Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, Unromantic Couple Trips, Rape, and Sympathetic Characters

1. Dreamed about fresh water crocodiles, and I worried about another crocodile being a saltwater one. I'm not going to go into details about this dream. I'll just say it involved a game with M and M's, and a man turned into a crocodile.

2. Dreamed about Ariel and Dena Kaplan.  I'm sitting across a cafeteria table from them. They're both very friendly. They want to know if the brother of Tim's best friend is gay or not. I say yes, he's gay. The Kaplan sisters are disappointed but in a giggly way. 

I notice they have gaps in their teeth. I suggest maybe we're related, because I have them too. But then I remember I don't. It's Jack who has the gaps. I'm embarrassed about giving them wrong information about myself. 

3. Started to watch an episode of Neighbours.

I'm curious to know what's happening with Amber's (Jenna Rosenow) baby.

Is it something that will end up ending the pregnancy? Or is it something that will make parenting a bit more challenging for Amber, Josh (Harley Bonner) and Daniel (Tim Phillips)

3. Learned that the baby has a hernia thing that leads to organ displacement.

Karl says it's serious but doesn't say it's fatal.  Maybe it's something that can be treated?

4. Learned from Josh's Internet research that the baby has a fifty percent chance of surviving after birth. Josh also reads that steroids can be used as treatment. Daniel gets annoyed at Josh for looking on the Internet and says he wants to hear what Karl has to say. But when Amber asked about the baby's chances, Karl said he'd rather not answer.

I really don't understand why some people are so against finding medical information on the Internet.

I imagine these people see doctors as god-like entities that know everything and have all the answers.

5. Saw Amber freaking out with guilt, feeling she did something that caused the hernia problem.

Josh knows that's not true and tries to reassure her, BECAUSE he took the time to read on the Internet.

6. Read positive stuff from Boston Children's Hospital about Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. They say,   The outlook for babies born with CDH is increasingly positive with new surgical techniques and ways to support babies as they heal. However, it’s possible that your baby can have long-term problems and need regular follow-up care after going home from the hospital.

They do say, though, that babies have a better survival rate at their hospital than others in the US.

I wonder which hospitals in Australia are the best for CDH.

7.  Saw that there's a CDH Australia organization.

They have a list of hospitals. The ones for Victoria are The Royal Children's Hospital, The Royal Woman's Hospital, and Monash Medical Center in Clayton.

I don't think any of them are super close to Erinsborough, which is in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne.  But I don't think the drive would be too far.

8. Heard Nate (Meyne Wyatt) mention his cousin Zeke (Matthew Werkmeister)  Zeke is the character that was in the backstage video I watched yesterday. I didn't know he was cousins with Nate.

Maybe Zeke is the kid who was homeschooled—the one who was the son of the guy married to Susan (Jackie Woodburne)

9. Consulted Lord Wiki.

I'm right. Zeke is the homeschooled son of Alex (Andrew Clarke), the guy married to Susan.

10. Saw that there's now an Australian actress on Pretty Little Liars.  Her name is Tammin Surosk.  Like the Kaplan sisters, Surosk was born in South Africa.

I found out about Surosk, because my niece mentioned some actress from Pretty Little Liars raising money to make a show in Australia. I haven't seen anything about that yet. Maybe my niece is confused; or maybe there's another actress wanting to make a TV show about Australia?

Is it supposed to be a show about Australia or filmed in Australia? I'm confused.

11. Started to watch the seventh episode of The Slap.

This one centers on Aisha (Sophie Okonedo)

12. Thought this episode was a bit slow so far. Although I've only watched about eight minutes.

And I took Benadryl a few hours ago. My tiredness might make the show seem boring.

13. Saw Aisha have an awkward moment.

She's at a work conference. A man, she might be attracted to, invites himself up to her hotel room to show her something. As she's waiting for him, her children and husband call her on video chat.

14. Thought the scenes of Aisha and her husband Hector (Jonathan LaPaglia), in Bali, were well done.

They're together, without their kids, in a very romantic place  People might suspect they're having a lovely time together but instead, it's tense and quiet.

I think there's this idea that if a couple is troubled, all they need is some time along together without their kids, and everything will be fine.

It's not always the case.

15. Disgusted with Hector.

So, it turns out that Harry (Alex Dimitriades) has been violent before. Hugo (Julian Mineo) wasn't his first victim. He hit his wife nine years ago. Aisha and Hector know about it but have kept it a secret. And from what Aisha is saying, she's been pressured to keep the secret.

To make things worse, Rosie confided in Aisha about leaving Hugo home alone when he was six weeks old—probably postnatal depression.  I guess Aisha told Hector. Hector told Harry, and it was used against Rosie in court.

16. Decided Hector, his cousins, and his parents are all pretty awful people.

17. Hoped that Aisha divorces Hector and gets the hell away from his family.

Although I guess the latter part is impossible, because her kids will probably want to see their father, cousins, grandparents, etc. Aisha can't cut ties completely.

18. Read some of the Hulu comments. Well, I've actually been reading them through out the series.

It's fascinating to me, because some commenters are on the opposite side of me. They think Aisha is a horrible person for caring more about Rosie than her husband, and they think she's awful for not agreeing to go on the Greece trip.

I think there's some people for whom family is EVERYTHING. You always choose family loyalty over anything else.

19. Thought about how I believe sticking to one's principles comes before family. But that might be in theory only. I don't think I've ever been put to the test.

If someone in my family did something that I was morally against—something I felt should be punished by the law; would I turn them in? I really don't know.  I kind of think I wouldn't; though I wish I would. I imagine myself not turning them in and feeling really depressed and anxious about it.

The situation I've had in my head before is this:  Someone in my family is driving. They get in an accident. I know for a fact that they were looking at their texts while driving. They don't reveal this when talking to the police. Would I step forward and say anything?

20. Felt that if I was given a court summons, and was questioned, I wouldn't lie. I would tell the truth then. I'm just not sure I'd come forward with the truth without being summoned.

In extreme situations, I'm sure I would.

If I found out someone in my family was a rapist or murderer, I'd call the police. I hope.

21. Started watching the last episode of The Slap.

This episode centers on Richie (Blake Davis)

22. Saw that Brendan Cowell wrote this episode. And he also appears in it.

23. Saw that Cowell plays Richie's dad.

24. Felt sad for Richie. He's gay but in that period of not wanting to be.

He masturbates while looking at his dad's porn magazines. That doesn't help. Then it all works out when he looks at a picture of Hector. This doesn't make him very happy.

25. Felt okay about Connie having a crush on Hector, because I don't like her. But with Richie, there's something much more sympathetic about him. I wish he had a crush on someone better than Hector.

26. Wondered about Richie. Is the one in the book very different from the one in the series?

I read the book a few years. I hardly remember anything. What I thought I did remember is that Richie was the one character I liked.  But now he's not seeing very likable. He's sympathetic, but it's more in a sad and pathetic way.

He's a stalker. He's sexually attracted to his prey but at the same time hates him.

27. Annoyed with Rosie.

Richie takes Hugo to the park. Afterward, they're at a crosswalk. Hugo spits at an old man. Richie angrily scolds him and tries to get Hugo to apologize. Hugo refuses. When they get home, Richie tells Rosie what happened. Instead of scolding Hugo or demanding to know what he did, she coddles Hugo, and asks him if the old man scared him.

28. Disturbed that Richie labels Hector as a rapist. Legally speaking...technically he is that. But I think there's a huge difference between forcing someone to have sex and statutory rape with a willing older teenager.

29. Read that in Victoria, the age of consent is sixteen. So that would mean Connie is fifteen!

I take back what I said about an older teenager. Fifteen seems quite young to me.

30. Felt very bad for Richie.

31. Thought scene between Richie and his mother was incredibly sad and painful.

He causes some drama, and it's revealed that he's been stalking Hector. His mom gets extremely mad. Then Richie attempts suicide. The mother finds him and feels horrible.

I hope he survives. I can't remember, from the book, if he does or not.

32. Surprised.

Connie comes over and tells Richie that Hector didn't rape her. Richie asks, why then did she tell him that he did. I must have missed all that. Maybe I was daydreaming or paying too much attention to a QuizUp question.

I had no idea that Connie (Sophie Lowe) told Richie she has been raped.

So maybe Connie isn't fifteen, and it's not a matter of statutory rape.

33. Thought Richie was quite disturbed. But I think he's the most interesting and complex character.

I'm close to the end of the episode, and my feelings now better match those I had when reading the book.

I think there's something likable about him.  It's like he's a nice kid with some disturbing qualities. In a way, he kind of reminds me of Norman on Bates Motel.  Norman is scary and dangerous but also incredibly sweet and vulnerable.

Richie isn't as extreme and bad. He's not a killer. But he angrily stalks the man he believes raped his good friend. And, at the same time, he's sexually attracted to this man.

34. Thought of the scene where Richie masturbates while looking at a picture of Hector. He seemed upset about this—guilty and disturbed. I thought it was just about him not wanting to be gay. But I guess it was also about being sexually attracted to someone he believed to be a villain.

35. Had tears when watching the end of The Slap.

I think it's a very powerful series.

36. Amused, because when I finished watching The Slap, Hulu had the first episode of Tangle as what they wanted me to watch next.

It's like they're saying, Well, hey...if you enjoyed watching those dysfunctional, unhappy Australians, we have some more for you! 

37. Thought that Tangle is very similar to The Slap.  Both are about a single incident that causes a huge mess in multiple families.

38. Wanted to say that I had plans to rate the characters on my blog from the one I had most sympathy for down to the one I had the least sympathy for.  Who would I wish to have happiness, and who do I feel doesn't deserve happiness.

But after seeing the ending, I decided I'd wish for them all to be okay.

None of them are evil. They're just imperfect humans.

I want redemption and happy endings for all of them.

39. Went to Random.org to pick my next TV show. It's called Outland It's science fiction comedy.

I hope I like it better than The Strange Calls.

40. Saw that the singer Christine Anu is one of the stars of Outland.