Sikamikanico Blogs

From a debt collection agency, about the non-payment of some minimum payment I was meant to make. Now, I cannot remember recieving the original letter, though that is not a surprise. Do you have any idea how much mail I get? I am a member of several frequent-flyer schemes. As anyone who is in a frequent-flyer scheme is aware, this means that every day, a truck pulls up to your house and dumps several tonnes of information about your frequent-flyer status and reward programs on your driveway. Then there is the Dungog Historical Society. A few months ago I was stranded in the small upper-Hunter town of Dungog ( see here for a good read ) and having little else to do - and also, because I'm a sucker for this kinda thing - I visited the little local museum. I saw displayed a typewritten letter by a local doctor dating from the 1880s, which I thought was slightly interesting, so I asked the Sixty-ish man who ran the museum if he would send me a copy, leaving my address and a couple of

So I will be on the Einstein Factor ! Next season, so possibly around August. I got on really well with the lady who did the audition, when she was doing the general knowledge quiz and I had to pass every time it was a sporting question, she laughed with me and said "I know, I know...I know nothing about sports either." In the end I got 15/25 on the quiz which she told me is really good. Then I talked for ages about my specialist subject (I could talk about that underwater!) But they already have people doing historical subjects for this season so I'll have to wait. It's a bit disappointing, I think getting out of NSW for a little while would be the best thing that could happen to me right now. (Well, sex would be nice too. Celibacy leaves a lot to be desired).

Last February, as you may know, I sent off my five-page written application to be a contestant on The Einstein Factor ; speciaiist subject the Romanovs and the last days of Imperialist Russia. The app said I'd be contacted to go through to the next stage. I hadn't heard anything back, so I assumed I wasn't successful. So you can imagine how surprised I was today to receive a call from the show's contestant co-ordinator, wanting a chat. She told me that she loved my subject, but that the producers wanted me to speak more on the politics of the time as well (they can't really be separated). I said that was fine, and she said that was the best news she's had all day, and she's calling back tomorrow to do a general and specialist knowledge phone interview. If that goes well, I'll be on the show filmed in Melbourne in June! Woo-hoo! Oh, Sheet! So I have 24 hours to brush up on my knowledge of Russian Revolutionary politics and general trivia. So nervous and e

My internet access has been somewhat limited lately, but yeah, the whole Sydney moving thing fell through, so I'm stuck in Newcastle for the time being. Mixed feelings about this. I still haven't found another job, possibly because I don't actually have the train fares to get to interviews. But that should be rectified soon, Centrelink might finally process my application, and start giving me the dole. I had to spend nearly a whole day there last week getting it sorted out. Why are Centrelink appointments always at 8:30am? Not only do they want to humiliate you, they want to humiliate you first thing in the morning. It's not very Groovy (oops there I go again). Luckily my "customer service" officer seemed to realise I do actually have my head screwed on the right way, so the experience was as almost-painless as dealing with governmental beauracracy can be. Big Brother starts tonight...you know every year I promise myself I won't watch Big Brother. My goo

I have a cat, as you are most likely aware. Xander is the sweetest, friendliest, most placid creature in existence. I'm so proud of him and think that, for once in my life, I have actually gotten something right. My sister Jennifer has a cat. Fizzy is...well, he's spiteful, destructive and generally a bit of a shit. But the thing is, Fizzy was raised in an environment no less loving than Xander, so how could they have turned out so differently? Anyway, Jennifer is interstate for some time. Knowing that my mother is having a major personality clash with Fizzy (and being the sweet person I am) I offered to cat sit Fizzy at my house today. I should have known better, huh? Fizzy growled at me, peed on one of my dining chairs, then spent the next fours hours sitting under the bathtub, hissing furiously whenever Xander or I peeked in at him. He's gone now, thank the Lord.