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This is Kosovo/Iceland Calling

The title comes from a song by Aussie singer John Willamson called “This is Australia Calling”
Tuesday morning I had a nice phone call from one of my older brothers who is probably the world’s best air traffic controller (well at least he is in my book :)). He is currently in Kosovo where he has been on and off for it must be a couple of years now working at the Pristina airport initially as part of the NATO mission in Kosovo (KFOR) and now with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). It was great to have a nice long chat with him about life in Kosovo, his family, our life in Australia and all the usual chit chat we do. Out of 8 of us Toti and I are the only ones who share a similar first/middle name. His first name is Þórður and my middle name is Þura which is a short version of Þuríður. Þor (Thor) was the son of Odin.

This morning, my big brother Karl rang to thank me for his very late Christmas/early Birthday present. It was great to talk to him about all the random things we normally talk about, life in Iceland, my uni stuff, all that fun stuff. Sometime round the 1996/1997 he was given the CD – Hype! Surviving The Northwest Rock Explosion – The Motion Picture Soundtrack. Let me tell you that CD had extremely heavy rotation on the Palsson Washing Up Radio.
Some time early this year I was walking past a local music/dvd chain and starting right at me was the Hype! DVD and with no second thought I knew I had to buy it and send it to Karl. It sat on my entry table for a couple of months until I got off my backside and sent it to him earlier this month. It arrived in Iceland the other day. 😀

Both the DVD and Soundtrack are fantastic and you should check them out. Ever since we first listened to the CD, it was the two songs by The Fastbacks that have really stuck with me through the years and when I got my new phone, one of the first ringtones I made for it was a sample from The Fastbacks song – Just Say.

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taking a break

I am so tired of writing and researching, but only a little while now till the holidays. I want to find the pause button so I can take a break. The parcel man came to my house today and delivered me a present 🙂 it was my threadless shirts from the $10 sale. I’m wearing one to uni today 🙂

On Sunday, I just needed a break from sitting at the computer (which is something I find quite hard) and we were out of whole milk so I took a walk in the lovely May weather we are enjoying and went up to the local Aldi and picked up some milk 🙂 As I walked home I took a moment to let my camera know that I do love it and that my neglect will not last forever. Here is to having one essay to edit, one to write, a presentation and five exams left for the semester! All of which will bring me one step closer to graduation.

These three photos are little snippets from thet “Streets of your(mine) Town”, the pot plants that have sat on this fence for as long as I can remember always glaringly white in the sun, the Bowls Club where Karl used to work and one of the bus stop signs on the street to our street. They recently changed all the bus stop signs, they used to be yellow and I like the old ones better.
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[audio:The Go-Betweens – Streets Of Your Town.mp3]

The Go-Betweens, a band from my town that recently became no more, when Grant McLennan died in his sleep. Streets of Your Town is one of their few songs that I know quite well and it always makes me think of this here town, Brisbane.

Streets of Your Town

Chorus
Round and round, up and down
Everyday I make my way
Through the streets of your town

Don’t the sun look good today?
But the rain is on its way
Watch the butcher shine his knives
And this town is full of battered wives.

Chorus

I ride your river under the bridge
I take your boat out to the reach
Cos I love that engine roar
but I still don’t hnow what I’m here for.

Chorus

they shut it down
they closed it down
they shut it down
they pulled it down.

Chorus

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helen in red

I was unable to play on (inter)national scrapbooking day over the weekend due to that thing called Uni, actually I have not been able to play much at all recently due to Uni. It is now Tuesday of Week 10, two essays and a presentation left until Exams start after Week 13. When I came home yesterday after a day at uni and handing in an essay. I decided to make a paper layout as I just a had a total ball of fun making the tag for EK (success) the other week.

When I learnt that there was a St Helens in Tasmania, it became like number 3 on the places I had to visit.

When I placed the photos down on the paper, the song, Lady in Red came into my mind which influenced my title 🙂
These photos are actually all from the same day so it isn’t much of a coincidence that I am in red a red shirt in the photos and the jumper I took on the trip was red as well (I only own two jumpers, I live in Brisbane! – one is red and one is orange :))

helen in red in tasmania

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hair this morning, gone this afternoon

This is my Mum, I have talked about her a bit on this blog of mine but I don’t think you have seen many photos of her, well today you are getting a double header!

May 4-6 is The World’s Greatest Shave to Care and Cure or commonly know as “Shave for a Cure”. This event is one of the largest fundraising efforts in Australia each year and helps provide much needed funds for the Leukaemia Foundation of Australia.

When approached by her students Mum said if they were able to raise $2000 themselves she would get her head shaved. When she came home from school yesterday they were only $100 short so it was pretty much a known fact that she would be loosing her hair today. Her school actually ended up raising a bit over $2500. Good on them!

Last year (or the year before?) Mum’s older sister Margaret had her very long hair shaven off so Aunty Susan as the next sibling in the line, we think it might be your turn next year 🙂

Before

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After

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What can I say but dude, my Mum rocks!

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Threadless in Suburbia

threadless in suburbia I have known threadless rocks for the last couple of years now but only in the last month or so have I started to look at it more often and then actually made the jump and ordered two shirts. They arrived yesterday 🙂

Here I am in shirt #1 – Suburbia. I just love how the letters are formed in the map of the roads 🙂 Mum took this photo of me, standing in the middle of suburban Brisbane, which just happens to be on our street 🙂

Shirt #2 will be photographed sometime in the near future when I can arrange styling I want for it 🙂

One thing I love about the shirts is that they are a) relatively long because frankly I don’t want to show you my stomach and b) they have a nice neck. I hate t-shirts that have tight necks because I always feel like they are choking me.
There is a sale coming up soon so I plan on picking up a *few* more (I know Mum, you think I have enough shirts but it is not like I am spending money on sex, drugs or rock & roll, ok so maybe I do spend it on rock & roll but that is not the point).

For the next four weeks I have one essay due each week, so much *fun*!!! Back to essay writing now.

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ANZAC Day

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

We will remember them.
– For the Fallen by Laurence Binyon

Today is ANZAC Day, which without a doubt is the most revered day in Australia and New Zealand, more so than our respective national days (Australia Day and Waitangi Day).

Today is the day when we commemorate those who didn’t come home and honour those who have, the day we thank those who have served and those who are. We know that peace and freedom do not always come without a sacrifice and we thank those who made that sacrifice.

World War I forged the Australian identity, as a federated nation we were only 14 years old at the beginning of the war. We sent 40% (330 000) of our male population to the war, they were all volunteers. 60 000 of these did not return. Australia had the highest casualty rate of WWI and New Zealand had the highest casualty and death rate per capita of any country involved in WWI. It was not a war that threatened either of our nations personally but as members of the Commonwealth we felt a duty to serve.

The Last Post
[audio:LastPost.mp3]
We now pause for two minutes to reflect on the significance of the day and to show our respect to those who served. The idea of a minute’s silence is credited to Edward Honey, an Australian journalist in London during WW1 who published a letter in the Evening News on 8 May 1918 appealing for a moment of silence during the celebrations of the first anniversary of the Armistice (11/11/1918)

Rouse and Reveille
[audio:Rouse.mp3]
Since this is not a Dawn Service, we follow the moment of silence with Rouse instead of Reveille which is played as the first call of the day.

Advance Australia Fair
[audio:AdvanceAustFair.mp3]

Lest We Forget