Money Matters

A month or two ago, I decided to put myself on a strict budget. I would get the money out every Saturday, and anything I bought that week had to be paid for with cash. Anything left over at the end of the week went into a special Summer Clothes Shopping fund.

Today I counted up all my money: in addition to the money I'd saved by being on this budget, I had not spent $64.30. I gave myself a bonus for being so good, and took myself shopping.

I came home with three tops and three dresses and $41.55. (The 'and $41.55' part is good as I still would like some new bathers. Not that that will get me any surf brand pair.)

I ended up with a lot of stripes and navy-coloured things. This is not to say there there was really an exceptional amount of these things in the shops, just that of all the things the shops had to offer me (florals, peach-coloured things, rompers), I only liked the small percentage that was dark or striped.

And I figured out that I almost always come around to fashion trends eventually. Like those shoes that have many many straps across your foot? They are looking cute now. And today I bought a maxi dress. I fully expect that next years' shopping trip will involve me purchasing a by-then out of style mullet dress that I will have finally been persuaded looks good.

I have enjoyed my little experiment, and think I will continue it. It is interesting to consider whether paying extra for a name brand is worth it, or if I really need a jar of Nutella, or if that dress is $10 cuter than the other one.

(Often it's not, but sometimes it is. Yes I totally do, alright no I don't. No, it wasn't.)

One Year (and assorted other exciting events that occurred this weekend)

It was a dark and stormy night, one year ago...
I said yes to a nice boy who'd asked me to go the movies. This weekend we celebrated our one year (dating) anniversary, and I'm pretty damn happy about that.

Friday night was a Halloween Party. The next day I attended a high tea for a hens night, before heading to the drinking and games portion of the evening, before heading to our One Year Dinner, before heading to a birthday party. It was a busy day, let's say. We'll just run through the highlights:



Halloween: I spent the afternoon listening to the soundtrack from The Nightmare Before Christmas and putting the finishing touches to my costume - which included a cape AND a purple wig. Best costume ever.

High Tea: I drank tea! (I do not ever drink tea or coffee or things that are hot unless they are soup in which case it has to be in a bowl with a spoon and not in a cup. So this was a big deal. I had strawberry tea!)

Hens Night: It is really hard to not cross your legs. And to not hold your drink in your right hand.

Partying It Up: I feel sorry for boys, who are the ones who do the drink-buying. We scored free drinks from two kids who looked to be about twelve years old - even after they were shown my friend's wedding ring. Aww.

I Saved The Best For Last: For our One Year Dinner, I wasn't allowed to know where we were heading (which, also, I had to dress appropriately for all of these events at once. It is a magic dress indeed that is appropriate for tea with your grandma and drinking from a penis straw and making your bf happy he's dating you and getting hit on at a pub), but it turned out to be an extremely fancy and nice restaurant, where they give you palette cleansers in between your courses and put your napkin on your lap and there's too many knives and forks. Also there was delicious food there that I've never had or heard of and looks tiny but somehow you love it and it fills you all up.

The company wasn't half bad, either. We decided to give another year a go.



Edited to add: This picture, of the dress for all seasons:

Pillow Fight Part Two

At the start of 2009, I began playing ultimate frisbee. In October that year I attended my first national competition: Mixed Nats with an awesome team called Pillow Fight. Last year, sadly, Pillow Fight did not attend, although I went with the sixth best club team in the world, Smurf. THIS YEAR, however, we were determined to make P-Fight happen again, and happen it did! Stakes were higher this time around, as only two spots were allocated to SA instead of the usual three. Naturally, though, we were amazing, and nationals-bound! (And off on a frisbee road trip! My first one since my very first tournament, the Keith Calippo Classic, Tournament of the Year 09.)



Last time, the Pillow Fight theme extended to wearing PJ shorts (for most people, just on the first day) and a couple of random pillow fights. This time, we fully embraced it. Uniform shorts were, naturally, pajama shorts.



In addition, the night before the tournament, as we were all gathered in our accommodation, we had a pillow case-painting party to create our MVP prizes for the next day. Surprisingly and awesomely, the boys got into it way more than the girls, and created some masterpieces of pillow case art. At the tournament, instead of the traditional MVP voting in the circle, we selected two people who would be Most Fun To Have A Slumber Party With and made them pillow fight it out to win the grand prize of a handcrafted P-Fight pillow case. Word on the street was that at least one team wanted to play us in order to partake of this excellent new P-Fight tradition.



We lost all three games on Day 1, but came out and won three of four on Day 2, and won our last game on Day 3 to take 11th place and become officially the best mixed team in SA, as UE sadly only came 17th. We had a ton of fun in games, with 'fluffing the pillows' (pictured) and wiggling (not pictured, you're welcome) happening all over the shop. I threw my first scooba in a game and got a handblock on the first day. I threw some goals and caught some goals.



I fully endorse the P-Fight policy of selecting people based on whether they are fun to play with. It was an exceptionally fun tournament, and I hope it happens again next year.

Happy Birthdays (5th and 50th)

On the 21st of July, 2006 I moved to Adelaide and posted the first entry on this blog. Today is my blog's 5th birthday. DUDE, FIVE YEARS. Happy Birthday, blog I mostly abandoned but occasionally feel the need to post to. You are fun.

***

It is also MY birthday coming up, and for the first time since my 18th, I am having a party. (This does not mean that I have done nothing to mark the day in all the years since then; I love my birthday and there is always cake and friends involved.)

This year I am co-throwing a party, which seems like a good way for no one person to have to freak out too much. Our combined birthday age will be 50, so naturally we are having a Gold Themed 50th Birthday Party.

I went shopping for the perfect dress today, and got quite excited when - for the first time ever - I thought my imagination matched what was actually in fashion. Sadly, the gold dresses turned out to be either more hoodies than dresses, or more beige than gold. The perfect dress remains elusive!

The invitations have gone out (and let me tell you, once you start inviting frisbee people, all the spaces fill up pretty quickly) on actual paper, none of this Facebook invite crap. We are going for the old-fashioned ideas that RSVPs actually mean something, and that we want you at our party enough to hand write your name on a piece of paper and on an envelope.

Dear Birthday Gods,
For my birthday I would like the perfect dress (gold, under $50, preferably sparkly), for everyone to respondez s'il vous plait on time (preferably with yes), for everyone to actually turn up as RSVPed, and for everyone to have an absolutely smashing time.
Love and birthday cake,
Missy.

Here You Go / Just Kidding

I have a question that I would really really appreciate some input on. It is a frisbee question.

Team A knows that they will not have enough players to field a team for the Grand Final. Team A's captain advises the League of this.

The League advises the captain of Team B that Team A forfeits, and therefore Team B has won the Grand Final, congratulations.

At the last minute, all grand final games are postponed (by which I mean other grades such as Mens Div 1 and 2, as well as Womens).

Do Team A and Team B play their Grand Final the next week?

First there is a question of whether Team A forfeited the week or the game. If they foreited the week, then the game is on the next week. But if they forfeited the game, as in, they knowingly forfeited the grand final, then the forfeit stands.

If you look at it as just another week: I think for the most part people would be happy to have a game to play, and given that the stakes would ordinarily not be so high in a regular-season game, it would end up being replayed the next week. However, I think the first point still applies, and a case could be made for the forfeit to stand.

I can't help thinking that this is the risk you take with a pre-advised forfeit. In this league there is no fine for a forfeit, unlike some I've played, so pre-advising is just a courtesy to the other team. However, on the day, it could have been quite possible for Team B to also not be able to field a team (due to, in this case, players returning late from a tournament). If Team A hadn't pre-advised and Team B also didn't show, then - if games weren't cancelled - it would have been a double forfeit, or - if they were - there would have been no question about whether the game was to be replayed.

Do Team A and Team B play the next week?

PS SPOILER: Team A and Team B do play the next week. Team A has 7 players and Team B only has 6, and yet TEAM B WINS!!!

This week is Remember How You Have A Blog? Week

Every "summer" I get excited for Camp Stimey, which may seem odd, since I am not a little kid nor do I own any. But I still love the idea, and I love parents who put in effort. Plus I am still holding out hope that ultimate frisbee will make an appearance in a Sports Week.

Since I am at uni now, and therefore have some holidays that coincide with Camp Stimey, I have decided to hold my own right here.

***Brief interlude while I talk about uni: I had an interesting semester. I was working too much and playing too much frisbee (it was Nationals! What was I supposed to do?!) during the first half of semester, but I settled down in the later weeks, and managed to get erratically consistent results. By which I mean in one class I consistently got Passes, one I consistently got Credits, one Distinctions, and one Ds/HDs. Until I absolutely ruined it, by getting a HIGH DISTINCTION for my major assignment in my P class. I had one exam which I think I did ok in; I expect a Credit if the pattern holds.***

Anyway, on to my plan! The first week (last week), was Catch-Up Week. My exam was on Monday and I didn't get a sleep-in til Friday, as I'd packed all the other days with catch-ups of the old work friends, sibling, and boyfriend varieties.

This week was Organising Week. I moved my room entirely around. I found approximately ten bajillion bobby pins, broke a vacuum, and did something not good to my back. I wish I had photos, because I loved the before: it included a sleeping alcove and a couch! The after includes two whole new bookcases which are already not enough space for my books. I also packed up all this semester's uni stuff, organised my hard drive, made myself a new car-driving CD, and may even do my taxes.

I have decided that next week will be Books And Movies Week, as I have a massive pile of library books all ready to go. It may also be Knitting Week, as I had planned to double my scarf-knitting from last year and knit TWO scarves this year and am yet to start even one.

(Just realised I'm not actually sure how many weeks I have. Ah well.)

The week after that will be Gym Week, as it will be (less than, since I wanted to read books and watch tv and movies) three months until Mixed Nationals, and that should be just the right amount of time to develop a six pack get me into shape. During Gym Week I will go to the gym every day! I will be so enthused! I will able to train hardcore for seven days straight, despite having not done any strenuous exercise for quite some time!

Pretty sure the week after that will be Whinging About Going Back To Uni So Soon (And Why Is My Body Acting Like It Hates Me?) Week.

Also, I know I have been an irregular poster here, but you should check out our Book Challenge Blog, where we are FORCED to read books not of our choosing and then write about them!

I've got a theory - it must be bunnies

I would like to share with you my theory of allocated time.

I am very big on allocating time. It is how I know what I am supposed to be doing at any given time. Most of the time this works well for me.

Earlier today I had allocated Work Time. Then I had allocated Swimming Time. Now, I do have an exam on Monday that I suppose I could be studying for right now. However, this is not allocated Study Time. So even though I am not going to bed for maybe another hour, I obviously can not start studying now, in non-Study Time.

Sometimes I allocate Gym Time. The gym I go to requires you to check in at reception on the third floor when you go in. Now, I could take the stairs, but the stairs involves exercise. And allocated Exercise Time does not start until I am in the gym. You can't do exercise in non-Exercise Time!

Of course, it's a bit harder to enforce the idea that Facebook Time and TV Time do not belong in Study Time. The exceptions that prove the rule?