Posts by Isabel Hitchings
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My mother-in-law just hung some photos of angel statues in her bedroom. My partner and I both walked in, took one look and said "there is NO WAY I could sleep in here with those".
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You can figure out what screened when here.
Which explains my sporadic childhood viewing - 5.30 was the time my parents were usually but not quite always home and insisting on my not being in front of the TV.
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I have to admit that I didn't really get into Dr Who as a kid. I could see it was something I would love if given a chance but it must have been on at an awkward time or something because I always seemed to come in on part four of a seven parter so never was able to actually make sense of it. This means that, in a very real way, Christopher Eccleston was my first. After all that Tennant he had faded a little in my memory but, rewatching that season with my kids, I am still enormously fond of him.
My kids are going to be getting Eccleston and Tennant simultaneously with the new dude - I wonder how that will affect who becomes the Doctor of their hearts?
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The trouble with the Listener covers is that they make me mad before I get to the article which means that I read in a hyper-critical frame of mind and am in danger of missing the good bits entirely.
I only still get it because I pay by direct debit and it would take actual effort to unsubscribe.
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I got my learners license when I was pregnant with my first but discovered that the wonky vision and general vagueness inherent to my condition meant I was even more of a road hazard than I normally would be. I got a few lessons when my son was a baby but it didn't come naturally and it's not much fun practicing piloting a deadly weapon around town with your pride and joy in the back seat. My youngest starts school later this year and maybe I'll try again then. Or maybe not.
I make a big effort not to ask for lifts and, in fact, usually turn down two or three offers for every one I accept. People don't seem to get that I quite like using my feet or taking the bus.
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Ya, ha, ha... ha, or, like I who recently picked up a set of velcro cycling gear, three pairs of orange and green overalls and a feather down duvet, for the princely sum of $12 , financially challenged people can shop at second hand shops, where the GST has already been paid by the wealthier original purchaser. Isn't it funny how the 'goods' part of GST only needs to be paid once, at first hand, leaving the the item less good, but the better deal.
But still not going to last as long as if it had been bought new.
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The summer I had to say goodbye to Taja, my friend for 17 years, and not shaping up to be a great vintage
Sympathy.
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We started the summer with a lovely Christmas with my folks in Nelson. We swam at Rabbit Island and drank wine in the sun and lazed around contentedly in between bouts of baking delicious things.
Back home and the weather was vile for most of the time the kids were off school so we stayed indoors and played a lot of Wii Sports Resort and read The Hobbit to the kids.
The absolute highlight of the summer though was all down to Emma who organised a reunion with many embarrassing old photos and embarrassing old friends. It was awesome and I'm fairly sure I haven't thanked her nearly enough.
Most of 2009 was distinctly crappy for our family (it seems to have been a rough one for a lot of the people I know) so our goal for this year is to focus on the stuff that makes us happy. So far we're doing pretty well :-)
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On the boards I frequent I find there are two main groups of people who come back under new usernames.
The first group are people are generally decent types who made one or two mistakes that got them banned (usually posting angry after someone hits a nerve). They usually announce themselves as "the poster formerly known as X" and get on with being decent (if feisty) board members.
The others are the serial nuisances who come and stir up trouble until they get booted off then come back with a whole new identity but the same writing style over and over again. This is so common that I tend to look at all new posters sideways for a while.
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Cut-and-paste to strip out a couple of overly contexty bits - I recently posted this at my infrequently updated and increasingly friend-locked blog
So how do we negotiate these spaces which are neither completely private nor completely public? Do we have to maintain 'company manners' on every blog post and bulletin board? Must we consider the possible reactions of every one of our (quite likely hundreds of) friends and followers before we Tweet or update our status? Or can we let it all hang out?
The best analogy I can come up with are that these spaces are like the front yard of a private residence. It is probably prudent to be aware of passers-by and build fences according to one's comfort level but, ultimately, only the resident can choose (within certain bounds of law) how that space is used. Constantly worrying what the neighbours will think is a terribly stultifying way to live and hugely decreases my capacity to enjoy such spaces.
There are also considerations when looking into someone else's space. Foremost is that the front yard often tells you very little about the inside of the house - very few people put all their stuff on display out there so it's reasonable to assume that you don't have, and probably never will have, the whole of the story. Also be aware that everyone has a different network of friends and neighbours and you may be hearing parts of conversations, jokes and disputes that go back a long time. Most of what you see and hear is not specifically directed at you and just because you can see someone doesn't mean they are aware that you are watching or awaiting a response.