Kate is not a Doctor damnit!!

Originally written for Kate Walsh's website:

Kate Walsh & Addison Montgomery—there’s no denying they’re very similar. After all, they share a body. But anyone who has spent the past seven years getting to know the two of them can tell them apart, even in pictures. After all, their expressions and body language are quite different. But distinguishing between the two seems to be a problem for people who haven’t taken the time to get to know them, and of course, for new fans. Recently I had an interesting & frustrating conversation with a friend that demonstrates this very fact.

“Kate Walsh,” my friend said quizzically. “Who is Kate Walsh?”

“She plays Dr. Addison Montgomery in Private Practice, on TV. You know, the gorgeous redheaded baby doctor? She started out in Grey’s Anatomy, remember?”

“Hmmm….”

“Addison pranced into the hospital and proceeded to break Meredith’s heart & cause shockwaves to ripple through the TV- viewing community by uttering, ‘You must be the woman who has been screwing my husband.’ Surely you have heard about that?”

“Ahhh yes! Red hair. Black dress. Sexy. Simply stunning. I think I saw a picture of her on the cover of a magazine this week. A nude photo. F’in hot!!!”

“A pic of who?”

“The sexy doctor!”

“That was a picture of Kate, not Addison.”

“Same diff…”

“Um, no. It isn’t. Kate and Addison are completely different. For one, Addison is not real. She’s a made-up TV character, and secondly, Kate is much more attractive and definitely less damaged emotionally than Addison!”

“Well they look the same to me. Kate IS Addison!!”

“Kate PLAYS Addison, I think you mean. Kate and Addison may share some characteristics, such as intelligence, beauty, ability to wear beautiful clothes, a huge shoe collection, great hair, amazingly expressive eyebrows, love of a glass of red, but there are a lot more differences than similarities!”

“Like what?”

“Kate has a really wicked sense of humour and loves to laugh. Addison is always depressed and all dark and twisty. Kate loves to eat potato chips and bacon and red velvet anything and cheeseburgers. Addison drinks green juice and plays with her food. Oh, but she did eat burgers recently – a little bit of Kate creeping in maybe? Anyway, Kate is very social and is always hosting parties, going out to events and rock concerts. Addison is either at the hospital or curled up on her deck, drinking alone, whilst wistfully gazing over at her douchey ex-boyfriend’s house. Kate exercises regularly, doing Pilates, pretending to jump around like a bunny in a park, and hikes with her dogs. Addison ran once.”

“But they still look alike…duh!”

“I don’t think so AT ALL! To me it is obvious when Kate is being Kate, and when she is playing the role of Addison. They may share the same gorgeous body, beautiful hair, etc, but it is the different personalities that make them look so different to me. Look at these pics, for example……"

(there are 4 more pic sets like this which I've previously posted here)

“……..Kate or Addison???”

“Ok, you got me. That would be Kate. She is absolutely gorgeous. But Addison isn’t too bad either!”

I smiled wryly.
Conversations like the above drive true Kate fans insane. We know the difference between our girl and the beloved, but increasingly relationship-crippled Addison. Kate is an actress, not a doctor, dammit!

Life is Sweet

LIFE IS SWEET
Walshie Lent 2012 fundraiser on behalf of Planned Parenthood

I'd like to invite all the ladies to look down their shirts and give a shout out to 'the girls'...
Kate Walsh. Oct. 2, 2010

DEAR WALSHIES,

It’s really very simple. Breast cancer kills. But the sooner cancer is discovered, the greater the chance of survival. More moms get to watch their children grow up, more friends grow old together, & more wives, sisters, aunts & cousins sleep peacefully at night.

But here’s the thing: breast cancer screening costs. And while anyone can get sick, not everyone can pay for screening. And this is where Planned Parenthood, one of Kate’s favorite organizations, makes a difference – by offering free screening to women in need. So we were wondering…

Life IS sweet – when sweets CAN SAVE lives.

Many of us give up something for Lent – sweets & candy being the main candidates. So our idea is for Walshies as a fandom to give up candy and chocolate for 10 days and donate the money to our Life is Sweet fundraiser.

And this is how you do it:

Instead of buying that chocolate bar or candy bag, write down how much money you didn’t spend and add it up at the end of the 10 days. Then all you need is a PayPal account. Hit the ‘Chipin’ button, make your donation, and leave a message for Kate. All donations are, of course, welcome! So Walshies, from 21st February – 1st March, let’s do it!

“It’s a beautiful day to save lives.”
Dr Derek Shepherd

For further information, please tweet @ruthkjsto or @lalatas, or post a question on the Team Walshies Facebook page and we’ll answer you there.

Charlie Shunt has thrown a chisel in the works...

What the....? A chisel? Isn't it a spanner? Read on and it will all make sense!!

Exactly 1 month ago, on 26th September, I had a Lumbar-Peritoneal Shunt (charlie)inserted to lower the High Cerebral spinal fluid pressures in my head and to save my sight from deteriorating any further - Damn this IIH (Increased Intracranial Hypertension)
After 7 weeks in hospital, 9 lumbar punctures, shunt surgery and loads of physiotherapy i finally left the hospital feeling pretty damn good!

It worked!!! My headaches eased. My vision returned fully, although the right eye is still having trouble focusing. It's been a 4+ year journey to reach this point, where i can finally see an end in sight; where i can make plans and move forward; where daily chronic pain no longer rules my life; where i can anticipate returning to work!

There is, however,one more bridge to cross. Last week i began to experience some abdominal discomfit and terrible leg and back pain. A visit to the Dr, CT scans and ultrasounds revealed the shunt had migrated further into my spinal canal and was irritating nerves, and the other end had jumped ship too and popped out of the peritoneal sac and was draining the CSF subcutaneously. Hence why i looked 9 months pregnant with triplets!!

So tomorrow i embark on yet another hospital visit and undergo surgery to resite the shunt. Hopefully this time it is secured a little better.
The biggest bummer about all this is that I am supposed to be going to see Cold Chisel on Wednesday in Mackay!! DAMN IT!!!

Kate's Birthday Donation to Oceana

“Send all gifts to Oceana! Save the oceans ;)”

Kate Walsh, Oct. 4, 2011.


That’s what she said! So we’re organising a KWA fundraise for Oceana to celebrate Kate’s birthday.

Remember: the ocean is made up of tiny drops, so every single contribution counts. Who knows, by working together Kate’s Walshies may save a turtle, and as Kate would be the first to agree: life truly is the greatest gift of all!


If you would like to contribute, please visit http://katewalshdonation.chipin.com/kate-walshs-birthday-donation-to-oceana
by no later than Tuesday, 8PM PST, and KWA will donate the full amount raised to Kate’s Oceana CR project on her birthday. Thank you!

Boyfriend The International Man of Intrigue (The unedited version!!)

One of the most commonly asked questions of Kate on Twitter, Facebook and her vlogs is, "When is Boyfriend coming to (insert country)?" Kate’s fans are very persistent, fiercely loyal and extremely eager to get their hands on some of this tantalising fragrance named ‘Boyfriend’, none more so than her international fans. Particularly Brazil! It seems Brazil desires Boyfriend almost as much as it loves Kate!!

Boyfriend was released in the US and Canada via HSN in November last year, and in Sephora stores, in February this year, and Kate has promised that it will be released internationally soon.  Not soon enough for some of us however! Walshies outside of the US and Canada did not want to wait for the international launch of Boyfriend. Patience is not one of our collective virtues. Boyfriend was HERE and we wanted it NOW!!  Walshies the world over began wracking their brains to try and remember if they had a long lost relative, a friend, or a cousin of a friend’s aunt’s sister’s nephew, who resided in the US or Canada AND who was prepared to make a purchase on their behalf. Many conversations began with the words “Would you mind sending me some of Kate Walsh’s Boyfriend please?” One can only imagine the “Whaaaa?” and confused responses from those not in the know!!

For those of us who had no such contacts, it became a daunting, but not impossible, venture. The talk on Twitter was all about Boyfriend!!! Most commonly heard was “I can’t wait to get my hands on Kate’s Boyfriend!’. ‘OMG Kate’s Boyfriend smells divine!’ Not something you ordinarily hear!! The back rooms of the Tw’orld were awash with tw’eeps making deals to get Boyfriend to those outside the US!! At times it felt like a highly illegal operation, with identities revealed as real names and addresses were swapped, payments organised and deals made!!  During these dealings many real friendships were forged as we trusted ‘virtual strangers’ to deliver on their promises of either product or payment!!

So, with many Americans offering their services as ‘International Boyfriend Smugglers’, they found themselves placing large orders on HSN and making multiple purchases at Sephora stores! Sales figures were probably skewed in certain stores and zip codes due to the sheer amount of Boyfriend being moved off shore!! The US Postal Service also benefitted as it became an unwitting part of ‘Operation International Boyfriend’!!

One of the first overseas recipients was myself when Boyfriend made its Australian debut way back in November, thanks to HSN and a very kind and trusting NYC tw’eep. My Boyfriend Solid Compact arrived in my mail box ‘disguised’ as an Indian curry, for no reason other than the packaging was handy at the time, but I like to think it added to the intrigue!! Several other European tw’eeps received similarly packaged ‘tv dinners’ in their mailbox that week!! Best smelling ‘curry’ ever!!

Boyfriend has also made it's way to impatient Walshies via ‘International Boyfriend Couriers’- a network of travelling Walshies, family, friends, and business associates. Ruth in Sweden, upon hearing a business associate had an American contact, asked if he would assist in her quest for a Boyfriend?! A few raised eyebrows resulted I’m sure as she was seated next to her husband at the time!! End result, some highly amused dinner party guests and the Swedish chapter of ‘International Boyfriend Couriers’ took on their first assignment.  The CEO of a major Swedish financial institution recruited an American counterpart who planned to visit Sweden in a few weeks, to make the requested purchases. He, in turn, asked his PA to make the trip to Sephora in NYC. Voila! Boyfriend was on his way to Sweden! And several people, who otherwise would never have met Kate’s Boyfriend, had the chance to make his acquaintance!

Anna activated the Netherlands branch of ‘IBC’ enlisting the help of a friend travelling to NYC, who visited every Sephora store searching for Anna’s potential Boyfriend. It was an anxious wait for Anna as stores were sold out everywhere, until on the last day; she finally found a bottle of the EDP!! Boyfriend was off to the Netherlands. Another happy international customer!

 

Kate’s Boyfriend is very well travelled now as he also resides in Germany with Jasmin, who used a unique connection to make her purchase. Jasmin is an ardent fundraiser for charity and when Kate introduced us to her fundraising projects on Crowdrise last year, Jasmin immediately joined and began raising funds for her own projects. Through her charitable works Jasmin has connected with many people from all over the world and when an American Crowdrise friend offered to purchase Boyfriend for her, she jumped at the chance. The twist however, is that instead of Jasmin paying directly for her Boyfriend she made a donation to the Crowdrise project of her fellow fundraiser’s choice. So Boyfriend not only smells great, he’s also a philanthropist!! Check out both Jasmin and Kate’s Crowdrise projects here: http://www.crowdrise.com/katewalsh  http://www.crowdrise.com/JHenke

 

Elea, also from Germany, was thwarted at almost every move to obtain her Boyfriend, and she tried many times.  HSN was first on her list. She had a US address but HSN said no!! They required an American credit card. How many other people were caught out this way I wonder?? I know I was! Option 2 was a German friend travelling to the US, but she was an inexperienced ‘IBC’ and didn’t check her email in time and thus, returned home empty handed. Third time lucky perhaps? Not likely!! Elea phoned Sephora stores in the US state her next ‘International Boyfriend Courier’ was visiting and was told, “If you're looking for a fragrance that's called Boyfriend, which obviously doesn't exist, you should get a reality check and a real boyfriend!". Whoah Dawg – to quote Kate!! Boyfriend does indeed exist and I am pleased to report that Elea persisted and finally has Boyfriend firmly in her grasp – the ‘International Boyfriend Couriers’ did not let her down a 4^th time!!

There have been friendships made and forged not only by fans’ devotion to Kate but also by their desire and love for her Boyfriend! (Quote that sentence to someone who doesn’t know about the fragrance and watch the reactions!!) The following stories personify how Walshies feel about Kate, her Boyfriend and their fellow Walshies.  Sabine, in Holland, posted her Boyfriend to another Walshie, Edna (Froukje), for a couple of weeks just so she could smell it and not feel left out when we chatted on twitter!!  I've sent cards scented with Boyfriend to tw'eeps in the Philippines and around Australia who wanted to smell it but have been unable to get their hands on any otherwise.  Ines from Portugal credits Kate’s Boyfriend for introducing her to her own real life boyfriend, and a group of Walshie’s is currently organising a European drop (and then distribution  to Australia and Asia and throughout Europe) for those who are running low or have yet to have a "Boyfriend Experience".  But, by far the best Boyfriend story is a ‘feel good’ one.

Back in February, Christchurch, in New Zealand, was hit by its second major earthquake, causing devastation, destruction and death. One of the affected was a favourite tw’eep, Erana, a Kate fan from way back. She had no power or water, her house was damaged and a lot of possessions were lost, but her family were all okay, and that was THE most important thing to Erana. Throughout the whole ordeal, which is still ongoing today, she was, and is, ALWAYS immensely grateful her family was safe and well.  To cheer her up a little and to let her know we were thinking of her, a group of international Boyfriend lovers sent her a surprise gift - her very own Boyfriend, not only to show we cared but also to ensure she smelt good, as she had no water!!! The idea was formulated after a Walshie twitter chat, coordinated from Holland, ordered from HSN, delivered to NYC, posted to NZ,  & paid for by tw’eeps from 8-9 different countries.... none of whom had ever met!! Boyfriend has definitely drawn many people together!

There are many stories like this out there.  Many schemes and plans that have come to fruition and resulted in some happy Boyfriend lovers, and of course, some that haven't worked out quite so well! But Walshies are nothing if not persistent, as attested to by the continual asking of the million dollar question!!!! The good news however, is that Kate recently announced that Boyfriend is about to go global!!  That is definitely something to look forward to. Soon everyone on this giant blue marble we all share will be able to nuzzle in together to smell the vanilla, musk, night blooming jasmine, rich plum and woody notes that make up Kate’s wonderful fragrance ‘Boyfriend’. And even though the ‘International Boyfriend Couriers’ may disband, I am sure that all the friendships forged due to Boyfriend ‘smuggling’ will linger on long after the scent of Boyfriend has worn off.

Do you have a Boyfriend story?  How did you get your Boyfriend?  Share it with us in the comments section below!!

From a house full of memories to just one box in 40 days!!

Sorry it has taken this long to post this..... i forgot!!

At the end of March Adele and I jointly decided that we would both pack up our lives and move to Qld. She was always going to go if her application to join Tas Ambulance Service was unsuccessful. It was, unfortunately, so i was faced with the prospect of farewelling my beautiful daughter, moving house and dealing with the empty nest syndrome!!  I decided to do the unthinkable and join her in Queensland! I say 'unthinkable' because i am not one who likes change. I like the security of a home, friends and family around me. So this was a huge decision for me!!

Once the decision was made, Adele booked the tickets on the Spirit of Tas so we couldn't back out! We had a little less than 6 weeks to pack up our lives, sell our stuff, pack what we were keeping into our cars, say goodbye to our friends, and hit the road! We planned to drive to Qld - Adele's final destination would be Brisbane, Mine a further 400kms up the road at Hervey Bay.  6 weeks, 2 people, ADVENTURE!!!

All was going according to plan until i was hospitalised with the worst migraine I've ever suffered. 11 days later i was home and eager to get packing - we had 3 weeks til the boat sailed!! Alas, a bad bout of flu hit me and i was again bedridden. I was however, headache free after weeks of a continuous throb so i was grateful for that. After a few more days in bed i was finally able to tackle the mammoth task of finishing off the packing!!

We sold most of our furniture and assorted items at a garage sale, gave a lot of things away and threw a lot of stuff out. I was limited in what i could keep as i didn't want to clutter up my friend's garage after his kind offer to store a few items. By far the hardest thing to do was to go thru all the childhood stuff of Adele's i had kept and which provided me with many memories.  Photos and a few very special items were kept, much to Adele's disgust!!! She was horrified to find i had saved all of her baby teeth!!! She was okay with the first haircut, and then huge ponytail i had saved from her first major chop when she was 11, but the fact i had her teeth was beyond belief to her!!  But she reminisced about losing her first tooth, the letters from the tooth fairy written in the tiniest handwriting, how the tooth fairy forgot to come when she was away with one weekend and lost a tooth.... then she counted them and discovered there were only 19!! There should have been 20 she said, so I had been careless and lost one!!  I then reminded her that she still had a baby molar as there was no adult tooth under it!!  After a lot of laughs stemming from tooth related memories, Adele assumed i was gonna throw the teeth away as she still thought it was disgusting. She thinks i did.  I didn't.  They are in the memory box still. I did tell her that she was lucky she was a girl as a friend kept her son's foreskin from his circumcision and presented it to him on his 21st birthday!!! 

Other items i kept were Adele's first pair of ballet shoes. Again we laughed and remembered the nights she wore them and her ballet leotard and skirt to bed; how she would walk on her tiptoes around the house pretending to be 'en pointe'; how she would hang over the front fence gazing adoringly at all the little girls going into ballet class for a year before she was old enough to join; how the ballet teacher finally relented a year early and let a 3 yr old Adele into her kinder class; how we had to order her shoes from Bloch as her feet were so tiny!!

Some things we just had to get rid of, like Adele's extensive Barbie doll collection and associated vehicles, furniture and accessories.  Whilst packing these up we remembered the days when a 5 yo Adele would spend a whole day assembling everything til it was perfect, right down to the little details such as having the cutlery set correctly on the dining table! She would then admire this for days - not really playing just rearranging stuff and NEVER letting anyone else play with it as she was worried they would wreck it. This included me!!!  I was worried she had OCD!!  Later, in her teen years, i began to wish the obsessiveness with order in the Barbie Kingdom had carried over to the real world!!  Her room often resembled a tip!!  The Barbies found a new home with four young sisters who cried when they received them. We know they are well loved and looked after.

Packing was one of the hardest tasks i have ever had to do. Deciding what to keep, what to sell, what to give to whom, was stressful, and as i didn't have much time, i had to make decisions quickly.  I cried when saying goodbye to some things, and was glad to see the back end of others..... the last 15 years of paperwork i finally sorted and burned!! In a sense i felt like i was clearing out my life, getting rid of the clutter. It felt cathartic in the end and i don't regret it.  To me it was just STUFF. Yes there are memories attached to the STUFF but because i have thrown out the STUFF doesnt mean i need to throw away the memories! i will always have the memories. Unless of course i get dementia!!!

Anyway, we made the deadline - just - packed our cars, repacked them, threw out some more stuff, repacked and finally left our home for the past 8.5 years with sadness in our hearts, but also with excitement ahead of us as we embarked on this big adventure!!

May 10th we sailed out of Devonport, even though Adele's car decided it didn't want to leave and broke down in the queue to board the ferry!!  5 days later we arrived in QLD!!! I'll leave the roadtrip stories  for a later date!!

TV Viewing Habits of the 43 yo housebound female

If we study this fine female specimen closely we will see that her tv viewing habits change with the changes of the seasons. In the summer months television viewing is curtailed for more pleasant activities like beach walks, organised sport,  bbqs and socialising with other members of the tribe.  In the cooler months this female tends to stay inside her cosy habitat and spend more time communing with other species in the form of television characters.

During these somewhat cold and chilly months television viewing becomes a staple part of her daily diet and without it she becomes edgy and noticeably agitated. This is further acerbated when favourite programs go on hiatus for weeks at a time. This can often lead the subject to watch reruns and dvds of past series and episodes.

It is interesting to note in this case, that not all the television viewing occurs on the free to air service provided to all households.  This tv addict watches the majority of her television on her computer!!! This is somewhat of a rarity for these parts of the country. Not many inhabitants of the region have the technology, the skills or the know how to be able to do this. This sets this particular female apart from the rest of her peers. 

Interestingly, the viewing habits of this particular female are also quite unusual for some one of her age and maturity. Close study has revealed she does  tend toward the traditional medical shows, cooking programs, crime shows and reality tv. However, diving deeper into her hard drive we also find many comedic, and often over looked programs - Community, Parks and Recreation, Eastbound and Down, The Soup..... to name a few. This female has indicated that the male species in a show is often the catalyst for a first viewing, and if he meets her high standards then continued viewing is guaranteed.  Examples of these male members of the species include Joel McHale, Rob Lowe, Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs, David Boreanz, Nathan Fillion, and oddly, Donald Trump!! 

There is however one exemption to this. This subject did admit to watching one program solely for the female in the series.  She stated that although the program no longer interested her greatly as it appears to have fallen victim to poor writing, she continues to watch.  When asked to identify the show and the female in particular, she responded by directing us to her Youtube Channel.  Again, this was highly unexpected as most subjects of this age and maturity, in this region do not purport to even have knowledge of such things, let alone have their own channel!.

Once we located the Youtube channel and perused the videos we quickly ascertained that this subject had fallen victim to Katewalshitis.  This is a common affliction amongst the female population. The worst cases have been known to stalk the actress through social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, will often have bookmarked various fansites in their web browser and will have photos of the actress as their screensavers and desk top.  Unfortunately, our subject had one of the worst cases of Katewalshitis we had seen in a very long time.  Not only did she have all these listed previously (with a particualrly breautiful photo of Ms Walsh and a sea turtle as her desk top) but she had a twitter account dedicated to stalking Ms Walsh's every tweet. She had also attempted to engage the actress in conversation by tweeting her regularly.  She was surprisingly, somewhat successful at this.  This subject also "liked" Ms Walsh's facebook page, had bookmarked 7 different fan sites and was a daily visitor to Katewalsh.com, Ms Walsh's website, often leaving comments and asking questions.  At this point in our study we became concerned for our subject and proceeded to check her hard drive for any further signs of the progression of this insidious disease.  Imagine our shock to discover over 2000 photos, several videos of interviews and public appearances, books narrated by Ms Walsh, every movie Ms Walsh has acted in, including the strange indie film Three Below Zero, many fan videos favourited on youtube, and EVERY episode of Grey' sAnatomy and Private Practice stored on the pc and in DVD format. 

What had began as  a simple study into the television viewing habits of a normal 43 yo female had become an intervention! For without intervention this subject was in grave danger of thinking she was actually a part of Ms Walsh's life, that she was a friend and confidant!  When in reality, Ms Walsh had no idea of the existence of our subject.  The battle is continiung today to assist our subject as she comes to terms with this shocking news.  Our last conversation ended with, "but she tweeted me yesterday..."  Yes we have along road ahead for rehabilitation, but we feel we will succeed.  The subject did say that the she would quit The Walsh, as the fans endearingly call her, if we could get Rob Lowe to marry her.......