Piss funny study in random shots

Whilst on the never ending task of merging our lives, my darling husband and I stumbled across some old shots from various parties, bbqs, picnics, pubs and other places of meeting and too much drinking!

Thought you all might like a look at some of the funnier ones....join our walk down memory lane!
John and Bron at my 24th birthday hat party at my flat in Ryde
Me, Matt and Alex (same party)
The Flit's (John's water party, Australia Street)
Skydiving...big hair all round!
New Years Eve 2003
dirty smoker and party boy...ahh good times (in cowra)
Strike a pose! nye 04 Hawks Nest

I've got loads more, but maybe I'll save them for another post.

China agonises over leg-stretching surgery

Wednesday Oct 11 13:28 AEST

BEIJING - China has warned image-conscious citizens against using the rack to lengthen their legs after several such operations went badly wrong, Xinhua news agency said.

Ten people were reported to have been disfigured after they underwent stretching surgery last year, it added.

The operation, which involves breaking the patient's legs and then stretching them on a rack, has become popular among young professionals "desperate to climb up the ladder in the country's height-conscious society", Xinhua said, without trying to pull anyone's leg.

"Leg-lengthening surgery is a clinical orthopaedic treatment, not cosmetic surgery," ministry spokesman Mao Qunan was quoted as saying.

"Leg-lengthening surgery must only be carried out for strict medical reasons and performed in authorised hospitals."

State media have said profit-obsessed small clinics sold the operation hardest to increasingly wealthy Chinese in the cities, who have taken to cosmetic surgery such as breast enlargements with enthusiasm.

Height is usually listed as a requirement for jobs or certain schools in China. Many employers require women to be over 1.65m and men over 1.70m.

It is also an important factor in courting, when many Chinese women expect their partners to be over 1.70m and men also care about their potential wives' height to avoid short offspring.

As a result, calcium supplements and other "height-enhancing" medicines are always among the best sellers at Chinese pharmacies.

"It is very risky for healthy people who only complain about being short," Mao was quoted by Health News as saying of the operation.

fdirya

Good for five minutes of fun.

If ever you think reading The Grapes of Wrath is a good idea, do yourself a favour and read this one instead. (I speak from experience)

For those familiar with Trigger Happy TV.

Anytime is a good time for spirit fingers!

....or so Rohan says.

Anyway I am reading this book at the moment called Mr Nice. Anyone heard of it? It's about a guy called Howard Marks. Apparently he is Britain's biggest and most famous dope smuggler. He was a smuggler from 1974 till 1988 when the DEA busted him and successfully extradited him from Spain to the US to face charges. During the mid 1980s, Howard Marks had forty-three aliases, eighty-nine phone lines, and twenty five companies trading throughout the world. He was laundering money through most of these companies and using it to buy hash from Amsterdam, Pakistan/Afghanistan, Columbia, The Philippines, Bangkok, Vietnam and Germany. At the height of his career he was responsible for trafficking 10% of the worlds marijuana!

His story is certainly entertaining...the sh*t this guy pulls is impressive...but I can't really say I LIKE the man, but then it is very hard to dislike him completely. He is certainly charming and full of dashing bravado, but his fatal flaw in my opinion is that he is fundamentally selfish. I can't stand selfish people! Howard sees everything from Howard's point of view and while he will empathise with those who agree with him, he can't seem to understand why drugs aren't legal and what on earth he could possibly be arrested for!! He subjects his wife and kids to a life on the run, while they are living in 5 star luxury all the way, they are still on the run and when the DEA finally catches up with him, both he and his wife are slung in jail while the kids are shipped around various friends and relatives (some of whom are abusive) and deprived of seeing their mother for years on end.

I read an interview with Judy (his wife) and their 3 kids....the oldest daughter is a criminal lawyer, the second daughter is a yoga instructor (Howard credits yoga as one of the tools that helped him through his jail term) and the son is studying Spanish (Howard lived in Mallorca Palma Spain for the 10 odd years leading up to his arrest). It was very interesting to read about the psychological effects his behaviour has had on Judy and the kids. A good book for seeing how the other half live and hearing of their escapades from their own mouths. If you would like a fascinating sociological read, then this is your book. I would warn you however to keep reminding yourself what Howard's occupation is and read between the lines of his rather ego-centric story. He admits to megalomania leanings, and I think this book is a perfect example of this!

Just as a side note: He is the strangest looking man ever! I don't mean he has like physical deformities, he just never looks the same in any two pictures. He has very heavy features and they seem to almost move around his face so he never looks the same. Check him out here

Monday Wash Up (minus the photos)

Grrr! As I sat down to compose this post I realised my trusty little camera was no where to be seen. Down the hallway I trudged to my handbag to find it....Not there either, a few minutes of frantic searching and a reassuring but frustrating phone call later, and my camera is in Cabarita!

This weekend was FAR TOO SHORT! I guess that is what you get after a month off and a long weekend before! I think last weekends escapades have somehow damaged my ability to handle any alcohol, three beers on Friday night had me feeling a little worse for wear and in need of going home. Saturday brought: moving for Mattes, G'Nick and John & Shari; Flying to the UK for Sarah; furniture shopping for the Flitcrofts and homecomings for Bron.

After canceling our Footy training, the House of Fillet and the House of Chicken took the initiative to have our own mini training session down at the cemetery at the end of Atchison Street. The house of Fillet was victorious with a 7-5 win. Both Bron and I suffered flattenings from the boys, and G'Nick swore he was going to have a heartattack, but it was great fun anyway.

Sunday afternoon brought a sweet and savoury delight. After crap directions, we finally found G'Nick's temporary abode. OMG! What fantastic water views and what a schmick place! I' love to post you some photos, but as I told you before I left my camera (with all the piccies) in Cabarita!!! Grrr!! I will have to edit this post later in the week and add them.

So while lots of things happened over the last two days, we are now back at work (well not John & Shari...they're putting in a new floor to their new house!). Joy oh Joy!