Neighbours – choice is a given, but don’t ever mention the word abortion

I like Neighbours, it’s being going for years, and I've been watching it for a lot of them

The recent storyline surrounding Sky, an early 20s (I think?) single woman living with her religious grandad, his friend and his friend's mail order Russian wife, has been interesting for the way it has been handled.

Last week Sky, who’s recently split from her boyfriend after cheating on him with her art teacher, found out she was pregnant. Her ex boyfriend didn’t want to talk to her about it, and she made the decision to have an abortion.

However the a word was never mentioned, instead she made an ‘appointment’, visited the doctors for her ‘appointment’ and cancelled her ‘appointment’ to do more thinking about her decision. Her ex made vague references to ‘not being ready to be parents’ and again, said she’d made an ‘appointment’ and left it at that.

Horray for Neighbours for covering this prickly issue, hope they resolve it with some grace.

Horray for Aus for being so liberal there was never an issue of whether Sky would have access to an abortion.

But BOO HISS to Neighbours for shying away from the term. How are kids even meant to understand what is meant by her ‘appointment’? Could specifying the reason for the appointment go much further to helping young Aussies, and people further a field as the show is broadcast all over, to understand they are not alone and they should not be ashamed.

I shall be following this storyline closely as it unfolds...

I have a question for you

I’ve been invited to take part in a game that describes itself, among other things, as ‘gender equal’.

In this game men and women play alongside one another in the same team, however players are only allowed to defend against someone of the same gender; female-female, male-male. Defending against someone of the opposite gender gains you a penalty.

My question is this, which is ‘more equal’?
Women and men playing the same sport, for the same amount of time, in single sex teams against their own gender

Women and men playing on the same team, but not defending against one another

Women and men playing together on the same team and being able to defend against anyone regardless of their gender

By encouraging women and men to play on the same team but then limiting their activities within the game to their own sex is this game really achieving its claim of gender equality?

Oh, and Sappho, a moon cup sticker is a sticker advertising the mooncup, a menstrual cup, like the Diva or Keeper cup.

My guinea pig the dare devil

Yesterday we were taking Eddie, the guinea pig, in the car round to my parents for the weekend as we’re going caving. When travelling he’s put in a high sided plastic box which sits on my knee. Often Eddie tries to climb the sides of the box to get out and see the world, or he stands up on his back legs, like a meercat to look at the scenery passing him by.

However yesterday he tried a new trick, something I have never witnessed in a guinea pig. Like a tightly coiled spring he jump clear out of the box, past my shoulder and landed with a jolt on the handbreak.

I think the escape from the box gave him a bit of a shock because he just sat on the handbreak looking up at me for a second before I swooped down on him, grabbed him round the belly and chucked him back in his box prison.

All this while my partner, who is learning to drive, was driving us, in the dark, supposedly under my supervision.

I am getting a lid for the box.

Man forced to marry goat because he ‘used it as his wife’.

Ah yes,
Bestiality ok – if you’re married.
Rape ok - if it’s your wife

What a strange punishment for the man to be forced to marry the goat and pay a dowry for it. Do you get the feeling of a ‘happy ever after’ angle on this news story?

Potty Mouth

There are five toilets in the ladies on my floor at work. The lighting in the bathroom means that three of these toilets are bathed in bright light and two of them skulk in darkness.

Research built up over months (casual observance by me on each visit) indicates two of the brightly lit toilets get the most daily traffic. The third brightly lit toilet is rarely visited, it is likely this is because of a disturbing asbestos sticker on the cistern.

Further evidence of the preferential use of the two brightly lit toilets comes in the form of a quick reduction in toilet paper available in the stalls.

I am happy with this, if everyone is using the brightly lit stalls the dim stalls stay cleaner and are almost untouched by human bums between cleans. Up until today I was thus much more likely to choose a dimly lit stall than a bright one – there’s not much to see when you’re going for a pee, and occasionally braved the asbestos for a change. I tried to avoid the ‘bicycles’ of the bathroom where possible.

However my world has been upset by the dawning revelation I had on the can this am. What if other people have also realised, through extensive research, that the dimly lit stalls are the best? What if they are all flocking to these stalls, bum after bum? Sacre bleu!

The bathrooms here do rock a little bit harder than those elsewhere though – each stall has a mooncup sticker on the door – some bright lass has harnessed the power of reading on the can to promote the good word about catch’em cups.

It's a problem

Those of you who've known me for a while know that I have a weakness when it comes to ebay. It is a goldmine of vintage wonders, that is, accordng to me. It is the ultimate charity/second hand/retro shop and it's always open. This evening I have been spending my money in the ultimate vintage shop. My purchases include, for your delectation:




I am watching 9 other items, but I won't tell you what they are just yet.

There are three problems however when it comes to actually buying the items.
1) I only have 2 cheques left in my cheque book.
2) My PayPal account is the Subtext account, and despite my best efforts if I pay for stuff off ebay out of that account it is bound to go awry.
3) I lost my partners cheque book last time I used it to buy something off ebay. Even if we knew where it was I am pretty sure I would not be allowed near it anymore.

You see why I am in a pickle.

Bleak

I've been wanting to take a photo of one of these for ages - I used to pass on in a field everyday on the way to work, never really knowing what it was. Turns out it's a wind pumb (breeze not tu
rn). Looks kind of bleak there on its own, in the middle of a field, made unaccessible by growng crop.

Tech alert! Plus some other crap about ebay of all things.

If you have ZoneAlarm (free firewall that I would highly recommend) and it's asking about ie.exe do not allow it to access the internet. It's a Trojan horse, so is counter.exe. And the five other Trojan horses I've just found on my machine. I hate viruses, they scare the crap out of me. I am now convinced my bank account will be drained. I am deep scanning my whole machine for baddies.

Aside from that the general news is good - Subtext sales are on the up again after the great review we received on The F Word. We've had a submission from a guy which is good, and some more orders from men too. I had an order today from a city council as well! That was a bit of a surprise. In fact, I was a little frightened by the official looking envelope and purchase order until I looked closely. I even got to take my mum and dad out on a countryside walk this afternoon and get paid for it. Sweetness.

I have also rekindled my love interest with ebay over the past couple of days, and despite being penniless due to car breaking problems have bought myself a red bag and a blue bag. Some of you may already know I have a bag problem, and I did have kind of an ebay problem for a while too. You know the type of thing, can't stop thinking about ebay, setting 4am alarms to wake you up to bid on stuff in the USA, skipping lectures to catch the end of the auction. Normal stuff, right?

Ebay is great though. It's recycling, really.
Speaking of consumerism auction style my top picks for autumn ebay shopping are:
Knitted berets
Long wool coats with belts
Pleated skirts
Vintage bowling bags that are tatty
Knee high boots with flat soles - preferably with buckles.

(for more advice on what to wear at any given time or situation Jeepers is you woman)

The above about sums up my ebay watch list, if you remove the skirt and add a couple more bags. I'll cry if you bid against me and I loose.

Book meme: I've been tagged, and I actually got around to doing it!

Tagged by the hippest hippie
1. One book that changed your life?
The Beauty Myth by Naomi Wolf – I’d identified as a feminist for a while before reading it, but seeing my ideas in print was great. Thanks Sarah for lending me a copy!
2. One book you have read more than once?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – I re-read this recently, having forgotten entirely what happened in it. I skim read books super fast, so don’t always remember what I’ve read or take everything in. I’m ready now to read the next one. I love Harry Potter.
3. One book you would want on a desert island?
Outdoor Survival Handbook: The Classic Indispensable Guide to Surviving the Outdoors by Ray Mears. Hippie – you’re right; this is the one to go for! Ray Mears is ace.
4. One book that made you laugh?
I’m reading The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams at the moment (it was read to me by my teacher when I was about 11) and it’s made me laugh out load so many times. It is utterly bonkers.
5. One book that made you cry?
I read this before the film came out, after my brother recommended it – Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde, made me cry. The book’s better than the film. Aren’t they always?
6. One book you wish had been written?
The very busy woman’s guide to pausing time, and if necessary rewinding it just to catch up on sleep.
7. One book you wish had never been written?
I can’t think of one without first researching it (and I feel like writing this off the cuff). I would prefer race hate books not to be written.
8. One book you are currently reading?
The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, awesome.
9. One book you have been meaning to read?
I have a few books on the go at the moment that I have been meaning to read, but this tag has a theme of one. So, here’s one, Fire with Fire by Naomi Wolf (which I have leant to the aforementioned Sarah after hearing it is just one big retraction of Beauty Myth).
10. Now tag five people
I'll do this bit later...

Meshing - a step in the right direction or a daft idea?

A new option available to couples who choose to get married, want to keep their own names, but don't want to double barrel them is meshing. Harking from the states it basically means combining both names to come up with a totally new one. Blair and Bus = Blush etc.

I know, I'm so totally NOT allowed to blog at work, nevermind surf the net, but this one was just too good.