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Totally

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Den at little beach.

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Fingal bay. Yay sunshine!

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dad and I scale mount tomaree

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hello, sunny port stephens

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Goodbye shitty, rainy Sydney.

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Smd

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Silent disco

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the big goon

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Lily pad

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finally, "everyone" meets up.

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oonce oonce

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it begins. Big day out 2009

so much farkin' culture, eh?

The Sydney festival has been kicking for a week or so now. There are always lots of cool things to see and do (some of them free) and I am making sure to take advantage of them.

I saw Lykke Li a few weeks back and she was fantastic. Unfortunately for her, she played on the first "school night" of the year so the crowd was flat and particularly unresponsive during songs (although they screamed and cheered after songs). She also had a DJ as a warm up act which I don't think did her any favours. She also started her set at 10:30pm which was way past most people's bed times. (mine anyway)

Still, I was blown away by her performance and her material transferred to a live show extremely well.

The following Saturday morning I got up at 4am and drove to Balmoral beach with Reed and Justin to see the Dawn Chorus. The Sydney Philharmonic Choir (100 voices) sang to the sunrise. The beach was packed and it was quite an eerie experience. I'd never woken up before dawn to specifically watch the sunrise before, although I've stayed up all night many a time. The choir was great, but I think listening to the birds was just as enjoyable, if not moreso (they've had a lot more practice singing to the sunrise).



Last Wednesday I went to Darling Harbour and saw Run Lola Run at the open air cinema. The Bays were playing a live, improvised soundtrack to the film. It was exceptional and the sound was great. I hope this format returns to the Sydney Festival next year.



Last night was the event I was really waiting for. The Black Kids were playing at my favourite live music venue, The Gaelic Club, and they were supported by Van She. I was accompanied by Greg, Jackie, Scott and Angela. As soon as I walked through the door and had greeted my friends Van She started their set with "The Cat and the Eye".

I saw Van She on the night of my birthday but I was pretty smashed so I couldn't remember most of it. The sound in the Gaelic was perfect and I was so impressed with their live performance. Their set was only about 45 minutes, but it was jam packed. The highlight was "Strangers", they played it more like their own Van She Tech remix. Very fun.

When The Black Kids took the stage they received an incredibly warm response from the crowd. Their first track was Rock Wichoo which set the crowd off. I haven't seen a sydney crowd jump around so much in ages. Everyone was singing and dancing and screaming. It was kick-arse. I don't know how many times I heard myself or others say, "I love this song".



They played their whole album and finished with I'm not going to teach your boyfriend how to dance, which was such a joyous experience. For their encore they played Jonathan Richman's I was dancing in a lesbian bar followed by Hurricane Jane which completely went off as well.

After buying a tshirt and walking outside into the fresh air, I was greeted by fellow revellers, all of them wearing ear to ear smiles.

Big Day Out is this Friday so I'll get to go and see the Black Kids again, as well as Infusion, Prodigy, Hot Chip, TV on the Radio, Ting Tings, Holy Ghost, Simian Mobile Disco, Stereogamous, Seymour Buttz, Wow, I heart Hiroshima etc etc... YAY!

Put the kettle on.

I haven't made a real post on here since before my birthday, and that was 3 or so months ago. I don't know why I had a break from blogging, I guess I just couldn't be bothered, I am very lazy by nature and it usually takes all my energy to do just about anything.

My birthday was sensational, I caught up with loads of friends, I saw Van She, I got completely spoiled and on the Monday morning I went to work, had a coffee and a slice of cake and went home with my workmates' blessings (even though I felt great).

Bina's Hens' Night Cruise was a laugh and her wedding was the best I've been to. Short speeches at the beginning and lots of drunken dancing the rest of the time.

Oh, I'm back on the booze, it's all good. I still drink a little too much sometimes, but I learned from my 100 days without.

At the work Xmas party I didn't make an ass of myself. :) The guy who wanted to beat the living shit out of me last year DID make a fool out of himself. I have to admit I felt good about that... but then I felt guilty that it made me feel good. I just can't shake that Catholic guilt.

I went to Star City casino with Jackie and a couple of other mates for Xmas and got trashed, it was very fun and very wrong. It was my first xmas without Mum and Dad (they were up the coast) and it was really weird. It was also my first xmas in 5 or more years without Chris. I really missed him.

RE: Chris. We have been on again/off again for a few yrs but 2008 we were somewhere in between, it all came to a head in October and I haven't spoken to him since. I miss him, but I am slowly adjusting to being single. I'm sure we'll cross paths when the time is right.

I spent 5 days in Lismore to celebrate NYE which was a fantastic experience. I caught up with friends from Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand. I saw some amazing storms, went to the beach, had a fantastic dance on NYD, had some cuddles and kisses, blah blah blah. I've already booked my accommodation for next year.

Late last year I sent an application form to ACAP to begin a Bachelor of Applied Social Science (Counselling) part-time. On Tuesday afternoon I had a meeting with the Course Advisor, Jack. He asked me a few questions and I told him what he wanted to hear. Now I just need to keep my eyes peeled for an acceptance letter :) He made it sound like a formality, it's all very exciting.

That is all the noteworthy stuff that springs to mind (although my memory is pretty fucked)

I did get broken into one afternoon in December, and the bastards stole my iPod and some cash, but I am very proud of how I took it all in my stride. I have become a little concerned about security at home, but the real estate agent is coming over tomorrow to see if we can do something about it.

2009 is going to be a very different year to the last few years and it will take a little adjustment. I don't really have a new year's resolution but I'm going to concentrate on strengthening existing friendships rather than making new ones. I am spreading myself a little thin these days.

Oh, and I'm going to stop drunken-blogging so much.

The picture is something I did for a calendar at work.

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tasty