I've got so much to catch up on at the moment. But this little morsel couldn't wait.

Izabella has just walked into the lounge with her fingernails and toenails painted.

With a pink felt-tip pen.

My mother informed me on the phone this afternoon that my daughter (who is staying with them this week, we're getting her back this Sunday) was brought to her from my nana with eyes swollen red from a lot of crying.

Apparently, my nan told my daughter that "Your daddy is dying to see you again."

And, well, it wasn't a turn of phrase she was used to.

AUUUUUUGH KID!!

Okay, so it's great that the fast food places have two options for their kid's meal toys. What I resent is being ignored when I attempt to find which one my daughter would prefer.

When I ask "What are the toy options" I want to be told the toy options, I do NOT want to just be shown the 'girl' option because I have a girl. SHE makes her own decisions based on what she wants, and I don't want some cashier who knows nothing about my kid to make that choice based on a stereotype.

She's picked a Hot Wheels car over some doll before, and she picked a pink kitty over Megatron this weekend*. Both are perfectly fine Choices, but she got them because she wanted them, not because of any assumption made on her part by anyone else.

Is it really so pointless to even entertain the notion that a small girl might just have an interest in race cars and big shooty robots?

*I still maintain if we came in when they had Bumblebee there'd have been a different outcome...

Izabella just got sixth place (out of 12) on the Mushroom Cup in Mario Kart Wii.

Using the Wheel.

On Mirror Mode.

DANG.

"Bumblebee is a good guy, right?"
"Yeah!"
"And the good guys are called... Au-to-bots."
"Ohhhhhh."
"So Bumblebee is a...."
"Good guy!"

So yeah. I got the temp work. As in ACTUALLY GOT IT I SIGNED THE CONTRACT AND EVERYTHING. It's call centre work, which will be interesting.

It's also only for 3 1/2 weeks, but that'll give me some time to find a more permanent job. And looking for work whilst making money is ALWAYS more comfortable than not. I start on Monday.

Of course, all of this is coming together pretty damn quickly. Next week I am:

-Starting my first day at my new job
-Finishing packing and starting moving/cleaning
-Attending my last Indian cooking class
-Meeting the boy I'll be mentoring for Big Brothers Big Sisters
-Attending a career day for another place I might be trying to land a job with
-Going to a parent-teacher conference for Izabella

BUSY.

I've also been told by the blood bank that I should donate platelets, so I hope they can fit me in tomorrow sometime since next week is completely out.

Oh, and before I forget. Thank you so much to the support people have offered on last week, both in the replies to my stressful posts and through other mediums. I really, truly appreciate it. It's good to have friends who are there for you. Thank you, thank you.

So, I got back from picking up Izabella from the after-school care that we enrolled her in this week.

You know. The one that we got her into because I couldn't pick her up myself. Because I had a job.

So, after three fucking days of them being such great caregivers for her, and being understanding about our financial situation while we move and all, and with Izabella spending time with one of her school friends after hours, I've had to tell them that I would be severing the contract with them immediately.

More than anything else these last two days, this just really got to me. I'm so humiliated, I'm infuriated with the fucker who told me everything would be fine, I just.. GAAAH.

Last week, everything was looking good. I mean sure, we've still got the nice flat we're moving to, but we're going to be moving to it on a single income.

I really just want to cry. Any time life wants to stop crapping on me, that'd be just peachy.

I've been informed that Izabella suggested a sleepover at a friend's house.

The friend's mother said, "Have you done a sleepover before?"

She replied, "Yes, at my house, lots of times."

Ah, bless.

She had a dress-up theme for her party - Fairies and Pirates.

She was all dressed up and brushing her own hair in the lounge. I was in the kitchen and I could overhear her talking to herself:

"I'm a fairy! I'm a BYOOOOO-ful fairy!"

I then heard a loud series of raspberry sounds. Bless her.

Good day all in all, got to chat with some of the parents and the girls had a blast. Though I'm still recuperating from it today. Both sets of grandparents are coming around to wish Izabella a happy birthday today, and we've got heaps of cheerios and lollies to fill them up on.

Man, this Halloween was nothing compared to last year. The doorway was inundated with moochers in their everyday clothes just looking for free lollies. The lack of interest in our neighbourhood was so disappointing that we just didn't bother making a costume for Izabella like we did last year. Maybe I'll load her up on sugar before sending her off to school tomorrow to make up to her.

This year? We had two visitors at the door. The first instance had a kid with face paint, who had a teenage chapperone and a sister/friend roughly her age with no costume. I went to get the lollies for the two of them, and when I got to the door the teenager had a bag out too! Yes, I gave her some, I cave like a house of cards sometimes. The second was the neighbour's kid and some friends. Besides the fact that they had made no attempt at a costume, giving them sugar for ANY occasion was a Very Bad Idea. When I said no to them the 4 year old boy immediately goes "Me come inside?" This is his very unsubtle attempt at getting to play our Gamecube (There is NO way that kid is playing the Wii with it's $100 controllers) and ignore our daughter. Y'know, the person he's supposed to be there visiting. They left when they were yelled at from a parent of one of the kids, who we saw give them a pretty rough kick on their butt. Yeah, when are we leaving this neighbourhood again? Oh right, when I get a job and we can afford to. Gotta get on that.

In other news, Muse fucking rock. I should look in to whether or not they're touring New Zealand any time soon.

ENGAGE RANDOM BULLET POINTS.

- Why you should never bring a verbal knife to a verbal gunfight. (Warning: Bad Language follows.) Dude, it's Kevin Smith. What did you think was going to happen?

-I cannot make two lame gay jokes under tight time constraints. I fail.

-Izabella had a pirate-themed day today. ( Okay together now everyone: Awwwww. )She really got into it, and could "Arr" and "Avast ye" with the best of them. That lisp she's still got (New teeth haven't grown in yet) only makes it cuter.

-Adam, here's that thing you wanted:

The rest of you - click on the link and go watch the rest of the videos. They're quite good.

-Teaser footage for the new Iron Man movie. They have got so much right in this movie, it's just awesome.

-Very good Geek Night tonight, with what was easily the best mario Kart game I've played in a long time. "GODDAMN BUS!!!"

Izabella is going through the phone book ("I like the phone book!" She says enthusiastically.) And there is a large picture of New Zealand on one of the pages. Lyz asks her "What's that, Izabella?" And she goes "That's the weather!"

I guess it's good that she recognizes the map from the weather reports on TV.

Today, playing Wii Sports, Izabella said 'oh fuck'. Dang. I was hoping she wouldn't use that word until she was at least eight.

So, I did the parental thing and gave her a time out. When she was done I went and gave her a hug.

While hugging me, she says to me "I'm sorry I said fuck."

It's so difficult to tell your daughter that she's not allowed to say that word even then when you're struggling to resist cracking up laughing.

( Wherein I rant about my new neighbours. )

Edit: Finished the uncompleted sentence about the 8 year old. If you haven't read it, it's a doozy.

So Izabella was playing Wii Bowling. While I was busy ordering Pizza on the phone, she started another game. She finished it without any direct help from either parent. And, well...




I don't think it's possible for me to be a prouder parent.

EDIT: And now her best is 165.

Several somebody's first, in fact. I'd never trick or treated before. Technically this wasn't a trick or treat expedition for me, I was just the escort for Izabella, and she was the one who got any candy.
( Rambling report follows. )
For those of you who are interested.. here's her costume..
( Under this cut! )
I can't wait for next year.

Stuff.

Here's some blathering about stuff that's happend to me this last while. In no particular order.

( Izabella stuff )

The little one is over at her grandparents tonight. Lyz and I went to see Monster House (ARGH I wanted to see Clerks 2, but they took it off after only two weeks!) It was an alright movie, but the tubby comic relief kid was a bit too much of a spaz, and it started to get on my nerves. The CG was pretty good, and the house itself had a really awesome stop-motion feel to it that really worked well for me.

I've been invited to a Halloween party based off Grant Morrison's Arkham Asylum Graphic novel. It's a shame that it was only a few months since I used my Two-Face costume, because I'd like to use that again, but there really needs to be some space between uses, I think. I'm considering the Joker, but we'll see. Lyz.. wants to go as the Penguin. Our digital camera is up & running now, so I'll be a lot prompter in getting pictures up.

( Depth in Comics Stuff )

That being said.. comics can lack depth and still be awesome.
( Nextwaaaaaaaaave! )

( MORE Comic stuff )

( Steve Irwin Stuff )

Final item of note is that I'll be taking some time off my job. Why, you ask? To go work somewhere else, of course! My dear old dad has asked for a hand with doing some servicework back home. So to help my dad after leaving him in the lurch for work - and to earn an extra $5 an hour compared to my wage the last time I worked for him - I'm helping him out for a few days.

Um.. yep. I think that's all there is to report on.

Seriously, what the fuck. As some of you might know, I had a playdate all geared up for Izabella last Friday - lunch here for her friend and the friend's mother, and they could play outside. It'd be nice for our kid to socialize with some of her friends from Kindergarten, she doesn't really have much in the way of social skills - She has no siblings and not much interaction with other kids her age outside of kindy. On the day, I was stood up. I pondered any number of reasons, maybe there was a family emergency, perhaps she even just forgot. We were all on the day before, so I was confused but ready to forgive them for whatever might have happened. Today I got the truth.

The father of the girl had issues with the mother having 'male friends'.

WHAT. THE. FUCK. It wasn't about me or her, it was about our kids. My daughter LOVES this other girl, and because her father is uncomfortable with his masculinity to the point that some guy he has never met is a threat to it, they can't play together outside of Kindergarten.

I am so furious at this dick for so selfishly doing this to my child.

On Saturday the fifth of August, at the age of four and a half, Izabella got a headbutt from a hyperactive puppy and lost her first tooth.

Awww!

My dear dear friends Sam and Hazel had the best dinner party ever.

( HOLY )