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A Day in the Park
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.
Sitting in a park in West Ryde with Leanne and Mickey. A glorious day.
I haven't yet been home to write about the trip down south, but will try and get all the wonderful details online soon.
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Once Again; Chicken Burgers
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.
As I explained earlier, Leanne and I had to go visit West Ryde one more time to mow and garden. Being in such close proximity to The Roaming Bird, we couldn't help but make a visit. No salads today though. Just a big fucken chicken burger with bacon and pineapple (and cheese and mayo and sweet chilli sauce). And chips. Man, they make good chips. And needless to say, their burgers are fantastic.
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Balmain, A Hangover, Spinach & Cheese Doodads and a Half Hour Wait .
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.
Balmain last night was awesome fun. We drank, we talked, we laughed. We are now paying the price - Leanne moreso than I, but dues are being paid.
Leanne wants an ice coffee. Or a water. Whatever is available.
There is no drink machine on this platform. I curse you, West Ryde Station.
We also met up with Denise. Denise is cool.
This morning Leanne and I had to move that stupid fucking wardrobe out of the West Ryde house (we also had to mow the lawns again, but that didn't get done), so we stayed the night on the floor there. Not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.
We moved the wardrobe out of the house with no problem (it was a lot harder getting it in), but don't have a trailer to move it off of the premises. That will happen later. Today? Tomorrow? Some time soon.
We did what had to be done, and we handed the keys in. I don't know when they'll do the final inspection again.
In an attempt to calm the demons swimming through our veins, Leanne and I went up to the shops and bought chips, a salad and some drinks. This helped a little, but not enough. Especially for Leanne. I'm not doing so bad actually. Although I did fall asleep on the toilet this morning.
A few weeks ago (two, maybe), Mickey contacted Leanne about her formatting his Mother's (Susan) book in InDesign. Leanne had to meet up with Susan today to talk it over with her - she was down in Sydney for Mickey's graduation. She lives in Eumundi, in Qld.
After sitting in the car for some time, wondering if we really had to go back to Carlingford to pick up Susan's manuscript, we decided to call Mickey and find out. Good news; we didn't. So we headed over to West Ryde station to go straight to the Art Gallery to meet Mickey and Susan.
On the way, we stopped at the Lebanese Bakery and bought a Spinach and Cheese Doodad (as they are now known) each from there. So tasty.
Unfortunately, we saw the train leaving the station before we had even made it to the bakery, and upon arrival at the station we found out there was a half hour wait for the next train. Thus this post.
More later.
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So it seems that Hillsbus not only offer weekly tickets with no discount, but also return tickets are discount free. Now I understand buying a rail ticket return for the same price as two single journeys - it's a pain in the arse lining up for rail tickets, and you can miss your train by doing so - but bus tickets? What the hell advantage does it give? Especially when there is the risk of losing the ticket during the day.
This is annoying.
Anyway. Why did I buy a single today? Coz I'm meeting Leanne at West Ryde tonight to finish the cleaning. Fun.
After such, we are going to the shops to pick out a pair of glasses for her (and so I can spend that $100 David Jones gift voucher burning a hole in my pocket... as well as some of my pay).
But will we have time for both? Leanne's Mum (Jenny) wants to go early, so we'll see what happens. It's not like I wasted any money buying a single today, anyway.
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We heard from the Real Estate today that we didn't do a good enough job cleaning for the final the inspection. Fair enough, we need to wipe down the cornices and skirting boards etc, get a pest exterminator in (coz of Oz...), and a few other minor things.
But some things are stupid.
They complained about the grime in the bath-tub... the grime that is caused by the enamel not being present, the grime that Leanne says was present when we moved in... so I believe that is unfair.
But they also say we have to mow the lawns again... we mowed them last week! How fucking long can they be? They're lawns, they grow! It's not our fucking fault! They said that the quote for someone else to mow them is $360! Wankers! Bollocks! Bullshit!
So I guess we have to do it.
Motherfuckers.
Done and Dining.
Originally uploaded by JadeMonkee.
And we're done.
We were actually by 4pm (as that's when the inspection was meant to be), but I only just now thought of posting to my blog.
It also turns out that one of the Real Estate staff went home sick, so they were so understaffed that they couldn't do the inspection today anyway. They'll do it first thing Monday morning. But we've now handed our keys in and our lease is officially OVER.
A kind of sense of freedom is wafting over me. No rent to pay for some time now. Fantastic.
So Leanne and I have finished our final meal in West Ryde; two salads and chips from The Roaming Bird. Oh man. These guys make the BEST salads. Which is why we stopped in for our final meal.
Yum yum, I'm done.
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So... 45 minutes of lingering in bed, and I'm (we're) up.
Time to clean and pack!
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I'm fucking buggered. I'm setting my alarm for 6:30am and continuing to pack and clean then; I'm too tired to continue. I've actually been too tired for the last hour now, but I'm only just now getting to bed.
Good night.
See you in the morning.
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This weekend was meant to be spent cleaning West Ryde (see post below), but Leanne and I ended up going to Mickey's for drinks/smokes with him and Ross on Friday night... and only got back here (West Ryde) at maybe 2pm today (Sunday).
But I can't say I didn't enjoy myself (or would have been happier cleaning), and in the end the place looks fine anyway (just not fine enough for a final inspection... but the final inspection won't be until the 12th anyway).
Friday night was good fun. We had the music crankin' and the dance-floor pumpin' (if only with 3-4 people in attendance). Saturday Ross had to go continue moving his shit, but Mike, Leanne and I just hung around. We had those awesome chicken burgers from Chargrill Charlie's for breakfast again. Yum.
Mike went to buy a TV Tuner card for his PC, but ended up just getting Neil's old one for $30 anyway (He was gonna spend $90 on a new one). I was gonna spend $70 on a caddy for my HDD, but decided to save my money and get it later (no real urgency to get my data off of the HDD).
Had a go on Neil's electric scooter... fun, but I'm a pansy and still get a little freaked out on things like that... in saying that. however, I wouldn't mind another go...
Man. Looking at Mike's set up, I totally want a home theatre PC. So, now that there is a vacancy in the PC department, I think I will save for one... goodbye 24" monitor for the time being... not that I even had the money for that yet anyway.
But yes. Home theatre PC's are awesome... I think I'd give Linux a go though.
Anyhow, we had Mike's famous Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner (those of you who look at my flickr account will see evidence of this), and opened up one of his 15 year old bottles of wine. It was alright. Well, good, but bland. But dinner and company was fine, so a great night it was indeed.
This morning we had a fry-up. Mmmmm Fry-up...
Yes. Tasty indeed. I love big breakfasts... num num num. We added special beans to the baled beans to make them tastier. It worked :)
So we sluncked around there for a wee bit, and came back to West Ryde.
Washed up, cleaned up some of the clothes, and then Ross came around. We had to go back to Chris' place for a final check and for Chris to give the ok on the condition the apartment was left in, then it was made official; Ross was then our new room-mate! Yay!
So there you go. A rough re-cap of my weekend.
Hope you enjoyed it.
Listening to: Silence, the occasional sound of Leanne turning a page, and Ross getting ready for bed.
So Ross has decided that Chris is a manipulative fuck, and is moving out. He's found a place in Balmain, but the lease doesn't start until the 14th, so he's going to be moving in with Leanne and I until then. Only thing is that last week Leanne and I handed our notice in to our agent, and we will be moving out on the 12th. Timing.
Leanne and I aren't sure where we will be moving, but Pyrmont is on the cards... I just don't know how likely we are to get approval on my wage alone. So, if we can't find a place before the 12th, Leanne and I will be moving in with her parents until we do. I'm unsure how that will be.
So Leanne and I now have to clean the house. Yech. I have cleaning. We have to do it this weekend too, coz the agent can start bringing in clients 14 days before the 12th. They say they will try and give 24 hours notice, but can't always. Renting rules.
So the plan tonight was either to start cleaning, go see Midnight Juggernauts, or go see The King Brothers (which really did have potential).
But then Mike offered a night at his place with weed and drink. So Leanne and I accepted that offer. Ross is coming along too (he would have been going to one of the concerts, too).
So it should be an alright night. And cheap. I like cheap.
I'm currently on the train back to West Ryde. I'll be heading to Mike's around 8pm.
Sick.
I finished reading An Imaginary Life by David Malouf on the train last night. I really fucking liked it. It conjured so many images in my head (which doesn't usually happen... at least not so vividly). Yeah. Fucking cool book. Thanks for the recommendation, Leanne!
I will be starting Ben Okri's The Famished Road next week. Look forward to it!
Listening to: Cradle of Filth - Thornography. Still kicking fucking arse.
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Man. Riding on the train sucks.
I finished my book on the way in today. I'm not tired enough to sleep. My DS is at home.
I'm bored.
I was looking at places to move on the Internet today. I'm thinking Pyrmont. There's a really nice 1 bedroom apartment there, and it's only $320 pw. Now, that's only $10 less than what we're paying now, but it will save me $32 pw on train travel (I can walk to work), plus it has a pool and gym, a dishwasher, security, and a 24 hour concierge. And I won't have to catch a fucking train home! Or be stuck at the station for 22 minutes waiting for a damned train either (as happened today).
So that'll be hot.
Only, we can't look at it this weekend (up at the Hunter with the TC crew), and we have to give 21 days notice before leaving West Ryde. So. Not yet a perfect plan.
We'll see.
Listening to: Ween - Live in Chicago
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Holy shit.
Big Day Out is dead to me.
The Great Escape is without a doubt, the best goddamn festival I've ever been to. The fucking best.
Why?
No lines. Anywhere. I didn't have to line up for more than 2 minutes for a fucking thing. Not food, not drink, not toilets. Fucking fantastic.
It wasn't crowded. At EVERY stage there was room to move. And that isn't because we were far away from the stage.
A view of every stage. The main stage was on a hill, so that every person could see it, no matter how far back they wanted to be. This is the best idea ever (and what makes the smaller stages at BDO so good).
Atmosphere. What a wonderful atmosphere. It was the perfect example of the festival vibe. There were people everywhere dancing, grooving, entertaining, smiling, sharing, caring. Fantastic. Everyone was my friend.
More than music. There was so much to do! Crazy art shows, cabaret, markets, workshops (of a kind), even a day spa! Fantastic.
Parking. It was no trouble to get there, no trouble to get a parking spot, no trouble to leave. Fantastic.
Perfect timetabling. Some acts played twice, and the stages were set up so that very few acts actually overlapped. So fuck you Good Vibrations, THAT is how you timetable a festival (for those of you that don't understand my reference here, Good Vibrations timetabled the 4 biggest draw cards to the event in competition with each other. I emailed them and complained, and they said that any festival has to have timetable clashes... so fuck you Good Vibrations, no they fucking don't).
3 days of pure fucking bliss.
Thank you, Great Escape.
It is here that I might add that I have created a flickr photo set to cover the events. Check it out at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jademonkee/sets/72157600058401673/
I might also add that I will be uploading a lot more photos to flickr (for the benefit of my overseas readers) as it is the easiest way to get my photos from my phone to my blog.
But onto a brief run-down of the events:
Ben and Carly met up with Leanne and I at our West Ryde abode around about midday on Friday. They were to stay with us for the duration of the event.
We were planning on getting in there around about 12:30pm/1pm, but didn't end up getting in there until later... 2pm maybe? I don't really remember. We thought we'd get in before the acts we really wanted to see started so that we can get an idea of the layout of the festival, as well as get a feel for the vibe.
The reason we arrived later was that we decided to have a bit to drink, and also decided to shave my head again... although a little less extremely than last time. Ben shaved in a question mark and the letters TGE. But because I couldn't find my pack of razor heads, and I didn't want my head shaved with a blunt razor, it was only shaved in on a "number 1," so it was actually barely visible. Possibly/probably a good thing.
Leanne drove us in, and parking was no trouble, although in my haste, I didn't pick the best way in... but that wasn't a real problem anyhow.
Once we arrived we met up with Ross, Linden, Tommy and Monique, and had a general walk around before seeing Kaki King at 3pm. She wasn't bad... but better on CD (or more to the point, better on MySpace, as that was the only place we'd heard her before). She finished at 4pm, and not being interested in Ben Kweller, Leanne, Ben, Carly and I wandered around before Rastawookie were to start at 4:40pm. During that time we visited the markets, and I bought a new beanie (as seen in the photos) and two button rings for Leanne, and Ross bought a beanie and a hemp jacket. Markets are awesome.
Rastawookie were totally cool, mang! They finished at 5:40pm, and next up was Blue King Brown at 6:20pm. They were totally cool, too! In fact, those two bands were probably the highlights of the whole festival. Yes. Totally cool.
So from Blue King Brown, it was off to Hilltop Hoods, and after them it was a short wait until Wolfmother. During that wait I grabbed some "Himalayan" food. Nice! Butter chicken, potatoes, noodles and rice for $8. Although not a large portion, it was tasty and expected value for a festival.
We left before Wolfmother finished (having heard them a few times before, and having seen almost nothing new in their show... although they did play a new song - which wasn't too bad - it still wasn't enough to hold our attention). On our way back to the car, Leanne and I caught sound of some fresh beats emanating from a shed, and had to go dance for a little while. So funky. So fresh. But we didn't stay too long (not wanting to keep Ben and Carly waiting), and headed off home shortly after. Alas, staying back to dance for those few moments meant that Wolfmother had finished their set by the time we went to leave, and most people were leaving with us. But, despite the crowd, it didn't take too long to leave, so that was nice.
Having exhausted ourselves from a day of groovin, we retired to bed shortly after getting home, ready for a full day at the festival tomorrow.
We didn't drink so much before hand the next day, but were late because we decided to watch the Tenacious D movie and pick up some green for all the dub/reggae that the festival was playing. So we rolled a few blunts, and were ready for a new day.
We arrived at about 2:30pm, which landed us in there during Bob Evans' set (the whingy motherfucker from Jebediah), so we had to do our best to ignore him. Unfortunately, arriving this late meant that we missed King Tide (who were playing at 1:20pm), so that was a shame. We used the spare time between our arrival and Coda playing at 4pm to go explore the markets, where I bought a CD, Leanne bought a DVD, and we bought some badges too. Oh! And Channel V interviewed me for a filler segment! So keep your eyes peeled on the What You Want segment for me requesting "She's my Man" by Scissor Sisters (I wanted Cemetery Gates by Pantera, but I had to choose off of a list they gave me). So that was pretty cool. They asked me what was the strangest thing I'd found at a festival, and I said I'd found my virginity... I'd say that it has probably already been played by now, so I don't know if I'll ever see that segment.
Anyway, Coda were awesome. Despite the fact that Leanne and I headed out of the tent for a bit to sit under a tree (it juts seemed more suitable), and despite the fact that it rained, and we had to go back into to the tent. If you're looking through the photo set that I linked to above, you will see the "robotic" elephant that appeared during their set, as well as the porcelain doll woman that was doing the rounds. She wasn't just dressed like one, she was walking and acting like one. It was awesome. You will also see the children playing with bubbles that I thought were so wonderful. It was reasons like that that really set that festival apart from all the others I'd been to. It was just such a great fucking festival. And Coda were fucking great. Their album is definitely on my "to get" list.
A brief wait and then onto Ziggy Marley.
He was cool, and played a few of his Dad's tunes (which was nice), but Leanne and I left to go to the toilet, and didn't realise it was so late, because by the time we were done, it was just about time for Lee "Scratch" Perry to start (and Ziggy to finish). Lee was awesome. Funny old bastard. He wore the craziest get up of the festival (so many necklaces, rings and badges), and has such a funny bubble voice. Rubadudadub! At the end of the show he invited some people up onto stage, and about 50 people ended up joining him on stage. You can get a good idea of how many people there were in the photos on the flickr page I linked above.
Leanne and I totally didn't want to see Missy Higgins, so we grabbed a bite to eat at the Hare Krishna stall. Fucking goddamn it was tasty. $10 for the Krishna feast, and it was a fricken feast. I also bought an incense burner from them, and Leanne bought a bag. But yes, the Krishna food was awesome. $10 bought you rice, a vege curry, 3 kofta balls with chutney and Halava (It looked most like the one down the bottom). Man. So tasty. In fact, it was so tasty and consuming and relaxing, that rather than walking to the other side of the festival to see The Bird, Leanne and I just sat and revelled in our dinner. I kinda regret that. The Bird were meant to be awesome. But man. Such tasty food. Suffice to say that I went there for dinner the next night too.
So we sat and continued to revel in our food until John Butler started, then we met up with Ben and Carly again, and watched the Trio play. Having exhausted ourselves from smoking and dancing, Ben, Carly, Leanne and I headed home after 10pm. When we got home, Ben entertained us with some tunes on his guitar, and we chilled for a bit before heading to bed... ready for the 3rd day of bliss.
Lou Rhodes was the first act on that we cared about, so we planned on getting there at about 1pm, but even after our Easter Egg hunt in the back yard, and taking it easy in the morning, we still arrived Early enough for some Ryan Shaw and a slow amble via the markets over to the Riverside for Lou Rhodes. On the way I bought a totally hot fork ring from the same guy I bought my spoon rings from at Big Day Out. $10 goddamn dollars and it's a work of fucking art. Jangling Jack rules.
This is the ring:
Lou Rhodes had a strange atmosphere; everyone was sitting down (with the exception of one couple up against the barrier standing, and 3 people dancing - including one space cadet... I'm not entirely sure he knew what he was dancing too, or even that he was at a music festival). But it was a wonderful show, and I look forward to seeing her play again tomorrow night at The Forum. She's a cool gal. And she played Gabriel! I love that song! You can see her in the photos.
There was a fair bit of time before anyone we knew were to play, so we decided to go see White Buffalo or The Fumes (with Ross, Linden, Tommy and Monique), but ended up gettign Turkish Coffee instead. Deeelicious.
The next group to play were the Lemonheads at 3pm, but they weren't very good, and the guy was a tool. So we left that to go see Fat Freddy's Drop. Now THEY kicked ass. That Trombonist... Godlike. You can see his funky shit in the photos I linked to above. And of course, we smoked a bit for them. After Fat Freddy's there was a bit of a wait before Gomez, so Ross, Leanne and I headed over to the Riverside again to go see Floggin Molly. I had a smoke here too. They were really cool, but three days of concert going meant that I couldn't be fucked heading up front, or even standing. So I just drank a beer and had a smoke and enjoyed listening. Because of my level of relaxation, and enjoyment for Flogging Molly, I wasn't bothered to catch the entire Gomez set. But I did catch them, and they were good. But because of the time of night and the distance to the stage, the pictures didn't turn out very well.
Coming up after Gomez were a fucking kickass cool band called Gogol Bordello - a kind of Gypsy punk rock band. I was really excited to see them (having heard their "Start Wearing Purple" on MySpace. So we headed down there, to hear the funk of Booker T and the MGs... not the Gypsy punk I was expecting... this was a cover band. They then started playing some Blue Brothers tracks, and while not bad, they weren't Gypsy Punk Rock. Turns out Gogol Bordello cancelled their Australian tour. Could I get any more disappointed. Well, I didn't, so I suppose that's a good thing. So instead of listening to covers, Ben, Carly, Leanne and I headed off to see Waiting for Guinness. Ross had already done so a few minutes beforehand, but we couldn't see him when we got there. They were cool. They got a lot cooler when they started playing jewish-like dance music. Ben and Carly went off to have dinner, and Leanne and I stayed for a few more minutes until a toilet break called us away. We then grabbed dinner. And couldn't find Ben and Carly anywhere. Ben's phone was off, and I don't have Carly's number, so things weren't looking good.
Luckily Leanne and I ran into Linden, Tommy and Monique, so we hung with them for a bit. That "bit" took us down to the Riverside to see Fishbone. We met Ben and Carly down there after Carly called me. Man, what an intro. The guy was preaching about white people, stereotypes, rock music, racism, blah blah blah... he lost most of the audience, and when it started into some strange jazz number, Linden, Tommy, and Monique left. Just after they left
it became more interesting (good drummer), and more rock-like (which made more sense with his opening speech). But it began to rain, and Ben and Carly had to go down south to visit Ben's parents, so we left. We stopped off at the Tin Shed before leaving and caught two songs by a band called The Temper Trap (who were totally cool), and because of the time, decided to see what The Roots were like. Not very good. So we left.
Our festival had come to an end.
And it was truly wonderful. Best festival of my life. So goddamn good. Full fucking points, guys. I can't wait until next year.
Big Day Out used to be the best day of the year, but due to increasing price, increasing demand, and increasing crowds, it just isn't as good as it used to be. So from now on, it is the Great Escape that shall be the highlight of my year. It truly is what festivals are meant to be.
I loved it!
An unoriginal title, I know, but it seemed so fitting for the subject matter.
The weekend was nice. Leanne and I met up with Mum for dinner on Friday night - and due to our tight budget, that was all we COULD do on Friday night - but it was nice to see her, and she bought me a cute little japanese tea set. Aww.
Saturday was awesome. Leanne and I decided to go to the beach - despite it being overcast. We headed up to Mona Vale beach, and bought fish n chips on the way. Fucken bargain I might add, and tasty too! There were 2 pieces of fish, 3 calamari rings, 3 prawns, 2 oysters, seafood salad, coleslaw, greek salad and chips for $20! And it was tasty as! Yay! And it was ever so lovely eating them on the beach, huddling under towels for protection from the wind and rain. Unfortunately though, we left the lights on on the car, so we had to call the NRMA. They said they'd be up to 2 hours, but they arrived in 20 minutes! Yay! We met up with Mum again in that brief time it took them (she was just on her way up to the Hunter).
So Leanne and I headed back south and home to West Ryde to get ready for Tristan's party.
It was a good party! I hadn't seen Boggle since Jon left (which feels weird), so it was good to see him. Sounds like Uni is good too, so that was nice to hear.
We played Guitar Hero 2. Awesome fun.
I'm hoping to see them all again soon. Man. I can't believe I actually have to say that.
Am considering a Dropkick Murphys ticket this week, but due to my budget, I'm not so sure I can afford it. We'll see.
This week I'm getting into work early so that I can leave early; it's so much better. I get a seat on the way in AND back!
Yay!
So many celebrations!
But that is all.
See y'all 'round!
Listening to: Lamb - Between Darkness and Wonder (a most beautiful album, but I've come to expect that from Lamb)
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Sooo I've not been posting lately, have I?
Yeah, well, I haven't been that enthused by it.
Work's been good lately, I've been a little bored, but it's been good.
I went to the Blue Mountains yesterday to help an operator with their maps, so that was cool. Went with Chris (whose party it was on Sat night), so it was good to talk with him (he's a sound engineer, and the party was held at his studio)... I'm kinda wishing that I'd done something more to do with music with my career now... not that it's really too late. We'll see what happens later in life.
I've now officially moved into West Ryde... however, I don't yet have all my stuff. Soon. Soon.
Yeah... what else?
Accompanied Boggle, Brendan and Jon to the airport today to pick Helen up... we were an hour late, but so was she, so it worked out very well. I also ran into Briony there; she'd just got back from Japan. Woulda been cool. I should try and see her more often.
So yes. As I'm now moved into West Ryde, it means that I don't have the internet at home, so all those myspace comments will be left all alone for some time. I still check my email at work though, so you can still contact me through that. I'll look into getting the net soon.
And yes. That's all I can be bothered typing right now. I've actually felt rather lethargic of late; I don't really know why. Lethargy leading to apathy.
Blargh.
On Saturday we (that is, Brendan, Leanne and I) moved (or started to move) into our new house at West Ryde. I really like it (will like it even more when I get furniture in there). To make it just that much better, we got a puppy too. Although we had planned that before we even looked at houses.I'm really looking forward to starting a life there. Will be kickass.
Saturday was also Pete's birthday, so after we'd signed all we had, and had moved a fair whack of stuff in, I met up with Pete for his birthday lunch. We went to a place in Palm Beach (the name of which I forget), and I had a great seafood lunch. So tasty.
Saturday night I spent on a matress on the floor of my new house. Before that though we tried out Ryde Eastwod leagues club (the new local). Odd place. The dining area is kinda like Seaworld Nara resort circa 1994. TRhe pokie area is some strange amalgam of a Spanish villa, a western set, and a jack the ripper set... odd. And then we travelled down to the Sports Bar, and it's really nice. Like I would love to have a loungeroom that looked like it. So the strange became stranger. We'll probably sign up as members, coz the beer is $3.30 a schooner for members (including James Squires!). Tops.
Sunday we picked up the new puppy; Oz. A lovely little thing. A Miniature Schnauzer x Staffy. It adds a nice family feel to the home unit.
Sunday night was Godskitchen. Leanne and I bought our tickets last week, and on Friday night we succesfully talked Michael S into coming, so I was happy with that. It was good fun, but (don't tell Michael KP) I just wasn't in the mood for Trance when Eddie Halliwell came on, so I only watched about 30 minutes of him, and then headed up to the house level. Much better. I'm enjoying house more and more lately, and after Sunday night I'm thinking that I'm now going to visit house clubs more often (I'll try and bring Peter along too), as the trance just wasn't interesting for me on Sunday. I'll probably skip the drugs too, as they are getting less enjoyable now (and I odn't think it's me building up an immunity, as Leanne agreed that the pills on Sunday were weaker than the last time), and because of that, becoming less worth it. Maybe just speed from now on. Cheaper. More reliable.
Monday was really just a recovery day. Not much gained from it.
Today I was sent to do training over at Gordon, and I'll be there tomorrow too. I was worried about people having trouble with my Shorelink maps while I was away, but I talked to Matt (head GIS guy) today, and he said they were near finished, and had heard no problems from people doing them. Cool. He also said that he'll not import them until I'm back, so I have the oppurtunity to look over them before the changes are committed. Coolies.
So that's it I believe.
Not long until Pay day; can't wait. I should also be getting my $950 back from tax soon. I'l probably buy that 60GB HDD for my iriver this week. I think I'll put the camera off for a few weeks, so that I can live a little easier than I had to last week. Also, the camera that I wanted (the same model as the one that was stolen); the Canon A700, has been replaced bya 7.1MP version; the A710. Now, I was a bit wary when I heard this, as generally, the higher above 6MP the CCD, the crappier the image quality. But I've read a review o fthe camera, and looked at some sample images, and the camera looks great! So I think I'm going to get the A710 now. Unfortunately, it's about $120 more expensive. Fek.
I also wanted to get the microSD adapter for my DS (and the software needed to re-flash it) this week, but I'm not so sure I should... we'll see.
So yeah. I think that's it now.
Happy Birthday for yesterday, Helen (not that I didn't message you and tell you that yesterday).
Later!
Listening to: Machine Gun Fellatio - On Ice (album). Under-rated band, these guys. I'm so glad I saw them 10 or so times before they split up).
Exciting news! The real estate agent called today to inform me that our rental application has been excepted! Yay!
We sign the papers 9:00am Saturday morning! Hot Stuff! Going to have a nice little shin-dig next weekend probably to Christen the place. Shouldbe tops.
Also today I bought (Leanne lent me the money actually.. bless her) the tickets for Field Day (1st Jan) and Gods Kitchen (Sunday night). Should be super hot. Look forward to it.
I can't wait until pay-day. I need the dollars. I learnt a harsh lesson this week, so I will be less frivolous with spending from now on. I will save for more expensive items, rather than blow 1/3 or a 1/2 of my pay in one go. I can't wait until the 5th Oct...
Yes. That is all.
Listening to: Underworld - Everything, Everything (their kickass live album)
So on Saturday, Brendan, Leanne and I looked at a lovely house in West Ryde, and liked it so much, that we have put in a rental application (we still need to provide some more info, but we'll fax that to them tomorrow). Fingers crossed we get it, coz it's nice, resonably priced, and close to alot of shit; or close enough. Only $330pw. Nice.
After viewing the place, we went to a park and just shot the breeze for a bit - with .44 magnum. Well not really. By a strange coincidence, Sally (friend from Uni, and Marty's longest standing friend) appeared at that very park, and we talked for a bit. Turns out she was also going to Marty's farewell that night at the Ranch.
we left shortly after that coz we had to drop Brendan off at work.
On the way back from dropping him off, I asked Leanne if she thought we should go get tattoos together some day. She simply replied with the question "How about now?"
And why not?
So I decided on a design, and she decided on a design, and we headed over to Jon's (my) house, and she drew mine up. Fucking perfectly, I might add.
In the mean time, Jon left work sick, and arrived home as Leanne was finishing my design.
I called a few tattoo studios (the really good one is booked for a month), and decided on The Illustrated Man - even though the guy I really liked had gone home for the day.
Leanne couldn't quite get her design right, so she decided to finish (and start) it on the train.
Got there, had some Thai Food, and got the tattoo done in about 15-20 minutes.
Awesome.
Here it is:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a112/jademonkee/My2ndTat.jpg
and here is Leanne's:
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a112/jademonkee/20060923002.jpg
So yeah. Stoked. My tattoist didn't do as good a job as Leanne did, and he was a bit grumpy (Leanne's tattoist on the other hand was friendly enough and did a great job on her tattoo. Gaybo). But it was only ommisions that made my tattoo not as good as Leanne's original drawing, so at least I can get it added to if I feel the need. I eventually want to go to the good tattoo studio (that's booked out for a month or so), and get my first tattoo added to, and if I want, while I'm there I can talk to someone about adding some flare to my Boognish. Although it's the simplicity that I like.
Today Brendan, Leanne and I went to go look at their puppy. It's awesome. It's gonna be a nice addition to the household. I also met her biological Mother.
Also, Ross took me for a driving lesson (we practiced parking today), and came up with the idea to make chicken burgers for dinner. Holy shit they were fucking awesome. Fucking awesome.
We mixed in a special sweet chilli sauce, a but of lemon and cooked the chicken long with that sauce. Then we cooked some bacon and cooked the pineapple with the chicken, fried some capsicum, and warmed brie cheese on the chicken. We also added some lemon to some dijonaisse. Fucking awesome. Like FUCKING awesome.
We took one along to Brendan when we went to pick him up from work, and he said it was probably the best chicken burger he's ever had. Well done Ross.
So yeah. That's it.
Keep it rockin,
Listeningto: Jon talking to Helen on Skype. Hi Helen!
