TET.Life (The Extraordinary Tourist Life)

It seems that, to review The Da Vinci Code , you have to say if you've read the book. I have and I'm a fan of the book (fact, fiction or somewhere in between). I went into the movie with low expectations. A movie reviewer that I usually have a lot of time for had described this movie as 'a missed opportunity' and 'a bucket of sh..'. She hadn't read the book and thought the first half hour was too wordy and boring. She did concede that she could see how this film would make a great book though. With that in mind I went along to see the film. If you don't know what the film is about, haven't seen it, or at least read the book, then this isn't the review for you. I'm assuming you at least have some idea of characters etc. First up, much comment has been made about Tom Hanks hair (having been straightened). You'd think with all the talk he must've dyed it orange and put a pink bow in it. To me it looked appropriate for the character (Robe...

Wake Me When Winter is Over Pillow by TET. Available from RedBubble . Many of you in this day and age will relate to the 'both partner's are very busy' type of relationship where you literally have to compare diaries and make time for each other. The common phrase is "I'll pencil you in for..." etc. My partner and I are almost like that however just the other Saturday it finally got to the state of being absurd.  You'll have to bare with me for the next few paragraphs as they sound like one big diary entry but stick with it and you'll see that knowing all this information was necessary. Our day started with my partner getting up early to spend the entire day with her two teenage kids at their various sporting commitments, Basket Ball and Netball. It was state championships for the basket ball so my partner would be at some stadium, at the other side of the city, all day and most of the evening too. She kissed a barely awake me goodbye and headed out. R...

Born to Skate, Forced to Work T-Shirt by TET Available from RedBubble . One of my biggest frustrations in life is people telling me I need to get a job. What they mean is something that has regular hours and a guaranteed pay cheque at the end of the week. Usually this suggestion comes from people that earn their living this way. I'm the first to admit that working for yourself is a hard way to make a living - especially in the beginning. However, I think, if you believe in yourself and back yourself 100%, the payoff in the long run will be better than any regular job. With all the skills I've acquired over the years people are often surprised that I haven't been able to find a regular job (especially those job search coordinator people who circle like a vulture when they think I'm an easy prospect for job placement). It is precisely because of all these skills that I find regular work...well...depressing. I'm not just saying that either. I've had regular jobs an...

Live Fast, Die Clown T-Shirt by TET Available from RedBubble . "You are the generation that bought more shoes, you get what you deserve." This quote is a song lyric that I heard on the radio (my apologies to the writer and artist that it belongs too because I don't know who either of you are). It's a great line and I can only assume it refers to the apparent lack of interest today's eighteen to twenty somethings appear to have in more serious and deeper issues. Not that I'm trying to hold myself up as someone who campaigns strongly for the greater good of human kind or that I spend significant amounts of time raising awareness of important issues. I'm certainly not a poster boy for changing the attitudes of people with too many shoes but lyrics like that do make you think. It's at this point that I really don't know where to go with this article. Should I focus on the material nature of modern society and its obsession with having more stuff? Or sh...

Angry Grrr Dog by TET. Available at Redbubble . Winston Churchill described his depression as 'The Black Dog' a constant but unwelcome companion. My Black Dog has fire eyes these days. Suppressed rage. It's hard when you're smart enough to know that letting this black dog loose on the world would be a destructive thing. This dog you can only exercise on your own. Shouting at inanimate objects when no one's around because they frustrate you beyond all proportion. Spitting the most foul of obscenities at them through clenched teeth. It doesn't make you feel better. If anything you feel worse. Wishing you could really unload on the real object of your anger but knowing that you wouldn't achieve anything if you did. Managing a black dog is a difficult thing. Managing an angry black dog is harder still. The Black Dog with fire eyes.

Born Again Skater Framed Print by TET. Available from Redbubble . The last three weeks of March my family and I went through the process of moving house. Our new home is much closer to the kids school - which is a private, religious school. Hence the title of this entry, we've moved closer to God. That's about as religious as this article is going to get because it's really about moving house and not a lot to do with God. Anyone who has ever rented a property will understand how moving house becomes an inconvenient but necessary process that is the equivalent of picking up everything you own and moving it three feet to the left. Invariably you never move very far from your last home because staying within the same community is paramount. It's bad enough changing houses without having to change all your friends and local hangouts too. In order to help fund our move we held a garage sale over two weekends. We managed to raise a quarter of the money we needed. What we didn...

Wake me when Winter is Over Notebook - design by TET Available from RedBubble . When answering the phone the most common thing that anybody says to me (after 'Hello') is 'Oh, did I wake you?' Now I know there are some people who do sleep at 4 o'clock in the afternoon but not me. Sometimes I get 'Did I wake you?' from down the end of a phone line earlier in the day but the afternoon ones are the most disconcerting. I know I don't have the chirpiest (is that even a word?) of voices but 'Did I wake you?' at 4pm is too much. No you didn't wake me, I'm just tired of your interruption. Get to the point of your call.