Stranger in a Strange Land - Stay awhile (the old lady wrap up)

 In a fit of enthusiasm, I decided we'd do the full day (12 hours) at the EB Games expo - which would have been fine but with 2 under the 15 age limit, requiring parental supervision, it meant I needed to be in 2 places at once (or arguing with one child), pretty much all day.

In a brief non-gamer wrap up, here's what I learnt:

1. I don't care what you gamers say, I loved Disney Infinity Star Wars and I'm a kick-ass Jedi.

2. Apparently you can spend the whole expo in Nintendo and a jumping castle, requiring your mother to read her book in the walkway in between (where she can thankfully supervise both children). Under duress I managed to get them to look at a few other things (I loved the Lego and can't wait for Art of the Brick: DC Comics, by the way).

3. I can catch all the Yo-Kai, which probably means you need to make the game harder, Nintendo,  because I don't know how to use a DS. (It has just occurred to me, maybe I'm a naturally awesome gamer...)

4. There were some families where everyone dressed up - my favourite, the Pay Day family that had little 6 year olds in suits, clown mask with guns, the whole bit.  Everyone, except the teen, who refused to be a party to it, or even walk near them. Proving that whatever you do, as a parent of a teen, is an embarrassment and uncool. If you think otherwise, you're deluding yourself.








5. A lot of mothers were in Cosplay while their kids weren't. I've decided this is because it's probably the only time they're not completely invisible or overshadowed by their kids. Or maybe they just like it.

6.  A Wookie just has to turn up to win the dance off and it's all over. Even if the other team are acrobats and the Wookie just stands there, the Wookie wins.

7. I may've squealed when Boba Fett came out to Kanye's Power (it was just too much of the things I like at once).


8. As much as I love the song, there is a limit to how many times I can listen to All I do is Win. I know it's my fault for spending 6 hours in the same spot, but even so, it was every 4 minutes. So I make that at least 90 times in one day. In case you want to walk a mile in my shoes, here it is:

9.I did laugh out loud more than once at the Terminator vs WWE ad....classic!


10. I've said it before, the gamers themselves make this event. The cosplayers are awesome, and the crowd are so patient. They happily wait 2 to 3 hours in line, and no one pushes in or complains**. Everyone is polite and happy. It's a really nice vibe, and these days, that's something to celebrate.

* I'll admit I did complain that after spending a squillion dollars to get the 6 year old in, I was then expected to fork out more money for the jumping castle. That should be included, EB Games! The amount of money you got for me and her not to play games would have paid for the jumping castle outright!



Linking with #FYBF and #UltimateRabbithole

Back & Bleary eyed

We went off on a short jaunt, over to Krabi, via Singapore (the long way to shave costs). I've been washing and shopping and all the dreary unpacking. All holiday joy long forgotten. Well, not forgotten but momentarily feeling a long way off.

But something that made me smile, as we settle back into our pedestrian routine, is the kids asking if they can drink from the tap in the apartment (we moved a week before we left for the holiday). Young travellers take so much in their stride more than we ever did.

As I struggle to wake up in the mornings (and go to sleep at night), my body clock refusing to move back into local time, even though the time difference was just a few hours, I am struck by the thought that sometimes it's the smallest change that is hardest to accommodate. Maybe we need to allow ourselves a little more slack when it comes to embracing change. Even the small ones need a little time for adjustment.

Looking forward to writing again, and I trust everyone had a wonderful holiday or at least a fabulous long weekend!

Linking for #MummyMondays

Little Prince - Global Explorer

Some of these worked, most didn't, but that hasn't deterred me from sharing...

Linking with #BlueMondays and #RubyTuesdayToo for the palette photo

First of the Month Fiction - October

In the worst week to lose internet access, I am rushing this before I go.

She screamed in anger at him. Now she was crying hysterically, frustrated he didn't understand. She swore but it wouldn't make a difference. If only she'd got the epidural earlier!

I'm offline until October - will be all over it when back.

Enjoy the hols.

An InLinkz Link-up

Newbies, a story in 100 words exactly or one less than 30 words in the comments below. Then add your blog above so we can see more of your work.

I didn't vote for him

There's a lot of talk on Facebook about the challenge and Abbott supporters are disillusioned with the party because "I didn't vote for him". Well, yes you did.

If you are old enough to vote, you are old enough to know how our Government works. You vote for the party (and policies) not the person. The party chooses the person. It is a safety net system. I admire what both Malcolm and Julie said last night (a) on the system & how it works (shame on us that was even necessary) and (b) on the climate change figures already announced for Paris (while I don't AGREE with those figures, I think she did the right thing by taking the notion off the table that they somehow weren't towing party lines).

We, the Australian people, need to grow up. We need to listen to the policies and stop being distracted by the media shenanigans. Political posturing shouldn't be sound bites and photo ops.  

The same needs to be said to all the left leaners that are celebrating the new guard.  What he had the freedom to say as an MP is not the same as what he can do as PM, regardless of what he personally thinks. That is what makes it a stable system of government, regardless of changes in leadership.

If you were happy with the Abbott Govt, you will be happy with the Turnbull Govt. If you were unhappy with the Liberals being in power, you still will be.

Before the next election, I am hoping we wise up, educate ourselves on the policies and vote carefully, no matter what your political leanings.

As per always, you're entitled to your opinion however I will delete anything disrespectful to the politicians themselves, or other commentators.

The Little Prince - Suburban Adventures

When we were in Cambodia, there was a fabulous exhibition by Photographer Vincent Nguyen. As the movie is about to be released, I've noticed people have taken to copying the idea, and photographing the Little Prince around the world, and sharing on social media.




I've joined in the craze, but mine are more suburban. (I'm sure the Little Prince Haunted is on it's way...)

Stole the show

So just a quick one while I fail at #SocialSeptember twenty four hours into it...I've been listening to Stole the show by Kygo, the DJ Power mix, and it's so upbeat and happy, and then for some reason I googled the words (even though I'd been singing along for days) only to discover that it's a really sad song about the end of a relationship. What?!?!?! (I thought it was about some technical difficulties but still being a huge success...overcoming adversity, that kind of vibe. Who says I just hear what I want to hear?)

Has anyone else had this extended version of MondoGreen when you thought a song was about something, only to discover it was about something else entirely?

Still attempting to limit my online (while moving house and having a breakdown holiday) so in THEORY, see you in October.

PS This is not the version I'm listening to but it's the closest I can find with a clip to embed - not that this is a clip really.... and it's not wanting to embed *GAR!*
http://www.myvideo.de/musik/the-workout-crew/stole-the-show-extended-workout-mix-video-m-11961810

Linking for #WWU and #TIK