Taking out the garbage: the end

It has taken just over 14 months, finally...the garbage is gone.

The last thing he said to me was not "call me soon" but "thanks for this", in reference to the Ebay purchases he bought using my account, for the very last time.

The update is this:

1. I managed to swap the sunglasses I bought for one of his that I really liked
2. I told him to stop using my account and to pretty much stop calling me
3. I need to delete friends that I have met through him on Facebook

Well the deleting friends part I have yet to do, it may be due to me being more than a little nosey.

I saw an album upload for a birthday the other week on my news feed, which he attended, and I did feel satisfied that he came on his own, his hotness factor has dropped and he was wearing Ed Hardy.

So maybe I will leave point three for a little longer.

Yours truly,

Miss A.

"I'm a liquids guy"

He was so innocent all those years ago when I first met him. When a whole bunch of our friends took him to a strip club for his birthday, I think that may have left him a little scarred - probably didn't make his top five favourite birthdays.

A night last week or so, I had made dinner plans with the Smiz who was working with him, so we all thought why not, let's meet for drinks and think about where we could go for dinner.

I haven't seen him in awhile so it was an excellent opportunity to catch up.  And I must say I have been blessed with friends who love to wine and dine, I would be rather unimpressed if I hung out with a crew who just ate lettuce.

We decided on Bistro Pappilion, right in the heart of the city, French and close to the train station.  We started with a glass of sparkling, a ritual firmly in place now, all thanks to my foodie friends Nic and Matt.

Then came the entrees:

1. Bread and Olive Oil
2. Pork Terrine
3. Cheese and bacon (?) Tart - well it came out looking like a mini pizza

Entrees ... all very passable, the Terrine was tasty though a little dry.

I was a major fan of the bottle of wine, of course it was from Alcase.

Conversation flowed, especially with the second bottle of wine opened, and he started telling us about a boy he recently started seeing.  Young love - so cute, so sweet.

We drank more wine, and I reminded him of what he said to me all those years ago,
"What do you know about me?" he just about demanded
"Um.... You like boys?" I had replied

Mains came out:

Me: Veal
Smiz: Duck
Him: Selection of meats or maybe there was just two

I thought my veal was rather dry though the duck was delish.

Oh no! Then came dessert:

1. Dessert wine - a bottle
2. Profiter rolls
3. Creme Brulee
4. Selection of cheese

In my opinion the dessert made up for the dinner, and I guess I was a little bummed that my meat was over done and too chewy for my liking.

What I really liked about the restaurant though is the affordability and the ambience, we actually had pretty good service.  Casual, comfortable and a little homey.

One thing I love about spontaneous dinners is that they always turn out awesome, I thought me and the Smiz would just catch up for dumplings that night, but we ended up at this great little French bistro instead.  I know my meat was a little dry and the same can be said about the terrine, but it was the company that made it such a great night out.  I will leave most parts of our conversation up to your imagination, as quite a few times I would have rated it AO, but here is one part that I can share with you,

The Smiz said to him "You're drinking that very fast"

He replied "I'm a liquids guy"

Yours Truly,

Miss A.

We dined at:

Bistro Papillion

98 Clarence Street

Sydney

Our total bill including an approximate tip of $20 was $350

Needles

I saw a doctor the other day for some malaria tablets for my trip to Africa and was absolutely mortified when she also told me I needed to have shots - Typhoid, Hep A and Tetanus.

You see I have the biggest fear of needles and the thought of it just makes me want to puke.  Initially I decided not to get them at all and just hope for the best.  I even considered not going on my trip at one point.

Over dinner at a Ramen House that night, I discussed this fear with my friends. Even talking about it would make me feel sick.  I think what made up my mind to do it was when Matt told me what could happen if I should fall ill and how easy it would be to catch Hep A, even here at home. Well I also didn't want some sort of disease twisting my spine or brain out, but I still needed so much more courage than that.

The next morning I sent out an SOS to my friend Janey, who thank goodness came to my rescue straight away.  "I'll be there!" was an instant text back which made me feel maybe 2% better than I did.  The dread of not one but three needles sent my stomach into knots once more.

I then decided that the best thing to do was to get myself intoxicated.  A vodka and apple followed straight away with two shots of perhaps tequila would indeed calm the nerves.

Later on, Janey came to the rescue and she was very supportive and even offered to hold my sweaty hands.  

We were all gathered in the 'needle' room and there was a little posse, me sitting in a chair hitting my head against one of the beds, legs shaking, fists clenched and sweating bullets, Janey standing upright, arms crossed and trying to calm me down, and the male nurse fussing about trying to make me see that there was nothing wrong with needles and even breaking out with a few jokes, whilst getting everything set.

The trolley with the needles came over, and another guy came into the room and said "are you ready? let's do it"

I looked up and instantly cried out "where is my DOCTORRRRRR"

Apparently he was a lot gentler and so I said to myself "here goes nothing"  

The male nurse comforted me by rubbing my ear lobes and then everyone's words of comfort became nothing but mush around me.

The first shot ... hmmm that wasn't so bad, but I had two more to go,

The second shot ... OWWW! And I let EVERYONE know - I heard myself echo down the corridor and then even whimpered 

The third shot ... OWWWWWW! The third scream was the loudest and the best. Stung - ok not as bad as the second one but I also sighed - what a relief.

When I was fixing up payment my doctor came out and said "OK are you ready?"

which Janey's response was,

"She's already done it - didn't you hear her?"

Yours Truly,

Miss A

If you ever need shots before your travels, I recommend:

Hyde Park Medical Centre

175 Liverpool Street Sydney

Total cost for consultation and three shots: $208

Sardines

Whenever I am out for a bite with friends and I see sardines on the menu, I want to order it but don't.  It's much the same with eating them, I find I am always eating them alone - where there is no one to see me eat them.

I once told someone I liked eating sardines and he went "YUK - that's what my dog eats", so I have shied away from letting the world know of my tatse for sardines.

So it was to my surprise when I was out for dinner, one of my friends suggested we order sardines.  It was absolutely delightful to be able to eat this fish in public and not only that but to be able to convert another.

We offered it to another friend, who initially said no as she thought it was "what they put on pizza".  We got her to try it and received a thumbs up.

It is one of those types of fish often overlooked, they are quite tasty and should definitely be given a chance.  One of the 'fishier' types of the fish family, we had ours grilled, and it came with a slice of sourdough topped with olive tapenade and a little mixed salad... quite delicious.

We ate:

Entree - grilled sardines with panzanella salad and olive tapenade bruschetta ($18)
Main - crisp fish with aged beer batter, chips and tartare ($25.50)

We were at:

Garfish Seafood Restaurant
Kirribilli

Version 2.0

I tried to use this space to vent today and was told it didn't come out very well.  So, this now replaces what was previously here, so let's start again.....

I'd like to discuss how bad movies can produce classic one-liners that are timeless and funny even when you don't even know the movie.

So let's try this...

Oh hi Mark,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ4KzClb1C4

Check out the link, apparently it was the worst movie ever made, and because of the allegation of it being the worst movie ever made, I will take my time to watch it, it's on my one-day-I-will-watch-it list.

Two friends of mine use it all the time, and I must say it's catchy.

It's pretty similar to Napoleon Dynamite, the movie was not the greatest yet, there are many lines that come to mind, and whenever I bring it up, it's pretty funny even though the first time I had watched it, I didn't think it was very funny at all.  It's a movie in which repetition is worthwhile.

"Ligers, it's pretty much my favourite animal, bred for it's skills in magic" - classic!

My vote on the worst movie ever made?

The Other Guys - I don't think I have seen a worse movie this year, though how can you not laugh at,

"I'm like a peacock, you've got to let me fly"

Maybe I have come to the conclusion that the point of all of this is that in every bad movie there is always a classic one-liner which will maybe, and only maybe not make it the worst movie of all time.

Totally random and not related to bad movies, but the one-liner of all time is from the one and only Jessica Simpson in which her response to buffalo wings was,

"But I don't eat buffalo"

Yours Truly,

Miss A.

REF: Jessica Simpson
http://turbo.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2010/07/jessica_simpson.jpg

An update on the subject of garbage

I would say my friends, that 1 out of 3 easy steps to get your ex out of your life has been successful.

How successful - not very... I got the delivery of goods purchased today and one of the pairs of sunglasses he bought I REALLY REALLY like! And the one that I did buy.... hmmm not so good... they don't suit me at all!

So, decision making time:

1. Don't call him and keep them all (6 pairs)

2. Give him my pair and take the one I like and not tell him

3. Ask him for a swap even though I have been a bit of a bitch to him

Hmmmm - well, I don't know, I am leaning towards 3 as I feel bad really easily and too easily.

Stay tuned.

Yours Truly,

Miss A.

Taking out the garbage

I'd like to think that taking out the garbage is easy but it's not.  I am referring to my ex who decided to break up with reasons unknown, rather he just said "I don't know, I'm just over it".

So, anyway he has recently been calling me quite a bit and we have been catching up for dinners and walks just about every week or so.  We also share a mutual interest in online shopping and I gave him authority to bid on ebay using my account as he had been barred with a particular store.  But then I started to think that this could end up being a frequent thing, and with nothing to be achieved at the end of it except for him being able to score designer label/high fashion items at an awesome price... it had to stop.

After a DM session at 2am after two bottles of sparkling and a quick dance at a singles event with my friend Janey, this morning I sent him a text asking him to stop.  Even before my night out, I knew what I had to do, and that is to cut ties and clean this part of my life up! - Taking out the garbage.

Without so much of a text back, he just deleted everything he was watching and has not picked up my call to him.  Of course, now I feel guilty, and feel that perhaps I have been too harsh though am feeling heartbroken yet again, the feeling of angst adding to my already gloomy morning at work.  But this has happened before, and I am definitely not going to be the friend he wants me to be, so I need a plan - well not so much of a plan, but I need to follow three easy steps.

Next steps....
1. Sit down with him when I give him the remaining ebay purchases and let him know how I feel
2. Delete all friends associated with him on Facebook
3. Move on with my life

Not rocket science I know, and one that everyone I ask would probably tell me to do - Dummies Guide to Getting Rid of Your Ex.
By tomorrow, hopefully the housework has been done on that part of my life as I have definitely realised that if the bad smell 'hangs around' it always gets worse.

Yours Truly,
Miss A.

Cherry Popped

I have been thinking about doing this for awhile now, starting up my own blog, and after following a few, reading a few, and seeing how successful so many can be if they provide something of interest, I hope to do the same.

So I have decided on my three favourite things - Travelling, Eating and Trashy TV.

In terms of travel, I love it all, and I wish I started this last year when I made my third trip back to Europe.  Tossing the coin into the fountain in Rome did bring me back there again, much older and much more in a position and head space to appreciate it.

With food, I would say that I am a pretty big foodie, and when finances allow, and even when it doesn't, I love to get together with fellow foodie friends to enjoy dining out, cheap and cheerful or fine dining, I love it all.

And finally, trashy tv shows.  I love all things Gossip Girl, cry at too many episodes of Glee, and have recently discovered How to Make it in America - this new tv show I am now watching thanks to my friend Ness, who understands my obsession with the big apple.

So it begins, trying my hand at blogging, just for fun and seeing how it goes.. very excited indeed.

One thing definitely coming up, is the countdown to my trip to Africa, so perhaps that will include a load of interesting pre-Africa posts.

Until then, perhaps tomorrow, looking forward to getting my fingers into blog post two.

Yours Truly,

Miss A.