That’s What Your Mum Said

Last night I watched a current affairs program called ‘Four Corners’ and the title of their episode was “A Good Death”. It followed four people, ranging in age between mid-40’s to mid-80’s who have recently been told they only have a short time to live due to terminal illness. It documented their experiences and their stories in a truly honest and heartbreaking manner and managed to highlight the lack of palliative care in Australia (I dare say this is an issue in many Western nations).

This episode reminded me of two very important issues. One was the obvious notion that we have a very short time on this planet and it would be selfish and utterly ridiculous not to make the most of it. The other is that I truly believe humans should have the option to die a dignified and self-imposed death.

To me, it makes total sense. If I have been told I have a terminal illness and there is very little likelihood I will survive, I would like to be respected enough to make a decision regarding my life. I would like to know that I would not have to suffer unbearable pain with no quality of life simply because our politicians are conservative and wish to impose their beliefs on me. I am a mature, intelligent being and I would like to think I could be treated as one, even when it comes to the touchy subject of euthanasia.

Why is it that humans will put down an animal that is in extreme pain and has no chance of survival because it is the ‘humane’ thing to do? Why do we hold that this is totally different if we replaced the word animal with human? A friend has a mug that says ‘I want to die like a dog’ and I agree wholeheartedly.

I have been involved in this debate for many years and have heard arguments from many points of view. The one that seems to crop up the most is that God tells us not to kill and therefore euthanasia is wrong. If you believe in God I respect your stance however I do not agree. I don’t believe in an all supreme being, so shouldn’t I have the right to my beliefs and be allowed to carry them out with the respect of others who may not hold them?

Another argument that is often raised is that if euthanasia was allowed, people would be killing off their relations for material good such as money and property under the guise of ending suffering. Do the people that make this argument truly believe that a legislated and policed act could really lead to this? The simple solution to this highly unlikely problem is to have many layers of checks and balances in place so that an individual can prove they are of sound mind and are ready to end their life. It works in Switzerland, why not here?

This is such a dense and complicated topic and I could not hope to cover all of the bases often discussed in relation to it- I have really only skimmed the surface. I just wanted to highlight the problem and let the blog world know where I stand on this. I have put some links at the bottom, including the episode of ‘Four Corners’ from last night. More than anything, I would like to start a discussion and hear what you all have to say; I know this is a heavy topic but please comment and leave your thoughts/beliefs with regards to euthanasia. It needs to be discussed rather than ignored like our politicians manage to do so well.

Four Corners: A Good Death

Exit International – An organisation headed by Dr Philip Nitschke that advocates the right to choice regarding euthanasia

Where is euthanasia legal?

As some of you may have noticed, I have been a craptacular blogger over the past two weeks. Lazy lazy lazy. I have been reading all of your wonderful posts though, so please forgive me my absence and lets be friends, ok?

Reasons for my absence (all pretty shitty but I have to try):

• I got accepted into a Graduate Law degree at university and have spent a lot of time ordering textbooks, printing papers, getting student cards, organising timetables and being ridiculously excited (give me a week into the study and I will be over the childish glee)
• I have been doing all of the stuff I won’t have time to do when I get back into the study, such as going to the dentist (need wisdom teeth removal, will worry about that at a later date), getting more tests done on my crazy digestive system, cleaning the house like a maniac, reading fiction books and watching a lot of ‘Gilmore Girls’ and ‘Ellen’ (and even a little bit of ‘Oprah’, ‘Dr Phil’ and ‘The Bold and the Beautiful’)
• I have been attempting to catch up with friends and family before I go MIA in the general vicinity of a human-sized stack of law texts
• I have been staring at the wall and contemplating what to eat next

There you have it, a comprehensive list of extremely good reasons why I have been a poor and lax internet buddy.

The delectable Liz tagged me to do this meme, and as it is my first I am would be honoured! To be honest, I have been racking my brain and I have had trouble; I am not a very interesting person. Ha, these should be fascinating…

one. I only have two true talents.

I can make my tongue into a three-leaf clover, and I can bend my thumb at a 90 degree angle behind my hand. It freaks people out, and for that I am thankful.

two. I get inappropriate crushes quite often.

My first ever was Anthony Hopkins. I saw him in ‘Silence of the Lambs’ and that was it – wrong love. Peter Singer is the most recent, being all smart and the like. I am going to a conference in March that he is speaking at, and needless to say I will be wearing a new dress, heels and some red lippy.

three. Besides the partner, my one true love is books.

I have been obsessed ever since I could pick them up. Testament to this fact is the reading awards I received every year from kindergarten onward (I dug them out of my special box only a week ago) and also the many, many books we have in our home. I plan on making a library the first room I design when we purchase our own space on this earth.

four. I have four siblings.

This is quite an old photograph, but it shows me (fourth out of five), my oldest sister, my second oldest sister, the third sibling my brother, and the youngest sibling my sister. Don’t be fooled by the cross; we aren’t church-going folk, but it was a very important event that happened to be held in a church. For a large family with large gaps (ages 41, 39, 36, 26 & 24) we are insanely close. I know I could count on any of them at any time, and this is some wonderful knowledge. They are champs.

five. I attended a new-age christian church when I was a teenager and smitten with a young man who was a staunch believer.

I don’t want to go into this too much except that to say I was naive and it was  a very educational experience. To be honest, I have never experienced hypocrisy and judgment in such high doses. It sent me on the beginning of the trip to atheism and taught me to question everyone and everything they say.

six. I don’t want children and I don’t envisage this changing. Ever.

I imagine this one is a little controversial, but hey, that is what the internet is for, isn’t it? Let me explain myself before you get upset and tell me it is my duty as a woman to have a child, or that I would be a really good mother so I have to have them (heard it all before noobs). I am fully aware of the fact that parenting is THE hardest job in the world, and frankly, I don’t want it. I have been proclaiming ever since I was aware of my female bits and their uses (around 11 or 12) that I don’t want children, and this has never wavered. It has actually led to the ending of some relationships due to the partner attempting to convince me that I was totally wrong, or being unable to accept my choice. The current (and hopefully forever-long) partner feels the same as me which is refreshing and wonderful. We are very open to whatever the future may hold, and I have also made it clear to everyone involved that if my little sister couldn’t conceive I would carry for her, but other than that I am just not that way inclined. Don’t hate me.

seven. I am a dyed-in-the-wool atheist.

I love this world, it is fracking awesome and fascinating and mysterious and fantabulous. I just don’t believe in a guy in the sky; I believe in science and the universe. Humans are an arrogant and ignorant race and if only we could open up our minds to the fact that we are small and inconsequential. We don’t need a deity looking over us to have meaning in our lives. Religion has a tendency to be very, very dangerous and damaging despite the ideals of being kind to thy neighbour and such. I would rather live by Bill and Tedism; …”Be excellent to each other… party on dudes”. Simple but effective.

I would like to tag Sarah Hannah, Elizabeth, Em, Miss Katie, Amalie, Chickie Little and Kez to partake in the randomness.

Yesterday I attended the Sydney Big Day Out, and being there rammed two things home in a very strong manner:

1. Australia has a fracking harsh climate. We don’t do things in halves here, and the 43 degrees Celsius weather was testament to this fact.

2. Nothing makes me feel better than live music (well maybe one or two things, but that is not for the outside world to know)!

I went with the partner and my little sister and we met with random friends throughout the day. The event started with my sister having a panic/heat stress attack before we had even entered the gates, so she had to lay down for 10 minutes and drink all of our water supplies. Once we got in, we went to the big arena and I had a heat stress attack – I just could not cool down no matter how much water I drank and how much I fanned myself. The partner came up with the genius idea of heading to the water sprays which were at the entrance to the arena. Basically, I stood under them for 5 minutes and allowed my clothing to become soaked, which really helped a lot.

After two false starts, we actually got to see some bands! The stand out act was Muse. I have already seen them live twice (once at Big Day Out 3 or so years ago, and once at an indoor concert the night before said BDO) but they continue to blow my socks off with their precision and their epic sound. Matt Bellamy and his musical ability is as close as I will ever come to a religious experience – talk about sex on legs! If only he was a little taller We had the make the terrible decision between Muse and Peaches as they were on at the same time, but justified our choice by arguing that Peaches tours Australia regularly and she is cheaper to see at an individual show than Muse. I have seen her live before and she is spectacularly talented. I bought one of her shirts to show my solidarity and ongoing love for her crazy brand of music.

Other awesome acts were Girl Talk (so much fun), Kasabian, Groove Armada and Ladyhawke (for all you non-Aussie/Kiwis, check out our home-grown talent). Lily Allen was also in the mix, for curiosity reasons more than anything else. Her music is catchy but it isn’t something I would listen too at home for fun. She has a great voice live though, and she is super cute. We caught the end of Dizzee Rascal and Powderfinger which were both great. We also caught the start of Mars Volta which was amazing, and Midnight Juggernaughts which left a little to be desired. Overall though, the musical standard was awesome and we had a kick ass time!

At around 3pm a southerly change came through and brought pouring rain that cooled the dastardly weather down – it was delightful to say the least! We left around 11.30pm and got back home around 1.30am this morning, so I am a little vulnerable right now, but should be fine tomorrow. There weren’t too many incidents of dickheads asking me to kiss the flag or throwing beer cans at people of anything but Anglo-Saxon descent (a lot of Sydney BDO revelers have a reputation of being racist, bigoted asshats)  so overall I would give this years BDO a big thumbs up! Oh, and how on earth could I forget to mention Cheese On A Stick? This gourmet treat is possibly my most favourite food in existence. Cheese, on a stick, deep fried in batter. Fuck yes. I am salivating thinking about it.

To learn of my past Big Day Out experiences and feelings towards them, read this post. It has pictures of Cheese On A Stick!

Fleur over at Diary of a Vintage Girl is giving us all the chance to win some absolutely lovely lingerie from Kiss Me Deadly.

Head on over to her post and leave a comment to be in the running; it would be a wonderful start to the year to score some new knickers!

As posted in that crazy year that was 2009, I had plans to cut all of my hair off and morph into Natalie Portman in the process. I didn’t quite make it to Natalie status, but I certainly said goodbye to the lameness that was dank, over-coloured hair and hello to minimal fuss and bother.

Jesus, what a shitastic photo. I apologise to you all for having your eyes burned. One day soon I will get a decent one that has light and colour and a true depiction of the new hair. It was a slightly scary experience; there were a lot of stages when my hairdresser was cutting that things looked bad. Very bad. But she had warned me at the start to just ignore everything until she was totally finished and I have to admit that I am pretty darned happy with the end result. She cut it exactly how I wanted and my face doesn’t look too much like a kicked in biscuit tin. Yay for that!

The idea is to get rid of all the coloured hair (which she couldn’t totally do this time otherwise she would have essentially shaved it) and then grow it long again. Long and healthy and shiny. Kinda like this.

Bahahaha, gratuitous almost nude shot! Hot damn she is pretty though! We have been watching ‘Pushing Daisies’ and it is fairly wonderful so far.

Enough of the vanity. I have Wii Fit to attend to.

Elizabeth at Scarlet Words has a delightful puppy named Harry. I am pretty sure I have already offered to look after him when Elizabeth and her partner are at work; that offer is still open. I would move to Melbourne to spend time with this cutie.

Sarah Von at Yes and Yes has a lovely (if slightly disgruntled looking) kitty Rasputin, or Putin for short. Check out his fighter jet. That is one intrepid adventurer. Do want.

Charlotte at Another Brick in the Narwhal has a colourful and playful Rainbow Lorikeet called Boje Bajinky. As far as I am concerned, he would make an awesome friend for my Obi and as a result, Charlotte should just give him to me. Simple as that.

And the menagerie grows ever larger….

In 2010, I will try go-karting.

That is all.

• I cooked these:

Earl Grey Tea cookies at Shutterbean

Honey and Pistachio Biscotti at A Cozy Kitchen

Both were delicious and very easy to make which is a lovely feature when cooking. I also made a Mangomisu (Tiramisu with Mango instead of coffee/chocolate) and Banoffee Pie for Christmas Day. Yummo!

• I bought an ‘Australian Women’s Weekly’ magazine. I don’t quite know why
• I continued knitting this scarf during this Australian summer weather. Kinda loopy
• I am looking to buy thankyou cards and blank note-cards to use throughout the year
• I cleaned the mirrored doors in my bedroom

What did you do this week that made you realise you are your mother?