I got a message on facebook from someone I haven't spoken to in a while. It was unexpected. I can't quite use "surprise" - in my world it implies positivity. This wasn't particularly charged with neither positivity or negativity - it was just plain unexpected. It made me think for a little bit. Was he someone I wanted in my circle of friends? The term friend is used so loosely these days - you meet someone, you talk to them a little, you don't find them particularly detestable.. Viola! They're now your friend. Adding a person as a friend on facebook doesn't seem like such a huge gesture, but it make me wonder if he was someone I really wanted to be friends with.

I thought better of it. Someone that made me learn what betrayal feels like is not someone I want to be friends with. Not even on an impersonal level like an online community. There it is. I didn't think of it before; I thought we could be friends - not the close kind, but still friends. I've realised that some choices aren't good for me, even if I make them with the best intentions. I don't have to be that big a person and try to make sure the other party doesn't feel too guilty. He doesn't deserve to be a part of my life in any capacity. Betrayal is not something I will forget. I'm proud and too damned stubborn.

I've learnt a lot about myself in the last couple of years. I'm not that much clearer about what I want, but I have learnt about what's good for me, and what I deserve.

I've probably said it all before, but I'm re-learning to believe I deserve to be happy. Surrounding myself with anything other than what's condusive to my happiness is no longer something I will consciously subject myself to.

Another new job. Sounds awful when I say it like that. I might have found something I half (at least!) enjoy. All this working full time is.. worky really. Spent almost a year in the first job, three months in the second and I'm into my third week of this one. Not ages, but long enough for me to feel like I've been there a really long time, and for everyone to seem to regard me as having been there a really long time.

There are heaps of people traits that annoy me. I've realised it's always the same things that irritate me; incompetence that is result of laziness, and shirking of responsibility. Some people I know will say it's because Australians in general embrace mediocrity. There was time I would have agreed without a thought, but it's one of those things.. the ones where a rotten smelly egg (or apple or whatever rotten thingy you like) spoils the bunch. And it's super-obvious in a small workspace.

I'm wondering now, which is worse, the Australians that do embrace mediocrity and can't be bothered to do anymore for themselves but complain that they'd been hard done by? Or the people that believe that Australians embrace mediocrity and therefore themselves don't have to strive for anything more and have become nothing more than pathetic? Attributing blame for your circumstance to anyone other than yourself is sad and cowardly. Staying in a job you're unsatisfied with trying to make yourself out to be a martyr by staying in a job claming they "need" you is the same thing. If you're unwilling or too damned lazy or afraid to make the change you want, you deserve your mediocrity. I learnt that. Lay blame where you like, it's never going to change that you're the one in charge of your happiness.

I digress, but I like where I am. Job satisfaction is a huge part of this chapter of my at present, poorly chronicled existance. I spend more than 8 hours of my awake time at work, so I'd really rather I enjoyed it. Maybe I even enjoy the poopy bits - when they're sufficiently spaced. There's nothing worse than being in a job that provides no challenge. Being bored at work is awful, it's worse than being angry; at least with being angry there's emotion - you know you're feeling. Bored is just emptiness, nothing, space. The void just breeds voidyness and voidyness breeds little voidy blocks that run around and stick the empty void in your face. It's all bad.

1. You're familiar with Neighbours, Home and Away, Playschool, A Country Practice, Norman Gunston, Barry Humphries, Blue Heelers, Ray Martin, Bert Newton, Lisa McCune, Jon Burgess, Number 96, Molly Meldrum, Kerry O'Brien, and of course, Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch.

2. You know that Burger King doesn't exist. It's Hungry Jacks.

3. You know that snow is a memorable and freakish occurrence. Sometimes it's even fake.

4. You know the difference between thongs and a G-banger

5. You know that "stubbies" are either short shorts or small beer bottles, a "gimp", "bogan" or "geezer" is a random idiot, someone in trouble is in "strife" and you're liable to burst out laughing whenever you hear of Americans "rooting" for something.

4. You know how to abbreviate every word, all of which usually end in -o: arvo, combo, garbo, kero, lezzo, metho, milko, muso, rego, servo, smoko, speedo, righto etc.

5. You know that some ppl pronounce "Australia" like "Strayla" and that's ok.

6. You know that there is a universal place called "woop woop" located in the middle of nowhere... no matter where you actually are.

7. You know that while we call our friends 'mates', we don't use terms like 'shiela' and 'shrimp on the barbie', contrary to popular belief.

8. You know that none of us actually drink Fosters beer because it tastes like shit. But we let the world think we do. Because we can.

9. You know that if a man has sex with another man, he's a homosexual, and (until recently), a criminal in Tasmania

10. You resent people who succeed over others- everyone should do the same thing, so we all get a "fair go"; a kind of 'American-dream' in reverse. This is why we actively like not liking Americans.

11. You've seen Gallipoli, Crocodile Dundee, Young Einstein, Muriel's Wedding, The Castle, Beneath Clouds, Strictly Ballroom, 40,000 Horsemen, and maybe even Wolf Creek.

12. It makes you happy when someone in Hollywood is actually Australian... Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Russle Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Baz Luhrman, Elle MacPherson, Olivia Newton-John, Midnight Oil, ACDC, INXS, Greg Norman, Cathy Freeman, Dawn Fraser, Pat Rafter, Ian Thorpe...

13. One word: Skippy.

14. You know that Sydney 2000 was one of our proudest moments in history. We just fucking rock.

15. You know that you are not going to die of cholera or other Third World diseases (remote Aboriginal communities are a different matter)

16. You know our country has never been conquered by a foreign nation (you don't count 1788).

17. We know that the Metric system will always be better than anything inches, feet, pounds and farenheit will ever offer

18. You drive on the left-hand side of the road.

19. If you're a pedestrian and cars are stopped at a red light, you will fearlessly cross the street in front of them. 'Hit and runs' just aren't cricket. Because aussies stick together.

20. You think of Australia as being somewhat out of place within the Asia-Pacific region; surrounded by unstable ex-colonial nations who regard you as racist, imperialist, and unfairly wealthy.

21. You know that New Zealanders are basically our naive country cousins, who have a weird fush-and-chups accent, and for some bizzare reason, think that they invented pavlova. Bastards. They are to be pitied and laughed at. They have no hope of gaining the upper hand in the endless sporting rivalry between our two nations.

22. You know that you can't eat Fantales alone... Otherwise who will you play the 'Who am I...' game with when you're reading the wrapper?

23. You know that Sydney should be the capital because Canberra is a hole.

24. You know that Americans think we're all Steve Irwin clones. And crickey, they couldn't be more wrong.

25. You know that Lawyers wear wigs and gowns. And we make it look good.

26. You have some time in your life slept with Aeroguard on in the summer. Maybe even as perfume.

27. You feel obliged to spread salty black stuff that looks like congealed motor oil on bread... and actually grow to like it. You've also squeeze Vegemite through Vita Wheats to make little Vegemite worms.

28. You believe that democracy means the freedom to draw caricatures of good ol' Johnny Howard

29. You think footballers dressing up in drag on TV is funny (but your son being gay isn't).

30. You have the ability to compress several words into one - ie 'g'day' and 'd'reckn?'. This allows more space for profanities.

31. You've ever used the words - tops, ripper, sick, mad, rad, sweet - to mean good. And then you place 'bloody' in front of it when you REALLY mean it.

32. You know that the barbeque is a political arena; the person holding the tongs is always the boss and usually a man. And the women make the salad.

33. The private lives of footy and cricket players become more important than local and national news stories.

34. You say 'no worries' quite often, whether you realise it or not.

35. You know what fairy bread tastes like, and you can't imagine your childhood without it.

36. You know the first verse to the national anthem, but still don't know what "girt" means. And you're ok with that.

37. You've drank your tea/coffee/milo through a tim tam.

38. You know that backyard cricket is a nice way to bond with family and the rubbish bin. And the 'one bounce, one hand' rule always applies.

39. You know that we are home to the just about all of the world's deadliest of animals. That's why if anybody messes with us we'll get some funnel webs on their asses.

40. You see people walking bare-foot on the sidewalk and don't scorn.... because you're doing it too.

41. You know what trop-fest is and it makes you happy.

42. Sausage rolls and meat pies. End of story.

43. You firmly believe that in the end, everything will be ok and have offered advice that included the words, "she'll be right, mate".

44. You have a story that somehow involves an excessive consumption of goon... but you can't remember.

45. You own a Bond's chesty. In several different colours.

46. You've ordered a steak the size as your head and only paid $5 at your local RSL

47. You know that Italy should never have been granted that fateful kick in the 2006 Soccer World Cup.

48. You know how to slip, slop, slap like it's nobody's business.

49. You've heard the Prime Minister dismiss anyone who disagrees with him simply as 'un-Australian', and that's enough to make us sit down and shut up.

50. You know that the value of a public holiday is measured in terms of alcohol. God bless the queen and her 4-day birthday.

Thank Berni! It all makes sense now. Some people will never understand...

Pretty okay. Well some of them, okay, the one I met this morning. He wasn't strange, smell funny, look like he would try to blow himself up in the middle of Forrest Chase or was overly friendly or interested in my affairs. I would describe my cab ride as a decent, light-hearted chat about not-so-current affairs and society.

Had another job interview this morning. Yeah, I woke up late and I was so prepared. I believe me, don't you. It was alright.

Heroes is awesome! Almost on par with Firefly. Woooooo! I watched all 23 episodes, now there's none left and I don't know what's going to happen next.