hah - and one of my other friends, who i'm pretty sure doesn't know the guy dj'ing, just won the featured album and got her name announced by him on the radio!
11:55:00 PM

 
heh - one of my friends (M2) is doing Out To Lunch on RTR FM. So funny to hear him on radio...
9:10:00 PM

 
Hm. Me and da guru were discussing Word's penchant for "that" vs. "which" just yesterday...
"James Fallows, a writer at The Atlantic Monthly, who once worked at Microsoft to improve the value of Word, said he could not recall a single instance in which he accepted the advice of Word's grammar checker"

"When a professor of English recently compared the grammar-checking features in Word and WordPerfect, which is owned by Corel, he found that Word 2000's grammar checker was unable to identify any of the most common errors. WordPerfect did somewhat better, but still found fewer than half."

"Microsoft's developers likened the grammar checker to an artificial leg, useful for those who cannot otherwise walk"

heh.

7:37:00 PM

 
OK, am totally going to stop with the ultrabland accounts of my weekly Saturday grocery trips and laundry operations. From hereon, only frivolous, slightly unique incidents will be accepted.

Um. ok. Saturday night, I went to a birthday dinner for my grandmother (generally referred to amongst the sibs as Mama - a holdover from when I was about two I believe). The father (generally referred to amongst the sibs as Dad) picked me up, then the grandmother, and we met the Aunt (generally referred to amongst the sibs as Aunty, the only Aunt in the country, and so usually individuated enough) at the restaurant. Dad's driving on the way to the restaurant was gratifyingly within the road rules. We turned corners a number of times, and he remembered to signal almost every time! We also switched lanes (four times) and he preceded each change with a signal and also remembered to then TURN OFF the signal each time! I was feeling quite happy by the time we reached the restaurant, and hardly minded the unsignalled u-turn right outside the restaurant on the four-lane main road.

So after the (usual overly enthusiastic) interrogation of the waiter, we ordered. We ate lots. I got reminded how annoying the Aunt is. I also had to listen to some not-very-dinner-table-type-talk (my Aunt being a nurse, and my Dad being a GP) about reflux. I also discovered my dad and aunt are a bit worried about my grandmother - apparently she hadn't realized that this birthday dinner was tonight, and they think her memory might be going. Blindly hypothesizing, without evidence, etc., I imagine that contributing to this particular lapse would be the fact that she really doesn't have a weekly routine, she has no real differentiation between weekdays and weekends, or from week to week. I worry that her life's a bit vacant (she prays, she cooks a little, does some balcony gardening, and not much else), and I think she should be doing stuff. Years ago, I asked my dad whether I should start her on some hobbies, like maybe enrol her in an art class or something, but he said "no, no, what for?". I suppose it's kind of hard though, she's not mobile - what can she do from her apartment? wonder if i could start her on the internet? Anyway, finally convinced that we couldn't eat any more, Dad allowed us to leave.

The drive home was a little more harrowing than our trip in. It apparently takes a while to get the hang of signalling again, there were a couple of non-turning-off-of-signals after lane changes; once in the burbs on smaller streets with no painted line to divide the road, there was a certain tendency to drive straight down the middle, taking up the entire road. *Exasperation* Does he think it's okay when there aren't any other cars oncoming? Or does he not even notice? Not even when coming up to a blind corner, and not being able to see if a car might be wanting to turn into our street? Does he not even realize when we're actually stopped at a stop sign and only the left half of the car is behind the white line? Aaanyway, I got home safely, it was 10pmish, and I was sated and ready to fight against the large and lethargy inducing meal.

I had to convince the housemate to go out with me (again! she was having second thoughts, despite saying earlier she definitely wanted to go) and headed out to "Namaska" - a psytrance party put on by the Freo Doof people (who put on "Bloom" which I so enjoyed a few weeks ago). Was nice to see the happy hippy Freo people in a different setting. The city outdoor venue was pretty cool, but there's really too much inescapable light pollution in the city, street lights, carparks, etc., for the eerie UV decorations and lights to display to full effect.

Namaska was intended to be my event for the night. A friend (S) who was dj'ing at Moo! Fest (a rather large party on the other side of town, with heaps of local dj's (30 i think), and with house, drum'n'bass, techno and trance rooms) offered (cheapish industry) tickets to me last week, but i dithered and didn't take up his offer, and so more or less by default, decided against going after Namaska. Had a beer, a sit and quality time with the housemate, catching up on our respective week's etc. Eventually some friends (T and S and T, G and R) started filtering in (I suppose we got there pretty early, I think we made it by 11ish). One girl (M) who's housewarming I went to 5 or 6 years ago, and have really only bumped into maybe 4 times since, remembered my name, and even what I do, which was nice. It also turns out I know her ex(as of 3 weeks)-boyfriend. I had no idea they were going out. I can be so oblivious. A couple of friends (namely, or at least initially, T and S and T) were going to Moo! Fest later, as Namaska was slated to finish at 2, it turned out they had a spare industry ticket, and sold it to me cheaper than the industry ticket I was offered last week! - proof that rewards come to those who procrastinate?! Took the housemate home since she wasn't up for a big night, then went back and had a good dance till like 2:20am. M asked me if I was going to Moo! and I said yeah, so we went over together.

The main room (techno) was rather boring and minimal and yet retained quite a crowd, the music in the drum and bass room was much better, and was also packed. They had a really good turnout for a totally local party, looked almost up to the attendance at a big Ministry or Gatecrasher gig. Stayed with the jungle a tiny while but then went and checked out the house room - which seemed to have become a chill room really, everyone was lounging around, and then went up to the trance room, which was much better. Nice and energetic, and it turned out S was playing right then. Mostly stayed there for the rest of the night, with occasional forays into the house and the drum and bass areas. The exercise soon had the endorphins flowing and made me feel much less guilty over only going to the gym twice last week. One guy (Mike?) recognized me from Bloom. Various friends came and danced and went elsewhere. I somehow moved into a prime spot in front of the ventilation. Then, somehow, it was almost 6am, and there were only like 5 of us left on a dancefloor the size of a couple of Olympic swimming pools, with maybe another 5 or 6 scattered around the seats at the edges. The last dj mixed in the old school - _Injected with a Poison_ and brought a smile to everyone's face, and it was over too soon. The house room below was also just finishing up, followed by the drum'n'bass.

There was also an afterparty planned at another venue from 6am till 1pm, which was SOOO tempting with quite a few old friends and new acquaintances going and with funky house (and partly just because I like going as hard as all those kiddies on substances), but as I was supposed to go for going away drinks at midday, I decided I should try for a nap beforehand... mmm... sleep....


Interesting... the hotmail account I used years and years ago whenever overseas, and last year to download real email overseas via POPmail, and lately for webscriptions requiring an email addy, was deactivated. And all the email in there is gone. Hope i didn't leave anything important in there!
3:42:00 AM

 
earlier today A and I had a conversation about how she spent the weekend with her boyfriend. They went away together:
A: "My back is really aching from all the..." {sits very upright and bounces cheerleader-ishly up and down on her seat}
moi {tries to keep straight face}: *snigger*
A {indignant}: "The roads! From driving on the bumpy roads!"
2:08:00 AM

 
oop - time for beer club now - quick synopsis of rest of ANZAC day - home, cooked dinner (pasta pesto sauteed capsicum), K dropped by at 8 to go to Roller (Thursday night drum and bass night at Rosemount Pub), I was SURE she'd said 10. Anyway, so eat quick, dress, go. Drink (pint Kilkenny). Actually get to listen to dj guy we know (usually miss him). Then check out trance at hydey - see friends there, me happy. back to rosemount for final drinks. speaking of drinks - gotta go!
1:31:00 AM

 
Apart from work (as in not doing any), this has been a lovely week.

On Wednesday night my department had a postgrad dinner at a local restaurant. About 30 (out of 50ish?) of us turned up I think. Was nice. Although I feel a little unadventurous for sitting with the same people I always talk to. I think I had more than my fair share of wine, but no one else seemed to be drinking it... Our starters were a little boring - turkish bread and dips, but for mains I had a lovely barramundi fillet with salad and roast potato (did I mention I cooked fish last week for the first time in ages - just pan fried perch with lemon, was quite nice, will have to do it more, work my way up to the fish two or three times a week which nutritionists recommend). Also tried some of a friends veal, and finished a friends vegetarian lasagna - despite being quite full after my own meal. Then I headed off to the first anniversary of the Jazzrooms (collecting housemate and bf on the way). We got there rather early, like 9:30ish? and it was already pretty crowded. The music was pretty good (better than the last couple of times I've been there), and we scored a very nice beanbag setup in the downstairs area (which usually isn't part of it). Lots of pretentious pretty people around, including a number of people I kind of know - heh. The housemate (a bit of a clothing connoisseur): "oh my god, every single thing she's wearing would cost at least two hundred dollars!".

Was very happy to see some other friends (wonder if people who don't know them think of them as pretty and pretentious), and got to catch up a little with them. Turns out the little sister of a girl (who used to seem to like me, but I haven't seen in ages) is now working for the housemate's bf's family business, and has grown up into a total stunner. The crew of the bbq from two saturdays ago also invaded en masse. Unfortunately my driver (the housemates bf) had to get up early on Thursday, and I think we left like 1ish :( The friend who originally suggested we go hadn't even arrived yet! Oh well, went home and finished _Goblet of Fire_ (enjoyed, but don't think I agree that it's clearly the best thus far).

Didn't get up for Thursday's dawn service for the ANZACs although it appears a number of my friends went! Weird. Uni officially closed, but I went in about middayish. But the whole system was down, and I didn't end up doing any work. Four of my officemates were in also! But mostly left when it became apparent the system problems weren't temporary.


1:27:00 AM

 
-sigh-
After about three weeks, the housemate finally finished _harry potter and the goblet of fire_ and lent it to me. I was going to leave it till the weekend (or at least ANZAC day) before I started reading it, in the hopes of it not distracting me when I could be working. But of course, no self discipline (where has it all gone?), and I started it last night. Halfway through already.
10:50:00 PM

 
hahaha - an article titled "Ruddock ambushed by hostile lawyers", about his attempted defense of Aust's immigration policy at some press meeting - love the closing lines, where they thank him for coming:
"Thank you for your forceful and robust defence of Australian policies. It is a policy which needs a lot of defence and very forceful defence," the member said."


6:17:00 PM

 
nice. stumpable work problem also has The Guru stumped.
12:46:00 AM

 
don't think i noted i also read _the octagonal raven_ (LM Modesitt) last week. possibly reading too much considering the work i should be doing. nb. also read two _new scientist_'s and a _time_ .

sunday night had some quality time with the housemate at the localest (6 blocks away i think) pub.
10:16:00 PM

 
okay. time for post-weekend-post again. um. but my weekend was kinda boring. although friend submitted thesis on friday - vicarious excitement! had much beer in arvo. yes. counted as binge (>5 standard drinks in one sitting, although it occurs to me they didn't have any measure of duration) which was nice. was invited to party way out in hills. too drunk to make way there. went to bed. saturday - the usual, plus read one book (_night of madness_ LW Evans, um. average. not very satisfying). didn't go out. at all. my.

sunday. read another book (_day of the griffin_ DW Jones, quite enjoyable, harry potteresque by an author who's been around since way before), and most of another (_finity's end_ CJ Cherryh, very good sf), and started another (_a la recherche du temps perdu_ M Proust, (not in french though), v boring so far, and i read the whole first chapter before realizing it was actually the second volume of i think three - although original in 8 parts or whatever, divided into three by this editions publishers. i was a little worried about not instantly picking up who the characters were and where the settings mentioned came in and how they were relevant and various references to things not yet seen. narrator very verbose and apt to go off on tangents about perception and history and things. sentences very very long. not grabbed yet. suspect i won't get grabbed at all, even _albertine disparue_ (which i also didn't get through despite being much much thinner (_recherche_ is a million and a quarter words i think?) and which i started at the beginning and thus got some initial character and development) was (so far) less interminable. ah well, note to self: "tried the literary self-improvement thing again, although not very hard". maybe go back to _crime and punishment_? (would that count as a new attempt? i probably wouldn't go back to the start)...
10:11:00 PM

 
ooh - other excitement, had my first three seven-letterer words in one game of Scrabble - woohoo.
1:32:00 AM

 
mmm... this apple is good. It's a _Firmgold #5012 Australian_ which i don't recall seeing before. Like a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Granny Smith...
1:31:00 AM

 
Whoa - did I just go a whole TWO DAYS without blogging? C'est impossible!

Well planned to do a double gym session last night, but didn't and am quite glad, think I'm as sore today as I was after the triple last week...

7:26:00 PM

 
Somehow I left out most of the incendiary quotes which I *actually* found emotive, possibly my subconscious thinks they might be viewed as manipulative, and so I had an unconscious aversion to repeating them. But as always, one motivation for my actions is to rebel against my own subconcious, so:
"1985, Lebanon. The CIA plants a truck bomb outside a mosque in Beirut, aiming to kill a Muslim cleric. As the faithful leave the mosque, the blast kills 80 and wounds 250, mostly women and children."

"Let me ask you, dear reader, in this ongoing "war against terror", how many innocent Afghans have lost their lives? If the number is unknown to you, what does that say about our media culture? At the very least, according to Marc Herold, the death toll is 3,700"

"The blast inferno [of the daisy-cutter bomb used by the US in Afghanistan] vaporises everything within hundreds of metres and produces a mushroom-shaped cloud, resulting in a vacuum of such force that it sucks out human eyes. A rush of oxygen then reignites what's left and sets off another explosion."

-sigh-
and *still* so much more.
12:22:00 AM

 
Who wants a file at the FBI?
http://members.aol.com/bblum6/American_holocaust.htm
12:12:00 AM

 
argh. actually still on that article:
"The chairman of the board of Al Shifa [the Sudanese pharmaceutical factory which was mistakenly bombed as a chemical weapons plant by the USA, and which produced 90% of the drugs needed to treat malaria, TB, etc.], Dr Idris Eltayeb, remarked that the destruction of his factory was "just as much an act of terrorism as the twin towers - the only difference is we know who did it"."

"The last US bomb on Kabul hit the studios of al-Jazeera, the independent voice of the Middle East."
"The Pentagon claims this "smart bomb" lost its bearings, as another one did over Belgrade in 1999, when it flattened Serbian TV, killing and maiming the staff."

man. *way* too many quotable bits in it. so many more, which i want to put here, but you should just go read it...

12:10:00 AM

 
Oh man! This Sept-11, anti-war type article is full of freaky facts which I'm much too inclined to believe without further evidence. I really should try and corroborate stuff like:
"Until recently, the Taliban was seen as a commercial ally. In 1997, its officials were flown to George Bush's home state of Texas, where they barbecued T-bones beside a swimming pool with the vice-president of the oil giant Unocal."
...
"soon after its election, the Bush Administration resumed the talks, believing the Taliban could be trusted to support the pipeline, as it supported the War on Drugs. (Washington handed the Taliban $US42 million to suppress the cultivation of opium poppies, now back in bloom.)" (at least I've heard this bit before).
...
"Another party to the [oil] pipeline negotiations was Enron, the famously bankrupt energy trader which, with Washington's backing, managed to deregulate, privatise and vandalise several developing nations."

and the coincidental? or not! kicker, baby:
"These negotiations collapsed in August 2001, when the Taliban asked the US to help reconstruct Afghanistan's infrastructure and provide a portion of the oil supply for local needs. The US response was reportedly succinct: "We will either carpet you in gold or carpet you in bombs." The notes of this meeting, which took place only weeks before the strike on America, are now the subject of a lawsuit between Congress and the White House. Was the Taliban really destroyed for harbouring terrorists? Or was it for failing to further the ambitions of Texan millionaires?" freak freak freak!

"As a Belgium tribunal considered Sharon's indictment for war crimes committed in Lebanon in 1982, the star witness against him, Elie Hobeika, was blown up by a car bomb in Beirut, along with his three bodyguards."

"It may have surprised Americans to be informed by [Noam] Chomsky that the only nation ever condemned by the World Court for perpetrating international terrorism was their own." [regarding Nicaragua, 1984].

And ooh: "Another fact-packed anti-war Web site is that of William Blum, founding editor of the '60s underground newspaper Washington Free Press. Today, Blum is still looking for trouble. "Accessing this site automatically opens a file for you at FBI headquarters," is the greeting of his home page. "This warning, of course, comes too late." " No web addy, but am going to go looking for it now.
11:29:00 PM

 
Quite liked this, and then saw this! Heh! Have seen quite a few April-fools-ish reports over the last couple of weeks, but didn't see any on April 1st itself.
11:03:00 PM

 
went to my SECOND voluntary seminar this week, which i think balances out the two missed seminars which i was supposed to go to. Neither of the voluntary seminars were particularly relevant to my research, but from reports, neither were the missed ones.

So the seminar this morning was a post-field trip seminar given by a friend on the use of hallucinogens by shamans in a Venezuelan tribe called the Piaroa for the acquisition of knowledge. He was a total showman, describing his own experiences, quoting his shaman teacher, and barking like a river otter. He also provided some background on the neurobiological and autonomic nervous system (sympathetic vs parasympathetic dominant response) behaviour associated with yaopoa (sp?), which I found really intriguing, and could totally relate to experientially. Was nice to check out the seminars in another department too, and to see that the academics elsewhere also ask dumb questions.
11:08:00 PM

 
Last night I did my first double body-pump class, and followed it with a circuit - my first triple!

Was quite nicely tired last night, but then stayed up late reading (3am :P and the book wasn't even good).
8:03:00 PM

 
hang on! i'm not 28!
(well, not yet... i seriously thought i might be 28 just then, darn senility...)
10:57:00 PM

 
ergh...
"Starting around age 28, our scores on memory tests decline steadily".
10:52:00 PM

 
Hm. Well, here's some more info (although those quotes are a bit cringe-inducing). But not the list of better retailers I was hoping for...
9:37:00 PM

 
Cool - Ben Cohen (yes, ex-Ben and Jerry's) has started a non-sweatshop clothing production company, "SweatX". Wonder if they'll make it to Australia... (nb. there're a couple of companies accessible locally who've signed non-sweatshop agreements (the Homeworkers Code of Practice), eg. Target, which has been a huge selling point for me, will see if I can dig up a URL listing other places).
9:25:00 PM

 
Last night, just before I went to bed, I suddenly realized the load of laundry I did on Saturday is still on the old Hills Hoist. And I think there've been occasional showers this week. Oh well.

Just had first coffee of the week (56 bpm).
9:08:00 PM

 
I *so* meant to do some work last night (at home), but housemate was there and watching tv, so I joined her. And there wasn't even anything good on.
9:05:00 PM

 
Hm. Why has my Netscape stopped working (again)? It seems to do this occasionally, at random. It also wasn't working a couple of days ago, but it was working yesterday. It seems that someone used this PC last night, but I don't imagine they would've changed any settings or anything.


9:03:00 PM

 
bah! stupid matlab! what does it think it's doing?
5:06:00 AM

 
*blargh*
ate too much.
forgot to bring lunch (leftover stirfry and steamed rice i made last night), and was hungry all morning. went and bought food about 3, determined to get totally junky crap (envisioned chips and meat pie), but when i went in they had cleverly displayed the salad rolls just as you enter and they looked quite good, so i got one of those instead of an offal pie, but i got a bucket of wedges too - anyway, shouldn't have finished the whole bucket of wedges myself...

also. just went to a seminar which i wasn't at all obliged to go to. happily it only went for 20 or so mins rather than my expected 45, however, questions then took up another 20 mins. should've gone to the gym instead.

2:02:00 AM

 
should go gym. but feels like i got enough exercise on weekend, even though didn't dance very hard yesterday.
1:53:00 AM

 
Was definitely feeling the effects of the previous night's boozeup - but not in a bad way. Apart from being rather scattered in trying to leave the house (realized i'd forgot my ticket when i was down the driveway, and couldn't decide whether i'd need a hat or not), my main symptom was just being a bit out-of-body (OOB). Which persisted throughout the day. It was like I was a foot behind myself or something, detached, even when enjoying myself.

So in the auditorium, our friends cleverly having brought a tarp to sit on (considering the mornings showers), we set up nice and centrally, and listen to some tunes... First up were the Automasters (ok), followed by Thrust, who I quite liked. Then we went over to check out the dj's since a guy I know was supposed to be on at 2pm. Or so the lineup listing said. Of course they'd actually left the "1" off the front, and he'd been on at "12". Darn. But had a nice lie in the sun on the lawn (nephelococcygiating?) and listened to General Justice (ok, eclectic). Back to the main area to see the 'B Movie Heroes' (9 piece, with bongo's and occasional cello, like). Spotted housemate (napping and maybe studying till then). Then random other friends walked past, and we inveigled them to join their rug to our tarp. Then we watched (and listened to) 'K' (with sax, also quite like, regulars at the Inglewood). Checked out some Gamblin vs Wrighteous (a little too hip-hoppy pour moi), then the 'Audio Response Group' who were really quite enjoyable, people actually got up and danced. The place was getting pretty full by this time (5ish). 'Mukaizake' followed and were ALSO good - at least, so I recall thinking at the time, but now I really can't remember what type of music they played...

Was ready for a dance, so went over to check out some deep house by a couple of dj's I normally enjoy (Reid vs Stinton), but wasn't very inspired (it may have just been me), but more or less stayed there with occasional bursts of energy. The courtyard (really only the size of an olympic swimming pool) got pretty packed. Enjoyed boogieing to various parts of Saxon and Mallinder and Echoic. Bumped into a few more people (Bruce and Co, another Tim), danced with them. Thought about going to check out the Pines, but there were actually queues, people were still arriving! So didn't leave, and just stayed and boogied till 9ish, when I went and listened to the 'Ku-Ling Bros' who're a bit of an institution and don't really play a whole lot I think. Enjoyed, but perhaps a bit too slow after the dj's. Saw a little bit of 'Cartman'. Saw various friends off. Went and had the final boogie to Declan and James A and Matty P. Was ok, but not very inspiring. Ended up just hanging with friends, with only occasional boogieing. Bumped into more people - whose stories I should relate (Belle, Jo, another-other Tim, Hamilton), but can't be bothered right now. Said some languid happy goodbyes, quite ready for bed, and started walking and then running home, got about halfway, decided it wasn't worth it. Said hi to a guy walking up the same street as me, apparently also headed home from the Pines, and recognize him as a friend of a friend I'd bumped into. Had a nice chat, and then I was home (he lived like a block further). Housemate already in bed, so didn't manage to recap day with her.

-ah- shower... -ooh- bed...
12:25:00 AM

 
So got home about 3am I think and had longest hottest shower I've had for ages. Sunday morning, I woke up much too early (8:30am), still feeling drunk. Had huge brekky (mmm... cheese and tomato and capsicum omelette on toast), then cycled over to party place to pick up my car. Phew. Didn't feel too bad, it had actually rained that morning, and it was wet, but nicely temperate.

Felt quite virtuous at getting constructive stuff done before 10:30. Set my alarm for 11:50 and tried to have a nap. Was supposed to meet people at midday to go to _In the Pines_ a local and local-music festival, 8 bands plus heaps of dj's (16? 18?), but I somehow didn't have a very restful nap, and when I woke to the alarm, I rang my friends and said I probably wouldn't meet them, I needed more sleep. BUT! I actually had one of their tickets, and they said they'd come collect it now, and I was too out of it to quickly say, "I'll leave it under the mat for you", so instead of going to bed, I had to stay up and wait for them. So I pottered around doing stuff, and decided I was properly awake, and really should just go now as I'd originally planned, so quickly stuck my head under the shower to get rid of bedhed, made a toasted cheese sandwich, boiled kettle, got dressed, then people (K and P) on doorstep (and then in living room), and i had to decide what I needed for the day - eventually settled on just keys, sunglasses, and money, even though things like [... bottle of water ... snacks ... hat ... sunscreen ... jumper ...] were in the back of my mind. Walked out the door with them with my cheese toastie in one hand and my big mug of coffee in the other (weird-ugly scary-santa mug which I wouldn't really mind losing).

We walked down the road (4 blocks) to meet other friends (in one of those rundown studenty sharehouses, where some other friends used to live about 2 years ago). Have a nice sit and chat and drink coffee in their backyard, and despite the overcast morning, the sun started coming out. They kindly gave me sunscreen, and offered to refill my mug, but I settled for water, and then we headed off to the Auditorium ("the Pines", another couple of blocks away) where the bands were (and the courtyard next door where the dj's were).
11:52:00 PM

 
but yes, Saturday night I did perhaps binge a little.

Saturday morning I got up pretty early, came in to work and started a simulation (which I really should've started Friday evening, but didn't want to be late for waitering) and then went to the gym. Went to the library and picked up some fiction and even a non-fiction work-related book (blargh). Did massive grocery trip plus picked up a carton of Carlton Cold (last one came in so useful). Weather lovely and sunny, so thought about going to beach and reading new fiction, but then on way home realized party that night probably called for a present (kind of knew already, but hadn't really thought about), since it was a birthday-and-going-away. Rang around mutual friends for ideas, which was helpful in pinning down what practicalish travel type stuff he had already (nothing, although he's leaving on Wed!). So ran (ok, drove really) into town and stopped at the Army Surplus store, picked up a really basic Swiss Army knife (the Spartan) and a mini first aid kit, and was out of there surprisingly quickly. Home, wrapped, realized I'd forgotten a card, but luckily housemate had a spare blank. Too late and cool to go beach :( but settled down for nice read (_The Warrior's Apprentice_, LM Bujold: space opera-ey, so far quite amusing, and reasonably characterised and original). Had intended to cycle over to party, but realized at last moment (bah! unorganized!) that bike light had run down its batteries. A couple of friends had asked for a lift earlier in the day, but were then going to bus it since i was cycling. Gave them a quick call to reoffer lift, and they hadn't left yet, so went and picked them up, and over to party. Drank much too much. Met a couple of the new housemates (replacing people going to Edinburgh and buying houses and things), an English girl (Sarah, doing some Aust Conservation Volunteers stuff in Bunburs and Mags R), a school friend of one of the movers (who I'd met before but forgotten I'd met until he mentioned a silly nickname one F5 calls him, but this was ok as he didn't remember meeting me either, think he was a bit trashed at the time - was before Chicane at Belmont actually, stopped in at Steve's birthday way out in 'burbs). Caught up with the gang (I think the entire complement showed! F1-6 *and* M1-6, very impressive), plus met a couple of new people (have met Holly a couple of times before, but a couple of her friends, Jo - a lawyer, and some other guy..., Al, a rather funky girl from some band who play's before Dave, and her friends Tim? and argh. darn. names...). Also feel I almost have a handle on distinguishing the twins. As long as they're in the same room I can almost definitely tell which one is which. Had 8 full-strengths (pretty sure not 9) plus a large glass of housemate's wine (so maybe 12+ standard drinks, double-bingey). Bad. Was part of dregs of party. Walked home. Too drunk to tell how long it actually took. Also had some trouble telling the time. It was dark. Also, think my watch was on upside down (Tim had tried it on).
11:27:00 PM

 
dammit. am SUCH a binge drinker. my poor little brain cells.

Friday night was nice. Didn't binge, only had 4.5 standard drinks, and spread over the entire night. At the time, I was actually helping out the housemate's parents by waitering at a party they had. Was pretty easy, arranging platters of sushi and then taking them around (a rather large balcony and garden) kind of constantly. Also kept a steady turnover of spring rolls and won-tons and samosa's in the oven and then putting them on platters and serving them also. The housemate's brother and his friend was doing the drinks, so it was pretty laidback. Only (minor) problem was the massive ceramic dishes (easily 70cm across, one was more) which had the cheeses (so *that's* what Stilton's like!) and then two more with piles of fresh fruit. They were too heavy for the housemate, so it's lucky I've been going to the gym. Also took around bowls of chocolate at the end. These were quite popular.

Attendees were pretty nice, consisting of mostly older parent-aged professionals who work with the housemate's dad. Although did run into one girl who went to my school (year above me I think) and remembered me (don't think she does housemate-dad type stuff, so maybe admin person...).
8:16:00 PM

 
actually managed to do some work at home last night. interesting...

also ate beef which was interesting after this.
7:29:00 PM

 
"The survey defined binge drinkers as men who had five or more drinks, and women who had four or more drinks, at least once in the two weeks before the survey. Frequent binge drinkers were those who consumed those amounts at least three times in the previous two weeks." Uh-oh. Although I already knew I was a binge drinker, I didn't *really* know an officialish definition. You'd think that if you had 15 drinks at one sitting it'd only count as one binge though, yeah?
10:46:00 PM

 
Heh. My officemate is having a dramatic day - came in all cut up, was at the emergency room last night getting stitches after a little accident, and just then he got a phonecall saying he'd received a (10x) higher than usual radiation dose on his last fieldtrip (although reportedly "nothing to concern yourself about")! Excitement.
8:25:00 PM

 
What'd I do Saturday? Hm. Well, apart from going to the gym, I'm not sure what happened to my day, but I had Chinese for dinner in our micro-Chinatown. It was a going-away for a friend returning to her highflying London life (after two weeks here). Then we went for coffee and cake (mixed berry cheesecake, after ordering the kahlua and chocolate and then the baileys and hazelnut and both resulting in returning waiters saying "sorry, um, we don't actually have that") at a mafia run cafe, and then to a club for a little dance. I stayed for more than an hour, although I wasn't really up for it, and was home by 2. And for some reason up out of bed by 9. And defrosting our ice-cave of a freezer and doing a total clean-out of the fridge. Quite satisfying - the glaciers in the freezer were quite massive. And last night I dreamt that someone had left the freezer door open and the glaciers had grown again and I was going to have to do a re-defrost, but it didn't really worry me.

Anyway. For the rest of my Easter Sunday I finished the _Mr. Mulliner Omnibus_ (Wodehouse). Watched crap tv. Stayed in. Thought about doing stuff. But didn't.

Was just settling in for a bad Sunday night movie (Batman and Robin with Batgirl), when I was saved by a call for drinks with an old friend in town on a flying visit -phew- Arnie as Mr. Freeze - ohmigod. so so bad.

And Monday, I also mellowed out all day, went to the gym in the morning, thought about coming in to do some work, but somehow didn't leave the house. Read _Heaven's Reach_ (Brin) and really quite enjoyed it (after reading _Infinity's Shore_ and whatever a while ago and being a little disappointed).

8:16:00 PM

 
mmm... first cup of coffee in a week. feel slight excitement and/or uneasiness - psychological addiction!
7:52:00 PM

 
As the housemate and friend went for a nap before their dinner assignation, I grabbed my last sixpack and cycled over to Spike's Lair - for tonight, the Dinner Den of Iniquity.

Somewhat more than already buzzed, I arrived to bocconcini, tomato and basil skewers, delicious. They were difficult to stop eating - until I tried the alternative olive, basil and tomato skewers which were even more to my liking, with the olive's bite competing a little more successfully with that of my beer. Most of the Black Company were also already present (our hostess C, as well as the K.G.B. (hee!) and N, and eventually P), and also to my liking, although they may be an acquired taste. After some light discussion of our respective Good Friday's I was distracted...

An unprotected and vulnerable photo album was soon at my mercy, and I quickly laid it out for the avaricious Company. The baby and school photos were soon consumed, family holiday and more recent offerings were also devoured. The subject however seemed unphased, and calmly brought out the next course. Halved baked tomato bruschetta? Hot and tangy and herby on well olive-oiled bread, scrumptious...

With but little respite, a stream of main courses followed - rizzoni (and parsley)? a penne pasta - do i misremember? a wonderfully aromatic and somehow smooth yet chunky bread salad (my first I think! although I've been considering it for a while), a seductively creamy golden onion tart, sauces for the pasta, too many for my alcohol soaked brain, my mind awhirl, my plate soon filled - the colours! the textures! the tasteful and tasty sensations! Groaningly glutted, the room finally had to pause for conversation and settling of stomachs.

A lone quote: "They yelled out of their car at us: 'SLUTS!' But how did they know?" P.

Missing our innuendometer (namely our good friend A, missing at Passover Dinner), we had obviously all been miscalibrated.

All too soon, it was time for dessert. Sublimely sweet pears, stuffed with nuts and fruit, roasted? baked? poached? in wine? Sitting in majestic solitude in their limpid pools of essence, glistening, beckoning with scented tendrils, the tender fruit was soon screaming under the stoic mastication of the full but determined Company.

Overly stimulated by the final taste sensation, the room began to spin and whirl, and I had to sadly leave for the safer and more tranquil waters of my bed...
3:05:00 AM

 
However, after too short a time, we had to head to another friends place for Good Friday drinks. Nothing actually to do with Good Friday - just an excuse. This friend is a dancer (teaches dance and everything) who I met at a party (Cold Cuts perhaps?) a few years ago, we really enjoyed each others dancing and dancing with each other, inventing some weirdass moves, etc. We started spotting each other at various events, and it turned out she was a schoolmate of one of my best friends. Anyway, I love seeing this whole dancer subculture she lives, and apart from me and the housemate and friend, everyone at drinks were official-type 'dancers', on tours, doing shows, teaching mite-dancers, etc. For some reason, I really like making friends in totally different subcultures, the different veins of academia, corporate tykes, raver kids, the arts, the sciences, the humanities, the geekdoms, the hippy-ferals. It helps put my life in perspective I think, when I feel a little overwhelmed by what I'm doing or should be doing or by people in my field, I like to know I have friends to whom all that is practically irrelevant. I worry, though, that this widened perspective is counter-productive, as it means I easily assign less importance to things. This 'big picture' stuff tending to lead one to nihilism. Although maybe that's just a personal thing.

Anyway, I had drinks (although didn't really need them by this stage), and our lovely hostess made some hummous and some tsatsiki, and her housemate (newish I think, haven't met him before, just back from a tour over east? doing an MA at the moment) had chopped a huge pile of turkish bread and vegetables. Had a really good talk with her and her housemate, and met some of her friends, before we had to depart some comfy surrounds yet again.
12:47:00 AM

 
Well, did NO WORK all weekend (dammit!) - and for a long weekend too (sigh).

Very relaxing though. Started off nice and energetic on Good Friday and tapered to full on laziness and torpor yesterday (Easter Monday). Woke up early (well at the normal time, rather than sleep in, which is early for a day off if you see what I mean) on Friday to go to the gym, but then realized it was closed, darnit, so I came into work momentarily and checked my model and my email and read the news and things for a bit, but then went home to get ready for a picnic in the park. It was a rather pleasantly warm and sunny day.

Apart from an initial hiccup when the picnic organizers weren't where they said they'd be (thankness for mobblys) we found that they'd found a nice quiet park area on the river (away from the family crowds of the original rendezvous), and were just setting up some decks to disturb the peace :) There were a fair few people there already, sprawled on rugs in the shade of some eucalypts, and just getting out food. Ravenous and parched after our little detour^H I mean - after our epic trek through the wilderness to reach this oasis of civilitude, we set to on our dolmades and salad and Carlton Cold. Our immediate neighbours introduced themselves (Adrian, Sam and Michelle). Sam looked a little familiar, and it was eventually revealed that I may have tutored him at some stage. Hm. Caught him up on departmental happenings etc. Listened to some nice, often disco-ish tunes (care of the housemate's friend Louie), and just enjoyed the warm sun and cool beer.
12:26:00 AM