Ask Steph

So - the infamous friends that went cherry picking in the rain , while I was studying for my exam, have done it again. The buggers went cherry picking yesterday and invited me to come with. All good and well, except yesterday was a work day for me - I, being a self employed working from home type, don't get 'leave' as such. Yes , I get the convenience of going out on a work day should I choose to , but the reality is - that choice boils down to if I can do it without compromising any work. And I am far too diligent to let that happen. So , Mrs Scrooge McDuck here, stayed at home and worked , while cherries got picked in some of the nicest weather I have seen since arriving in Melbourne 9 months ago. It's a crying shame. And I was very miffed about it all actually. Not to fear though - I got my pound of flesh . We bought 2 kilos of fresh picked cherries off them when they came home with their spoils . And I now have purple stained sticky fingers from painstakin...

I remember as a child christmas was the most fantastic time of year. I remember the build up to christmas day, from the moment school finished on that one last day of term, the excitement and anticipation could barely be contained in my house. Growing every day that we got closer to the 25th until I had whipped the whole house up into a festive whirpool, and , to quote my husband ( ever the sharp witted cynic) it looked like someone had vomited christmas all over the house , inside and out. And I loved every second of it. I was nagging to have the decorations up as early as November , catching christmas beetles and whispering lists of all the presents that I wanted to them before letting them go outside my window. I made my brothers and anyone else I could bully enough come caroling with me ( yes , I made them go caroling in the height of an Africa Summer)  , I made my parents stay up late on christmas eve , with the tree lights going , just sitting and talking and singing caro...

Just so we are clear - I am talking in philosophical terms here - not about specific people , or any particular incidents that may or may not have happened to me in the recent ( or distant ) past. I am expressing my beliefs and comments on world affairs. No more. This is a personal opinion, and it does not change my view of my Christian friends and family, whom I love dearly.  :  Christians think of themselves as a flock of sheep , following their shepherd. And truly - I cannot think of a more truthful analogy. There are few things more comforting that knowing that all the hard decisions in life are already made for you. You don't need think about all those really tough ethical issues - like what is right and wrong exactly , and how to determine whether your construct of the universe works well or not. It's handed to you , a ready made rule book , with a knowledge expert ( priest/ pastor/ counselor ) who will help you to understand something , or just t...

I have decided that there is nothing worse than being sick in a country where you have no idea what you can and can't buy at a pharmacy. Everything has a different name, the dosages aren't the same, and even if you find a replacement for your tried and tested flu-busting favourites. There is no guarantee that they'll  sommer * hand it over  the counter. I want Orange flavoured Eno's for my chronic heartburn . I want proper sinutab, with all it's varieties , and not this wishy washy crap over here. I want Sinutab ND for the daytime , and Sinutab with codeine for when my flu-ish aches and pains and sniffs are so bad that I can't sleep. I want med-lemon extreme with ginger and ginseng. I do love my Vick Vapo-Steam though , and the extra soft 2-ply eucalyptus tissues. And the chewable Vitamin C that doesn't taste like a lemon gave birth in your mouth. And the really  lekker   blue stuff that everyone gives to their children when they're si...

Been here 8 months now ... and finally - after gently and consistently nudging ( and in some cases some very strenuous verbal shoving ....) I am finally getting things in place so that our business processes are being followed by the role players... It has taken some very firm decisions, and I am apparently known as the 'Bugzilla Nazi' and the 'Mistress of Bugzilla' in various circles. Oh well. I've been called worse.

so - where does one draw the line between freedom and safety. And is it fair to assume that just because people say they have your safety at heart , that they really do ? Call me cynical , but I find the whole US reaction to this Wikileaks embarrassment a trifle vain. Who the hell are they to decide that we don't need to know about things in our own countries ? Who the hell are they to decide what's best for the rest of the world ? Who is Hillary Clinton except some snotty woman who thinks that because she says so , it must be so .... ? Anyone with 'Top Secret' across their communications deserves what they get when they start using 'Top Secret' to cover up things that have no business being 'Top Secret' . I couldn't give a rats ass if the US relations are damaged with Australia , The UK , or any other country for that matter. It's about bloody time to be frank. We should have marched to our own drumbeat decades ago. I don't buy for one...

CHECK OUT THE DOUBLE RAINBOW !!! So stoked that my phone camera actually picked it up

I love it !! Just made my day have to say ...

Just read a really dreadful news article about gays and lesbians across Africa being persecuted , raped , and killed. So ... *climbing onto the soapbox* Seems some people have yet to understand that silly notion, where it's immoral , to kill people for their sexual orientation. I use the word orientation and not preference, because preference implies that there is choice. And having learnt a small amount about genetics in my years at University, I have come to the conclusion that this is , unfortunately,  one of those things that genetics and not environment determines the most. I say it's unfortunate, because I  believe that given a choice , a great many people would not choose a life of persecution , pain and suffering. I am certain no-one would choose to be different in such a way as to induce pure unadulterated hatred. Being male or female , is about so much more than just the bits that come with your body. We know this for a fact. There are t...

One exam down - only 23 left to go to complete my new degree. Sounds really daunting. But I am not really thinking of that ... All I can think about right now is how much I wish I was at home. In Africa.  I have made another memory, without my old friends  and family around. Another milestone. And it's occurred to me at some point today , that this is only the beginning. The start of all those new memories and milestones that they will not be a part of . The paths that were together , and then were running in parallel for a while , are now , ever so slightly starting to go off at different angles. It's christmas next - which is all good an well for people like me that aren't christian , but , even so - I was raised christian-ish . And even after I chose differently in terms of believing or not - I have always spent christmas day with my family. It's rather handy being able to take a public holiday that means nothing to you in terms of religion...

so - my exam looms ever near. And I am studying , and practising my HTML coding  . I am . Really. I'm just also very consumed by the fact that my bathroom needs to be cleaned. My kitchen is unacceptably untidy ( despite being cleaner than it has in days mind you ) and there is dirty washing that needs to be done. I have enough underwear to last me at least another week. And there is nothing stopping me from showering , because the dirt in my bathroom that's suddenly bothering me beyond belief... it's on the windowsill, and in between the blinds , and up in the light fixture. I never noticed it until this morning really, and now it's making me itch to get in there with a norwex cloth and wipe it all away. And now - the kitchen floor is swept , the dishes are in the dishwasher ( I can hear the water swooshing around) and my coffee is on my desk - all courtesy of my loving husband. I have just watched him walk through to the bedroom with...