The only place where I can rant and rave about politics and not piss people off……because if you don’t like it then stop reading!!!!!!!!

Will Hodgman- whiney as fuck little private school boy, does not understand anything and like most liberal candidates, spends the majority of his time telling everyone else what they are doing wrong without actually providing a viable or educated solution or counter argument. Really hope he is not reading this. Might try and woodchip me.

Thumbs up or down? Definitely a big thumbs down.

Nick McKim- have mixed feelings about this dude. Generally have a favourable disposition to anyone in the greens, however lately have lost a bit of faith in him since mostly he just talks and not much action, although I understand that he is Lara Gidding’s bitch for a reason.

Thumbs up or down? At this point, up. I appreciate that he admitted he made a mistake with the schools thing, shows he has a heart. Should not have gone into politics for this reason.

Lara Giddings- just because someone is a woman does not mean they are great (Julia Gillard is a good example). After I heard the condescending way she spoke to colony 47 people on the news I formed an intense dislike for her. However I do not think she will go to hell for her sins.

Thumbs up or thumbs down? I know this is cheating, but I’m gonna have to say inbetween.

Andrew Wilkie- MY HERO!!!!! Fucking love this guy! Probably the only local politician I like at all. What does he stand for? Pokie reforms, banning live export, transparency and honesty in politics, and so far, everything that has come out of him mouth, I agree with! Never felt this way before…..could it be love? (sorry Nick) okok Don’t worry Andrew, I am not a home-wrecker. Anyway! Vote Wilkie!

Thumbs up or down? I regret to say that on the day of writing this article, Andrew Wilkie actually said something I didn’t like ): so it’s a thumbs down…… KIDDING! AN ENTHUSIASTIC THUMBS UP! :D you rule and I hope you read this!

David Bartlett- don’t care how much shit he got for anything he did while he was in power, I like him, I think he is a really nice guy and the media is good at spinning things (does not apply for Liberals since they own everything). An added bonus is that he mentioned me in a speech to some students for a presentation night (because I was all up in arms about school uniforms at leavers dinners), however I think he is better off in IT.

Thumbs up or down? Thumbs up!

Sneaka peek- Penny #4

Lover I don’t have to love

Someone once said to me “love is the biggest time waster”. At first I denied the truth of it, furiously, thinking to myself quietly, “Yeah but Love CAN be useful, like John and Yoko? They used their love to actually do something. People don’t see their love as a waste of time, in fact, they were a force to be reckoned with.” MOST BEATLES FANS WOULD NOT AGREE WITH THIS LOGIC! In fact, quite the opposite. 

Not just content with Splitting up the world’s most famous band, additionally, Yoko made John stay in bed all day with her and talk about an ideal world where animals and humans from all walks of life may live in peace and harmony blah blah blah. If this scenario sounds familiar, like it does to me, then you are in for some bad news. My friend was right, love IS the biggest time waster. 

Love is only groundbreaking, useful or helpful if you are famous, or you are somehow contributing to society in some amazing way, like feeding homeless people because you are inspired by that special someone to make the world a better place. Ok, maybe a bit of an overstatement, but if that ‘special someone’ is turning you into a jealous pathetic fatty with no friends, then maybe it’s time to get out. 

In my year and some months relationship I have missed more parties, opportunities to see friends and/or recreational drug and alcohol abuse + teenage adventuring than I should have. I really believe that. It’s not that we couldn’t have done these things together. 

The problem was, and is, that given the choice, I’d rather curl up in bed and talk about the aforementioned ‘perfect’ society (you know, the only where animals don’t die etc) than go out and destroy brain cells with my friends (like I should be). It’s now at that critical point where it wreaks havoc on my self-esteem, productivity not to mention attractiveness (hello unshaved legs). I’m not proud of it, obviously, but basically it’s the choice between being single and getting my old life back or keeping that person that means so much but wallowing (occasionally) in a frustratingly comfortable middle-class nothingness. The feeling of being empty and complete at the same time (which is the worst type of either, as it’s a greedy, ungrateful emptiness, or an incomplete ‘complete’) And whenever these feelings arrive- it’s straight back to the source of the anguish, like a drug addict, itchy not to miss a fix. Unstoppable and lusting for that feeling of understanding and unconditional love. NOOO! 

When in the past I would have actually gone out, got drunk- and got over it, I now just leave it stewing in a pot hoping I won’t bubble over when someone asks why I didn’t  go to the Cygnet Folk Festival. Is it wrong for an 18 year old to feel like they are ‘settling down’?

Something about that phrase in conjunction with my relationship status makes me reel. Could it really be the case that I would actually prefer to be single? After a day of comfort eating, walking around my room, looking at things and crying because no-one will reply to my texts, I finally sat down and wrote this article, one of it’s kind in many moons. And this pitiful bid to get people to feel sorry for me and forget that I’ve neglected them the past few months is the most proactive I’ve been for Penny for ages. Literally. It makes me feel sick in the stomach. 

SO, to anyone out there- in particular my past or future single self: One GREAT thing about being solo is that, for some reason you always seem to have the drive, passion, creativity and independence to do whatever the fuck you want when you are single- and I don’t just mean in that ‘Night out with the gals spotting man candy’ way. 

What I mean is that because you will have learned to get out of a rut (whether it be creative, social- whatever) independently or with a little help from your friends, you attain a belief in yourself that a boyfriend or girlfriend, unfortunately, cannot give you, but that you end up giving yourself, after walking along the long and winding road- by yourself.

Renovations partially complete, have to do a post because NICK put a link to here from his blog.

Well I has just began to rain outside. So I feel that sitting on the computer and fucking around on blogger is justified. Sort of. However, consuming half a croissant AND a piece of toast for breakfast is probably not. One thing about using a blog is that you have to be a well practised typer. And speller. This is because there is no spell check in the post area, which I rely on so heavily when typing. For anyone out there considering beginning a blog, there are a few things I would have found helpful to know before beginning. They should have an easy access FAQ page on Blogger (if you choose to use Blogger over Blogspot) with info on how to modify the HTML. Obviously you are not going to want to use their pre-made templates as they are significantly lame.

Basically the first thing I wanted to change was the look of the 'Header' (where the title and blog description are) for example, the font (more than the default ones they provide) perhaps a photo behind the title, to personalise it, and a border. These things aren't hard to modify after some searching on google. But just for those that cbf doing that, here is what I found the easiest.

To change (or create) a border for your header, go into SETTINGS --> EDIT HTML --> if you have a Mac, hold down Command + F if you have a PC, Ctrl + F, and this will create a search bar at the top of the page. Search for: .post-outer, .inline-ad { border-top: 0px solid $(post.border.bevel.color); This will create a border.

To change the thickness, simply change the 0px to whichever number is desired (I think I changed mine to 15). To change the colour, copy a code from the text colour pickers (the combination of letters and numbers above the colour pallets) For example, the colour I chose was bright fuchsia, and the code was #c0006a. Simply add this code in beneath the code you pasted into the HTML section.

Daddy's Wedding

Firstly, this is the Zine pretty much the whole blog is meant to be about. It's called Penny and this is the cover of issue #2

Wow. It uploaded Larger than I expected. Penny was/ is a collection of thoughts, insights, photos and musings. Hopefully it will be more interesting /relevant/ more contributors? in the future. Here is a couple of scans I found from the first issue. (which i cannot find the cover of at this time).

Launceston- I've been more times than I care to remember this month...

Well, actually, that is a bit of a lie. Despite it's lousy reputation, (being not only Tasmanian, but Tasmanian minus the Derwent river and Mt Wellington), I did not let these old stereotypes cloud my view of this not-so-small city. As you can tell by the title of this post.

Upon arrival the first night (coming via the back route AKA - Scottsdale) I was extremely surprised by the sheer size of it! It looked bigger than Hobart (yeah I know, so on the mainland, not that big) but! You get the picture.

Not that this map would help anyone not from Tasmania.....

The reason for our travels to the lands of our estranged cousins (ha ha ha he he cue shit joke about us having sexual relations) was actually because of a one off decision to put aside my morals and values and work for a catering business. The function was a wedding in Bicheno,the bride being a close friend of Will (FunKtion catering), who was hiring us for the job, so the pressure was kinda on. Oh yeah, and did I mention, THERE WAS NO KITCHEN! Yep, the chef's were spewin'! So that was a shaky start. Oh no wait hang on, that wasn't the shaky start...NICK* LOCKING HIS KEY IN THE CAR WITH THE ICE BAGS IN IT WAS. This is the general timeline of events...

Arrive, 5 minutes early, great,got the ice, makes a nice impression (we'd never met Will before that). Got out of the car, ok here comes Will... "India" "What?" "I just locked my keys in the car" *morbid glare* "You have GOT to be fucking kidding me Nick" "No, I'm not kidding.".....................anyway I maganaged to steal and disfigure one on the wedding attendees coathangers and Will, yes WILL Jimmied the lock whilst we were being Debriefed. Ugh, worst first impression EVER.

Anyway, aside from the stress of work, check out the beautiful white sandy beach (taken the next day).

Token beach photo for a blog.

Me nd ma boy, more relaxing timez.
So, from there, we ventured to the Bicheno blowhole (a crack in some rocks where water sprays up when a wave comes- blowhole sounds better though), and despite it being windy, it was a beautiful sunny day, it always seems to be that way on the east coast! Here is a photo of me being brave next to the blowhole:

And,me freakin' it.....

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Once we were on the road again, it dawned on us that we had some time to kill before our host in Launnie would be home, so we made like tourists and took photos of everything that wasn't interesting.

*For those of you who have not yet guessed, Nick is indeed my boyfriend

Drinking the juice of Weber's Blue Agave- otherwise known as Tequila.

I had my first experience involving tequila the other day (this blog will be full of firsts I'm sure) and it started out harmless enough. I was invited to a Cuban party, and if my grade one geography is correct,Cuba is somewhere near Mexico.

Anyway, tequila, as I discovered with surprise, is actually made from a specific type of Agave (variety of cactus) and may only legally be called so if it originates certain regions of Mexico. Farming practices - despite major commercial level production - remain largely unchanged since the 1600s. The proper name of a "Tequila farmer" is a Jimadore. They have exclusive knowledge involving the accurate harvesting
of the agave plant. The red dirt that agaves grow in is actually the result volcano eruptions, hence the exclusive nature of of the plant and arguments surrounding the legitimacy of certain companies that produce Tequila outside of Mexico.

Enough of the brief history of Mexico's famous spirit, and back to the Cuban party.

It all started out well, drinking with friends on the recently functional deck (you may notice that the balustrade in the background actually doesn't have panels in it, a major OHS hazard considering it's three stories) and an amazingly Cuban outfit on my part.

The party was small but fun, here is the photo evidence: