Luke who?

Just thought I'd let you know that our Dirty Copier Salesman has returned and actually posted something on his blog.

0900ZODIAC

The signs of the Zodiac. I don’t understand it, but I don’t dismiss it. As I have no idea how astrologers claim it works I am not going to intentionally defend nor attack it. I’m just here to ponder.
It has always interested me; I’ll check my horoscope now and then and have read a fair bit about my own zodiac sign. But do I really believe it, I’m not really sure.

My star sign is Libra, and of all of the signs it is the one I would definitely identify the most with. The traits I have that are specific to Libra are:
- a sense of fairness
- annoyingly indecisive
- love of art
- hate of conflict and bloodshed
- laid-back with rare but strong bursts of intense anger
- more idealistic than realistic
- lazy in domestic duties
- tendency to overindulge in the finer things in life (wine, chocolate, sleeping)

Also, the health problems Librans are most likely to suffer from are in the lower back and kidney region – I have had some quite serious kidney problems in the past.

So that is me; I challenge anyone who knows me to disagree. But how can we all be categorised into just twelve different types? Of course you can pick and choose from the list of traits, personally I haven’t come across any within the Libra sign that I wouldn’t agree with. My boyfriend Luke is definitely a Leo, even though he doesn’t believe in it – outgoing, confident, strong-willed, a little vain. Michelle would agree that she is a Virgo – very organised and tidy, loyal, well groomed (I didn’t mean to describe you like a dog with those last two comments Michelle!).

What really got me thinking about this was a horoscope I read on Friday. I was feeling quite down that day and holed myself up at home, little enthusiasm to go anywhere or see anyone. In fact it was that day I wrote my Christmas blog, and you’ll find that far from cheery. Then I read my horoscope on MSN. It was along the lines of: ‘Libra, you are not yourself today and have little motivation to do anything. Don’t isolate yourself from loved ones, your depression will pass.’
It described my situation exactly! Coincidence? Probably. But it got me thinking.
Do I really believe that the planets were aligned that day so that every Libran in the world felt as miserable as me? No. But it was just a little uncanny.

Anyway, I would like to hear your thoughts on the topic. What is your zodiac sign, do identify with it, do you believe in it or think that is all hippy-dippy crap?

Christmas Shmismass

“Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What’s Christmas to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ‘em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you? If I could work my will, every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”
- A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens.


Ahh Scrooge, you gotta love him. I’m not a big fan of Christmas; I mean I’m not siding with our pre-reformed protagonist entirely here (although ‘boiled with his own pudding’ is a funny line). I just think it is not worth it in the end.

As a child I liked Christmas for the following reasons:

1. Father Christmas
2. Decorating the Christmas tree
3. No school
4. Presents
5. Being with family (my grandparents always came down from Auckland for Christmas)
6. Sunshine
7. General happiness and goodwill everywhere
8. Christmas Carols (I have a soft spot for them, carols mind, not cheesy Christmas songs)

Alas, the innocence of childhood has long gone, and I am left bitter and cynical. Why you ask? Well it just so happens I have another list prepared for you:

1. Santa is dead. Christmas began to loose it’s magic when I began to listen to those mean kids whose parents have already told them that there is no such thing as the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and even old St Nic. I also became suspiciously aware that Father Christmas had the same handwriting and wacky humour as my grandfather…

2. My mother still has a fantastic Christmas tree, but I am having trouble finding a place for my tree in our shoe box of a flat

3. I still have no school, but as a student I have worked (almost) every Christmas on the shitty days that working people take off, i.e. Boxing Day through to New Year (the year I didn’t work I spent that whole week drunk, so I’m not sure what I did…)

4. Presents are expensive. I love giving presents, but I’m too poor to give decent ones. And I have a lot of people to buy for. Last year I painted everyone a picture, but I don’t think I can get away with that again.

5. Both my partner and I have parents who split up when we were about 13, so Christmas day is spent racing between usually about 4 households. That’s a lot of Christmas meals.

6. Sunshine?
7. I don’t know whether anyone else has noticed, but people are not full of cheer around this time of year.

8. I still like Christmas carols, but they are being taken over by the cheesy Christmas songs.

‘And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!’

Ba humbug