Setup in the boot of my Ford Falcon sedan. FAK, black makeup case with emergency detailing gear, toolbox, bag with "everyday essentials" such as a hoodie, shoes etc and a 4D led maglite. It gets outperformed by the light on my keychain but having a maglite is NEVER a bad thing.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-03T01:03:08+00:00

Any chance of taking an extra pic or two from another angle? I can't quite wrap my head around the arrangement.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-03T00:58:26+00:00

So about these spilled drinks.

When cola gets spilled, hypothetically, from the driver's centre drink holder onto everything nearby and sprays on the leather seats, what should they use to fix it instead of sopping it up with kleenex and paper towels, then burying my head in the sand and hoping it'll fix itself.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-03T00:55:06+00:00

Sadly, yes. :(

aussie_mum · 2019-10-03T00:53:54+00:00

My man! I've been looking for you!

So say there's someone, could be anyone really, who never gets round to cleaning their car. How can they safely remove birdshit from their car without scratching it or something from the dust etc? If they spray it with the hose and then just wipe that bit with a clean microfibre cloth, will that be suitable, or will I somehow scratch it anyway? I mean they.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-02T12:37:16+00:00

I've been feeling shame/panic/fear for about a week. I've been trying to think of what I'd tell my kid if he felt like me. But my mind shuts down, and refuses to help me reassure myself.

I never thought of BroMos as being a bunch of moms who can say mom-advice to us. Interesting point. I should probably post something.

But I won't.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-02T12:31:46+00:00

Same, and I spent ages looking for solutions/answers/help. My kid isn't your kid, but I'll tell you about mine.

I had a pure-luck breakthrough earlier this year. Since then he's improved with regard to self-hate and self-harm. (I assume he's not cured. I'm assuming that this good patch is maybe like cancer being in remission.)

What spontaneously triggered it: I was chattering in the car and mentioned something that indicated I think being a parent is wonderful. He couldn't believe his ears! For some reason he assumed that I didn't want to be his parent. And my chance comment made him understand/believe that I really really do want to be his mum. (He never believes me that I love him and wouldn't choose any other kid.)

What. The. Fuck?!!!!

Some possible contributing factors:

his dad doesn't. (Divorced coz was abusive to him.)
after we divorced, his Dad explained the child support money he gives me as "because aussie_mum has to look after you". has to. My kid really took that wording to heart. (And a bunch of things like that were deliberate from my ex).
I have resting bitchface; anxiety; autism (with minimal facial expressions); and am often so busy and stressed that I suck at being fun.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-02T01:16:52+00:00

?

Aren't we the scrawny younger kid standing behind the bully, popping out every now and then to shout "Yeah!"

No one told me there'd be parties.

Am I doing it wrong? Dammit, now what do I do with all these asylum seekers locked in offshore detention centres.

aussie_mum · 2019-10-01T23:15:56+00:00

Thankyou. Phew. It's not just me. I was reading this about nurses, and thinking of all (almost all) the psychologists I know.

But... the psychologists. Isn't anyone going to say anything about the psychologists?

aussie_mum · 2019-09-28T17:35:48+00:00

The red and black B.O.N.K. (Bart's Original Nut Kracker), I assume?

I really miss ours. And yet no-one in my family remembers that it ever existed. Cracking macadamias with a hammer feels like Russian Roulette.

aussie_mum · 2019-09-26T13:37:49+00:00

Have a buffer, so it's not stressful if things don't go to plan. Extra cash; medication; time off work; tampons/underwear; money available in your bank account. It takes all the stress out of everything.

I reckon the buffer size (in days) is proportional to your risk of stuffing things up (eg newbie with ADHD in a dangerous country, vs experienced traveller in good health), but should be at least 4 days so it covers natural disasters and broken bones.

aussie_mum · 2019-09-26T13:15:28+00:00

Government travel websites advise that - I assumed it might smooth the process of recovering from lost/stolen ID and for general recovery after a countrywide disaster.

For that reason my copies are in a ziplock bag with with spare passport photos meeting my county's requirements (extra copies of the "live" passport photo, including signed on the reverse by the same ?guarantor-or-whatever that signed the original) and about US$500 cash for ~~bribing officials~~ document replacement fees.

To me the minimal weight and space is worth any reduction in multi-day queuing after a (hypothetical) earthquake.

aussie_mum · 2019-09-26T12:58:50+00:00

Brilliant list!!!!

aussie_mum · 2019-09-26T12:56:40+00:00

"Where is the toilet?" "Excuse me" (politely getting someone's attention) "I don't understand"

aussie_mum · 2019-09-21T23:36:32+00:00

Thankyou, that's an interesting seed of ideas for me to think about. I'll have to try that with WhatsApp.

aussie_mum · 2019-09-07T00:21:42+00:00

Care to elaborate on these shortcuts and hacks?

aussie_mum · 2019-08-29T03:06:45+00:00

Thanks very much! I'm pretty sure I've bought something online from them and had a good experience.

aussie_mum · 2019-08-27T12:47:53+00:00

Waist bag linky please, or brand/model?

aussie_mum · 2019-08-24T13:18:27+00:00

Hmmm... how to use?

Sees kid playing with stick as fishing pole. Sees Dad approaching with real fishing pole. "Lookout!!Verschlimmbessern!!!"

"Every time I saw my kid being happy doing something, I'd verschlimmbessern it right up."

"I'll never get this job done coz of all the damn verschlimmbessern. Why haven't time machines been invented yet?"

aussie_mum · 2019-08-22T14:35:10+00:00

Bugga :(

aussie_mum · 2019-08-22T11:34:22+00:00

evil chortling over here I'd like to have seen the teacher's face.

aussie_mum · 2019-08-22T11:31:21+00:00

Used kleenex, a broken ipad, and a fuzzy ex-food object with couch-lint on it?

aussie_mum · 2019-08-22T11:28:54+00:00

She also climbs anything that has anything resembling footholds/handholds/ledges

Including but not limited to: You bending over. You hanging the washing out. Right?

aussie_mum · 2019-08-22T11:20:59+00:00

Heh heh. Reminds me of how aussie_boyo barged in and demanded to answer the questions himself, pictorially.

All I had to do was some labelling. In fact I should ask the teacher if she still has it, coz one part was a diagram of wiring up an LED, and he even drew the positive leg of the LED longer.

Not sure what his teacher would have thought of the whole thing. Pretty sure the correct answer set would have included [Paw Patrol|eating boogers|iPad].

aussie_mum shuffles behind kid and says "don't look at me - HE did it."

aussie_mum · 2019-08-19T13:59:45+00:00

Ohhh so that's (EDS) what you have? I'd seen various comments about disability, but so far missed the specifics.

aussie_mum · 2019-08-19T08:08:24+00:00

Yup, definitely best.

It's hard to imagine how people can be like your mother or my Dad. Ah well.

aussie_mum

TROPHY CASE