Sport and Orthotics
Sport is great for so many reasons. Keeping fit helps your mind stay fast and strong, and moving around regularly helps your body stay flexible and makes it easier to complete your daily tasks and routines. I’ve been doing sport since I was young, which means that I have many skills in many different areas. When I first started to play sport, I had to wear semi custom shoe insert orthotics because my feet were apparently some of the “flattest feet” the podiatrist had ever seen. I had been complaining about having sore feet, so my parents took me to the podiatrist to get everything sorted out. Since I played so much sport and enjoyed doing so, it was important for me to keep my body in the best possible condition it could be. In addition to orthotics, I trained for each of my sports a minimum of once per…
Fixing a Shoulder
I have been suffering from quite an intense shoulder pain for approximately three weeks. I originally didn’t want to get it seen to because I was hoping it would resolve itself, however it has recently gotten so bad that I have no other choice. I did try a few nonsurgical treatment options, such as resting and heat packs. I then went to a masseuse who did a couple of exercises on it and then referred me to a specialist. That specialist told me I have to have an actual procedure. Apparently the procedure is called a shoulder arthroscopy, and it’s where the surgeon puts a small camera into my shoulder joint. I’ve watched some videos of it online. The small camera shows the surgeon images on a video monitor in the room and it helps the surgeon guide the instruments. I’m a little bit nervous about getting this procedure done.…
The Steel Superhero
Most people want gifts that are useful. However, for a long time now I have wanted a steel beam fashioned into the shape of a superhero. You can ask me why, but to be honest I am not sure. I have wanted this for more than a decade now and it seems to be the only gift I have ever wanted. I perfectly remember being in high school school and looking at the metal in the science labs and thinking how awesome it would be to have my own superhero made from metal. I even looked up a steel suppliers price list. Melbourne had a number of steel suppliers when I was in high school, and the list has only grown to hundreds of really qualified, trained professionals. However, I was obviously in school and was on a budget due to my lack of job and income, so I decided…
Into the Studio
The tattoo studio was like a beacon. Its pink neon glow spilled out onto the street and spread like water, bathing the surrounding blocks in soft light. At night, the studio stood out amongst the other closed shopfronts. I could even see it from my apartment. Every time I looked out my window, the tattoo studio was there, front and centre in my vision, almost like it was calling me, refusing to be ignored. Most days I would close my curtains and fall back into bed. But tonight was different. I shrugged on a coat and stepped out into the cold winter air. I’d seen the flyers for the studio around, the loopy writing that said their staff included the best tattooist Brisbane had. I don’t usually pay much attention to flyers like that, since they are often just cheap and desperate attempts to entice customers into a store, but…
Perfect Balustrades
Perhaps the most amusing thing about being able to turn invisible was the ability to hide behind completely transparent panes of glass. Of course, Iris could hide wherever she felt like it, but something just felt that little bit more secure about having a physical barrier between her and her target. That target, today, was the leader of the Zircon Clan. He was an elusive man, using the many secret passages of his huge New Adelaide building to move about unseen. The Director never stayed in one place too long, almost like he knew he was being watched. By the time Iris often found his new location, he was already on the move again. Perhaps she’d need Hop to design a tracking device to keep up with the eccentric man. The only chance she really had to gather intel on the Director came at lunch, which he always took at…
Car Trouble Convention
Okay, this car is seriously cursed. I’m definitely buying a new one with my tax return because these constant repairs are costing me more than a brand new car would. Sure, maybe I shouldn’t have driven this old rust bucket all the way to Adelaide given its recent history, but I was really hoping we’d be over all that drama by now! Here I am, though, at an Adelaide car repair shop getting my vehicle fixed again. You might be wondering why I’m in Adelaide at all, given my previous discussions on my blog about this place. Well, it turns out that the small, forgotten city was actually holding a fantasy convention this week. Given that I still can’t get back to my novel writing, I figured I’d make the ten-hour drive to the city of wine and churches to check it out. If I’d known my car would break…
Billion Dollar Idea
Hi, I’m Stephanie James, and welcome to my AMA. In this five-part post, I’m going to tell you all about my business – from its humble creation in my garage, right through to the first time we made more than a billion dollars. If you have any questions for me, leave them below and I’ll do my best to get to them all as soon as possible! It all began in 2007, in a dark little garage in Melbourne. I had just finished my homework for the day and was listening to the radio. I had mostly tuned it out in favour of daydreaming when it began to play an advertisement for the best corporate video production company in Melbourne. While I can’t remember the name of the firm, that short musical advertisement seemed to light a spark within me. For the first time ever, I truly understood the purpose…
The Big Break
Beneath the streets of Melbourne, Rebecca the rat scurried through the sewer pipes. She had heard rumours of a major leak, and as a photographer, it was her job to document the goings-on of the sewers. If by the time she arrived, the leak had already been fixed and cleaned up, then she would miss her chance of getting a good enough shot to help her win the best photograph of the year competition. Now that Melbourne had employed Remy and his network of rat plumbers, there weren’t many leaking or blocked drains. Melbourne sewers had become so efficient, in fact, that the rat traffic had decreased by nearly two hundred percent since Remy was first employed. Rebecca thought the guy deserved a raise, but she supposed he wouldn’t be too bothered either way. It seemed like he was currently too busy campaigning for his royal coup to care about…
Agents Discuss Cockroaches
“You remember what this job was like, back in the old days?” The buyer’s advocate with the red tie looked up from the water cooler, having just poured himself a fresh drink. “You mean before the Collapse?” “Yeah,” said Blue Tie, “before the Collapse. Before we got recruited to this underground facility. When we could actually show people houses and stuff, rather than just look through files and make notes about how to recreate an entire suburb.” “Yeah, I remember. But you do realise that the entire world was overrun by giant cockroaches, right? Like, there wasn’t really much for us back there.” Blue Tie chuckled at that. “You really believe that? I was a buyer’s agent near Hawthorn, and I never saw a single giant cockroach, even though they were supposedly overrunning the entire city. It was all just a big ruse to control us.” Red Tie crossed his…
The Suspension Getaway
I kicked the car into gear and ignored its protesting squeal, twisting the wheel as I gunned the engine. Dust spat into the air behind me, kicking up a cloud as I raced down the desert road. ‘That was insane!’ Bugsy hollered from the seat next to me. ‘I can’t believe we made it out of there, without a scratch!’ I looked around mournfully at the spate of new dings and scratches on my beloved car and suppressed a whimper. ‘Not quite,’ I choked out. ‘Ah, the car’s easy!’ Bugsy laughed, slapping me on the shoulder. He swivelled around to glance into the backseat and let out a long whistle at the bags of cash sitting ever-so-innocently on the leather. ‘We can get you any mechanic you need!’ ‘Even a mechanic in Frankston?’ I asked, blinking rapidly. ‘Even a mechanic in Frankston!’ he confirmed. ‘Fine,’ I sighed. ‘But it’s coming…