Let's talk about Harry

You know in the old days Prince Harry just used to be the less attractive, douchey little brother of Prince William that used to get drunk and turn up to parties dressed as a Nazi. I mean, basically he was just a dude behaving like any other dude of his age, but as a prince I guess everyone got to hear about it and have an opinion about it. Sucks to be a prince I guess. Especially if your mum died when you were just a boy.

But after following a couple of royal Instagram accounts, I gotta tell ya, I really kinda dig Harry. I mean, I guess it is in everyone's interest, including his own, that he works with and promotes charities, but if he was a real douche he'd probably just hang out in Monaco snorting coke of chicks' tits, right? I really like how he's always publicly getting HIV tests to promote HIV prevention. Here he is getting tested with Rhianna.

I like how he talks about mental health issues and how hard he had it dealing with his mother's death. You know, like he would. I mean, sure it's all palace approved but he still does it and I gotta say word up to that guy. I know he gets lots of cool stuff like nice cars and good champagne and free trips and tax-payer funded income so he probably should be doing some good for the world, but word on him for doing that.

Maturity (PM)

I guess maturity and feeling like a grown up are two different things. There are some things in my life that really make me feel like I'm a grown up, but not necessarily mature. When I was about 24 I got my own credit card and the first thing I bought with it was a top and when I signed for it I felt really grown up because that was what my parents always did when I was a kid. Bought things with a credit card and signed their names to authorise the purchase. I never used my pin for my credit card, always signed, for that reason of feeling like a grown up. Now you aren't even allowed to sign for a credit card purchase any more. Back to childhood for me! Just jokes, there are other things that make me feel like a grown up. Getting the paper delivered on the weekend is one of them. When I go out to get the paper in the morning it feels like such a great grown up way to start the day. Getting annoyed at Baby for stupid reasons is another thing that makes me feel like an adult, but only in the worst way. Having a dishwasher makes me feel grown up in the best way.

But that is not maturity. I guess some things make me feel mature. Like right now I am on leave without pay from work, which has the defining factor of not supplying me with any income. This, in turn, means I have no money and I feel really mature because I haven't bought any clothes lately and I don't even really have the urge. Except my friend L-bomb has these really hot kicks that I want to buy yet I am resisting that desire and I feel really mature about it.*

I would not have felt mature sitting in a wet tram seat though and being overcome by indecision about what to do. That seems like a classic childhood horror, being in some mildly embarrassing situation but not wanting to change the situation in case it creates a more embarrassing situation. Classic immaturity. But if you think about it, what was getting up going to achieve, K was already wet on the back of her legs, getting up wasn't going to change that. Perhaps she had the maturity to realise nothing was really going to improve the situation. Ipso facto she is a mature woman. WIN!

*I just found out they are now on sale, would buying them make me mature because I was responsible and bought them at a discount price?

In praise of Sundays (PM)

My god,  J's post has totally made me go all misty for Sundays.  She makes them sound like the most awesome of days.
I guess I have to admit to myself and the MSC community that I am still a bit stuck in the mindset of younger J, wondering what the fuck The Bangles were on about calling Sunday a funday. I think I have  to admit that I have a habit of  always scanning the horizon for my next obligation, and on Sunday that shit goes into overdrive.
But I'm actually writing this during a very lovely Sunday afternoon, so I'm going to take a leaf out of J's book and enjoy it.
I've spent the morning at a cafe where the coffee is so fine it could take all cares away. I'm sitting at the kitchen table with the balcony door open, and a warm Irish breeze wafting through as I read about the triumph of the Dees over the Dons yesterday. A game of Hurling is on TV in the background (Cork vs. Clare, a 2013 grand final rematch. Go Cork!!)

Scores are level at 8 points all at the moment.

Shit, I just realised that one of the things that make Sundays pretty great is going to the MCG to see the game. What a joy it is. And maybe one of the reasons that Sunday makes me a little blue is that watching a game, when your colours are red and blue, means watching a loss.
Until this glorious year, of course.
But that's a conversation for another day.
When this game's over, I'm going to suggest to Appleheart that we have a Sundowner. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm going to suggest it. We're the only kids in this outfit, so drinking on a Sunday afternoon remains a delight.
Who am I kidding? Sunday is the best.

In praise of Sundays (AM)

As a kid I didn't really go in for Sundays. Who wanted to go to school on Monday?  That's all Sunday meant to me.  When I'd hear the song 'Manic Monday' (which I heard a lot as a kid) and the Bangles would sing "I wish it was Sunday, that's my fun day," I just thought it was a bunch of total fucking nonsense.  Whose fun day is Sunday? But that was when I was a kid and I think one of the things that characterises  that time is that you're always thinking about the future. Childhood, although it feels like it goes on forever at the time, seems so temporary. You know you're going to grow up, that things change all the time, I think that's why it's so hard to live in the moment, you're always thinking about what's next. And that's why Sundays used to suck so hard, you knew Monday was so effing close. 

But now  I'm a grown up, with a grown up's desire to avoid thinking about the future too much and the daily aging and edging towards old age. And that, I think, is how I learned to love Sundays. 

In fact I remember the moment my feelings changed. I was having a beer at a pub on a Sunday afternoon, maybe 6 or 8 years ago and I realised how nice it was to be at the pub on a Sunday afternoon. It means that your boring shit for the weekend is done. Or it's not and you've decided not to care. It means that you're really using the weekend to its full advantage, wringing all the fun out of it till the last moment. What a joy! Of course I don't get that joy out of Sundays at the pub now. I mean it's nice, but with kids afternoon drinking just is not the same. I still love Sundays though. 

I love that they feel like a free day. Anything you do on a Sunday feels like a bonus. And usually I have time to cook a nice meal. And usually that meal is fish and roast potatoes and salad but I love that meal so who cares if I eat it most Sundays. I love how if you get some of your business done you feel so on top of things. Last night I went to the supermarket after dinner AND I sent some freelance work back to the client, so now I feel like my my work is all done. The house isn't even that messy. And because it was all on Sunday everything just felt better than on any other day. Oh sure, if I'd had a shitty day yesterday I may not be singing the praises of Sunday. Let's face it if you don't get shit done on Sunday and everything is all out of wack, Sundays suck it. But that's the thing about highs right? They're nothing without lows. 

I might have thought about the future a lot as a kid but I never would have thought that growing up would make me understand The Bangles. 

This year (PM)

Hey, yeah, hi everybody! And hi, 2014! I mean sure, we met 20 days ago but I guess I just wanted to publicly say hi and we here at Miss Soft Crab are really excited about you. We've got some big things planned.

Of course it's not going to be all beer and Christian Bale mind you.

 

I have what is essentially a Welsh brother-in-law and he has lived in Australia for more than 10 years and I still have trouble understanding what he is saying half the time. Especially on the phone. So mate, let me advise you to double check everything! Especially in your line of work. But seriously folks, Wales is going to rule!

 

Wales! That's some pretty shit right there.

Me, I’ll just be here in Australia all year. Most likely. But I’m going to do some exciting shit too, you know. First up, move house. Oh yeah it’s been a long time coming but it is actually going to happen in about 3 or maybe 4 weeks.

Scenes from my soon to be new home

And while I’m confident I’ll be able to understand everything being said by my new neighbours moving is not going to be without its challenges. Just this morning I was looking at a pile of shoes that I own and never wear and wondering what the eff to do with them. I mean, I have some great shoes but will I ever wear them again? A pair of black and white striped pointy-toed, kitten-heeled ankle boots I coveted for so long in my early twenties, finally bought and haven’t worn in a decade,  is it time to say goodbye? And all the other things I own like that? I’m not going to have the storage for them anymore. I think 2014 may be the year I have to become an adult and move the fuck on with my life and my belongings. It's time to say goodbye to things. No, I'm not talking about my collection of rare silverchair releases that I never look at. They are coming with me, but other things. You know like shoes and clothes trinkets I was given 15 years ago that sit in the bottom of a drawer. Yeah 2014! I'm going to grow the hell up during you! That is some pretty exciting stuff right there!

Like K I also have some pretty exciting things planned for March, but I am so exhausted after making that resolve to grow up that I'll have to talk about that another day. Gimme a break, it's the first day back at MSC headquarters.