Blogging from the bedroom, take 2

So here we go with my second attempt at blogging from my bedroom. This attempt seems to be much more sucessful so far, not least because I'm using a laptop that can actually handle being wireleslly networked, not least my *drumroll* new MacBook :D It's quite exciting. I've spent most of the evening so far setting it up, which has been surprisingly easy, the basic stuff at least. I found to my annoyance that msn messenger:mac doesn't support webcams, despite the fact that I now have one, so George directed me to aMSN, which is a clone which does. So I'm waiting for someone to come on so I can test whether it works. Also I'm trying to transfer my music from my iPod to my computer...I could just re-import all my CDs, but that would assume that I own all of what I have on CD, when in fact a fair chunk of what I have is from George's computer. So if this transfer thing works I might just restore my iPod so that it works properly with the Mac. 536 of 2197 copied so far...this could take a while.

-R

Hey, Rollover DJ!

George, Ben and I went to the myspace secret show for Jet on monday night. I kind of forgot to blog about it. I almost couldn't be bothered going but George decided that we were and so we did. I was expecting there to be about a billion people at the Prince of Wales so I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at 5pm and there were only a few people there. It was much more pleasant than most waiting experiences I've had, because we were sitting on a bench with our gin and cranberries and just absorbing the vibe. Luckily it was an over 18s gig so there were no snotty emo kids hanging about. There was someone wandering around with a camera videoing people and they asked to film George and me answering some questions. I don't think they got anything good out of us though. I'm kind of camera/stranger shy so I barely said anything and spent most of it staring into my drink so Georgina basically had to bullshit her way through the entire thing. It was a good gig too, Jet played two little sets, the first one was all new stuff and the second one was all old stuff. I wouldn't pay to see them live so it was good to see them for free. I quite enjoyed some of the new songs, although George didn't.

Anyway the reason I'm writing about the show now is that I went to the secret shows page today and they had photos up from it. And this photo was up there:

I knew they took a photo of us as we went in, but I never thought it would make it onto the page. Probably because I'm dressed in all black and so I look like a fucking emo. The archetypal myspacer.

So anyway, Byron got an electronic drumkit today. He can already play lots of little bits and pieces which is handy. I had a play and it was fun, but I prefer playing bass or guitar or piano - something with tone. I supppose it's kind of a waste that Byron's playing untuned percussion because he actually has perfect pitch and apparently it's pretty rare. I've always taken his perfect pitch for granted. I love playing a bunch of non-chordal notes on the piano and having him name all of them. I never realised that so few people have it. We were discussing pitch in the car today. Neither Byron nor I can comprehend how people can be tone deaf. I mean we can understand *that* it happens, but not *how* it can happen. I don't have perfect pitch, but I've got a good memory for it, and I always remember songs in their original key and transpose and stuff easily. For me, pitch is really clear, and I can tell if something is off. I guess it's like looking at colours. For me if something is off, it's like the difference between green and red. So I don't get how people can sing out of tune and not realise, because it's like trying to match green with red. Like they obviously aren't the same.

Might go to bed now. I had my frist shift dish handing in ages tonight and I'm knackered. I forgot how much more strenuous it is than bar work. But I'm doing bar work tomorrow. Hopefully by next week my roster will be back to normal and I'll either be one or the other.

-R

That's all stuff and nonsense

Sometimes I wish I didn't lisen to so much music, because inevitably you absorb all these melodies which then become part of your subconscious. A while ago I was just mucking about on the piano and I came up with this little melodic line which was damn catchy. I kept playing it, repeating it over again and found the chords and was feeling pretty pleased with myself until I realied that I'd basically written Fall At Your Feet, at which point I closed the piano in disgust and vowed never to write again.

I've just started getting into The Arcade Fire, and I finally realise what the (minor) fuss is about because their album is bloody brilliant. I actually saw them live at Lollapalooza last year but unfortunately I hardly remember it, because staying conscious in 47 degree celsius heat was slightly higher on my list of priorities at the time. I love that thier songs have really complex instrumentation and structure, yet you can still hum along with them because they have really beautiful, memorable melodies. I like to think of it as accessible experimental art-pop. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't enjoy them more than I did at Lollapalooza, which is also why it took me so long to listen to them now (because I've had them on my iPod for months).

Also this past week I've been playing Beth Orton - Trailer Park heaps. She has a great voice and her songs are soooooo good. There's a really good laid-back groove to them. She Cries Your Name and I Wish I Never Saw The Sunshine are my favourites. She Cries Your Name is one of the laid-back groove ones. It's quite relaxing to listen to. I Wish I...is just a really beautiful, sad breaking up song. And right now I'm listening to Missy Higgins, because I've been playing her a lot on the piano and guitar lately and I wanted to hear what the originals actually sound like.

-R

PS I did write a song this week. It was a horrendously sweet, ridiculous cutesy throwaway piece of bubblegum pop, something simplistic and cheesy that an eight-year-old could've written. It would give cavities on the first listening. I hate it. I can't believe I came up with that tosh. It's so immature and simple.

There may be trouble ahead

I had posted a very cathartic response to a message earlier, but then after 5 minutes of it being up, I decided that was catharsis enough so I took it down. Well, in reality I'm a complete wuss and I was afraid of what might happen if the person that it was intended for read it. However, it felt rather good to type it all out. I'm not generally a mean person but that was one rather harsh post.

Aaaaaanyway I went to see The Boy From Oz tonight with my family and IT. WAS. AMAZING. Hugh Jackman is so talented. He acts well, he has an amazing voice, he dances, and he is also such a good entertainer- somehow he connected with an arena of 9,000 people and made them feel like old friends. I had a very very good time. Georgina's going on the 18th I think so this will make her excited. Oh and George, he's even more good looking in real life.

-R

Come On Baby Light My....Fibre

My brother just brought home the fucking coolest thing ever from work for me - a fibre optics lamp! Only in hospitality, eh!? The base has lights that change colour so I have a rainbow of light dots dancing around. It's bloody awesome. I have to take photos at some point. Now I just have to find a place to put it.

-R

Even educated fleas do it

Today I discovered the joys of the City Library. It's been sitting under my nose right in Flinders Lane, but I'd never heard of it until a couple of weeks back. So today I had a bit of free time and remembered that I meant to go check it out. It turns out that membership is free, and as well as books, you can borrow CDs and DVDs from them. I like that. You can't borrow CDs from Rowden White at uni (probably because they want to prevent copying). I borrowed three albums - Travelling Made Easy by the Icecream Hands (which has long been on my list of 'oh, I should listen to them some time' albums), Beth Orton (ditto), and Ella Fitzgerald (well, obviously). And yes, I'm importing them as I type...aren't I just the naughty one. I can't afford to keep buying CDs! They have the DVD of 7 Worlds Collide too, which is a concert that Neil Finn did with members of bands like Pearl Jam, Radiohead and The Smiths. I have the CD and it's awesome.

Oh yeah. I nearly got hit by a taxi crossing Flinders Lane. I used the pedestrian crossing, and made eye contact, and stepped out, and he didn't stop. Until his bumper was about 10 centimetres away from my right leg (I'm serious, it was really freakin close). So that was my litle brush with deat for the day. I didn't think anything of it at the time, other than muttering 'idiot!' under my breath as I kept walking, but now I'm a little freaked out. I nearly got hit by a freakin car! Shit. Anyway, I was walking up degraves lane and it was one of those times I wish I had a camera on me (hmm, I know I've heard that phrase in a song.) The dark stone pavement was all wet because it had been raining, but there was a shaft of sunlight poking down through the buildings and making everything look shiny, and catching in the steam billowing out of the little noodle shops, with people bustling about because it was lunch hour. It was really beautiful. (I know where I heard it. It's a Crowded House song. er....I feel possessed, I think).

And I really like this Icecream Hands album.

-R

PS I bought the remixed/remastered/expanded 'Frenzy' yesterday (I'm keeping on track with these Split Enz albums). It blew my mind. It sounds SO much better than the original. Give It A Whirl used to be a mess. Now I can actually hear the different instruments. It's awesome.

Notpron

Notpron

This game is seriously addictive. You have to figure out riddles and everything. the background music's a bit freaky but it cuts out after a few levels. It's keeping me from going to bed so it must be pretty good.

-R

What table am I going to?

I don't really know why I'm updating as pretty much everyone who reads this blog is currently at Ben's houseboat (damn them. Damn them all) and most probably drinking and playing Brendan's Truth or Dare. Well, drinking. Whereas I on the other hand absolutely busted my ass at work today, and consequently I'm finding it very hard to sit down now. Okay I jest. I speak figuratively, not literally. But work was very busy. Firstly lunch was apparently very busy so when I got there at 4pm nothing was done and insead of doing my usual saturday afternoon thing of setting the tables and sitting and reading (and getting paid for it) for an hour and a half, I actually worked the two hours. Setting tables takes a surprisingly long time. There's something like seven items per setting...and I set up for 46...so that's 322 items. Plus salt and pepper, candles and flowers. And relaying paper where it's dirty, and sweeping, cleaning the bar, stocking for the evening, taking reservations, etc etc etc. We were fully booked tonight and actually had a few turnovers so we were busy the whole way through. I got $50 in tips, which is a good indicator of how many tables we had (usually on a good night I'd get $30). I really don't like the Saturday shift. It's just so long. Theoretically because I start at 4pm, I should leave early, like 10pm, but I always work til closing. So there's my bit of complaining for the day. It wasn't all bad I suppose, we played Kylie on the stereo while closing so that was quite fun.

Oooh and the census form has arrived. It just spotted it on our rather cluttered desk. How exciting.

-R

But you don't really care for music do ya?

Hooray! I learnt a song on guitar today. As the title implies, I learnt Hallelujah, well the Jeff Buckley version anyway. I downloaded the tabs and they turned out to be completely wrong, so I had to sit at the piano and figure it out for myself. Thank god for years of music theory at times like these. I was quite excited because I had a strumming rhythm going and I was making the chord changes okay and everything. And I even sang a couple of times. Very exciting. My mum called down from upstairs 'You've gone all religious all of a sudden!' and I was like 'no, it's originally a Leonard Cohen song' and she's like 'Well derr, I know that. I have all his albums on vinyl.' and I'm like 'WHAT!!!! WHERE!?' Turns out they're with my cousin in Sydney, so I've assigned dad the mission of bringing them back. Apparently my mum has great taste in music. I wanted to keep playing because it was so much fun to make all the chord changes, especially something I figured out myself, but a) it was getting rather late and b) my fingertips are on the verge of bleeding, so I suppose I'll have to wait until tomorrow.

-R

You probably couldn't see for the lights but you were staring straight at me

Tonight George and I finally got to see a gig together on Australian soil! YAY!

We went to see Arctic Monkeys, with support from The Grates, at the Palace. Byron and I got there just before 5pm, and there were surprisingly few people there. When we went to see Franz in January, at 5 there were already quite a few people queued up. I suppose the cold weather kept everyone away. We stood there shivering in the wind and made friends with Ingrid and Elkie. They're very nice :) made the three hours pass slightly faster. Georgina turned up around 7:40 and I had to bail her out with parking...fucking expensive down at the Palace. Lucky Byron and I got a park on Acland St for free.

Thanks to Byron's and my earliness we got a very very good possie, at the barrier just to left of centre, and I proved yet again that I'm completely and utterly spoilt for the front. The Grates were scheduled to come on at 9:15 and I was practically hyperventilating when I saw a flash of silver sparkles which indicated that Patience (who, by the way, I'd totally turn for) stuck her head out for a peek. at 9:15 on the dot the lights went down, the cheers went up and Patience, Alana and John took to the stage...and immediately launched into Trampoline. Which is like, my most favouritest Grates song. So that pretty much made my night right there. Patience, apart from being fucking adorable, is incredibly energetic, jumping and dancing around like a maniac. She'd give Ricky from Kaiser Chiefs a run for his money. Now there's two bands that I'd like to see play together. They were just so much fun. Joyous is probably a more accurate description. They all obviously take joy in performing, and it makes them so marvellous to watch. Elkie said I had a big grin on my face for their entire set. I hope I can see them live again soon. George said I should call Brendan during Science is Golden but I couldn't reach my phone.

The Grates finished at 10pm sharp, and Georgina and I scored one of the setlists, which was very exciting. Then Arctic Monkeys roadies started setting up, and suddenly it was like there was a giant magnet on the stage drawing everyone in, because it suddenly became extremely crowded. I commented that a mosh pit is probably the only place where I wouldn't particularly mind having a complete stranger's sweaty crotch pressed against my backside. I'm pretty sure someone copped a feel too but you get that. The press photographers turned up, and I felt like telling them that they really missed a good opportunity to get some excellent gig shots of The Grates. They were also blocking our view but assured us they would only stay for three songs.

Soon enough the lights dimmed and the chant started up: 'MOOOONKEEEEYS, MOOOOONKEEEEYS...' and just when I thought I couldn't get more compressed into the barrier, suddenly I was beginning to seriously worry about the state of my ribs. Then four (surprisingly short) Northern English boys walked out onto stage, doffed instruments and began with Riot Van...which is my favourite Monkeys song. So that pretty much made my night again. The crowd sang along with every word. Without pausing they segued straight into The View From The Afternoon. 'Anticipation has a habit to set you up for disappointment in evening entertainment but, tonight there's gonna be some love, tonight there's gonna be a ruckus regardless of what's come before'. A pretty knowing thing to sing.

It would be fair to say that Arctic Monkeys are the most hyped band of 2006. I for one think that they lived up to that hype. They may not be as charismatic as say Franz Ferdinand, but they're a bunch of boys who are my age, so that's kind of expected. They sound fantastic live, really tight. I'm not sure of the name of the bassist who replaced Andy Nicholson, but he's darn good. Alex was wearing a black t-shirt with the words 'I LOVE YOU WILL U MARRY ME' scrawled across in white, which I think was just asking for it. Georgina yelled 'The answer's yes!' but I don't think he heard. He's a bit young for her anyway XD Funnily enough, there was no encore. It could be either because Alex was a bit pissed off with the crowd (we had two dickheads standing right behind us yelling things at Alex all night) or because they honestly weren't going to do one anyway. There wasn't one written on the setlist so I think it was probably the latter.

So, the gig was great. I came away happy and sweaty and I'm bruised pretty much everywhere, and feeling rather tender everywhere else. Byron scored Alex's pick so he's very pleased, and I tripled my band t-shirt collection by buying Grates and Monkeys t-shirts. Admittedly the Monkeys one was a bootleg...but $10. Seriously. Call me tight but I already shelled out $66 for the ticket. And George and I finally saw a gig together! Hopefully it's something that we'll do more of in the future.

-R

PS George blogged about this too. Go check it out.
PPS George and I split the Grates setlist and we're both going to put them up in our rooms. Beats a silly friendship necklace any day!

would you like cracked pepper with that?

Just thought I'd write a post in between shifts. What a difference a week makes - last sunday I didn't finish at work until five pm, we were absolutely packed. This week was more your average week and it was pretty chilled out from about two onwards. I think I prefer regular sundays. So I'm sitting here with my bowl of penne verdure (penne with vegetables) before I go back to work. Not working in the kitchen at all this weekend, which is strange. We're short on floor staff so I'm out there again, mainly doing bar work. Surprisingly it all came back pretty quickly. I'm churning out those coffee orders just as fast as I used to.

And now that I'm on I can't think of anything to write about. Typical. I wish I could somehow electronically record my thoughts while I'm working. I'd come up with some pretty interesting posts then. Hmmm...Oh I'm going to buy the new Apple MacBook. I'm quite excited. There's a few questions I have to find answers to, like whether my iPod will work with a mac after being used with a PC and whether I can use our house's wireless broadband with a mac (can you tell I don't know much about computers?) but I'm pretty much decided. It's surprisingly cheap too, $1550 with the student discount. I can't wait to have a functioning laptop again. My trusty Acer Travelmate finally died this year when we networked it, it couldn't really handle all this new stuff.

I'm kind of tired too...I blame a certain someone for keeping me on msn about an hour longer than I intended.

-R

Here We Are At The Transmission Party

One year ago today, Georgina introduced me to Franz Ferdinand (literally). It still stands out as one of the best days of my life. So I thought to celebrate a year I'd relive some of the fantasticness of that day.







(Oh and Paul and his wife Esther very recently became parents for the first time. Congratulations :))


*sigh* what fun times we had.

He won't deceive you, or tell you the truth

It is with much trepidation that I present to you my first recording. With apologies to Neil Finn, here is my version of Not The Girl You Think You Are. I had to change the vocal line which was too low for me, and am really unhappy with how it starts, but I haven't managed to find another starting note. Also the sound quality is shite because I don't have any proper recording equipment (which also means I did it all live - no recording piano and voice separately for me!).

Not The Girl You Think You Are

-R

A look of afar, A secret smile

I bought Second Thoughts today and have listened to it once so far and absolutely ADORE it. The songs on this that are the same as Mental Notes (Walking Down A Road, Titus, Stranger Than Fiction, Time For A Change) are different versions, and for the most part they're better. This version of Titus absolutely kicks the Mental Notes version's ass. The solo is now trumpet instead of guitar I think and it sounds much better. It's also a much richer sweeping sound in general, living up to its full grand potential. The remaster sounds excellent, I just had a huge grin on my face while listening to Lovey Dovey as it sounds so damn good now, even through my shitty mono computer speaker. I'll take it downstairs for a listen some time. Ohhhh and I nearly forgot, the last song, Woman Who Loves You comes complete with a Noel Crombie spoon solo! When I recognised the song I was like 'ohhhh pleeeeeaaase have the spoon solo' (I have it live ont he DVD) and when it came on I jumped out my chair and did a little cheer :D It's fucking legendary. I was going to get Second Thoughts and Dizrythmia this week as I worked quite long hours on the weekend and got good tips, but there was a Beatles T-shirt on sale for $10 so I got that instead. It's white, with the 'HELP' semaphore logo in black across it. It made me laugh. I just realised I think it's my first band t-shirt too. Not bad then! I'm wearing it tonight to trivia.

Hmm I seem to have lost my paragraphing ability. In a bit of a hurry cos Brendan's gonna pick me up soon.

-R

Winter Lovin, that's the best kind of lovin

Well, I'm not too sure about that, Mr Freedman. It's been bloody cold, even for someone like me who claims to enjoy cold weather more. Well, it was bloody freezing this morning at any rate. My sister had rowing at 6 am at the yarra (if it's not swimming it's rowing - when will she learn to choose a sport that's conducted at a civil hour!?) and I stupidly offered take mum to breakfast this morning. So at the highly improbably hour of 6am I found myself sitting in a freeeezing cold cafe at the Queen Vic Markets. I've never seen that place so empty. It was about 5 degrees this morning. Unbelievable. I was wearing a ridiculous amount of clothing and it didn't do all that much actually.

So I'm being a bit lazy tonight - so tired after being up so early. I was meant to go to a Something for Kate secret gig at the Evelyn (well it's not a secret now but it's on now, so it's not like I'm ruining it for anyone) but it's so cold and I'm so tired and I don't like them enough to bundle up and head out again. I only know a few of their singles anyway, so this prevents me from feeling guilty about passing up such an opportunity. Trust me if it were a secret gig for Jebediah or something I'd be the first one there.

So anyway there has been new music this week, which will become a weekly thing. There's the Split Enz re-masters to buy so I'm buying one a week in chronological order (apart from True Colours, which I bought first because it was really cheap). This week I bought the first album, Mental Notes, recorded in 1975.

I don't have a lot of un-remastered tracks to compare to the remasters, as my only other Split Enz album is a best of, but from what I do have off Mental Notes (Titus and Time For A Change)the sound quality is markedly different. At first I thought Eddie Rayner (Enz keyboardist and now producer) would just tweak the mix, but he's gone back and used different takes, and the result is very impressive. In terms of sound quality it's superbly clear, like the tracks were recorded yesterday, and the tracks now probably sound more like how the band wanted them to sound like in the first place. The first track, Walking Down A Road (and one of my favourites from the album) really shows off the superior sound quality, the drums and bass really clear and popping out. There's also two bonus live tracks on the end of the album, 129 (Matinee Idyll) and Lovey Dovey, which is my favourite Split Enz song at the moment, with a quirky little chorus and Eddie's *fantastic* piano, especially the bridge. In the live version the band calls out 'Come on Eddie, if you please, play that bridge on the ivories'. I cracked up when I heard that. Eddie is a seriously talented keyboardist/pianist and his use of synthesizers to add colour to the songs was really something too (I could write a whole lot more about this album and the band members' individual instrumental virtuosity but let's leave it at one lengthy pragraph).

I also bought 'She Will Have Her Way - The Songs of Tim and Neil Finn', which is a bunch of Aussie and New Zealand singer-songwriters covering Finn songs. It's kind of a mixed package with some good covers and some...well, crap ones. I personally believe if you're going to cover a song then you should give it your own flavour. Therefore Natalie Imbruglia's cover of Pineapple Head pisses me off because it sounds *exactly* the same as the original, but with a chick singing. I'm also not a huge fan of Renee Geyer's Into Temptation because it was a really cheesy sounding electronic drumbeat. Surpisingly I actually kinda like Kasey Chamber's Better Be Home Soon, very simple arrangement with just acoustic guitar and violin. And her backing vocalist sounds EXACTLY like Neil Finn (although the liner notes say it's someone else). My favourite cover on the album however is Sophie Koh's rousing version of Charley, a classic Split Enz song. The original is an almost mournful, heart-wrenching ballad but Sophie and Co (not pun intended) have upped the tempo to a stomping, feel-good indie pop gem that the disaffected 'yoof' in me loves. That's my idea of a cover right there.

My sister borrowed the new Muse album, Black Holes and Revelations, from a friend today but I haven't listened to all of it yet, so a review on that next time. I like Muse but haven't really taken the time to hear all their stuff. My siblings adore them, so it looks like we're all going to the Big Day Out to see them next year. I have to say I really dig Supermassive Black Hole. It's so damn funky and so unlike their other stuff. So stay posted for that one.

Anyway an early night for me. I have to be at my sister's school tomorrow at 9am to accompany her on Missy Higgin's Nightminds. Geez, am I her slave much? Haha. She'd better sing it well.

-R

PS I'm really excited about buying the second Enz album, Second Thoughts, next week, even though it is kinda like Mental Notes Mach II as there are a few duplicated tracks. But it has Matinee Idyll, Sweet Dreams, Lovey Dovey and Late Last Night, which I all *love* and can't wait to hear the remastered versions of. So expect a lengthy review about that one!

A three hour blink, and I'm back in the game.

Hmmm. Last post was my 100th post to this blog and I didnt' even realise. I was going to do something big for the 100th but these things tend to not get noticed at whatever ungodly hour I was typing.

I managed to break my record for least amount of sleep on a working weekend (Saturday night, Sunday double). I think I slept a little less than three hours. Surprisingly I felt okay yesterday, I just started to get a little sleepy towards the end of the dinner shift (where thankfully I was back in the kitchen, in my element). It was a quiet shift and standing around twiddling your thumbs can lead to drowsiness. But a good thorough cleanup changed all that. Ten minutes scrubbing the oven doors clean and I was back to normal (and those oven doors have never looked so good).

The fed square thing turned out to be a huge waste of my time that could've been better spent sleeping, but at least I got to catch up with Den and finally see his apartment so it wasn't a total loss. It was a Video Hits thing so you can imagine the type of people that turned up (let's just say that at nearly 20, I felt rather old). It was bloody cold too. Shit happens though. At least it didn't rain.

Anyway I'd better go do housework before my parents return from Fiji (Ohsnap!) tonight. I think I'm going for coffee with George :) And probably some form of mischeif in the city.

-R

I'll never learn

I'm at Den's place in the city. We're going down to fed square in about...four hours for a free gig of Something For Kate, Wolfmother and Augie March. It's four AM. I'm working a double tomorrow. Today.

Whatever happened to me never doing satuday night again? I'm not out I suppose. We've just been chatting and catching up for the past couple of hours. George and I didn't get here until 1 anyway.

Anyway I think we're going to try nd get some sleep before heading out to find food. We're all kinda starving but it's too bloody cold to try and head into the city right now.

Four AM! What the fuck is wrong with me.

-R

Holiday snaps

I've been so used to not using the computer while on holiday that I've only bothered to get on today. I got back on monday so it's been sitting here within my reach but unused for three days. It's been nice not going on the computer actually.

I still have my cold but I'm slowly getting better. I'm hoping to be feeling better tomorrow night because work put me on the floor this weekend. I'm kinda shitting myself because I've forgotten how to waitress. Maybe I can just do bar stuff but I doubt it. The menu's changed too so I have no idea what's for eating.

Last night I was watching Max (a music channel on cable) and they had a half hour of clips from their 'sessions' where they get musicians to perform a 'live and intimate' set in front of a small audience. I stuck a tape in to record it, luckily, and got an amazing version of KD Lang singing Hallelujah. The last song was 'Won't Give In' by the Finn Brothers, then I was going to hit the stop button, but before I could, Do You Want To by Franz came on, which was cool, then the next one was It's Only Natural by Crowded House. Two of my favourite bands. What are the odds? It's kind of strange watching DYWT now, it actually takes me a while to remember that I was there.

Anyway yes, I have some holiday snaps to put up. I should get a photobucket because Flickr sucks when it comes to organizing photos, but I can't be bothered.





Obviously there are more but I can't be stuffed resizing all of them, then uploading them, then linking. I might break it up into parts or something.

-R

I can't think of a title. I'm on holiday.

So here is an unexpected update. Trust my workaholic dad to bring his wireless enabled laptop on holiday. Actually he's not really on holiday. He goes into work during the week. Last week he was in Mt Isa, which is further away than I thought. Apparently it's the same distance away from Brisbane as Melbourne is, but in the opposite direction.

Anyway the Gold Coast's been very nice this week. It's not exactly hot, but it's pleasant enough during the day. The sun's been shining all last week, but we're getting showers this week, so tomorrow we're going to Wet and Wild for the last bit of sunshine (can't believe I'll be running around in my bathers in the middle of winter). It's been pretty restful, which is always nice on a holiday. I've got a bit of a sore throat but otherwise my cold is pretty much gone. The only danger is that it's been ricocheting around my family so as soon as someone is better they catch it straightaway again.

Other than that, nothing fantastically interesting to report. I'll be back in Melbourne in a week and I'm looking forward to getting home and my own bed again (at the moment I'm sharing a sofa bed with my sister) but I'm enjoying myself here too.

Oh and it's exactly one year since george and I went to the US. Sigh. Good times, good times. The year's gone so fast!

-R

Sleep when you're dead, or something.

I should never go out on Satuday nights. I know that now. But I had to last night! Marika's friend Nick is down from England (he's a champ), and at lunch yesterday we decided we would take Nick on a bar hop after Stef and I finished work. I've never been out in the city on a saturday night before, it was really cool. Marika, Nick, Stef, Brendan and I headed out about midnightish. Went to Robot first and luckily a group was just leaving so we got a spot to sit down. Funnily enough every single time I've been to Robot (and I've beena few times), I've always sat in exactly the same area. Two girls that I know were sitting close by, but there were so many people milling around that I didn't get to say hi.

After a drink (and some freaky guy coming up to me and offering me cigarettes/lung cancer - he was just strange) we headed to Gin Palace, which is my favourite bar out of the few I've visited. Again we were lucky, there was a little spot with a couch and some armchairs free around a couple of tables, so we settled in. I had peach schnapps and lemonade for the first time. It was very good.

We stayed there until closing at 3, then headed out to find food...wandered around a bit in the freezing wheather...took photos at a blakc and white photo booth at flinders st...(sorry for the vague posting, I have to go eat dinner and go back to work real soon)

anyway it was a great night, and I got home just before 5, so got about 5 hours sleep before work today. I was hoping for a quiet day, but no such luck. Front of house were one short so when Iw asn't washing dishes I was out at the bar doing their glasses. I even got sent out with food at one point, and had to revert back to waitress mode for a few minutes. Seeing as I'd had a very bad night's sleep and I have a cold, I think I did okay.

anyway I'm off to eat and then work (yay). I'm going to Queensland for two weeks tomorrow and I won't be going out of my way to find a computer, so there might not be a blog for a while.

-R

It's hip to be detached and precious

Haha I should stop underestimating the Socceroos. Well done lads. Although they're playing against Italy yet...even the more optimistic fans can't fail to see the likelihood of them losing there...But it's good to have them in the second round.

Yay for holidays! It's nice, doing whatever you feel like, no plans. Let's wander aimlessly around and just drink in the view because we don't have to be anywhere.

Oh shit! I was going to write a fairly hefty entry but I just realised I haven't packed yet. Haha go me. Hopefully I will be able to write another entry before I leave for Queensland.

-R

La di da da

I'm listening right now to this Bob Evans song called 'Rocks In My Head'. I LOVE the chord progression in it. It's G Bm Bbm Am C. There's something about that - that semitone drop from B to Bb then A, that just makes me so happy. I've played chord progressions like that on piano, in old jazz songs and such. I think there's a little three-quaver progression in 'Try A Little Tenderness'. Every time I play it, I think to myself 'Damn, that is a GREAT chord progression'.

Haha. I'm such a nerd. I was actually pretty proud of myself because I figured out the chords from watching Bob play at the instore - I can recognise a few chords now! hooray. Still can't play bar chords though. Le sigh. I just need stronger fingers. Acoustic guitar looks comically large on me too, like the bass guitar. My sister's decided she wants to learn bass, so I've decided I'd better learn guitar. And I've also decided, hard decision it was too, that instead of travelling I'm going to buy myself an electric guitar and laptop. I'll still learn bass though. The guitar will just be to jam with my family. I think it'd be awesome to play with Kathryn. She knows nothing about guitars but she has an ear for music. Today I was singing along to a Crowded House song that she'd never heard, and she came in perfectly with the harmony. Once her voice has matured a bit she will be a force to be reckoned with.

I went to the ballet last night, it was 'Giselle'. It's tragic and I wish I hadn't worn mascara because it was hard to not cry at the end of both acts. I'm a sucker, I always cry when you're meant to, those horribly emotionally manipulative moments with the strings soaring away and all the drama swirling. Pass the Kleenex please.

-R

PS Australia lost! I'm not surprised. They've got no hope against Croatia. Ah well.

I went out to see if I could fall in love again - that was my mistake

I haven't blogged for a while. I know. I haven't even bothered looking at my blog to see if there are comments telling me to get my lazy arse into gear. So here is a new one. And it may be a long one, just because I haven't blogged for a while.

First point of business: I saw Split Enz on monday night (hence the lyrical title). Evermore were the support act, and were pretty darn good. The only song of theirs I knew was 'It's Too Late', but I'm a fan now. My dad joked about booing the support act off - so he hasn't entirely lost his rock and roll roots! But anyway, onto the headliners.

Geez. Awesome doesn't even come close to describing it.

I'm not going to try and gush about how fan-fucking-tastic they were; It'd take me all week. I feel incredibly priveleged to have seen them perform (especially considering that they disbanded 2 years before I was born). It is telling of their collective songwriting talent, especially that of the Brothers Finn, that the songs still sound so fresh and exciting today. It was everything we could've hoped for and more. They came onstage under a shiny silver blanket, revealing typically strange suits (although sadly nothing on Eddie Rayner's red one-shouldered number) and a number of surreal backdrops. It was a long gig, something like 25 or 26 songs over two hours. Neil Finn pulled out Titus and really put Eddie on the spot for the keys solo, which he performed admirably for someone who hadn't played it in years. 'We'll have it down by Perth'. Tim Finn still dances like a maniac, arms and legs everywhere. Eddie and Neil had a frisbee throwing contest, which Neil won convincingly with a throw that soared over the court area of Rod Laver Arena and into the stands on the other side. Noel Crombie showed everyone how it's done with the spoons (and I've decided that's my next instrument). Of course Six Months In A Leaky Boat got the biggest cheer, but my personal favourite was the beautiful Message To My Girl. Strangely, or perhaps not very strangely, I wasn't on my own in the Generation Y stakes. The majority of the crowd were baby boomers but not by much. There were heaps of young adults and kids with their parents (like me), and groups of young 'uns there by themselves, testament to the legacy of Split Enz and perhaps also the Finn brothers.

Second point of business: On tuesday Brendan and I went to JB HiFi to see Bob Evans (AKA Kevin Mitchell from Jebediah) do an instore. Brendan learnt to never let me loose in a record store as I immediately snapped up a copy of the Crowded House promo vids DVD (well it was $11!) as well as the second Bob Evans album, Suburban Songbook. I really like his stuff, which is surprising as you can definitely hear some country influences in his simple acoustic guitar pop, and country's usually lower on my list of preferred music. Maybe part of the reason I like him so much is because he's Kev from the Jebs, and therefore was my reason for existing from the ages of 14-18. Nice bloke too.

Brendan decided he would hide at the back. Because that doesn't make him look strange at all...

Guitar's coming along surprisingly well, both bass and acoustic. I can actually do chord changes (albeit with simple chords like G, A and D major) now, rather than stopping for 5 hours to put my fingers down in the right place. I still can't play a bar chord to save myself, but a few weeks ago I couldn't change chords to save myself, so hopefully that'll come too. I'm wearing deep grooves into my fingertips, or at least that's where the skin hasn't come off yet. Bass is happening slowly too. I just discovered today that I can actually play off a real score when I found the bass part from 'It's Only A Paper Moon' (probably from my sister's short-lived stint as keyboard bassist in the school's stage band). Piano of course is going how it always is. I've got a song that I could probably record and upload any day now but I can't find the damn mp3 player that records things.

Actually that reminds me of something I was thinking when I was watching Tim and Neil Finn jumping around onstage together and bantering on Monday night (at one point Eddie and Neil were pretending to argue and Tim was breaking them up - 'look at everyone else, can't you at least act professional for just one night?!' lol) and wondering what it would be like to be in a band with one of my siblings. Either one of them could feasibly do it. Byron's very fucking coordinated and is good at pretty much anything he lays his hands on, but Kathryn's got the rockstar persona, man! She's 14 and probably more streetwise than I am. Not bad on a piano either, nice little voice and that...now if only we could somehow steal the Finn's songwriting ability, then we could make a go of this.

We were arseing around the living room tonight, walking using the same arm and leg, then tryign to skip, then running (which is really hard) then doing 'jazz runs' and basically cracking each other up. It was quite silly but I haven't laughed like that since God knows how long.

Shit, my wrists hurt. Too much guitar! I'm going into the city tomorrow. I might go have squiz at that bloke who's trying to set a world record for the world's longest DJ set, 100 hours or something. Be interesting to see if he makes it.

-R

(how's that for a post, suckers)

I (think I) can die happy.

OH MY FUCKING GOD.

I'm so glad I decided to go online tonight, despite the late hour.I went on the Franz Fan Forum as usual and in the Australian thread they were talking about some webchat with Franz. At first I thought I'd missed it but and was kinda pissed that I'd decided to watch the last ever Blue Heelers even though I haven't watched it for years and didn't recognise anyone. But then I read further and realised it was starting in half an hour! So being the dutiful friend I am I jumped on MSN and luckily George was on so I alerted her (and she's posting a blog about this too).

So anyway we both logged into this chat thing, and we waited for Franz to come on. It turns out only Nick came on because apparently the rest of the band was watching Kaiser Chiefs. The chat was moderated so only certain people could post things and at first both George and I weren't 'voiced' as it were, so we kinda sat there growing incredibly impatient with waiting.

George was voiced first and she asked some questions about them meeting Bowie and other Bowie-related queries (surprise, surprise!). She's blogging about this too so I'll let her tell you her side of the story.

So anyway I finally got voiced without even realising it and posted my question more than once by mistake (which made me feel like a complete fool). My exact question was:'Hey guys! Hi Nick, I was just wondering if you remember me. You kissed me ont he cheek during your Melbourne gig this year. It was the most rock and roll moment of my life. Thank you. (I'm the other aussie girl who was at the DYWT shoot in NYc last year - it was incredible!)'. Someone pointed out that I'd posted my question a few times. Whoops.

BUT.

Nick replied to my question! I honestly thought he wouldn't. This is what he said:


*dies* Omigod. Omigodomigodomigod. Excuse me while I go completely fangirly. I'm sure you understand.

The rest of the chat was fun too. George and I nearly wet ourselves with excitement when he replied to her saying that he loves Oscar Wilde. Apparently his grave is covered in kisses. (what is it with Nick and kisses? Not that I'm complaining of course!)

So there it is. A very pleasant sunday night surprise for me. I honestly was not expecting to be chatting to my number one highly unrealistic crush and receiving a virtual kiss from him when I logged on tonight.

Needless to say, I'm very fucking happy tonight. VERY fucking happy.

-R

I'm feeling so uninspired. I've been sitting here in front of the screen for five minutes now, trying to think of a subject for this post, because it's boring when I just tell you what's happening with me, and it also means I have nothing to tell Brendan when I see him because he's read it all here.

Right, I'm going to talk about trends, fads and that kind of thing. Why do people follow them? It's something I'm actually quite curious about. What in our head makes us actually really like the look of a trend (let's say, flared jeans) only to really think it's ugly a few years later? The jeans themselves haven't changed in appearance but our perception of them has. Would we still find them cool if it weren't for advertising cramming the next big trend down our throats?

I have to admit I have found this happening a lot with myself. Take skinny jeans for example. I used to think they were absolutely horrible and swore I'd never ever wear them, let alone own a pair. Yet a couple of months ago I went out and bought a pair of black skinny jeans from Sportsgirl and I love them. I don't know how I came to like them. Maybe because I saw people I actually admire wearing them - mainly musicians. Maybe I am more influenced by advertising and popular culture than I'd care to admit.

However on other trends I've gone backwards - like my view on suntans. I used to always want to be a toasty golden brown just like in the magazines, and I suppose I'm lukcy in that I tan quite easily so I generally was pretty tanned, but recently I've done a backflip and now I actually find pale skin much more attractive.

So what's your take on trends and how you follow them? Do you find yourself following them after disliking them at first like me, or are you completely immune to advertising?

-R

(hey, for an uninspired girl I reckon I did ok! Even if it did take me half an hour to write!)

Ohh about fucking time

I've just waited for this page to load for 10 minutes, no exaggeration. I'm on broadband. There is clearly something wrong with this stupid piece of shite AKA the computer. I might defrag it after this.

Anyhooo. I just (or not really just now, recently) re-read my Whitlams review. You can tell I wrote that one in a hurry eh! Changing from present to past tense, clumsy sentences...eurgh. I actually groaned out loud. And to think I sent submitted it to a webzine! I'm ashamed.

I went to the Pisarro exhibition on Wednesday. It was good. I was interested to see how his style changed, especially his experimenting with the neo-impressionistic stlye at the end. Oh who am I fooling with this arty jargon? I enjoyed it, end of story. I like the magic in painting - up close it's just a thick disc of pale yellow paint, but step back and it becomes a luminous sun, it looks like it's actually giving off light, you know? That kind of magic.

Dad got a new guitar! So fucking excited. He got a lovely sexy beautiful Martin & Co. DC-15E Cutaway acoustic dreadnought with pickups, and a Fender Junior DSP amp. The guitar sounds AMAZING. Really rich and warm in the lower registers epsecially. Great action too - I can actually play a G major chord on it! Yay! Unusual colour, quite dark, I think it's rosewood but I'm not sure. It's matte too, no varnish. I'm learning 'that Everybody song by REM' as Alex Kapranos so eloquently sings it, because it's the easiest piece on the fingerstyles DVD that dad bought. I'm finding it difficult though, playing such a large guitar is challenging, as well as the chords. Plus the steel strings really cut your fingers up. I can only play 15 minutes at a stretch for now but hopefully I'll build up.

Oh yeah and I dyed my hair really intense black. It's pretty cool. My sister says I have Aeon Flux hair. As long as I don't have emo hair that's cool.

So that's me up to date. I'm going to sleep now - going to the gym with my mum tomorrow, then finally picking up my new red silk 50s style dress. I got paid tonight, hooray. I might post photos of the dress some time. Hopefully the computer won't be so fucked next time.

-R

The Whitlams gig review

THE WHTILAMS
Corner Hotel
13 May 2006

The Whitlams are out to promote their newest album, the two-disc Little Cloud, and the Corner is packed with eager punters. The support acts, The Live Room and Kate Miller Heidke, are warmly received. I can take or leave The Live Room's po-rock acoustic guitar and violin, but Kate is the surprise of the night. Admittedly I was not expecting very much, having only heard one of the quiter songs on Tripl J, but she blows everyone away with her amazing soprano voice, fantastic songs and adorable personality. My pitch-perfect brother later informs me that she reached a high D (the one two octaves above a middle C).

The Whitlams come out to raucous applause. Tim Freedman is undisputably the frontman, being the singer, keyboardist and only surviving member of the original Whitlams, but the current line up of Jak Housden on guitar, Warwick Hornby on bass and Terepai Richmond on drums have now been around longer than the original, and they have a strong rapport with the audience and each other. They play a long set of twenty or so songs, starting with what is probably their biggest hit 'No Aphrodisiac' and then playing a mix of old favourites and sogns off the new album, with Tim playing a few songs solo in the middle of the set on his piano. As is tradition, the entire audience sings 'Charlie no. 2', providing the backing vocals for Tim sitting by himself at the piano. The interaction between Tim and the audience is less rock star and fans and more like old friends.

The crowd is suitably tranquil, as The Whitlams style is laidback pop songs and ballads, allowing Tim's smooth voice to carry the melodies, but the more upbeat numbers get everyone moving. They come out for two encores, closing with the ever-popular oldie 'I Make Hamburgers', the hour and a half long set leaving punters happy and sated. Tim and co may have been around for a while now but they still put on a cracker show.

There are photos at my flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/worldofcheese) but blogger's being a biatch and not letting me add them. So go see them there.

-R

Just a quick update...

...so that you all (well, Brendan anyway) will stop bugging me. Not so detailed, because late hour+lack of sleep = the brain, she no work so well right now.

Actually I don't really know what to say. I went to JB Hi-Fi Bourke St today where Tripod did an instore promoting their new DVD. I wasn't going to get it but of course I did. Worth every penny, it's an absolute pisser. They could easily be a serious band if they wanted, musically they are very talented, amazing voices and great tunes. I'm glad they choose to make us laugh though. Fact for the day: Gatesy is not an original member. He came in a couple of years after Tripod first started, to replace another guy or something.

There will be a Whitlams gig review and photos soon, probably tomorrow. I'm writing it for a webzine so it'll have to be up. Meanwhile I should probably get some sleep before I fall asleep here.

-R

PS I have a myspace at http://www.myspace.com/bobthemelburnian and you may check it out if you wish. Can't remember if I've plugged it before. I should work out how to put links and shit on too shouldn't I.

New musicness

New bands I've discovered recentlyish and really like:

The Grates: from Brisbane. Energetic guitars and drums rockin along with Patience's sweet and sassy vocals riding high over the top. The girl has energy. Standout song: Trampoline. I defy you to sit still while listening to it. www.myspace.com/thegrates

The Long Blondes: Fun vintage sounding guitar pop with sweet vocals. They have a guitarist called Dorian. Standout song: Once and Never Again. The first song where I have felt like the singer read my diary and then wrote the song to sing especially to me. www.myspace.com/thelongblondes

Bricolage: More guitar music you can dance to, a la Franz Ferdinand. All catchy, clean sounding guitary riffs and groovy beats. Standout song: The Waltzers, with a distinctive and instantly memorable two note riff bopping along. www.myspace.com/bricolagetheband

Sorry for the absurd reviews. It's 2:35 and I'm tired.

-R

Survey

I used to get a lot of these in the email from a certain friend. Here's one from the franz ferdinand forum. I'm bored.

1. Are you allergic to anything? If so, what?
Sulphites (in food), and nickel. And idiots. They make me turn violent/disdainful.
2. What is your religion?
Catholic
3. What was the last thing you ate?
Lasagna
4. Give me a summary of the last dream you remember having.
I was running through Crown Casino with a complete stranger, then he kissed me. It was weird.
5. What do you plan to do when you get out of highschool? If you are out of highschool, then what do you do?
I'm at university and on weekends I'm a dish hand.
6. Are you homosexual, bi, Asexual, or straight?
Straight
7. What is your earliest memory?
going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge on a boat, in my mum's arms.
8. Who is your favorite band/artist?
Possibly Franz Ferdinand
9. Who is your 2nd favorite band/artist?
possibly Interpol, which has risen rapidly up the ranks.
10. If you could change anything about your phsical body, what would it be?
my ass.
11. If you could change anything about your personality, what would it be?
I would be more confident.
12. What is your favorite commercial?
The citroen C4 one where the car turns into a dancing robot.
13. What is your favorite one hit wonder?
Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus. More for nostalgia than anything else.
14. Who was your first celebrity crush?
Kieren Perkins when I was 7.
15. Do you think your weird?
Nope. I feel like I'm the only normal one and everyone else are the weirdos. Actually yeah I am a little strange.
16. What is your opinion on George Bush?
The missing link between monkey and human.
17. Do you have a thing for emo kids?
Actually, the look is growing on me. I dig pale skinny men. Pale skinny men with floppy fringes and black skinny jeans is nice. But lose the My Chemical Romance t-shirts and the attitude, please.
18. Do you like boy on boy action?
I'm a straight girl. Of course I do! Just like guys love girls together.
19. Do you like girl on girl action?
That one, not so much.
20. Do you read slash fiction?
I have, and it freaked me out. I don't want to think about the members of my favourite bands having sex with each other. I'd rather think about them having sex with me.
21. What eye color turns you on?
Blue
22. What is your eye color?
Dark brown
23. List a few of your friends on this forum.

24. Do you post at any other forums? If so, which ones?

25. What is your favorite website?
franzferdinand.org or youtube.com
26. What do you like to do when you are bored to make the time pass?
listen to music
27. Do you like to read?
yep
28. Who is your role model?
I don't really know.
29. Who is your favorite female celebrity?
Cate Blanchett. She's beautiful and luminous and gracious and elegant and all those things I'm not.
30. Who is your favorite male celebrity?
Ioan Gruffudd.
31. Do you enjoy answering these questions?
um yeah...don't know if I'll regret it later on though.
32. What kind of music does your mom like?
James blunt...and pop jazz like Michael Buble and Mark Sholtez. And Eva Cassidy. And of course 60s pop like The Beatles.
33. What kind of music does your dad like?
The Beatles, Diana Krall, Billy Joel...he plays guitar so lots of pop songs from his youth.
34. What is your favorite cartoon?
mmmm probably Family Guy
35. What is your favorite television channel?
The food channel
36. What country do you live in?
Australia
37. What time is it where you are?
11:37 am
38. How was your day?
It hasn't exactly started yet
39. If you could be a mod in this forum, would you?

40. Do you smoke?
nope
41. Do you drink?
not very much, which means I get drunk really easily
42. Do you think I'm crazy for thinking up all these questions?
quite.
43. Who is your least favorite celebrity?
Ashlee simpson
44. Are you single?
yep
45. Are you a feminist?
not really...
46. Are you sure?
yep
47. When do you predict the world will end?
whent he sun swallows it.
48. Do you believe in Aliens?
yes, there's got to be something out there
49. Do you believe in Big Foot?
nope
50. Have you ever visited Alaska?
nope
51. Do you wish you could be Darth Vader?
nope
52. What is your full name?
Oh come on, I've revealed my real first name. You can expect more than that.
53. Are you lying to me?
nope
54. Are you pregnant?
lol God I dont think so!
55. What is the weather like where you live?
cloudy. windy. cool.
56. Are you a good speller?
yes
57. If you could have dinner with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
Alex Kapranos. He loves food, has had some incredible life experiences (okay his whole life is an incredible experience) and is by all accounts and from limited personal experience, a really really friendly and nice guy. I'd love to sit down and have a good meal with him and talk.
58. Who is your favorite member of Franz Ferdinand?
possibly Nick.
59. When did you last go to VicRoads?
When I got my Ls in 2004
60. Have you ever drove a car?
Yes
61. Do you like the thong song?
nope
62. Have you ever beat up someone?
nope. I fight like a girl.
63. Have you ever been beat up?
nope.
64. Are you an early bird?
god no
65. When did you last visit franzferdinand.co.uk?
this morning
66. which do you like better, Omigawdzzilla or omigod?
omigod.
67. Do you have your own website?
well duh
67. What's wrong with you?
what's wrong with YOU?
68. What is a word you often use?
'like'. As in, 'I was like' and 'it's like'....I hate it!
69. Are you a wanker?
hahaha...no.
70. Do you believe in magic?
nope
71. Do you have braces?
nope
72. Do you have any rotten teeth?
nope
73. Are you afraid of the Dr.?
nope
74. Does Franz Ferdinand own you?
nope. But they can if they want.
75. What are you wearing?
pyjamas.
76. What is your favorite subject in school?
Lunch break.
77. Are you stupid?
What's with the abusive questions?
78. Do you often accessorize your style?
yeah
79. Do you like to wear dressies?
more so now than previously.
80. If you had a kid, what would you name it?
depends on whether it was a boy or girl.
81. What are you favorite types of jokes?
Dead baby ones.
82. Do you ever get your nails done?
nope. I'm ashamed to show others my enormous callous and that I bite my cuticles (I used to bite my nails)
83. When did you last go to the salon?
Last weekish
84. What current song do you really like at the moment?
Once and Never Again by The Long Blondes. I feel like she looked at my life and wrote the song just for me. Keep an eye out for them.
85. Are you bored?
Why else would I be doing this?
86. Does your school serve good cafeteria food?
Uni has a range of cafes but I'm tight and I brign my own lunch
87. If you could change your gender, would you?
nope
88. Which is better, proper english or omigawd leik internet txt talk!?
proper english.
89. Do you use swear words?
fuck yeah.
90. What do you think will happen to yourself after you die?
I will be cremated and my ashes scattered in all my favourite cities.
91. What would be your dream come true?
to make a living as a bassist
92. Beauty or brains?
brains
93. Do you wish you were famous?
mmmm it'd be kinda cool I suppose
94. If you could be any animal, what would you be?
dog, mine are so spoilt
95. If you could be a child again, would you?
nope. I was so impatient to be 18, I'd hate to go through all that waiting again
96. What was the last mistake you made?
I can't remember, I make too many of them to keep track
97. Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
nope
98. Where are you right now?
in front of the computer
99. Are you depressed?
nope
100. Do you have any tatoos?
nope
101. Do you feel better now that you answered 100 pointless questions?
erm...nope

Just to clarify...

One of my friends (I won't name names) thought my big news is that I'm gay. Well, as plausible as that may seem, believe it or not, that's actually NOT my big news. Rest assured, all will be revealed at some point.

Far too much to blog

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

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

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

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.

Rot in hell, douchebag.

Yesterday I had my wallet stolen. It wa largely my own stupid fault as I'd left my bag open. I don't usually read on the tram but I'd come all the way from the physio in Caulfield (which is an entirely different story) so I'd had my little nose buried in Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential (great book, makes my job look like child's play). I was so engrossed in the coke snorting, ecuadorian line cook poaching, demi glaceing antics of Bourdain and his cohorts that I nearly missed my stop, so I jumped up, stashed my book, checked that my wallet was there, and jumped off, leaving my bag open in my rush.

It was about 10 metres from the tram stop to the shop I was going into, and I'm guessing that in that 10 metres, my wallet went AWOL. I didn't even realise that it was gone until I went to pay at the cash register. At first I didn't bat an eyelid, thinking maybe it'd slipped into a hole in the lining (which has happened before). However when I turned the whole bag inside out and it wasn't there or in the changeroom, mild panic set in. Had I left it on the tram? Nope. I'd checked that it was there as I got off. Trying to remain calm, I set off for the cop shop on Flinders Lane. As I was walking down Swanston St, it gradually dawned on me what had actually been stolen. The realisation of each newly missing item was like a punch in the gut. Licence. Bam! Student ID. Bam! Concession card. Bam! Debit Card. Bam! CREDIT CARD. BAM!

Needless to say, by the time I arrived at the police station, I was nearly in tears, sweating, practically reeling, punch-drunk. 'You absolute fucking braindead IDIOT! How could you lose so much shit!' was the train of thought I was maintaining as my stress leveles completely maxed out. I'm not a drugs kind of person (as you all know very well), but if someone had offered me a joint I would've smoked the whole thing in one drag. I was freaking.

So my first visit to a police station wasn't exactly grand. I waited for ages before someone came to see me, then I had to wait for an officer to come and help me, so more waiting. There was a woman from Perth who'd also had her purse stolen on Swanston St. My mum turned up and I'm a little embarrassed to say I had a tiny bit of a cry because I was so fucking screwed. After a while some officer dude came to help me and I had to call and cancel all my cards and shit, which took a while. Some Indian guy with a terrible fake American accent palmed me off to some Indian guy with a terrible Australian accent, who clacked away on keyboards and ummed and ahhed before cancelling my credit card. Props to the Comm bank though who were efficient and helpful. Apparently the officer dude who helped me was good looking (my mum said that), but I don't think I would've noticed if it were the fucking queen, as I had slightly more important things on my mind.

Anyway after an hour in the station I decided to head home, where a message was waiting for me - my wallet had been found! Whoever stole it took all the cash and then went to a handbag shop up the street and hid it in one of the handbags. The staff in the shop found it, went through it, found my gym card and called my gym, who called me. So it was straight back to the city to reclaim my now cashless wallet and then I went back to the police station to tell officer dude what happened. At least he now believed that it'd been stolen and I hadn't just dropped it. Fortunately my cards were in there (although I'd already cancelled them), unfortunately the cash is long gone. $35 might not sound like much but it's 3 hour's pay.

So yes. So much stress I could've done without. To the douchebag who stole my wallet: rot in hell, my friend.

-R

Oh yeah, the physio. I got elbowed in the shoulder at work and 'corked' a shoulder muscle. So not only did I get sent home from work because I couldn't move, I had to go and get it taped up. So now I look like footballer, I can't move my arm and the tape is really really fucking itchy.

written wednesday march 15 2006 (during a boring Italian tute)

Shed 14 at Docklands is filled with shipping containers. But instead of telivisions and furniture, they contain art installationg as part of the Next Wave arts festival. The spaces in between are buzzing with creatively dressed and uber sophisticated bohemian types with great hair. Wandering amongst them in my uni student jeans and t-shirt, I feel at ease and yet uncomfortable. I love being around creative people, but I've never felt more uncool in my life. With relief I spot my cousin on the catwalk above, and while I wait for him to come down I have a look at some of the installations, but I end up just marvelling at how effortlessly cool everyone else seems. Where do all these people hide when they're not at art festivals? My cousin rescues me and takes me around before leaving me to my own devices. It's all very highbrow and thought provoking. Impossibly slender identical twins, in black shorts and singlets, play handball. Four girls in uniform spit bouncy balls and bang loudly against the side of their container. I self-consciously draw a t-shirt design of a man in beret, sunglasses and goatee with the slogan 'artier than thou' then I escape to the comfort of the pub quiz with G and her engineering friends, where we come second by a point (our best result ever), and being uncool is okay.

written monday march 13 2006

The morning is cool, grey and not a little wet. I'm trudging down the laneway, bright orange umbrealla in one hand to hold off the half-arsed but constant drizzle, bagel with cream cheese in the other. But I'm not in New York (sadly). We're making our way to the Chinese Museum on Little Bourke St to get ready for this year's Moomba parade.

The city at 8 am on a public holiday is all but deserted. Melbourne Central is eerily quiet, devoid of the usual throng of suits, uni students and truants. Even the Museum is quieter than it was during Chinese New Year. The absence of people is a little unnerving. At 10 am there still aren't enough men to carry the dragon, jeopardising our participation in the parade.

Which is how six of us girls come to be standing on the corner of Russel and Little Bourke Streets in our costumes an hour before the parade, asking people off the street if they'd like to participate. Most people walk past, completely ignoring us, others stop long just long enough to say no. Even the offer of a free lunch can't seem to tempt anyone. However, after as many refusals as propositions, my sister accosts a French backpacker. Jackpot! He seems a little overwhelmed by six excitable girls in costume, but lets himself get whisked away for a crash-course in dragon carrying.

After catching this 'fish', as the excited parade organisers put it, my friend and I cross the street to join another three costumed participants, and to our surprise, we snare another volunteer within a couple of minutes. B lives up the street and is on his way to the supermarket, but is happy to make a slight detour.

By some miracle, the two people we get off the street transform into the five we actually need, and by 10:55 am I'm standing out the front of the Museum, my garishly coloured phoenix's wings flapping softly in the breeze. The Museum is across a cobbled laneway from a block of serviced apartments, and the guests look surprised as they step out into the dull morning to be confronted with a riot of violently coloured silk banners and papier-mache animals. The cacophony of drums, cymbals and gongs waking up the dragon brings a bunch of girls out onto their balcony, where they excitedly snap pictures and wave.

Walking along Little Bourke Street to Swanston Street, where the parade is happening, gives the impression that no one is attending, as the streets are almost empty. I'm just beginning to think that it'll be very embarrassing, all of us parading to no one, when we hit Swanston Street. Which is packed. People cram in five or six deep against bright yellow plastic barriers as far as the eye can see. Shit.

Because we're joining the parade after the actual commencement point, we get to see some of the floats go past. The Play School float is a definite highlight. One of the presenters waves back at me but I don't recognise her - I'm before her time. We're the last float out after Spotswood Primary's mass drumming. One of their teachers is cute.

Walking down Swanston Street as part of a parade instead of a protest is a strange experience. Instead of jeans and a 'support your student union' t-shirt, I'm wearing a red chinese blouse and black satin trousers. The phoenix is a little heavier and more cumbersome than the red flag that a Socialist Alternative member invariable thrusts into my hands during a protest, and requires a red webbing and leather sling for support. Everywhere I look, hundreds of little silver cameras snap photos. It's strange to think that all these people I've never met might be emailing photos of me to their friends. I wave to whoever waves at me and experience what it's like to give that moment of joy to little kids watching the parade.

I feel a little bad when we turn onto Flinders Street before Federation Square, which is still packed with expectant faces, but the dragon is bloody heavy and it's a long walk back. When we turn onto Russell Street and face a fairly steep uphill walk, I can almost hear the poor dragon carriers groaning in dismay. My own arms and legs are beginning to feel the effects of an hour's parading combined with washing dishes all weekend. I'm thankful to relinquish the phoenix and my petroleum-based uniform and head downstairs in time to see the boys finally put the dragon back to sleep. B is all smiles and says he had a great time.

Excuse me while my brain liquefies and dribbles out my nostrils.

Oh God.

This week has been (and you'll excuse my french) abso-fucking-lutely mental. Here it is in short form (because just thinking about it in any longer form tires me right now):

Sunday night: worked till 10:45. Pretty busy because of Labour Day monday. Slept at around midnight.
Monday: woke up at 6:30am. Moomba parade am, then uni, then Commonwealth Games opening ceremony rehearsal in the evening. Get home 11:30 pm, sleep around midnight.
Tuesday: wake up 7:30 am. Uni until 3:15 pm, then killing time until Next Wave arts festival at 6. To the pub quiz at 8, meet parents in city at 10:30, get home around 11. sleep 11:30pm.
Wednesday: get up 7:30. Uni until 4:15, then Commonwealth games opening ceremony at the Yarra. Get home around midnight and straight to bed.
Today: up at 7:30. head to MSAC for the swimming heats, then into the city to kill time until hockey at Parkville at 4pm. Got home about 20 minutes ago.

Anyway, enough of that. I don't want to think about it right now. Instead, I'll put in transcripts of what I've written in my notebook in the past week, with the intention of putting it into the blog straight away, but obviously without the time.

-R

How asian are you?

(stolen from G)
YOU KNOW YOU ARE ASIAN-AUSTRALIAN IF...

1. You regret the fact that you did not learn Mandarin or other Asian language properly in Saturday language school.
well...trueish I suppose it'd be handy for travel, but my parents speak Hokkien anyway. and I never did saturday language class.

2. You say you're Australian, totally forgetting your roots.
True. Well technically I am an Aussie, in as much as I was born here and have spent most of my life here.

3. During childhood you didn't have many Asian friends, played bullrush or handball and ate 'sunny boys' for lunch.
True. My only Asian friends are family friends.

4. A form of choosing was done by 'dip dip'.
False

5. You know you have to shop at an Asian grocery store but you have no idea what you are buying nor can you read any of the food labels.
False - I usually know what I want :)

6. You cheer for Australia during the Olympics, know local Australian bands, and know what a VB is.
Of course!

7. You can speak fluent English without an accent.
Well, if without an accent means Australian, then yes.

8. Know what a Commodore and Falcon are.
True

9. You know you are superior to all other Asians, despite the fact that they beat you in Maths in the VCE, can speak an Asian language fluently and know what they are buying in Asian grocery stores.
lol...pass on that one!

Score: 7/9


33 WAYS TO KNOW IF YOU'RE AN ASIAN

1. You were/are a good student with very high GPAs.
Well, I didn't do so well last year, but I did well at school...

2. You majored in something practical like engineering, medicine or finance.
False! I'm all arts. although I'll be majoring in Psych. maybe.

3. You have more than one-college degree.
Not yet.

4. If you play a musical instrument, it must be piano.
yes, along with bass and violin

5. You have a vinyl table cloth on your kitchen table.
False!

6. Your stove is covered with aluminum foil.
False

7. Your kitchen has a sticky film of grease over it.
False, thankoyu very much. I clean the kitchen well.

8. You beat eggs with chopsticks.
False...I don't think I even hold them properly.

9. You always leave outdoor shoes at the door.
True

10. You use the dishwasher as a dish rack.
False. Believe it or not, we do actually have a dish rack.

11. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times.
False

12. You boil water before drinking.
False, although we do have a filter that we use.

13. You fight over who pays the dinner bill.
True, usually.

14. You wash rice 2-3 times before cooking it.
True.

15. You don't dry-clean clothes, even if they need to be dry-cleaned.
False

16. You always cook yourself, even if you hate it.
True, but I don't hate it

17. You do either soccer, swimming, badminton, volleyball, basketball, or ping pong.
I used to do swimming and badminton, yes

18. You buy Christmas cards after Christmas, when they are 50% off.
False, I buy them from the Reject shop so they're cheap anyway :D

19. You hate to waste food:
a) Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them.
False
b) You have containers in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing.
False - if it ever gets that little someone'll usually eat it anyway

20. You don't own any real Tupperware-only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, takeout containers, and jam jars.
False - my mum loves her tupperware.

21. When toilet paper is on sale, you buy 100 rolls and store them.
False

22. You have a collection of miniature shampoo/conditioner bottles and little soap bars that you take every time you stay in a hotel.
True, lol. Very handy for when we go away or when someone stays over and forgets their toothbrush.

23. You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (and travel means any car ride longer than 15 minutes).
False - sometimes I take a bottle of water.

24. You spit bones and other food scraps on the table.
False

25. Your dad thinks he can fix everything himself.
True :)

26. When you go to a dance party, there is always a group of guys surrounding the dance floor trying to look cool.
I don't go to dance parties...

27. Your house/aparment is always cold in winter, and hot in summer.
False

28. Your Mom drives her Mercedes to Foodtown, or Shoppers Food Warehouse regardless how far it is, even if the dairy is next door.
False. she drives her Honda to the supermarket 5 minutes away.

29. You always look phone numbers up in the phone book, since calling Directory Assistance costs 50 cents.
False - I use the net

30. You use a colored face cloth every morning.
False

31. You starve yourself before going to all-you-can-eat places.
False - I don't do all-you-can-eat.

32. Almost all your money is in a savings account
False

33. You never discuss your love life with your parents.
False :)

gee...I'm not very asian :)

-R

Ohhhhh wham bam thankyou ma'am!

I found the video of Scissor Sisters and Franz Ferdinand performing Suffragette City at the V festival last year (hence the lyrics in the title). Oh my god. Completely slayed by the hotness. Alex is so camp :D And Paul's wearing his gold lame jacket. Had to fit in with the Scissor Sisters flamboyance I suppose. Ana Matronic's dress was very cool. And of course Jake, shirtless, in tight white pants and a feather boa. Oh my.

At work tonight I learned how to de-bone a duck. It was a little fiddly, but at the same time perversely satisfying, learning how to cleanly peel away the ribcage and spine from the body. The meat was still slightly warm, glistening fat collecting in pools in the cavities. I only successfully deboned two half ducks but hopefully I'll become more proficient.

We didn't serve that many tonight, but for some reason they all came at once. I didn't know whether it was busy or I was just slow. I asked my boss whether it was busy. He's a jokey guy but he plays it so straight I can never tell whether he's serious or not. He just shrugged as if to say 'meh, not really' and I panicked, thinking my dishwashing skills have gone to shit and I'm going to lose my job. I had to ask him whether he was serious or not. I think I need to learn how to eiher read people better or become less gullible.

Anyway, it's sleep for me as I'm working a double tomorrow. Oh the joy, oh the excitement.

-R

Yay! new Franz song

I've just 'acquired' an mp3 of the new Franz song Lynsey Wells from the interweb (ripped from a streaming thing I think). Usually I'm a little wary of new stuff, but I'm listening to it for the first time *right now* and I already love it. This is the one they recorded in the Hothouse studios in St Kilda while they were here for the BDO. Talk about a fast release! I feel a connection already :) How to describe it? It's definitely Franzy, danceable poppy rock with keyboards and strings and acoustic guitars and multilayered vocals and a great melody. Ah fuck it, just listen to it. You lucky UK people will get it with The Fallen as it's a double A-side (Lynsey is obviously the other A-side), the rest of us plebs will hunt it out on the net. Now I'm going to have to scrounge around on the off chance that Jeremy Fraser's up somewhere, although that's less likely as it's a B-side. I wonder if all the new tracks will have full names on them :) although Brown Onions doesn't. Apparently it's an instrumental with Andy (Knowles, their live keyboardist and drum tech) on drums, Paul on bass and Bob on guitar with Nick and Alex. Or something.

I saw Kinky Boots tonight with a couple of friends. It's your typical feelgood enjoyable british comedy, well if you can call a Northampton shoe factory making shoes for drag queens typical. It was very enjoyable with a lot of laughs and Joel Edgerton did a good job. Very undemanding movie for the end of the uni week. Something my mum would enjoy too - go on, take your mum to the movies.

-R

How exactly do publishers justify the amount of money they charge for textbooks? I'm a student, not a millionaire. Students are the last people who you should overcharge. Today I spent $120 on one textbook and one reader. The textbook alone was $110. That's half a week's pay gone right there. 10 hours of washing dishes. I'm really not looking forward to seeing how much the Italian will be if and when it finally arrives next week. Last year it was $150.

So I was reading my textbook (which is on developmental psychology) in the library this afternoon. It was either that or sleep through a behavioural neuroscience lecture. The first five pages of chapter one are basically an essay on why you should study child psychology. Mate, I just blew half my paycheck on your bloody book. Fuck the essay, the price is incentive enough for me to read it cover to cover and absorb as much knowledge as is humanely fucking possible.

Spicks and Specks was good as usual tonight, but no Substitute! They had Ali McGregor and Alex Lloyd at their disposal. I was surprised.

Anyway I'm off. Really should get some sleep.

-R

Fuck you, James Blunt, for 'You're Beatiful,' which I now get.

I saw the most heartbreakingly beautiful boy coming home on the train today. He was an indie boy if I had to stick a label on him. Floppy ever so slightly long brown hair, beautiful brown eyes, khaki trousers and a white button down shirt, rolled up and undone at the collar. I bet he was listening to Belle and Sebastian on his iPod. I couldn't stop staring at him on the train. I was sitting a few rows away facing him, and admittedly I spent most of the ride staring at him. He was just...you don't see guys like that every day. In fact, in my case, I don't see guys like that. Ever. Stop after stop went by and he didn't get off. The stop before me, he made a move and my heart stopped. But he didn't get off.

He didn't get off at my stop either. I'll probably never see him again. But you get that.

Mum was playing James Blunt in the car. I now get that fucking song.

-R

Hmm. I had to actually read my blog this morning as I was so tired last night I couldn't even remember what I wrote. Then I was worried that I would've written something really embarrassing, because I actually did fall asleep while writing that entry, and I had to wake up to finish it off. Lucky there was nothing incriminating there.

Well I'm feeling much better this morning. My feet tingle a little and my left arm's still sore but Sunday nights at work are usually quite dead, so much so that usually they only put one person on the other side doing dishes and food. I think the boss wants me in so S can teach me food things tonight.

Anyway I have to go down to claen the kitchen, then I have to burn some CDs for S. I'm really getting her into some good music :) As well as Franz Ferdinand she's getting into Kaiser Chiefs, End of Fashion and The Whitlams. I might burn her some Decemberists and Beatles too. :)

-R

New Technology

(hey, a song title that actually relates to the post!)

So I'm sitting in bed on my laptop, and my brother is sitting at the computer in his room, and we're talking on msn. This is fucking ridiculous :)

Work was full on tonight. Last night we did 37, it was completely dead and we were out of there by 10:30. Today lunch was pretty quiet and we just cruised through the afternoon. Tonight we did 89.

I died. My arms have completely been crippled. My feet are still throbbing. And I'm working tomorrow night. Hurrah.

anyway I'm about to fall asleep while typing, although that could lead to some pretty interesting sentences.

-R

So, first days back and that

I've had my first week of uni. Funnily enough, it doesn't feel like I ever went on holiday in the first place. It's been pretty good as far as first weeks go, nice weather although today was a little warm. I joined the Groove dance club, doing hip hop and locking and stuff. It's so much fun! I took a lesson yesterday after being told about it, then went along to the hip hop intermediate today. To my utter surprise I actually kept up for the most part. The only thing I'm having trouble with is turning (surprise surprise!) and getting that whole hip hop 'attitude'. I'm too used to dancing tap and ballet and being all disciplined and graceful.

I haven't really had that many hours thisweek, no tutes except for Italian. I managed a very succinct and halted recount of my holidays in Italian yesterday (Which basically consisted of 'I worked a lot in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant and I went to a rock concert' - niente di speziale in other words...). There's scholarships up for grabs this year and I badly want one so I'd better work hard on my vocab!

A couple of days ago I was on the train as usual, coming into Flinders St. Usually I'm looking in the direction of the MCG and the Herald Sun building, but for some reason this morning I looked in the opposite direction, and what do I see but the Sydney Myer Music Bowl. I was a little ashamed that I'd never seen it before - admittedly I usually take the train from Richmond to Melbourne Central these days but last year I went to Flinders St quite a bit. I need to be more observant. Getting home last night was fun too, it took us over an hour. The tram and trains were completely packed-H and I were hanging onto each other and 'triangulating' a frame with our limbs because we were stuck int he middle of the carriage and we're too short to reach the ceiling. It was actually quite amusing.

So I'm just here in the uni computer lab, wasting time because I have no idea how to get to the South Melbourne Lifesaving Club to meet my mum and sister. They don't finish until 7.30. Bummer. And I really want to get home to hang up my new Franz Ferdinand poster. I never realised how good uni poster sales are until today :)

-R