Well, look at that date! I can't believe it's gone so quickly. 2004 will be upon me in no time, and that's the crunch. I remember, saying to my partner, " Let's create life in 2004". He said "Ok", but asked me if was I to be pregnant or have a child by that time, I was stumped. I couldn't commit either way. I probably chose 2004 because it seemed so far away at the time. Time keeps going and stops for no-one. I look back at the 2 1/2 years it took to complete my Masters and think, "Well, there's another milestone gone". I going to be forty....when? One day...

My priority now is to find my dream job, or close to it, and in my spare time, write childrens books at a desk in a room over-looking my cottage garden. Mmmm, I can even smell the lavender.

What's all this about? Yes, I did something minor to my template and completely f***ed it up. But, I did some triksey stuff and it all came back. Yeah, big deal...but it's my deal. Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

It's been ages since I've actually written anything. I am doing a lot of exploring and reading though. I'm always curious to know what's going in the world visually and I've found a good site with world web cams. It doesn't include alot of places but I guess the person who created the site just included touristy destinations.

There's a great one for Las Vegas in the wedding chapel. You get to see people getting married in real time! DTM and I want to get married by Elvis is Las Vegas in the future!

I started looking into web cams because when I cam back from my 15 month stint in Canada, I was homesick for Banff (that's where I mostly stayed). There is an Eye on Banff that I visit quite bit. It helps ease my pain.

XS Clothing Woman wins again! That would be the title of the newspaper article. Let me share my moment of glory with you all. The day of chairing the meeting had come. That morning, at my computer, I felt a rise of nausea that rivelled the time I went on a melbourne show ride against the wishes of all who knew me. No, I didn't vomit on the keyboard but needless to say, it rated in the top 5. As 1.00 pm approached I felt all the more out of control.

I went into the meeting room and as I watched everyone eating, looking around at them all, something happened. I was calm, professional, polite and goddamn stylish. So, where did this come from? I'll tell you. It's always been there, but it's been hidden under a huge pile of negativity and low confidence. People who know me well, know this to be true. Those who don't, think that it's an act.

I didn't need the assistance of XS Clothing Woman (although she was at hand in case). I now feel that I have climbed onto a level that is big enough for me to move around. Most people have fears and phobias about something. It's feeling the fear and doing it anyway. Now that's exhilarating!

I hope this philosophical perspective has not scared you off, but instead, drawn you into my world!

Well, I've gotten out of chairing meetings at my work for about 4 years now (this honour is rotating amongst the employees every month). I've had a good run but the very idea of reading the previous meetings minutes gives me anxiety. So, I'm going to get to the bottom of this fear in a couple of paragraphs. Ahem. Right. Let's go. So.....what's on the telly? Okay, okay.

I'm speaking to you as a normal person, without my XS Clothing Woman Superhero outfit ( 10 layers of clothing yadda, yadda.) Let's demystify this fear. I sit at a huge table with my fellow employees and enjoy a free lunch of what ever is rostered for that month and drinks. After everyone has gorged themselves (20 minutes later) the meeting is opened by the chairperson and IT begins. I read the first item in the Items Outstanding list and wait for the response to be written down by the minute taker and then procede to the next item. So, what's hard about that you ask. Nothing. So why do I avoid this? I avoid this because I think that I'll have a panic attack and make a fool of myself. So what, you ask. So what indeed. No-ones perfect...only XS Clothing Woman is. And that's the answer. I shall chair the meeting as XS Clothing Woman, Superhero to the chilly and chairperson extraudinaire. I shall bump the heating to maximum making everyone take their minds off the meeting, and concentrate on their discomfort. Ha Ha Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Hang on. XS Clothing Woman is NOT evil... but I can safely say that Dr Evil is a distant relation on my mothers side (not Chloe with the webbed feet, his REAL mother). Muuhhhaaa! Muuhhhhaaaaaa, Muuuhhhhaaaaa, Haaa Haaa , Haa. mmmmmm

I managed to get some footage of my nephews doing what comes naturally....running around and screaming at the tops of the lungs. Absolutely hilarious. I recommend that anyone who wants to tire out some very hyperactive kids, get them to run through the living area into the hallway and around back into the living area...until they drop. But, be warned, it takes a while for them to tucker out but it does happen. Then while their puffing they want hugs and stuff. I got lots of stuff I can use for my short film. People say, never work with children or animals. Well, it's kind of true. Kids have a short attention span, so unless you're filming them mucking about, you need to be patient.

I found that after about an hour Luis was getting a bit tetchy, but generally both he and Alex were very co-operative. These kids could be the next generation Hollywood superstars. I hope they remember that they got their big break in being in their Auntie XS Clothing Womans short film. I can hear their Oscar speech now,

"I'd like to thank the cast and crew and the director and my Aunt for making my dreams come true".

I've been pretty slack these past weeks. But, I did read two books and see a few movies as well as study while still having some free time to do that voodoo that I do so weellllll!. Ok, enough. I don't really have anything to say at this stage. This week, I'll be busy shooting the footage that I'll be using to create my short film. I've got access to a really good digital camera and I have my story board ready and I'm just waiting for a nice sunny day. It's raining at the moment by the way.

Ok, It's been ages but I have a really good reason. I've been conducting a study about bum wiping. Are you a folder or a scruncher?

Sometimes, people are in a category of their own I've noticed (..but we'll get into that a bit later).

So, I went around to my fellow colleagues and put it to them. After the initial shock of being asked such a personal question, they appeared quite eager to relay the details of their water closet habits.

So far out of 20 people;

17 are folders
2 are scrunchers and
1 appears to do a weird move with the last couple of squares of paper while leaving the other end to billow like some kite tail (what the...?).

What does this say about scrunchers and folders and others?
I'm a scruncher. I thought it was like a fifty-fifty thing. This information so far has me thinking. What is the correlation between paper preparation and personality type? Is there a correlation? There has to be some sort of meaning here.

The XS Clothing Woman Bio

Ever been really cold and you crawl into bed with your woolley socks and thermals under your PJs and a thick doona? Yeah, me neither since I became...Excess Clothing Woman (you have to say it in a booming voice).

I use my super powers to help the cold people of this world. Just the other day, I felt a disturbance in my hot water bottle (it shakes when it senses cold suffering anywhere). Quick as a flash, I was dressed in 10 layers of clothing (I won't go into that now because..I don't know layers) and armed with a huge cardigan (like the one Starsky used to wear in Starsky and Hutch) and a scarf, I flew to the rescue of Lorraine who was at the train station feeling very cold indeed.

There are many happy endings like this (I won't go into them now...I don't know endings). What I do know is episodes. I invite you to read the mind blowing true stories and escapades of XS Clothing Woman, Superhero to the cold and chilly.