Tasmiya

Could everyone on the internet get off it right now because my internet is slow.

kthxbye.

—————————

I really hate the expression “Off of” like in that sentence above, it would be written:

Could everyone on the internet get off of it right now because my internet is slow.

We don’t NEED that extra word there. It doesn’t make MORE sense to put that word there. It’s decidedly an American expression but it’s permeating into our unadulterated Australian/English language!

Oh and another one - “in and of itself”

I don’t know if that one is American English but it’s also a pet hate of mine. See, the way I was taught we would use the expression like so: “…which is not a problem in itself but….”

but nowadays I’m hearing this abomination:

which is not a problem in and of itself…

IN AND OF? IN AND OF? Just read that there. IN AND OF? Can something be IN AND OF?

I am not saying that it’s incorrect (like I’m the Professor in English language and linguistics) but it just annoys me no end. So the ofs get put in where they probably don’t belong like some nosy neighbour or meddling auntie but then there’s the of that is like the absent uncle, who never turns up when he is invited to family gatherings.

I say, “a couple of things..”

I’ve heard it and I’ve read it like this

“couple things”

So I think we really need to sort this out once and for all. Is of invited to the party or is he bound to stay at home all by his lonesome?  We can’t keep sending the invites and then get angry when he turns up!

OVER AND OF OUT!

Sister (in UK) : So what did you guys do for New Year’s Eve?

Tasmiya : Not much, actually. Farhad went to sleep and I stayed up a bit. What about you guys?

Sister (in UK) : Well….we didn’t see the moon so we’re having ours tomorrow.

————

HA! Cracked me up!

Before marriage, I would shun breakfast. I’d much rather stay in bed those extra 10 minutes than eat anything. If I started work at 9, I’d wake at 8:50 and madly rush around, change, brush my teeth and wash my face and walk out the door.Actually I missed a step there, I’d set my alarm for 8:00, and proceed to use the snooze button for the whole 49 minutes. Yes I’m one of those snooze button enthusiasts.

(complete digression here but forgive me for this - Do people not use traditional alarm clocks anymore? Has everyone abandoned the classic clock/radio for the cell phone alarm? This is very distressing to the Luddite in me.)

Now after marriage, husband insisted on breakfast. Which meant waking up early, spending ages making the darn thing and then even more darn time eating it. After 10 glorious years (and there is no sarcasm in that statement whatsoever) of marriage, I have come to love long, leisurely breakfasts - scrambled eggs, hot cup of tea, followed by a cupcake or two or three and maybe even some cereal or a nutella sandwich. I wake up hungry (something I never experienced when living by my lonesome).

It isn’t often I wake up before my rise-at-the-butt-crack-of-dawn children, but the mornings when this happens, I savour that alone time with my cup of tea before the onslaught of the tiny bodies with monstrous demands.

What is breakfast like at your place?

Is it insomnia when it’s 4 in the morning and you still haven’t gone to bed because you’re not actually tired? Or is insomnia when you are actually really very tired but just cannot fall asleep? Or both?

Yes, it’s 4 am January 1st 2009 and surprisingly the reason I am still awake is not due to continual New Year partaying but some other inexplicable reason.

My poor family - they will have a grumpy woman to contend with in the morning, especially if we experience the NEAR BOILING heat we were subjected to today. 38 degrees (that’s Celcius, not Farenheit in case you were wondering). Tired and hot - the perfect way to start the day.

2008 has treated us well, by the grace of God.

I won’t say I’m a better mother but I am a lot more aware of how my reactions affect my children. I am trying very hard to make that deeper connection with them (not always successful I am afraid as there are days where I would rather run away that get close to them.)

How was 2008 for you and what are you looking forward to for 2009?

Topless ban to protect Muslims and Asians : Nile

Conservative MP Fred Nile says he wants topless bathing banned in NSW to protect Sydney’s Muslim and Asian communities.

Now isn’t that so very sweet of him? It doesn’t seem so long ago he was calling for the ban on the burka, opposing Islamic schools being built and calling for a halt to Muslim immigration.

Did he honestly think people would FORGET? Or maybe he has had a change of heart?

For starters, I really hate the way non-Muslims think they can speak for us without any consultation from Muslims at all. I don’t think I’ve heard any Muslim asking for a ban on topless bathing. Most of the Muslims I know that are opposed to it either don’t go to the beach or LOOK AWAY when they see a topless bather.

What is so bothersome about Fred Nile supposedly speaking for us is that it’s glaringly obvious to even the stupidest out there that he really doesn’t care what the Muzzies think. He isn’t really trying to save our delicate sensibilities.I really wish it were true though because the only other reason he would bring the Muslim and Asian angle into it would be because we are a convenient minority to blame for “unAustralian values” by the ignorant rednecks.

So you know, thanks but no thanks ,Freddy.