Pax Beaut

Recently one of my friends received a "Beautiful Blogger" award and sneakily passed it on by tapping the first 7 commentors on his post (coffeypot is to blame).

I believe the Rules of Engagement are that I need to say Seven things about myself that you may not know; and pass it on to Seven readers of my blog. [that could be tricky to organise so if you are reading this and feel beautiful - please pass on the love]

Seven things about Pax.

1. Marion isn't my real name.. it's actually Susan (cue the laughing now.. yes yes it's a very prim & proper name - and quite useful in my daily work grind as a P&P library tech. I would probably like it more had my mother not once confided that she deliberately chose a "Sensible" name so I wouldn't grow up all flighty like my Nanna Marion.  Ironic isn't it!  I do plan on legally changing it at some point when I have the $$ and can bear the maternal recriminations)

2. Oh.. and Pax / Paxford.. yeah not real either [does allow for some anonymity on the web - unless of course you are a member of the SCA.. Society of Creative Anachronism.. and then you'll find me easily enough]

3. I am a member of a worldwide Medieval recreationist group (SCA) although I have not played seriously for some years now (the boyfriend belongs to a different variation on the theme that have issues with any group that use rattan for weapons instead of forged steel.  On the other hand *I* have not had my nose broken over 15 times nor do I have sword scars covering 1/4 of my body... so my hobby is safer!)

4. There are two songs that will reduce me to a blubbering mess toot-sweet.  One is "The Streets of Laredo"* - the other is the Scottish funeral song "The Flowers of the Forest".

5. I do milsupport (military support) on a small scale and have adopted soldiers that I write and send goodies parcels to.  These are all USA based military as the Australian force currently in the middle east are 1) tiny compared to the man power supplied by the USA & 2) extremely selective of who can access their details [there is no Australian equivilent of "Adopt-a-marine" or "Soldier's Angels" that I have been able to find so far].  I have been known to send Tinned Marsupials to complete & utter strangers just to hopefully give them something to smile about (I am notoriously softhearted so if you know of someone serving that could do with a small "pick-me-up" you can let me know and I'll do my best)

6. I am terrrified of snakes. (you are probably going "D'uh! that's a normal thing" however I have been known to freeze up and utter sad whimpering noises when confronted with utterly harmless non-poisonous ones.  Have I mentioned I live in Australia - home to many slithery sorts?)

7. I have a passion for Penguins (and yes... YOU can send me any that you like ;D)

*As I walked out on the streets of Laredo.
As I walked out on Laredo one day,
I spied a poor cowboy wrapped in white linen,
Wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay.


"I can see by your outfit that you are a cowboy."
These words he did say as I boldly walked by.
" Come an' sit down beside me an' hear my sad story.
" I'm shot in the breast an' I know I must die."


"It was once in the saddle, I used to go dashing.
" Once in the saddle, I used to go gay.
" First to the card-house and then down to Rose's.
" But I'm shot in the breast and I'm dying today."


"Get six jolly cowboys to carry my coffin.
" Six dance-hall maidens to bear up my pall.
" Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin.
" Roses to deaden the clods as they fall."


"Then beat the drum slowly, play the Fife lowly.
" Play the dead march as you carry me along.
" Take me to the green valley, lay the sod o'er me,
" I'm a young cowboy and I know I've done wrong."


"Then go write a letter to my grey-haired mother,
" An' tell her the cowboy that she loved has gone.
" But please not one word of the man who had killed me.
" Don't mention his name and his name will pass on."


When thus he had spoken, the hot sun was setting.
The streets of Laredo grew cold as the clay.
We took the young cowboy down to the green valley,
And there stands his marker, we made, to this day.


We beat the drum slowly and played the Fife lowly,
Played the dead march as we carried him along.
Down in the green valley, laid the sod o'er him.
He was a young cowboy and he said he'd done wrong.

http://marionsmeepings.blogspot.com/2010/03/pax-beaut.html

Pax is a softie...

Yes... I am definately a soft-touch on the old guilt-o-meter of life.

Less than a day after I posted my last blog - and my ditherings over whether to acquire another adopted soldier or not - I received a nice email from Soldier's Angels thanking me for supporting one of my lads; advising that he was due home soon (he'd been home for a few weeks actually) and asking me ever so nicely if I'd consider adopting a new soldier to love & hug & call George (or not.. sorry - channeling Duck Dodgers in the 20th century there I think.. or is it Bugs & Marvin? but I digress...)

I was almost 80% sure that I wouldn't adopt anyone new at this point - too many bills to pay sezs I to myself - must get the old credit card down to manageable levels too I muttered... and then I made the mistake of popping on to their website and seeing that they had 1352 people awaiting adoption.

Sigh... I am such a sucker.  So now they only have 1351 left to be acquired by caring souls looking to make a small spot of difference to someone far far away.  Anyone else able to step up?  Go to http://soldiersangels.org/ if you have the time to send a card or letter a week and a parcel at least once  a month.  I can guarantee that the personal warm fuzzy's felt make it worth while.

Weekly round-up on Milsupport

A few goodie packs have been organised this week -

*some aussie treats sent off to *Gunnie Bush and his marines (timtams and caromello koala's for those who've tasted them). That makes the third parcel I've sent so far - I think I can manage one more at the end of the month to take it to four.. maybe a coffee one? [it's hard to organise things from a distance - so many USA based suppliers won't let International's place orders; and Amazon won't ship food stuffs to APO's/AE's. My staple goodie shops are now Cookies Direct; About Australia (in Texas of all places!); Amazon (for books & dvds) and Mountain Thunder in Hawaii.  If anyone knows of a tobacco supplier of cigars that might cater to overseas buyers could you let me know? I don't smoke myself but I'm told some of the teams like to]

*a 'Thinking of you' gift sent off to Bobby Kro. Sure hope he is going better - if anyone has an update could you let us know? http://johnjudyc.blogspot.com/2010/02/bobby-kro-needs-your-support.html

*Usual weekly letter sent off to Adopted Soldier #1.  Need to think of something special to send him (and his troops - he's a captain and always shares with his team). I've recently sent cookies (usa and aussie packs). Maybe coffee for them too? (I sent them Mountain Thunder coffee once - they were very enthusastic about it. Pity it's $$)

Adopted soldier #2 is now home but we're still friends and chatter online when we can (the 17 hour time difference usually means I'm waving I.M morning hellos as he's heading to bed but at least we're connecting).

Adopted soldier #3 is just about to go "no mail" - one month till he's home. I'll worry till he's safe.

I haven't decided if I will adopt any more via Soldiers Angels or just keep sending packs when they are requested by others.  I worry that the Adoptees are being freaked out by the weird Aussie girlie but are too polite to say.  There is also the emotional investment I make in each - try to keep them smiling, try to find the right things to send, worry that they are cold or wet or under fire [that whole "war going on thing" you know] and pray they and their teams make it home safe to their families.

*For details on Gunnie Bush and his team see the below link. They are okay to receive goodies till the end of March I believe.
http://usmc81.blogspot.com/2010/01/gunny-neeeds-some-pogey-bait.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Usmc81+%28USMC81%29

Pax drown-rat-ish

It rained here today. One of those "once in a decade" deludes of water hammering down from the sky.

So much rain in fact that the visitors carpark of my Government Department building flooded. It's on Basement level 1.  The Library (where I work in the technical area) is directly below it on Basement level 2.

Let's show you all in pictures

The car park after the flood water drained downwards

The technical work area - not my desk thankfully!.  More of the plaster ceiling tiles caved in shortly after I took these photos. All our electricals and computer links run through the ceiling - eek!

By time we evacuated the water was beginning to leak through the roof the entire front length of the library, soaking the floors. The book shelves/stacks/compactus are 1 metre to the left of the green coloum - we had no chance of securing any of them as the fears of electrocution were motivating our evac.

Ten minutes into the deluge of water the ceiling panels caved in. In the library we know we've lost at least two computers; a stack of books and journals.  We won't know till tomorrow if the central book stacks have been drenched (they are located more centrally so they may have escaped).  We know that the I.T (computer boffins) next door to us are equally drenched so the damages could be in the hundreds of thousands or more. (photo of the passageway above is between the two sections)

We were evacuated not long after that - via the central stairs and down to the basement 3 carpark (reinforced concrete ceilings down there plus there's the back door so we could run for it if the cry of TSUNAMI was made).  The side escape stairs had to be abandoned due to the lovely waterfall effects happening in them - and the central stairs had slow trickles making the footing precarious.

Forty minutes later we were told to basically bugger off home - and they'll call us tomorrow if we can't get access and need to stay home.  Since we're having a serious heat wave (with 84%+ humidity from the after-rain steam) I'd really much rather be at work in airconditioned loveliness [oh - plus I'm still covering my direct bosses job and she's going to be peeved to discover I'm about 70 emails behind on her mail checking... my cunning plan to clear that up today/tomorrow is not going so well]

Hmm.. maybe *now* they'll authorise my request to attend the inter-state Library Disaster Recovery conference - could be worth the application at least!

http://marionsmeepings.blogspot.com/2010/02/pax-drown-rat-ish.html

Pax Gobsmacked!

I am sitting here with a massively silly grin on my face and am feeling amazingly special.

You see today's mail brought me a package... and in the package there was

Patches & stickers too! ^

and

autographed by the team too! ^

At some point I should stop grinning like an idiot and stop saying "Oh My GOD!" - but it won't be for a while.

THANK YOU IZZY!

Pax - Lost in Translation (again)

Looks like I've found another "almost-the-same-but-weirdly-different" factor between the Aussies and Americans.

I've received an email from Soldiers Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ suggesting that I can send special happy packs of Valentine's treats to my adoptees.

Which seemed weird (to me) since they have a rather strict code of conduct you agree to before adopting any of the troops - most expressly that it's not a dating service and inappropriate behaviour will be sanctioned against.  [disclaimer to avoid any misconceptions. I try very hard to maintain a "just good friends" vibe with my current three adoptees.  They are all sweet guys but only one has turned out to be a true friend (ie. he accepts my quirkiness and mostly laughs *with* me). The other two (possibly in their own defence) seem to file me under "aussie amusement factor #1" and approach cautiously at all times. It's highly amusing!]

Over here (Australia) those that indulge* in the V day do so between lovers/couples only [or ex-lovers... I once sent a triffid substitute** to an ex - after all "say it with flowers - send one that can spit death & mayhem if you can" - sadly he thought it was the Best Joke eVr and fail to die 'orribly from plant spit]

So I'm guessing that in the USA the emphasis is on giving Things Of Pink & Red - no matter how tenuous the connection between parties? Is anything overt implied by the gifting or receiving??

Enlighten me Oh My Blogger-mates!

* "those that indulge" do not actually include my household as my boyfriend prides himself on being the anti-romancer (I'm thinking of designing him a super-suit to wear - probably liver and beans coloured with a slashed out heart in the middle).  Not that I'm bitter or anything - for the first few years of our relationship I would try to ensure that I kept the romance alive - eventually it dawned on me that one-sided romance could be seen as the first sign of obsession so I've let it slip quietly by the way

**Venus fly traps make wonderful Triffid substitutes!

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triffid

http://marionsmeepings.blogspot.com/

Pax Sleepious

I am down with another delightful ear infection (seems a constant state of being that I shall be blaming on the sticky humidity of our weather) and my Doctor has prescribed some pretty serious medication to try to get me back to hearing as well as I can.

Sadly, like all drugs, these ones have some major side-effects - to wit I'm not getting much sleep as the drug kicks my insomnia up to a new and intensive level. On the flipside my brain seems to be wanting to impersonate a Space Cadet (oooh Shiny things!!!) so I'm doing my darndest to keep a very low profile at work so they don't end up thinking I'm weirder than usual.  Oh and it's making my taste buds rebel so my normal sweet sweet caffienated goodness of Coke is *really* tasting like battery acid.

So low sleep and no caffiene - makes Pax pretty dangerous to herself if not the world around her [my bruises from walking in to things now have bruises :( ].

I'm also behind on communications - sorry - the simple act of being coherent is eluding me a bit. (oh and I have at least 2 drafts for the blog somewhere - I'll get back to those soon I promise)