Australian idol #2 and my NECK ARGH!

The other thing I haven't mentioned about Australian Idol is that the presenters are, well, what can only be described as robots. The funniest thing to do is that when one is talking, have a look at the one that's not. You will see that the switch definitely is in the "off" position there. On another subject completely, I have pulled a muscle or something else in the side of my neck. The pain was so immense the other night that I couldn't sleep and had to resort to using some Panadeine Forte. I can't drive or do much else except sit and watch telly with my head turned slightly to the right. How exciting. It's getting better, so at least it isn't constant chronic pain that will never go away, but it really is amazing how much you use your neck muscles. I mean, like ALL the time. If it was my leg or arm, hey, I could choose not to use that particular limb, but the neck is a pretty important appendage, so to choose not to use it kinda isn't an option. AND I haven't the faintest idea how I did it, which is even more frustrating, 'cos like, if I did my ankle running a marathon that would hold some cred, but where is the masculinity in spraining a neck?

Australian Idol.....

When I lived in the UK back in 2003, i watched this show called "Stars in Their Eyes - Kids" and this 16 year old girl got up on stage and blew me away with a rendition of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights. Kate Bush herself wrote and recorded this song when she was 18 and I am yet to see or hear an 18 year old even come close to emulating this talent. Updated film clip here Definitely not as raw as the original one she did in the red dress. However, I have always maintained that if someone on Australian Idol has a go at this song (and lets face it, likely fail) I'll probably pick up the phone and given them a vote. I'm sick of them all wanting to be like Christina Agulira as Kate Bush is another step above that American trash. Did you know that Kate Bush was the first to use a head microphone on stage specifically so she could perform Wuthering Heights live? So there you go!

One in a million

Today I did a risk assessment course to do with chemical exposure of different chemicals. Apparently, acceptable risk for the chances of incidence of cancer in chemical exposure is 1 in 1 million. There were also a few things that stuck out in my mind as 1 in a million chances of death: Smoking 1.4 cigarettes Drinking 0.5 litres of wine Eating 40 Tablespoons of Peanut butter Eating 27 chargrilled steaks Flying in a plane for 1000 miles One chest x-ray Drinking 30 cans of coke Riding a bike 16km Living for 50 years within 8km of a nuclear power plant..... How bizarre huh? The other thing I hate about doing courses like this is that you have to make small talk with the other participants. I used to find this as well when I was a teacher and I had to go to Professional Development courses and invariably I was the only teacher from my school. So I had to make small talk and listen to all these over zealous young graduates wax lyrical over their kids blah blah blah. And, surprise surprise, it's the same in this industry! Over zealous young grads big noting themselves over some big contaminated site, and me? Well, I just nod and be polite knowing in myself that their project is actually pretty crap and they have no idea that I know more than them. Anyway, I keep to myself, read a newspaper or call Miss R during the breaks, rather than stand around trying to juggle a cup of (awful) coffee and a muffin. At the end of the day, I don't really care who they are or whose arse they brown nose.

I don't think our little whippet is terribly well. She's been lethargic and not herself all weekend. I'm of the opinion that it has something to do with the sheer amount of poo she eats. Honestly, she eats so much of the stuff in the park, anyone would think that we starve her! So anyway, she's still asleep at 0830 in the morning when she is normally up and about and playing.

More about cars....

Today, I drove Miss R's car into work. Her car is a Peugeot too; a 205gti, which is regarded by many as the car that defined the genre of hot hathes. To tell you the truth, it's a fricken riot to drive as its steering and responsiveness is second to none. The one area it does fall down is the engine. She's done 225,000kms now, and is tired and lacks any real grunt further up the rev range unlike the gti6 which pulls all the way to red line. What I don't understand is that everyone says that the gti6 has comparable handling to the 205gti, but I find that the gti6 understeers terribly where the 205gti sticks like glue. Maybe it's the tires or the suspension set up, i dunno. Anyway, both cars are great cars, I won't deny that, but I guess in the future we'll be looking at replacing the 205gti with something else. I really like the look the look of the Ford Fiesta ST, the Honda Civic Type R or the new Renault ClioIII. All are cracking cars I think.

Diaries vs Blogs

During my mid-late 20s and even into my 30s I kept a diary, probably for about 6 years I think it was in the end. I don't know why I started to write one and so much has happened to me during the years. Sometimes I read what my entries and wonder what on earth it was I was thinking at the time. My diaries, I used to call them my books of "Love, Loss and Promise", sickeningly poetic I know, and they talked alot about girls and my day to day existence. Once I met Miss R 3.5 years ago, I stopped writing because I felt no need anymore. I had found my one and only and that was that. That still holds true, however, I have experienced so much life and love with Miss R that it is all undocumented and we sometimes have trouble trying to remember when things happened. Which brings me to why I'm writing a blog, which is kinda like a diary I guess, except anyone can read it and I can make entries at work that make it look like I'm doing work. So which is better, diary or blog? I have to say diary. Sorry to be a technophobe and all, but that's the way it goes.

Stupid bike riders

There's this portly middle aged cyclist who I sometimes see during my commute up and down St George's Road. I just want to mention right here that this guy is a first class, top shelf dickhead. The number of times I have nearly seen this guy get wiped out by cars because he is too impatient to wait for a green light. He then has the nerve to stick his finger up at drivers as if he has right of way! I really really wish this guy would get hit by a car so I can stand over him and just let him what an absolute tool he is. He's probably some super stressed merchant banker/stock broker who works in the city and is too arrogant to know better. Good on him, hope he's happy with life.

I'm just a little bit tired today. I've been fighting off a cold thanks to some Vicks First Defence which is holding its ground. I also had band practice last night and we fricken rocked hard last night. Even more was the fact that I am starting to come out of my shell as regards my singing. I really wish I could sing better than I do. I have this faint, croaking singing voice no thanks to my dad, whose voice I have inherited. Anyway, it's getting better as I gain more confidence, even our lead singer seems to think so. The other thing is that Miss R let Cleo sleep on the bed last night, which is okay if it's a lithe little cat, but Cleo is a 14kg whippet which upsets the nocturnal equilibrium that Miss R and I share. She really is such a lazy dog, it staggers belief. Everyone said that whipepts are couch potatoes and they weren't far wrong. Anyway, i'd rather that than having a yapping, hyperactive little dog going sik 24 hours a day.

bikes and dogs!

When I ride my bike, to and from work each day, it never ceases to amaze me how some cyclists are still alive. Honestly, every day I see at least one or two run red lights, nearly get hit by cars at roundabouts because hey, you gotta give way to the right dickhead, and generally think that they own the road. Me? Well, cars are bigger and it doesn't matter if they are in the wrong or not, a cyclist is gonna come off second best. It's a pity that some don't have this mentality. Then there are other who think that the commute is a stage of the tour de france. I hate these guys. The best way to get up their goat is to keep up with them when they fly past. I don't know why I hate them, probably because of their arrogance. I can keep up with them for the most part, but after a few minutes I back off. We're thinking of getting another dog. Probably not for a few months, but probably a rescue grey hound. Such beautiful dogs and honestly, I think Cleo needs a bit of competition because there are no other dogs in the park that can keep up with her, and she loves playing chasey. You can see it quite clearly that she eases off so other dogs can keep up with her. Can't wait to see her on the track though. Hopefully we'll get her on one soon.

Gym

I have been going to gyms pretty much ever since I was 18. Over the years I have been members at many gyms and I've gotta say that there are some commonalities in the clientele at these places. 1) Pretty boys - need I say more? Think that they're god's gift to the planet and strut around like a peacock and think they own the place, and chat to every girl that comes within a 10 metre radius, although they back down for.. 2) Crunchers - They throw weights around, grunt, moan and make all the noise they possibly can, then expect everyone else to pick up their weights after them. 3) Young blokes/beginners - Have a soft spot for these type as we were all there once, however, I have noticed lately that they go to the gym in packs, stand around talking, take up space and generally don't do much. 4) Gentle Giants - these are the fricken massive, older guys who don't need to show off or grunt and groan. They just get in, do their thing and split. 5) Flirty girls - Are pretty much the same boat as the Pretty boys, probably deserve each other, except flirty girls tease the pretty boys, then go home to their boyfriends. 6) Why bother - The why bothers come to the gym, stretch for a bit, might pedal on the excercise bike or something for 15 minutes, do some bicep curls with 1kg weights, then go home. 7) Alpha Males - A mixed group whose sole purpose in going to the gym is to socialise, yell across the gym, swear and puff their chests. Of course these are wild generalisations, and in all honesty, most people probably aren't in any of these catagories.

306 GTi6

Cars. I have found that throughout my life I have been cursed with car problems. My first car was a blue MAzda 626. Awesome car, I had it for nigh on 6 years I reckon. Got it resprayed, new engine the works, as one does with their first car their attached to. At the same time however, when I have too much money to burn, I purchased a 2nd hand Jaguar XJ12 saloon. Private import and I was seduced by the V12 engine. Alas, this was short lived and the car was a lemon that cost $2000 to service every 6 months, so it luckily went to a better place. But my little Mazda 626 kept going strong.....until it met its end in a front on collision with a Kingswood. What a shame, really it was. But, life moved on and I moved up to a lime green Mazda 929. Same engine pulling along a car twice the weight, so sluggish was putting it kindly! Electrical faults and a dodgy carburettor that no mechanic could ever fix plagued its existence on this planet. In the end though, I bit the bullet and got my present wheels. As I have mentioned previously, the car that I drive is a Peugeot 306 GTi6. Claimed by many to be the king of hot hatch backs, it never fails to put a smile on my face when I really give it some stick. Take for example last night. For some reason, that I just can't explain, she stuck to every corner like glue, I kept the revs up to around 3-4500, right in the band, powered through every corner and left a dumbstruck teenager in his daddy's BMW in my wake. Suck on that rich boy. Mind you, she hasn't come without a little heartache. Driveshafts, clutch cable, front suspension brakes and tyres are all de rigour for such a fine piece of machinery. She's practically eaten through a set of front tyres in 6 months, but I get them 2nd hand for $50 each, so not all that bad in the end.

I am now officially resigned from the Victorian teaching service. I did the deed today and gave in my letter. It's the closing of a chapter, I spent 6 odd years teaching there, with the exception of 2003 of course. I don't miss it and I don't think taking another year off without pay would've changed my mind. I really do like the job I have right now and I'm learning new stuff every day and the stress is soooooo much less.

Yahoo transfer

I've basically just manually copied and pasted all my blog entries from 360.yahoo blog server 'cos it was driving me insane. So, I haven't just gone beserk on one day writing umpteen days entrees in one hit.

Dog pictures

I have finally gotten around to uploading a picture of our dog. As you can see, whippets are funny looking dogs as my friend would say. This coming from an owner of a Boston Terrier!

Old friends

Yesterday Miss R and I trundled out to the suburbs to visit a very old and dear friend of mine whose child was getting baptized. It was great because I managed to spend some time with some old High School friends who I hadn't seen in quite some time. It always amazes me that these guys I have known for well on 15 years now, and we all still get along just fine. These guys all pretty much have kids and houses in the outer suburbs which makes them hard to catch up with, and because Miss R and I don't have kids, and don't have the house in the outer burbs, it makes things all the bit harder. I don't begrudge them anything, they're all lovely guys and there is a big part of me that wishes I could see them more often. But then I have friends like Mr Caffiene who popped over Friday night as he lives in the city and is only like 15 minutes away. He is too generous to a fault. He brought over a half dozen of very expensive imported beers, which we drank and had a good laugh over. His cafe is going great guns and I'm very very proud of him. I don't see any kids coming from him for at least a few years, if at all. So one tends to have a friends that have kids and those that don't. As far as Miss R and I are concerned, there are enough people having kids that the world don't need any from us. What's the world's population now? 7 billion or something crazy like that?

Cars

I haven't driven my own car for the whole week. Why? My battery has had it. Not bad considering that it is 10 years old, but why now? It just died, suddenly, out of the blue. It's like those fitness fanatics who keel over over in the middle of a game of squash and their mate goes on to say, "it was really sudden, I would never have expected it." Luckily, my car has had a pretty good problem free run of late (touch wood). I am lucky enough to know an ex- Peugeot mechanic who is happy to have a tinker for a very nominal fee, so maintenence costs are kept nice and low. But a battery, of all things. Now I've gotta fork out $170 for a new one. Not exactly what Miss R and I need right now that's for sure. The vet bill last week for Cleo ended up being $235 and Miss R's Sister's birthday last weekend ended up being $200 which included dinner and present. Then, to cap it off, Miss R needed to go clothes shopping which hammered us another $150. The trip to England I would dearly like to take next year is slipping further and further out of our grasp. Luckily, however, I gained a 10% pay rise last month and Miss R scored a 7% pay rise back paid to July 1st. Not bad I suppose, I can only hope we can get our shit together as a result. On another subject completely different, I can't understand political violence. This whole East Timor thing that's happening at the moment. People who supported the losing party are throwing what I can only describe as a tantrum. How mature of these people! "Oh dear, my political party lost so I'm gonna go burn down my neighbour's house who I suspect voted for the other side because I'm a sore loser." What's done is done. Get over it and move on. Really, what's the point of burning down someone's house? Hope you feel proud of yourself you SORE LOSER! I have attached a picture of another comedy car.

outdoors

Years ago when I worked in the mines I would spend days and days outside in the worst most hottest weather one could possibly bear, logging drill chips as they come out of the ground and doing otehr things. For the last 4 days I have been doing practically the same thing, which took me back, but my god I was bored. Basically, I was in charge of a drill rig as we drilled 9 holes of about 15 metres each. And it was SLOW and BORING and I really didn't do all that much. Plus it was windy and my lips have become dry and flaky like a leper. Joy. So finally, we finished today. I'm pretty much over it right now, happy to be in the office for a few days I think. Miss R has been up in Sydney all week, so I've had the place to myself with Cleo. I don't think the dog likes me all that much as I gave her a bath on Monday night and she freaked out. However, I've been taking her to the park off the leash just about every night and she's been playing with other dogs too which is great. Although yesterday she decided to play chasey (as she does) and ran out the gate and was gone before I could even call her name. By god she's fast. You don't appreciate how fast a whippet is until you compare her speed with other dogs which she leaves for dead. Hilarious.

People who shit me part III

Okay, I'm gonna have another rant about the sook I work with. Yesterday he was sucking up to the boss big time. For example, boss comes in at 4:00pm to ask if he was hanging around for another half an hour, to which he replied "Don't worry, I'll be here for another 3 or 4 hours yet." I mean, hello? Are you really that unproductive during the day that you have stay behind 3-4 hours to catch up? He keeps big noting himself and all sorts of shit like that. To top it off his conjunctivitus is just the horrible thing to look at and he plays his sympathy card "Look at me, Look at me! I'm sick!." Oh please, give us a break will you? When I was working in the mines, I had a little routine going that I'd come back to camp, have dinner before the mess closed, then hit the camp gym after dinner as the last thing I did before going to bed. I know, not the best thing to do. Thing is now, I have found myself doing excatly that again. I'll get home, walk Cleo, feed Cleo, myself and Miss R, Hit the gym go to bed. Going to the gym at 9:00pm is different world. There's practically nobody in there and the people who are, aren't exactly the young posers one sees at the 5-6pm timeslot. Personally I find it great, although I am now missing out on some prime time telly, even though, now that Big Brother has finished, there is nothing to watch. I have attached a photo of a comedy car I found, just to lighten the mood.

People who shit me part II

He guess what, my collegue here is still sick. He just LOVES telling everyone about it too. Get this, he has a cold and conjunctivitus at the same time. What's more is that he is overweight, eats shit, drinks 5 litres of coke a day and complains about how sick he is ALL THE TIME. He then has the audacity to suck up to the boss and get gold stars for working so hard despite his self-inflicted illnesses. You know, last night I burnt the shit out of my throat by accidently swallowing a rather hot piece of potato. It's postively painful now I have to say, can barely eat. But you know what? I just get on with it. Yes I have my moments when I complain, but noramlly it's only when I think that there is a great injustive being perpetrated.

People who shit me

Okay, there is a personality trait that absolutely shits me to tears. It goes like this; say they're sick, they'll do everything in their power to let you know that they're sick in little ways, like coughing over you, or playing a martyr, or whatever, just so you have to engage them and give them sympathy. Oh man, I lived with one of these guys last year. Was the biggest sook. Always complaing about how sick he was or whatever, but did he do anything about it?? Of course not, couldn't have gone to the doctors or to the chemist to pick up some panadol or whatever. Just sat around and begged for sympathy. NOw I work with one of them too. Apparently he has an allergy. Oh poor darling. Hey, here's a thought, buy yourself some fucking claratyne, or allergy eye drops, just don't be whinging and moaning all the time expecting sympathy 'cos you aint gonna get it. Just either stay home, or get on with it. Apparently this lack of sympathy from my good self stems from the fact that my dad was a Vietnam Vet. Apparently lots of children of Vietnam Vets are like this. Good on us too I say. Even Miss R is the child of a Vietnam Vet and has no time for people bitching and moaning about being ill and begging for sympathy.

New dog

well, no, we haven't got ourselves a new dog, but it feels as if we have a new dog. Cleo is now very very trusting and is becoming much friendlier by the day. We even managed to coax her up the stairs on Sunday. This is quite a challenge for the little thing, however, when I got home last night I was greeted by poo, wee and torn up paper in the upstairs 2nd bedroom. She's obviously now very capable of getting up and down the stairs by herself now. We still haven't let her off her leash yet, but there are encouraging signs that she is recognising our voices when we are on walks. Suffice to say that my motivation at work has taken a massive nose dive of late. I would love to stay home and spend a week with Cleo. However, I found out that Miss R is heading to Sydney for a week next week, so it's just me and the dog at home. Last night was the finale of Big Brother 2007. Now, I have been known to watch the show on occasion. The series that I have watched in the past, Series 1, the UK Big Brother in 2003 and now this series, have been primarily due to women being in my life and wanting to watch it. Not such a bad thing. Last night Miss R's hairdresser won, so it looks as if she won't be doing Miss R's hair ever again I wouldn't think, especially after winning like $450,000. Miss R reckons I should apply to go on next year, and what's funny is that she isn't the first to suggest I apply. So maybe I will. What would I do with the money? Pay off debts first no doubt. The house and the cars, leaving $150,000. Probably invest $50,000, travel for a bit, party for a bit, restore Miss R's car, but I'd still work. You can't retire on that kind of money these days.

Our local Vet

Well, it had to happen sooner or later, Cleo wasn't exactly full of pep these last couple of days and has been coughing when she has been eating so Miss R and I immediate thought was that she had a bone splinter in her throat. So, we trundled the poor girl up to our local vet. It's the first time I have ever been in a vet surgery. When I was a kid, mum and dad used to take our cats to the vet, but I'd always wait in the waiting room. Hats off to Cleo though, she was calm and very very good with the vet which surprised us quite a bit. Apparently she has swollen tonsils, which is not at all good, however, at least it isn't a bone splinter. I stayed home with her yesterday and we went on three walks around the neighborhood. She even managed to break into a full stride but I couldn't keep up. It was funny, She broke into a gallop and I could keep up no problems and she was probably running about as fast as a normal dog. However, she suddenly shifted up a gear and nearly reefed my arm out of my socket, such was her speed. Can't wait to see her run at full throttle.

Couches....

Today is a very momentous day as we take delivery of our new furniture. We ordered it 15 weeks ago, so in all honesty, I reckon they can bloody well give us something for free as we won't be recommending anyone go to plush sofas to get their furniture. I have to say, our house is a mess at the moment. Miss R and I have been putting so much energy into the dog that our domestic chores have gone out the window. I hate clutter too, something has to be said for minimalist interiors. When there is crap all around me I feel uneasy, do you reckon that this is an OCD thing? who knows, I mean, my bedroom as a teenager was a disgrace, but now I start flipping out whenever Miss R leaves dirty clothes strewn all over the bathroom and dirty dishes in the kitchen and bits of paper and crap all over the dining room table. I have also been neglecting to go to the gym, although I went both days on the weekend and I'll probably go tonight as Miss R is staying home with the dog today.

I think I'm getting old(er)

I love playing music, I love it even more when the people who are listening to me play actually like it. However, on Saturday afternoon/night I had to overcome what I like to call 'personal inertia'. The band had agreed to meet at the pub at 3pm to have a final run through of songs before the gig that night. I was thinking "great, run through the songs, get home for a bit of rest, then come back at 10." We ended up starting to reahearse at 5. The sound guy didn't rock up until 7pm and he took fricken forever to get the shit organised. I finally managed get home at 9pm. Finally got on stage at 11pm and played a fricken great set, but we ended up getting home at 1am. On another note, Cleo had a freak out yesterday in the park when a Cocker Spaniel came bounding up to her. Nothing agressive at all but Cleo wanted to get away and she nearly slipped out of her collar which was scarey. She's still very much a flight risk. We have found that if you approach her sideways, she'll actually not run away. There has to be some training method we can use so as to up her confidence. Plus, being a whippet, she lies on her bed like 20 hours a day!

cold

I grew up in the hills east of Melbourne, I won't name the town per se, but let's just say that, for a kid growing up it was great, but for a teenager wanting to go out, it wasn't so great. The reason I bring this up is because, being a 'hillbilly', i grew accustomed to countless days of rain and tempretures barely nudging thermometers into action. I remember snowfalls and everything just being wet in the winter. Fast forward now to the 21st Century and the drought that has wracked this part of the world for the best part of 10 years. Last year, when I was teaching, I don't think we had one wet day timetable where the kids stayed inside at playtimes. However, we have had, over the past three months, average to above average rainfall, everything is cold and wet like I remember it as a kid. My feet are cold, my sneakers are permanently 'moist' and my nose runs continuously. Finally, a real winter in Melbourne! Back in 2003 when I lived through a UK winter I thought I was going to die. Seriously, I don't know how, or why, those people put up with it. I didn't matter if I sat in front of a blast furnace for like 2 hours, there was just no way to get, and stay, warm. Last night was monumental in Cleo's assimilation into our house. We managed to get the leash on her and coax her out the front door. Apparently she has never been on a lead before, which showed as she didn't like it at all, however, there were moments where she was happy trotting along next to us, so there is hope yet. We'll see how she goes tonight. She's becoming much more accustomed to us now and she's letting me pat her even more. Miss R on the other hand is having all sorts of issues with her, which is normal as Miss R sometimes has very little patience with these sorts of things.

The dog

It is very pleasing to realise that our little Whippet is becoming a lot more trusting of Miss R and I. She now stays on her bed whenever we get up instead of running away and has even let us pat her when she's a bit settled. I'm tempted to try her on the lead soon as I'd like to get her out and about in the neighborhood, but I think she needs a jumper or something as it is very cold at the moment. Personally I'd like to take a day off work to stay with her a bit more. As a result of having the dog, I haven't been to the gym since like last Friday, and I only just managed to get on my bike on Monday for the commute which was a struggle to say the least, considering my exploits Sunday morning. Once we get the dog into a routine I think I can get back into it.

whippet, whippet real good

We now have a dog, can you believe it? She's a little black whippet we have named Cleo. She's very timid at the moment and won't really let anyone pat her. She's nearly 12 months old and is simply the most beautiful dog you would ever want to see. THe transition phase between her old home and this one will be a bit difficult I think, but once she gets used to us I think she's gonna be a really great dog, and fast too. In other news it was our neighbour's 30th birthday on the weekend. Yes, the one with the girlfriend with the bright pink Hyundai. Anyway, we had just gotten Cleo that day and we weren't about to leave her alone, so we stayed in and Mr and Mrs Caffeine came over for dinner. Anyway, they left shortly after midnight and Miss R and I went to bed, only to have my neighbor knock on my door at 0230, scaring the living shit out of the dog mind you. So I went over for a drink! Suffice to say that my day here at work is going extremely slowly. I miss our dog, i just want to be home with her.

Australia and terrorism....

I am going to have a bit of a rant here. I, presonally, think that Australians, in particular the politicians of this country, think way too highly of themselves on the world stage. Are we a target for terrorism? Oh come on, get real, we don't even rate a blip on the radar of Al Qieda, it's just the powers that be intilling the concept of fear in the public to make sure we vote for them next time. Forgive my cynacism here, but all this talk of us being a terror target is becoming a little bit tiring. Do you really think Osama gives a shit about Australia? Of course not, he probably doesn't even know where we are on a map. When I was living in the UK, the only news I heard about Australia was about the cricket and the rugby, that's about all we're good for as far as world news in concerned. Then there's my whole hornets nest theory; picking a fight with Al Quada or the middle east in general is like poking a hornet's nest with a stick. Just leave them the fuck alone and let them sort their shit out. Look at countries like France, Germany or New Zealand who have stayed away from this whole "War on Terror" bullshit. Do you really think that these countries are terrorism targets? Of course not, why would they be? When I was on holiday in NZ last year I didn't here a single thing about terrorism. If certain middle eastern countries truly wanted change they would've done what the French have done like 10 times or whatever and had a revolution. But quite clearly, they have their standards of living that they're quite happy putting up with, so just leave them alone.

when things don't go to plan....

You know, I've just been lumped with going to a seminar tomorrow on the other side of town. Probably looking at a 45-60 journey. It runs until like 6pm which is a shit because I have a gig tomorrow night, so I have to race home, get changed, put gear in car, and race to the gig. I don't like being rushed, puts me in a foul mood, and before a gig is like twice as bad. Miss R and I went to watch some whippets racing on Sunday. Avergae speed was 52kph around the track which was fairly moving. We're going to go look at one to possibly get this weekend. We shall see. I'm sure that there is more that I could rant and rave about here, but I can't be arsed right now.

It's cold....

I rode my bike to work today, after mis judging all week whether it was going to rain or not, I woke up today to a sunny morning with a promising forecast, so I thought why not? Now it is raining and the prospect of riding home against a headwind in the rain is quite unappealling. Miss R gets back tonight after a week in Sydney. I have found it extraordinarily hard to get a good night's sleep this week without her here. I've been constantly waking up in the middle of the night from nightmares. Maybe it's the sheer amount of meat I have been consuming this week in her absence? Who knows. We're going to see Whippet racing this weekend. We'll see what these dogs are like huh? I'm warming more and more to the idea of having a dog, especially a dog that can cover 100m in 2 seconds. Awesome. The genius will be in the dog's name; Devo....."If a problem comes along, you must..." Great to see my 137 IQ being put to good use.

Karma?

A number of years ago when I was a geologist working in the mines of Western Australia, I dreamed of having a 9-5 5 day a week office job in the city. That was my goal. I would even have done simple Office Admin stuff, but everywhere I tried I was knocked back because I was "overqualified" or whatever. I hit upon the idea of becoming an Environmental Scientist. THere were a couple of companies in Perth at the time and I sent CVs to every one of them. I got a call back from one firm who were just starting out and wanted more staff. So I went to the interview and it was all really promising. I would've killed to land that job and get me out of the hell hole that were mining camps. BUt they kept stuffing me around saying that the budget wasn't finalised and he wasn't sure if he could put on more staff blah blah blah. So anyway, I slugged it out in the mines for a few more months, got totally jack of it, but had saved enough togo do Diploma of Primary School Teaching. Fast forward after 7 years of teaching I'm now an Environmental Scientist....doing what I wanted to do all along. However, that firm who had stuffed me around all those years ago I have since found out are in a bit of doo-doo, including the guy who had interviewed me, and are being investigated for fraud and all that. I bet he had no idea at all how much that job would've meant to me at the time. It's funny, I was watching something on one of those low brow Current Affairs shows last night about how Generation Y are chopping and changing jobs left right and centre. Good on 'em. Just think about us Gen Xers who copped a caining in the mid 1990's recession and have had to battle constantly against the Baby Boomer generation. You don't know how lucky you have it.

holy smokes!

Wow, I'm amazed, a whole 7 people have now visited my blog. That's a 133% rise over night! What brought these people here I have no idea, so if you're reading this, what search word did you use to arrive here? Took me 45 minutes to get home last night which is shit. If I ride my bike it takes 30 minutes. I drove again today with the assumption it was going to rain, but alas, the sun is shining. However, nothing is more demoralising than a 30 minute bike ride, in the dark, against the wind with rain pouring in your face. Miss R is in Sydney all week so I have racked up alot of time on the old Playstation 2. I'm also cooking a shitload of meat this week as Miss R is a vegetarian and it's kinda nice to not have to worry about soaking lentils and chickpeas overnight and be farting all day.

procrastination....

I was a very bad procrastinator at University. In the lead up to exams when there were no classes or pracs, I would do everything but sit and study. So much so that my college bedroom was at its cleanest during these periods. This trait even followed me to when I was a teacher and had to write half yearly reports. I would do anything but sit and write them, so much so that my flat was also at its cleanest during these periods. And that brings me to now. I'm sitting here trying to write up a report. I'm good at it and when I'm going it's hard for me to stop, however, I can get on the internet and spend literally hours doing personal research. At the moment it's all about Whippets 'cos Miss R and I are looking at getting one in the not too distant future. I didn't ride to work today because the weather forecast was abysmal, however, the sun is shining and the rain has gone. Not happy. Now I have to battle my way in traffic home tonight. Crap.

Inner urban observations

One of the great things I love about Melbourne are its inner urban neighborhoods. Personally, for those of you who know what I'm on about, I'm a "north of the river" kinda guy. Areas like Fitzroy and Collingwood etc make me feel far more at home than places like Sth Yarra. However, a few things are starting to become apparent to me: 1) Brunswick Street; voted Australia's coolest strip not long ago, i think it is becoming a victim of its own success. I went down for a coffee on Sunday with Mr Mike and found that the people who are shuffling up and down this strip are try hard hippy arty wannabees. NOt that I have anything against this, but I mean, these people are trying so hard to be different that they're all looking the same. Then you have the yuppy rejects from Chapel Street crossing the river to infiltrate the area and the yuppy parents who have ventured out of their fortified $1.2million warehouse conversion with one of those massive "excuse me while I hog the footpath" prams. Yes, people go down there to be seen. Big deal. 2) Smith Street. I work near Smith Street and I go up to there every so often to grab some lunch. I used to only ever go down there on the weekends and it wasn't such a bad place to hang around. However, during the week when I see it more often now, I have begun to realise that the place is falling into disrepair and the general feel of the street is definitely one of poverty. I get hit up for small change every time. What I find funny is the fact that to buy a house or apartment in the area costs a fricken fortune and the number of boutique style offices is simply staggering. There are quite a few empty shops now which is disapointing and urban decay is starting to set in, especially around Stanley Street. You can't tell the derros to piss off, but pretty soon, they'll be the only kind of people you'll see around there.

Show me the money!

I got a pay rise today, a whopping 10% which is amazing. I should point out that for the past 7 years I was a Primary School teacher. I did enjoy it for a while and it was great to be able to work in the city, 5 days a week, especially after working in the mines. I guess though I started to realise that all my friends were on big pay packets, doing jobs that, let's face it, were a darn sight less stressful. And I'm very very lucky to have been handed this role as an Environmental Scientist now. I can't say yet that I am good at my job, or confident with eveything, but my boss seems to think so, so that's something. Anyway, the extra little bit will hopefully ease a bit of the financial strain on Miss R and I at the moment. So, the weekend is nearly here. Good bless it. I don't like waking up in the middle of winter when it is dark outside. It's just not right.

The Gym

I enjoy working out in a gym, not a pansy stretching and aerobic kind of gym, but a good weights gym with good equipment. Luckily enough there is such a gym a 10 minute walk from my house, and cheap too at $45 a month. Noice. I used to go to a YMCA, which was good, but to be honest, had pretty basic equipment and I was paying for pool entry that I wasn't using. So anyway, this new gym has some pretty hardcore equipment in it. My only gripe is the kind of clientele this place attracts. To be honest, I just get in there and do my stuff and split. However, some guys spend maybe 3 hours in there, chatting and socialising, not doing much from what I can see. Then there are a couple of guys who would like to lay claim to "Alpha Male" status by chucking weights all over the place, grunting at the top of their lungs and not putting weights away after them because they think their mothers will come and do it for them. Then there are a couple of really nice friendly giants I call them. These guys are fricken massive, but always say hello and are very considerate. Tuesday nights are the busiest and it gradually drops off as the week progresses to the point where a Sunday afternoon I'm normally the only one in there. I took Miss R to this gym a few times and I love doing that with her, but she has lost all motivation now that the wedding has been put off which is a shame 'cos she was really getting into it and I loved working out with her. I keep a close eye on my weight and I've noticed a few funny things; last week I only rode to work once and ate a truckload of junk food, only to find that I lost 1.5kg. If I ride every day, my weight tends to go up, which I'm guessing is due to muscle gain in my legs. I have to say that my arse has become extremely hard of late. I would like to lose 2 more kilos as that's the weight I was when I got back from the UK 3 years ago when I thought I was in pretty good shape.

I'm sure there's something more.

I have had what one can regard as a very nothing weekend. Not that I mind, lord knows I needed the sleep. The worst thing however, was that on Saturday I started to feel a little pain in my left pre-molar. And it gradually got worse as the day progressed and it started to hurt all the way up to my eye socket. All I could think about was getting the thing out of my mouth and how much it was going to cost. Anyway, I rinsed my mouth with salt water, took a Panadeine Forte and went to bed. Next day, all was fine, but I'm not taking any chances. I bought some of that "Kill Everything In Your Mouth" mouthwash just to be sure. Must've been a gum infection or something as I would've thought a tooth cavity would continue to hurt and just get worse. Anyway, stay tuned on that one. I've been thinking alot about death lately. I don't know why. Maybe I have been coming to terms with my own mortality or something. For example, I was standing on the side of the road waiting to cross, and I was just thinking "Imagine if I died, right now. Just like that. I wouldn't know that I died would I?" The other thing I have been thinking is that I wonder why there are no Indian or Thai restaurants in Reservoir. Our nearest Thai is in Preston and Indian in Northcote. I mean, for crying out loud, there are heaps of Indians in Reservoir, so why not open one? Be a fricken cash cow I reckon and a welcome change from the countless Souvlaki and Kebab shops. I have noticed that 3 people have viewed my blog. Wow, what an acheivement!

Laziness.....

For the last two days I have driven to work. I love riding my bike, love it to bits, but you know what? It's like minus 10 outside and riding in the morning cold and the dark of evening just doesn't do it for me right now. It's only 3 days until Winter Solstice, so the days will start to get longer again. I used to love the depths of winter and didn't much look forward to it ending. Now, for some reason, my attitude is changing. I'm NOT a summer person. Screw that. I do not miss 40 degree in the shade kind of days. They just sap every ounce of being out of you. You end up not sleeping 'cos it's too hot, then you can't stay awake in the day 'cos you couldn't sleep the night before. What a hideous existence. No wonder the Caucasian race came from the Caucas mountains in Siberia. Anyway, I also haven't riden these last couple of days because Saturday night was our guitarists Dave's 30th birthday. We had dinner at a local pub then went to an Ice bar in the city. Now, you may be thinking "WOW how different!?" and yes it was. But let me point out that these ice bars probably work in places like Sweden and NOrway because the whole fricken country is frozen solid. But this ice bar was just in a shipping container with 20 refrigeration units attached to it. And was it cold. I remember standing in line to get into a nightclub in Toronto in the middle of winter and it was like minus 20 and all I had on was a t-shirt and jeans and the sicko bouncers kept us waiting outside to see who would collapse of hypothermia and leave in an ambulance. For some reason, this was twice as cold. I had on two pairs of gloves and my fingers still hurt. Afterwards we went to another bar, but left soon after as I wasn't in the mood to wait 30minutes to go to the toilet, then another 30 to get another beer. Miss R and I went around to some friend's of hers who were staying in a hotel and we ended up staying there until 8am Sunday. Needless to say I spent all of Sunday in and out of bed, trying to sleep, but quite obviously to no avail, hence my lack of motivation to get on the bike these past couple of days.

Does it ever end??

We just had a long weekend in Melbourne, and let's just say that virtually nothing happened the way I wanted. So on Saturday while Miss R took my place on the couch, I went around to Dave's place to sort out Band stuff and give him my copy of PhotoShop. I was still spaced out to the max on Pseudoephidrine. Nice. He told me we had a gig on Sunday night which was a surpise and shit, we hadn't played together for a couple of weeks. This after our drummer mike had words to Al regarding our commitment levels. So, on Sunday, MIss R and I went to the Museum. I love the museum, ever since I was a kid. We were both on the Pseuephedrine now as Miss R had also come down with my virus. It was kinda cool 'cos, but I don't think museums are her thing. But we wandered around and counted how many 2-3 year old kids ran into our legs (me - 1, Miss R - 2). The gig that night went okay. I wasn't playing half near my best and we were all a bit rusty. Luckily few people came in and watched which was good, and considering that the next day was a public holiday, even better. Afterwards I was dead set keen to go out. Miss R was feeling about as crap as I did last week and went home. So some boys and I went to a pub to play pool amongst a sea of bogans and boganettes. It was awful and really, I hadn't been in such a sleezy environment since, probably, I lived in Perth. Needless to say, one of the crew nearly got in a fight with a dickhead who can obviously bleach his hair blonde, but not his single neanderthal eyebrow. Good look, and obviously a very mature man...not. Bet he's beating the ladeez off with a stick, (or maybe his club). Legend. I slept most of Monday and Tuesday (which I took off work). It's not often I do that. This cold or whatever it was, obviously knocked me for six. I'm sitting here at work now still not 100%, but I'm on the improve.

Fricken viruses

I hate being sick. I can't think straight or anything. As someone said to me yesterday it's like "thinking through concrete". How I got through a high level client meeting the other day is beyond me. There is only so much Pseudoephidrene one can consume until it does no more except make me feel like I have consumed copiuos amounts of illicit amphetamines the night before. I'm getting better, but it shits me to tears. I should point out right about now that I am a bass player in a band. It's original material and good stuff it is too. We've been together for about 3 years . I would hardly class myself as a top notch bass player. I can get by, but I'd be buggered if I can play like Flea with all that pop and slap stuff. That's hardcore stuff and I don't think my fingers can actually move that fast (Hence, why I'm not a lead guitarist either). Anyway, we're looking at going to England next year for a few weeks. Should be good! Haven't been there since my disasterous 2003 trip there, but hopefully this time it won't be so bad, especially with Miss R.

I'm sick

I've got a cold, it's my first one in like 6 months. When I was a teacher I used to get sick all the time. By this time of year I would've had like 4-5 colds by now. I dunno where I caught it from, but Miss R also has it so it has to be from somewhere that we both were at at the same time 3-4 days ago. Who knows. By the way, the wedding is off for 12 months. It was a hard desicion that I can't convey enough on here. The hardest thing was telling my sister who had gone ahead and booked a flight from the UK. Pretty crap huh? The main reason I think is that I want to go visit Grandma in the UK next year, and we can't afford to do both. The wedding can wait, but I don't think Grandma can.

big plans call for big decisions

Well, it may look as if Miss R and I might postpone our wedding until next December now. The whole money thing aside, the amount of planning that we'd need to accomplish between now and then, the weight that Miss R wants to lose by then and everything else is dramatically taking away from what should be a happy occasion. Mr Caffeine put it in words to the effect that if we don't do it right, we'll regret it, and he always has a habit of putting things into perspective for me. We're looking at going to Mauritius for the honeymoon which would be well cool, much better than a 3 park super pass on the Gold Coast....oooo, hold me back. By the way, how many people do you know love their job? Put me done for one that loves his...for the time being. The only thing I dislike is getting up at 0645 every morning.

It has been decided...

We're tossing up whether or not to postpone the wedding. We don't have enough money for a honeymoon as well as the wedding. Then, we won't have enough money to go to England and visit my grandma! Man, you know, I enter tattslotto every week and I've won a couple of 4th and 5th divisions, but you know, it's not like I want a million bux, just enough to do the things that we would like to do. I always said, that we won, I'd go out and buy a brand new 7 series BMW, cash, right off the lot, pick up Miss R and drive to Perth. Done. Just like that. It's nice to dream you know.

Complaint letter

This is a letter I have written to Australia Post regarding their quite shabby treatment of Miss R last week. I would like to congratulate your staff at your Reservoir branch for being so unconditionally helpful in my time of need. It seems that while one can obtain passport verification interviews, a document I’m sure you would agree is quite important, it would seem that your staff are quite unable (or incapable) to sign as witness for a police check document. I would understand if maybe I was trying to defraudthe Commonwealth yet if your wonderfully curt supervisor had merely looked into my situation she would clearly have seen that that was not the case. She was obviously quite well versed in your “No Signature” policy and your “Slack off and Gossip Behind the Counter” policy, but had obviously not read your “Suggest an Alternative Course of Action” policy, or your “Take Care of the Customer” policy. The bluntness and harshness directed towards me by this vitriolic woman should be congratulated and is all I would expect from a government run monopoly. In the end I got my drug dealing neighbour to witness my document, someone who was far more accommodating, which is sad indictment in this world of ours don’t you think? And, well, pardon me for asking, but for what good reason can’t one obtain a money order with a credit card? From my, well, rudimentary knowledge of financial matters, I always assumed that money was money, regardless of whose it was. It would seem that I can pay a money order with cash that I mugged the old lady across the road for, yet my quite legitimate credit card was not good enough for you. Again, I would like to commend the staff at your Reservoir branch for pointing this out to me after I had been standing in a queue, that, let’s face it, I had been standing in since the Paul Keating government. This letter, no doubt, is being handed up and down the managerial ladder, if you have bothered to take any notice of me at all because hey, I am a customer. But kudos to your Reservoir staff on their strict adherence to your antiquated and unhelpful policies that you have obviously spent so much time on perfecting. If, per chance in a fairytale future, another postal service were to avail themselves to me, I could only hope that their staff don’t aim to lack the enormous amounts of initiative that yours do.

FundaMENTALISTS

I watched the Dr Richard Dawkins documentary about religion and atheism overthe past couple of weeks and it really is scary those christian fundamentalists who believe that the world was created in 6 days and is only 5000 years old They base this belief in the ramblings of superstition, from a world that didn't know the earth was round. It steadfastly reinforced my view that religion is evil and is a form of mind control. I mean, why should I be told how to worship my god? I remember when I was about 8 and going to weekly church with my parents and I asked "If there was a god and Adam and Eve, where does the Big Bang and dinoaurs fit into all this?" Mum and dad couldn't answer my question, except to say that maybe God did it. Hence my early beginnings as a scientist were born. Yes, I went to church every week and even went to a Catholic High School. If anything it completely put me off religion. I do believe there is a god, or something, whatever it is, but it's not an evil or jealous god. All these people who die for their religion.....I mean really, are they sitting up there happy? They're probably thinking, "Well, that really wasn't worth it was it? Why did I sacrifice the joys of life at the time??" I'm sitting here enjoying a block of chocolate, bet you can't do THAT in the afterlife. Catholics vs Protestant, Jews against Muslims, my imaginary friend is better than your imaginary friend. I mean for fucks sake, grow up and get along. Snoochie Boochies

My Car

This is my car with my fiance's car at the French Car show in 2005. My car won best in 1990-2000 catagory. It's a Peugeot 306gti6. What more can I say except that it's an awesome car, I mean, just look at it would you?? You know, I love cars. I never used to. I used to think that they were just practical things that got you about, that's why I never really had a good car. Until this one. It does (apparently) 0-100kph in 7.2 secs. (Quite possibly it can, but my gearchanges suck.) Thing is, the car gets no cred at Bell Street Maccas, uneducated folk just don't know about this model car at all. Not that I mind, I just love the looks on their faces when they think they can outrun this little beasty in their barge arse commodores. Snoochie Boochies.

In the Beginning......

I'm at work. Should I say what I do? Alright, I'm an Environmental Scientist. There. It's not a nerdy profession. Far from it. Anyway, it's turning cold. My office is cold. Why are the indows open? I should explain why I've named myself Stone Free. Well, it's two fold. Firstly, it's a song of Jimi Hendrix. His first original song he released which was the B-side to Hey Joe, released in 1966. It's a cool song I'm sure you'll agree. The other reason is that I used to be a geologist, hence free of stones...get it? I live in the Melbourne suburb of Reservoir. We don't own a dog, hence we don't have any Reservoir Dogs. Thought I'd pre-empt that one. I live with my fiance, Miss R...soon to be Mrs R I guess come December. We've been engaged for 2 years now. Why so long? well, we aint made of money and weddings cost a bucketload of the stuff. I guess you'll be hearing a bit more about wedding plans over the coming few months. Snoochy Boochies.