Age is only relative....

As the circle of life continues to turn, so it is that I turn another year older. And in all honesty I was quite happy to have a nice subdued birthday without too much fanfare. Which it was thank goodness. However, of very special note is the fact that Miss R took me to a restaurant....and not just any restaurant either, I mean, we're not talking TGI Fridays or the local RSL. No, this was much bigger than that. It was Jamie Oliver's Fifteen. If you haven't heard of Fifteen, then please, re-join the human race. At last count he has only opened Fifteens in London, Cornwall, Amsterdam and yes, you guessed it, little old Melbourne. So, having been subjected to a whirlwind launch last year and subject of a reality TV show, you would expect that this place would be packed out. Well, it wasn't, in fact the rumours of a 3 month waiting list are decidedly unfounded. It was probably 70% full and this was a Friday night. The meal started with a cocktail each. I chose some sort of Grand Marnier + Basil concoction. The flavour was very overpowering and definitely not something one could drink all night. The word 'tart' wouldn't fully describe it. We were ushered to our tables by some very genuinely nice floor staff. The interior of Fifteen would be summed up in luxury gothic type feel. Black tables and chairs and walls, dark burgundy trim here and there, but it still didn't feel enclosing despite the small space. We started with a bruchetta which was stacked high with tomato and Gorgonzola cheese. Again the flavours were spectacular, but this time, at least, not so overpowering to leave one gasping for air. I opted for the sirloin steak in the end. Other alternatives such as quail didn't really float my boat. You can always judge a restaurants steak by the steak knife they give you, and, well, the steak knife was practically a butter knife with a sharper point. And oh my god the steak. Seriously, I have never had a steak like this one. It had been sliced and arranged on a rudimentary salad. It was melt in your mouth goodness, and actually not all that small a dish as you would expect from a high end restaurant. Which brings me onto dessert. A large piece of the most chocolately of all chocolate tarts. Magnificent if only for a bit more ice cream on the side to dilute the richness a bit. By the end I was full which was pleasing considering that many expensive restaurants these days have you heading to the Macca's drive through on the way home. Just brilliant.

Coincidences.....

Here are a few coincidences that regularly occur to me on pretty much a daily basis: 1: When I am driving and I am about to turn left into a road or even a driveway, there is ALWAYS a pedestrian there, and I always have to wait for them to amble across the road/driveway I am turning into. I swear, if I was lost in the middle of the desert and there was not a single soul around for hundreds of kilometers to help me out, all I would need to do was find a left hand turn and lo and behold, someone would magically appear (and I would have to give way to them). 2: The roundabout near where I live isn't exactly a hub of activity, yet it seems that everytime I drive there is ALWAYS a car I have to give way to. And yet, if I had been only 5 seconds earlier or later, I wouldn't have to give way to anybody. Again, even if I thought I was the human being left on earth, all I would need do was drive to this round-a-bout and lo, somebody would magically appear (and I would have to give way to them). 3: I have owned a number of cars throughout my life, and yet on every single car a spider would weave a web from the drivers side mirror to the door. Not the passenger side mirror, or somewhere a little less drafty, no, always the driver's mirror. 4: My grandparents, cousins, and now me, all live at a street number 25. Spooky. Even my birthdate is the 25th of the month.

How Time Moves on....

I taught a class of grade 6s in 2001 and, I'm sorry to say it, they were definitely my favourite class that I ever taught. They were all so switched on and eager to learn. It just so happened that this same group of kids were to be found in this week's first round university offers in the newspaper. So I looked up the ones I could remember and it came to no surprise to me that a good number of them got into high end courses such as Melbourne Uni Arts/Commerce, or Monash Medicine. I got this warm fuzzy feeling like that of a proud parent. Unfortunately I could only find one who got into a science course, which obviously goes to show what minimal impact I actually had on their education. But one is better than none. Anyway, good on them, all of them, I wish them well. It's hard to believe that those 12 year old kids are now 18 and are about to venture into the world of tertiary education.

You are what you eat....

When, many moons ago, I lived on my own my diet was fairly bland, but useful. My rule of thumb when it comes to meals is that if it takes longer to prepare than to eat, it's a waste of time. Hence I used to whip up a veritable vat of butter chicken on a Monday night that would last me at least until Friday. This saved much time (and money) on week nights when I didn't want to cook. This mentality has not been lost. Last week saw me cook up a batch of vegetable pasta bake, the amount of which could quite easily have fed a family of 4 for 2 weeks. It has been slow going for Miss R and I to get through this, well, "bath" of pasta bake. We have even been feeding it to the dogs in a desperate attempt to finish it off before any mould starts to grow on top of it in the fridge. But the end draws near, we can actually start to see the bottom of the baking dish and in all honesty we are both sick of pasta bake. I mean, don't get wrong, it was bloody delicious and the whole thing probably cost $15 to make if that, but even too much of a good thing can wear thin. I hate to say it, but the secret ingredient (as given to me by my mum) for a good pasta bake is Heinz Big Red Tomato Sauce. Now, go forth and try it for yourselves.

Can someone turn the heating down???

Seriously, I'm fully over the whole summer malarky right now. It was 41C yesterday and again not shy of that today. To cap it off our air conditioner is unlikely to be replaced in the very near future. On the plus side however, we can claim the air-con on insurance as it is part of the building, so I guess I can suffer through another few days like this in order to save $1000 on a new unit. Both Miss R and I are back into the daily grind of work now. Like I have mentioned before, my job is actually pretty good (except for this week doing field work in 40C...not pleasant at all) but poor Miss R is having a hard time of it. I shant speak on her behalf at all, but from my perspective I really want her to get a new job..actually, even if it's the same job for another company...whatever...from what I can see it's just not healthy for her AND she's getting paid fricken peanuts. Anyway, back to work again after 2 weeks holiday. And those 2 weeks just flew by, I don't know where it went! When I was a teacher, I had 6 weeks holiday over summer. After 6 weeks break I got bored. I had run out of money and all I could do was sit around and watch the cricket. Going back to work was almost a relief! But anyway, such is the price one pays for moving into the private sector I guess.

The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away.....

Tell me this, when something extraordinarily good happens to you, do you suddenly think "U-oh, there's gonna be payback." I do, and for good reason. Consider this..... After suffering through another 40C day hiding from the heat in the luxury of our air conditioned house, the blast furnace in the sky some people refer to as the sun, had set and the temperature had dropped a staggering 2 degrees. I decided that the dogs were requiring of a walk. Having been cooped up all day, they were getting a bit toey. So I thought only a small walk, around the block, nothing over the top. I took the dogs one at a time, much easier that way sometimes. So I'm going around the block the second time with Cleo, who somehow manages to handle the heat in a super dog kinda way. She stops to sniff what I thought was a piece of paper, but just so happens to be a $50 note! Whoa. Fifty bucks! Awesome! That's a guilt free dinner at the local Indian no problems! So we blow the $50 on a top notch Indian meal. Lovely. And yet, that niggling sensation that something bad was about to befall us was still niggling me in the back of my brain. The hamster in the wheel was treading overtime. And then it happened.....the air conditioner packed it in. Like, as if it could've timed it shitting itself any more perfectly. The outside air temp was still on the wrong side of 35C and here we sat with an air conditioner blowing nothing but warm air on us all of a sudden. Great. It was only a matter of time. Mr S next door is an air conditioner mechanic luckily enough. He did warn me not more than 3 days ago that it was only a matter of time before ours shat itself much like his and the others in the block had done. And in shitting themselves I mean beyond repair. So, Miss R, the dogs and myself suffered through a night so warm that well, get this; You know when you are in bed, and you move position to get a nice cool spot or turn the pillow over to get the cold side? well, in this instance, the bed was actually hotter if I moved and the other side of the pillow was hot enough to give me infra-red burns on the side of my face. I hate summer.

Plaza Time....

So yesterday, I ventured to the famous Northcote Plaza for the for time in quite some time. Oh how I wish it was closer to where I live otherwise I would go there ALL the time and hang out with the old Italian men at the dodgy coffee shop. The logic of people parking at the plaza staggers belief. (For those of you unfamiliar with the plaza I should direct you to the Plaza Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northcote_Shopping_Plaza.) EVERYONE wants to park up near the Blockbuster, thereby blocking traffic flow to the rest of the car park...which is quite empty most of the time. Why can't you people walk the extra 2 minutes?? And so I ventured into Coles to buy three items. I shall repeat that again THREE items. I have noticed lately that it doesn't matter which Coles it is you go to, there is no such thing as nipping in and out. So, I head to the Express checkout. The Express checkout states quite clearly that it means 12 items or less, but this is rarely adhered to and yesterday was no exception. Some absolute genius decided that his two shopping baskets packed to overflowing constituted to having less than 12 items. I mean, are people really that stupid?? He proceeded to load up the conveyor belt and as he went I counted said items. In total, 36. Yes, 36 items, a bit more than 12 wouldn't you say?? 300% more in fact. Didn't faze him, meanwhile the queue was building as the checkout operator struggled packing his green canvas bag in front of us. Mate, seriously, you either can't read or are in fact that arrogant that you just don't notice the people behind you with LESS THAN 12 ITEMS. I dunno, some people. I really gotta get over this huh?

Greyhound off leash....

Happy New Year to everyone out there, hope your 2008 is full of hope and promise. I thought I would make a list of the areas that we have allowed Merlin the greyhound off leash. It's not as easy as you may think. Greyhounds can accelerate from 0-70kph in three strides and they are not the most obedient breed of dog out there. Once Merlin sees anything that is small and moving fast he's onto it and wants to chase it down and eat it basically. So, it's a matter of finding a fully fenced area with enough room for him to get moving. So here is my list: 1: The Meadows Slip Track. For $75 a year one gets unlimited 24/7 access to the 450m slip track at The Meadows. It's fully fenced and watered and is an first rate facility. Only trouble is it's fairly unstimulating for the dogs. Merlin needs a fair bit of prodding these days to get running, but when he does he like a freight train coming down the track. 2: Coburg Velodrome. It's okay except that there is an underpass that the dogs seem to find and want to escape through. There's no shade and the surface in the middle of the track is quite uneven so there is the possibility of broken legs and ankles especially when moving at top gear. 3: Near Merri Primary School. There is a small fenced area that is quite good. There are benches to sit at and trees and bushes. The dogs really like this area and can get a bit of speed up and run like maniacs. It's a bit of a find this one.