, Karnivool, Kasabian, Mastodon and Blue Juice.  I could only describe Muse as fan-fricking-tastic.  I have been to see a few bands and I think it’s safe to say Muse put on the best performance I have ever seen.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see Rise Against, Jet, Grinspoon, Fear Factory, Peaches or Girl Talk because they clashed with other bands but I’m still really satisfied with how my day played out.  The only downside is that I now have this sinus infection and my back is badly sunburnt.

I have found it rather difficult to return to Brisbane.  It feels as though I’m returning to a harsh reality where I’m struggling financially and a lot of things aren’t working out for me, like work, university and retrieving my original mobile phone number.  Sigh…

It’s also the last week I get to spend with the beautiful Emma before she returns to her home in New Zealand.  As I’ve probably said before, she’s the only person who understands my strange sense of humour, as well as the only person I feel I can be 100% myself around…

I’m starting to not make sense, aren’t I?

It’s definitely time for bed. I hope this damn sinus infection heals quickly.

I am also speed capped.

<3 DarkSlinky.

The past week has mostly involved games, shopping, get-togethers, job hunting and soul discovering.

Over the past few weeks I have acquired quite a few new games, thanks to the epic Steam Christmas sales.  Also thanks to Gavin for buying me some of my new games <3.  My spare time has been spent getting to know them better (especially Unreal Tournament); however ‘spare time’ has been a rare luxury.

Mind you, I love spending time with my friends and I will continue to do so as much as possible before Emma goes back home to New Zealand.  Some days we spend just shopping or hanging out at home together, and other days we’ll invite everyone to come together and talk, swim, play games and drink together.

Our most common topic of conversation would have to be Monique and how much she is missing out on simply by avoiding me (which as you know, is not my fault).  It’s just a combination of irritating people and a series of unfortunate events.

I spent today sulking and whinging about being sore from head to toe.  Last night I went into the city with a few friends for a ladies night on the town.  It was my first time clubbing and my god, it was incredible.  I don’t exactly remember the details of how we got to the club, but I remember once we got there I had the time of my life.  We danced for hours and then ate the most amazing tasting sausage rolls.  Oh yes, it was a night I will not forget.

The whole job hunting thing is stressing me out.  I’ve decided to defer university but I just feel like I’m wasting time.  At the same time, I don’t know if I’ll go back or drop out completely.  I don’t want it to look like I’ve given up because it was too hard, because that’s not the case at all.  I feel really bad for always bringing the topic up with my friends, because they either don’t know what to say or just tell me the same thing.  I’m looking for the answer but I need to find it in myself.

If I defer I have another 6 – 12 months to decide whether or not to go back into psychology or do something else, anyway.  I guess that is a big benefit.

I’ve had a (so far) mild case of insomnia again.  I think it started because I began to have nightmares again after New Year’s Eve.  They would have been triggered by a combination of things, including a really loud bang I heard while sitting in the backyard that frightened me.

Beware, I’m going to talk about “women’s things” to finish off – yes, Don, this warning is for you.

I find it interesting that all my friends monthly cycles synchronised to mine.  I find it even more interesting that all the men we’ve been spending a lot of time with have become very ‘pissy’.  One has even said to me that he has been very moody and he doesn’t understand why.  I told him he has PMS, which went down surprisingly well.  It seems there is evidence to support that women’s bodies synchronise, but I’m wondering it’s possible for men to ‘synchronise’ too… if you know what I mean?

Anyway, I should really try and sleep. Wish me luck!

<3 DarkSlinky.

All that aside though, I think it’s about time to look to the future.

For Christmas I got a Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ MD Reflector Telescope and Viva la Juicy perfume from Gavin.  I was so overjoyed that I cried.  I’ve always been interested in astronomy and I love to sit outside and gaze at the stars, so owning a telescope is a big deal to me. I was in shock for a few days.  My family were all very impressed.  Last night was the first clear night we’ve had since Christmas so we were able to take it out for a spin.  I’m going to have to practise aiming it at stars, but we did manage to focus on the moon.  Happy!

I’ve had an immense amount of fun spending time with my boyfriend, my family and my friends over Christmas and New Years Eve.  Nicki and I have been in contact again which made me realise just how much I missed him.  I’m very thankful to have him back in my life.

New Years Eve was not only a blue moon, but there was also a Partial Lunar Eclipse at approximately 10:30pm my time (whatever time that is.. haha).  To mark the occasion I was planning to head down to a beachside park called Moora Park; the place where my ex had asked me out under a full moon back in 2005.  I wanted to be there to watch the moon rise so I could pay my respects to the passing of the second decade of my life.  It may seem a little silly but it was to be my final way to let go of the past and move on with my life.  I mean, four years out of the last decade were spent with him.

Anyway, I decided all of this was way too depressing and instead I invited my friends to get dressed up with me and go together to Moora Park to have photos taken with the blue moon as it rose over the ocean, because it’s always magnified when it’s low on the horizon.  Unfortunately there were clouds on the horizon and we didn’t see it rise, but we did get a stack of really beautiful photos.  I shall upload them at some point.  We didn’t get to see the lunar eclipse due to cloudy skies but we still had a good night.

I’ve been feeling much more free since then.  For the first time in my life my year ended better than it started.  Hopefully from here on in it will be more common.  It seems happiness is rare for me, probably about as rare as a Partial Lunar Eclipse over a blue moon on the eve of the end of a decade.  Turns out these do occur.

Despite all this fun and freedom though I’ve been feeling very stressed.  Now that January is upon us the pressure is on for me to decide what to do this year and I have no idea where to start.  I was so certain I wanted to go back and do psychology but I had a ‘revelation’ (I guess you could call it?) and realised it’s not for me.  Or is it?? I love studying cognition, behaviour and biology but the statistics, research reports and journal articles were really killing me.  Being a clinical psychologist or even a counsellor would drain you emotionally every day.

I’m considering going into the IT department.  This is mainly because I love computers; building them, learning about them, teaching people about them, helping people fix them, etc.

This year I will go back to university, defer for another 6 months or cancel altogether.  Either way there is pressure; pressure to study, pressure to work.  Gavin is the only one telling me I have time to find my place in this world.  Honestly, I hope my place is with him.  I don’t know what I did to deserve a man like him, but I swear I must be the luckiest woman on this puny little planet.

I have plans!  I want to re-activate my gaming clan, Fraternity of Valour.   I want to go to Perth to meet the boys from my other clan, Pants Party, and see my Aunty.  I want to go to New Zealand to spend time with Emma.  I feel the urge to fight hard for a job, seeing as my search has still been unsuccessful.  I want people to remember me as someone who does what she needs to do.

I need motivation. Raaaaaar! </wookie>

<3 DarkSlinky.

Through the night I had a dream where I found out Liam had moved over to New Zealand and I was really upset, so I called him (in the dream).  He was skiing with Lloyd, he told me he was having the best time which made me hysterical because I thought he was rubbing it in my face.  He then said to me, “Just listen to me for a sec.  I booked a guest room here at the ski resort so you can come and stay with me.  I want you to be here with me forever,” and I was just over the moon.  Then of course, I woke up to reality.

So, I woke up missing Liam like crazy.  Not a good way to start the day.

In my head at the moment rolling around is… well let me show you my thought process, the neverending circle of doom.

Is he really moving on from me?  Should I really move on from him?
Maybe I should close the door to him, open it to others.
Maybe I should close the door to others, leave it open to only him.
Or should I close all doors, or maybe open all doors?
I need to move on from what we had, so we can make something new…
I loved what we had, but things changed. This is what we need for things to get better.
But that’s not letting go of him, that’s letting go of what we had…
Can you really just ‘restart’ a relationship like that?
Is it going to work?  Where will we end up?
Is he letting go of me, or of what we had?  Should I really move on from him?

And around I go.  Jeez, I’m thinking about all of this WAY too much, but how do you stop thinking about it?  Haha, re-reading my thoughts just makes me feel ridiculous.  Actually makes me laugh.. XD

Why can’t I read the futuuuuuuuuuure!

Liam bought Garry’s Mod for him and myself today.  He made me a Companion Cube car.  It was very cute, cheered me up.  I feel a lot better after my little write-rant thing today.

I’m getting ready to go to Madonna’s for a few nights.

<3 DarkSlinky.