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Archive Category: Musings
Pieces of Toast
Wednesday, 30 October 2002
You know who you are. I keep meeting lovely people and then changing jobs etc. It’s way too easy to lose track of cool people. I thought that if I made this page sort of useful (dates, time, links) plus kept it regularly updated (now I have a kickass connection that I am on pretty much daily), then it would be a good way to stay in touch. Once I figure it out, people will be able to post to the page as well, letting everyone know about how many pieces of toast they ate yesterday and other similarly riveting facts….. Actually, none of you will be reading this today, of for a few more days, as I am trying to sort out the page and get it looking how I want - which could take a large portion of forever…..
Sushi is Exciting.
Friday, 1 November 2002
Just had lunch and am full of Japanese bought for me by my dad. I am such a non-exciting person. The only Japanese I have ever eaten is sushi boxes, california rolls and Rachaels lush tempura vegetables….*sigh* Japanese is yum. Unfortuately, as I stayed up so late last night toiling with indecent pleasure on [m i a o w] said the cat and you could use my eyebags to go shopping with. I
cannot go home and rest however, as I am doing a cultural thing. Yes - Sisters in Crime Davitt Awards. All forty dollars of it!!
I Flu Away
Monday, 4 November 2002
Here cometh the flu. I woke up and had all the vocal characteristics of a chain smoking porn star. So I jogged around the oval. Twice. And walked around it three times. Hello to Claire, my only visitor as of yet, for this site is a secret until it is built properly. I’m thinking of including a list of what I’m
currently reading. I like it when other people do that. Today is the day before the Melbourne Cup. I really do have to learn how to put money on a horse. Christine knows all that stuff. BTW, the Davitt Awards sucked big time. The only good bit was that Carolyn Moorwood won, and so did Kerry Greenwood. The night was over priced, over long and overly boring……grrrr. It’s Monday.
And Gallop….
Tuesday, 5 November 2002
Today I wished I bet on the races :o( Thoat is sore.
Floods. And Flooding.
Saturday, 9 November 2002
Spent the last three days up at Mt Macedon at the first national conference on flooding that Australia has had for ten years. Despite the fact that it sounds about as interesting as watching paint dry, it was a lot more intriguing than I thought it would be. Australia’s flood management and education seems to be very haphazard, without any national body to direct it and nobody taking responsibility for any attempted flash flood warnings. All very reassuring. However, the food was awesome and the grounds of Emergency Management Australia rival the Melbourne Botanical Gardens - divine. It was sad that I spent the whole three days with the flu sitting in my ears (which kept dropping in and out) and my throat, which just throbbed steadily enough to make itself known. Thank god it’s Saturday!!
Festively Criminal
Monday, 11 November 2002
The Yarraville Crime Festival (the one session I made it to) was v.fun. I came third in the Crime Quiz and scored three new books! (Naturally David Honeybone - editor of Crime Factory magazine, came first - which is to say he hammered everyone else….). Flu or whatever it is lingers on - the doctor informs me it’s a virus and thus I must suffer til it goes *sigh*. Today is going to be 30 degrees and this is a good thing - long may it continue. Spent last night by myself at home, which is always a little bit decadent feeling. I’ve been working on some [Bilby] songs for the second album. Mung has been very crafty and given myself, Christine and Jel all the same songs - I suppose he’ll be able to pick and choose from a range of what we throw at him! What is [Bilby]? Check out the website… Must get to South Gippsland to water the garden for my dad who is on a week away on a boat on the Murray River. The Humber and I will sally forth
this afternoon….having Monday’s off was an inspired decision…..
B=0 Computer=2
Tuesday, 12 November 2002
OK, it’s about five minutes to one am and I’m in the country - the kind of country that has no street lights and lots of animal sounds. I have been waging valiant battle with my dad’s computer since 11am this morning, have bought him an new one in desperation, have been sold a dodgy hard drive, have spent the last three hours ascertaining that fact and now have regressed to using the original 1.4gig (eeek!) drive from the old dinosaur computer in the newer one *sigh*. Computers, for all their wonders, are ruled by sod’s law. Anything that doesn’t work, will continue not to work until one has pulled out one significant clump of one’s own hair….M is sitting in the opposite chair reading a book called Scorn - a book of wonderous quotes that he is spouting at intervals. I am unruffled as I have had two mugs of black coffee (more than I drink in over the
span of six months) and a shot of Chivas. Am actually remarkably unruffled….
FOR GOD’S SAKE!! HOW LONG DOES THIS OPERATING SYSTEM TAKE TO INSTALL??!! (…and when it does….will it fit on a 1.6gig drive???!)
B=1 Computer=0
Tuesday, 12 November 2002
Well, one hour’s sleep isn’t all that much to get through the day on…..[snores] I have no stamina without sleep – I have already power napped at my desk by accident – twice (though no one can tell because my back is to them and it looks as if I am intensely interested in what’s on my screen). The computer, of course, is what caused my downfall. Until 4:30am I battled with it, and finally (though this is a debatable assertion) I beat it! The joy, at that early hour, of hearing the trilling of the modem as it makes a faultless connection to the Warragul server, when before it only ever connected once out of every five times. The sparkle and zip of a brand new operating system, the reinstallation of My Documents and the dubious importing of old email messages… aaahhh…for those things I have not slept. I think I must remember at some point to get a life… Oh, I am going to see the ‘classic fifties noir film’ Kiss Me Deadly tonight (though whether I’ll watch or just pass out is an intriguing question)… [yawns….again]
Aimless Walking
Wednesday, 13 November 2002
mmmmm. long aimless walks through city. buying a chocolate for $1.20 at David Jones (an apricot royale - very worth it). my lunch break ended up being an hour and 45 minutes long….evil….evil….evil….but strangely fulfilling…
Hello to Claire, Lorraine and Mae….
Treading Water
Thursday, 14 November 2002
Today is a very non-constructive one. V.hard to do work, as I know I must leave early to get to….the Dentist :o( Oh dear. I ate a chocolate cupcake at lunchtime as if it was my only hope. Please let the dentist be kind. Pleeeeeese. Let me remain fairly untraumatised? I really hate when you stick a book in your bag to take on the train to work to read while travelling and also at lunchtime, and you have a niggle that you’ve seen it before….but the blurb on the back doesn’t bring anything to mind, and then as soon as you settle with your california rolls and your aforementioned cupcake…you open it up and recognise the characters immediately….*grrrrr* Does anyone want a copy of the Frances Fyfield? Have set up comments on the page and battled ceaselessly to get my archives working…. I think all is well. [she grips a nearby tree] Am looking
for a weather button to put on my page… Bidston Moss have a gig on the 21st of December at good morning captain so that will be a nice way to see the year out….
T.G.I.F
Friday, 15 November 2002
Yay…it’s Friday! Oh god. I just realised what I didn’t do at lunch time! I didn’t go to the bank to get my market float!! Eeeek. Will run now and try to make it!
Floating
Friday, 15 November 2002
OK, got my float money, now only a few more minutes of work to try and not look like a slacker who just ran to the bank for twenty five minutes (the teller couldn’t believe that God had singled her out to a psychotic like myself who demanded astonishing amounts of small coins and notes). Tonight I think I am going to walk up to the Queen Vic. market and see if there’s some fish stall
still open and I will take it home and see if M will cook it up without demolishing the kitchen (which is something that detracts a little bit of enjoyment from even the most yummy dinner). Am still trying to figure out a solution for getting the weather on to [miaow] but no luck so far. Tonight I have sworn to hang out at home and practice my Sneeze songs because they’re heading down to Melbourne next weekend and there’s a couple of shows lined up….I wish I had a photographic memory for this kind of thing….
Orgasmatron Failure
Tuesday, 19 November 2002
Oh, and in previous whinge, forgot to mention yesterday’s disaster. I traversed the entire length and bredth of Melbourne Central yesterday lunchtime (only occasionally sidetracked by shoes) looking for an appropriate birthday present for one Rie.H and I stumbled on what I thought was the perfect giftie - yes, of course you guessed it, the - ORGASMATRON - the ultimate head massager (in case you were worrying). Handed it to birthday girl with a smug sense of satisfaction… .naturally, it was such a perfect gift that she has been an Orgasmatron convert for more than a year and actually had one sitting on her loungeroom window sill. The shame! It shall be exchanged, though what one can get of a similar calibre from the Geographic Shop is highly questionable….
Scott has a blog page now, btw - am I allowed to publish the link?
No Sunday Driving
Sunday, 24 November 2002
Sunday Indoors Today I conquered the world from my couch! I hereby proclaim that no one should have to work on Mondays. Well, maybe half the population should so the other half feels lucky, and then they can rotate every six months. No way would I have had the nice day I had today if I’d had to go to work tomorrow. Didn’t get to bed til three thirty after last nights gig, so didn’t surface until woken by a mournful cat at about 11am. I had egg and soldiers made for me
and only left the couch to have a bath and put on different pajamas! I caught up on the last two weeks of my study and so assauged some of that guilt. Tomorrow is another study day - but I also have an appointment at my optometrist - it will be one month since I had my eyes lasered! She’s going to let me know whether I’m OK to go surfing and swimming and stuff like that. I’m excited!!
Obviously if all goes well I will have to visit a shoe shop in my quest for some chunky summer sandals - I’ve only got thongs or sandals with a heel which are no good for anything but work. A girl needs the kind of sandals that are good for jumping around in. I’d like to move my site to MovableType but I have to wait to hear from the ISP whether I can do it or not…
Eeyore Eeyore
Monday, 25 November 2002
The Monday Mope Not a good response from optometrist; laser surgery has enabled me to see like a raptor, but my eyes are suffering from lack of lubrication :o( I have to go back in a week… my eyes are getting grazed from lack of moisture. I am now in possession of lubricating drops and gel! Naturally, retail therapy became a necessity. My new shoes are…. not startingly lascivious, but super comfy…(please ignore that I typed that, it is a very old/sensible person’s thing to say. The guy in the shop was very helpful - I was torn between the more glamourous pair and the practical pair… “Ohhhh,” I sigh, viewing my feet in practical sandals from every possible angle. ‘They’re just not very exciting.”
“Depends what you want them for, love,” responds shoe seller guy in a Zen-like manner.
“Well, they need to survive the beach, a music festival, camping, um…”
I look beseechingly at him in the hope that he will take the decision from me. No girl really wants to have to take on the decision to buy sensible shoes. Do they? He’d gone. I saw him spouting wisdom at a German tourist. I put on the more frivolous pair and walked around the shop, imagining I was stumbling around at the Meredith Music Festival, weaving around tent pegs and evil remants of Hare Krishna food. The decision became simpler. Fifty sensible dollars later I
was driving away from the temptations of Chapel Street towards museli at FeedBack (one of my three currently acceptable cafes….)
Etiquette?
Wednesday, 27 November 2002
An etiquette driven by sight, sound, scratch and smell - theage.com.au When you get into your car, it’s like stepping into your own little house on wheels; this is YOUR private domain, and you can play whatever music you like, you can make whatever noises you like, you can create whatever smells you like, you can scratch whatever itches you like, YOU CAN DO WHATEVER YOU LIKE IN YOUR LITTLE MOVING HOME - sometimes when I’m driving in my car, I like to roll up the
windows really tight on a hot day, and sit there quietly, suffering in the heat, with my face melting off and my hands fusing to the steering wheel, just because I like people to think I’ve got air-conditioning.
–Danny Katz–
A Different Beth
Thursday, 28 November 2002
Well…maybe. Didn’t think I would write today, but was inspired by the blog of another Beth who is having turmoils…she mentioned in her post about a friend who had a ‘head against brick wall realisation’ and I had one of those the other day too…though completely insignificant… M was driving me to work and we go through a bit of North Melbourne where there are kind of industrial buildings that are big enough for trucks to drive into, and I saw in big letters on one
doorway MAX HEADROOM. Here comes my blonde moment….wait for it…
I had only ever thought of that as the name for that 3D plasticine-y looking guy in the eighties…it had never occurred to me that it was short for ‘maximum head room’. Oh dear. This kind of thing happens to me often enough to be slightly unsettling. Mow has had his fur shaved and the report from home says he now looks like a skinny feral rat that should be living in a drain somewhere… (previously he was a puff of Persian-ish fur). Welcome to Summer, Mow – it kicks off on Sunday.
Is Horlicks Good?
Wednesday, 4 December 2002
I think that sleep is a necessary. I am going to by some Horlicks. I was jogging…
jogging..around the oval at a quarter to six this morning. All because my horoscope said it would be a good idea to get rid of stress via exercise. Yeah right. Considering that my normal friendly stress levels peaked out in an unrivalled erruption last week and then settled down to an extraordinary low level on the weekend, I thought jogging might keep them low. Jogging is torture. But at least you don’t have to talk to anyone and there aren’t any lycra clad gym bunnies around offending your touchy early morning sensibilities….
This is a test btw….my new site needs love and attention, it’s getting little of the latter….
Horoscope Taps Girl on Shoulder
Saturday, 7 December 2002
It’s stop and go time. You’ve got one foot on the gas and one foot on the brakes. Self-control and restraint are major issues now. No question about it. This is a tough and frustrating period. Your every effort may be blocked. Specifically, you know what you want and you can’t seem to get it because authorities, institutions, loud noise, parents, and males are standing in your way. Stop the car for a moment.
The Epic That Is My Life
Wednesday, 11 December 2002
It worked – this page is looking the way I wanted it to – Kristine (the fixer) even peeked in to check out her advice in motion! Huzzah! Now I can set up my archives pages a bit better and stuff. Last night my dad met me after work to give me some audio book tapes that I lent him and some free range eggs. He asked me if I wanted to get a cup of tea somewhere (coffee is yuck) and I pointed over the road at the fancy Italian café whose window I fog with cake lust most mornings. So we went in, and I suggested it would be fatherly of him to buy me a cake…so I finally scored a slab of the lemon curd tart that I have been making eyes at for days. I half-heartedly offered my dad some (he refused) then I inhaled deeply and it was gone *swoonworthy*. Yum.
My Blog Ate My Life
Thursday, 12 December 2002
Oh dear. I think this…actually, I know the page has been running my life for the past few weeks! It’s bad! I have been neglecting cats and M (though luckily he has his own boaty obsession) not to mention Crime Factory on which I am criminally behind…and my study…it’s a gaping void. It’s quite tragic. I’m starting to exist in a mire of guilt…and I’m having lunch with D of Crime Factory tomorrow and must be able to report good news. No sitting on the couch tonight (apologies to my eyeballs who have put up with a great deal over the past few months – lasers, drops, computer monitors…)
Dust Bunnies
Monday, 16 December 2002
Bleugh…am kind of functioning. The Meredith Music Festival ate my weekend – but in a nice (though very bloody hot and dusty) way! Sleater Kinney rocked my world, as did Bob Mould, Lisa Miller and the Adam Simmons Toy Band (I had never seen anyone do a solo with two rubber chickens before!) I heard Jon Spencer and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs – who both sounded very cool! But I was in my sleeping bag for the former and putting up the tent for the latter – this makes me sound very lame, I agree, but you must consider that it was sooooo hot! Like about 35 degrees Celsius and I drank much beer to combat it – thus feeling the need to sleep at about 10pm on Saturday night…tee hee hee.
The Rising Tide of Yule
Monday, 23 December 2002
Well…have cleaned every window inside and out. I think that some of them haven’t been done for a couple of years!! It’s much nicer now. Weekend of chaos – played a gig on Saturday night, it was such a long day, we hung around for about four hours before we were due to go on, and then the bass amp was quirky and it was all a bit of a debacle. Though two people that I know from where I’ve been working for the past two months turned up! (About two minutes after we’d finished, but still…it was so nice of them to come!) Then we headed back to M & R’s and drank too much to drive home and slept in their spare room…it was like being on holiday! In the morning I got the tour of the house and plants that I am looking after for a month beginning on Boxing Day. I am looking forward to it…subscribing myself to the theory that ‘a change is as good as a holiday’ – got my fingers crossed.
Eat & be Merry
Wednesday, 25 December 2002
Click the pic for the Lost Diva!
It’s over! The first time I have ever put on Christmas! It’s
8pm and everything is cleared away – we have unintentionally, but happily
acquired the rest of a bottle of champagne, a bottle of port, chocolates,
shortbread, a selection of beer from Mirboo North Brewery, blackberry jam that
my dad made and those are just for starters!! It was a lovely day – didn’t kick off too well – M did not respond well to gift as he hadn’t got me anything – we’d each bought a ticket to the Meredith Music Festival for each other but I thought I’d get him something extra. Anyway – I ignored his little hissyfit and we put on a yummy lunch. I made two salads (Huzzah!!) a potato salad and a bean salad, we ate a few dozen oysters and steamed mussels and then M cooked snapper steaks with asparagus, mushroom and blue cheese. To die for! We finished up with cheeses, cherries and a bowl of apricots from the man over the road. I made us Christmas Cocktails of Midori and Pinapple juice whizzed with ice in the blender – I even got my Dad to have one!
Box On!
Thursday, 26 December 2002
I am sitting here eating chocolates and sipping tea. Am rather content. Have just figured out how to get my background working – I’ve learnt that if you can’t solve something and are sitting surrounded by clumps of your own hair, it’s best to leave it for a few weeks and then tackle it again. I usually find I tackle it differently…and voila! I thought it was my css file that was doing the evilness but the background wasn’t working properly because I wasn’t uploading the images using the binary setting. I think this sounds geekier than I actually am…
Hot Hot Hot
Saturday, 28 December 2002
Today is the first day in the Collingwood house. Got here late last night and dragged everything out of the Humber into the hallway. Oooh! It’s like being on holiday! Wasn’t too scary in the night – I did wake up when the fridge whirred but apart from that I didn’t spend too long dwelling on axe murderers and the like. Have watered the back garden, put out a few grains of muesli for the little mouse that I saw in the garden last weekend and whacked my laptop on the kitchen table which has three skylights over head. Have hit 2,100 words and think I will put a word count up somewhere here in case anybody cares…
Cinerama
Monday, 30 December 2002
Besides being a rather excellent band, Cinerama is what I have been indulging in whilst suffering the heat and being on this side of town! In the last 24 hours I have seen three movies! I saw The Two Towers last night, which was totally cool and then today I ran away to the cinema - they have a special deal on Mondays where films before 4pm are $5. So I started at noon with Bowling for Columbine which basically just confirmed what I already thought about that great nation - the US of A - which is not to say that there aren’t some kind of more normal cluey kind of people there (hi Mum, hi Scott, hi Uncle Richard) but that there are waaaaay too many freaky ones for me to cope with! Argh! Excellent film - everyone clapped at the end!
So after sitting there watching Michael Moore and eating a punnet of rasberries, I had a half hour break and ate another punnet of raspberries while I watched Donnie Darko. It kind of sucked. Sorry Claire - I know you liked this film but it just didn’t do it for me - I wish that I’d seen Adaption, Harry Potter or Eight Femmes. Oh well - that will be next Monday night if I consider I have written enough words.
More Holidays Needed
Friday, 3 January 2003
All has been quiet since New Years Eve. A splendid night was had. We did not endeavour to do anything wondrous and wild, we just steamed a stack of mussels, ate a lot of salads and drank much red wine. There were six of us plus a baby sleeping in a port-a-cot in the next room and a good time was had by all. I spent the next day cleaning up, recovering from red wine and sleeping on and off. Quite catlike in fact. Yesterday morning was a great cause for depression - I realised that the 6th of January is actually this coming Monday. I had been under the impression that I had all of next week off work :o( Not true. I can’t believe I have to go back in on Monday. Very sad.
Monday Morning
Monday, 6 January 2003
Yesterday I went to the beach here in Victoria for the first time in about 10 months or more - took my surfboard – and stood up on a couple of waves and then immediately fell straight back off. Lots of fun though!! Spent about three hours at the beach (for those people who don’t know about Melbourne – it has crap beaches, you have to drive for 90 minutes to get to a decent one, which is what we did) then of course we drove into Torquay to get fish and chips and ate them in the sun.
Monday Afternoon
Monday, 6 January 2003
Today has been a process of easing back into work, much less of a trauma than I had prepared myself for. I think when you have trouble sleeping it’s easy to lie there and work yourself up into a little lather of depression – it’s much better to get up and do something (like water the garden, feed the cats, search to no avail for breakfast food). Anyway, I share the room that I work in with two other people, O (a boy) and S (a girl) and we’re all round about the same age and are into a lot of the same things. John, our boss, is in an office nearby (one of those tiny poky rooms that professors get) and he came out to lunch with us today. We went to a regular haunt – Sahara – you can see some pix of it here and then we all professed a necessity for cake. And from thereon forward, we realised we had A Problem…
Poor Fishy R.I.P
Tuesday, 7 January 2003
He was floating sadly when I got in last night after seeing Adaption at the cinema (not as good as Being John Malkovich, but still…that was a hard one to better). I scooped him up on one of those vegetable serving spoons that let the water run out but the carrots stay, and gave him a burial in the backyard. I did think of taking a photo of him as he lay on the spoon because he was very pretty – shiny black and defined with see through tail. But I thought that R would rather remember him swimming. Now I have to think of how to tell her in a way that doesn’t insinuate that I…
a) savagely beat her fish to death
b) blocked it’s gills with bits of weed and watched it drown
c) held it by the tail and let the other fish eat all the food
d) suffocated it by using too much hairspray too close to the tank
All of the above would be very bad. I don’t know why he died – and I can’t think of anything bad that I did. Maybe he just missed her more than the others :o(
\—end of fish saga—\
Jumble Jumble
Wednesday, 8 January 2003
Just a quick one. Should be studying!! Have got BlogAmp working on the side over there, which is cool. Also scored myself an ISSN number, which made me feel momentarily legitimate. Seem to have lost my background as a result of large scale tweaking - is top of my list to fix. Must depart. Dinner and thesis call. Am way over computer screens at this precise moment - all day and all of the night!!
Saga of the Blog
Friday, 10 January 2003
Oh god. What dramas!! What have I been sitting here doing for the past hour? I have been sitting here re-entering all my posts via copy and paste! Yes - every post for the past two months (thank god I haven’t been banging on any longer, I would have killed me!)
“But why?” you ask.
“Well,” I answer with a sigh, “I became unreasonably obsessed that [m i a o w] was not able to be seen from the US on occasion and also that none of my pings worked when I did a new post. Obviously the world was still turning for some people, but not for me. So I asked Martin - my most excellent server dude - whether it was because they’d taken my IP address away, because this was the only thing I could think of that would be causing this problem….
Tappity Tap, Hooray!
Saturday, 11 January 2003
Well, I did it! I hit 10,000 words and I’m half way. It’s so late that I am almost drooling down my keyboard. I finished my ten thousand quite a few hours ago, but have been trying to get my blog back online and sorted out. If you’re wondering why I’m bothering to write 10,000 words, it’s for my masters thesis in writing, and also doubles as the start of my crime novel. Will it ever be finished?
A Very Warm Weekend
Sunday, 12 January 2003
A weekend of alcohol – really. This was dictated by the weather. Gorgeous – if you’re lucky enough to be sitting there with a G&T or Coopers Pale Ale, but unfortunate if you’re barrelling down to Kleins Perfumery in Brunswick Street looking for a present. Mmmm – I did both (well, the beer bit, not the gin bit). Yesterday we went to Wiss’s house to do a painting working bee – I worked hard drinking beer and finishing Boy George’s autobiography whilst everyone else painted and then dug into the worlds best bbq.
Going Down To Cow Town
Tuesday, 14 January 2003
Everytime I think I’m going to be dragged over the coals for not pulling together my research into a cohesive lump, it seems to turn out OK (runs from room to find some wood to touch). So, aparently I am on track…at work that is…masters thesis is another matter [clutches head]. Hitting 10,000 words was bad - I am now crumpling in resolve - but on the plus side, after suffering through yesterday feeling like crap I have now again taken on human form. This is good. However, in my stupor I did forget to transfer a little segment of savings into my everyday account and thus have $5 to indulge in over the space of 48 hours. This is OK for I have a bike - no public transport costs - huzzah!
Grey AM / Sunny PM
Thursday, 16 January 2003
Went out to dinner last night with my dad and my faux-uncle Noel - they both spent the night heaping insults on each other whilst I ate my way through local mussels in broth with cheesy bread on the side then topped it off with a slice of Coffee Pistachio Cake. Well, they called it a slice, it was more like a small country - Noel ate a good chunk of it while I had a breather, then I finished it off. Then he got busted in the toilets stealing toilet paper. It seems my theory (previously unpublicised) that scavenging doesn’t end with your university degree (unless you studied law, medicine, marketing or dentistry). I have been living off about $10 this week and showed so much rapture in my first proper cup of Earl Grey Tea at the cafe that my dad took me over to the supermarket and bought me two packs of Twinings best.
LOTR - Slightly Skewed
Friday, 17 January 2003
The Straight Dope Message Board has an awesome thread going on where people are posting excerpts of Lord of the Rings as written by different authors. Here’s one:
“Gandalf, Gandalf! Take the ring!
I am too small to carry this thing!”
“I can not, will not hold the One.
You have a slim chance, but I have none.
I will not take it on a boat,
I will not take it across a moat.
I cannot take it under Moria,
that’s one thing I can’t do for ya.
I would not bring it into Mordor,
I would not make it to the border.”
-excerpt from Dr. Suess’s FOTR.
ROTFL…here’s ‘by’ Mickey Spillane….
Sleepy Eyed & Fish?
Sunday, 19 January 2003
OK, well, I illustrated in my last post how my weekend was eaten and I’m just posting late this Sunday night to confirm that it was gulped. It is now about 11pm and I have been agonising over songs with my friend Dan - in the end we just thought ‘Bugger it, we’ll write our own.’ So that’s what we’ve been doing for the last four or five hours. This is all in honour of the gothy wedding *sigh* - hopefully it will go OK.
Have typed nothing, nada, nought and zero for more days than I want to think about. VirginBlue is having an air ticket special, which ends in an hour and I really want to get one - v.cheap!! Thirty three dollars to Sydney!! More bad news on the house-sitting front….
Canberra Burns :o(
Monday, 20 January 2003
Horrible nasty fires took out chunks of Canberra over the weekend and apparently the danger is still quite high. I walked out the back door today and the sky was clouded by smoke - it smells like a huge campfire. The smoke is coming from the alpine areas in the north east of Victoria. There is only about three kilometres of visibility in Melbourne at the moment - it’s given me a sick feeling. So many people in Canberra have lost everything - there was nowhere near enough emergency services to deal with the fire - the ACT only had 12 fire tankers which were nowhere near enough - I don’t know why they didn’t have back up ready to come in from New South Wales. I’m working in risk and community safety - so I think some of us (probably not me) will be heading to Canberra in a few days time to see if we can find out what went wrong - or at least try and get some idea.
Evil Brother
Wednesday, 22 January 2003
Though I must castigate my brother on behalf of all women, I feel compelled to be a little bit proud of his (slightly skewed) methods of ridding himself of the unwelcome attentions of a 20-something Swedish girl. (I know, I know, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there wondering what is wrong with him. He’s 22 - that should explain it.) They had gone out a few times and his intrest had waned (the language barrier didn’t help) and she had previously arranged to go back to Sweden for Christmas - so he heaves a sigh of relief…however…
[he writes]
I must admit I find this a combination of heartless and inventive *sigh* - must be off - am meeting the guy whose Nokia 5110 I just bought on ebay - apparently he’s tall, and will be wearing a grey t-shirt? If his name was Clive Owen, my heart might have fluttered, but as it was, I just told him to look for a tall chick in a brown dress (mmm, hugely tantalising ;o)….
Having a Heatwave
Saturday, 25 January 2003
Oh man. It’s 40 degrees. Which is over 100 fahrenheit, I”m sure. Most people I know are watching the Williams sisters play tennis on TV while clad in undies only. Can’t breathe or move. Don’t know whether I’ prefer this or ice and snow. If I had a coupule of servants to serve me an endless selection of gin and tonics, or even an electric fan, I would feel better. Have to go to medieval murder party tonight - rang up to check whether it is still taking place. My friend Chris (in her undies) said that it’s still going ahead. So I spent an hour making a cone hat with cardboard, silver doilies and fancy chiffon material that I got from the fabric shop yesterday. Unfortunately when I’d finished it - I realised I made it too tall - d’oh. However it is very rapunzel-like and will go very nicely with my…singlet. That’s as medieval as I get in this weather. The wind is terrible and I feel terrible for the firefighters, I can’t even imagine what it must be like. I’m feeling very urban and unhelpful.
God. I have made so many mistakes that I’ve had to fix up whilst writing this that I’m going to end it here. Good luck Venus. Good luck Serena.
Strung Out & Jaded
Tuesday, 28 January 2003
What a weekend! All the excitement of unbearable heat, coupled with a medieval murder party, followed by a naturalization ceremony and the barbeque to end all barbeques. I’m bloody exhausted. All that plus having to move out of Collingwood yesterday, thus foiling my plan to hit the Big Day Out *sigh*. Checked this page before and it didn’t exist, then five minutes later it’s reappeared…very suspicious. The murder party was v.cool! Chris wrote it all herself and I made a ‘cone hat’ – which is as near as 44 degrees would let me get to medieval. On Australia Day we arose (having slept about two hours in total because of the heat) and cruised out to Bundoora in the Humber – politicians were in attendance and there were at least 150 people there to be naturalized.
Exhaust-ed
Sunday, 2 February 2003
I have a distinct similarity to a boneless chicken (fans of the Goodies will know to what I refer). Am floppy for want of sleep. Just squeezed what was probably too much into my day and dragged friends with me to torture them too! Weekends are too short! Tried to do everything in too little time! Had a lovely drive to South Gippsland, bought honey, an indoor plant to sit on my window sill at work (oh- window sill makes it sound like I have a window well… I do if you discount the sad fact that all I can see out of it are grey bricks) and some beer from Mirboo North Brewery. Not the most illustrious and asthetically wondrous place, but then…it doesn’t need to be - it produces what it probably close to the worlds best beer. And it’s CHEAP!!! (But it’s only cheap if you go to the brewery itself, if you try to buy it at an inner city bottle shop, it will frighten your wallet).
Hoist the Eyelids
Tuesday, 4 February 2003
Ohhhh. Gym has played havoc with my waking life. Have been there just after six two mornings in a row – still haven’t done any exercise, mind you, just had myself measured (shoulders, calves, thighs, hips, biceps, height, fat – feel like I’m going to be carved up for a Sunday roast) – this was all done by a guy who looked like the robot guy from Alien that gets ripped in half on the landing bay, but at the same time managed to remind me inescapably of the guy from Will & Grace. I think it was when he confided in me that he was the Ballroom Dancing Champion of Australia circa 1974…or was it when he described the physique of the guy who would be taking me through my program the first time?
He sighed wistfully, ‘I caught him in his little shorts practicing his body building poses – but… he’s engaged…’ Another sigh.
And She’s Made It To Friday!
Friday, 7 February 2003
I have not posted since Monday or something! Unforgivable! Have not been able to revel in my usual web surfing and the like as I have had work,work, work to do. Finally almost finished my weather report thing…I pray for it’s end every 30 minutes. Have been informed I am to go to Canberra next week for three days to do some bushfire research…this is kind of good and kind of scary. Haven’t been there before – though I have driven past the turnoff on the Hume Highway countless times – am staying by myself in a seedy hotel in the city. Hopefully not too seedsville – pray for the minibar – pray for the minibar. My boss is from Canberra so he’ll be staying with friends. I’m just going to have to talk the talk and wing it the best I can.
Afternoon Slump
Monday, 10 February 2003
Ug. Have post-lunch slump. Am drinking second coffee of the year, but am not feeling caffeinated yet. Happy Birthday to Claire who is Fascinating. I missed her celebrations on Saturday night due to drinking punch and dancing around a Brunswick lounge-room to the Buena Vista Social Club. Was sad because Claire and Co. were playing pool at the Marquis of Lorne - the pub I rode past every day when I was house sitting and thought it looked way cool (of course I was too much of a scaredy loser to go in by myself and have a beer, which is why I’m whinging now). Missed the last train and had to catch a taxi to the city where M’s friend from his current café of choice was spinning some vinyl. It was kind of fun – t