Birdie comes before par - this is the way it went in my case anyway... I got my first birdie recently at Elsternwick Golf Course on the 2nd hole (approx 128m). I teed off using (of all things!) a 7-wood.

I drew the club back about 90 degrees (I think - this expertise apparently comes from playing Tiger Woods on Playstation - and they say computer games have no real-world applications!)

The two guys who had just left the 2nd green stopped to watch.
I made contact.
I heard an expletive and joyous sounds from my partner. The two guys kept watching.
I saw the ball land on the green and thought "well, that's good. I won't have to chip."
The closer I got to the green, the more I started to realise what I had just done.
The ball was possibly a metre or more away from the flag.
But it was no gimme.
My brain went haywire.
I crouched at one end, then at the other. I think I was holding out my putter to line it up. Little did anybody know, I didn't quite know what the putter-holding was actually for. All I knew was that it looks good. Tiger does it all the time.
It was time to putt.
I took a deep breath.
Then another.
Then another.
I started to get lightheaded and decided to stop taking deep breaths.
"Stop looking at it and just putt!" I thought. I couldn't stop looking at it. Was there something I missed? A secret break? I didn't know. The importance of the shot started to weigh upon me.
"If you don't do it now you're going to freeze and f@ck up!"
I finally hit it.
The ball coasted on a straight line, then rolled towards the outer left of the cup. It was heading to lip out.
"Oh well," I thought "at least I'll get a par. I've never got a par before. I got a bogey once but that's not the same as..."
I heard a shout. My partner was practically levitating off the green. The ball bent neatly to the right and went in. I was stunned.
Nobody said anything for a second as we stared at each other.
"Rasthermathugraaaa!!!" I shouted.
"Woohooo!" he yelled.
"Yeaaaaahh!! Haaa!! Whooo!!!" I shouted again.
I celebrated Tiger Woods style by leaning back almost horizontally and pumping both fists in the air. Then I looked around, adjusted my cap like I do this all the time, and walked off with my clubs muttering "Haaaa!!" breathlessly.
We continued in a daze. I think it took me a few holes and many wistful "I got a f@cking birdie" repetitions for it to sink in.
If you pardon the pun.

And no, I still haven't got a par yet....

technorati tags: golf birdie elsternwick golf course

What are your experiences of makeup? Me, I'm a girly-girl in only one respect - I love my makeup. For a long time I have worn the standard liquid foundation (Revlon New Complexion) which in my opinion is the best of the gluggy bunch. This formula can look pretty unnatural and can mask the skin's radiance, giving you a pale or"'greyed out" look. This is why foundation has always been a bit of a grey area for me (pun intended).

The biggest problem with this kind of makeup is the dreaded 3:15 slide. That's the time when the coverage of the makeup wears off and the shiny stuff starts to show through. I, like many people, have "oily skin". It means that I get shiny in the afternoon and makeup finds it hard to stay on, which is why I found myself rushing to reapply a touch-up layer mid-afternoon.

I have begun trialling Musq Mineral Makeup for the past week. The first thing I noticed is that I no longer need to reapply. At 7pm I can look in the mirror and look the same as I did at 7:30am when I first applied the makeup. I no longer have to think about reapplying - I can use the time for other, more important thinking. Like golf for example....

The makeup contains concentrated natural ingredients with no talc or bismuth oxychloride. I have trouble remembering the oxymoron name but I do remember the ingredient is something you do not want on your face. It dawned on me that I may have been over-stimulating my sebaceous glands with the chemicals in my liquid makeup for an extended period of time.

The first day I tried the mineral makeup my skin felt a bit dry. It was a powder, after all. I thought "Oh well, it's not for me." By day two my skin had normalized itself and the look and texture had begun to improve. At this time I started to realise that I may be doing something good for my skin instead of irritating it with chemicals.

The powder is unlike any normal powder you might find in a compact. The ordinary powders feel as if they are weighing heavily on your skin. Conversely, this makeup is lightweight and feels like no makeup at all. It looks as if I am not wearing makeup but it has good coverage and the added protection of SPF 17-20.

I will be interested to see how long my container lasts. I was surprised that the container was listed as 5g but when it arrived, 5g of powder looked like more than I had imagined. If this container lasts as long as I think it's going to last, then it's good value. Remember - with mineral makeup, less is more.

technorati tags: mineral makeup musq

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My wonderful Kabuki brush arrived and I am happy to report it is a roaring success!!! No shedding, great coverage using mineral makeup and it comes in such a cute bag!

Total cost: $4.99 + $5.00 postage & handling = $9.99

I have saved approximately $30-40 on a name brand brush. This Ebay purchase is one of my biggest successes. Yippee!! I have now ordered a new Musq mineral makeup in the colour "Maldives" - suitable for asian skin with yellow undertones. Although I was born in Australia (blaaoordy oath mayyyte!! - sorry to everybody who didn't get that, it was an Australian reference!), I do seem to have a "where does she come from" kind of thing about my skin tone. Finally I have found a yellow-undertoned mineral makeup that feels natural and looks like I'm not wearing makeup. More reports to come...

technorati tags: kabuki brush mineral makeup

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I made the decision to get some web design qualifications early last year. As a result, I have been able to create websites using CSS, but most importantly I can create with confidence. It is reassuring to know that you have received the best possible training to advance your progress in your chosen area of IT - be it security, voice or wireless. I do not profess to be an expert in these particular areas, but I can see the value in learning and developing these skills.

There is a great demand for all kinds of skills in information technology. So many areas are growing so quickly that it takes some attention and application to keep up. It is important for IT professionals to become the supply that the industry is demanding.

Cisco certification provides all kinds of IT training - from entry level to expert/specialist. The site also provides information on IT careers and what it takes to be a "network security superhero". I am going to try my hand at the binary game, called "having fun with binary". I remember learning about binary as a kid, programming in BASIC and generally learning my way around computers. I must say that I have never used the word "binary" and "fun" in the same sentence but I'm willing to be re-educated. You may have noticed there are many "make money online" sites everywhere you turn on your daily surfing adventures. I'm not criticising these sites in any way, let me make this clear, but it is a well known (and tested) fact that if you update / upgrade your IT training, you can make way more moolah. And that's what we all like to hear!

I had the misfortune of being hungry at a well known Melbourne railway station yesterday. I had travelled for a long distance and felt ravenous from the journey.

I had even decided to go for the closest approximation of food I could find - namely Hungry Jacks (Burger King in the US). I eat at fast food restaurants perhaps once a year - if I absolutely can't avoid it.

This time there was no turning back. My hunger pains were leading me in the direction of HJs and there was no stopping me. My partner was starving also and we had already worked out our order.

I spoke to the bespeckled and bepimpled character behind the counter, who I shall refer to as "P".

Me: "I'll have a vegie burger small meal deal with one extra vegie burger."

P: "Okay... is that medium or large meal deal?"

Me: "A small. With one extra vegie burger."

P: "Anything else?"

Me: "Yes, I'd like another vegie burger and a large onion rings."

P: "So that's two vegie burgers..."

Me: "No it's three vegie burgers altogether." (I run through the entire order again)

P: "Okay, so that's two vegie burgers...did you want coke?"

Me: "No, three vegie burgers. Yes, coke is fine."

P: "Okay, two vegie burgers and a coke."

Me: "Three vegie burgers. Three altogether."

P: "Two vegie burgers..." (she is getting annoyed now)

Me: "Three."

P: "Yeah. That's what I said!" (hands on hips and glaring at me)

Me: ?!?!?!?


Meanwhile the lady behind me (who shall be known as "K") was declaring very loudly that this restaurant should be condemned by the board of health.

"It's filthy!" she argued with the same bespeckled 16 year old genius who had served me.

The 16 year old was indignant.

P: "Well we have been very busy."

K: "That's not the point. It's a health hazard out there. Somebody needs to clean it up. Can I speak to your manager."

The manager came out, sporting perhaps a whole extra year on "P" and a few less pimples. She sent out someone to "clean up" which consisted of walking around the area once and finally moving one high chair two inches. The floor was still littered with wrappers, bits of pickle, all sorts of hideous things. The seats outside were so bad that my partner and I opted for the comfy spot near the doorway where everybody coming in can crash into your suitcases.

We finally got our food and sat down awkwardly. Taking a bite, we both looked up at each other and sighed.

The burgers were cold. Not just a bit cold but stone cold.

I got up, gathering the burgers and trudged back to the counter. By now my hunger was a raging fever and all that was standing between me and some food was "P".

Me: These burgers are cold. Could you possibly make us some hot ones?

P: (stares sullenly at me, grabs burgers, disposes of the burgers, mutters and has a private conversation with a weird looking guy)

This weird looking guy eyeballs me. I give him an inquisitive look as if to say "yes, I'm the one fussy person that expects 'flame grilled' Hungry Jacks burgers to be hot. Since flames are hot and all that."

I watch as this strange and suspicious person goes back into the kitchen (which I hoped was not as disgusting as the "restaurant" itself) and grabs some ingredients.

He assembles the ingredients. I watched him to make sure he didn't sully the burger out of spite. So far so good. It's a new burger. Things are looking up.

Then he lifts the burger up and puts it straight in the microwave. My heart and my shoulders sank. What did I expect exactly? A real flame grill? Any sort of attention to food preparation whatsoever?

The burgers WERE hot. Straight out of the microwave.

Except mine. A small quadrant of the burger was still stone cold.

Perhaps they should get their flame grilled microwave fixed.

technorati tags: hungry jacks burger king fast food customer service