I've decided to make some rather large changes to my life at this stage. I won't say anything yet, but stay tuned for some possible big news. What I will say is that it may involve writing.
Ever since I've beent thinking about this quite enormous upheaval, I've been finding inspiration to write from everywhere. It's the complete opposite of my usual writer's block and quite unnerving I can tell you. On the days when I forget to take a notebook and pen with me I actually start panicking in my usual low key way because words and thoughts are flowing like vapours through my head and I know if I don't get them down immediately they'll be lost. Not completely, I'll be able to get down the gist, but that clarity and sharp clear colour that comes with the immediacy of thought translated into words will be gone.
My next problem is, I write so much down nowadays there's really no way I have the time or patience to transcribe everything to my blog. What I need is a PDA or laptop with WiFi so I can blog on the run. I rarely actually sit down these days at the computer with the specific intention to blog (God I love that word as a verb). Mostly I'll write them out and about and transcribe them later. My current top priority to transcribe is...well, I wouldn't call it a review, but more of an account of lunch at The Brasserie by Philippe Mouchel. I wrote it not an hour after going there on Monday, but it's still sitting in my notebook.
So anyway enough about my verbal diaorrhea. I went to my first gym class on Wednesday, Body Combat it's called. It's a combination of fighting and aerobics. Apart from the fact that I nearly died, it was enormous fun. The instructor was just so chipper and the fact that he was able to be chirpy and talk the whole hour while doing the full routines shows how fit he is. Being in a group is great too, you don't want to slack off if there's so many around you with a common goal and a hyperactive ginger up the front with a mic. I'll definitely go back, even though I worke up the next morning feeling like I'd actually been in a real fight.
That's enough now. I've got to get sleep - working double tomorrow as usual. I want to write some before I go to bed, but like I need anymore to add to my backlog of transcribing...
-Robyn
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
A Girl's got to eat
Ah! so very happy. Went downstairs just now looking for lunch and found a stash of cold pizza leftover from last night. Gold. Cold pizza is the best.
I ended up going out for dinner last night with my parents. We went to Cafe La at the Sofitel on Collins Street. I don't get to go to very many nice places to eat (the last time I ate out was a $9 gnocchi amatriciana on Lygon St, which was passable but not spectacular) so this was quite exciting. Cafe La is 35 floors up and we had a great view out over the Yarra and Fed Square and the Arts Centre area. It was all posh too, waiters in ties and suits and everything.
I had the meredith goat's cheese and leek tart with onion jam and some kind of apple/balsamic sauce thing. It was really good, the flavours all coming together really well. There were little bits of creamy and sharp goat's cheese complementing the slightly sweet caramelised onions and leek on a little sheet of puff pastry, with the tangy apple and balsamic sauce dotted around the edge. According to my 'aunt' Sandy (we're not realted but you know the whole honorary aunt and uncle thing) I'm the most gourmet 19 year old she knows. I have expensive taste, what can I say. I still don't drink wine but I had a taste of their...cab merlot or whatever it was last night and I could see what they were talking about with the smoothness. I think my palate needs to mature more before I can appreciate it.
For dessert there was a chocolate fondue that I tried a piece of. The chocolate ganache wasn't great, too watery for my liking but the turkish delight made on the premises was divine, and I don't usually like turkish delight so this was really good, soft and delicately flavoured. I had a passionfruit delicious which was exactly that, with vanilla ice-cream and some superphantastisch passionfruit sauce. I couldn't fit in hot chocolate, I was far too full to do anything except sit back with a sigh and watch the twinkling lights below being washed by lashes of cold rain.
-R
I ended up going out for dinner last night with my parents. We went to Cafe La at the Sofitel on Collins Street. I don't get to go to very many nice places to eat (the last time I ate out was a $9 gnocchi amatriciana on Lygon St, which was passable but not spectacular) so this was quite exciting. Cafe La is 35 floors up and we had a great view out over the Yarra and Fed Square and the Arts Centre area. It was all posh too, waiters in ties and suits and everything.
I had the meredith goat's cheese and leek tart with onion jam and some kind of apple/balsamic sauce thing. It was really good, the flavours all coming together really well. There were little bits of creamy and sharp goat's cheese complementing the slightly sweet caramelised onions and leek on a little sheet of puff pastry, with the tangy apple and balsamic sauce dotted around the edge. According to my 'aunt' Sandy (we're not realted but you know the whole honorary aunt and uncle thing) I'm the most gourmet 19 year old she knows. I have expensive taste, what can I say. I still don't drink wine but I had a taste of their...cab merlot or whatever it was last night and I could see what they were talking about with the smoothness. I think my palate needs to mature more before I can appreciate it.
For dessert there was a chocolate fondue that I tried a piece of. The chocolate ganache wasn't great, too watery for my liking but the turkish delight made on the premises was divine, and I don't usually like turkish delight so this was really good, soft and delicately flavoured. I had a passionfruit delicious which was exactly that, with vanilla ice-cream and some superphantastisch passionfruit sauce. I couldn't fit in hot chocolate, I was far too full to do anything except sit back with a sigh and watch the twinkling lights below being washed by lashes of cold rain.
-R
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Bar.
First up, real name. It's Robyn. ta-fucking-daa. I finally let go of the whole 'ooh I'm not gonna reveal my real name on the net and be all mysterious', mainly because I don't want people who I end up meeting in real life calling me by my username (which has happened), and also because I already know pretty much everyone who reads this blog anyway (not that there's a whole lot of you).
So yeah. I'm at George's right now, like I seem to be a lot these days. We went on a bar crawl last night with her and some of her eng friends, namely Ben, Andrew and Brendan who organised it. It was great, I'd never been to any of them before except for Robot. The boys started out at Young and Jacksons. We were meant to meet them there but George's meeting with her thesis supervisor or whatever he is ran quite late so as soon as we met them at Y&J we moved on...to mcdonalds. Well we did need to eat! The cashier at maccas wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but then she was a cashier at maccas.
The first place we went to was the Gin Palace, which was really posh looking, all dark velvet drapes and gilded picture frames. They even framed the airconditioning vent, which I thought was a nice touch. It was very pretty and the waiters had awesome uniforms. I wasn't drinking so I had some fruity kind of mocktail which was nice. Even the ice was special - instead of just being cubes it was flat little rectangles. There were lots of little armchairs around little tables so we had our armchairs at a table with a hole in the wall seat. Apparently the men's loo has an unusual bit of decoration in the form of an upside down urinal at head height.
Next up we went to the Croft Institute, which I've read about before. You have to go through this creepy graffiti filled alleyway in Chinatown to get to it. Soem chinese chef in a white puffy hat waved to us as we walked past. Croft is set up like a sinister looking lab, all tiles and white or off white furniture and walls. It was practically empty so we didn't stick around, only going upstairs to have a look at the bathrooms. They were quite scary. The girls one had a hospital bed in the corner, and looked like a set from a japanese horror film. There was an eye wash basin but we tried it out and nothing happened.
After the creepiness of Croft we went to the Chaise Lounge, which was really nice. It was decorated in the same style as Gin Palace, all dark reds and vintagey looking, but more casual. The front was quite full when we went in and a three-piece jazz band was playing (and they were quite good too) but George went up the back and found a little room with sofas in it so we hung out there for quite a while. It was nice and cosy. We talked about bathrooms a lot and George nearly got herself locked into the ladies.
Our last stop was Robot, which used to be my semi-regular tuesday night hangout (they show anime on Tuesday nights) so it was a nice way to end the evening. Very quiet again, but it was Wednesday night. We even sat in my usual corner. We had to end the night at that because Melbourne's public transport ends at midnight which SUCKS. It was raining for most of our walk through the city but it was quite mild so it wasn't too bad. Then of course you're walking with friends and that which is always enjoyable.
Now I have a confession to make. George and I were so impatient on the train home, we could hardly stand it. The tension was unbearable. We couldn't even wait to get home so we did it in the car. That's right, we cracked open the creamed spinach dip and pita bread in the car on the way home. :D Thank god for 24 hour Coles is all I can say.
So yeah. Great night. I'd love to do it again and see more little bars. Melbourne has a lot of them.
I should also probably write something about easter and the comedy festival, but that's for next time because I'm lazy and this entry is already quite long.
-Robyn
So yeah. I'm at George's right now, like I seem to be a lot these days. We went on a bar crawl last night with her and some of her eng friends, namely Ben, Andrew and Brendan who organised it. It was great, I'd never been to any of them before except for Robot. The boys started out at Young and Jacksons. We were meant to meet them there but George's meeting with her thesis supervisor or whatever he is ran quite late so as soon as we met them at Y&J we moved on...to mcdonalds. Well we did need to eat! The cashier at maccas wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but then she was a cashier at maccas.
The first place we went to was the Gin Palace, which was really posh looking, all dark velvet drapes and gilded picture frames. They even framed the airconditioning vent, which I thought was a nice touch. It was very pretty and the waiters had awesome uniforms. I wasn't drinking so I had some fruity kind of mocktail which was nice. Even the ice was special - instead of just being cubes it was flat little rectangles. There were lots of little armchairs around little tables so we had our armchairs at a table with a hole in the wall seat. Apparently the men's loo has an unusual bit of decoration in the form of an upside down urinal at head height.
Next up we went to the Croft Institute, which I've read about before. You have to go through this creepy graffiti filled alleyway in Chinatown to get to it. Soem chinese chef in a white puffy hat waved to us as we walked past. Croft is set up like a sinister looking lab, all tiles and white or off white furniture and walls. It was practically empty so we didn't stick around, only going upstairs to have a look at the bathrooms. They were quite scary. The girls one had a hospital bed in the corner, and looked like a set from a japanese horror film. There was an eye wash basin but we tried it out and nothing happened.
After the creepiness of Croft we went to the Chaise Lounge, which was really nice. It was decorated in the same style as Gin Palace, all dark reds and vintagey looking, but more casual. The front was quite full when we went in and a three-piece jazz band was playing (and they were quite good too) but George went up the back and found a little room with sofas in it so we hung out there for quite a while. It was nice and cosy. We talked about bathrooms a lot and George nearly got herself locked into the ladies.
Our last stop was Robot, which used to be my semi-regular tuesday night hangout (they show anime on Tuesday nights) so it was a nice way to end the evening. Very quiet again, but it was Wednesday night. We even sat in my usual corner. We had to end the night at that because Melbourne's public transport ends at midnight which SUCKS. It was raining for most of our walk through the city but it was quite mild so it wasn't too bad. Then of course you're walking with friends and that which is always enjoyable.
Now I have a confession to make. George and I were so impatient on the train home, we could hardly stand it. The tension was unbearable. We couldn't even wait to get home so we did it in the car. That's right, we cracked open the creamed spinach dip and pita bread in the car on the way home. :D Thank god for 24 hour Coles is all I can say.
So yeah. Great night. I'd love to do it again and see more little bars. Melbourne has a lot of them.
I should also probably write something about easter and the comedy festival, but that's for next time because I'm lazy and this entry is already quite long.
-Robyn
Monday, April 10, 2006
Hi. Haven't blogged in a while. Too busy, or too lazy, take your pick. Nothing much to say either. Work's all good, I'm becoming quite fast, thankyou very much. I did kind of reinjure my shoulder this weekend by lifting a stack of cast iron pans to the shelf (forgot about the whole no heavy lifting thing) but I have this weekend off for easter so I'll recover hopefully. I'm going into the city today to meet a friend for coffee and I'll buy a 'teach yourself' bass book while I'm there. And I've decided (well almost decided) to buy a $350 coat. It's beautiful and I think it'd go with most of my wardrobe. I'll try it on today.
And Easter Bash is this weekend! Can't wait!
-R
Sorry about the boring post, like I said, not much happening. Oh, but I do have stacks of new photos on my flickr site, mostly gig shots of Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and Black Keys. http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofcheese is where you need to go.
And Easter Bash is this weekend! Can't wait!
-R
Sorry about the boring post, like I said, not much happening. Oh, but I do have stacks of new photos on my flickr site, mostly gig shots of Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and Black Keys. http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofcheese is where you need to go.
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