JEKYLL - The Happy Thread

[Marie-Cris]

Hey all! Sorry I haven't been around often again. Well, I've been lurking on and off, so I'm here, but not very vocal, and I'm sorry.

I've been feeling somewhat ... sad, I guess, and anti-social. So many things have happened in the past few years that have just made me sadder and sadder, and with the sadness came the comfort eating. I won't deny the good moments; getting our nice little rental home, getting our pets ... but somedays I've just felt far too down.

So I'm going to change. It won't be intense - not at first, I don't think - but I'm aiming to lose weight. Putting it into action today made me feel good, and happier with my decision, and hopeful for the future. I've even decided to do something I'd been planning on doing for years but have been too scared to: If I reach a good weight where I'm comfortable enough in my body, I'm going to shave my head. Not just because I can, but also to raise funds for the Leukaemia Foundation. It occurs to me that the one charity I've been consistant with has been with SIDS ((one of my brothers died of SIDS in my father's first marriage, and sometimes I wonder how he'd be today were he still alive)), and while I'm happy to fork out a mini-fortune buying as many plushies and pens and pins each year that I can, I don't feel like I've made a difference anywhere. I've always been intrigued with the notion of shaving for LF, but I've never had the courage to do that or to colour it. So I'm hoping that my change in body will encourage a change in mind.

Just to keep myself going, I've even set up an FB page that I'm going to try to report back to each day with my progress. It's a bit blank at the moment ((as I haven't put down today's stats yet)) and I'm hoping to try out my new video camera tomorrow and shoot a little introductory video to stick up, so if you've received an invite to Mar's Meltdown, that's from me. Oh, and if you haven't, it's because I haven't gotten around to filtering through my friend's list to exclude my family and a few pages that aren't actually people and whatnot to get all my US gals ((and the few guys)) invited. So please don't be offended! I'm working on it.

So if you would like to show your support, please just like my page. That's all I ask. You don't even have to comment on anything if you don't want to. I'll get by with a little LIKE from my friends. <3

[tori2210]

I think it's great you're doing this Mar! All the best with the weight loss, and I hope that you get to shave your head for such a good cause. I've hit the like button.

I've been toying with the idea of a head shave myself too. I don't have close personal connection to the cause, but I've always wanted to shave my head and see what my hair does as it grows back. So why not for a good cause?

[Marie-Cris]

Thanks Tori! At the moment I've got too few likes for my page to start telling me who's liked it ((apparently I need about 30 before it starts giving feedback like that)), so I really appreciate it I don't have a personal connection either; the closest I know of is Warlow, and that's on the level of an aquaintance. Maybe we could shave our heads together

[tori2210]

Hey I'd love to shave my head with you... except I know it'll at least be a couple years before I probably do it because reasons. =/
Once it starts to show you can add me or whatever if you want.

I have a friend who lives in Canada and we're also planning on doing it together, perhaps when I've saved enough to visit her in a few years.

[Injeanious]

I have liked your page Mar, even though I don't use facebook for anything except competitions. Good on you for putting this out into the "public". I wouldn't have the nerve to do so. I just quietly try to lose weight and might lose a kilo or two and then three or four go back on. I know I have to get thinner because of my blood pressure and back problems, but I just haven't got the willpower any more and that makes it so difficult. I also love cakes and biscuits etc and detest vegetables and healthy stuff!!! I have to go back to the cardiologist next month so I am sure I will get a telling off because I am so heavy, maybe that will do the trick. Also I have to say that I don't think you look too bad at all. Now if you saw a photo of me with my top pulled up - well that would be a ghastly sight.

[Marie-Cris]

I'm misreading things Tori, when what starts to show?

I've been much the same way with my weight loss Inj ((thank you so much for liking my page, BTW! It's not telling me that you have, only that 5 of my friends have, plus a few other likes)); since moving out of Adelaide it's bounced between 61-65kg, with 63 being a constant. I've had blood pressure issues too in the past, and in recent years I've been told I'm a pre-diabetic. I also have a sweet tooth and am not so good with the healthier stuff, but I'm finding my desire for sweet things to be waning somewhat, so while I don't think I'll be able to kick out sugar completely, I know I'm enjoying it less and less. And I wasn't going to do a shot showing my skin but I came across a bunch of tumblr "then and now" posts and thought that I'd like to see a clearer comparrison in myself in the future.

[Injeanious]

Marie-Cris if I was 63 I would be ecstatic! I am 20k heavier than you and would be happy to be around 70. But as I said, no will power. I walk a lot but eat far too much and all the wrong stuff.

[Marie-Cris]

I hit 70 in Adelaide, which is when the fainting started. Depression after losing Cricket ((plus karate)) helped chip off 5kg, and I used Fred's parent's stationary bike for a while in Mt. Beauty to remove two more, but after so long of staying on 63, I thought it was time for a change. I know how it feels like to have no will power over it, and would happily gorge myself on more-than-hearty helpings ((partiularlly if it was chicken soup; it's simple, but I rather love it)). But then came the problem of not really enjoying my food because I would so sad when I was full ((which made things even more annoying, considering that I currently suffer from the issue of breaking down into unbelieveable sadness if I get too hungry [followed by fainting])).

I love my food and hate that I don't enjoy it as much as I used to, so as part of my weight loss regime I've started having smaller portions; not insanely smaller, just big enough to satisfy my hunger and not leave me insanely full and depressed. I haven't completely cut all the bad stuff ((although I pretty much cut bread in Adelaide, but it's was hard to avoid it alltogether when living with Fred's folks ... and when there's a Baker's Delight so close to work)), but I'm working on having less sweet things. We switched to having dark chocolate in Adelaide but have since fallen back on the milkier stuff, but if I can develop a taste for the 70% again, it'll ward me off wanting sweeter stuff.

[Injeanious]

Long time since anyone has written anything. Winter has really hit here and it is so cold. Los of rain and wind too. And dark just after 5 pm so it makes going for a walk very difficult. I have been looking on Youtube and found some clips of The Manfreds, who are some members of the original Manfred Mann. I guess most of you will be far too young to know who I am talking about, but I loved this group when I was young. I was never into The Beatles or The Rolling Stones, but adored Manfred Mann, they came to Wellington with The Kinks and The Honeycombs and it was the first live show I went to. So was so pleased to see the clips, even though the gorgeous Paul Jones is now 71 - but he doesn't look it. I found out they have a dvd for sale recorded in 2007 so got that off Amazon and have played it several times. Fabulous!!

[Injeanious]

We had a dreadful time last night. Terrible storm hit Wellington, winds up to 200 kph. Torrential rain, freezing cold. I was awake nearly all night as I was so scared that my roof was going to take off. Luckily it stayed in place but there is damage all over the city. Trees down, roofs off, absolutely terrible. My family in Makara has no power, phone or water. The roads down there are blocked. Luckily they have a woodburner to warm the place.

[Fredus]

Oh, no, Inj, that's awful! Nothing quite as fun as having no power in cold winter. Is your place all right in general? I'm glad your roof stayed on!

And I'm sorry I haven't been here for so long, I accidentally logged out, so every time I've visited, it told me there was nothing new! In hindsight, it was a little strange that nobody was saying anything... but I'm back now!

My good news for the day is that we got a couple of foster cats about three weeks ago, and they've found a home! I'm actually sitting around now waiting for the lady to come and pick them up.

They're a ginger and a tortoiseshell, a brother and sister pair, that lost their owner when he passed away and his charming family decided they should be killed. They'd been staying at a cattery at the time (my assumption is that the man was in hospital before he died), and the cattery, plus the vet they used to go to, desperately tried to find them a home. As a last ditch effort, they were brought to an adoption day that the cat rescue was having and they were put in a cage in the area Marie-Cris and I were guarding. Having spent several hours trying to find them a home, we decided that neither of us could live with ourselves if we let them be taken away to die, so they came home with us.

Ginge and Torte (those are seriously their names, I asked the vet. Original, no?) are eight years old, almost nine, and seeing everybody wants kittens and eight is, for some stupid reason, seen as a 'senior' cat, I pretty much assumed that we'd probably be fostering them until the day they died, which was a fairly glum thought. We had to help them, but five cats is far too many for our unit, and they eat a surprisingly large amount of food! So, anyway, their new owner lost an eighteen year old cat at the beginning of the week and couldn't stand to be in her home by herself so rang the rescue, and she was passed onto us. She loves them, and they love her, so everything is incredibly awesome.

[Injeanious]

You and Marie-Cris do a great job Fredus. How is your dog getting on?

Well I have just got back from Perth where I saw the last 8 shows of Jersey Boys. Almost cried at the final show knowing that that was it - I don't think I will ever get to America to see it. And of course it just wouldn't be the same without the wonderful Australian cast (and of course the fantastic Canadian Jeff Madden who has played Frankie Valli since last July). Have to say though that I didn't like Perth - to me it was a "nothing" city. Does that make sense? I love Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney - but Perth? Nah!! Those of you who went to the final Phantom show in Adelaide will know that nothing special happened to mark the last show - well it was the same with JB - the ending was the same, the cast left the stage, the band played the last song as usual and - that was it. I really think that the producers of these shows need to do a bit more for all the faithful fans who pay such a lot of money to see their shows. It wouldn't have been hard to arrange a couple of speeches or a presentation to the cast or something.

[Fredus]

Well, if we can save the lives of a kitty or two, it'll help... I've seen so many bad endings for cats.
Blossom dog is good, thank you! She loves having the cats to play with and she's finally learning how to walk properly on a lead, which is fantastic. Apparently lead training is not something I'm good at!

I'm glad you got to see the last eight shows of JB, but it sucks that it's over now... and I can understand the disappointment that nothing special happened. I remember feeling exactly the same way with Phantom... just a little bit of acknowledgement that it's the last show would be good. So much goes into it, and then they just ... end. It sucks.

[poppy]

Hey everyone , haven't been on here for ages and I totally agree that final shows should go off with a bang! So glad Dr Zhivago got a streamer send off!

[Fredus]

Poppy! It's been so long!

[poppy]

I know Fred, too busy playing Candy Crush! XD

[Fredus]

How you manage to play Candy Crush as well as you do, I will never know! It got too hard and too frustrating for me, so I had to give up.

[tori2210]

Hoo boy! Great day to fly to Wellington. Caught the 6am down and felt the first big quake within 15 minutes of landing.

Hope you're safe Inj, that last one was huge.

[Injeanious]

Thanks Tori - we are all fine. We lost power for quite a while, phones as well, but no damage to houses or anything up here that I can see. Office is open today, one good thing about working in the suburbs, because the CBD is closed. There is a lot of damage in the city. We had another terrible storm last week although it wasn't as bad as the June one. Makara road to my kids place had another huge slip and was closed again. So to get to Makara we have to go through Johnsonville and Takarau Gorge Road, and a journey that takes 10 - 15 minutes becomes 1 hour 15.

I now have broadband at home and it is wonderful. Costs quite a bit but worth it for sure. I was looking at a site called IOffer and found some dvds from the old German programme Beat Club and they have performers like Paul Jones, Walker Brothers and Easybeats along with many others. It is so good looking at the old clips and I was happy I found that site and that they would post to NZ. Doany of you remember The Easybeats?

[Injeanious]

It's me again!!! Did anyone in Melbourne see Twisted Broadway? I have just seen the full cast list and Anthony Harkin and Glaston Toft from Jersey Boys were in it. Bet it was great!

[Fredus]

Oh, I'm sorry! I never saw your last post! I'm terribly slack sometimes.

I don't know if I know the Easybeats... to be honest, though, I'm really awful at connecting any particular song to whomever made it. It's a terrible failing of mine.

I'd forgotten about the Twisted Broadway! I seem to remember hearing about the last one at a point when there's no way I could have gotten to Melbourne and, now that I'm finally closer, I forgot about it anyway! I hope someone got to see it!

[Injeanious]

The Easybeats - best known song was Friday on My Mind. Way way before your time Fredus! You might remember reading about the lead singer though - Little Stevie Wright who became a herion addict and alcoholic but still sings today and lives somewhere around Canberra apparently. If you look at Youtube you will see clips of Friday on My Mind.

[Fredus]

Oh! I know that! I didn't know the name, I admit, but as soon as it started playing, I knew it and I knew it well.
I don't know how I know it, mind you, as it doesn't sound like the kind of thing my dad would listen to - but it's entirely possible that the Cooma radio station used to play it back when I still lived there.

The lead singer's name does sound slightly familiar but, again, I wouldn't have been able to line it up with anything if you hadn't just explained who he was!

[Injeanious]

I typed a long post and then my internet went down and the whole thing disappeared. I have been BAAAAAD and booked a ticket for Grease in Sydney. Wasn't going to but saw a clip of the cast performing on the Good Morning show and decided that I had to see it, especially since Stephen Mahy is a cast member. Just have the one ticket and certianly won't be going mad like I did for JB. The producers of Wicked are making a huge thing of the show in Auckland, even a womans magazine had a double page spread on the inside cover with win tickets to the show. Never did that for JB.

How are things going Marie-Cris? Long time no hear.

No more earthquakes here for a while thank goodness. Just cold and wet and windy, although I must admit the sun is out today but it is not at all warm.

[Injeanious]

Two postings in a row from me, but I guess it doesn't matter too much these days. We had another scary earthquake on Friday - 6.6. All three bad ones I have been in the office - twice working and once doing the cleaning. This office is a two storied townhouse and boy does it rock and roll during an earthquake. The "experts" say there is a 90% chance we will have another big one in the next week.

[Fredus]

Sorry, I missed your last post! Marie-Cris and I have been playing Halo again, so other computer stuff tends to fall by the wayside... at least until we've re-defeated the alien scum and can come back to the real world.

The earthquakes just sound scary! And I hope that there isn't another big one. Good to hear that you're all right though. Did it create much damage? (And I know that's something I should probably know already, but I don't tend to watch the news very often...)

Also, it's awesome that you'll be coming to see Grease! When is that one happening?

[tori2210]

I think I felt the big 6.6 up here in Auckland, Inj. I was home sick last week for three days with a throat infection, and was sitting quite still at my laptop when I felt a small shudder, and my torso swayed in my chair for a little bit longer. It didn't feel like a passing truck or jumbo jet taking off (I'm quite close to Auckland International) and sure enough on the news there'd been a quake. I highly doubt I would have felt it had I been in a classroom of 20-odd students.

Also, my high school career is finally at its end. I've got about seven weeks of classes all up plus exam leave and then I'm done. When I first saw Phantom and joined US (under a different name) I hadn't even started high school. If all goes to plan I'll be doing a BA at the University of Auckland next year. I am quite ready to move on. My family has tickets for Wicked in a months time so I'm looking forward to that. It's been a quite a while since I've been out to a show and I can't wait to sink back into those familiar Civic chairs...

Speaking of shows, June saw my last ever high school production. I think I mentioned before it was Grease. I was a bit disappointed to not go out on something slightly more to my taste, but it was a great time overall and apparently the most successful in the history of my school. I don't plan on sitting behind a lighting desk for a while now.

I've also found a job, which is good. I've spent the last three months applying everywhere with no luck, and in the end got hired by McDonald's. I'm out at the airport domestic terminal so it's not to terrible an environment and my managers aren't too nasty. It could be a lot worse.

Also Fred, if you and Mar are into gaming, check out humblebundle.com. They regularly put out great bundles of games on PC where you can pay as much (or as little) as you want. In the latest one I got Dead Space, Dead Space 3, Crysis 2, Medal of Honor, Battlefield 3, Burnout Paradise, Sims 3, and Mirrors Edge for five bucks. It's absolutely ridiculous. I honestly only see myself investing time into two or three of those titles but for such a low price it's definitely worth it if you game on PC.