Very limited Internet time this week, as my friend Kelly is visiting and I’m showing her the sights of Sydney. On her very first day, the beeatch managed to win $50 on one of the pub slot machines! Wish us luck on the bridge tomorrow…

New Poll: How active (or unactive) are you? Yeah, I’m trying to find some kindred spirits here.

It’s official. This coming Tuesday afternoon, I will be climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge with my friends Kel and Carrot. It’ll take us three hours. We may get tired. We may get dazzled by the heights. But at the end of it, we’ll get a certificate and a photo… which you can bet I’ll scan in for you, folks.

Oh, and before you suggest it, no liquid courage is allowed. They give us a Breathalyzer beforehand. 🙂

The novelty of the gym has officially worn off. Saturday I had to force myself to go. I didn’t want to do it. And I wanted to do it even less once I saw that my weight – which I had hoped would show some sign of decreasing – remained exactly the same. I know that some of you workout all the time. How do you stay motivated when it feels like you’re just spinning your wheels? Or am I just totally overreacting, because it’s only been a week and I’m already expecting some kind of results? If that’s the case, how long does it take to start seeing some real changes? I need something to cling to fast, folks.

Oh God. “At least 58 asylum seekers have sewn their lips together during a hunger strike at the Woomera detention centre.” How badly do things have to be for you to sew your lips together to make a point?

Friday Five:
Check it out! Heather’s got a new dedicated URL. Anyhoo, on to business…

1. What do you have your browser start page set to? My Yahoo! Although more and more I find myself checking my e-mail and then jumping straight to w-g, before eventually going back to read my news. Maybe I should change that.

2. What are your favorite news sites? Like I said, I generally read through My Yahoo!, which I have set up to show news at home, in London, and in Sydney. I also flick through Salon, The BBC, and The Sydney Morning Herald. I also read the Notre Dame Observer to keep up with everything back at school.

3. Favorite search engine? Google, without a doubt.

4. When did you first get online? My parents got a new computer sometime back in the early 90’s and it came with a free Compuserve trial. Unbeknownst to them, I set up the account and started surfing the Net. There wasn’t much to see, so I stopped using it and forgot about it. Those were the days of high monthly fees, though, and Mom eventually found out. We had a hell of time cancelling it too, mostly because I’d forgotten the password I created. Ouch. My first real full-on Internet access came in college, where I actually spent HOURS (on the weekend, no less) in the computer lab working on my website and chatting. Eventually our dorms were wired and I had a T1 connection within arm’s reach in my room. It was fantastic. It’s all been downhill from there. 🙂

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Today (Saturday) I’ve got to do my workout at the gym, and then the Snook and I are heading out to the Nag’s to spend our $100 bar tab (from Wednesday’s trivia win). Tomorrow we’re going to dinner at his sister’s house to meet the other half of the extended family. Then Sunday night, I’m hoping to drag the Snook out to the “Dive-In Movie” at the pool in Victoria Park. They’re showing the three Wallace and Gromit movies!

How many beer bottles can you match to the labels? I’ve obviously been living outside the U.S. for too long, as I only managed to score a miserable five.

Sorry for the lack of postage today. We’re having dinner with half of the Snook’s extended family, so I’m Audi…

Updated: That wasn’t so bad. Scary Italian Grandma turned out not to be so scary. I’m glad I didn’t try to face her with bright red hair though. (I’m told she can be withering with the personal remarks.) Luckily my new responsible ‘do seemed to pass the test.

Mission accomplished! It took four and a half hours – and four separate dyeing operations – to take me from bright red to sensible brown. (Well, it’s actually a sort of reddish-blondish-brown, but it looks good.) First we had the bleach bath, which took out some of the red. Then a lightening operation, which left me with peroxide blond hair with reddish streaks. Then a light brown color, which turned it into a lovely dark strawberry blonde. And then another darker brown, which evened everything out. So see? I worked in all of your suggestions! (Minus the black, you knuckleheads.) 🙂

Hair dyeing appointment for 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Still undecided as to color. Am thinking of simply going back to normal color as a way of avoiding the decision. Will let you know how it goes… (Why am I writing like this is a telegram?)