The FlyBuys.

I was very anti flybuys for years. I thought, I hate cards, I don't want my spending tracked. Well, I don't have to have a card because I just stuck the barcode on the back of my paywave card with sticky tape, and I figure when I pay with credit or eftpos my spending is tracked anyway.

Now I have actually started changing my spending because of flybuys. I use those vouchers for points when you spend a certain amount on fresh food. The amount is always carefully calibrated against my normal spending to raise it by a small amount. So one week I eat a lot veggies (spend $14 to get 175 points), the next week I stock up on cheese or meat. I CAN'T HELP MYSELF.

Diary indecision.

The Kikki K email came today announcing that 2014 diaries are instore. I rushed off at lunchtime to look at them. I spent 20 minutes agonising with 3 different sales women, and finally decided to go away and think about it. Diary-buying is one of the most difficult purchases, every year. I like the paper at KK. And the fonts. I like A6, week to a spread. But after that it gets hard. One style has an elastic, but it has lines to write on and costs $5 more. Another style has nice spaces to write in, but no elastic, and too many cutesy pictures of cherries and ice-creams. Another style is cloth-bound and has nice writing spaces, it's almost my favourite, but the front cover says "2014 My Best Year Yet", which just feels like a lot to live up to, a lot of pressure on me. It'll be a sad joke if it turns out to be a mediocre or worse year. What to do!

Obsession mystery.

Where does obsession come from? Until recently, whenever Elsie was going on and on about lipstick I would bear with her for a while and then say to her "why don't you use some up before you buy any more new ones?" Sensible frugal me. How naive I was. Now, merely months later, I'm completely obsessed with nail polish. What do you mean, use some up before I buy any more new ones??? There are as many nail polishes in the world as there are colours, plus you have holographic ones and glittery ones and duotone ones, there is really no limit on how many nail polishes I want. Where did that come from? Same thing happened with Jillian. Elsie would rave and rave and I would avoid, until bam, I was all about Jillian all the time. And is it just us? Do other people get all crazy about collecting different coloured stockings and then move on to something else 2 months later, like the search for the perfect tea infuser, and then it's Cranford and then it's tracking calories and then it's wearing your hair in a bun?

Hoard

If you know me, you know I'm anti-clutter and anti-hoarding. I fear my collection of little pouches are bordering on hoarding.

I really like them because they are really good for organising a handbag and other things. Even so, I'm pretty sure I don't need this many.

I ate two drumsticks.

They are $4 a box of four. I had one while watching Doctor Who. The sort with chocolate ice-cream, chocolate syrup, and solid chocolate in the bottom of the cone. The bottom of the ice-cream is nicer than the top, which is unusual with food, normally the first bite of something is the best and the last bite is the crust or whatever. But, against all my laws of eating, the drumstick gets better and better as you go down. And the last bite was pure moreishness. And there were more drumsticks in the freezer. And Doctor Who was still on. So I had a second one. And afterwards I felt amazing.

Real-estate is my hobby.

One of my favourite things is to go to SMH, find an article in the property section about property values, or rental vacancies, or anything about affordability really, and read the comments. The home-owning fundamentalists and the doomsdayers all come out and interpret things their way, or rubbish the article on the basis of their experience. You get the every angle on every debate about living in Sydney, all expressed briefly and punchily, in the comments. Rent vs buy, housing crash vs under-supply, North Shore vs Inner West... The articles themselves are usually boring and made of hot air, the comments are where the juice is.

One thing I came across, which I'm going to use in the future, is www.refindhouseprices.com/ which tracks changes in advertised rentals and sales prices. So you can see how long a place has been advertised and if they've had to drop the price or not and by how much %. Example of the unit next to me, still empty after a month: now asking $530.

REDUCED by $50 p/w (8.62%) on 26 Jul 2011
Large 2 bedroom apartment
(36) Days Advertised

It's my fault.

I feel a little bit guilty about the economy. Retailers are in trouble, and it's people like me, stingy people, who are causing it. My op-shop/outlet/mending habits are strangling shopkeepers. Except for shopkeepers who have art and craft shops, cos they are raking it in.

Can't find the words easily.

I would so much like to be able to ring up a radio station without getting nervous. Whenever I want to ring up and I hold the phone in my hand and type the number in I get all hot and wobbly and change my mind. But I really really want to sometimes join in on those fascinating public conversations.

Aussie Aussie Aussie

I nearly cracked up when my Chinese Chinese (i.e. from China) friend emailed me this:

Need your help

"Select stories of two convicts (one male and one female) who came to colonial Australia and demonstrate how each were able to turn their lives around and become founding members of modern Australia."

I think u must have learned about Australian history, could u plz give me the names of the people required by this question ? u don't have to give me their stories, only names will be enough. i would really appreciate that.

I hope I'm not outing myself here, but I think it's universally acknowledged that Australian-born Aussies are deficient in their knowledge of Australian history. My first reaction to the email was, "Poor fella, he thinks I must know stuff cos I was born and educated here!". Sadly, I could NOT think of a convict done good. I could think of non-convicts done good e.g. Macquarie, Governor Arthur Phillip, the people on our currency and other people who've had suburbs named after them.

So tell me fellow Aussie, how is your knowledge of Australian history? Can you think of any convicts done good without resorting to google? I couldn't :P

CS Lewis is the hammer.

When I name posts I just type whatever comes into my mind after I've written the post, I think this one doesn't make much sense. It has nothing to do with hammertime. But on to business.

Friday morning I was checking a friend's gift registry list. I've never used one before. I discovered I felt a bit envious, not that I wanted all that stuff especially anyway but because people who get married get presents and a holiday and the whole party, and single people don't, although if you are chinese I guess the red envelopes at CNY make up for it. I think I've blogged before about the singlemoon, the luxurious holiday on a tropical island or whatever I'd like to have one day whether I get married or not, because why live in a state of delay for an uncertain event like marriage to enjoy a holiday? Like that book I haven't read, called something like Single Women Should Have Nice Plates Too. Grrr, another friend getting a scanpan and I'm not. Although I could buy one if I wanted too, but that's not the point.

And then I checked my inbox and read my CSLewisDaily twitter:

Pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man.

Nail on the head. Well, I went to Magnolia Square on Saturday and was all inspired to use my art and craft skills, so she'll get something home made now, which circumvents the envy enormously, I'm much better at loving people by making things.

From little things.

I think my impatience is getting worse. The last few weeks I've noticed that I find waiting intolerable. Yesterday I found myself literally stamping my feet like a spoilt brat when I was being ignored at the chemist, and when I was finally served I was seriously fighting the urge to be the cranky customer. And it was a Sunday afternoon. I'd just been to church, and I had nowhere to hurry to! I should have been glowing with godliness and good manners. So I'm blogging the following paragraph because I just worked it out for myself, not because it's original.

Small trials—things that are just annoying, not even tragic—are excellent opportunities to grow in godliness. If I'm waiting, I should pray for patience, and then aim to be gracious to the person making me wait when my turn does come. If I'm doing a job I think is beneath me, I should rebuke myself for my lack of humility, and serve my co-workers or housemates with love. Small trials really are opportunities, because how am I going to remember to be humble if I get my own way all the time? And then I won't look as much like Jesus.

Constant vigilance.

Yesterday I tried to walk into a men's bathroom. I looked at one door, saw a man icon, looked at the next door, saw a disabled icon, so opened the 3rd door, and there was a man inside. Weird! I heard someone behind me say "Mens!" and realised there were multiple mans inside. Uh-oh. The first door icon did have a skirt on it after all, as plain as day.

Apart from the embarrassment, I find it quite stunning that I, graphic designer and lifelong user of bathrooms, was unable to read a simple icon. I don't feel safe anymore, my brain could fail me again at any moment! Although I'm guess there aren't many more embarrassing mistakes than the wrong rest room, which I will never do again.

Anne.

I have been swimming in Anne of Green Gables nostalgia recently, as I often must. I grew up reading and re-reading Anne; her dreams were my dreams, Gilbert was such an ideal man, and frankly you can do a lot worse—I stand by Anne.

I think Anne and Gilbert are still lodged firmly in my subconscious, as an influence, for better or worse. This is pretty normal, lots of girls grow up with Anne. I guess it's better than a certain current obsession with the undead but probably just as unrealistic. Two people who are made for each other, who don't realise it at first, who become best friends, and who grow to love each other through suffering? That's a noble criteria in my dreams but a useless one in my real life.

Might as well bury my nose in Avonlea and live vicariously. Innocent love, pretty dresses, gloriously coloured countryside, buggy rides, lavish home decorating, swirling piano music...

Phone fear.

Why don't some people (i.e. me) like talking on the phone? I hate to make a phone call. I will do anything to avoid it. Hooray for email and text messages. I am quite confident in real life when I need to talk to someone, even a stranger. I am happy enough to answer the phone. Where does phone call fear come from? (I don't think there is an answer.)

Celebrity crush

Do you think you reach an age or stage in maturity where you shouldn't be having celebrity crushes anymore?

I found out recently that Mary (Guan's wife) and I had the same celebrity crush in high school :P

So, who's your celebrity crush (past or present)?

Self examination.

When I was a teenager I had several discomforting experiences when I saw someone and made a quick negative judgement about their appearance (who is that tall slouchy sallow slack-jawed daggy girl?) and then realised there was an mirror in the room. When I know there is a mirror, I put on my 'mirror face' and straighten up. The surprise mirror, and my reaction at my other self, is the closest I've got to seeing what I really look like, what first impression I create.

I would love be outside myself and watch myself for a day. I could pinpoint annoying traits, and whether I have a silly walk or ugly voice, things like that. How useful.

Obsessions.

Internet is not letting me upload pics so the report from KESC #2 will have to wait.

In the meantime, I shall share a few words on Obsessions. Not the same as Addictions, because they are temporary. They become my favourite thing to think about. They give me a satisfied buzz, a sense of accomplishment, when I indulge them. Currently, mine are all self improvement related:

• Decluttering in prep for move
• Eating raw garlic*
• My food planner

* How to eat raw garlic: chop it up and wash it down with a drink of water so that it doesn't touch your mouth. It is really strong so it burns if you eat it straight, but it water it is fine and I have never had a complaint about garlic breath.

Sweet dreams.

It's always been a dream of mine to have a four-poster bed. Hang curtains up around it and be just like a princess. I recently found an old picture of one I had clipped out of a catalogue. When I was little I took the bottom bunk and made curtains out of yellow flannelette and wide lace, which was was pretty cool.

But now I am a grown up, the cons of the 4 poster bed are quite oppressive. They are big, and heavy, so moving house and finding high ceilinged bedrooms becomes more of a chore. Still, I hope that the day will come...

Another dream of mine is to own a piano. I have a sensible keyboard, but it feels nothing a piano. But, again, pianos are large and heavy to move, require good doorways to get them into the house, and take up a lot of space in common living areas. Maybe when I don't share a 3 bedroom unit on the 4th floor.

But... if I had a piano and a four poster bed, I wouldn't want to go to heaven. So it's probably a good thing to delay collecting such idolatrous worldly possessions.

Confession.

I am a fraud. In one area, at least.

I work as a graphic designer, which sounds like I know about technology and love macs. But I don't. I do not want an iphone. I'd like to change my ringtone to a TV theme song but I don't know how to load a new sound onto my nokia. Or get photos off it, for that matter (I took some photos on the weekend of a yellow VW beetle run into a pole). I can barely run this blog: it feels like a huge achievement to link something. I'm not very good at using word or powerpoint, but I think that's because they are not very good programs.

All I can really do is sync my ipod, upload from my camera, and use 3.5 design programs. I can blow you away on InDesign and iTunes, the rest is a sham!

That feels better.