It’s Not All Puppies and Kittens

It feels a little odd to be celebrating anything given the state of the world right now, but for a moment of self indulgence and reflection – I’m another year older today(well, yesterday by the time I post this). Meanwhile over here on the east coast of Australia, we have one state under water and another engulfed in hellish flames. It seems sort of inappropriate to be cheery about anything right now. It’s hard not to be affected by the extent of devastation and destruction, not to mention the feeling of sheer helplessness, inadequacy and awe in the face of natures fury. There are many hundreds of tireless emergency services people and volunteers out there working selflessly to help others in need but sadly Mother Nature is bigger than all of us.

Birthday celebrations were low key. A sleep in, tea and toast on bed. The announcement from MrIT that my presents were, quote, “In my (his) pants”. Charming. An iPod nano to replace my now almost vintage 1st gen Shuffle, plus an accessories kit. Shared nachos for lunch, a 1hr massage (a.k.a paying small change for the opportunity to be pummeled into tiny pieces by an angry little Asian wo/man) and a sojourn around a giant bookstore to spend Christmas gift vouchers. Yes, more books – though in true style, there were 3 for 2 and 30% off the 4th… and no, there were no screams of pain from MrIT either.