A man threw his 4yo daughter off the Westgate Bridge in Melb. this morn. His 2 other kids were in the car watching.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY

Competition Winner

WINNER!

New Year

Competition

I've been so busy with my editing and updating this site that I forgot to post the winner of my New Year Competition!

Congratulations

DEB.B.C.

I hope you're enjoying your reading package.

Huge thank you to all who entered both online and off. Your answers were so good I was tempted to use some of them. Thanks also Judy B. and Kelly W. I'm not sure a Drinn would actually say such things, but you both gave me a good laugh. And, finally, Darren - pity "The Shadow Runners" isn't going to have a triple XXX rating!

Thanks once again. I hope you all enjoyed entering the competition as much as I enjoyed reading your answers.

Yours in love and light

Brittany Kingston

Check out my complete Editing Credits at: http://ping.fm/5CRAP

Need I Say More?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!! Just wrote a whole blog article, hit the wrong button and erased it. AAAAAAAAARGH!

The Friends That Only...

It's nice when friends call out of the blue and want to catch up for a coffee. I'm always open to that.

This morning a friend I don't see very often called and asked if I'd be home some time today for a cuppa. I said, "Of course. I'd be delighted."

Now, all I can think about is, "what does she really want?"

That's awful. I know. But...

There are some people who are like that. They only contact you when there's something in it for them.

So what do I do about it? I like this friend. We used to hang out together all the time. We shared our thoughts, hopes, dreams... all that. Now, I see her very rarely, and most of the time it's when her computer is down and she needs to check her emails, send a fax, or needs a favour.

Don't get me wrong. I'll always drop everything for a friend in genuine need. However, I don't like being taken advantage of.

I find it sad that some people consider it okay to use friends in this manner. I don't use people. I go out of my way to avoid it, in fact. If I want a favour, I ask. I'll always find a way to show my appreciation and gratitude - in the form a small gift, card, cuppa up the street, something. I prefer to think that most people are like that. I don't ask for favours very often. I tend to struggle through on my own. One of my many failings, I'm afraid.

I'm also not opposed to friends ringing me and asking me for favours. What I don't like is friends ringing me to "catch up for a cuppa" then, when the niceties are over, hit me with, "oh, while I'm here...," "can I just...". Hmmm. Wears a bit thin after a while. I'd rather people be up front from the beginning and come right out and say, "I'm ringing to see if I can ask you a favour."

[Insert sigh here]

Oh well. I guess I'll find out what she wants after she has partaken of my hospitality.

Sad when it gets to this, isn't it.

I still like this friend, and I still enjoy catching up with her, even though it's usually to her benefit. It all comes down to accepting people for who they are, really. This how this friend is. If I want to associate with her, I have to realise this and accept it.

I deal with it by either not being available for a cuppa unless it's up the street somewhere, or I invite her out with full knowledge that there will be a catch.

I wonder what it will be today?

Cheers

Brittany K.

My son and his friend bought inflatable boats today. We put them in the Ovens River upstream from our place this evening & floated back downstream to home. It was a 3 hour trip. The river's low and we had to get out and pull the boats over the sand a few times, but it was very pleasant.

The "Silly Season" is officially over for us.

It's Monday morning and everyone is off to work again - those who actually had time off. The rest of us merely had our daily lives turned upside down for a few weeks.

So it's back to my usual routine today:- Curves this morning, housework, then writing & editing. In the afternoon: gardening, maybe a swim if it's hot.

Well, that's "Plan A". Quite typically I get to about "Plan D" by the end of the day when things don't go quite as expected, but then, that's life.

On the writing front, things have been good, all distractions considered. I've gotten back into the final edits for "The Shadow Runners". I'm about half way through now, so I'm looking forward to having the whole novel publisher-ready in a few weeks.

Then comes the real work:- finding out who's taking science fiction this time of the year, who's interested in having a look at my science fiction... and onto the merry-go-round I go.

Oh how often have I wished I could just click my fingers and make all my dreams come true...

Unfortunately, magic doesn't just happen in this world. We have to get out there in the dirt and make it happen.

I kind of like the idea of being able to wave the magic wand, though. Don't you?

Well, here's to a brand new year of writing, editing, art, music and all things bright and cheery. Here's to all the challenges that will come this year. May we all have the strength to get through them and learn valuable lessons to help us grow.

That's enough deep and meaningful for now. I'm off to the shower to get my daily dose of negative ions, then to Curves for my daily dose of self-inflicted exercise torture, then back here for my daily dose of housework torture, then...

I guess you're getting the picture. Let's see how much of my day actually goes to plan.

Cheers for now

Brittany K.

My New Year Competition has come to an end. Now... to deliberate on the winning answer.... hmmm.