The Sad thing is .. it's all true ..

I got this as a forward in email. For the first time it was one I decided to do a bit of research on .. unfortunately I found it all to be true !

How DOES the little man fight capitalistic greed ?



Dear friends who care about our earth, Judge for yourself if you want to take action. In the Valle de San Felix, the purest water in Chile runs from 2 rivers, fed by 2 glaciers. Water is a most precious resource, and wars will be fought for it. Indigenous farmers use the water, there is no unemployment, and they provide the second largest source of income for the area. Under the glaciers has been found a huge deposit of gold, silver and other minerals. To get at these, it would be necessary to break, to destroy the glaciers - something never conceived of in the history of the world - and to make 2 huge holes, each as big as a whole mountain, one for extraction and one for the mine's rubbish tip. The project is called PASCUA LAMA. The company is called Barrick Gold. The operation is planned by a multi-national company, one of whose members is George Bush Senior (what a surprise eh?). The Chilean Government has approved the project to start this year, 2006. The only reason it hasn't started yet is because the farmers have got a temporary stay of execution. If they destroy the glaciers, they will not just destroy the source of specially pure water, but they will permanently contaminate the 2 rivers so they will never again be fit for human or animal consumption because of the use of cyanide and sulfuric acid in the extraction process. Every last gram of gold will go abroad to the multinational company and not one will be left with the people whose land it is. They will only be left with the poisoned water and the resulting illnesses. The farmers have been fighting a long time for their land, but have been forbidden to make a TV appeal by a ban from the Ministry of the Interior. Their only hope now of putting brakes on this project is to get help from international justice. The world must know what is happening in Chile. The only place to start changing the world is from here. We ask you to circulate this message amongst your friends in the following way. Please copy this text, paste it into a new email adding your signature and send it to everyone in your address book. Please will the 100th person to receive and sign the petition send it to noapascualama@yahoo.ca to be forwarded to the Chilean government. No to Pascua Lama Open-cast mine in the Andean Cordillera on the Chilean-Argentine frontier. We ask the Chilean Government not to authorize the Pascua Lama project to protect the whole of 3 glaciers, the purity of the water of the San Felix Valley and El Transito, the quality of the agricultural land of the region of Atacama, the quality of life of the Diaguita people and of the whole population of the region.

For more information look here : http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/pascualama.asp

Life can be pretty trying when you're a hermit, even when you're a guitar-playing hermit.

I like to observe people. The most fascinating place to observe people are at food courts. You can find them everywhere, every single mall in the world has a food court. Food is the major source of the homosapiens nourishment. So one day if you are bored, go to a food court and observe. Just be careful that you don't 'stare', because that freaks people out.

Anyways today I happened upon the food court at Garden City, one of the biggest shopping malls south of Brisbane, also only about 5 mins drive away. My niece and I scoped out a pretty good observation spot. A barstool table that was against a glass wall, on the other side of the glass was a little water feature and on the other side of that were the people for me to observe! It was a perfect spot as the water feature created a boundary, so if people noticed me observing, it was very easy to look into the water feature.

Today was a good observation day. Directly opposite our observation deck a mother and her son decided to sit down and eat. They were absolutely fascinating! They chose the asian all you can eat deal. Stuffing their plate full of noodles. I thought immediately watching the little boy eat all those noodles was going to be fun. Boy was I wrong! that was the least interesting part of their activity. They had too much other stuff for me to watch. They had a sort of ritual.

The mum sat the little boy down. Went into her knap sack and pulled out a bottle of water and some tissues. I thought, what a great idea to save money on drinks! .. was I wrong, she proceeded to pour the water onto the tissues and cleaned the boys hands and face. She then got the cutlery from the takeaway and proceeded to clean that too. I have never seen anyone be so pedantic about cleaniness in a public place. I felt like yelling out to her and warning her of the snotty nosed kid who sat at that same table not 5 mins before they arrived. The preparation for eating took a good 3 minutes.

Then the boy got thirsty, into the knap sack the mum dove, and out came a bottle of juice, the bottle had a drinking lid on it. I thought nothing of it until I observed the boy taking off the lid. The mum was still rummaging through her knap sack and pulled out a straw. Weirdness I thought! the bottle already has a drinking cap.. why the straw ? ? The mum then got her other bottle of water and proceeded to clean the straw, being very careful to pour the water down the tube and then blow down it, to make sure it was clear. Yeah I know .. blowing down a straw .. isn't that germy ? hah ..

All the while I sat as my niece played with her burger and we shared our fanta .. we only had one straw ..

"It's not how much you have that makes peole look up to you, it's who you are." - Elvis

Today was a good day at work. And it wasn't because of the work. The work itself was boring. But the banter and friendships were excellent. I was laughing most of the day. I like those days.

Highlight of the day. Kelly (name changed to protect the innocent), was bailed up in the kitchen by Ken (name changed to protect the guilty), asking what she had got out of the company. You see she is fed up with Ken and his selfish self-promoting ways. So she has looked for other work. And also told the company her ultimatums if they wanted her to stay. Every time she met with them Ken would ask her what they were doing for her, then go see the "company" after her, to get the same benefits. Considering she has worked for 7 years and he only 2, she has been getting a bit peeved.

Anyway today was Kelly's day. Once again she was bailed up by Ken. The Conversation went something like this.

Ken: so I saw you talking to the boss. What is he giving you to let you stay.
Kelly: OH they promised me the Financial Management Role!
Ken (blood drains from face, he has been waiting for that role, and been telling all and sundry it is his)
Kelly: yeah I could hardly believe it, I think they really want me to stay.
Ken (slumps shoulders)
Kelly: well I gotta get back to work! bye

For the rest of the day, Ken sat at his desk staring at the computer, in fact we think he was crying. Kelly sat at her desk, totally shocked that she had said what she said, as none of it was true, she felt badly. But gosh! Ken so deserved it!

You really had to be there .. huh

"I don't do no dirty body movements" - Responding to charges he was imparing the morals of minors.

You know you have tried every single one of these moves, in front of the mirror at some point ..

That was the best five bucks I ever spent! - Elvis thinking back to his first record

It started like this. I was sitting there minding my own business. In walked the niece. The niece with the mobile.

Niece: Aunty, do you have a mobile ? no ? wow ! I do ! Is that because you are too old and can't use one ? haha ! You know I'm only kidding aunty, but did you know that you could text me on one errr if you had one ? So why don't you have one aunty ?

Baby Brother: So sis, you know if you had a mobile, well, your boyfriends could ring you.. oh yeah.. you don't really need one do you.. hmmm

Younger Sister: Look what my hubby got me for mothers day! a mobile! it even has mp3 player and video recorder and photo taking capabilities .. and look I can save someones picture so that if they call me, it will show their picture, cool huh.. so what does yours do ? oh yeah .. you don't have one.

Optometrist: Okay can you please fill out this card .. (I hand back the filled out card) .. Oh you forgot to put your mobile.. oh you don't have one ? wow ? (writes on card, girl without mobile) .. (three days later when picking up subscription) .. Hi what's your name ? OH ! the girl without the mobile (yeah its written in red on the top of the card)

Mother: oh listen to my phone when it rings, it has this great song, don't you just love it! It's so great being up with technology .. you should really try it !

...

Yeah so I have now become one with the world. Today I bought a mobile .. a V360 .. the same one my sister got for mothers day .. hah ! see you don't need to be a mum to get a mobile, you can just go get one yourself.

At this moment the said mobile is being recharged. Once that is done all I need to do is figure out how to use it. It scares me .. considerably. Now I know what my father went through when the modern day VHS Video machine came onto the scene, he spent most of his life cursing it and pushing buttons until one would turn green. Luckily for me on the mobile there is only one green button .. I'm sure that's how it turns on right ? but how do I turn it off ?

AARRGGHH .. I feel like a part of my innocence has just slipped out the window ! I am part of the modern world .. even if it IS pre-paid ..

So who can I ring ? who wants to ring me ? huh huh .. just as I thought ..

Who cares, it all tastes like chicken !

So today was Mother's Day. I am the only single / childless female in the family. So instead of the mothers' of the family having to put up with my cooking, we all went out to eat. Myself, My two sisters and their husbands and 6 kids and my mum and her husband and my baby brother. We went to Bull and Cactus. Let me tell you ! the name says it all. The food was good enough, but for my dish, I asked for Smoked Salmon Salad. I love smoked salmon! About 15 minutes after we ordered I was informed that there was no smoked salmon left .. can they substitute for a grilled salmon steak. I agreed. Except that the bill was still for the smoked salmon ! Which anyone knows is far more expensive, and they would not change it. hmph .. Kinda put a damper on the event.

So anyone who goes to the Bull and Cactus at Garden City -- be wary.

(ppsstt also the BIL found two salt shakers with dead ants in them)

Now onto bigger (literally) and brighter things. I am going on an intense diet and exercise program, starting tomorrow morning at 6am, when I hope to be at the gym. I hope to lose 1kg at least a week ! Will keep y'all informed (y'all meaning me, since there is no way I am going to let anyone know about this blog!)

Mawwiage, it's what brings us togeva

"I'll fall in love someday and maybe there'll be a rock'n'roll wedding" - elvis on his return from the army.

I have my wedding mapped out (or should I say reception). It will be a casual but organised affair. I picture palm trees and waves and sea breezes. I see lots of kids running around and having fun. I see people relaxed with smiles on their faces, enjoying the company of those around them. I see guitars and ukelele's and impromptu singing. I see a luau (sp?). The most important thing I see is a partner to share the rest of my life and eternity with.

I see all of that in my head. One day I hope to make it a reality.

Although I happen to be very single at the moment. I look forward to the day I can hang up my so called 'freedom' tag : and replace it with my 'partnership in all things' tag.

In the meantime I dream.

Other things I dream about ?

My home. Since my early teens I have drawn and re-drawn my dream home. It will be in a U shape, with a pool in the middle of the U .. On one side will be the "kids" wing. On the other side the "parents" wing - coupled with a theatre room and a guest room. In the top connecting the two wings will be the living areas : with a magnificent kitchen area that opens out to the pool area, bringing the outside in. Leading from the doorway into the house will be a wonderful sitting / reflection area with a fireplace (even though we would hardly use one here !) .. for those moments of solitude that we enjoy. The parents retreat will include a 'spa area' that is half inside half outside : (if there is no view) the whole area will be landscaped to a balinese feel .. lots of bamboo and palm trees and rocks. The kids wing will include a 'rumpus room' at the very end of the wing, filled with all the treasures that kids enjoy. That's my dream home.

Dreams are great huh ! I just hope I am not too much of a dreamer and can make some of them a reality ..

Elvis has Left the Building

Who remembers the day Elvis died ?

I don't! I just remember Elvis, the singer, the entertainer, the movie star. As a young girl I was mesmerised, by his voice and his looks. I still am ! So much so that I joined the pilgrimage to his final resting place for his 25th death anniversary. I discovered alot there. Elvis transcends nations, tongues and people. This was obvious by the costumed up Japanese and Russian and Mexican and dare I say Australian Elvis' ! mostly attired in their white glitter suits and capes. Elvis actually had much better taste than some of the gaudy costumes his impersonators wear today.

Why did this guy impact on my life ? I blame my dad. He lived and breathed Elvis and since I am his offspring, I do too. One always follows on from their parent right ? Goodness I hope my offspring forgive me for liking The Osmonds !

So now we have a world without Elvis' presence and yet it still turns. There are alot of people missing from my world. The most influential one being my dad. I have always wondered, when I leave this earth, what will people remember. But as I get older, I have figured it doesn't matter the impression I leave after I have left. What matters is the impression I leave daily with those I come in contact with. In the big eternal scheme of things, we are all going to leave this life. But the place we are heading gives so much more hope and promise than what we have left behind.

There were many many things at Graceland that I soaked up and admired about Elvis, but one part that has left a lasting impression on my mind is the room of cheques (checks) .. throughout his life, he had a habit of writing cheques to people he saw in need - total strangers in the street were often surprised by this man and his cheque book. How do we know ? The bank kept all of the cheques and they now stand in a room at Graceland, plasted to the walls, as witness to this act of kindness. I want to be more kind, not for recognition, but for my own well being.

Well this is my first blog. I have no idea what direction this blog will go, Should I have a theme ? I sort of have a theme, Elvis and Pirates, I wonder where it will lead. If you happen by accident to come upon my blog, bear with me. I'm a learner, in the art of writing.

Kia Kaha !