I am writing this entry by hand, as my website is down.

Today my mother went into hospital and had a tube stuffed into her nose, down her throat and into her stomach. Although she went into hospital voluntarily, it isn’t easy for anyone in the family to deal with. Everything I think of to write pales in comparison to the memory of her squeezing my hand as she struggled to swallow the plastic tube snaking down her throat.

She thanked me this evening on the phone, for staying with her through that. How could I not? After she has been there for me through every important moment of my life, after everything we have experienced together, how could I not stay and support her through that. I didn’t even have to consider whether I would stay or not, except to ask her permission; it was a given in my mind that I would stay and help her through it.

Mum, thank YOU. Thank you for all the times you have listened, and all the times you have talked. Thank you for treating me as an equal, for never looking down on me, and for always trusting me. Thank you for knowing me, and thank you also for being willing to learn about me. You have been the best mother I ever could have hoped for; the best mother I could have had.

Above all, thank you for loving me. =)

I love you, Mum. Get well soon.

NOTE: I’m not updating on the 29th (today, as this entry is backdated for continuity); it is Blog365’s official day of rest, and I’m taking it! Thanks for being patient with this entry, and here’s some proof that I actually DID write it by hand.

So, yesterday I posted a blog entry that wasn’t quite an entry. There are a few reasons for this, which I think I touched on in the aforementioned blog post, but I would like to go into a little more depth about them. So, reasons:

• my keyboard wasn’t working correctly; and
• my bluetooth headset wouldn’t pair with my computer; and
• I was tired because of the trip to Dromana; and
• well, that’s all, actually.

So, those were my reasons. As for the first one, I have already mentioned that Jazz tipped a glass of soft drink all over my keyboard. I take full responsibility (now, after blaming Gentil originally) for this incident; I left the glass there. Still, it is rather sad that my laptop wasn’t even here when it happened. Why was there a glass of soft drink on my desk if I wasn’t using it? I have no idea. Maybe I just put it there while I was walking past. I don’t know.

Anyway, I have now cleaned the keys and they appear to be non-sticky. I will say something for the spill-proof design of my keyboard; it works. The electronics of the keyboard seem to be in perfect working order, and when the liquid spilled, most of it was caught between the keys. That allowed me to soak it up before too much leaked through to the underside. I’m assuming that the sticking keys are the ones that wore the most soft drink. I love Logitech.

The bluetooth headset that I had to have replaced by Plantronics paired fine with my mobile phone when I bought it, but of course when I got my laptop home and tried to pair it last night, it wouldn’t work. In fact, Vista wouldn’t even allow me to see or change options for my ‘Bluetooth Devices’, of which there were none because it wouldn’t allow me to add any. In the end, I went to the Asus website and updated my bluetooth driver. Worked like a charm after that, thank the lord.

The trip to Dromana for the day was great fun, but very tiring. We left at 9am, and got there at about 11.30am, so the driving (that part) wasn’t too bad. Then we packed everyone up and went down to the beach so we could have some lunch there and get some pictures of the beach. We threw the ball into the water for Bella a bit, and the girls splashed around while I took pictures of them. I took my shoes off and paddled with them.

Sometime after lunch, I ran down to the water with Bella and threw the ball in. She went and got it. Rinse and repeat; fairly normal activity, yes? Then, I threw the ball a little further out than usual - just as one of the children called her. She missed the splash, and so the ball remained in the water, unnoticed. After some discussion, and after the ball came in a little bit, guess who was sent to get it? Me. Of course. In my underwear, into waist deep water. I was terrified. Of sharks.

It all stems from when I was about 7 or 8, and I saw the movie Jaws. Well, I think that’s how old I was; my memory is a little fuzzy, but I think from the house we were in at the time that I was 7 or 8 years old. Anyway. I watched Jaws, and from that moment on, I’ve been terrified of water past my thighs, because sharks can swim in that. They can swim in that, swim right up to you and gobble you all up, and now I’m scared of swimming in the ocean.

Even though the water was clear all the way to the bottom, in my panic I would have sworn it was cloudy. I was hyper-ventilating, unable to catch my breath. It terrified me, completely. I didn’t even want the girls out there with me, although I did my best to not act scared around them. It is just this really overwhelming fear, and it is always there. Even if I am in deep water, I’m tense the whole time, waiting for something to grab my leg.

Still, I retrieved the damn ball, didn’t I? And we never threw it for Bella again. After the drive back to Mum’s place and the unpacking of the car, and then the drive home, I was absolutely exhausted. And then I had to work. Because I always choose to do things like drive up to Dromana on days when I also have to work, or go to class, or do some other energy draining activity. Thankfully this morning I was able to sleep in ’til 11am.

Tonight I have class until 9pm and I am going to bed as soon as I get home.

The End.

This is not quite a post, but for tonight it may be all I can write.

Today I drove up to Dromana with my Nan (well, she drove) to pick up Mum and the kids. They had been up there for a week on ‘holiday’, and needed help getting back because of how many people and stuff they had to take with them.

My keyboard keys are sticking because the cat jumped at a glass of soft drink on my desk (while my laptop wasn’t even here!) and it tipped all over the keyboard. I hate Jazz now, and may have to replace the keyboard. Grr.

I took pictures today, and will be posting them tomorrow. I am also considering switching the daily picture to being just on Flickr, as it is rather annoying having to post twice, and frankly I’d rather keep it all there.

I am trying to pair a Bluetooth device to my computer right now, and for the first time find myself frustrated with Vista, as it is absolutely refusing to allow me to even see the options for Bluetooth.

That is all. More either later tonight, or tomorrow. Pictures tomorrow, definitely.

This is the little black book that I write down thoughts, snippets of conversation and the like in:

It is by Smiggle, and has a cover so I don’t wreck the binding.

On account of it being a long day today, and having to get up early tomorrow morning, the post for tonight is really just a whole lot of little snippets joined together. But please, enjoy:

Aunty Vikki: “Gah, these flies.” *swats*
Nana: “I know, they’re everywhere! Having sex everywhere, there’s always two of them.”
Aunty Vikki: *makes a noise which may or may not have meant, “Ew, my mum said s e x.”
Nana: “They’re the sexiest flies I’ve ever seen!”
Lisa & Gentil: *die of laughter*

A few days ago, while packing up the faulty Bluetooth headset, I came to putting the charger into the moulded plastic thing. I tried it this way, I tried it that way, but the damn thing would not fit. After about five minutes of struggling with it, Gentil says, “Hon, isn’t that your DS charger?” I have never felt more stupid than I did at that moment.

At work one night, a lady came in wearing an obviously expensive and new shawl. While I served her she kept fiddling with it and smiling, obviously feeling great about herself. When she turned around, the tags were clearly visible; she had it on inside out. To make matters worse, the price tag was still hanging off it! I felt terrible for her.

Another memorable work night, a man came in with his children to hire some DVD’s, whereupon I was regrettably required to inform him that he had been banned. The customer then proceeded to tell me that it was ‘impossible’ and he ‘had a good name’. He wanted to know why he had been banned.

When I told him he had a substantial amount owing late fees, he told me it was impossible, and I must be wrong. I pointed out the phone calls we had made to him about late DVD’s; he dismissed them and kept ranting to me about his good name. Obviously he doesn’t understand the meaning of late fees.

I saw a Metlink advertisement today, featuring a rhino with several birds sitting on his back and rump. The caption read ‘Nature prefers public transport.’ Beneath it, someone had written, ‘If only it was PUBLIC.’ I’m assuming it was a dig at the fact that tram, train and bus companies are all privately owned and run.

Gentil: “Well, getting off should be fun!”

So! That is pretty much everything that was scribbled in my little black book over the last week; the ‘dregs’ if you like, the things I don’t include in long daily posts but are funny nonetheless. Incidentally, the picture today is likely to be of my little black book, as it really is a cute little thing, if not as elegant and classy as I would like.

Recycled journals made from old books that I ordered from Ex Libris Anonymous. I gave one (not pictured) to my mother as a gift:

They have pages of the original book scattered throughout the blank pages. I’m too scared to write in them, hehe.

Charles Joseph La Trobe was born in London on the 20th of March 1801, and apparently carried out his education somewhere in Switzerland. He was an active mountaineer, and published four books based on his experiences while travelling.

In 1839 he was sent to New South Wales and was appointed as superintendent. Despite having limited managerial experience, in 1851 he was made the first lieutenant-governor of the colony of Victoria, possibly because of his relationship with the then Governor of New South Wales, George Gipps.

While serving as lieutenant-governor, La Trobe apparently reserved or set aside certain areas of land throughout Melbourne, and much of the parkland in Melbourne’s CBD survived because of La Trobe’s actions.

Notable places that bear his name in recognition of his deeds as lieutenant-governor include La Trobe University, La Trobe Street, Latrobe Valley, and the La Trobe Reading Room at Victoria’s State Library. Plus the statue of him out the front, of course. ;)

In 1854, La Trobe submitted his resignation; apparently his inexperience had led to criticism and self-doubt. In the same year, Victoria achieved separation from New South Wales and became an independent state.

The cottage that La Trobe and his family lived in is still standing in Melbourne today, and retains personal items of the couple inside. It is operated as a museum by the National Trust of Australia, and is one of the oldest buildings in Melbourne.

So, there you have it. A brief history of Mr. C. J. La Trobe. I hope everyone enjoyed it, and learnt something. I’m off to snap a picture of something random before I head off to bed. Ciao, everyone.