Walking along today (slightly stiffly - like a really really cool robot, I like to think) I saw some middle-aged ladies.

They had on sensible-shoes. With cushiony soles and velcro straps.

I hope I never have to wear old lady shoes. If I do, it will be a sign that I've given up. Or at least, my body has.

My back has returned to 90% power. Phew.

I did not like having to psyche myself up just to bend over and reach for the remote control on the table (it reminded me of when you've applied wax strips to your leg, and you have that moment of hesitation before you rip it off, because you know you are about to inflict sharp pain on yourself).

* * *

Where the Wild Things Are.

Interesting film. Nobody came out of it raving - at best people were defensively satisfied.

I liked it. As much out of loyalty to Spike Jonze as to the book its based on. But of its own account it was nicely made. I guess the criticisms of it would be that it didn't have a whole lot of emotional depth and it got fairly repetitive in its narrative cycle. Have destructive, wild fun. Feel lonely and sad afterwards. Repeat.

But it was nicely filmed, had a good sound-track, great special effects. And it had 'moments' that held gravity without having to say a lot. I liked how when he returned home at the end, him and his mother didn't even say a word - there were just lingering close-ups on their faces, showing all kids of love/regret/relief/apologies/understanding.

We talked afterwards about how, while we didn't love the casting of Max, it was understandable that for the story they were telling you probably couldn't have used a younger/cuter kid.

Anyhow... Jonze films are good for their 'look' and their seamless switching from reality to fantasy, using sometimes low-tech special effects and their quirkiness. This one didn't have the unpredictablity of his others and there wasn't the character development, but I guess the story didn't call for those things.

As a youngest child, I understood his pain and frustration.

$!#$%@#$%@#$%

I have quite a sore back today. Sorer than I can remember experiencing before.

I hurt it a bit at netball, playing defence. Then I played centre and it hurt even more. Then I got home and could not quite walk comfortably unless I stooped. Then I started reading the Timetravellor's Wife and read til 4am somehow... then couldn't get to sleep anyhow because my back hurt no matter what way I tried to lie. Got two hours sleep, maybe three. Gotup at 10.30 because I wasn't tired anyhow.

Then it hurts more today.

I will trek (or drive) down to the pharmacy and see if I can get better drugs. Owie.

I feel like swearing a lot. STUPID @#$@#$@#$ NETBALL!

* * *

Ahhh. Nurofen Plus. And a wheatie bag applied to lower back. I hardly ever take drugs - one Panadol at most. A few times a year.

Having four of them this morning before going to the chemist was not kind on my empty stomache. Had to go to the bakery after the chemist to get a big bread roll. Now I look forward to my pie at Sweet Mother's because it will be time to have more drugs, not because pie is delicious.

For now I can lie in bed for hours reading. And my back only hurts when I get up to close the curtain because the sun is too hot.

This 'Timetraveler's Wife' is very readable. Makes me want to travel in time. I have less than 100 pages left - that's fast reading for me, since I started at 11pm last night.

December 14th, 1993

Today marks a symmetry point in my life, in a way. I was 16 on the day my mother died. I'm 32 on this anniversary of her death.

That means I've lived half my life with her alive and half without. For some reason, the next bit seems like unchartered territory for me. It was always somewhat comforting that she'd at least been with me over half my life.

Lady of Leisure

Social Calendar

What a great start to my holidays....

Sunday - Maria's Bowling Club Christmas Party

I'm catching the bus out to some Hutt bowling club with Michelle for some cheap Christmas drinks, organised by Maria and others.

Monday - Lovely Bones Premiere

Me and Cass are going to park up for a good view of celebs at the Embassy red carpet event (6pm).

Tuesday - Wild Things

Going with Rich and co to 'Where the Wild things Are' at Embassy after 6pm some time.

Wednesday - Carols

Going with Cass to Carols in the Park (Waitangi Park from 7pm). Blanket and picnic! Must leave early for 9pm netball though....


If anyone wants to come to the premiere or carols in the park let me know. The more the merrier!

* * *

It Makes me Proud

I got a card from one of my all-time fav students (if I had favourites, that... which I don't....). She's just finished 7th form and it was one of the nicest cards ever.

I like this bit - 'I really like that you're a bit weird like me and my friends - I think it's a great attribute'. Aww!

Her and another kid (both of whom are quite quirky, to be fair) said I was one of the friendliest teachers they'd had. I'll take that!

* * *

A Juxtaposition

At 8pm on Friday night I was having a wine and pizza at that bar/cafe on the corner of Willis and Manners Streets (next to where the movie theatre used to be and it goes kinda below street level a tiny bit). I walked in and there was a guy who looked tallish, sitting down with a friend playing chess and wearing a Rock Shop tshirt. I thought he could be my boyfriend. I didn't talk to him though.

Later on the two girls I was with had a game of chess. They didn't know how to play so I had to teach them - couldn't quite remember how to 'castle' and which was nearest the king at the start out of the knight and bishop.... but I remembered the rest of it. It's been a while! I like chess.

About three hours later we were considerably drunker, having downed two bottles of champagne and six shots between us. We were out with other staff from school and some flatmates of staff. Two of the men in the party got in a fight on the foot-path in Courtenay Place. Some people ended up at A and E while one of the flatmates got stitches in his eye.

Rock 'n roll! Since I have a pretty mature bunch of friends, that may be the first time I've been with people who've had a fight like that..... makes me feel young again. Had I not been quite drunk at the time, I would have been deeply disturbed. There was blood.

The Silly Season is Nigh

1. PJ

Sam has done a thorough enough post on the PJ concert. Everyone I know who went was fairly unanimous about it was o for awesome. I was glad we got tickets in the front of the field and got to do some gentle moshing (we diverted any ungentle looking people who tried to push into our possie).

They really do have a lot of good songs and I was suprised at how good their most recent stuff sounded live too.

My friend Iona was an ideal host - dropped us off and picked us up. A guy at work who caught the train said that after the concert the train was just packed with PJ fans who had drugded in there... and he suddenly got the idea that if there was some crazy person out there who hated PJ, this would be the ideal way to eliminate them en mass..... the train could be going anywhere....

2. Frujus

I got a pack of Frujus a couple of weeks ago when Sam and Rich and co came around for take-aways. Kinda forgot about them.... but have had them all in the last few days.

I'd forgotten how damned good they are! I have a very satisfying routine going with sucking the juice out of the edges, then biting them off.

3. Tiny Stormtroopers

This person's photo collection tickles my fancy. It's two little stormtrooper figurines getting up to all kinds of mischief and adventures. Vader appears sometimes too.

Get Amongst it, Lassie

I quite like this article on stuff about the soccer-girl who yanked down the other player by her ponytail. It's a nice media dissection of the responses.

I tend to agree that it's rather blown out of proportion, when you consider that the male equivalent might be a guy yanking another guy down by his shoulder. That would never make international news. It's just a part of soccer, which is a dirty, dirty game. It was a pretty rubbish thing to do, and it might have hurt a bit, but it was in the heat of the moment and it was done to try to get free, rather than to try and maim her.

I certainly wouldn't want to play against her since she seems to like elbowing people in the kidneys, but the few games of soccer I've watched all looked fairly brutal and it's a game where only the most blatant of fouls seem to get the ref's attention. This culture leads players towards getting away with as much as they can off the ball, or even on the ball. If you wanna make up a little high-light reel of all the times she took out players during the match, then it's more of a criticism of the ref than of her.

I wonder, with our rather 'butch' female culture, if this incident would've been as controversial if it had happened in NZ. I like to think we applaud our female athletes for being rough and tough. I guess we don't support them to the point of unsportsmanlike behaviour, but to be fair only two of the things she did on that clip were grossly beyond fair contention for the ball.

Shh - Maybe Nobody Saw

That leads me to the French saga. As I was saying to Michelle and Sam tonight, I'm not going to criticise the guy who got away with the hand-ball. That kinda thing happens in sport, and if the ref had called it he probably would've nodded and got on with the game.... but sometimes when it doesn't get called, you're kinda taken aback (especially when it's that blatant) and you go with it out of shock. It's the ref's job to call up infringements - there is no onus on players to always be honest (especially at that top level).

Ultimate Frisbee is the only sport where that happens.

Certainly in most sports, if the ref misses something, you're not going to go back and make him change his call. In basketball, if I made a game-winning defensive play, but knew that I'd fouled the player, there's no way I'd say, 'Excuse me ref - but I fouled her, give her some free-throws.' Doesn't work like that. You might just quietly say to the player, 'Tough break - I probably fouled you there,' at the most.

I guess there would be something very noble about having owned up to it, but you can't play 'what-if'. If he'd refused to take the goal, then some die-hard French fan who was pissed off that his country didn't make the World Cup might've fire-bombed his house or something. You can't please everybody, and you've only got a few seconds in which to make that judgement call.

I guess that's one of the nice things about cricket, the expectation of honesty when the ref messes up a call. It's quite a unique and gentlemanly honour-code. It would be a real test of character to see if a batsman would own up knicking the ball in an equivalent situation - say, the final over of a World Cup final, where his team had no wickets left and needed a few runs to win it.

But soccer sure ain't cricket. Apples and oranges.