Kiss Kiss

I’ve noticed a new phenomenon on email of late. As a freelancer I spend a lot of time building my work relationships via email rather than on the phone or in person as busy news and editorial staff are hard to catch and being word orientated people it’s kind of an unwritten rule that email rules.
Being a tad afraid of the telephone this suits me just fine, only thing is lately I’ve noticed that the employees of a certain large news corporation have all taken to signing off their emails to me with a little kiss ie: x. While this seemed kind of sweet coming from the Editor who I work with regularly and share all kinds of work related trials and tribulations, I then contacted the features Ed last week who I’ve talked to once or twice in my life online and he signed off with an x as well. Today I had my first and only communiqué with their office assistant and she signed off with not one x but two xx’s!

Is this weird? Or am I just uptight? Did they all have a meeting to decide they would all sign off emails like this or is there something about me that makes outpourings of alphabetical affection irresistible?

I don’t know the answer – but all I know is I can’t quite bring myself to do it back.

The Newcastle Cowboy

The dressing up thing is catching!

This report just in from my friend in Newcastle.

"About an hour ago I was driving home from the gym and no joke I saw a man dressed in full cowboy kit propositioning a Maitland Rd madam. I would probably not have even looked although I was distracted by his chaps that were flashing!. And this was all happening outside the baptist church. Hows that for a head trip? At least the hooker wasn't wearing wings!"

The Norton Street Fairy

Unbeknownst to me, my new neighborhood has it’s very own fairy. Not that I’ve managed to spot her as yet. Those who have been lucky enough to see her include my Mum, Dad and Ed.
According to my operatives, the Norton Street Fairy is a well presented, well spoken, seemingly not mad 40 something woman who likes nothing better than to get around the streets dressed in a white sparkly tulle fairy dress, a sparkly crown and a pair of wings. Mum saw her dressed like this happily shopping for groceries, Dad saw her having a cup of coffee with a man in a café and Ed saw her one night popping into the local Thai restaurant with some friends to pick up some food – all done in her full fairy regalia.

Could she be a professional party fairy simply on her way home? It seems unlikely, as Mum pointed out, if you were dressed up like that you would at least take your wings off when you go to Coles to do the shopping. Mum also said the funniest thing was that no-one in the shopping centre batted an eyelid when she swanned in, big wings flapping behind her.

So it seems that our fairy just likes dressing that way, good on her. Maybe I will encourage Ed to start dressing up as a cowboy, or spiderman next time he pops up to the shops.