The Adventures of Nic

Do I need to be whacked over the head with the stupid-stick???

Watch this space.

posted by Nic @ 5:15 PM 1 comments

Reunion in Rocky

posted by Nic @ 3:07 PM 0 comments

So here's the thing.

God doesn't want us to lie, right?

But what happens when telling the truth will hurt someone?

Everyone keeps asking me about X's plans - when is he arriving, what's his phone number, isn't he staying with you? I am finding it SO HARD to answer these questions. They all expect me to know his schedule backwards and usually I would, but not any more.

So I'm doing a lot of creative 'talking around' the issue. I can't come out and say, "Oh, he's not speaking to me anymore," because the immediate next question is 'why?' And of course I can't answer that. But people will gossip and speculate, and that will be hurtful to X. I know he doesn't want people speculating about his personal life.

And the only way to stop them wondering is to talk creatively around the truth.

posted by Nic @ 7:23 PM 0 comments

Little Nic in the Big House

For months I've been looking at houses and after some suggestions and help from my family, it seems I will very soon be a home owner.

This is both good and bad.

It's a big committment (the debt) and that terrifies me.

It's also making the final break from home. When I live in cities other than Brisvegas, it's not like I've 'left home' because I can always go back to visit. But if I'm living separately in the same city... that's it then. Sure, I'm definitely old enough to be out on my own. Sure, I've done it for a few years already! But it's certainly not the 'moving out' I anticipated, because I am moving out alone. Not to a spouse like all my siblings, but to a big empty house and me.

So assuming all goes well with the building and pest inspections, below are some photos of the soon-to-be-Nic-house!

posted by Nic @ 7:18 PM 2 comments

Adventures in Cooking

There's nothing more disappointing than actually putting effort into cooking... only to have it turn out absolutely disgusting.

Last night I had 'bits and pieces' that needed using up. I cooked meat (always gross). Then I chopped and fried an onion. You wouldn't think I could go wrong with this. After that, it was stir-fry vegetables (okay, a packet mix) but I threw in the onion myself. Then I added what I thought was Thai sauce but was actually more just flavoured water (it reeked of garlic).

End result? The meat was cold and congealed by the time the vegetables were done, and the vegetables were soggy with a HINT of ginger rather than the yummy stir-fry sauce I had anticipated. i.e. the whole thing tasted green, like celery and green mush.

But having invested so much effort in it, I HAD to eat it.

I should've stuck with frozen dinners. Much quicker and tastier!

posted by Nic @ 11:35 AM 1 comments

Home Loan Panic

As some of you know, I've been looking to buy a house for a lot of this year. It's such a scary thing. I've only been in debt once in my life (university) and got that paid off as fast as I could. Now I'm looking at a debt that will take me YEARS to pay off.

More than that, I'm out of a job in 2 months. Sure, there are 'options', but as we all learnt last year with the Edinburgh fiasco, a job isn't a job until you show up on the doorstep on Day 1. And even then, the project might shut down in your face.

Not even 2 hours after I made a private journal entry about my current fears did an old colleage email me with a very solid job opportunity for next year.

God is listening to me, watching over me.

Hey God? Want to send me a husband too? (Actually, that would be even better, HE could help me pay off the house and I could concentrate on being a good wife. ;)

Then again, I think I would go nuts without a job. There's something about too much thinking time that drives me insane. Even with the new prospect, I'm still looking at about 1 month out of work. Maybe I should take off to Thailand for a while? I've always wanted to do that!

posted by Nic @ 2:52 PM 1 comments

Learning stuff

My brain craves new knowledge lately. I think this 'thirst' was quenched with the endless travel the last 2 years, or perhaps that's what woke it up. I was constantly going to new places and learning SO MUCH when I visited the city/country. I would see the cultural artefacts, go to the local museum, eat the local food, wander through supermarkets and buy stuff I couldn't even read the names of (which led to some very interesting 'food experiences).

So I've taken to reading Wikipedia during my lunch hour. I start from the main page, click on the link that looks most interesting (they have a daily featured article and a list of events on this day in history), and from there, jump from link to link. Today I learned about lucid dreaming, "exploding head" syndrome, spontaneous human combustion, the Marshall Islands, Polynesian dialects, and a couple Van Gogh paintings.

posted by Nic @ 3:09 PM 0 comments

A new breed of Nic

Over a month now since X has spoken to me. He said our friendship wouldn't change. But it HAS. I'm SO MAD. Three years of friendship gone just like that. Not because of anything I did but something I just couldn't do, and that was love him in a romantic sense.

In some ways, it had to happen. We were emotionally reliant on each other. Too much; and when your best friend is someone platonic, of course you won't be out there seeking for that connection. You already have one. It's not 100% but it's certainly better than being lonely. And I think that's where I was selfish; I worried that we were too close (even though I made sure not to do ANYTHING that could be interpreted in a romantic manner and frequently told him he was like my brother) but I still didn't break off the friendship.

He broke it off for us. I thought it would just be scaled back, but now there's nothing.

I keep thinking of all the stupid little things I can't tell him. Everyday stories from my life because he listened to them. I wonder how he's going, what the future holds for him.

ARGH IT SUCKS SO MUCH.

I feel more on my own than I have in a long time because he really was my 'last close friend left'. As a result I'm trying to reach out to others again. Girls, even! Which is probably better for me in the long run.

posted by Nic @ 6:06 PM 0 comments