Flightplan

I’m a big fan of Jodie Foster. I have loved her ever since I saw her in Silence of the Lambs. When I imagine a woman of true class, she’s someone I picture. Many may say she’s not overly beautiful, but I find her incredibly attractive. Aside from being a great actor, I think she just has this certain aura that makes her seem very pleasant. She’s a very private person, and I think it’s great how she handles the media and just being famous. Being a child actor at such a young age, and the continuing this career to the age she is, she seems to have done it with grace.

It’s been 3 years I believe since Jodie last had a movie out. Jodie is very particular with what she does, but there haven’t really been any “bad” movies she’s been in. Most of her movies have done great in the box office. So when I heard and saw the trailer for Flightplan I was really excited. I had a feeling the movie was going to be good, Jodie is very picky about her movie scripts. She’s done quite a bit of “background” work, that it was nice to see her again in a major role.

My partner and I went to see it, opening night here in Australia. There were quite a few people in the theater. Usually when ever we go to a movie, regardless of what time of day or night, it’s either usually just us, or 1 or 2 other couples. I guess that’s what you get, when you live in a suburb of less than 40,000 people. But surprisingly, there were quite a few in the theater when we went. The movie is good. It’s not oscar material I don’t reckon, but it’s got a good plot, and of course it’s action packed. For those who don’t know what the movie is about, it’s about Kyle (Jodie’s character) who is a flight engineer or something along those lines. She’s on her way home to NY from Berlin along with her 6 year old daughter. Kyle falls asleep and when she wakes up, her daughter is missing. She searches the airplane and starts getting frantic. She ends up getting the flight attendants and the flight crew to help her look for her missing daughter. The more they look, the more odd things become. The flight crew tell Kyle that there is no record of her daughter being on the flight, and people start to disbelieve Kyle. So for the rest of the movie, Kyle frantically tries to persuade herself that she’s not going crazy and to hopefully find her daughter.

Like I said, not oscar material, but I thought Jodie did a great job. Sometimes when I watch Jodie on the screen, I often wonder what her private life is like. Because she’s so private, and because you hardly ever see her in the media, it makes you wonder just what she’s up to. I know she has two boys, fathers unknown of course. But I just wonder what she does while she’s not making movies or being involved in the limelight. There of course has been speculation that she’s gay, but it has never been denied or confirmed. Don’t think it ever will either. I think it’s great how Jodie is able to handle the pressures of Hollywood, but yet she still stays true to herself.

Go check out the movie, it’s a good one. Even if you’re not a Jodie Foster fan, I still recommend seeing the movie.

-current mood-ICKY, monthly visitor

Veterans Day

Just wanted to write a short entry, to hopefully bring a sense of warmth and pride to all those people who are still left who knew people who were war casualities. I know a few people (only through relatives) that died during various wars. I have mixed feelings about war in general, and especially the war in Iraq right now. But that still doesn’t stop me from feeling some sort of compassion and sincerity to all those people who lost loved ones. Recently I heard about the 2000th fallen soldier and then saw the image of the 2nd 1000 fallen soldiers. And it just made my heart go weak because it’s a true realization that they were all people. They were all partners, family members of someone. They all left behind people that loved them. And they were only doing their job, fighting for their country. For a good cause, well that is yet to be decided, well by me at least. But I still feel some sort of sadness for all the people who have lost someone special. Whether the war was years and years ago, or is still presently going on.

A fond memory I have growing up in the states, is that in a town nearby, we’d always go to the Veterans Day parade. The middle school band always participated, and even though we were the “outcast” school, we always participated. When I was in middle school, I joined the band (yes I was a “band geek” but at our school, being in the band didn’t mean you were so much as a “geek.”) and we participated in the parade every year. I think only once through out the three years we participated, we only placed 3rd once. But it was a major accomplishment, because ALWAYS, our team came in last. I think we may have even gotten 2nd place. But I do remember many celebrations among the frozen toes and fingers we all had.

So I’m taking a moment to remember all those who have been affected by a war in one way or another. May we all find peace and harmony.

-current mood-SENTIMENTAL for all the fallen soldiers

Cursive handwriting

Earlier on today, I was busy writing in my cookbook. I was copying a recipe I had been keeping, but hadn’t had time to put in the recipe book yet. As I was writing, I decided to write in cursive. Usually I do not write in cursive. I don’t like cursive, but I thought to myself “self, when do I EVER get a chance to write in cursive?” I can’t remember the last time I wrote in cursive. It doesn’t seem to be something people do very often, or do they? I don’t see it in the media anywhere, and I often have asked myself “what was the use of learing cursive.”

So that of course put a lightbulb in my head and I thought I’d write about it today. Are there any other people out there that actually USE cursive on a regular basis? Maybe back in the 3rd grade when we learned denelian handwriting and then eventually cursive, teachers and people thought we’d use it. But look at how much we actually DO write? I guess in some professions, writing is inevitable, but most of the time, everything is computerized. You even think about the progression of term papers in college. Back when my parents were in school, they used typewriters. Now people are using computers, and you rarely ever see people actually writing on paper themselves. But cursive seems harder to read. I look at my dad’s cursive and he’s god awful..lol. But then I see my mum’s cursive and she’s got impeccable handwriting. I guess that’s the teacher in her.

I still don’t know why did we were ever taught cursive?? And are they still teaching it in the school curriculum these days. Is it as important now as it was back when I was in school? I think cursive can be “pretty” and if I’m feeling rushed, I’ll write in cursive. But for the most part, cursive is just not in the books for me.

-current mood-LOOKING for a new throat, mine is sore.

Cycle of Life

I’m not a big writer of poetry, but something sparked me to write something last night. I happened to write it at 3am, so I thought I’d share it. I used to write a lot of poetry, during my “dark” moments, but not so much anymore.

Cycle of Life

Birth
Naïve moments
Maturing with age
Experiencing ups and downs
Best moments in our life
Things start slowing down
Memories begin dissipating
Weak spirit
Death

-current mood-HAPPY

Woman stalked during aid call

A young woman in Queensland is now demanding an inquiry into the 000 service. This woman, rang 000 (states equivalent to 911) when she left the hospital. She had to go to the hospital for one reason or another. After she was finished, her ride didn’t show up, she didn’t have any money, so she started to walk home. As she was doing this, she “sensed” that someone was following her. The person that WAS following her was a convicted serial rapist. The young woman didn’t feel comfortable, so she rang 000, and asked if they’d be able to call a taxi for her. The operator on the other line started asking her all these questions, and then even went to say “so do you think we’re a taxi service?” The young woman was pleading to the operator, but the operator didn’t belive this woman. The operator just kept saying “if you see the suspect, let us know and we’ll try to get someone out there.” The young woman kept saying that he was following her. She spent several minutes talking to the operator and finally convinced the operator to alert the police. By the time the police arrived, the serial rapist was on top of her. The Queensland Opposition has backed the woman’s call for an inquiry, as well as the Police minister having promised to investigate if the woman decides to lodge a complaint.

After reading this article in the newspaper and then reading parts of the actual call, I’m baffled as to why the operator did what she did. The operator I feel, should have take this woman seriously from the beginning of the call. And the comment she’d made about the taxi service, I didn’t think that was appropriate. If the operator was so worried about cab fair, (which shouldn’t have been an issue) something probably could have been worked out. But what would have happened, if the police hadn’t arrived in time? How scary would this woman have been, knowing she was going to be assaulted. She kept pleading to the operator, but the operator kept asking her questions, as to why she was at the hospital, why she was out walking alone, why didn’t she have any money. It was all “why why why” and all the questions, makes it seem like the operator didn’t believe this young woman.

It just makes me angry, because it seems like, once again, the victim isn’t believed. The assault hadn’t happened yet, but if it HAD, how would that operator have felt, knowing because she was too busy asking her questions that didn’t relate to the situation at hand, the woman was assaulted. I hope that an inquiry DOES happen, this young woman DOES file a complaint, and this operator gets sacked. She may have been doing her job, but during the transcript, this operator was putting blame on the woman, because she was out walking alone. The young woman didn’t think about ringing anyone else, because she KNEW she was being stalked. So thinking logically, a 000 operator would hopefully have been able to get a police crew to just “check out” the situation. The operator probably didn’t want to alert the police unless there was something to “really” call the police on. But this was a “real” situation. Still doesn’t excuse the operator. I think she handled the situation unprofessionally. She should have been on top of the situation.

-current mood-IRRITABLE

Grammar

This topic has been of some interest for me to talk about. And a post in a group I’m in a few days ago brought the topic back to surface. But I have been hesitant to talk about it, because I feel like maybe some people may get offended. So I’d just like to first off state that there is no intention for me to be disrespectful or to offend anyone. I hope that maybe through talking about it, and having others post about it, I can get a better understanding of the topic. So again, if you’re reading this post, I sincerely hope you don’t get offended. Maybe you can help me understand better?

One thing that bothers me a lot, is how “black” people sometimes talk. I can’t think of what it’s even called, the certain “dialect” if you will, of how black people talk. I’m only giving this group of people a generalization because in a book I read The Twelfth Card by Jeffrey Deaver, he talks about it, and I notice it predominately with black people. A lot of times, I will talk to certain black women, and they’ll “talk” or “type” in their certain lingo. And I have a really hard time understanding it. And truth be told, I don’t really like the way the lingo goes. I think it’s fine if you’re black and you’re talking to your friends who are also black. You all know the lingo and it’s something customary to you. But someone like me who isn’t black, I don’t like the whole “yo gurl in da house, how u doing, aigh’?” kind of thing. I don’t even know if that’s even “talking” the way, but I think people will get my jist. It just bothers me, and maybe it’s because I haven’t been around it very much, if at all. Growing up, we didn’t have any one black in my school till I was a junior in high school. I don’t have any black friends, and it’s not because I don’t want to. I just have never really been able to “connect” myself with black people.

It bothers me just because I don’t like the way it sounds, and I end up spending all my time trying to decipher what is being said . I’m somewhat of a stickler when it comes to spelling and grammar, that’s with anyone. And anyone who doesn’t know how to use a dictionary, or at least spell check, it annoys me. I’m not perfect when it comes to spelling or grammer, but I do my best to not leave out letters purposefully. It seems like when I read posts from black women, they purposefully leave out letters and change them all around to make them “talk” black. I know not all black women talk this way. I have quite a few great black female friends who speak fluent English, and their grammer is impeccable. So I’m not here making any generalizations. I just seem to find this sort of thing with black people.

So that comes to my next question….what makes someone choose to “talk” this way? Is it up bringing, or is it just a way to “fit in?” Does it even have an official name? I don’t see other racial groups have their own dialect or way of talking, more so than with black people. And of course, the media doesn’t portray this whole dialect in a positive manner. Without fail, to make a black person fully “visible” they’ll add the extra emphasis on wording. And other people will make comments about how a black person talks. But I just wonder what makes certain black people talk this way and why do people choose to talk this way. Or is it really a choice? It was just something they caught onto and it’s stuck with them. Do people who talk this way talk this way in job interviews and in other professional situations? I’m not saying that it’s NOT professional to talk that way, but at the same time, I don’t think it’s something I could see someone trying to make a good impression by talking this way. If that’s just the way someone is, and that’s the way they speak, then all the power to them.

Do people who talk this way, do they think that we talk different? What about other racial groups, do they have their own “language” they speak in, aside from the actual language? I try to think about other racial groups, and I can’t think of any others that “talk” a certain way, aside from accents. Why does it seem like this sort of thing is just with the black race? Has this dialect been going on for years and years? Where does it stem from? As you can see, I don’t know a lot about this language. I try not to let it bother me, and try to look past it when I’m talking to someone, but sometimes I just can’t. Is that bad of me? I guess others could say the same with me, with how I speak. I don’t speak perfect English and maybe to them, I’m not worth talking to because I don’t know what the heck I’m saying .

-current mood-ILL, my chest hurts from coughing.

A Glimmer of Hope??

My partner and I have yet to hear from immigration. We both were hoping that we would have heard something by now. But of course, we’re talking about a government agency here. The government is going to take their merry time and they’re going to make us sit and sweat. Often at night, I will be lying in bed and ponder upon the idea of “just what are they doing during all of this time?” I know there are a lot of other cases, but our case seems so “clean cute.” Of course to them, it’s not. But it’d be just easier if they went ahead and granted me my visa. But I can understand that DIMIA is doing their job, and there isn’t anything we can do.

My partner has a friend, who knows someone who used to work for DIMIA. He now has his own law firm, and if we have to go to the appeals process, we’ll more than likely be going to him. But this lawyer, as well as my partner’s friend both said, the WORST thing you can do, is ring up DIMIA and badger them about your case. We were given our case officer’s number, but we’re only supposed to ring them if we have a question regarding something we had to do, like in our letter. I often wonder if they give out the phone number, just to see how you’ll respond to it. Whether you’ll ring, or whether you’ll just sit tight. DIMIA gets utterly annoyed when people ring them and hound them about a case. I know I should just be happy that I’m still here legally now, and any day that we don’t hear something is yet another day we get to stay together.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but oh well if I did. The gay male couple that we’re good friends with, the Aussie guy (who works with my partner) told my partner and interesting story. He has a friend who is from the Phillipines. This man is straight. Over 8 years ago, this man came to Australia on a 3 month tourist visa. He ended up overstaying his visa illegally of course, for 8 years. He worked under the table, cash in hand..so of course, how many immigration rules was he breaking? He ended up going back to the Phillipines, on his own accord. He built a house, stayed there for 9 months or so. In the duration of that time, he got himself an immigration lawyer. A few Sundays ago, our friend heard from this guy, saying he was now back in Australia. I’m not sure if he came because he’s in a relationship, but nonetheless, he was able to get back here to Australia.

Now how the heck was he able to do that? Aside from being illegally in Australia for over 8 years, he worked illegally as well. Now look at my case. I was illegal for 67 days I believe. But in that time, since January 2005, I haven’t worked. My case seems far less harsh than what this guy’s case was. But yet he managed to get an immigration lawyer to find a way to get here. What happened to the exclusion period? Did this guy, because he was straight, get married, and was able to come because he now had a “spouse?” How unfair is that? If my partner and I could get married here in Australia, we would, and this wouldn’t even be an issue. But yet it is, and yet it angers me and frustrates me that he was able to find a way to get here after being illegal for over 8 years. But at the same time, it gives me a glimmer of hope, because if he was able to find a way to come back, DIMIA HAS to look at my case no so harshly, don’t they? I know, I’m only wishing here, but it seems to make sense.

Then yesterday my partner was talking to a friend on the phone. Her friend is from work, and is just about ready to have a baby. She’s known me for quite some time, and wrote us a statutory declaration (affidavit) for us for our application and knows all what is going on. She was telling my partner, that she has some friends, who went through the same process as us. Now, I don’t have all the details or circumstances, but from what my partner said…it was a lesbian couple, they went to New Zealand just like we did. They ended up having some confusion with visas as well. I don’t know if the one was unlawful or not, but I’m assuming so. The woman was able to stay on a bridging visa, and after 3 months of waiting, they finally heard back. And the woman was able to get her residency.

So I’m thinking to myself “Oh God, 3 months, I don’t know if financially we can afford it.” But the thing is, we can. It’s just that without me working, we’re only living off of one income. And as managable as that is, we were both hoping I’d be working by now and we’d be able to start paying off my partner’s house. But the way I see it, 3 months down the track, we’ll be in debt, but as long as I’m able to stay, that’s all that matters. Because once I get that visa, I’ll be able to work, and we’ll be able to pay off the debts. The thing with my partner’s mortgage on her house, is she lives off of credit. She doesn’t have a monthly statement she has to pay or anything like that. So worst comes to shove, if she has to get more in “debt” she can. Because once that visa comes through, we’ll be able to pay it back very quickly. I try to tell myself that, that way I don’t freak out because my money is running low. I brought a considerable amount with me when I came back in September. We had the knowledge though that it would last me for a year. We didn’t think we’d have these complications.

I just hope that this stuff is the most of our worries. That DIMIA isn’t skeptical about our relationship, and that’s why they are taking so long. Even though we had a lot of evidence to prove our cohabiation and commitment to the relationship, there were not a lot of financial evidence that we could have used. But we stated that once my temporary residency went through, we’d change all of that. Even though we both know we’re in a committed relationship, having joint bank accounts and having all the bills in both of our names, it didn’t seem logical. Not logical, for the simple fact that we didn’t want DIMIA to know what we were doing, not yet at least. Even though my name isn’t on every bill, we always pay ½.. Whether DIMIA decides to believe us, that is their choice. We have the gas/electricity bill in both our names, but a lot of the bills, I wasn’t able to get my name in. Like my mobile phone bill, and the tv/entertainment center credit card, because I didn’t have enough “proof of ID” points or I didn’t have an income, it wasn’t logical to try and get my name on the account. But once I’m made a residency, I may get more “proof of ID” points.

But after hearing these two stories, as I know every case is different, it does give me a glimmer of hope that just maybe we’ll be okay. I have a gut feeling that we WILL be okay, but yet the realistic part of me is still skeptical. And it’s not a bad thing that I’m being skeptical, it’s just that I guess a part of me is always going to be on edge until we find out.

-current mood-HEART hurts, think I have heartburn at the moment.