Nerves

I had to give a talk this morning.

It was to explain something about work that I've done for longer than I can care to say to people from other countries.

I do this fairly often.

I've known about this one since before Christmas.

Since late January, in fact since the day after the last talk I gave, I've woken up at 3:00am worried about it at least twice a week.

This morning I walked across the road without noticing a car turning into the street. I think my mind thought I wouldn't have to give a talk if I was in hospital or the morgue.

Over the past week it's also tried to persuade me I'm suffering the followign ailments and should stay home instead of giving this talk:
pneumonia
whooping cough
tonsillitis
anaemia
possible heart attack
Parkinsons
non-Hodgkins lymphoma
leukaemia
scurvy
gum disease
arthritis
muscular degenerative disease and
Alzheimers

Of course, now it's over I feel great!

In other news

We dragged our three-year-old to the W League grand final last Saturday.

Between complaints, she ignored the football and watched a DVD.

It rained.

We all got wet.

Our team lost.

But it was really good to see that, unlike last year, they packed the suit for the strangely disturbing piggytailed girl Sydney Football Club mascot, Sydnee, instead of the boy (called Syd).

Someone was thinking!

Maybe this was why unlike last year my daughter didn't stalk the mascot for most of the game, demanding hugs and pushing other kids away until I reached the point of utter mortification and carried her to the other end of the stand. I'm sure it's nothing to do with her being a year older...

She's a what, now?

This is how the Daily Telegraph chose to caption its otherwise perfectly reasonable article about a brutal attack on a distinguished and highly experienced foreign correspondent for a major US network station during the recent troubles in Egypt.

Dumbfounded really.