Friday, July 28, 2006

I'm Proud To Be Australian





Being Australian is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then on the way home, grabbing an Indian curry or a Turkish kebab, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV.

Oh and...... Only in Australia... can a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

Only in Australia... do supermarkets make sick people walk all the way to the back of the shop to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

Only in Australia... do people order double cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.

Only in Australia... do banks leave both doors open and chain the pens to the counters.

Only in Australian... do we leave cars worth thousands of dollars on the drive and lock our junk and cheap lawn mower in the garage.

Only in Australia... do we use answering machines to screen calls and then have call waiting so we won't miss a call from someone we didn't want to talk to in the first place.

Only in Australia... are there disabled parking places in front of a skating rink.

NOT TO MENTION...

3 Aussies die each year testing if a 9v battery works on their tongue.

142 Aussies were injured in 1999 by not removing all pins from new shirts.

58 Aussies are injured each year by using sharp knives instead of screwdrivers.

31 Aussies have died since 1996 by watering their Christmas tree while the fairy lights were plugged in.

8 Aussies had serious burns in 2000 trying on a new jumper with a lit cigarette in their mouth.

A massive 543 Aussies were admitted to Emergency in the last two years after opening bottles of beer with their teeth.

and finally.........

In 2000 eight Aussies cracked their skull whilst throwing up into the toilet.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Celebrating Aileen's 40th

We had a big family get-together tonight at the Golden Season's restaurant in Wagga tonight to celebrate Aileen's 40th birthday. Eighteen of us were there and we had a lovely night. Julie brought along a huge birthday cake with 4 names on it, Braidy who was 14 on July 7, Amy who was 14 on July 12, Aileen's on July 20, and Shannon on July 22 who will be 8. The meal was great too, it's an all-you-can-eat restaurant and the kids kept going back for more. I'm sure Alex was up at the buffet 5 times.

Zeke was a big hit with Aileen's youngest two girls. As soon as one put him down the other was picking him up.

Aileen's mother, Angela, who is over here from Ireland came out with us too. Mum and Reg, Warren and Julie and Braidy and Kyle, Lauren and Daniel and Zeke, Amy and Emilie and Shannon, David and Pauline, and Carly and Alex and myself. We all had a lovely night.

Lauren and Daniel and me and the kids all went back to David and Pauline's house for coffee and beers, and it was 10pm before we got back home to Junee. It's a pity I have to work tomorrow.

Aileen's workmates have organised a surprise 40th birthday for her that's been put off until next month. Not really a surprise to Aileen, but she doesn't know who or where or what, so we still have that to look forward to. I probably won't know many people there but Aileen asked them especially to invite me so it's something I can't do my normal begging off. And I'm sure it will be fun anyway.

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Our Family Will Never Be the Same

When somebody close to you dies it changes everything. At Graham's funeral I was thinking about our family being all together for the event, but we'll never be all together again. We're a big family and family gatherings don't usually include everybody. It's such a shame that there has to be a tragedy to bring everybody close again.

The funeral was beautiful. The venue was packed, with room for 300 people and over 400 turned up. David and Aileen both spoke and tears flowed freely from family and friends alike. The cemetery was just family and Graham's girls let balloons go, 6 of them, that went straight up and stayed together until we couldn't see them any more. It had great signifigance for us because there were 6 of us growing up, and it was like we escorted his spirit to heaven. Sounds silly, I know, and I'm not a great believer in heaven or hell, but we all felt the same that day.

Later we went back to Warren and Julie's house and lots and family and friends were there with hugs and words of comfort. Mum was totally devastated, and I imagine that if it had been my own child I would have been the same. Dad didn't have alot to say about it, but his grief was obvious. He could hardly speak.

Friends were so generous. It's during times of need that you really know who your friends are. Pauline's sister cleaned her house when she wasn't home, a neighbour of Pauline's sent over a casserole. Julie's friends provided trays of sandwiches for us when we met to discuss the funeral arrangements. Cards, flowers and phone calls have been constant.

I went back to work on Monday and tried to get a little routine back in my life but every night and every morning I'm thinking about Graham and what a waste his final act was. He missed out on the best party of his life the night of his funeral. We all went to the Black Swan in Wagga after the family gathering at Warren's house. This gathering was for friends, and the place was packed with people hugging and crying. I heard many funny stories about his antics and everyone had a story to tell. It was sad but comforting to know how well-loved he was.

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