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Friday, January 4, 2008

Lockdown

This weather really isn't letting up and I am, once again, holed up in the house with the blinds shut, lights off and fans whirling. I've been sick the last couple of days and am feeling slightly cabin fever-ish at this point. Ducks has the car and is working for her folks today so I'm thinking I might brave half an hour of the elements and hot foot it to a bookshop or two. It's my Mum's birthday today (she's 57) and she has kindly presented me with her summer reading list. We were intending to by her a sander because she's had ours for the last 12 months but it looks like books are her priority.

Anyway, speaking of mothers and BIRTHday's, mine was just telling me that she was was sick every single day of her pregnancy with me. I cannot believe I never asked her about that before. She also told me that my birth was one of those one in a million ecstasy type affairs. And she said she rode the delirium and ecstasy wave for the first 4 weeks of my life. I guess after 9 months of misery, you should get something good out of it! My sister, on the other hand, was a relatively easy pregnancy but was born in 30 minutes which scared the daylights out of mum and she had a bit of post traumatic stress after that. It's interesting that I was always the good child, while my sister continued to cause Mum stress for the next 15 years. I wonder whether our births bore any relationship to our temperaments? Sibling rivalry aside, we are both angels now.

I must tell you about my mum and her impending senility. Will do when I return from my frolic in the sun.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Everyone else is doing it...

2007 meme

1. What did you do in 2007 that you’d never done before?


Tried to conceive.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?


Don't do resolutions. The only resolution I have ever made was to quit smoking, 2 years ago. It's been so successful that I don't want to jinx it..

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?


Quite a few online folks did but no one IRL.

4. Did anyone close to you die?


Nope. Thank the stars.

5. What countries did you visit?

Indonesia

6. What would you like to have in 2008 that you lacked in 2007?


A baby

7. What dates from 2007 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?


November 24th. The end of the Howard Government!!!! WooHoo.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?


Not quitting my job, despite really really wanting to.

9. What was your biggest failure?


I dropped out of uni - which seems less of a failure now I know that my brain fog was caused by my crappy thyroid.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?


hypothyroid - hashimoto's disease...
and imaginary morning sickness!

11. What was the best thing you bought?


I'm really loving my DSLR though technically it was a xmas present (but it was bought on my credit card!!)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?


Our State Attorney General who is making it legal for Ducks and I to parent - as equals, as recognised by the law.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?


John Howard.

14. Where did most of your money go?


Rent, food, bills. In the scheme of money wasting years, this was one of the better ones!

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?


TTC. Going to Bali. TTC. My relationship with Ducks.

16. What song will always remind you of 2007?


Rehab - Amy Winehouse. Though I actually had the CD in 2006 but it was 2007 when you couldn't go anywhere without hearing it.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:


a) happier or sadder?
About the same.
b) thinner or fatter?
Fatter.

c) richer or poorer?

Same - which is a great feat considering that my income was the same but my rent is almost twice as much!!

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Reading novels. Saving money.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?


Expecting the impossible of myself.

20. How did you spend Christmas?


At home, with my family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2007?


Ducks and I just spent our 7th Christmas together. I am always falling in love with her.

22. What was your favorite TV program?


Big Love, I guess.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?


Nope

24. What was the best book you read?


I've been a completely slack reader this year. I think I only managed to read 3 novels in total. Fertility and pregnancy books though, I've read 'em all!!

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?


I'm not sure if I made many discoveries this year, though I was rather impressed with some of the releases of old favourites. My most recent discovery though has been Bettye LaVette.

26. What did you want and get?


A sperm donor. A DSLR.

27. What did you want and not get?


To be pregnant. A trip to New York and Vancouver.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?
I loved Once. Really enjoyed 2 Days in Paris. Adored the Leonard Cohen tribute doco - I'm Your Man. Volver was pretty cool too. I went to the movies a lot in 2007!

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I went out to dinner with my family. I was 28.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?


Finishing uni. Getting pregnant.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2007?


Not dissimilar to 2006.

32. What kept you sane?
 Ducks.

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?


Beth Ditto, at a stretch. I'm not much of a celebrity crush kinda gal. Oh - Penny Wong, our new enviroment minister is very cool. too bad she's in the labor party though!

34. What political issue stirred you the most?


I'm most stirred by the fact that I really don't get that riled up anymore. Cynicism is now my default.

35. Who did you miss?

Tash.

36. Who was the best new person you met?


too hard.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2007.
Heed the lessons of the past. Achievement for the sake of ego building is hollow.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

"I can see clearly now..."

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Draft 1

I had no idea how hard this letter would be for me to write...I'm no longer hurt or distressed by the whole affair but I'm still full of rage. It's hard to be succinct and coherent when you're mad!

So...my blogging friends, help me out here! Whaddya think? Constructive criticism most welcome.

Dear Dr H,

On Thursday 20th December ’07 I had an appointment with you that left me feeling disrespected and very disappointed.

You will recall that the primary reason for the appointment was to check my latest round of thyroid test results but that I was also concerned about my ovulation/fertility chart and questioned my low, erratic temperatures.

As we discussed my efforts to conceive via home insemination I was shocked and incredibly distressed when you suggested I consider having sex with my sperm donor. Whether it was meant in jest or not, I found your suggestion to be incredibly inappropriate and plainly homophobic. I imagine however, that such a suggestion would be equally as abhorrent to a heterosexual woman trying to conceive with donor sperm. I’d also like to point out that most research suggests that inseminating with fresh sperm results in almost the same level of success as intercourse.

I am a relatively new patient of yours and was attracted to your practice because of your progressive approach and your respect of complementary and alternative modalities of healthcare. Perhaps naively, I made the assumption that your progressive approach would carry into social relations and that you would have had some experience treating lesbian and same-sex attracted women in a sensitive and appropriate manner.

The healthcare needs of lesbians require the same level of respect and sensitivity as do those of any other woman. Those needs, however, can be vastly different. I would like to direct you to the volumes of research completed by a local GP, Dr Ruth McNair on lesbian healthcare needs. A dedicated website can be found at http://www.dialog.unimelb.edu.au/index.html. You may be particularly interested in the fertility and parenting section. Though currently on maternity leave, you may also be able to contact Dr McNair through the Carlton Clinic.

I will not be returning to your practice but know of other lesbians who do see you and think they’ll greatly benefit from your greater knowledge and sensitivity.

Yours sincerely,
Chips


PS - Blog post number 100! Do I get a prize?

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

Coming Out

Well, I've taken a deep breath and added a flickr link to my sidebar. I'm officially coming out! I'm mostly doing so because my big new expensive xmas toy is indeed a fabulous Canon EOS 400D. I am but an amateur but I plan to spend a lot of time snapping away in the next couple of weeks and hope to get good, fast. The flickr link is my accountability tool!

In the meantime, if you realise now that you know me IRL, please let me know you're around so I don't feel stalked!

Raging NYE



It was hot. We tried to be jolly but it was a struggle to keep our eyes open, let alone have a party. Instead, we ate great food, drank good wine and watched a whole stack of Season 1 of Roseanne. At 10.30, another couple arrived and the night picked up a bit after that. We ate and drank some more, watched the midnight fireworks from our hosts bedroom, chatted for 20 more minutes and found ourselves tucked tightly into bed by 1am.

The cool change came through at about 2pm today (New Years Day) and it was very welcome when it did. Too bad it didn't take away my sunburn!