THE DAY THE EARTH SHOOK - WELL SYDNEY ANYWAY

NEWSFLASH!!

Seismologists recorded a tremor measuring 4.5 on the Richter Scale. Professor Mike Hunt said the epicentre originated from an outer suburb in Sydney,Australia. Local residents flooded the State Emergency Call Centre reporting windows breaking and pictures falling off walls and smashing to the ground. Seismologists are confident it was a one off and no further activity is expected

Before you all go off and start building your disaster shelters there was no earthquake today. It was me falling over, face first on a cement footpath. While walking the dog today, I fell into a hole (stupid me) which was concealed by long grass and down I went with an almighty crash. I was more worried about loosing the dog lead as my boy would of just kept running.I am all grazed and skin missing on one side (Boy, does it hurts). The worst wound though is my pride, god I felt stupid. You know not one person came to give me a hand or ask me if I was alright. There were at least three cars that drove by and just looked at me sprawled on the ground. It makes you wonder what sort of world we live in. So sad really.

Today is the International Day of Mourning and we all (including my parents) went to a memorial ceremony held in the city for all people who have been killed on the job. As most of you know my younger brother was killed last July at his place of work.
It was held in a park specially created in remembrance. It is called Reflection Park and it is a small grassy area with a statue in the middle. After the service the families were able to tie a photo of their loved ones and lay flowers in remembrance. It was such a sad day, so many lives lost that could of been prevented.

REFLECTION PARK SHOWING THE MEMORIAL STATUE



GAVIN'S PHOTO HANGING ON THE STATUE



I have never been a "fan" of these sort of memorial days. I always felt they were just rehashing the event and stirring up all the old emotions we experienced when the tragedy happened. Now that I've had first hand experience I can see the merit of having them.It is worth remembering, he is worth remembering. If we all remember it may just save someone else's brother, someone else's loved one.

WEIGH IN RESULTS

YIPPEE!! Off to a good start with a .800 kg (1.7 lb) loss for the week.

I must admit though the "tough love" stance is waning a bit. I was looking for things to pick at last night and today as I was craving something sweet.

To give me a another kick in the backside, I'm posting some photos taken today titled 'The Big, The Bad and the Ugly"

ANZAC DAY TRIBUTE

Anzac Day is a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand which falls on April 25th and commemorates the landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps(ANZAC) on the beaches of Gallipoli in 1915.The volunteer force formed part of an allied attack on Turkey, which aimed to take the Gallipoli Peninsula and occupy Constantinople(Istanbul). Despite the heroic efforts, the campaign was a failure. Largely due to inept military leadership by the British High Command,poor tactics and lack of equipment, it was doomed to fail before it had begun.

Of the countless acts of heroism and mate ship during the Gallipoli campaign there is one that is to remain in the forefront of Australian wartime history.It is about a young man and his donkey simply known as Simpson and his Donkey.

John Simpson Kirpatrick was a 22 year old English born man. He deserted from the Merchant Navy in 1910 and tramped around Australia getting work in a variety of jobs. He enlisted in the AIF (Australian Infantry Force) seeing it as a chance to return to England but found himself at ANZAC Cove on 25th April 1915. Simpson carried no arms, did not kill any of the enemy, but in the short space of three weeks, before his death, etched his name in the history books.

Using a donkey named Duffy he carried wounded soldiers from the firing lines down the the medical tents for treatment, he gained a reputation for being undaunted by enemy fire.Simpson was killed by a snipers bullet in Shrapnel Gully on May 19th, 1915 and was buried on the beach at Hell Spit.


We use this day to also commemorate all Australian who died in other Wars. The day commences with a dawn service(to coincide with the Gallipoli landing) at the local war memorial,followed later by a march of ex-service personnel.

My grandfather served in the Great War and his two sons, my uncles served in the Pacific during the second world war.

'They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them'

LEST WE FORGET.

And the band played Waltzing Matilda

Listen and reflect to this true blue Aussie song

CAREER CHANGE

I need a change. A career change. I have been doing the same job now for 8 years and to be honest, I'm bored. It's the same shit day in and day out, sometimes it has a different smell, but basically the same old shit.

What I want is a career and not a job. They are two completely different things. I want to do something I enjoy and get satisfaction from, something that will fulfill my self actualising needs and not just the basic needs like a job does. But what to do? What can a 4O something, overweight woman do. I add the overweight because like it or not, it does play a part. Before I started my current position I did the rounds. I got interviews for all the jobs I applied for, I even had CEO's ring me before hand to introduce themselves and touch base with me before the interview.

I never seemed to get past the first interview, most were pretty good at masking their thoughts, but I could tell they were just going through the motions. Back then I was about 10 kilos lighter than I am currently, so what chance would I have now. Admittedly the positions I was applying for were sales positions, so appearance is critical.The thought of going through all that again really does terrify me, so I don't take the leap and even try. Then I get stressed from the frustration of having to do the mundane job I have and not the career I want.

Then comes the question, what would I do if none of these factors existed. I would like to do many things, like go back to University and study something like Forensic Medicine, archeology or history, but apart from winning the lottery, I cannot see it happening.

I suppose I need to be a bit more grateful, as at least I have a job, it pays OK and is close to home, but it is lacking in the fulfillment area. I keep telling myself, when I lose the weight I'll start looking again (I've been saying that for the past 8 years by the way), everything will be better when I lose the weight.

Well, I bloody well hope so, as I've got a lifetime resting on it!!!

BLOGGER AWARDS

I've been tagged by the lovely Chubbymum for a Blogger Award - gee whiz,thanks a heap.(Blushes while kicking the dirt)

So since I have been tagged with the Blogger Award I now have to go by the rules and choose 5 bloggers:
The Rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the them.


1.Wanna B Slim - A wacky,funny lady who's in the weightloss zone we all aspire to be in, she's always there to offer her support through the good and the bad.

2.White Rose Boy - A true gentlemen who has welcomed me to Blogland.Always there to offer encouragement and has neat regular posts such as Music Mondays and Sport Sundays.

3. Spider63 - for his edgy provocative posts.Someone who's not afraid to say it like it is. Dislikes "quitters and arse-lickers".lol

4.Cactusfreek - I love the effort she takes to make her posts interesting with photos,cartoons etc.Her posts are always enjoyable and I look forward to reading them.

5.Rebecca Meow MEOW - A southern lady who shares her life with us through her pictures. I've seen more of America's south through her blog tham anywhere else.

Special mention to other bloggers who have been nominated by others-

Chubbymum - Probably the first blog I ever read. I was a lurker for a few years and marvelled at her enthusiasm and love of life. She is never afraid to try anything and she gives everything 110%.It was Chubbymum who got me blogging back in November 06 and welcomed me with open arms.

Chris H - What a woman! I wish I had half of her energy.An exercise fiend, I always get a good laugh from her posts.I also like her straight to the point honesty and approach to life

ps Sorry, the computer philistine (me) couldn't work out how to link to your blogs.

WEIGH IN

I'm making Wednesday my weigh in day to coincide with the 10 week challenge.

Wgt today: 121.6 kg (267.5 lbs)
Loss for the week : 1.4 kg (3.08 lbs)

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!