1. Started watching an episode of Underbelly.
And then later she asks, When was the last time you realised a change had become the norm?
That question has stuck with me since reading that.
One easy answer is Doctor Who. I've been watching Clara Oswald running around with Peter-Capaldi-Doctor—hardly bothered that I'm no long seeing the the ninth, tenth, and eleventh doctor. And I'm hardly missing Amy, Rory, Rose, Donna, River, etc. I've just grown to accept the change.
I've already grown to accept that I'm no longer watching Neighbours, just as I once grew to accept that I could no longer watch 1980's Home and Away.
Yes. My life is all about TV shows.
Okay, maybe there are other things too.
Such as....
It feels normal to have no grandparents.
It feels normal that I have only one cat now.
It feels normal that we live in this house now and not in our past one.
A few months ago, it kind of felt like our world would be ending, because we were starting a more formal homeschooling curriculum. It was scary imagining that we'd have to give up three hours a day for school work. Now it seems totally normal. It feels weird to think that we once didn't do this studying.
Last January, Tim started working in another state. It felt quite unsettling to think he'd usually be home only on weekends. Now it seems strange that he once lived with us full time.
21. Reminded myself of all the changes I've been through.
At one time, I didn't have a child. I didn't have a laptop or the Internet. I didn't have a phone that I carried with me when I went out.
I wasn't obsessed with Australia.
22. Wondered what crazy changes we will go through in the next few years and how long will it take for them to feel normal to us.
Maybe we'll communicate with the dead or aliens from another planet.
Maybe we'll be teleporting.
Maybe we'll be on the run from zombies.
Who knows.
23. Felt that there are some changes we never adjust to.
For example, I have my doubts that I could accept Michelle Keegan as the Doctor's next companion.
24. Went to the TV Guide fall preview for more searching for Australian actors in new American TV shows.
25. Saw that my next show is called Grandfathered. It stars John Stamos as a man who discovers he's a father and grandfather.
See? It goes back to the whole change becoming the norm thing. At first, the guy is probably shocked. Then eventually, it will get to the point where he can't imagine not having a son and grandchild.
26. Started looking at the cast list of Grandfathered.
Any Australians?
27. Did not find any Australians, but I did find that Josh Peck from Drake and Josh is one of the stars of the show.
We used to watch that show. But now NOT-watching Drake and Josh is our norm.
28. Did not find any Australians.
It looks like the cast is made up of mostly Americans... and a Canadian.
29. Finished watching the one non-Australian show on my to-watch list.
Now I shall go to Random.org to pick my new show.
It's Sea Patrol Season Two.
I'm glad to be getting back to that!
2. Realized there's another Wonderland actor on Underbelly. It's the guy who played Warwick. What's his name again?
Looking....
3. Saw from the Underbelly plot description that there's a character named Warwick in this too.
It would be interesting if it's the same actor.
4. Found the name of the actor. It's Peter Phelps. He does not play Warwick on Underbelly.
5. Confused. I can not find a Warwick in the cast list.
Maybe there's a mistake somewhere; or my eyes are missing something.
6. Saw an actor that looked familiar to me on Underbelly. I finally got his character name, so I could find him on IMDb.
The actor is Nathan Page. He played Charlie on The Secret Life of Us.
I wasn't sure who Charlie was, but now I think I remember. I think he was the guy who was dating Richie (Spencer McLaren).
7. Continued to not be that thrilled by Underbelly.
There's nothing really grabbing my attention or interest.
I have no attachment to any of the characters.
Maybe all that will come in time.
8. Felt guilty about playing QuizUp. Maybe if I played less, I'd pay more attention to Underbelly. and like it more.
Or am I playing QuizUp a lot, because Underbelly is boring to me?
8. Thought that the villains in Underbelly are extremely awful and not at all sympathetic. First, they kill a woman's husband. Then they poison her dogs. Plus, they bribe people.
9. Decided to read about the real-life Aussie Bob, the worst of the villains on Underbelly.
The Australian Dictionary of Biography has a post on Aussie Bob, whose real name was Robert Trimbole.
10. Confused. The biography dictionary says Robert was named Bruno, but then people, at the playground started calling him Bob. Then where does the Robert come from?
11. Confused again. The biography dictionary says Robert/Bruno/Bob was born in Griffith but then it talks about the family migrating from Calabria Italy. They make it sound as if Robert/Bruno/Bob migrated too.
12. Started to understand.
I think the family maybe lived in Griffith but then returned to Italy and then returned to Griffith.
Maybe.
Or I might have it totally wrong.
13. Learned that Robert/Bruno/Bob was an auto mechanic. Things went sour because of taxation issues, and he had given too many discounts to friends.
14. Learned that in the 1970's, Robert/Bruno/Bob got into the business of selling amusement machines and marijuana.
I think amusement machines refers to pinball, because I've seen pinball machines on Underbelly.
15. Learned that Robert/Bruno/Bob owned a steakhouse called Texas Tavern.
16. Learned that Robert/Bruno/Bob got involved with something called the Mr. Asia heroin syndicate. They're the ones who started calling Robert/Bruno/Bob "Aussie Bob". It was to distinguish him from the Kiwis and British people they knew.
17. Learned that Robert/Bruno/Bob died of a heart attack, probably.
He died in Spain.
18. Thought about villains. Some are hateful but fascinating to me. Some are sympathetic and fascinating. Then some are hateful and just boring to me.
Aussie Bob is boring to me in the same way Dimato, from Neighbours, was boring to me.
Norman Bates is sympathetic and fascinating.
Dolores Umbridge is hateful, but fascinating.
Voldemort is hateful, but I also felt some sympathy for him. And I found him fascinating.
19. Thought that maybe the worst villains are the ones who do things for money and greed, and they're controlling. They use a lot of bribery and extortion.
20. Had deep thoughts swirling through my head after watching an episode about Doctor Who.
It's about this blog post I read several weeks ago. I don't even think I mentioned it here after reading it, but it's been stuck in my head.
The post was written by Nikki, the Australian who's lived in Hong Kong, South Africa, and now resides in Atlanta, Georgia. It's her 2014 Thanksgiving post.
Nikki talks about change becoming the norm. She says, Recently my belly button contemplations have centred around when the change becomes the norm. When things that used to stand out and confuse, surprise, unsettle or just plain irk you, don’t any more.
And then later she asks, When was the last time you realised a change had become the norm?
That question has stuck with me since reading that.
One easy answer is Doctor Who. I've been watching Clara Oswald running around with Peter-Capaldi-Doctor—hardly bothered that I'm no long seeing the the ninth, tenth, and eleventh doctor. And I'm hardly missing Amy, Rory, Rose, Donna, River, etc. I've just grown to accept the change.
I've already grown to accept that I'm no longer watching Neighbours, just as I once grew to accept that I could no longer watch 1980's Home and Away.
Yes. My life is all about TV shows.
Okay, maybe there are other things too.
Such as....
It feels normal to have no grandparents.
It feels normal that I have only one cat now.
It feels normal that we live in this house now and not in our past one.
A few months ago, it kind of felt like our world would be ending, because we were starting a more formal homeschooling curriculum. It was scary imagining that we'd have to give up three hours a day for school work. Now it seems totally normal. It feels weird to think that we once didn't do this studying.
Last January, Tim started working in another state. It felt quite unsettling to think he'd usually be home only on weekends. Now it seems strange that he once lived with us full time.
21. Reminded myself of all the changes I've been through.
At one time, I didn't have a child. I didn't have a laptop or the Internet. I didn't have a phone that I carried with me when I went out.
I wasn't obsessed with Australia.
22. Wondered what crazy changes we will go through in the next few years and how long will it take for them to feel normal to us.
Maybe we'll communicate with the dead or aliens from another planet.
Maybe we'll be teleporting.
Maybe we'll be on the run from zombies.
Who knows.
23. Felt that there are some changes we never adjust to.
For example, I have my doubts that I could accept Michelle Keegan as the Doctor's next companion.
24. Went to the TV Guide fall preview for more searching for Australian actors in new American TV shows.
25. Saw that my next show is called Grandfathered. It stars John Stamos as a man who discovers he's a father and grandfather.
See? It goes back to the whole change becoming the norm thing. At first, the guy is probably shocked. Then eventually, it will get to the point where he can't imagine not having a son and grandchild.
26. Started looking at the cast list of Grandfathered.
Any Australians?
27. Did not find any Australians, but I did find that Josh Peck from Drake and Josh is one of the stars of the show.
We used to watch that show. But now NOT-watching Drake and Josh is our norm.
28. Did not find any Australians.
It looks like the cast is made up of mostly Americans... and a Canadian.
29. Finished watching the one non-Australian show on my to-watch list.
Now I shall go to Random.org to pick my new show.
It's Sea Patrol Season Two.
I'm glad to be getting back to that!
