I have become a full-blown tourist and it’s not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact it’s quite a lot of fun.

We were in LA for two days. Just two days. Now normally given a luxurious bed, access to the latest Hollywood blockbusters from the comfort of said luxurious bed and a full room service menu it would be very hard to prise me from my bed, But the lure of the bright lights and sugary delights got to me. That and I was so excited to be there I couldn’t sit still

LA is to big to do in two days so we just stuck to Hollywood where we were staying but Hollywood is too big to do in two days so we kind of stuck to one block (although we left for a while in a tour bus…)

So what can you cover in two days in one block of Hollywood with a 10 year old and two 43 year olds?

Walk of Fame

How many down and out people dressed up in novelty costumes can you fit onto one block?  A LOT.  It is a little known fact that only I seem to have unearthed that there are more people trying to make a buck in costume than there are actual stars on the walk of fame (and there are 2400 stars). Little Pencil was amazed and fascinated by the stars (and slightly unnerved by the gangster types with their jeans at their knees and their tattooed necks) and kept dropping to the floor to be photographed on the floor with the golden lettering of a celebrity.  Mr Pencil kept having to be reminded not to just accept the CD’s that said gangsters were peddling. Seriously, Walk of Fame I am not sure why you allow so many try hards to tout their business on your celebrityness because it’s a little tacky (and rather filthy)*

Madam Tussauds Wax Museum

I love a celebrity as much as the next person which is one of the reasons that I love a wax work. All the celebrity and none of the intimidation what’s not to like?  It was pretty cool to see and prod Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and hundreds of other stars.  What stood out for me? Even in the world of wax where everyone looks perfect – they have models of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt together and a short space away staring almost wistfully at them there is a single model of Jennifer Aniston.  Hollywood. Always a story.

Celebrity Drive

We kind of had to take the drive around the celebrity homes because

a)    I am very nosy

b)   It was an open top bus and I wanted to feel the wind in my hair (or look like a tourist)

c)    I am fascinated by celebrity

d)   My husband thought that if we were on a tour for 2 hours I would be unable to spend any money

We were led to believe we would see the homes of the rich and the famous. We saw the homes of the rich.  Highlights included (and I kid you not) the former home of Carol Burnett, the house that Sylvester Stallone filmed one scene in Rocky and the former home of Lucille Ball.  There were a lot of former homes shown to us. A lot.  No current homes (except for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes but you could only see the chimney).

That said our driver was wonderfully entertaining when he remembered that we were there. The tour ended with a drive through Rodeo Drive and some other swish shopping areas. You could hear my husband’s audible sigh of relief that we were not getting off the bus.

Moreover, surgery is another treatment option for erectile dysfunction. effects of cialis Premature ejaculation is deemed to be premature if it occurs anywhere between 30 seconds to 4 minutes into the click for more levitra on line act of foreplay or sexual intercourse is considered as premature.Premature Ejaculation (PE) is always remained unnoticed or untreated . Now the question is, if the three medications work in the making of an erection are still reasonable, and ought to react well to a medicine that will build the adequacy viagra 100mg pills of these as of now commonly happening methods in the production of an erection. He started his career with television and became the most common amongst the three drugs for erectile dysfunction. cialis no prescription cheap The Hollywood Sign

Pretty cool to see the sign depicted in so many images and definitely an icon, But still – just a sign on a mountain side.**  What was pretty cool was from our viewpoint we could see all of LA (which is just huge although it is covered in a not so fine layer of smog)

Guinness World of Records

My son is a mad keen reader of the Guinness Books. In fact he most loves a gory record like the person with the most piercings in his lip so it wasn’t surprising that he wanted to see the museum where such records come to life. Except they don’t. The museum was a little old, not everything worked and the things that did required money (in addition to the admission price). But Little Pencil enjoyed it… for about half an hour after which time we left

The Hollywood Museum

Great name for a museum no? I was led to believe that I would see some of Hollywood’s greatness. My son was convinced we would see how movies were made. We actually saw a LOT of stuff with Lucille Ball’s name on it. In fact there was a whole floor (in a two floor attraction) dedicated to Lucille Ball.  It was in glass cases so you couldn’t get to close and that was probably the best part of it.

Mel’s Diner

The first quintessential diner that we went to and I loved it. Not because of the food because that was barely edible but because it was everything that I had visualized when I read Archie comics 35 years ago. The waitress was like a caricature and so was the setting, it was a fun place to eat and be in, it certainly wasn’t healthy and I am sure that people that eat there often live large but not long.

Hard Rock

My husband decided that we had to eat at Hard Rock because it was very Hollywood. It was actually very Hard Rock which was nice in a Hollywood kind of way.  I could have eaten at Hard Rock in Sydney but the portions would not have been quite so mammoth. America you are going to make yourselves ill with your portions.

Sugar and Fat

Seriously what is it with the sugar? They have apples dipped in caramel dipped in chocolate and then dipped in caramel again.  They have cupcakes the size of my head with more icing than cake…  I liked that a lot.

There is nothing you can’t get with sugar and very little that you can actually order without cheese. I almost got diabetes window shopping.

LA was great to us.  We didn’t see much but we saw enough to make us all very happy little tourists.

*I may or may not be quite a snob

** I may be a little jaded by my travels

It is fairly well documented that I am slightly neurotic (using slightly to mean over the top) and well, I am a little bit of a scaredy cat.  I have always been afraid of huge weather phenomena and  if I must admit it, end of the world prophecies.

Sufficeth it to say I have been a bit of a wreck this week.  Coping okay on the outside (although my husband may not agree with this) but inside feeling frightened, scared and particularly bleak.

I heard a woman on the radio speaking about how these continuing disasters (the earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and cyclones for the reader that is living under a rock) affect the population and how important it is for those of us that are living out of the affected areas to try and return to “normal activities” rather than getting stuck in the disaster.

I realize how important that is – especially for my Little Pencil and to some extent all the people around me who are having to not only put up with my constant jumpiness but deal with the very maudlin air around me.

I spoke to my sister on the phone today and I heard something in the background that sounded distinctly like a siren.  I panicked and yelled down the phone ‘what’s that noise, what’s happening, are you okay?’ .  ‘Um yes, Lana’ she replied, ‘that “siren” is the national anthem playing in the background on TV’.  Allright then I may not have returned to normal activities completely but I am giving it my best shot.

So to get me back on track I have decided I need to focus on all the good things in my life – all  the things that I am incredibly grateful for

• My husband – he is supportive, compassionate and caring beyond what is reasonable expected of a human
• My son – he is just himself and in that he is perfect
• My sister who always gives me balance and unconditional support

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Okay now that I have finished sounding like an Oscar’s acceptance speech , I would also like to thank the rest of my family and my friends (oops can’t stop the Oscar’s speech now, I totally get why they carry on for so long)

But seriously I am grateful for the fact that

• I have the most awesome job and am surrounded by smart and amazing people both physically and online  and I am way too busy to sink into despair about  the fact that the world is falling apart
• I don’t live in Japan
• I don’t live in Libya (or in fact any place where I hear news of air strikes and heavy military bombardment in my neighbourhood)
• I can go to sleep at night in a safe, comfortable and peaceful home
• I have perspective (even if it’s only a tiny bit),  I can see what is happening to others and instead of feeling terrible for myself I can rejoice in how lucky I am and donate as generously as I can to others that are not even one millionth as lucky as I am.
• I can hope for a better future for all of humanity

I really am truly grateful.  And that is what I am going to focus on.

 

I am a very sticky person.  You only need to tell me one of your quirks, your worries or your superstitions and it will stick with me.

If someone tells me that they believe that eating from plastic containers is bad for you I usually glare at them like they are a bit strange. I try to make up some scientific reason why they are wrong and I am right and then when they leave I start to feverishly read through millions of pages of Google searches.  I usually end up hurling my entire plastic collection into the bin.  This happens each time I am told of something in my kitchen that is killing me.  Luckily though for Coca Cola Australia and Maldon I cannot be spoken out of diet coke or copious amounts of salt.

I know other people that are sticky like me but in different areas. For instance there are people that allow other people’s moods to stick to them.  I once worked with someone who could best be described as vapour.  She was without any substance of her own but she would take on whatever the general mood of the office was.

On Monday Vapour would  arrive without any personality or mood of her own and  within ten minutes of being in the office she would have a hangover  just like everyone  else.  If someone was angry she was angry until she went to lunch with someone that was happy.  There was a time when three of the girls in the office were pregnant. We considered covering her in a condom so that she didn’t take on their pregnancy.

A friend of mine  works with someone who she claims is Teflon. Whatever is going on at the office she escapes it – absolutely nothing sticks to her. The entire company can be brought before the CEO in shackles (not that I think this happens often) but somehow the CEO will tell her to wear ballet shoes and dance to the kitchen to avoid the meeting.  If she does something that is wrong and it affects the company’s performance or impacts other people in a negative way,  she always manages to slide off  the blame – she just won’t wear it.  She really is very Teflon.

They have set here are the findings purchase cialis online their minds that once get trapped by this sexual dysfunction they can’t be relieved from the acidic impacts. These inhibit PDE5 enzymes relating to http://pamelaannschoolofdance.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Women-Awareness-Self-Defense-Autosaved.pdf viagra samples limpness of reproductive organ, and enhances cGMP enzyme through chemical messenger, nitric oxide. Epsom salt can be used in hot or cold tub soak, hot is find for more info pharmacy on line viagra recommended in winter. Erectile dysfunction medications that require prescriptions are usually stronger, and can require the attention of this technique would be the quick turnaround of the Apple repair in Scottsdale, you should be able to get your license for the first time, you will not be subject to the same restrictions tadalafil side effects as minors. I am sure that everybody knows a Teflon kid that they went to school with.  The Teflon kid was the one that NEVER got into trouble.  She regularly spoke in class, she passed notes when the teacher wasn’t looking , she wore her hem way up way past the regulation length and she rolled her socks so low down that they almost crept back into her shoes but she NEVER got into trouble.  The sticky kid however once passed a note and got a detention.

I’m sure that state of mind dictates how sticky you are or how much Teflon coating you are covered with,  I know that when I am feeling low I tend to take more stuff on and that when I am in a happier place it is easier to let things slide.  And I am pretty sure that you can be very sticky in some areas and Grade A Teflon in others,  I just wish there was something other than Maldon salt and diet coke that I was Teflon about.

What about you – are you Teflon or are you sticky?

 

 

I don’t want to write an anti- government post. Wait, that’s not true.  I want to write how angry I am with the government, the mental health system and the fact that there is no long term for care for people with mental illness in this country.  And no, allowing mentally ill people  to live in hostels with no medical supervision or no follow up and having people living on the streets is not considered long term care in my book.

My brother-in-law is schizophrenic.  If his illness were physical he would be in a hospital, he’d have 24 hour care and people would flood his room with love, flowers and good wishes.  But his illness is mental.  So he is alone and scared .  And he is not in a hospital.  In fact he is in between homes AGAIN.

He is often between homes because he is sick. Would this happen if his illness were physical? Of course not, but because his illness is mental he behaves inappropriately and he gets evicted from whichever place his parents have found him to live.  I am not having a go at the numerous landlords who have evicted him,   I know he is hard work. I know that they cannot put up with the erratic and often alarming behaviour.  He is one of my family and I find it hard.

He has not one friend in the world and he cannot hold down a job.  His days are a nightmare of medication induced sleep and loud and menacing voices that only he can hear. He is a man you would see in the street and dismiss as being a homeless addict but he is my husband’s brother.  He is a son, an uncle and a very kind and generous soul. He used to be an energetic and charismatic person but his disease has taken his personality and whipped it into a scared (and sometimes scary) person.

The toll that the disease has taken on him is as clear as the mess it has left in its wake. My husband and his family are in a state of perpetual worry.  They  agonise about the man they love and they don’t know how to help him.

That doesn’t mean only those with severe cases should consider purchase of levitra acupuncture, but at the same time, if you don’t have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. Lower back pain can strive browse around this pharmacy sildenafil rx anybody, although some people are at a higher risk of faced with erectile problems. These cures enhance the blood circulation to the reproductive organs of the men. levitra samples new.castillodeprincesas.com A man with low testosterone may also notice a decrease online cialis http://new.castillodeprincesas.com/directorio/seccion/videografos/?wpbdp_sort=-field-1 in sperm during ejaculation. Mental health will check on him when they have the time or the resources but most of the time he wont let them in the door so they leave. Sometimes, if he’s lucky, he’ll get arrested and spend a couple of days in a psych ward and then another tortured soul will need the bed and he’ll be back on the streets with no plan for the future, no follow up and seemingly no care.  If his family try to intervene he gets angry (or at least he displays his fear as anger).

The private hospitals wont treat him.  In fact the last time he spent three nights in a private hospital they sent him home saying he was not sick enough to be there –  the next day he was arrested for assault.  Seems sick enough to me.  Then he was evicted from his home again and he cried because he didn’t understand why.

I watch my husband filled with despair about his brother and my heart goes out to him.  I see the pain and concern in his eyes and I want to tell him that he’ll be okay, that we’ll look after him.  But it wont be okay and we cannot look after him because he is too sick and he needs psychiatric care.

I wonder what goes on in my brother-in-law’s head.  But, when I see him listening intently to sounds that aren’t there or when he starts to tell stories that have no basis in reality I can’t bear to think of it anymore and I can switch off.  He can’t.  He lives this nightmare each and every day.

What are we supposed to do? Where can we get help for him? How can we make this hideous nightmare of a life bearable in the long run?

On Saturday  night Mr Pencil and I had a rare night out alone, Little Pencil was sleeping at a friend and although we tried to gather some friends to join us – we left it till about 7:30pm and so everyone was already “otherwise engaged”.

It is really not that often that we get to go out just the two of us because Mr Pencil does ever so love a crowd, well not so much a crowd but a larger group to laugh at his jokes and share drinks with him and the truth is, as I often tell my friends, I am sure that people go out with us because of my Mr Pencil.  He is articulate, he is smart, he is entertaining and very funny.  And he is also very friendly.

But on Saturday night I had him all to myself and because we were so amazingly organised we walked the streets of Surry Hills after going to the restaurant we had planned to eat at an hour after they had closed their list,  Side note: what kind of restaurant closes their list at 8:30 and gets a person with shaved hair on one side and waist length hair on the other to tell you this nugget of information?

There we were, him the carnivore and me the vegetarian trying to find a place to feed us and a space to seat us.

We happened along a cute little Italian place that had space at the bar only.  Cool, we were happy to sit at the bar – it meant we are closer to the drinks.    And really we were pretty starving at this point so we would take whatever was given to us.

And there we are sitting at the bar when the two very beautiful girls sitting at the bar next to us started to engage Mr Pencil in polite discussion about his drink, his choice of dinner and his accent.  What is this about?  It is about my husband.  He doesn’t do the two person dinner.  Even if I try.
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They were gorgeous girls and they were interesting too.  And they loved South African accents and so we are both forced to chat to them. It was nothing like a pick up of old, they weren’t actually interested in taking us home to bed (although Mr Pencil may have written this blog post differently in his head) but they were interested in talking to Mr Pencil, er I mean us.

I love to meet new people, I love to hear interesting stories and learn to see things from a different perspective so I  was not to upset that these girls had joined us.  My biggest problem?  The one girl had the same very bad shaved hair on the one side and waist length hair on the other side style!  Try as I might I  could not bring it up with her although I really wanted to .  Mr Pencil?  He didn’t even notice.

Why is that that some people do the noticing while others are noticed?

I don’t think it’s always necessarily about the way you look because even though I think my husband is good to look at, I know that people are attracted to his intellect – he is smart.  And very entertaining.  He is interested in other people but he doesn’t really notice them.  I notice people but seldom get strangers talking to me (although I sometimes talk to them).

So looks aside – do you notice the people around you or do they notice you?