The book snob speaks

I just finished reading The Narrows by Michael Connelly. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed. It all seemed a bit easy - there was no real suspense either. Frankly, the story of the rogue FBI agent turned serial killer didn't really do anything for me. The characterisations were a bit sketchy too. Maybe I'm just not in the mood, but it all seemed a bit shallow.

Ewwwww - Laziest Girl - book snob.

Big Changes for the Laziest Girl

Today is a good day. Today is my last day at my current job.

On Monday I will be starting a new, and more exciting, job.

Although, now that I've said it aloud (so to speak) - I've probably cursed myself to an eternity of pointless paper shuffling.

The Pros of the new job:
It's in a field that interests me
If I do a good job, there is a possibility that I can move into another (better) role when I finish Uni
The new office is full of people who don't know me

The Cons of the new job:
It's a complete bitch to get to on public transport
It doesn't involve a pay increase
The new office is full of people who don't know me

Thankfully it is too late for second thoughts. There is no going back you know.

Final deadlines approaching - can you hear them?

I've finally finished the last of my assessment for my Islam subject. I handed my final essay in on Friday and I was lucky enough to be able to co-opt Venerable as an impartial reviewer. Ven kindly read my work and offered some suggestions to improve it. Once again - thank you darling.

So, I've got a short quiz today worth 15% in Magic and Astrology and the final essay for that subject is due 12 November. I haven't done any reading yet, so I'm not entirely sure what I'll be writing about.

I'm also reading the short stories at the back of Charlotte Perkins Gilman's book Herland. I'm enjoying the short stories far more than the novel Herland - much to Ven's dismay.

This is also my last week at my current job and next week I start working at an undisclosed location (ok, an admin job at a library). I'm very excited about changing jobs because the library does a lot of work in the are of Cultural Heritage which is where I want to work when I finish uni.

It puts the lotion on its skin

I was reading something somewhere about the best movie quotes of all time. Someone (see - I'm rebelling against referencing) had suggested that it was suprising that Silence of the Lambs - "It puts the lotion on its skin" hadn't been included on the list. This reminded me of an episode of Southpark when the boys go around to Eric's house and his mother tells them that he is playing with his dolls in the basement. Cut to Cartman in the basement sitting on the edge of a hole with a toy dog at his side and a bucket and a rope in his hands. At the bottom of the hole is doll - "It puts the lotion on its skin". If it wasn't so hilarious - it would be damn right scary.

More about the rain

For those of you who don't live in sub-tropical areas, we have different rain. We have rain that comes down in great sheets of water. The storm water drains, usually dusty and empty, become roaring torrents that rush by in a swirling mass. The sound of the rain on corrogated iron roof is loud enough to wake you up and then drown out any conversation. Ordinary umbrellas don't stand a chance. Traffic, suddenly confused by the wet roads and nil visibility, slows to a crawl. Buses, with their airconditioning usually struggling to keep the temperature within reason, become like giant industrial freezers. The dog, terrified of thunder, will be trying to climb on to your knee and hide herself from the scary thunder-Gods. The cat will drag his sorry, soaking-wet, arse inside and hide himself under the couch. The other cat will have been creeping up and down the hallway for the last four hours - trying to hypnotise herself into not being afraid.

What a perfect Monday

What has the Laziest Girl been doing for the last week (obviously aside from being lazy)? Well, quite a bit actually. I'll start at the beginning...

On Friday night we had our first Book Group excursion - which wasn't even to a book-related event. We all went along to see a band called Halfday. We had a few little drinks and there was even a bit of dancing. Handsomest managed to acquire me a poster which he got signed by the band.

We had a dog trial on Saturday night which started at 2.15pm and finished up at 11.30pm. Poor Handsomest only had four and a half hours sleep on Friday night so he was completely knackered.

We slept half of Sunday away - and I've done hardly anything for my Islam essay. I've started revising a couple of articles and I've done an essay outline, but I won't have it finished by Tuesday afternoon. I've emailed the lecturer to beg for an extension. Fingers crossed that this won't be a problem.

Yesterday it started raining for the first time in ages. It rained all night and started up again this morning. There I was, standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus with about six other people. We were all pressed to the back of the shelter as the wind was blowing the rain in on us. Suddenly a huge truck went passed and sent a sheet of water tsunami-like over us all. I was completely soak from head to foot. The guy standing next to me actually decided to go home and get changed.

What a perfect Monday.

John Safran Vs. God

I watched the last half of John Safran Vs. God last night - and I have to say, he is good value. The bit that made me laugh the hardest was when he talked about the Bible Code 1 and the Bible Code 2. Apparently the author (whose name I can't remember) had "discovered" that when you entered the hebrew text into a smancy computer program, it was possible - using patterns in the letters - to predict world events. For example, it predicts the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. John Safran contends that if you enter enough stuff, then it can predict anything. With this in mind, he entered the entire back catalogue of Vanilla Ice lyrics and discovered that Vanilla Ice also predicted the 911 terrorist attacks. Visit the web site - http://www6.sbs.com.au/johnsafranvsgod/

You've got red on you

On Friday night we caught up with Pleiades Girl (http://pleiadesgirl.blogspot.com/) and her partner "MQ". My talk of blogs has, well she says inspired, but I say corrupted, her and now she too has turned her hand to blogging. It's becoming an epidemic - first Venerable, then Pleiades Girl - who's next - the Gorgeous Tall One or Weatherboi? We will soon have to have a cast list so you can keep track of who's shagging who.

You'll also be pleased to know that the Festival of the Laziest Girl has finally wound its way to a close. We had the obligatory family lunch on Sunday and the last of the presents were handed over.

We also went and saw Shaun of the Dead on Sunday. While not a brilliant film, it was still very funny. There was only one part that was a bit scary but for most of the film, I was laughing too hard to be scared. Even the horrible gory bits were funny. I never thought that I would be in hysterics when confronted with a man whacking people over the head with a cricket bat.

I've also started reading Seven Types of Ambiguity by Elliot Perlman but I'm only about three pages in at the moment.

Voting on Saturday was hideous. I had to try and choose who to put last on the green form - hmmm, One Nation Party or Family First Party. In the end, I put Family First last because they are clearly mad - One Nation are only stupid. Who could, in all honesty, think (let alone say) that burning lesbians at the stakes is a fitting thing to do. Let me tell you who - Family First Party. Lunatics, honestly.

Everyone I talk to is bemoaning the fact that Howard got in again. So who the hell is voting for him?

on a lighter note

I read this article this morning (http://www.iht.com/articles/542291.htm) and I found it interesting, even though it is not a new idea. I love that language is flexible and that the use of a word can begin to transcend its orginal meaning. Slut is another example of a word that's changed its meaning - technically, a slut is a dirty, slovenly woman but it is mostly used to describe a sexually promiscuous woman. So girls, be careful to scrub that front step!

Democracy

I'm currently reading an article by an Omani guy called Sulaiman about "Democracy and Shura". For those of you who are a quick study, Shura is an Islamic concept that essentially means consultation. We've been talking about democracy and its compatability with Islam all semester in class - and I feel like we are going around in circles. Generally we agree that democracy is good, but it seems that the form of democracy is open to interpretation.

A few weeks ago, we watched a DVD in class which featured a speech given by a guy called Noah Feldman. Prof Feldman is a non-Muslim with a PhD in Islamic Studies and he is incredibly articulate (even though he looks about 12). One of the arguments that he addressed is that

Islam = Sovereignty of God
Democracy = Sovereignty of the People
Therefore Islam cannot equal Democracy

Democracy does not equal Sovereignty of the People. Many people interpret democracy to be about the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few - but we need to remember that democracy is also about justness - mob rule is not democracy. Human rights are completely independant of democracy and it is the people that make laws that are compatible with these basic human rights. Every individual possesses the power to initiate change - that is what democracy is about. Within a democracy, a leader must adhere to the law which has been decided by the people but a Tyrant or a Dictator is under no such compunction.

I'm not really sure if I have a point with all of this, but I'm sure Venerable can think of something say.

the birthday festivities continue

I had the best birthday ever on Sunday. We all went to Dreamworld and it was fantastic. I was even coerced to go on all the scariest rides and I didn't die. The Gorgeous Tall One held my hand on the new scary ride "The Claw" and we also went on the Giant Drop (and then cried when I got off). After Dreamworld we all went out for dinner at a little Indian place and the boys surprised me with a birthday cheesecake. Not only am I lazy, I'm also very lucky to have such caring friends.

"Mr A" has been bitching about his nickname and doesn't think he actually needs a nickname. So from now on he will be known as "ANDRE" (none of the names have been changed to protect the innocent).

I've also finished reading Joe Cinque's Consolation by Helen Garner but I can't really write about it until the Gorgeous Tall One has read it - otherwise she'll have pre-conceived ideas before she's even opened it.

Uni starts again this week so I'm sure that I'll have more interesting things to write about tommorrow.

It's still all about me.

The "Festival of Laziest Girl" was kicked off this morning with a morning tea of Passionfruit sponge cake from Shingle Inn which is my favourite kind of bought cake. Today after work, I joined a few old workmates to partake in a few refreshing ales. Ven joined me and then we went and had a quick drink with a few friends of his before I scurried off home. We also managed to squeeze in some dinner at the divine Vietnamese place. I'm only the tiniest bit drunk now.

I also called the Gorgeous Tall One on the way home, but she was out having drinks with her friend from the UK - also known as the "Harbinger of Doom". It's a bit of a long story, and not really mine to tell, but the Gorgeous Tall One was meant to be organising a Hen's Night in September for the UK friend. She was coming back to Australia to marry an English guy and to cut a long story short (because I'm feeling a bit sleepy now), the wedding was cancelled at the last moment. A few other diasters have befallen the friend from the UK - the ditched fiance's nana's boyfriend has gone mad etc. I initially accused the Gorgeous Tall One of having caused the split with subconcious thoughts, but it seem that the UK friend is bringing it all upon herself. It is worth mentioning that the Gorgeous Tall One is the most exceedingly positive of people and is also the nicest (really nice, not just pretending to be nice) person I know. She is fair, even handed, honest and incredibly supportive. In fact, if I had to be someone else, I would probably want to be her.

Anyway, now I can't really remember the point of this post.