They're dead alright, can I go now?

Sorry 'bout that. Facebook just got in the way momentarily.

If only

Man, I need a holiday. Seriously.

Work really does feel like Groundhog Day at the moment; every day is the same issues, speaking with the same people, toying with the same software, staring out the same window at the same view. My brain feels like mashed potato. Where's the challenge? Where's the intrigue and interest?

Don't get me wrong, I still go to work and do a good job, but methinks I need to hit F5 on the keyboard of life.

But it isn't just work, it's seeing friends go overseas for work, on holidays, to live, and all of a sudden, being hit by that feeling of itchy feet everywhere at once. I need to go somewhere, see something new, try and figure out different money, stand around like an ignorant tourist on a street corner with a map in my hand. It's been almost dead on two years since we went to the US of A - New York misses me, and I miss New York.

And bestflight.com.au doesn't help either. Evil website with evil email updates with evil promises of cheap flights of fancy to destinations beyond the end of the rainbow of dreams.

Annual leave isn't a problem... that's one benefit of being stuck in front of a laptop 5 days a week, every bloody week... you accumulate leave like it's going out of style. (Time off will never go out of style though, it's like the crisp white shirt or little black dress of life).

Now, all I need is a WHOLE lotta cash to fund my adventures (and a plan of attack, can't forget a plan). If only the world didn't require the cash money; surely we should be able to pay in coolness or dream power or something?

True story

100th post.

Awesome.

There goes the neighbourhood

I've been pretty quiet here recently, partially due to work, but mainly due to the social black hole that is Facebook (well, Facebook and my usual assortment of geek-related sites that I trawl).

I like to think of Facebook as Myspace for people who can spell good. I'll never rack up three figures in friends, and I'll probably always have pretty boring status updates, but it is really nice to re-connect with old friends, even if only to say "hey, I still exist".

And from the point of view of someone who spends at least part of his day pretending to understand basic IT stuff, Facebook functionality is beautifully integrated and streamlined. And doesn't have ridiculous backgrounds.


In other news, my next post is number 100. Ha, what an awesomely pointless milestone.

How did it get so far...?

OK, so I have a few amusing stories in my repertoire from events over the past few years. Personal favourites so far include;

- My $1 victory on Deal or No Deal

- The free meal that never was at a well-known Melbourne restaurant

But possibly the strangest to date has to be the bogan baby name... started as a joke between a few friends, spotted by other friends in the paper, heard in discussions on morning radio, discovered in forums around the interweb and now even made a newspaper story. But I've probably had enough of it now, so if you want to know the details, get in touch... it's very very odd. Or you could just scroll down.

Birthday month

So, it's my 30th birthday later this month. I need to figure out exactly what I am going to do...

For the last few years, I've had a house (well, technically apartment) party. Those parties always seemed to live up to the expectations of the planning process (how did I comfortably manage 30 or 40 odd people each time, I didn't think I knew that many people?!) and everyone seemed to have a great time. Both parties also had memorable alcohol stories (the Brazilian crazy rum 2 years ago, and the Absolut Mandarin shots last year - strange for someone who doesn' tend to drink hard!). Unfortunately, the parties were a lot of effort (cleaning, catering, cleaning again) and I never managed to chat with everyone I really wanted to.

So this year, the house party is no more.

I am also influenced by the availability of friends... this apart, apart from the usual overseas correspondants, I'll have at least another 3 or 4 close friends either out of town, out of the state or out of the country. Thus, I think I'm leaning towards an entire birthday week of activities and socialising... a selfish but completely enjoyable way to go, and a good way to see friends in a more personable way, and have a proper talk. At the moment, my plan is looking like...

Monday - meditation and preparation
Tuesday - drinks with old work friends
Wednesday - dinner and trivia
Thursday - 'Pirates of the Caribbean'
Friday - secret dinner with J-star
Saturday day - pub lunch with cousins
Saturday night - cocktails
Sunday morning - breakfast and recovery
Sunday night - swanky family dinner

Any thoughts on other great birthday week ideas to fill in the empty time slots? EDIT: No more empty spaces...

Where do I start?

So it's been over a fortnight since my last entry... very lazy of me. Although it's not that I've actually been lazy, quite the opposite. And I'm currently suffering from a severe case of hyperactive brain disorder, so I might just have a few things to say in my post(s) today.

Here goes...

So hot right now

I got this on email yesterday, it made me laugh. And every word of it is true.

Postcards from Noosa

The view out towards the mouth of the Noosa River...


The view from our apartment...


Sunset over the Noosa River...


Holiday thoughts to follow soon...

Where's Wally?

Apologies, the blog has been neglected of late. It's not that I haven't had the free time, it's just that nothing truly exciting or newsworthy has been happening. Boredom at work has crept into boredom on the blog...

Can't even really remember what I've been up to, but I'll try...

... slowly building up a regular gym schedule (which has been strange for someone so anti-gym for so long). But it has been good; gradually strengthening my ankle, as well as developing at least a hint of fitness, and perhaps if I'm lucky, dropping a touch of flab too.
... getting addicted to Crackdown on my Xbox 360. There is something extraordinarily childish, yet entertaining, in watching your super-hero cop character leap between tall buildings in a single bound, and throw buses around like they were a tennis ball. They don't call it CRACKdown for nothing.

... and oh yeah, and I've been doing something between 9 and 5 most weekdays.

Hmm, must be boring if that's all I can remember filling my time with. The coming weeks are much better though; here's the highlight reel for the next few weeks...
- Holiday in Noosa
- Comedy Festival
- Special guest stars back in town from overseas
- Wrestlemania
- Another home-grown trivia night
- The Pixies @ Best of V Festival

I got donuts

No, not the good kind of donuts... like Spanish churros and chocolate sauce... or the best donut I've ever eaten (a vanilla-glazed square donut filled with orange-raspberry jam from a tiny donut shop in the Lower East Side, NY).

I got donuts as in I got nothing. By now, you all know my best blog story ever. The story doesn't end as well as it started... I never heard back, was never given the opportunity to be "proved wrong".

All talk, no action.

Cheers to PB for the inspiration for this post.

We're in this together

Last week I was sad. This week I'm happier. Why? Because, this band...



...is not only releasing a new album, Year Zero, in April, but they are also touring Melbourne in May.

I will DEFINITELY be in town for this.

Swings and roundabouts...

Bringing sexy back

This makes me want to cry.

Eagles of Death Metal, live on March 16th @ The Palace.



They're bringing the sexy, and I won't be there.

Damn Noosa for the allure of holiday goodness. Once again, the universe is out to get me; can't have fun without a trade-off.

It's always funny until someone gets hurt...

This article, in Epicure today, discusses the history and properties of cachaca, the Brazilian national drink. Apparently, cachaca is not rum, but a close relative.

I prefer to remember cachaca by my pet name of "Brazilian crazy rum".

The article warns that "cachaca packs a punch", since it has typically between 38 and 51% alcohol. Oops, a bit late for that advice.

I drank cachaca at my birthday party. In 2005.
There was still some cachaca left in the bottle by the end of the night. About one standard drink worth.
It was a Saturday night. I didn't get to work until Tuesday.

Apart from my pre-Christmas dalliance with a bottle of Bacardi Oro, I've hardly drunk heavily in over 18 months, since that incident.

Cachaca, my friend and enemy.

Vegas, baby, Vegas

I'm not usually a spontaneous kind of guy. I like (most) of my life reasonably planned and known. That's why yesterday afternoon was a bit of a rush... sitting at my desk, procrastinating by internet browsing and finalising my dead pool list, when into my email box popped an innocent little email proclaiming cheap Virgin Blue flights. Hmmm. Flights means travelling away from work. Away from work means holiday. HOLIDAY. Boo yaa.

Run the idea past J-star, get the verbal ok for annual leave from my manager and half an hour later... Noosa, baby, Noosa.





I only have to wait for 2 more months...

New Year's revolution

The universe and I obviously still have some unresolved issues to deal with.

After a pretty shocking second half of 2006 (in particular health-wise), I figured things could only get better for 2007. Ha, yeah right.

Things were looking up on Saturday; I managed to win fourth division in Tattslotto (although, obviously, I would have loved first division!), and I thought my year might end on a high.

By Sunday, things were rapidly heading downhill; splitting headache, hot/cold shivers and all the rest. So my New Years Eve was spent huddled on the couch, cursing the universe, rather than out partying. I hoped I might have perked up a bit by New Years Day, but no, I was feeling even worse. Back aches, stiff joints, burning eyes. So my New Years Day was spent huddled on the couch, cursing the universe, rather than out at the Hanging Rock races.

Worst New Year ever.

Anyone have a good New Year? Anyone make any interesting NY resolutions? No resolutions here, just a hope that 2007 improves...

Under the influence

I blame one thing only...

[EDIT: ... a bottle of Bacardi Oro... (Blogger has messed up my image of a bottle)]

I was partying, Christmas-style, last Friday night with a number of work colleagues, and with my good friend Bacardi, at a house BBQ. It was the "pre-work Christmas party Christmas party". I had a good time, a very good time. Me and the Smack-ardi (cut with pineapple juice, Bacardi is very addictive) hit it off. I remember starting the bottle; hell, I even remember finishing it. But some of the minor details in between got a little fuzzy... like the drunken voicemail left on the mobile of a friend who didn't make the bbq, mainly involving me yelling over the top of the person actually making the call... and like when the trash talking between work friends somehow ended in the threat of a "dance-off" to prove who had the best moves. Hmmm, that just smells of trouble, doesn't it.

I spent most of Saturday in what could best be described as a "delicate" state.

Saturday night rolls around, and it is time for the work Christmas party. By this stage, I'm feeling great. Except for the sledgehammer pounding the back of my skull. The party is ok... average bar in Southbank, poor nibbles but at least the alcohol is free. Oh, that's right, I'm a wreck, so I'm not drinking.

During the course of the evening, some smart-alec, sober(ish) person (not entirely sure who), manages to mention the trash-talking and dance-off challenge of the previous night to assorted senior work folk, particularly those in charge of the "happy end of year work congratulations" and the Kris Kringle. Oops. You know how the story goes... the music is turned up, the crowd is chanting, (we somehow get a third participant in the challenge) and somehow a bad movie cliche has become my life.

How does it end? Would I disappoint you? Of course not. Winner, by unanimous crowd verdict...

Me.

Rock the house.

How I operate

So it has been two weeks since my last post. Nothing much has changed since then, I've actually been pretty busy without having too much interesting to add... a few highlights though...

Saw DJ Krush a week and a half back, at the Prince of Wales. He's a Japanese "instrumental hip hop" DJ/producer, playing a lot of laidback, chilled beats, good for both late night kicking back or casual background tunes. Great gig, I've missed him several times over the past few years so I was glad to finally catch him live; unlike many DJs, he was actually busy behind the decks, scratching, mixing and messing with the tempo. His gig even branched into some hectic drum'n'bass.

Spent a day or so up in, of all places, Wollongong, for work. It was only for one night and one day, but it was a fun excursion... nice to be out of the office, see some different scenery. The trip reminded me of how I dislike Sydney though; I'm not sure why, but I always feel very claustrophobic and stressed when I am in Sydney, even if it is just while I'm in a car traveling somewhere else. I had a good meal overlooking the beach the night I was up in Wollongong, and then headed back to my "work-approved" accommodation, which typically, included a double bed that was too short for me, a TV with bad reception and bad technicolour manchester. I forced myself to get up early (these days, early is before 7am), and I went and had pancakes for breakfast down at a cafe on the beach foreshore. More than anything else on my trip away (more than the flights and packing a bag), this meal made me feel like I was on holiday...a lovely summer morning, waves gently crashing on the sand. Mae the rest of my day pretty easy, which is good, because most of it was spent traveling around steel mills and related heavy industry.

The reason I was up in Wollongong was that I'm currently engaged in a small "IT consulting" style project (yep, back to consulting, I'm one of those twits), for an actual customer, not just my regular employer. This is quite unique for me since, for the last few years, the vast majority of my work has been for internal business units of the company that I work for, rather than external clients. So it is nice to face a new (small) challenge. But it has made me realise that, despite all my best efforts to slack off and take it easy while at work, I'm actually quite good at my job (otherwise I wouldn't have been the one going to Wollongong), and I think our customer sees that too. What all that means is that perhaps the new year will be the right time for me to stretch my legs a little and test the waters beyond my current employment.. stagnation does no one any favours, and I can't really see my current level in the organisation, nor my salary, changing very much unless I do something about it. The good aspect about this is that I don't particularly feel that I HAVE to move jobs (in amongst the somewhat repetitious workload, I do get to interact with a number of outstandingly good-value people who have become close friends), which I think is in fact the best time to move jobs since there is no pressure on you; you can take time to write the CV, source some opportunities and take any interviews in a more relaxed manner, which I find ends up more successful any way.
So bring on the new year, and we'll see what new opportunities arise (perhaps I should check my long term horoscope in the newspaper ;-) )...

Bring that beat back

Busy. Tired. Tired. Busy.

That time of year, I'm afraid.

Hectic weekend, biggest two nights out that I've had since... since... well, probably since the first half of this year. Cocktails, Martinis, Tequila, Cowboys, Bacardi, Jager-bombs. Ouch.

No hangovers, but extreme tiredness, definitely. And it'll just keep going this week... DJ Krush on Thursday, a work Christmas party on Friday and a wedding on Saturday.

Will post more once I'm energised a little bit more.