My favourite book(s)

I love reading.  My two favourite books of all time are "Little Women" and "Good Wives", which are both usually lumped together under the "Little Women" title and are by Lousia May Alcott.  Most girls LOVE these books -they're well-written, they're romantic, and they're good to snuggle down with.  But they are also filled with lessons, many of which still apply today (remember Meg going to the Moffats? Jo nearly losing Amy because of her temper? Lessons about being true to yourself and not letting your temper get the better of you are lessons that most people would do well to remember today).  However, the thing I notice about the people who love these books (particularly the younger girls) are two things which I think are important to address:

1. They worship Jo and often discount her sisters.
2. They think Laurie and Jo should have been together.

Let's look at the first point.  All four March sisters are incredible women, who each had to grow into themselves and into the people who were fit enough to live out their hopes and dreams. Meg had to learn not to be so precious and to work hard, Jo had to learn to come down from the clouds and realise that she has duties and responsibilities, Beth had to learn courage to overcome her shyness, and Amy had to learn humility.

Meg was the oldest, and could still remember a time when her father was rich.  As such, she still yearned for the trappings of rich society, such as silks, servants etc.  She soon learnt that hard work is it's own reward, and married John, a man who would never be rich but who would keep Meg comfortable.  All Meg had to do was learn to pull beside him.

Jo was wild, stubborn and untamed.  She didn't gel well with other people, and it cost her a trip of a lifetime to the "Old Country" in Europe.  She had to learn to carry herself with dignity and grace, how to keep her temper, and how to interact with people.  She learnt these lessons so well that she not only became a better author, but became a teacher in her own Bhaergarten.

Beth was so shy she wouldn't even go to the Laurences to play the beautiful grand piano that she so longed to play until promises were made that she would never see anyone in the house.  While never become a social creature, she soon worked up enough courage to make old Mr. Laurence a beautiful pair of slippers which not only won her a piano of her own, but a dear friend she had all her life.

Amy was spoilt rotten, and would have been a snob if not for having to learn humility the hard way.  One of my favourite scenes is where she gets shafted by the Chesters at the fair.  What does she do? Turn the other cheek, and wins the respect of many.  She even gets to go to Europe because she has learnt to refine her manners so that she can still be polished without being stuck-up.

Each of the sisters has something special to offer us, and had their own demons to overcome.  So while I can understand where the Jo worship comes from, I think that by focusing only on Jo you lose the good qualities of the other three.

The second point is the Jo/Laurie pairing.  I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks these two were a good match is either a complete nitwit or has never experienced a relationship where you were too similar.  My ex and I were both prone to flash tempers, and anger tends to feed off anger.  It's easy to be scathing and mean when the person you are arguing with is also angry.  Next time I think I'll try and find a man who is more mellowed out and less prone to being angry - much like Jo and Laurie did.  Laurie found Amy, who was far too well-bred and classy to lower herself into an argument, and Jo found the Professor, who was too wise for a temper.

Just two things I have noticed about the fandom of my favourite book.

I was also looking at the team selection for the Lions game against Port on Saturday, and I was thrilled to see Nick Robertson listed.  I can't wait to see "Robbo" make his debut, hopefully his hardness at the ball is something that will translate from the NEAFL into the AFL - we desperately need it! 

Men's Health - Why don't they do something about it?!

Saw this on Twitter today (I love George Takei):

And I immediately face-palmed.  That graffiti is a symptom of an illness - a stigma where men will NOT take care of their health, thinking they'll be OK

Us women have it pretty good.  We've managed to organise plenty of awareness for things that plague us like cervical cancer and breast cancer, and raise a lot of money towards research and caring for the sick.  What do men have? Movember.  That's all I can think of.

For crying out loud boys, you're more likely to commit suicide, you're more likely to have heart and bowel problems, and we won't go into prostrate cancer, why aren't you boys banding together like us women have done and start raising awareness?  For crying out loud girls, why aren't we kicking their arses into gear?!  We're talking husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, friends, that could be taken down by any number of problems, and it's a battle and a half just to get them to a doctor sometimes!  The thing that REALLY shits me is the number of males I see commenting on the Internet saying "Where's our day for our cancers?" WHY AREN'T YOU OUT THERE MAKING ONE?!

You know what?  I'm going to start.  So, to my brother, fathers, and other male relations - from now on for your birthday I'm paying for you to have an annual check-up.  You are getting nothing else, you're just having me pay for you to go on a trip to the doctor.  Especially my Dads, who are both in their 40s/50s and need to start looking out for looming health problems.  What do you say girls?  They can't really refuse if it's a birthday present - and for older males particularly, it could save their lives.

Now that I'm done ranting, it's on to a team I like to call the Scums.  They're that plastic mob down the road on the Gold Coast, and they like to try and big-note themselves.  Last year it was having a picture of Daniel Rich on their website that had been defaced, now they're running Facebook competitions to caption a picture of a Lion with its paw across its face.  Seriously, they shouldn't be starting crap they can't finish, and the REAL war is fought on the footy field, not on social media.  If you want to be Queenslands Team, you need to grow the fuck up.

Games

I don't know if you could classify me as a gamer.  Don't get me wrong, my childhood hero is Sonic the Hedgehog and I still love playing a bit of Alex Kidd and Fantasy Zone, but I don't think I'm really a gamer.  I don't go looking for the latest games and consoles at all, and most mainstream games I probably suck at.

I do get addicted though.  Right now it's "Sonic Dash" on my Galaxy Note.  It used to be "Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire".  Before that it was "Plants vs. Zombies".  Before that was "Peggle".  Before that was "Sonic Chaos".  I just get hooked on a game and play it ad nausiem before moving on to the next one.  Mainly platformers and puzzles. I'm looking at "Airfix - Dogfighter" at the moment, so that could be my next addiction!

However, I have started a bit of an institution at work - first it was "Counter Strike", now it's "Unreal Tournament - 2004".  Of course, I don't "play" so much as I simply get my arse handed to me.  I'm still adapting to the controls, but I already have a favourite weapon - the Minigun.  Nothing beats a good rapid-fire, hold-down-the-mouse-key weapon that sprays bullets everywhere.  It's not as powerful as the Rocket Launcher, and needs a bit more precision, but once you let it rip it's bloody good.  Second favourite is the Link Gun, especially it's beam function that lets out a continuous stream of energy.  A bit more powerful than the Minigun, but not quite as satisfying.

Overall, gaming is fun, but I'd rather be outside going for a run or gardening.  Hopefully when the weather is milder I can get the team outside on the grass for a bit of cricket.  I think I might have a bit more of an advantage there!

In other news, port adelaide (deliberately not using capitals) won.  UGH! The only thing worse than a port win is a Lions loss - and hopefully we don't see one of those tomorrow.  I went to training this morning and felt for the players out there in the heat - if tomorrow is anything like today, then there will be some very sick boys coming off after the game from both teams.

After the game is going to be the Ressies, which I am VERY glad to see back at the Gabba.  Hopefully because it's after the Seniors and at the Gabba there will be a bigger crowd than usual.

GO LIONS!

The Season has started!

YAY! Footy season is BACK! For anyone who doesn't know me (and I doubt there are too many people who DON'T know me who will be reading this, but if you're one of those people then big hugs!) I am a die-hard fanatical Brisbane Lions fan who last season took it upon herself to go to every Lions game in a season - including flying to Melbourne, Sydney, Tasmania, Darwin, Adelaide and Perth.  And anyone who knows me knows that I can be rather superstitious and believe 100% in the Footy Gods and Karma.  Which is why I try all week to be the best I can be, so hopefully the Footy Gods smile down on my team and I and give us a win.  Doesn't always work, but it's incentive for trying to be good I guess.

Speaking of being good, I just finished week 2 of the Couch to 5kms program.  I tried this earlier in the year before being uprooted from Kangaroo Point to New Farm which completely threw me out of whack, and I ended up giving up at this point.  I still did the International Womens Day 5km Fun Run (raising money for Mater Hill and Breast Cancer research, I got up to $100) and didn't do too badly (IMHO) so I'm trying again to train up.  This time I'm looking at doing the ANZAC Run (6kms) on the 27th April, this time raising money for Legacy, who support the familes of our serving men and women.  So, hopefully this time nothing trips me up and I can complete the program and get fit again (I am seriously overweight at the moment.  It's embarrassing).

Anyway, I'm going to get ready to head to Redlands to watch the Brisbane Lions Reserves boys do their thing (even though I have a bit of a soft spot for Redlands), then I'll either head to Lions@Springwood or head home to watch the senior boys take on Hawthorn in Tassie.  Hopefully my boy Joel Patfull can continue his brilliant form from last year - I've already got him down for his third Club Championship.  Other players I'm keeping an eye on are Justin Clarke, Michael Close, James Aish and Squizzy...and if I ever remember what Squizzy's name actually is I'll tell you.  Close, Aish and Squizzy are making their senior debut today, and Clarke is a young budding defender, and I love my defenders.

ANAZC Run: www.anzacrun.com 

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Today's Person of Interest: My best friend His Royal Highness Prince Morgan Beaglehoven I.

Okay, not a person, but still the best friend I have ever had.

DOB: 8 August 1997 (Age 16)
Place of Birth: Unknown
Favourite Food: Anything edible
Favourite Pastime: Eating
Best trait: Highly Intelligent
Worst trait: Has a habit of following his nose into trouble