“Why is a puck called a puck? Because dirty little bastard was taken.” —Martin Brodeur I’ve been excited about ice hockey ever since I saw Emilio Estevez and co.…

“The cool thing about being famous is travelling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff.” ~ Britney Spears I was sitting in the library…

For those of you who don’t know me, or don’t read my blog, the long story short is that it’s been a horribly heartbreaking month.  I have done much soul-searching and…

Hoping I can run today and get away faster Than ever from here Another night and who can say if leaving is better Than living in fear Here’s to all the broken hearts tonight…

I just booked a flight to go see Ames for Christmas in Canada. A fortnight ago, the plan to get on a plane would have excited me, but seemed preposterous. Now? I am cooped up at…

“My therapist listens silently to my most sinister darkness, my most bizarre fantasy, my most cherished dream. And I can scream, whimper, thrash, rage, exult, foam, celebrate. I…

I have a penchant for three types of men, in no particular order of preference: Canadian; bearded; and tattooed. Dallas Green is all of these things, but the reason I hero-worship…

“Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak knits up the o-er wrought heart and bids it break.” ~ William Shakespeare, Macbeth. I consider myself to be a fairly…

“Here I am at these crossroads again, wondering what will never become of me. Now and then, I’ll take one on the chin Because I wear my heart upon my sleeve.” ~ Jerod…

I’ve been holed up at home this week, recuperating.  What that means is a lot of time on the couch in my pyjamas, watching television and ringing a metaphorical bell so that…

“What strange creatures brothers are!” ~ Jane Austen I spent the weekend at Port Macquarie, with the parentals, my little brother and his family.  We were gathered for…

I’m writing this in transit between Melbourne and Sydney. I love airports. Sure, they are often sterile, with flickering, unflattering fluorescent lights and bland, soulless…

Considering the run-ins I’ve had with canines, it is surprising that I am so enthusiastic about them. When it comes to dogs, I am a ridiculous person. I become that person –…

As a kid, I unintentionally murdered my dad’s favourite song.  He listened to Canned Heat’s On the Road Again so much that I knew all the words by the time I was four.  I…

“We are attracted to repetition, even as adults; we want the stimulus and the reward again and again, and in music we get it. Perhaps, therefore, we should not be surprised,…

“Sister. She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your…

“When we were children, we used to think that when we were grown-up we would no longer be vulnerable.  But to grow up is to accept vulnerability…To be alive is to be…

I’ve said it in previous posts, my “thing” is to record the oftentimes hilarious comments of my students and friends and family. I use these quotes as my Facebook status…

Last weekend I spent a very leisurely Sunday morning with my great mate Gleese and her nearly-two-year-old, Bumblebee.  We chucked Bee in the pusher and meandered through the…

 “Be careful of entertaining the small talk of cancerous people, it will eat away at you and your joy.” ~ Unknown. I had Parent/Teacher Interviews last week. I wasn’t at…

“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” Abraham Lincoln My mum cops a lot of shit. She’s a good sport and she takes it well, but she does get more than…

A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a letter I wrote back in 2007. I had returned from London a year earlier and I was still pining for a city that I could never call home again…

“Dentopedalogy is the science of opening your mouth and putting your foot in it. I’ve been practising it for years.” ~ Prince Philip I’m known in my circles for my…

Last weekend I went to the footy with my family.  St. Kilda got slaughtered by a faster, superior Essendon, but that is not the reason I was angry and ready to punch on.  I pay…

“The mistakes I’ve made are dead to me. But I can’t take back the things I never did.” Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I was completely…

Like many (most?) people, I have a real-life bucket list that seems to keep growing with each passing day.  I also have a separate bucket list I would love to fulfil, but each…

 “Don’t go shaving, fellas.” ~ Alexander Antebi For a long time I didn’t think I had a type. Sure, I had a basic one-word preference (TALL!), but other than that I…

When I woke up yesterday morning, I flicked on the news while I made my coffee, like I always do.  Except yesterday morning, the media was all wound up about the unfolding events…

“Over time, we all become our own doppelgangers. These completely different people who just happen to look like us. Five years ago? That girl was pretty great. But doppelganger…

After Adele won an Oscar for Best Original Song (Skyfall), she was heckled about her weight by 79 year-old “comedian” – and I use that term loosely – Joan Rivers.…

“Sibling relationships outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of…

“The ball laughs, radiant, in the air. He brings her down, puts her to sleep, showers her with compliments, dances with her, and seeing such things never before seen his…

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And…

“I am glad it cannot happen twice, the fever of first love. For it is a fever, and a burden, too, whatever the poets may say.” Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca I really am my own…

“I can’t go back to yesterday – because I was a different person then.” Lewis Carroll To say that I was exhausted last Friday night would be an understatement. I was so…

Everyone has a “thing” these days. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying that they don’t have a thing, when in fact they clearly do – it’s just that the older I…

“Nicknames stick to people, and the most ridiculous are the most adhesive.” Thomas Chandler Haliburton Nicknames really are a double-edged sword. They can inflate…

“The great Gaels of Ireland are the men that God made mad, For all their wars are merry, and all their songs are sad.”  G.K. Chesteron, The Ballad of the White Horse. I went…

I was bored on Monday night.  Actually that’s not true.  I was marinating in my own juices in my hot-box of a flat and despite being tired, I knew I wouldn’t sleep if I…

If I am perfectly honest, I don’t understand a lot of what kids are saying these days.  Yeah, yeah, I’m an English teacher and all, but it is as if the next generation have…

The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley From To A Mouse, by Robert Burns The best part about being a teacher – other than the priceless relationships…

I think Blake Lively is exquisite.  If you let me, I could go on and on about her classic beauty and her fan-frickin-amazing hair and her fab Boston accent in The Town, but I…

“I think all of us are looking for that which does not admit of bullshit . . . If you tell me you can bench press 450, hell, we’ll load up the bar and put you under it.…

Weapons were all the rage in my little backwater town when I was a teen. From BB guns to shot guns, spud guns to lemon cannons – if it could project a missile, it was totally in…

This Saturday night just gone, Melbourne hosted the first of what I assume (hope!) will be an annual event – White Night. Whilst my city has its drawbacks – archaic public…

Today I had my first experience with cyber bullying, at age 32 and ¾.  In truth, it made me feel like shit – which is probably exactly what was intended.  I got the shakes,…

I have mentioned in previous posts that I went to a teeny-tiny high school in comparison to the one I work at now.  There were less than forty of us in Year 12 and many of us had…

I’ve written two previous posts about the things I cannot stand (aptly titled The Hate List – Parts I and II).  What I don’t like, says so much about the sort of person I…

When I started teaching at my current school – after a five year hiatus abroad and in a rural community – I hated it.  In truth, I had been offered a teaching position in an…

Without intentionally sounding like a know-it-all, I maintain that I didn’t really learn anything of value in my double-degree until I was put on the frontline.  I walked out…

I wrote a blog post a few weeks back (entitled ‘The Hate List’, as it turns out), about the things that shit me to tears and beyond belief.  A few mates commented that I’d…

I’m reading Tina Fey’s Bossypants at the moment.  I saw her hosting gig at the Golden Globes and remembered how much I like her – even if I haven’t seen 30 Rock for…

When I drove past Monash University in Clayton last week – my educational home for four years in my formative years – I expected a rush of memories, because that is just how…

There’s a lot to say for being Australian.  It seems like the older I get, the more patriotic I become.  Not so much so that I’m prepared to don an Aussie flag as a cape and…

I was reading The Age on the iPad this morning. Loving The Age online; loving the iPad. Anyway, in the Technology section – which I normally flick past lest I slip into a coma…

Truth be told, I’m feeling somewhat sorry for myself.  In waving goodbye to dairy, I’ve waved goodbye to half my diet.  The upside of that is that I may wake up looking more…

Pardon the cliché, but even though this incident occurred nine years ago – almost to the day, I’m guessing – I recall it with the clarity of yesterday.  When my boys get…

Everyone has a bucket list, I imagine – a mish-mashed collection of must dos before death.  Places they must see, people they must meet, experiences they must have.  From the…

For my last supper, be it on death row or death’s door for some other ambiguous reason, the menu would consist predominantly of all things dairy.  Be it blue cheese (Blue…

Last week I went to the Astor Theatre to see a double.  Two recently released films for $10. Yes, that’s right – TEN DOLLARS.  Considering it costs twice that to see any…

For about four or so years now, I have been recording a quote most days to use for my Facebook Status Updates.  The majority of the quotes come from the classroom – when the…

Dereck Herbert may have been out of the ring for over 30 years, but he still refuses to pull his punches. ** When I close my eyes and imagine a boxer, I see Sylvester Stallone in…

I think I’ve mentioned it on the blog somewhere before: I’ve been on a lot of dates; too many, in fact. So many that I am so far beyond dating that I’d just rather not;…

I must have eaten too much cheese in the past few days because I was dreaming in technicolour like I imagine dropping acid might be like.  Ordinarily, when people tell me about…

When I was twelve, I landed a part-time job at the local fruit shop.  I swept floors and stacked shelves and almost broke my back every Saturday morning as I moved banana boxes…

To my dear young friends (actually that is not entirely true, some of you are rather old and grey and fraying around the edges, but never mind), happy new year to you all.  No…

Last week I was exiting the Freeway near Chadstone-The-Fashion-Capital, when a dude on a motorbike in the other lane came off.  Taking the corner too hard, he laid his bike down…

Standing at a mere 166 centimetres tall, Geoff Ginnivan is hardly renowned for his stature.  He is “small, nifty and go-go-go” with a sprightly gait and youthful features…

Hi everyone, my name is Kate and I am a cinephile.  There, I said it.  The first step in recovery from any addiction is acknowledgement, right?  I love nothing more than…

They say (I don’t know who they are, but they did say it!) that one’s sense of smell is the greatest trigger of memory.  It is true, that every time I cop a whiff of Rexona…

WARNING: If you have an allergy to swear-bears, you may suffer an anaphylactic reaction to the following post.  Should you find the F-word offensive, discontinue reading…