Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Sleep - The Elusive State

Can't sleep again - argh!!!

Suspect that I only have myself to blame - eating too many sweet chilli & sour cream chippies late at night - reading too many blog posts - playing one too many games of mah jong on the computer & I should have gone for that walk at 5pm today.

Had another job interview today & got another no ... sigh.

The longer this process takes the more I doubt myself & my ability to do anything; like uni work, be a good mum/wife/housewife [never!].

Thanks to being sick last week for three days [all better now & thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes] I'm behind in uni work & feeling rather flat about having to catch up. Hopefully I will feel more like hitting the books in the morning.

On a happier note I've finished knitting a vest for hubby, which he loves - just need to take the photos & I picked up a few goodies at the Gold Coast Craft Show on the weekend [more later].

Off to bed to try & get some sleep.

Ciao
Mish :)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Feeling Better Today :)

I just realised that anyone who does not live in Australia would not understand my signing off remark "not happy Jan".

The remark relates to a television advertisement for the telephone directories; basically what happens is the business owner is seen thumbing through the directory to find the listing & cannot see it. So she starts calling for her assistant - Jan. Next you see Jan in the street outside the office running away & the owner with her head stuck out the top floor window yelling "Jan! Jan! Not happy Jan!" If you check out You Tube you can see the ad here. The phrase "not happy Jan" is now a common phrase for many Australians.

So, back to reality. I am feeling better today about receiving three no answers for my three job interviews; although my body is not co-operating with my head & I am physically sick :(

I've had a headache since about 3pm yesterday, my nose is blocked, my eyes are sore [don't know how that works], my body is aching & my stomach has been making the strangest noises. So, I've been drinking lots of Rooibos Tea & trying to eat only simple foods; I do have an accupuncture appointment tomorrow morning, so hopefully the treatment will give me some relief, as I am helping out a friend on her stand at the Gold Coast Craft Show this weekend.

My plans for today were to complete my maths assessment for university that is due on Friday & I still intend to work on it, I just may have to do it in parts; I also have a Language assessment that needs tweaking.

So, I shall say goodbye. Have a great remaining week, stay safe & find ways to enjoy everyday - even when you are unwell.

Ciao
Mish :)

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Argh!

A quick post. Just heard back from all three interviews & the answers were no, no, no.

Not happy Jan :(

Ciao
Mish :) [trying to smile]

What a Week!

Boy, what a week I just had!

Three job interviews, teaching, lots & lots of uni work & I decided to go all "Sadie the cleaning lady" & tidy up some of the house. Those who know me will fall over at that, as I am a terrible housewife - thankfully my hubby wears glasses, so he doesn't see the dust - lol!

So the week went like this. Monday, job interview, uni work, teaching & training, washing & a late night. Tuesday, more uni work, some house cleaning, a trip to the op shop with some donations & another late night. Wednesday, still more uni work [I am in the middle of an assessment], washing, shopping & another late night. Thursday, another job interview, running errands, more washing & another late night. Friday, last job interview for the week, ran some more errands, shopping, trip to the Surfers Paradise night markets & another late night.

As you can imagine all these late nights are starting to get me down, my insomnia is playing up something shocking & I find that the usual fixes are not working - even David Letterman isn't boring enough to make me fall asleep - argh! My son Nic is also starting to experience insomnia, the other night he was awake until 1am, luckily I was able to drive him to school the next morning but that's only because I'm not working.

I have to admit that part of the reason why I am experiencing so much insomnia lately is that I'm still looking for work; so far I haven't even been able to get a part-time retail or admin job & the whole situation is getting very frustrating. I am trying to keep myself motivated with various craft projects that I am working on in a rotation basis - my version of a rotation is that I work on the one that I want to finish first.

My projects are - making hubby a knitted vest & some pure wool bed socks - I want to finish them before our trip to Tenterfield at Easter [just hope we can still afford it when the time comes]. My next unfinished project is for my girlfriend's 40th birthday present & I'm still yet to start the needlework present for our friends with the new baby girl in Sydney, plus I need to make some adjustments to my summer pyjamas & if I'm really honest there is a pile of clothing repairs yet to complete.

So, you can see that I have plenty of projects to keep me occupied during the day; plus you need to add looking for a job & uni work too, but there are still times when even working on these fails to keep me going. Unforuntately I think my sadness is due to the fact that I am not working & at the moment it seems regardless of how many jobs I apply for & how hard I try I just don't seem to be able to get a job. It's so frustrating that employers don't seem to have the time to call or email you to say "thanks but no thanks" - I really do understand, at an interview last week they tole me they had over 350 applications for a part-time position - can you imagine that!

Anyway, I really need to give myself a good kick & stop being so depressing - so from this point forward I promise I will try & post only positive things or I won't post at all! Mind you, that could mean it will be a long time between posts - lol!

Seriously, I will try from today forward to find the positive in things.

OK - first attempt at being positive. I am thankfull that I have the time during the day to work on the many craft projects that are sitting on or around my dining table at the moment, if I was working full-time I would be spending all my nights doing uni work & not have any time spare for craft - so that is a positive :)

I guess that wasn't too hard - now I have to find a silver lining in everything else that is happening at the moment & I think that is going to take a little more time than I have here in this post.

So, until next time when I PROMISE I will post something happy, take care & stay safe.

Ciao
Mish :)

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Can't Sleep

This post was going to be about my weekend & uni, but I've just been on Facebook & seen how so many of my friends suffer from insomnia. So, I thought that today would be the perfect opportunity to post the following.

Let me ask you a question ... what do you do when you cannot sleep? After putting off creating my own blog for 7 months I went to bed that first night feeling happy & satisfied that I had crossed off ONE thing from my list. You know that list; the list of things to do, things to stop doing, things you want, things you need, things you want to change, things you want to improve – THAT list!

So, off to bed I go on but nearly 2 hours later I’m still awake, even watching David Letterman did not help me fall asleep! At midnight I gave up & went downstairs & started typing this post, even though I didn’t publish until now.

I’ve been putting up with insomnia all my life & there are times when it’s been a handy thing to have. Like, when you are reading the most amazing book that you simply cannot put down; or when you are trying to finish a handmade present for someone. January 1999 comes to mind, I was able to stay awake until 4am to finish off this wedding present of needlework [photo below].



My baby brother dealt with his insomnia last night by writing a song; other friends read, some drink hot tea or make hot milk. But I have to wonder if any of these old remedies work ...

So tell me, what do you do? I would love to know how other people cope with insomnia ...
Until next time, stay safe

Ciao
Mish :)

xxx

Thursday, March 12, 2009

University Life

So tomorrow is the last day of week two of my university studies. It's certainly been an interesting ride so far!


I have to mail off my first maths assessment to the lecturer & I'm going to do a favour for some friends on Friday afternoon, so I need to make sure that the paperwork is ready by 2pm at the latest - wish me luck!


I have to admit I am finding using the student portal and the blackboard a little challenging. For instance, the student portal is where I receive all emails relating to my studies & today I couldn't get the email signature function to work & I tried several times & yes I do know how to do this! So, after trying for more than 20 minutes, I sent an email to the lecturer to explain what is happening & ask if maybe there was a compatibility issue with the uni email system & my laptop [I have vista - enough said]. Then, Vista decided that I needed to restart my computer & after I logged in again I found that the email signature was working - yeah! So that problem was solved.


Also, I've been having a hard time trying how to work out using the blackboard properly. The blackboard is the place where students can *talk* to each other, post assessments for lecturers & share information about themselves, study & anything else we want to dish.


So far, I've shared who I am, where I live, basic details about my family, what I think I want to study in 2010 [if I pass] & the parts of the course that have been challenging. What I have not told them is that the other day I got so upset about not understanding what I'm suppose to be doing that I ended up yelling at my lap top - yes I know I need to be committed - LOL!


On the whole, I am starting to get a little excited about this new adventure - when I originally applied I wasn't sure I would be given a place in the course & then once I knew I had a place I was scared that I wouldn't be able to motivate myself enough to finish the work on time. I am studying as an external student & my *classes* are via text book or on-line - so you have to be really self disciplined & for anyone who knows me well, they know that I've been trying to loose weight for over 15yrs & I still haven't really got anywhere with that; so I was worried that I might waste this opportunity.


The past few days have given me a sufficient "kick in the butt" about the course & the amount of work involved - you see I've had a few computer issues & there have been a few other challenges [read earlier posts] to cope with; so unfortunately I let myeslf get slack & didn't actually start doing any serious work until the beginning of this week. Which meant I was a week behind right from the start - eik!


Thankfully I am all caught up - except for the assessment but I'm going to work on that on Friday morning - I don't have any interviews scheduled for Friday so I will have sufficient time to complete the task.

On the job front, I had an interview today for a position as an administration assistant at a hearing aid clinic - the job sounds very interesting & of course I would need to learn their computer programs. The next step is they are going to check my references [hopefully they will get a good report] & then make a decision on who to give the job to. I also have an interview scheduled for next Thursday as a retail assistant in a new store, which will only be a 5 minute drive from home. So wish me luck that I will get the job that I am suppose to have & if perhaps it is not one of these two, then something else will come along.


See, I am trying to be more positive about things & more positive about life in general. I think I've finally realised that although staying positive is not easy during difficult situations but if you try to you often find that something good will come out of it, even if it is not the thing that you want but it will be the thing that you need. So, on that positive note I've included below a colourful, bright & happy image that I found on this amazing website stock.xchng where once you join you have access to royalty free photos - you might just have to mention the photographer when you use them [but not all the time]. The photo below is by a brilliant photographer Zela from the Netherlands :)


So, take care & enjoy the image.

Ciao
Mish :)

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Life & Work Update

It's Tuesday & I am still looking for a job. I've now been out of work for two weeks & I know most people would be saying that I'm being silly for starting to stress about not working after such a short period of time, but I can't help it. I went for an interview yesterday for a part-time position at a snack bar - the hours would have been perfect & still given me enough time to complete all uni work; but unfortunately they called at 5pm on Monday to say that I didn't get the job :(

I am trying to keep myself busy & upbeat while looking for work, but some days are easier than others. Last Friday was a bad day, I cannot explain why but I felt sad & depressed; so hubby suggested I pull my iPod out & go for a walk. So I took his advice & did just that - you know sometimes he's a very smart man - he he he!

I walked into town & on my way back I saw a grandmother pushing her two grandchildren on the local swings; my right knee was sore & I needed a rest so I decided to take a seat on the bench next to the swings. The children were laughing & squealing with delight as their grandmother pushed them; it was so wonderful to watch these children receive such pleasure from something so simple. After they left I decided to try out the swing myself & ended up spending about 15 minutes swinging! It was so much fun & it made me feel so much better that I had a smile on my face by the time I got home :)

Saturday was my normal routine again; training, teaching, lunch, errands - while I am not working I am going to have to make sure I run my errands, shopping, etc on another day than Saturday afternoon. There seemed to be quite a few rude people at the shops - sheesh!

Sunday; hubby & I went for a ride on the motorbike & then came home for lunch & watched an Elvis movie. It's nice to have our little routine on a Sunday & quite comforting when my week is so topsy turvy.

I spent Monday attending the job interview & then ran a few errands - see I am trying to change. I spent the afternoon finishing off the needlework design for my friend in Sydney; now I can start stitching! Monday evening is always taken up with teaching & training too - I really enjoy being a Tai Chi instructor & it's great that one of my fellow instructors is an accupunturist & masseuse as I realised during the warm up exercises that I hurt my shoulder in the afternoon. I admitt that when I am on the computer designing needlework I get so involved in what I am doing that I tend to sit wrong & that was why my shoulder was sore. Fortunately, Toni very kindly offered to massage it back into normality & after my shower I pulled out our electronic massage machine that has infa red & gave my shoulder some more treatment - feels better today :)

So far today I have finished off making myself a poncho :) I started working on the poncho last winter - the thing is that I made it too big [about 6 sizes too big!] & now I need to go get some large buttons to turn it into a poncho/cardigan. Which means that I can start working on the knitted vest for hubby again - I started the vest four years ago & because the humidity in summer is so high I only work on it during the colder months; I have finished stitching the body section on the front of the vest & I'm a third of the way up the back. Once I've finished knitting the body section of the back, I will then start on shaping the armholes - bear in mind that I am not a knitter but hopefully this means that he might be able to wear it for next winter!

So today I had planned to update my blog, scanning the job websites & then log onto the University website & see if I can work out how to use the student blackboard; but unfortunately at 9am the internet threw a tantrum & has only just decided to start working again at 1.30pm, so I've been delayed on getting things done.

Maybe I am a little slow or just "special" [I've always been a bit special - he he he!] but I have tried several times to use the uni student blackboard but I just don't seem to be able to get it to work properly - I think perhaps it's time to call the support people at uni & ask for some help!

I did have other plans for this week & went out on the weekend & purchased myself a hoodie [top picture] so that I can start to get up earlier in the morning & go for a walk into town or even jump in the car & go down to the beach - I thought that way I am getting some exercise while getting myself out of the house & hopefully once I start working again it will become part of my normal routine. Unfortunately Cyclone Hamish is attacking the Gold Coast with strong winds & intermittent rain & my hoddie is not waterproof [didn't think I would need it to be] so I cannot start my walking routine & hubby is home & not working too. Thankfully he is keeping to himself, he has taken over the office/spare room to read a novel - he loves cowboy stories & has been borrowing lots of these books from the library for the past six months. It's great to see him read but there are times when he get so involved in the story that he forgets about the rest of us - but then anyone who loves to read knows exactly what I mean!

So, now that my plans have been turned upside down I've had to adjust what I had planned to do. Wednesday I will try & spend the whole day working on uni stuff; Thursday I have an appointment with Centrelink [government support agency] & I think I will take my book with me to read while I wait. I started reading the Egyptian series by Wilbur Smith again for the third time last November & I am part way through Warlock which is the third book - so maybe this time I will actually finish reading them.

Anyway, this is turning into a really, really long post! So, I shall say goodbye :) Have a wonderful week [whatever you are doing], love deeply, laugh loudly & dance like nobody is watching!

Take care,
Ciao
Mish :)

Monday, March 2, 2009

Why The Red Laptop?

I've been asked why name my blog "The Red Laptop"? Well, it's quite simple; I run my blog from my laptop & my laptop is Red!

I purchased my Sonya VIAO laptop in early 2008 to use for my part-time study at TAFE & this year I'm using it for part-time study at Central Queensland University. The main reason I decided to purchase was because both my boys were spending so much time on our home computer that I hardly got the chance to use it. The purchase came at the right time as our main computer at home decided to start playing up a couple of months after I got the laptop & now hubby & I can both be on the computer at the same time without inconveniencing the other :)

I'm still looking for a new job, but I've decided in between spending my days on Seek & other websites looking for work I should also complete a project or two! So today I started working on the 40th birthday present for my girlfriend Jennifer [cannot say too much in case she reads this post] but I am quite happy with the progress & both my boys say it's looking fantastic. I just hope that Jennifer likes it as much as we do when I finish it & give it to her :)

I haven't started working on the baby present design for my friend in Sydney but I hope to get to this project by the end of this week - I'll only get delayed if I get a job before then; which I am hoping is exactly what happens - so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Again, we had a wonderful weekend. Saturday was the usual routine; training, teaching, lunch, errands, housework & then I spent the evening reading & watching the movie "Overboard" with Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell - it's still a fun movie, even after all these years!

On Sunday hubby & I went for a ride on the motorbike & on the way back decided to drop into the Emerald Lakes development for a coffee at the cafe; out the front of the cafe stood man & a lady who were waiting for the woman's husband. The gentleman [Ian] introduced himself to us as we were both wearing the same shoes & we just hit it off! We ended up having a late lunch with them & spent the afternoon laughing, eating, talking & drinking some really nice Italian White Wine :)

The good news is that I think I have found myself a new hairdresser! At the moment I have very short hair [see photo below] but I intend on growing it in the next few months. My hair is very thick, wavy & has a mind of it's own, so my hairdresser needs to cut it while working along with the natural wave that my hair has & unfortunately the hairdresser that I have been seeing for the past few years doesn't seem to have this skill. She is a lovely young lady & a very clever with colour but she always straightens my hair before she cuts it. Which works really well if I straighten it again everyday [which I very rarely do] & does not work too well when my hair is left to dry naturally [which I do all the time]. So, I need a new hairdresser who can cut my hair along with it's natural curl - so hopefully I have found myself a new hairdresser :)



Anyway, I hope that also had a great weekend. Take care of yourself & have a fantastic week & I promise I will post again the second I get a new job. Wish me luck!

Ciao

Mish :)

xxx