Dimensional Shift

Dimensional Shift.... it means I am back at work after vacation..... vacation time always flows quickly, almost the speed of light.... then back at work a dimensional shift occurs, time slows right down to a crawl..... work time always flows much slower than vacation time or even weekend time..... And well they  want me to take even more vacation!! The govt is instructing all the depts to reduce the long service leave liability, that all employees with more than about 60 days must use their leave by the end of 2015. Well in spite of already using much of my long service leave on taking time off for Sally at different points of the last two years of her life, I still have 76 days owing. So I am one of the target. Problem is, I want to keep much of it up my sleeve in case opportunity comes up for me to go see Caroline. Thanks to that dental emergency it is unlikely I will be going to India anytime soon, but Caroline did say she is perfectly able to come to Australia as soon as she is free..... nevertheless I still need my leave so that when she does come, I can spend all my time with her!!! Nevertheless I may just be able to use some of it in October, enough to get me below the 60 days, which hopefully may give me time to see if and when Caroline becomes free, if it is going to happen within the next two years. I have no idea when Caroline will be free, it could be tomorrow, but then it could be months or even years.........

Anyway..... the football musings will be no more..... just brief results included in these general blogs. Football is so depressing this year, it is so not going to be my year. Indeed this could very well be my last year of being in the office tipping comp. Well at least the Maggies won, that is the bright spot in an otherwise depressing round. 5 points this time. 4 or 5 points seems to be my destiny for this year, it is all I have been getting so far since the start. Hovering around the 30s in our office ranking, this week 34th place from 48 in total. And I now have proof positive of the curse of the close matches. A "close" match being a match where the result is decided by 6 points or less. Two such matches happened last round and I missed BOTH of them. Now there has been a total of four such matches this year thus far, and I managed to get a point for only one of them. So three of them I missed out. That is a 75% fail rate, this is outside of the normal distribution on probability theory. Normally you can expect a 50/50 result, with up to 15% standard deviation. So from four matches, probability theory states that I should expect to get two of them. However I have only one of them, thus falling outside of the normal distribution. This is PROOF POSITIVE of the reality of the curse of the close matches, that I will always lose out on close matches, far more than the expected 50/50 result. Anyway enough of football, it is far too depressing.

Tonight and tomorrow is Samhain here in the Southern Hemisphere, one of the eight Pagan holidays on the solar calendar, coinciding with the Solstices, Equinoxs, and the mid points between the two. Samhain is such a mid point, the actual mid point is actually 4 May, but for convenience the mid-point festivals are kept at the nearest 1st of the month. Tomorrow is 1 May, hence Samhain falls that day, indeed beginning tonight - the eve of Samhain. In the Northern Hemisphere it falls on 31 Oct hence Halloween - All Hallows Eve - the Christianised version of Samhain. This is the night when it is said the veil between the living and the dead is at its thinnest, so I will not be surprised if there are increase in paranormal activity. It is indeed the start of winter, and also the start of the Pagan year. And winter has started, it rained last week, and they expect more rain this week albeit on just one day maybe two!! We never get much rain but we gotten enough so that since last week I hadn't needed to water the garden. If it rains at least once per week then I can get away with not watering the garden. This will bring my water bills way down, so better able to save my pennies for moving out of this house.

Last Monday, two days before the end of vacation, I took a day trip up into the hills so to collect items for Samhain which according to Australian Pagan sites includes some Eucalyptus leaves and the bark from such a tree. So I decided to drive up to the Avon Valley which is about an hour or so from here. When I got to the national park I saw that you have to PAY to get into the park. However there was no one at the booth, they work on an honor system. You complete a form, then place $12 into an envelope provided, and place it into a secure slot. Well since there was no one there I could have just drove on through without bothering with this, however, it is best to do the right thing, it makes for better karma. Problem is, I didn't have $12, I had just a $20 bill. So I needed to double back to the roadhouse I passed a few minutes back, and there I bought an ice cream so to make change. I still didn't have the change to make up $12 but could make $15, so well I just went ahead and put $15 in - the extra $3 would probably help to make up for the few people whom I'm sure does not bother to make the payment. So I went into the park and explored everywhere, well wanted to get my money's worth!! And being a Monday I was it turned out the only soul in the whole park, not even the ranger was there, so I could have gotten away without paying but I'm happy I did bother to pay - it does make for better karma.

After I finished exploring the park and ate my lunch which consisted of egg and cheese sandwich, I proceeded to look for those items for Samhain. I knew I shouldn't really snag the leaves from an already living tree but I needed green leaves. As soon as I gotten out of the car to collect the items, it started to rain, so I got back into the car to wait for the rain to pass, it took only a few minutes. After it stopped raining, I got out and I immediately noticed some perfectly green leaves on a branch that has already fallen to the ground. Well that solved the moral dilemma of acquiring green leaves from live trees. It was already broken off and laying on the ground so it was fair game. Then a whole load of bark that similarly have already fallen off a tree and now deposited on the ground. So I was able to get the items without disturbing anything living. These items now adorn my Pleiadean "shrine" for Samhaim together with a pumpkin lantern that I had gotten last year for Halloween.

And this weekend I intend doing a Pagan ritual, that I just happen to come across, and apparently this is astrologically the best time of the year to do it. This is to do with the Goddess Venus, and the planet Venus is currently visible in the sky, it is there at dawn. Anyway this is meant to help with one's wish in regards to love or sensual pleasures. And well I want my Caroline with me, to be free to be with me, so well, as it is said, there is no harm in trying. The author of the article that I came across detailing this ritual said she first did the ritual just as a joke, not really expecting anything to happen, but a few weeks later the man of her dreams came into her life, and she now does it with her husband each year, the husband has a separate bread roll himself. Well even if nothing happens this time around, it will be fun to do anyway, gives me something to do. The items needed can be gotten at pretty well any shop, most I already have anyway. You need a round piece of bread, such as a bread roll. And a nickel coin, well in Australia it will be a 5c coin. A nickel in America is 5 cents, and apparently 5 is sacred to Venus. Then some honey, and a reasonable size candle, bigger than a birthday candle but not too big. So you get the bread roll and make a hole in it. Get a small piece of paper and write down your particular wish - no prize for guessing what mine will be!! Then put the paper and the coin into the hole, and pour some honey into it. Then you place the candle in the hole on top of it all. Light the candle, and while the candle burns, you do something that you really enjoy, that brings sensual pleasure - could be a nice hot bath, eating delicious food, or... well it is basically what you enjoy doing which makes you happy. This is meant to attract the vibes. For me, it will include eating one of my Easter candy as I LOVE them so much!!!!! Then when the candle has burnt all the way down to the bottom leaving the melted wax in the bun, you take it to a flowing fresh water stream or river somewhere and throw the bun into the water, say a prayer asking for the wish as you throw the bun in, and watch it float down the river until it disappears from sight. This part will be a challenge in this dry part of the world, cos much of our fresh water streams up in the hills are dry after this long hot summer. However I know of a couple of major rivers which should still be flowing even now, I checked out possible locations on google maps, we used to go camping in the area during summer back in the days of the church groups I used to belong to, so I pretty well know how to get there. It will be a fun little day trip if nothing else. It is best to perform this ritual on a Friday if possible since the day is apparently Venus' day, but since I am back at work, it will have to be Saturday - well it will still be Friday somewhere in the world. And in any case, it is not absolutely necessary to do this on a Friday, but is just best to do so. Any other day should work. Anyway it will be interesting to see if anything happens in the next few weeks after this.

So what else for this week...... I be at church this Friday night with Lucinda, this as being part of my star seed calling to raise vibrations. And then again this Sunday being the 1st Sunday of the month, they have Sunday meetings on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month.

I think that pretty well covers at least major events until next time we meet via this blog.....

The video for this week..... well since this night there might be a lot of ghosts due to it being Samhain eve, we may need some..... Ghostbusters!!!!!!

Oh What a Week !

A couple of days ago I was on my way to my morning walk. I was low on petrol so my plan was to fill the car up with petrol after my walk. When I need to get petrol I check the website to find the cheapest station. In Western Australia they not allow to change the price up or down during the day, once the price is set for the day, it must stay that price all day. And so it submitted to a website which gives a list of the stations and prices for the day, and so I access the site to find the cheapest station. And so on this occasion I chose my walk route based on the location of the cheapest petrol station for the day. As being a Virgo I had it all planned out. I go do my walk then fill up the car with the cheapest petrol. However as I was driving to my walking spot, about halfway there I discovered I had forgotten one crucial element to my plan - my bloody wallet!!!! No wallet means I can't pay for petrol!! And being the perfectionist Virgo that I am, this annoyed the crap outa me. I am my own worse critic, it is how Virgos are. We are perfectionists. I was totally kicking myself, and I soon descended into total and utter depression, and I wanted to kill myself, or at the very least, self harm myself.

Enter this angel from Heaven sent to me called Caroline. Up until that day I hadn't been depressed nor self harm since she came into my life two months ago, but she knew about such things. She knows pretty well everything about my life, indeed she knows more than even Sally. Anyway we chat via the app each morning, and so while doing my walk I be chatting to her. This time I told her about what happened and how depressed and suicidal I was. And well she did what no one else on this planet could ever do for me. She lifted me out of depression within three hours and stopped me from self harming. Now NO ONE on this planet could ever stop me from self harming. Many tried but all failed. Sally tried the hardest, threatening to have me committed to the looney bins, and even tried to have me attend a self harm group, but I'd have none of it. It was MY body and I shall do as I please with it! So how did my Caroline succeed where everyone else have failed?? Well no she didn't threaten to leave me nor dump me. In fact she stated that she will never give up on me, that she will be online with me for as long as it takes until I get over it. Considering I'd normally spend days even weeks in depression I thought she was in for a very long session!! But no it wasn't to be, only three hours, my shortest bout of depression on record!!!! How she stopped me from self harming?..... well she told me, if I hurt myself I'd be hurting her as well. And that is true. We have strong telepathy between us. When she feels pain I usually feel it too, often BEFORE she tells me about it, and vice versa. So indeed it would have been so, if I had cut myself, she would have felt every cut. And THAT is what stopped me from doing it. I did not want to hurt her. My feelings for her turned out to be stronger than my Virgo inspired self criticism!!!! She is simply amazing!!!!

These days her 14yo daughter messages me sometimes, with Caroline's blessing. Yes she has two children, a 14yo daughter, and a younger son, I think he is about six. And they both like me!! That is often half the battle with step-children, they often despise the new step-father. But not HER children. I suspect it is because they also get abused by their father. One who abuses the wife often also abuses the children, and usually commands them against telling the mother. It is what Colin did to me, he abuses me, always while Mother is at work, then commands me not to tell Mother, with threats of further abuses if I dare did so. That is why he could get away with virtual murder for those 8 years of hell, Mother didn't know about the abuse of me..... but I think she eventually found out, which likely to have led to the eventual breakup. So indeed I was probably responsible for the breakup, but I certainly don't feel guilty about it!! So I suspect it was so with her children, probably being abused within an inch of their short lives but in secret. So her family likes me, and her children likes me - very important in Indian culture. Anyway it seems things are moving forward to the inevitable divorce, it is just a matter of time, but won't go into much detail until it actually happens.

Now this past week..... Passover began last Tuesday and ended on Monday just a couple of days ago. For that week I ate no food with raising agents such as yeast or bicarb - so no bread, cakes, donuts, pizzas, cookies, or the other good things I craved for! LOL! I had matza with my meals as per Jewish traditions.

Now I am "counting the omer" to the next holiday - Shavu'ot, otherwise known as "Pentecost" meaning 50th day in Greek, cos we count 50 days from Passover to the holiday. The term "omer" stems from an ancient ritual the Jews did on the first day of the omer. Basically the ritual involved taking a certain measure of barley from the very first grains of the barley crops, and offering it as a sacrifice. The "omer" is a unit of measure for grain crops, and so it was an "omer" of barley grains that was offered. Then on Shavu'ot, as the barley crops reach maturity, they do another ritual, this time baking the barley into two loaves of bread and offering those. Hence the "counting of the Omer" to Shavu'ot. So while all of the other Jewish holidays are determined by the lunar cycles of the moon, Shavu'ot is the only holiday that is governed by counting - counting 50 days from Passover regardless of any lunar phases.

Last weekend was also Easter..... and the church I currently attend now with Lucinda, they had special meetings over Easter - two on the Saturday, and two on the Sunday - I went to all four of them. I enjoyed them much. These days I can appreciate both church and my star seed callings, I think in my particular instance the two are tied together. I am called into the church to spread the light and raise the vibrations. I am more sure of who I am - a star seed, light worker, and earth angel.

Debra also invited me to her place for a barbecue on Easter Sunday, but it clashed with the church schedule so I declined. I never before had family invite for Easter. I hadn't told her about me attending church, nor have I told her about Caroline. Only my cousin Lucinda knows about Caroline. Next is Mother's Day, that will be a very difficult day for me, and it being on the 2nd Sunday is likely to coincide with the home group meeting, indeed it will be the NEXT home group meeting. Sheeze May is coming up very fast!! But if I get invited to family event, I may attend instead of home group, I am not certain yet, I will just play it by ear.

I would like to attend other spiritual meetings aside from church, especially star-seed related, or at least, more "new age". Only that I don't know anyone in this city with similar spirituality. I am at church cos of Lucinda, I am with her, not alone. But perhaps one day I will stick my neck out and attend a meeting. I think I will go back to Fremantle, but probably not during this current vacation. But at least for the time being I will just concentrate on church, I go each Friday evening, and the two Sundays each month, the 1st and 3rd Sundays, and the home group on the 2nd Sunday. I am a star seed, we are sent to this planet with a mission, not to just have fun, and it seems the church is a large part of my mission. There is a reason why I became involved with the church soon after that very strange UFO experience.

I am still on vacation.... another week which is sure to be a very quick week. Vacation time is always quicker than the equivalent work time. I am thinking of more creative routes for my walks, combining river with ocean sometimes, finding new routes, sometimes linking several parks and lakes..... and tomorrow I will try a whole new creative idea, I will not reveal it until I have done it, just have to follow me on Twitter and Instagram. I have a new Instagram account so to deal with the spammers, it is gregga888. The Twitter is still the same.

It still hadn't rained yet. They say it may rain on the weekend, just a shower or two, doesn't really count! We had no really rainy day for five months, just a very few days with just showers which only lasts a short time. The drought is very bad, it is getting more dry, and still quite warm.

Ummm.... I think that is all for now..... nothing much else happening......

The video...... The Beatles.... Yellow Submarine.... just cos I like it and the vid clip ;)

Round 5 - As predicted

As predicted I did end up with 2 points today.... A great win by the Maggies!!!!!.... unfortunately the same can't be said about them Bombers..... grrrrrrrrrrr....... but a Weevil reality check did make me feel better!!!!

So what for tomorrow........

OK I think I'm gonna pick the Crows against the Giants, it is at the Crow's den and slightly better anyway.....

Now with solar flares happening messing up my GPS on my walks, I think the Suns should beat the Demons..... besides I don't think Demons likes the sunlight ;) hehe

And then the Bulldogs..... probably about time Carlton has a win..... but perhaps not yet.....

So with these three potentially close matches, I predict just one more point to my very sorry tally......

Round 5 - Good Start but will it last?

Was gonna do this last night but I fell asleep early..... and I will be out this morning, so here I am before I go.....

Well it did turn out to be a good start to this round, just like last week, even if there was a while when I thought that the Lions would steal my points.... but most thankfully the Tigers did prevail.

So let me look into my very cloudy crystal ball to see what today is likely to bring.....

The Maggies and the Skippies..... and well let's get right down to it..... I'm going for the Maggies!!!! End of story!!!

Next... the Swanees and the Dockers! Well not so easy to pick. Two pretty well top teams, or teams that are near the top, and quite evenly matched. Gonna stick my neck out here.... the Dockers.

Now those infernal Weevils against the Port..... and well.... the Port for me.... Weevils are so over rated, and they never play well at Pattersons cos they eat too much caviar and drink too much champagne before the matches.... so a Weevil reality check on its way...... for those deluded Weevils who goes to the prayer meeting before the match, they are going to be zapped by a higher POWER..... hehehehe!!!!!

And then the Bombers against the Saints..... hmmmm...... dunno about those Bombers.... they did let me down..... but I think they should be able to at least bomb the Saints into submission........

Hoping for about two points from today.............

Round 5 - The battle of the big cats

Now the disaster area that is this year's football tipping competition..... Round 5 of the bloodbath......

So the battle of the big cats.... the Lions and the Tigers..... now who would win in a fight between a lion and tiger? I am not sure, I am a Physicist not a Biologist. As a Physicist I would say that the Lion may perhaps have more strength so would prevail. But then a Tiger may have other qualities that makes up for the lack of strength. Who knows? I never seen a Lion and a Tiger fighting!

But I do think the match will be a lot closer than most are giving credit for. Almost everyone is picking the Tigers. I am not so sure...... but I think I will pick them anyway..... I need a first up success to encourage me..... there won't be any matches tomorrow due to some mythology of a Christian God meeting his death on a Friday... the event actually took place on a Wednesday but we won't let facts get in the way of a good story.... but whatever I would have to wait a whole day and a half to redeem my fortunes if my tip didn't win tonight..... so playing it safe..... the Tigers to roar.......

Recovering....

I am still recovering from the effect of my dental surgery though it is slowly but surely improving. I am no longer needing to be on painkillers. The pain does return at times but more of an annoyance than anything, and it doesn't last for long. The financial implications however will take much longer, and I will have to face the fact that I simply will not be able to afford to move out anytime this year, I will have to stay here for at least another year. I have another huge power bill stemming from my aircon usage, that will dip into my savings, immediately followed by a large water bill due to needing to water the garden. These two combined with the dentist will virtually wipe out my savings, so I will be starting from square one. There is hope during winter the expenses will be much less, I do not use heating during winter cos it is not cold enough, I can keep warm perfectly fine with the doona and my clothing. Sally was hypothermic so she needed heating, and our winter bills would be through the roof cos of this. But I am opposite, I often get too hot with heating even if it is cold outside, so I simply don't use it. And we have a winter water ban, we are not allowed to water our garden at all during the winter months, so that will cut the water bill way down. However our winter is short, it is cold for only about four months, and wet for even less. And winter hasn't started yet. The temps are going down, I hadn't needed my aircon since a couple of weeks ago. However still no rain, so I will have to water the garden, and so at least one more large water bill before the winter. The four months of winter will not be long enough to raise the funds necessary for me to move house by next spring, before the summer expenses kicks in, especially with the water. So while I cannot afford to stay at this house, I also cannot afford to move into an apartment where it will be cheaper to live, and no water bill at all, cos apartment rental tenants does not pay for water.

It will also mean that if the landlord forces the issue and I get evicted, I will be out on the streets..... or having to bunk in with a sympathetic family member. Pasco will probably allow me to stay with him, or even Debra. And I do have my storage space, it is big enough to fit in the rest of my possessions including the fridge and the bed as well as my tables, my washing machine and dryer, and the large TV.  And well once I am couch surfing with family, it won't take me long to raise the bond and advance rental for a new apartment, indeed I should hopefully get most of my bond back from my current rental, it be minus usually any pro rata water usage. There be the final payments of the power and gas bills, nevertheless, it will be easier for me to save my pennies. However I would prefer not to take this option, and just to bide my time here at this place even if it is going to be another year of staying here, meaning, another expensive summer.

One major difference now is that I spent much of last winter paying off Sally's medical debts, that really impacted on my ability to save my pennies. The only debt I have is a personal loan originally taken out to help pay for Sally's ongoing expenses, but the repayment is relatively small, and I can extend it every six months at the same repayment rate. The next opportunity will come at the end of May, if I calculated correctly. But it won't be by much, certainly not enough to cover moving expenses, it will only just give me breathing space, and help me a bit to reach my savings goal, but it will still take me longer that this year to do so.

It is amazing how one little toothie, or half a toothie as the case may be, can so impact on my plans. Without the dental expenses I could still raise enough money to be able to move house this spring, even with these power and water bills. But this effectively became the straw that broke the camel's back. It will send me back to square one, where I was this time last year when Sally died.

Anyway I am relishing my vacation even if it is rather boring. We are now into Passover week, and as such as per Jewish tradition I am now on a leaven-free diet, no yeast or foods containing baking soda or similar raising agents - so no breads, cookies, cakes, or other such foods. I have my meals with matza, what Jews eat during Passover. We do this for the 8 days of Passover, which ends after next Monday.

Now back into church, I am still not sure why I am back at church, but events and circumstances seems to be conspiring to keep me there. This particular church has meetings each Friday night but only two Sunday meetings per month, the 1st and 3rd Sunday. Two Sundays ago was the 1st Sunday, and so I went there. Then last Sunday there was a house church meeting with about 10 to 15 people meeting at someone's house, one of them being Lucinda, since it is 5 mins from her place and also not far from mine, so I was there too. The Dawes-Smith family is 2nd closest to me, with Debra being slightly closer to me. Everyone else is south of the river. But anyway, I was there last Sunday. And now with Easter weekend coming up, there are no meeting this Friday, but a special series of meetings on Saturday and Sunday - on each day a morning and evening meeting - with a visiting speaker from, of all places, Texas!!! Sally's home state!! It ought to be interesting. I am not sure if I be going to all four meetings, though I probably end up going to all four, but for the time being I am committing to just the first meeting this Saturday morning. I suppose it will give me something to do. But it will mean, if I go to both meetings on both days, I won't be going for any walks for those two days.

The Tetrad moons that we all must have heard about unless you were in a hole away from the internet which mean you would not have been reading this blog. But to put it simply, the next four lunar eclipses coincides with the Jewish holidays Passover and Sukkot. And as you may have guessed, this is a rare event. I mean, it's not unusual to have four lunar eclipse in two years, indeed it happens probably all the time. But it just doesn't coincide with the Jewish holidays!! And as we speak, we had one already, a couple of nights ago coinciding with the start of Passover. But it turns out this has happened only three times in 500 years, and each time coincided with major events with the Jews.... as follows....

1493/94 - Jews expelled from Spain, Columbus discovers America.
1949/50 - The first two years after Israel became a nation.
1967/68 - The Six Day War

So what will happen with the Jews in 2014/15? Only time will tell, but almost certain something very significant will happen!! The two Solar Eclipses inbetween, coinciding with the start of the Jewish Sacred Year and the Civil New Year (Rosh HaShana) adds greater significance to this!! Could be something to do with Ukraine which has a large Jewish population, or Iran, or the Palestinian situation..... anything..... but it will involve Jews.

Now regarding Caroline..... Now we reach the stage where things are not expected to move much for the forseeable future, although anything can happen at any time. The major sticking point is her current marriage, and in spite of the physical abuses, she will not divorce him. Much of this is due to Christian laws against divorce, most Christians frowns upon it. This is ironic cos under Judaism, divorce is really easy to get and is not frowned upon quite so much. Indeed according to the Torah, all that one needs to do is to hand the spouse a piece of paper known as a "Get", and it only has to say something like "I am divorcing you" or whatever. You don't even have to give a reason for the divorce. Just handing the piece of paper to the spouse makes the divorce immediately effective. Indeed, divorce is so easy to get that through the years the Jews imposed some additional conditions to make it not quite so easy, nevertheless, it is still way easier for a Jew to effect a divorce than Christians.

Christian laws against divorce are all found in the New Testament, which was put together by the Nicene Council back in the 4th century. They had a large number of writings to choose from, but only a few were accepted, and many of them altered to fit in Constantine's beliefs, and one being that marriage is for the lifetime, no ifs, no buts. That is why Catholics cannot remarry after a divorce. Protestants are not quite so strict, most Protestant churches do allow remarriage after a divorce, however it is still very much frowned upon to divorce someone. Of course back in the 4th century, women didn't have much rights, they were viewed as property, and considered perfectly normal even mandatory to beat a woman. Indeed back in Victorian England, the husband was allowed by law to beat his wife with a stick, the only restrictions being the dimensions of the stick in question - this supposedly to guarantee that the wife doesn't suffer injuries too severe!!

Of course we now live in more enlightened times, but as usual, religion fails to keep up with the times, so women suffering abuses are still expected to remain in the marriage, though Australian churches are a bit more lenient on this issue. This cannot be said for Indian churches, a country where women has no protection by the laws against spousal abuses. Her husband is not a Christian, indeed he's an alcoholic and he always visiting hookers, so a way out would be if he initiates the divorce. However that seems unlikely, it would be in his vested interest to keep such a submissive wife who cooks for him, cleans house, and indeed does everything for him!

So yes a difficult, indeed seemingly impossible situation! But as I say, nothing lasts for ever, and as proved last year with Sally, things can turn on a coin!! Her hubby goes back to work for the month out at sea just after this Easter weekend...... The Universe brought us together for a reason, and the Universe always follows through with the reasons....... The Universe transcends all religions, traditions, indeed all situations.....

On the subject of domestic abuse...... here's a song from one of my fav musicians.... Alice Cooper.....

Round 4 - Total Catastrophe

If my bottom half fate hadn't been already sealed, it is now surely sealed. Missing all three matches today, I dropped down to the bottom 20%. Quite clearly this is not going to be my year. I am destined to remain in the bottom half for the first time ever. Perhaps this could be the beginning of the curse of Sally's death. The curse of Mother's death is that I would never make it into the Top 6 since her death hence never win any prize money. So now the curse of Sally's death is I would never make it into the top half, this being the first full season since her death.

I am not even going to mention Essendon...... grrrrrrrr........

So now I have nothing to lose, I will be sticking my neck out on one or two matches each round. Experiment a bit. Me and "luck" are mutually exclusive, it is more of a scientific approach. Next round is the Easter round..... but there will be no resurrection of my chances in this year's tipping comp.

Round 4 - A Giant Letdown

Well 3 out of 5 is aint bad but since everyone else will have gotten 4 out of 5 today I am destined to slip backwards.

The Demon's unexpected win was an upset, no one would have picked them, so we all be in the same boat. We all thought the Blues would have put up a better performance, and this was the first time Malthouse had to contend with four losses in the first four matches on any team he was coaching!! It never happened with the Maggies!!

The Power prevailed over the Lions as expected..... only that the Lions had received a massive Power shock!! A terminal voltage!! Fried alive!!

The Giants however.... for three quarters it looked like that I would be correct..... that they would win..... until that fateful final term when they became sleeping giants...... and well since everyone else would have picked the Bulldogs this is the match that would be responsible for my slide down the tally this week. However since I am so far down anyway, in the bottom half, I have nothing to lose, and so I will be sticking my neck out on one or two of the matches each week. You don't move up the ladder by picking what everyone else picks, that is, the safest options, no you move up..... or down as the case may be.... by attempting to pick teams that no one else would  pick..... teams that has a fighting chance to win though on paper the other team is more likely to prevail. The trick is to pick the right matches to make these longer shot tips - and I didn't pick the right match this time around, so down the ladder I will go......

But of course those Puddy Cats had Weevils for dinner as very much expected, indeed they utterly mauled those Weevils. That prayer meeting before the match didn't help on that occasion. But then Puddy Cats are favored over Weevils, cos Puddy Cats are from the Sirius star system, the 3-in-1 star system that is the basis of the Christian Trinity doctrine - Sirius is really three stars but looks like only one star to the naked eye - so three "gods" as one - the Trinity!! So there, Puddy Cats are favored, and so why they ate Weevils for dinner!!!!

So what for tomorrow's matches......

The Swanees against the Skippies.... should pretty well be a no brainer..... the Swanees should all in probability theory prevail over the Skippies.

The next two not so east to pick.....

The Saints and the Crows..... I think I picked the Saints here.... could go either way, though most seem to be going with Adelaide.... but another sticking out of my neck.... I guess it's Palm Sunday so it should be a Saint-ly day..... well let's hope.....

The Dockers and the Bombers.... it's at Pattersons but I picked the Bombers anyway..... Freo have a few out due to injuries, and they'd be shattered after such a heavy loss last week.... well that is my highly flawed theory anyway......

We shall see how it all pans out..... or what catastrophes will unfold.... the latter being the more likely scenario.....

Round 4 - Oh those Maggies!!!!!!

Yeah I'm late here but haven't connected to anything so blissfully unaware of results or progress!!! I had lost my internet connection, the old adapter given up the ghost, so had to go to the shops for a new wireless adapter, and had just installed it.

Anyway..... oh yes those Maggies..... this I knew they would win, and I knew it would be a reasonable win. I nominated a variance of 25 points, and they won by 37 points so wasn't very far off, a rare occasion that my variance didn't have much damage inflicted!! A good start, enjoy while I can.......

Now today's matches......

The Blues and the Demons..... I think Carlton should win that one without too much bother.... well maybe a little but should eventually be able to overcome them Demons without needing an exorcist! LOL!!!

Next!!.... Port  Adelaide and Brisbane in Adelaide.... Home ground advantage should win here, the Powers to be..... or what should I say.... the Powers that be manifested... well whatever, Port Adelaide should win that one. Bar any upsets I should get at least two extra points.....

Next however could be a different story.... the Giants and the Bulldogs. Very evenly matched I think. Gonna stick my neck out a bit. The Giants are no longer the easybeats of the competition. They will win a few more matches this year, just a matter of picking WHICH matches they will win..... am betting on THIS match to be one of them...... I will soon find out if my faith in them proves to be misplaced.....

The Suns and the Hawks.... well I say when there are solar flares the Suns usually wins.... and there were solar flares this morning as proved by my GPS glitches during my walk this morning..... however on this occasion I think the Hawks will be able to overcome even the most severe of solar flares, I don't think it will be a cake walk, be closer than most will give credit, but the Hawks are expected to be just too strong on the day.....

Last but not least...... speaking of faith.... them Weevils may have introduced prayer meetings before matches in their desperate bid to invoke the favor of the Man Upstairs.... but on this occasion this is not gonna help one bit.... there is a reason why the Egyptians used to worship Puddy Cats.... and me think Puddy Cats are more highly favored in the higher dimensions..... Puddy Cats to have Weevils for dinner!!!!!! Weevil reality check on its way!!!!!!

Round 4 - The Maggies!!!

First up the Maggies against the Tigers.... and this time I really do think the Maggies will be able to pull this one off. They may not win many matches this year but I think this will be one of their wins. Well let us hope so!!

As for the Weevils..... well I don't know if it is a sign of enlightenment or just plain desperation..... nah.... it's impossible for Weevils to be enlightened, they are just little Weevils, not very evolved.... so must be desperation..... but they started to hold prayer meetings before the matches!! Granted that only six of the players are taking part, but is apparently approved by the club!! They're trying to copy off the American professional sporting teams, I mean, only in America that we have professional sporting teams hold prayer meetings before the matches!!!! The Weevils in their pitiful attempt to copy them, they hold prayer meetings too...... but I think they will need way more than prayers to beat the Puddy Cats!!! haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa........

Anyway.... more tomorrow.... after hopefully a Magpie win tonight......

Ouch!!!

Oh what a week it has been in the lead up to Passover. Indeed today, being the 10th day of the first lunar month, was the day the Jews in Egypt were commanded to select a lamb to be used for the first Passover meal, what would ultimately mark their release from slavery. This shows that the Jews still owned property even though they were slaves. They still had their farms and their livestocks.

You see, the Jews didn't suddenly wake up one day and found themselves slaves! No! It all happened gradually. When they first came to settle in Egypt through Joseph to escape the famine in the Middle East at that time, the Pharaoh would have been more like Bob Hawk, or you could say, Julia Gillard. They enjoyed a great working relationship. The Jews had their jobs working for the Egyptians, but in return they enjoyed great benefits, wage rises, vacation time, tax breaks, and all these other perks. As a result the Jews grew in numbers and influence. Then the next Pharaoh came along, and he was more like  Tony Abbot, fearing that the unions have too much power he takes on an anti-union stand. Or that the next Pharaoh feared the Jews were growing in such power that they would take over the land, so he began to impose more stringent conditions on them..... and like what Tony Abbot wants.... he began cutting down on their vacation time, their benefits, and other conditions bit by bit, this over the decades. Like a frog in water being heated to boiling point, the Jews didn't protest much, the Pharaoh probably cited "these are tough economic times" and "so we all have to contribute to belt tightening", and so the Jews accepted each cut...... until when it was all too late.... they found themselves to be SLAVES!!!! Exactly what Tony Abbot would want for us given his way!!!! Nevertheless in spite of being slaves, they still were allowed to keep their properties, their farms, livestocks, etc..... and so they had lambs available to choose for the Passover.

So on the 10th day of the first lunar month, the Jews were to choose their best lamb for the Passover. For the next four days the lamb would be kept in their homes like a pet, no doubt they be growing rather fond of this cute little lamb as they slept with him, ate with him, indeed do everything with this little lamb - probably even take him to school as in "Mary Had A Little Lamb"!! However on the 14th day, that evening (the day begins at sunset on the Jewish calendar), they had to slaughter this little lamb, paint its blood on the door posts, and roast the rest of the lamb, guts and all, and eat it that night! Failure to do so would have the first born male killed by the angel of death!! No room for sentiments here!! They had to slaughter it to survive, and ultimately escape from slavery. So then the angel of death would roam through the land, killing the first born males right up to Pharaoh himself. Imagine Tony Abbot's first born being killed - but I don't think he has any sons, only daughters, and the curse didn't apply to daughters. Point is, back in the time of the Egyptians, Pharaohs were not elected but their rule passed on through their first born sons, hence this final curse. But when this angel of death sees the blood of the lamb painted on Jewish households, he would PASS OVER that house, sparing the family such tragedy - hence PASSOVER. It wasn't enough just to be Jewish to escape this, any Jewish household who didn't have the blood on their doorposts would suffer that fate, and there would have been a few skeptical Jews, the Liberal voters, who didn't paint the blood, a decision they would come to regret. By the same token, any Egyptian who chose for some reason to perform this ordinance and paint the blood on their doorposts would have escaped this fate, and indeed there would have been a few Egyptians who went with the Jews as they escaped - probably those who voted Labor or the Greens!

This year Passover falls next Monday, and the Passover holiday when Jews begins their celebration on Tuesday.

We also have a very interesting Eclipse configuration starting this Passover, and each time such a configuration occurs, calamities would befall the Jews. On this occasion we cast nervous eyes on Ukraine which has a large Jewish population, and the Russians were never very friendly towards the Jews! A lot of pogroms in the past has happened in Ukraine and it usually coincides with times of war or other national revolutions - the Jews always the scapegoats, they get blamed for everything.

And we all know, what happens to the Jews also happens to me.........

A couple of days ago I developed a toothache. Nothing unusual. Every so often I'd develop a toothache, so I take some Panadeine and usually a day or so later the ache would go away. This time however was destined to be a different story, and considering it is near to Passover and the above configuration, I guess it should not have surprised me. This toothache was not going to go away. At first I took Panadeine, and it went away for a little while, then it came back, so I took more Panadeine.... and the pain was getting worse and worse.... to the point where Panadeine was ineffective. It has been a very long time if at all that I had experienced such severe pain. I didn't think I would survive this!!!!

Caroline was there for me through all this ordeal, even if she does scold me for being negative! Uhhh just the Pluto in my natal sign, but astrological configurations are not excuses that she accepts. But I don't know anyone who was so there for me, she didn't sleep for two nights cos of me, probably cos I said I would kill myself if the pain didn't go away. I am more used to being there for others, I never had anyone who was so dedicated and there for me. I have found a gem in Caroline, and I wasn't even looking. I had given up on the dating scene, with no dates whatsoever and a few "potential" dates being duds for various reasons. It was after I had given up on ever finding even a friend to be with me that Caroline came along..... after waiting 15 long years for me......

Well back to the ordeal of the toothache, it has gotten so bad that I didn't sleep at all last night. Caroline had told me to see a dentist, but there was just no way in hell that I would be seeing a dentist. I can't afford them!! They're not covered by Medicare, and on occasion I'd hear stories of dental bills running into $1000's. I did have some money in my savings but it was for when I move out to find an apartment. You have to have basically 6 weeks advance rent to move in - the bond equal to 4 weeks rent, then 2 weeks advanced rent. Not to mention other moving expenses, carpet cleaning, etc. So I had only about half of what I judge I would need to be able to reasonably comfortably afford the move. Having to spend a substantial amount on any dentist would seriously wreck my plans! Not to mention the question of the landlord evicting me early cos he decided he wants to sell the house. Up to now I haven't heard from the landlord, but, he could call at any time with such an eviction notice. Another reason why I didn't want to spend my savings on any dentist bill.

But things had gotten so bad with my toothache that Caroline even offered to pay for me. She is rich, her family is rich, they own several properties with Caroline owning I think at least a couple of them. Indeed when I do visit India I be staying at her parent's guest house - they have a separate guest house on their land, and it is where I be staying. So yes Caroline's attraction to me has certainly nothing to do with money and the myth of rich Westerners!! They have more money than I do!! So she was quite prepared to help me there!!

There was just no way in hell I would be visiting any dentist, even given this offer...... but last night it is where I was..... I was in hell!! How ironic that this marked the day the Jews would choose their lambs for Passover. So last night I found myself Googling dentists! First I checked the public dental system but soon found you need a concession card to qualify. This time last year it would have worked as my name was on Sally's pension card! But with no more Sally therefore no more pension card, I lament the fact that they considered me to be too rich to qualify for public dental treatment - and even so you still have to pay about half of the fees. There are no free dental treatments, just cheaper ones if you have a concession card of some sort.

It turns out that details on dental fees are scant with no clinic willing to publish their fees online. But I did manage to come across some information on average fees. It was stated that there are no set standards, meaning, any individual clinic can charge whatever they darn well like! The average fees however did however give me an idea of how much damage that my house moving savings would expect to be inflicted, as it is becoming rapidly apparent that I will have to visit a dentist and in the very near future - that or I kill myself!! My further research indicate what treatments I would likely to be needing - standard examination of problem area, x-ray, and extraction - getting the sorry little tooth pulled out!! So I figured that the average total cost would be around $300 - cheaper than I thought but still enough to seriously dent my plans for moving house anytime this year!! Then being the Virgo that I am I allow for worst case scenario especially given that there are no standard fees. However I felt that market forces would prohibit dentists from charging too much about the average fees, so if I am unlucky enough to choose a dentist who charges twice the average, given that they don't give fees on their websites, that would still be $600, which is still below what I have in my savings, but moving house will be out the window!!

Furthermore I would need an emergency dentist, or at least one who could treat me the same day! This in itself will mean more $$$$s! However I couldn't take another day of this pain. So I actually came across a 24-hours clinic, so I thought I give them a try. However I decided to wait until the morning. It was about midnight by then, and well they probably charge more after hours, so I figure, I contended with this pain for THIS long, another few hours won't make much difference. But it was to be the longest night of my life, cos for the intense pain, I could not sleep.

The morning could not come soon enough, and as soon as normal work hours kicked in I gave them a call, and was surprised that they could fit me in immediately, indeed it was too immediate, it would take me longer to get there than the first available time slot. So I said about an hour from now. Why could they fit me in so soon? Either they don't have many customers cos they charge too much, or they prefer later hours! The clinic is located in Wembley, near the private hospital and all these other private clinics - an expensive area!!! So an emergency dentist in an expensive area! Not looking good for my budget.

And so I was soon on my way to a dentist for the first time since the 1980s!! Mother would always have us to visit the dentist for our six monthly checkups which invariably led to a 2nd appointment for the flouride treatment which I hated with a passion, the stuff tasted so GROSS, it makes me wanna puke!!! In those days it was with the public system.... then after Pasco came along and she gotten off the pension, it was with a private practice, and well it was better - instead of the flouride treatment, it was just a scrub and clean with one of those microscopic electric scrubber!! Much better, no gross taste of flouride!! However soon after I moved in with Barbara, I decided I couldn't afford any more dental visits, and in those days the 6-monthly checkup was $70.

So with very sore mouth in tow I arrived at my first dental clinic in over three decades. It was a very nice office too, fancy artwork and much fancy trimmings..... it looks a very expensive office!!! More like the lobby area of the Crown Casino than a clinic!! Hmmmm..... and being a first time patient I needed to fill out a form. One of the questions were "Does dental treatment makes you nervous?" with a choice of answers "not at all", "slightly", "moderately", and "extremely nervous"!! I should have put "extremely nervous" about the BILL at the end of the treatment!!!! But I decided not to!! I did choose "moderately" - as I remember about my bad childhood experiences with them, aside from those infernal flouride treatments, it was those damned fillings that they inflicted on me!! Not so much the needle, indeed I hardly felt the needle, but that damned drill!!!! The very thought of it sends shivers down my spine!!! Then sometimes I'd be sent to the Perth dental teaching hospital where I be basically a guinea pig for all those aspiring students!! It's be in this huge room with rows and rows of dental chairs, bit like being herded like sheep into a shearing shed, and all these young students not much older than me inflicting torture on me. I had one of those problems where my new teeth came up before the old ones fell out, so my teeth were all crowded and crooked. So first they fill these mouth-guard thingies with some kind of putty substance, and put it into my mouth, so to get an impression of my teeth, then work out which of my toothies needed to be extracted. Well one day one of those upstart students put a bit too much putty in it, and so i gagged when she put it in my mouth, I felt like I was about to choke, and all she could say is Relax! Breath through my nose!!!.... well its a bit hard to relax when I felt like I'm fixin to choke to death!! I gagged so much that I ended up vomiting all over myself!! All she could do was to clean it up off me..... then I had to go to school with the smell of vomit on my shirt cos for some reason mother couldn't be there, and so the plan was for me to catch the bus to school as soon as I am through at the dentist!! But yeah my past experiences with dentists were not good. I hated going to the dentist with a passion, though the later years at the private practice was not so bad......

Staying on the safe side, it was for this reason I put "moderately nervous"..... and soon enough I was called into the office.... and the dentist was a very nice guy.... he explained everything to me before doing each step.... and oh how so vulnerable I felt in that chair which leaned back to where I almost felt I was upside down!!! I can see why many people does not like dentists. You are in a very vulnerable position with one of the most vulnerable part of your body exposed, that is the mouth, putting total faith into a guy whom I never met before!!! However, he did explain everything to me prior to each step, and things has changed a bit, with these advances in technology. The x-ray consisted of a little portable device inserted into my mouth with a hand held scanner held above it! In days gone by in my childhood, getting an x-ray consisted of going into a separate room and having these cardboard thingies shoved into my mouth with such sharp edges that I felt my mouth was about to be cut wide open, and being made to have these in my mouth for what seemed like eternity!! This time it was a far more comfortable device which stayed in my mouth for only a short time. Anyway it turned out the culprit was a tooth that I had already lost, it fell out a few months ago, but the roots were still embedded, and that was where the infection was. So he began work on extracting the offending piece. There's still the needle, but then the needle doesn't worry me, I don't even feel it when he puts it in. Then he'd test it to see if I can still feel anything, injecting more anesthetic as necessary..... then with a single yank, out popped the root!! Then he showed me what he pulled out! Ouch!!! No wonder it was so painful!!!!

So the whole process was relatively painless.... now the more painful step - heading back out to the front desk where I would be handed the BILL!!! Ouch!!!! Well it turned out to be at the cheaper end of my expected scale, indeed it was less than the average!! About $260 in all!! Still a major dent in my plans to move house, but more manageable, it would only add a month or so to my plans, how long it take to make up this difference. And more importantly I am pain free!! When the anesthetic wore off it did hurt for a bit, indeed for a little while it hurt almost as much as the original toothache, but then the dentist said it would happen. The pain only lasted a couple of hours or so, and well I just have to be careful what I eat for the next few days, and to gargle with salt water for a bit, until the wound heals up.

Well I had gotten a day off work out of this, armed with a note for the boss!! Not the most pleasant way to get the day off, but it means I now have just ONE more day until my vacation! Tomorrow is indeed my last day at work before I go on vacation for about 2 and 1/2 weeks. Yee... Haa!!!!!!!!!!

Here a vid I really like which in some ways I can relate.......

Round 3 - Oh those Bombers !!

Oh it's been a slightly better round......

The Giants had a fair win over those Demons, so a good start to my Sunday.....

The Powers however they let me down!! They lost by 7 points, so technically not counted as a "close match" for the purpose of my stats. I am recording every "close match" where the margin is 6 points or less to discern the curse of the close matches. Probably theory dictates that I should tip correctly on 50% of the close matches, so anything significantly less than 50% will be proof that the curse is real. But since the Skippies won by more than 6 points, even if it is 7 points, it won't be counted as part of my stats.

And those Bombers..... ooohhh yes.....  that was a good win.... I give them that much..... and yes I did pick them..... very happy..... hehe.......

So it is a 7-2 result for me......

However still not in the top half. I did move up 8 spots and am now sitting at 30th spots from a field of 46. Am in a group of 4 people on 20 points, am 3rd in this group thanks to my diabolical points variance. However the top person has 25 points. A 5 points difference doesn't seem much however there is a difference of no more than two points between me and the top tipsters. Firstly, due to my diabolical points variance, the real difference is 6 points, I will have to gain that extra point to make up for the points variance. This week I got 7 points, the top tipsters got 8 points, no one managed to tip all 9 matches correctly. So for me to make gains up the ladder, I would need to be really lucky to to tip more than most others for at least 6 or 7 weeks - that simply will not happen..... I may have an odd week where I tip more than most others, but it will never happen more than a week at a time.

Now for Round 4.......

Round 3 - The Curse of the close matches

Well after missing the points of the close match today, I thought I go back to all of the instances so far of close matches, where the margin was 6 points or less. In previous years I'd lose more than 50% of those close matches, thus the curse of the close matches. Well so far this season there has been just TWO close matches, that is, 6 points or less, this includes today's match - Bulldogs and Richmond, where the Dogs won by just two points, while I picked the Tigers. However in the only other close match I did pick correctly, so at this stage my miss rate is 50% as statistically expected.

Now the other matches..... The Swanees made a meal of the Crows, so one point to me!!!

My Solar Flares prediction proved correct again, each time there are solar flares the Suns would win, and so they won again today, a very good win too!! So another point......

Those Weevils they had a scare and a half, I was really hoping they LOSE even though I picked them!! But it wasn't such a good game for them, they nearly blew it! But then for some reason they don't play well at Pattersons, probably cos they drink too much champagne and eat too much caviar prior to the matches!! But they won, so am reasonably happy for the point - but waiting to see what excuses they come up with for allowing the Saints to be in front for much of the match!!!

And the Maggies..... it was a close one..... but in the end, my choice to go with the Puddy Cats was vindicated. This is so not gonna be the Maggie's year this year!! At least I face up to that fact!!!

So at this stage am running at 5-1..... I guess I should enjoy it while I can!!!

Now tomorrow's matches....

The Giants and the Demons..... could be another close match, may see if the curse of the close matches kicks in, if the margin ends up less than 6 points. I think I picked the Giants, probably cos it is in Giant's territory.

The Skippies and the Powers..... hmmmm not as easy to pick as one would think, but I will go with the Powers....

Last but not least.... them Bombers and the Blues..... So will the Bombers be singing the blues? Well I actually picked the Bombers, so they had better win, or else there is going to be trouble!!!!!

Round 3 - Should I pick the Maggies?

Well the Hawks were kind to me, just a wee bit little too kind!!! I thought the Dockers would put up a better fight than THAT!!!!! Well that's my points variance out the window but at least I got a point first up, giving me 1-1.... enjoy it while I can!!!!!!

Five matches today......

The Bulldogs and the Tigers.... hmmmm could be a close one I think. Probably the Tigers.... well I picked them anyway, will probably mean they won't win LOL..... but well they SHOULD win.... doesn't meant they will though.....

Next!!!..... The Crows and the Swanees..... The Crows at home, but the Swanees seems a better team.... question is, will they be the better team on the day? I am betting that they will be, well at least betting in my picks anyway.

Gold Coast and the Lions..... hardest to pick for the day in my opinion, but they did predict solar flares today, so am going with the Suns. Either way it's gonna be close I think......

Uhhhh those bloody over rated Weevils!!!! Just because they on top of the ladder!! Reality check - this is only TWO rounds in!!!! Today is just the THIRD round!!! OK I don't know if this is conspiracy or not, but they have another easy game today, and even though I most grudgingly picked them to beat the Saints, I hope the Saints comes up and beat them!!!! Then we shall see what excuses they will come up with tomorrow........

Last but not least..... the Maggies and the Puddy Cats..... Now should I pick the Maggies??.... hmmmm..... they did have a good win last week, albeit unexpected..... my feelings for the Maggies this year still stands, and my feelings in regards to Maggies are often right...... I'm not like those Weevil fans who thinks they will win a Premiership this year just cos they beat two bottom teams in the first two rounds of the season!!!!!.... well am gonna have to go with the Puddy Cats I think..... could this be my 2nd regret in two weeks?..... only time will tell....

Round 3 - The hawks to swoop on some Dockers?

Ohhhh I hate these first up matches that could go either way...... it makes or breaks me for the round.....

The Dockers have been playing well but for the first time they meet the team that matches them. Indeed this could go either way, probably the Hawks cos it is in Melbourne, indeed the wide open spaces of the MCG. It is for that reason I pick the Hawks, but nominate a low points variance in case the Dockers manages to win......

The Lunar New Year

Last Monday's New Moon marked the start of the Sacred New Year on the Hebrew calendar, the start of Spring in Jerusalem, and counting down to Passover this Full Moon which will in fact be marked by a Lunar Eclipse. Interesting times ahead.......

My relationship with Caroline seems destined to continue in spite of obstacles. She is a most amazing woman. It utterly amazes me how all this panned out, I still can't get my head around the fact that she waited 15 years for me, such things just doesn't happen anymore these days. She is definitely one of a kind! She must indeed be my twin flame!

Well as of this week I have turned vegetarian, having eaten my last piece of meat - pepperoni on pizza - as I exhausted my supply of meat in the fridge. I haven't bought any more meat for a while now. This doesn't mean I will never eat meat again. For example, at my earth family's gatherings I would eat meat in limited quantities, mainly cos I get so bored and uptight of their 3D ways. But fortunately such gatherings are rare. The equally rare office get togethers at work being another case in point. I avoid them where possible, but the few I end up going to, I'd eat meat in limited quantities just out of self defence.

But here at my house, no more meat. I still have eggs, cheese, etc, so am not "Vegan", just vegetarian, with fish added on occasion. Probably another good reason to be with Caroline, Indian dishes are generally vegetarian, though she serves chicken when there are guests in the house. Also she has these fish, can't remember what they are called, but it is apparently plentiful therefore cheap in India, and apparently very tasty!! She sends me pixs of what she cooks, probably to prepare me hehe.... and 90% of them are vegetarian, so would suite me fine. Also they have rice with EVERYTHING, even breakfast! Rice to them is I guess like pasta to us, though I don't have pasta with everything but do enjoy pasta with a lot of things. I do enjoy spicy foods as Indian foods tends to be, very spicy, I think I will love it.

Now with Passover coming up soon, beginning April 15 to be exact, I do my annual cleanout of the fridge and pantry. As per Jewish tradition we remove any food containing raising agents, such as, bicarb, baking soda, yeast, etc, and we eat no such foods for the week of Passover. So basically no bread, cookies, cake, etc. I get matza and have it with most meals. My specialty being matza with melted cheese and anchovies. This food tradition for Passover stems from the original story of Passover, when the Jews were set free from slavery in Egypt. As they were preparing to leave Egypt for the Promised Land, they didn't have time to properly bake bread which involved preparing the yeast which caused the bread to raise during baking. They only had time to bake the dough without the yeast, thus making flat cakes of "bread" - known as "unleavened bread" or Matza. At this time of year there are much matza in Jewish stores and in the Jewish aisles of many supermarkets, etc.

I have recently joined Quickflix, for renting DVDs and/or streaming them online. They work by an interesting concept. For a very reasonable $25/month you can rent the DVDs and keep them for as long as you like. How it works is you choose titles from TV shows and movies, which is added to a queue. Then they send out two DVDs at a time, and when you finished with either of them, you send each one back in the freepost envelope, and for each DVD returned they send out the next one in the queue. When it is a TV series, such as True Blood and American Horror Story Asylum (the two that I am currently watching!!), they send out one DVD at a time of the series, each DVD usually have two to three episodes, and when the DVD is sent back, they send the next one in the series. And well I heard a lot about True Blood online but as far as I know it was never on free to air TV, probably on Foxtel or whatever. But now thanks to Quickflix I can now see True Blood, it is an utterly awesome series!! OK you can put it down to the Pluto in my natal sign!! True Blood is basically a vampire show - just Google it if ya wanna know more. The other I currently watching is American Horror Story Asylum, also very happy I have that too. They recently had on TV American Horror Story Coven, but I never got to see Asylum, I think cos it was on while Sally was sick and so I never had time for watching much TV. Any of the titles on offer can also be streamed online, only that I can't do anything else on the computer while streaming any of the shows, so I just get the DVDs which I play on my TV that I bought recently which has a built-in DVD player. I have my computer connected to the 50in TV in the living room, so I sometimes stream a movie or show while doing housework or cooking/eating dinner. But considering it may cost up to $5 or even more to rent a DVD from a rental shop, not to mention having to visit the shop etc, $25/month for basically an unlimited supply of DVDs albeit two at a time but limitless online streaming, this is pretty good value for my moolah!!

As I do each year around Passover, I take vacation leave from work. This year it's from April 12-29 inclusive. When I go on vacation, I always like to return to work mid-week so I would have only two to three days of work before a weekend while I get used to going back to work!! Vacation time always goes faster than the equivalent work time. At this time I have no plans for my vacation time. A lot of the time something does happen during Passover. Last year it was when Sally passed away, being on 27 March which was when Passover fell in 2013. Being set by the lunar calendar, Passover falls at a different time each Roman year as does all of the Jewish festivals and holidays.

It seems for the foreseeable future I be going to church each Friday night with my cousin Lucinda. I don't go on Sunday as it is my busy day, when I do the gardening, most chores, etc. I'm Jewish, or at least my soul is Jewish, so Saturday is my rest day. And in any case, they only have two Sunday meetings per month. And Friday nights suits me better, I just light the Shabbat candles on my Pleiadean "shrine" then head off to church. Still not sure why I am apparently being led to go there, but last week the pastor said something very interesting - he mentioned that after we die we will visit the stars and planets!! That is more or less what we star seeds believe - we spend this incarnation on Planet Earth, then either by Ascension or when we pass away, we go back to our ship and back to our home in the stars.

They say, you should never talk about religion or politics.... well I broke the first rule, so might as well break the 2nd..... We have the Senate elections this weekend. I voted early cos I'm Jewish, well my soul is anyway, and so I don't vote on Saturdays. And as I usually do each time, I voted the Greens. Me being a greenie, and with Abbot hell bent on raping what we have left of the environment, whether it be the Great Barrier Reef or Tasmanian wilderness, we need someone to keep his power in check, and the Greens are the ones to do it. Palmer is not committed to the environment, most rich people are like that, couldn't care less about the environment. And well there is really no one else.... I avoid both major parties like the plague, they both have self interests at heart, very money based, and as I say, money is the root of all evil. There are few other minor parties like the Animals party, Hemp party, etc, but the Greens are more likely to get the votes so I just went with them......

I think.... nothing else to add for now.......

Here's just a random vid...... well maybe not totally random....... um... yes.... what can I say??? hehehe....