Had a lovely weekend, but am expecting to be in trouble this week. Sat night I was booked for a couple of months to go to Xena and Dolly's double birthday party. But a couple of weeks ago, the house discovered that Saturday was really the only night we could have a going-away party for Hyper. I was totally intending to slip away at some point and pop in at the birthday party for an hour or so, but time slipped away from me, and it was suddenly 1am and public transport stops midnightish... Don't know where the time from about 7pm to 1am went. Have spoken with Dolly, and she was v understanding, but I think Xena will kill me. The (ex)Officemate also didn't make it over - I think we will be killed together.

We actually started drinking at lunchtime. The lawn in the backyard was gloriously sun-drenched and beer called. Nora and her best friend Belle were over, and they and Hyper lay out there, and Loud and I joined them and then new HM Chris also joined us and we set up some comfy armchairs and a rug and I read a bit of Consilience (E.O. Wilson, the famous sociobiologist), and drank Boags, and played scrabble, and had good conversation. Set up a couple of braziers for the evening, and obtained some wood. As I said, I'm not quite sure where the evening went, I think there was much photo taking and introductions and rounds of various circles in the backyard and the loungeroom. Can't have finished an entire carton of Boag's myself, but perhaps a good portion. Then from midnightish to 7am or so, there were rounds of D&M conversations (regarding insecurity complexes, sanity/lack-thereof, drug-use, other people) on various beds and couches.

Sunday was lots of cleaning. And sleeping.
10:56:00 PM

 
Wow, I thought I suspected the depth of his evilness, but in addition to all the other stuff John Howard is a spammer.
10:18:00 PM

 
What a lovely day - must start coming into work earlier...
3:19:00 PM

 
Paperwork finally all signed and processed. Have access card (although silly HR person spelled my name wrong, even though I *told* her the right spelling right as she was typing it). IT should be sorted by tomorrow. Have rolled-over sick leave from last year. Might even get paid this week!

Weekend was good. Friday night I had Daria over for dinner, and we joined forces with Loud and her friend Saskia (currently over from UK). Donna Hay's tomato and garlic and prawn stew (but with marinara instead of just prawns), and a pumpkin and chicken curry. Then over to Ellen's who was having a "just because" party. Had a good lounge room boogie. Met a couple of nice people. Got home about 6:30am to Hyper and Nora and Mickey in the lounge room with three of their friends off their faces. Had a good chat to Hyper. Hung out a tiny bit, but to bed about 8:30. Up at 12:30 and watched some Olympics with Ben and Chris. Then to Brunetti's for coffee with Haclev and Nova Cinema to watch Bus 174 (recommended: doco about the hijacking of Bus 174 in Rio, made up of interviews with heaps of the people involved, hostages, police, SWAT, people who knew the hijacker, is also commentary about the social conditions in Brazil leading to the incident...). First Floor after that for drinks and Haclev bumped into mates and we just hung out for a bit. But I went home midnightish, and a glorious sleep.

Up at 11:30 to get to yum-cha in the city at 12:30, Loud's first comment to me was that I had to go meet Saskia at Flinders St station at 12:15. Luckily I had a timetable and found that the only train which would get me there on time was at 11:45. Thanks Loud! Managed to make it. Loud and others were meant to meet us at the restaurant, but texted me as Saskia and I were strolling over that they were delayed and I should give a tour of the city instead. So I did, and then we went for coffee, and then I got a text from another friend I'd invited to yum-cha who'd gotten to the restaurant and found no one there and I felt really bad. So we rushed over, and Saskia didn't even get to finish her coffee.

Suspect I might actually be having the mid-week blues after that big Friday night. Usually don't get that come-down, but last night I was getting quite annoyed (only internally of course) at Loud with putting all that on me while still not awake, and with Hyper for annexing my hair product (KMS hair play molding paste) AND my laundry powder AND my toothpaste over recent weeks. And then I was going through all these rationalizations for not being annoyed at them, and then I was annoyed at them (and myself) for spending that energy rationalizing. Am going to be over it now though.
5:01:00 PM

 
Boss² is a great guy, managerially, scientifically, socially, ad infinitumly, but his penchant for bloody Comic Sans, even in Official Documents frustrates me no end...
5:28:00 PM

 
Haven't had a chance to post all week. Monday night we won trivia (*phew*) but by a scant half point! We're totally losing our mojo.

Tuesday night Xena cooked veggie lasagna and bread pudding, so I went over to her and Dolly's house for dinner, and then we played a game called Java. SO COOL. Totally realize I'm board game sheltered, have only played the standard US games really (scrabble, monopoly, pictionary, scattergories...) - those Germans are totally into their board games. They have an annual "Best Board Game of the Year", which everyone in Germany buys and plays. Anyway, Java is this strategic game where you get points for colonizing land in competition with other colonizers (irrigating fields, building villages, building cities, taking over other peoples cities, etc.), and was unlike anything I've tried before - really mindstretching - had to strategise in all 4 dimensions. Was quite relieved that even though I came last (as expected), it was apparently unusually close - the three of us ended up with immediately consecutive scores. Anyway, really enjoyed it. Will have to try it again, and try some of the other crazy games they have. People with more boardgame experience would probably be less impressed. Have been wondering if this is why the Germans are good at math/engineering/science, the mindstretchiness of their chronic annual games fetish must surely be good for them.
8:21:00 PM

 
Another brill weekend
Drank way too much Friday night - a friend (hmmm, yet another Deutsch, lets call him Nutbar - he's a bit wacky) had his final phd thesis seminar, which went really well. Mostly way out of my league, but it had some tantalizing glimpses of quantumechanical chemistry which I almost understood, plus a fair few amusing (geeky) jokes and anecdotes and fun-poking at various academics. After a few celebratory drinks and nibbles within the department, we headed cityward and went to the Builders Arms (slightly divey, a couple of different spaces, quite comfortable). Haclev met me there and we split off and went to the Embassy to meet some of his mates. Have blocked out whatever music they were playing (K, did I text you about some particularly ghastly track?). Was loud and bright and a bit characterless. There was AFL on a big screen in the middle of the room. So kinda scary in a mainstream way. So H and I bailed and checked out a club he'd heard about: Banana Alley. It turned out to be in this tunnellish space under a bridge, pretty cool place. Filled up just after we got there, played some good breakbeaty music. Unfortunately I was way way way trashed by this time. Don't think H realized just how trashed I was. Had great difficulty dancing. Luckily we'd already slated Sat night as a big one, so we went home and I was in bed by 3:30ish...

Saturday I made it out of bed by 11, had a leisurely brekky, then went and had some quality time with Neiman. We're supposedly designing an invite for his and Fleur's wedding next year - the pressure is terrible. When you look at enough examples of wedding invite wording, they all start to look ridiculously sappy, and then they all start looking ironic. Then had dodgy cookies and a games afternoon with some of the housemates at our mate Mickey's place in Richmond, then a birthday dinner for Haclev (at Chez Phat, where I had some lovely chorizo choux pastries with aioli, and grilled blue eye cod on sweet potato (which I was happy to see on the menu as I recently saw blue eye listed as one of the more sustainably caught fish), followed by a big night of dancing. Was supposed to meet up with Hyper and Nora and friends, but they were way over the other side of the city, and I was having a really good time. Sunday (beautiful and sunny) was too little sleep, then out to a playhouse for Phillipe Genty's Vanishing Point, with The Organometallicist and his girlfriend the Neuropsychologist - lots of interesting stage-crafty tricks and illusions and effects. Afterward, a leisurely afternoon of eating (Little Shanghai Dumpling and Noodle House in Chinatown), coffee (Rue Bebelon - well okay, too late for coffee for me, so I had a VB), movie (Shaolin Soccer - fun) and more eating (Hairy Canary).
4:34:00 PM

 
Grrrrr!
7:59:00 PM

 
My! Interesting? Useful? Scary? Too close to the bone?!

Brain's Reward Circuitry Revealed in Procrastinating Primates
"Using a new molecular genetic technique, scientists have turned procrastinating primates into workaholics by temporarily suppressing a gene in a brain circuit involved in reward learning. Without the gene, the monkeys lost their sense of balance between reward and the work required to get it, say researchers at the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)."

How Vingean! (A deepness in the sky, Focus, etc., looked for a condign link, but couldn't find one...)

(But I like my dopamine!)
7:30:00 PM

 
Hrm. Too lazy to start catching up on break blogging. This week's news: We LOST at Trivia night on Monday! And we didn't even have a handicap! Is very distressing.

Also, fellow geeks, I am proud to announce (*tear-in-eye*), that I may be gaining points toward higher standing within geekdom. Nora brought over a game called Talisman, which if I understand correctly may be my (babystepping) route toward Real Roleplaying. One Day. Nora, Hyper and I played Tuesday night and again (finished same game) last night. I rather enjoyed it. Loud was rather aghast.
7:15:00 PM

 
Still no sign of my contract (apparently on HoD's desk as it has been for a while). So still no proper network access :P And official email addy still not working. And no proper building access either! (Have to go long way round to get in main door). Should probably start to kick up a fuss, but am just too lazy...
11:16:00 PM

 
Lyric "meme" (via exp_err)
*Pick a band (well...) and answer the following questions with a lyric phrase from that band only*
[My answers from "Dr Seuss"]

1. ARE YOU MALE OR FEMALE?

"A person's a person no matter how small."

2. DESCRIBE YOURSELF

"ME! I am I!
And I may not know why
But I know that I like it.
Three cheers! I AM I!"

3. HOW DO SOME PEOPLE FEEL ABOUT YOU?

"Cause you never can tell
What goes on down below!
This pool might be bigger
Than you or I know!"

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT YOURSELF?

"If you never did, you should.
These things are fun, and fun is good."

5. DESCRIBE YOUR CURRENT BOYFRIEND/GIRLFRIEND OR INTEREST:

"You're in pretty good shape for the shape you are in."

6. WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER BE RIGHT NOW?

"On the fifteenth of May, in the Jungle of Nool,
In the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool,"

7. DESCRIBE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE:

"The lions and tigers and that kind of stuff
They have up here now are not quite good enough.
You see things like these in just any old zoo
They're awfully old fashioned. I want something new!"

8. DESCRIBE HOW YOU LIVE:

"My alphabet starts with this letter called YUZZ.
It's the letter I use to spell Yuzz-a-ma-Tuzz."

9. DESCRIBE HOW YOU LOVE:

"In the dark?
Here in the dark!
Would you, could you, in the dark?"

10. HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW?

"But it all turns out all right, you see.
And I go back to being...me."

11. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT LIFE IN GENERAL?

"Think left and think right and think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try."

12. PICK A RANDOM FRIEND AND DESCRIBE THEM:

"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.
An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent."

13. PICK A RANDOM FAMILY MEMBER AND DESCRIBE:

"He was shortish. And oldish
And brownish. And mossy.
And he spoke with a voice
that was sharpish and bossy."

14. DESCRIBE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT YOUR JOB/SCHOOL:

"Did you have any fun?
Tell me. What did you do?"

15. SHARE A FEW WORDS OF WISDOM:

(There's so much!)

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
nothing is going to get better. It's not."

"Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So... get on your way."

"I know up on top you are seeing great sights,
but down on the bottom we, too, should have rights!"

"I'm quite happy to say
That the Sneetches got really quite smart on that day,
That day they decided that Sneetches are Sneetches,
And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches."

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own, and you know what you know.
And YOU are the one who'll decide where you'll go."
9:06:00 PM

 
I *knew* my going to the footy would catch K's eye.

To elucidate: It was the Saturday before last (July 24), and a little wet. I went with Hyper (Essendon supporter), Nora (Carlton), and Loud, Evan, and Nera (all unaffiliated). We were all a little under the weather from Blake's second going-away event (Borsch Vodka and Tears, to be blogged (TBB)), and were impressed at our own hardcoreness at actually making it out of the house. It was both my and Evan's first visit to the MCG - quite an impressive space, and the stark concrete passages under the stadium seating struck Evan as quite gladiatorial, calling to mind the release of lions into the main arena.

The game had already started, but we managed to find seats quite close to the goals and settled ourselves. Loud pretty much immediately started yelling at the closest player in blue and maroon with his back to us. Something about pulling his socks up and doing his homework. At this stage Box Hill Secondary were quite severely thrashing Loud's Lilydale High Year 12s, and this didn't improve. But I think they were just pretty chuffed to have been able to play at "The G". There was also some game between Hawthorn and ... someone afterward, but obviously we didn't stay for that. (Googling: Hawthorn vs Kangaroos, can't be bothered googling where Roos play for and why they get to be referred to as The Roos while Hawthorn are Hawthorn rather than The Hippos or whatever).

You might be interested to know that the advertising on the barricades to the grounds - you know, those ads on the dividers between the field and the stand - had 13 different ads which cycled approximately every 4 minutes before going in the reverse order. Evan and I had quite a time working that out with the state our brains were in.
6:08:00 PM

 
Ooh - am back! Too much to catch up on :(
Just had 4 birthday weekend (made it to 3). Erin used to live in my house before I moved in. His birthday dinner Friday night involved a bus out to a winery for 3 course meal and unlimited wine (had smoked salmon on polenta pancakes, salmon steak with asparagus on mash, and sticky date pudding - ate way too much, plus an acceptable chardonnay, an ok cab-merlot, and dodgy-as pinot noir). Then had big night on the town at many really bad clubs (I mean *really*). I seem to have fallen in with the wrong kind of crowd. Nora is a principle instigator. She's a bit of a metal-chick AND she hangs out with bogans. Slept in till 4pmish. Mickey is also a friend of Nora's and had drinks at a pub up the road from me on Saturday night. Checked out a couple more bad bad clubs in the city. We ended up back at our's at 5am and hung out till 7 I think. Slept in till 3. Fleur and Neiman came round at 4pm and we went to a bar just around the corner from me for birthday drinks for a friend of theirs. Was supposed to go north of the city for other birthday drinks with Daria, but it was too far, and I was quite happy where I was.

Oh yeah, and today I've started work again. A bit sad about end of break, but not minding new projects and things.

Other stuff to eventually update in no particular order:

Bendigo meeting;

Blake's going away(s);

Other warehouse party;

Hollywoodness (Shrek/Spidey);

MIFF;

Sam over from West;

Daria's migration from West;

Trivia;

Bye to Pommy HM;

New HM Chris;

Birthday dinner for Officemate;

Footy at MCG!

Tim down from Sydders;

Min's housewarming (moved over from West);

Um...

2:08:00 AM