I love my fringe.

But I have a love/hate relationship with the length of it.

I had it super short for years, then decided to grow it. Many times during this process, I begged my lovely hairdresser to just cut it off, already, but no, she wouldn’t. It actually got to a pretty decent length. Here I am in April 2008:

I finally cracked the shits with it. See how it was curling? Little known fact: my hair is actually wavy.
The very next haircut, the fringe was cut off. It took about 9 months of temper tantrums and many “No Kelly, I am NOT cutting it”s from my hairdresser to grow it, and 10 seconds to get rid of it. It was bliss!

I loved it for a few months… and then I regretted it. My hairdresser, of course, rolled her eyes once I told her. See, she’s been doing my hair for 6 years now, so she knows exactly what I’m like. So when I said I was going to try and grow it out again, I got the sarcastic, “Sure Kel, I believe you!” that I’ve heard so many times before. It’s been a gradual process over the course of the year. The past two haircuts I’ve actually said I want it short on top and at the back, but for Christ’s sake DO NOT BRING THAT RAZOR NEAR MY FRINGE, earning an amused reaction from my lovely hairdresser. Seriously – I don’t know how she puts up with me!

And, here I am today, with my face full of stress-and-hormone-induced zits:

Not too bad, eh? I have to note with irony that my hair colour looks pretty much the same in each photo, but I’ve had 7 different colours between them.
I discovered a secret about 10 months back to help me in my war against the fringe… a mini straightener. It sorts out that curl that made me get the chop last time. It makes sense, I know, to straighten – but I didn’t think they made mini straighteners. I can use it on what little hair I have without burning myself. Yay! No more curl! Take that, sucker.

(Also, I’d like to say a fond hello to my cheekbones, as it’s been quite awhile since I’ve seen them. I should probably put the fork down a little more often so I can get reaquainted with my collarbones, too…)

Anyway, my fringe is a still a bit shorter than it was, but it’s getting there, and I’m happy with it. The hot summer is going to make me curse frequently at it and make me wish that I’d cut it off, but I am going to persevere. I have been warned that the aim of this fringe is to have it nice and heavy – maybe this time next year I’ll have more hair than I can imagine…

One night, back in September 2005, my eye started to twitch. I was at work, and when I mentioned it to a workmate, he said “Oh, that means someone close to you is about to die!”
I didn’t think it was funny, and I told him so. We went back to what we were doing, the conversation forgotten.

I finished my shift a few hours later and got in the car only to be informed that my grandfather had just passed away.
My eye stopped twitching.

Since then, every time my eye has twitched, the following has occurred (in this order):
- Our neighbour passed away.
- My grandmother passed away.
- Snuggles (my dog/little brother) became very ill and we had to have him put to sleep.
- My uncle passed away.
- My mother-in-law’s terminal brain tumour was discovered.

The first time it happened, I thought it was a load of crap. The second time, I thought it was a coincidence.
It’s now getting to the point that whenever my eye twitches, family members start screaming at me to stop looking at them. It’s beyond a joke – especially for someone as superstitious as I.

So, when my eye started twitching very faintly this week, I majorly freaked out. Maybe if I ignore it, since it’s faint… it’ll go away and leave me alone…

Well guess what?

Today my washing machine died. Seriously. We’re lucky that we could afford to replace it straightaway (thank you, redundancy!) because otherwise I would have been schlepping our dirty clothes back and forth from Mum’s to get our washing done for awhile. We got a bigger machine, saved 15% off the price, and it arrives on Monday.

And next time my eye twitches, I’ll be gouging the fucker out myself with a fork.

I finished up at work yesterday. I wasn’t expecting much. I considered myself to be one of the least popular people there, and the fact that I was leaving with THE MOST HATED PERSON IN THE OFFICE didn’t bolster my expectations.

(Of course, I didn’t give a rat’s arse whether I was “popular” or not. I was there to do a job, not to be Miss Popularity. If you don’t like me – stiff shit. I am what I am.)

You know that saying that goes sort of like “have no expectations and you’ll be surprised”?
Yesterday was actually a really good day.

There was a big morning tea – chocolates, chips, cake etc, a card, which had some lovely things written on it (and the stock standard ‘good luck’ from those who don’t really care), and my parting gift? A Pandora charm! I got given the giraffe, which is just so damn cute.

My two besties in the office got together on the low and pulled me aside after the feeding frenzy… they had gone and gotten me another Pandora charm just from the two of them. The dog – very awesome – and cuter than I thought! And another little card… I love those girls to bits and I know we’ll stay in touch.

A few people in the office had asked if I was doing anything for lunch, and I hadn’t planned on at first, but as the question kept getting asked, we decided to go out. I wasn’t going to invite everyone in the office (which earned me a 10 minute lecture on how rude I was from THE MOST HATED PERSON IN THE OFFICE – wonder how she earned that title?) but I figured everyone had their chance to say goodbye at the morning tea, so lunch was just for me and the friends I’d made over the past two years. We had a great time, me and my 12 (!) office buddies, and when I said I didn’t think I was this popular, I got shot down with a “don’t be silly!”

Between lunch and the office I got another card and a bunch of flowers, taking the gifts total to flowers, two charms and three cards, and then it was just a case of tidying up the leftovers that my now ex-supervisor left laying on her desk. I didn’t think it was right that she’d finished up and walked out with paperwork everywhere, so I filed the things she should have done, and then it was all over. Out the door at 3.30, with no tears and my head held high.

So that’s it. While I’m now officially unemployed, I’ve expressed my interest in a temp role at my local council. It runs until the end of the year, and it’s 2 minutes from home. I’ll follow up with the agency on Monday, but if I get it, there’s another week before it starts, so I get a mini holiday – yay! That will give me some time to organise the finances, make some purchases that I normally can’t at stores that don’t open weekends, and just generally chill out. Oh, and I better start doing something about my lack of Christmas decorations, I suppose. That’s not too far away!

This year is going to finish on a positive note. I’ve had to deal with some pretty nasty shit this year, all unexpected, horrible stuff, and there is no other option. I think I’ve used up all my bad luck. Only good things ahead!

Let’s see how this plays out.

Two bootcamp sessions remaining.
One shiny new iPod Nano as a reward. (Purple, of course.)
Three weeks of shin splints.
Fifteen workouts completed so far this month.
Three kilos lost.

Two weeks left at work.
Four weeks waiting for a job agency who couldn’t be arsed calling me.
Three new agencies contacted today.
One interview, two to return calls.
One trip into the city which may or may not result in my getting lost.
Six years since I last set foot on a bus.
Two job websites to search.
One Pandora charm to purchase to symbolise my redundancy.

Four wheels needing new paintjob.
Three year old computer on the fritz.
One happy man: one new pool cue, one Cowboys flag and one pool cue/ball stand.

One. Looking after number one.

If it hadn’t sunk in before now that my redundancy is looming, it sure is now. The transition of my department has begun, and we’re now losing our workload week by week.

I don’t want to say too much, since I’ve been careful with discussing work while I’ve been working for this company. This week we lost roughly a third of our workload, and the difference was huge. We were a day ahead by Wednesday. Finalising the weekly payment today showed just how much work has already gone. It’s just going to keep getting chipped away until there’s nothing left.

Two weeks ago, I went and put my name back down with a recruitment agency. I’ve decided not to go into another permanent position, but I’m happy to do temp work or a fixed-term contract. I haven’t heard anything yet, so I will have to get in touch with them again on Monday. This is where the jitters are starting – I’ve had this stable job for nearly 2 years, and now I’m not sure where my next pay will come from after my payout in November.

The redundancy for me, however, is not doom and gloom. It’s a blessing. It made me stop and think about what I was doing, and whether I could see myself doing it indefinitely. And I can’t. I really can’t see myself sitting behind a desk forever.

I’ve been interested in acrylic nails for years – actually, the set I’ve got now I’ve maintained for nearly two years. Every time I see my nail tech, I sit there and study what she does, what different tubes and bottles do, how she files, how she applies the powder…
It’s something I’ve considered studying, but never looked into. Now that I know I’m losing my job, I’ve looked into it. There’s a beauty school down the coast that is offering the Certificate II in Nail Technology part-time. One day a week (Saturday) for 18 weeks. I’ll be able to work full-time and do the course. I’m enrolling!

Once I’m a qualified nail technician, it means I can either work from home, be a travelling nail tech (which I think might be a little too awkward), or set myself up in a corner of a salon. AND WORK FOR MYSELF.

I’ve always said, even during high school, that I wanted to work for myself, and I would figure out a way. Well, this is it. And the best part? It’s nails. The majority of women love getting their nails done, even if it’s just a manicure. It’s also a trade where you can’t lose your job to a computer. And if I do it right, there can be good money in it, too.

So I’m taking the plunge. I’m going to keep working, albiet temp/contract, I’m going to study my arse off, practise on the numerous people that have offered to be test dummies, and I’m going to get set up and run my own show.

This redundancy is going to be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.

I’m tired.

It’s getting harder and harder to make myself get out of bed every morning. Most days I don’t want to get up at all. I find myself laying in bed, debating whether or not the day is going to be worth it.

The thought of staying in bed, locked in the house, away from the world, is a good thought. It might sound dramatic… but I’m tired.

I’m tired of having to go out, see people, deal with people, even my friends and family. I’m tired of going to work – even more so knowing that in 8 weeks time, it’s all over. I’m tired of grinning and bearing it, when all I want is to be left alone. I think I need about a month’s sleep to catch up on what I’ve missed out on with stress in the past few months.

I’ll be glad when this year’s over… although I’ve been saying that for the past few years, thinking that maybe I’ll have less shit to deal with in the new year. It doesn’t happen.

I want some rest, alone.

We’ve been here 11 weeks today, and I finally got some photos of the place. There are only a couple of rooms I haven’t snapped yet – those being the craft room and the sunroom – as they need a bit more of a tidy up before our first inspection on Wednesday.

In spite of that, most of the house was photo-worthy this morning after my running around, so enjoy the virtual tour:

We have the lounge/dining room:

Another view of the lounge:

Our cute kitchen (where cute means “too small to let dishes pile up and/or store anything):

Our even cuter bathroom:

The bedroom, with my copious amounts of clothing/jewelery/shoes:

And leave us not forget the all-important Pool Room, where Matt goes to play with by himself:

So there you have it, most of my house! When I get the other couple of rooms up to scratch I will show you those as well.

 

 

Today was all about me. I haven’t been to work since Monday, but every day this week has been jam packed, with running around, the funeral and the like. I decided that today, I was going to stay home by myself and do whatever I felt like.

I treated myself to a pedicure – something I’ve only had done twice before, as I hate people touching my feet… and I’m ticklish.

I am not happy with my pedicure.

The feet touching wasn’t bad; actually, it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I remembered. However, I was rushed in and out in 25 minutes, despite being the only person having a pedicure at the time. I examined my feet later – there is still hard skin on my heels and toes, skin partially scraped but left attached which I got to pick at later (fun!)… and it just wasn’t as relaxing as I’d hoped. The only good thing is that my nails were done properly and now they’re a pretty purple… but for $40, I could have done a better job myself.

I’ll go somewhere else next time… if there is a next time.

I’ve also done three loads of washing, about a week’s worth of dishes, and the now seasonal wardrobe change up (that is, unloading the summer clothes from my Space Bags and swapping them with the winter clothes.)
I’m so tired and frustrated after the clothes swapping, that I am going to go out on a limb here, and make this declaration:

I, Kelly Marie, will NOT purchase any more clothes between September 15 and October 15.

That means I will not buy any clothes, at all, out of my next pay. I’m over it. Too many clothes, and I always complain that I have nothing to wear, but forget about 80% of the stuff I already own. I’ve even filled up another plastic container of clothes to list on eBay.

The only item of clothing I will allow myself to buy is another Bootcamp shirt. Only so I don’t have to worry about washing just one thing so I can wear it again two days later.

Speaking of Bootcamp, I survived my first session on Wednesday. But I am so damn sore, I’m struggling to get around. I’m hobbling like a little old lady from all the muscle soreness. It’s disgusting. The worst part? I have the next session at 7am tomorrow morning. I have a feeling this is going to be 8 weeks of non-stop pain.

But while I’m hobbling around, I will be sun-smart. I bought a hat. I don’t do hats. I even found one that goes with my Bootcamp shirt. So, you know, I look all co-ordinated when I go splat after one too many lunges.