cAtdraco - Random Accidents

I keep a number of weblogs.
Random Accidents is my every day weblog. I use it for all sorts of reasons, as you'll find if you read a little: though it's friends-locked these days, which makes that a little difficult for random browsers. Sorry about that. That status may change in the future, so feel free to check back.

Gifted and Alien is a journal I used for a while to write about my experiences growing up gifted in a country town. I updated very infrequently; and it seems to be largely abandoned right now. I don't think I've abandoned it entirely, but it remains to be seen when or what I'll write again.

This journal is a secondary journal, detailing my first pregnancy and subsequent adventures in baby-wrangling. Also friends locked, as there are creepy people around.

I have a few artistic interests which tend to come and go. Currently knitting, photography, jewellery making and drawing are on the menu, but it changes sporadically. I post pictures now and then in Random Accidents, but you can see a few odds and sods here.

I am rather fond of fish, specifically the betta splendens or Siamese fighting fish. I have a few fish about the place. Not so many lately, due to lack of time to invest in aquaria.

I completed my Bachelor of Music, majoring in classical voice, at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University in 2002. I don't sing much these days, though, for a few different reasons. If you're interested in such things, depending on who you talk to I'm either a lyric contralto or a dramatic mezzo-soprano. I lean toward the former, though it's largely an academic distinction now. Brahms, Mahler and Menotti head my list of favoured composers, though Saint-Saëns holds a special place in my heart for his Samson et Dalila.

I do volunteer regularly with an organisation called Rosies. At the moment I'm on leave, but sometime soon when bub approves I'll return to volunteering once a month.

I am accused fairly regularly of being a goth. It's a reasonably accurate description, though I'm a bit over the eyeliner thing. I still listen to 'goth' music, and I still wear black - I've just given up on uncomfortable clothing (spikes and corsets) and time-consuming makeup. Perhaps this means I'm "old".

I also suffer from Bipolar Affective Disorder, a psychiatric condition. I was diagnosed only in 2004, so it's a steep learning curve. Although "bipolar disorder" or "bipolar affective disorder" are the current accepted terms in medical circles, I prefer the older term "manic depression". I explain my reasoning here.