Sometimes officiating over such rudimentary day-to-day things like saying hello to your neighbours makes saying hello to your neighbours seem...dicky. Fact is though, that popping next door for a cup of sugar/screwdriver/whatever is now something only country folk do. Fact Number 2 is that our neighbours probably know us better than our friends (the neighbours will know about your penchant for playing Spandau Ballet on a Saturday morning, they'll know you got a new couch, had such-and-such over last Sunday...). So, it's worth saying hello, and, at the risk of feeling like a bit of a dick, doing so this Sunday (29 March) will mean you're participating in Neighbour Day - established a few years ago to resuscitate community spirit, and to look after the older folks in the 'hood.

Twenty minutes of downtime. It's not a lot in a 16-hour day, but it's never easy to find time for it. Which is why the Pocketnap is so natty. It's a downloadable (around 20 bucks) guided meditation/hypnosis that you can access anytime (tram/office...) from your ipod or computer. There are three to choose from: Relaxed, Energised and Good Feelings. (And it's locally produced, so you won't be listening to a cheesey, jingly-jangly American accented diatribe about your inner beauty, which, of-course, is the antithesis of relaxing, energising and imbuing good feelings.)

No one thinks you can just walk into an op shop these days and find a vintage (as in 30-year-old) garment just hanging there with a $4 price tag. Everyone knows to go straight to a vintage store and expects to pay $70 per item. Or do they...?
Like the lottery, there's always a glimmer of hope that the oppy racks and shelves will turn up that special something for not much money - the way they used to.
Due to the dearth of good finds, there's a lot of jaded op-shoppers who jealously guard their favourite shops. Not so with the crew from I Op Therefore I Am. There are reviews by genre ('Jewish op shops...lots of wigs...') and by area (with contact details), as well as brag pages ('I found this old cutlery drawer...'). There are even op shopping bus tours. Uh huh.
So, if you can bare to share your op-shop knowledge/love, have a look.