kookyknut

Inquisition: Rebooted

2010-07-22T08:28:00.004+10:00

Even thought I wasn't feeling very well on Saturday night, I donned my leather pants and made my way to Inquisition, the Sydney Leather Pride Association's annual dance party.

After a brief wait in line, I was let in by friendly security guards to discover the beautiful venue that is The Arthouse. After checking my coat I made my way to the dancefloor to bump into a mate from Melbourne. I spent most of the evening bumping into friends I rarely see, or hadn't seen since last year's inquisition.

The music was pretty fun all night. Stephen Allkins started things off nicely, and my night really took off when I had a great dance to Love Tattoo's Drop Some Drums. I finally got to have a dance to one of Mike Kelly's sets... a great mix of techno and the occasional cheesy track. Sveta finished off the night but I didn't last too long after she started her set.

All-in-all a great party (and definitely worth calling in sick on Monday for). Great staff/security, beautiful venue, friendly/sexy crowd, pretty cool tunes, and lots of great friends too. Definitely the best party I've been to in a while.

Thanks, SLPA.

A bit of a catch-up

2010-07-13T07:58:00.003+10:00

A month or so back I went to Tetsuya's for Reed's 40th. Fucking amazing! Such beautiful food, exceptional service, and wonderful company. There were so many photos taken that evening so I've been waiting for them to appear on the interwebs (there's still no sign of them).

I won tickets to see Cassette Kids a fortnight ago, I hadn't really heard much of their music but I was really blown away by their live show. Their album has been on high rotation on iTunes ever since.

Last night was the opening of the Sydney Leather Pride Artspace Exhibition. I had entered one work in the exhibition. It is the first time I've done anything like this in over ten years. I was a bit freaked out yesterday; I decided that my artwork was shit, and that I hated it. Once I got there I ran into some friends and my nerves disappeared. There were some really beautiful pieces. A few of my friends sold their works and I was really pleased for them.

I didn't think I had any hope of winning the People's Choice prize, but Leesa (my friend and the curator) insisted I stay until the award was announced, as it would be rude to leave. I did as I was told and was completely shocked when I was awarded the Packer's Prize. I won a ticket to Inquisition and a massage. :D

Target Demographic

2010-06-09T09:08:00.002+10:00

A few years back I signed up with a market research company. Every week or so I receive an email containing a brief questionnaire to see if I am suitable for some upcoming paid market research. I recently received a questionnaire regarding a particular product segment. I tweaked my answers to what I thought the target demographic would be, and bingo! An hour later I received a phone call booking me in.

I forgot how fun market research can be. Nine people from all walks of life who would usually never cross paths, talking in depth about what they want and need, brain-storming ideas and laughing a lot... for two hours, then leaving, never to see each other again.

Although it was a really late session (finishing well past my bed-time) I felt completely energised on the way home. I guess I miss the creative work at Toolbox a bit, but I don't miss the clients, or the fuckwit account manager (who I'm told is hated by all the new people who work there).

Winner!

2010-06-03T15:40:00.001+10:00

In my email (from College):

Congratulations!

You have been selected from the pool of respondents who expressed interest in testing the online re-enrolment system as a winner of one of the $50 Co-Op Book Shop vouchers!

You will receive your voucher in the mail shortly.

Kind Regards,

The ACAP Team

"Expressed interest" are the operative words here. When I received the documents for testing, I hit a stumbling block almost instantly and didn't bother testing the software.

YAY! $50! :)

Good without God.

2010-05-27T10:47:00.003+10:00

A member of my family has a habit of sending me whatever funny racist emails are going around the internet at the time. I usually get annoyed, delete them and pretend I never got them. I know better than to try and change their way of thinking about certain subjects.

I got two emails off this person today, and both of them were of the funny racist variety. They they were both so stupid and ill-informed that I really wanted to show this person how ignorant they can be.

I thought I would find an anti-Catholic email and send it their way to see how they liked being on the receiving end of someone disrespecting their beliefs. I couldn't really find anything suitable on the net when I searched.

I drafted this email:

Hi ******,

I really don't like receiving these racist emails.

I had a look on the internet to see what I could find in the way of anti-Catholic emails, but when I searched google for "catholic hypocrisy" I was daunted by the task of sifting through 1.1 million results.

Please don't send them to me anymore.

x Tim.

I thought about it for a little while, then deleted the middle paragraph and hit send.

School, art, thin, beer.

2010-05-26T07:47:00.004+10:00

I've been on school holidays for the last week and a half, and I haven't known what to do with myself. I usually have a voice in my head telling me that I should be doing schoolwork, but I've been wandering around in a bit of a daze.

On Monday I had a friend model for me for an art project that I'm working on. I hadn't worked with a model before, and I think I rushed the process a little bit. Having looked through the photos last night I realised some things I could have done differently, but I'm pleased with how it is going so far, and some of the images have real potential.

In other news, I'm thin. I don't exactly know when it happened, but I looked in the mirror the other day, and I've definitely shed some KGs. I'm up to week 7 of my "Couch to 5km" program and I can now run for 25 minutes non-stop... go me!

I had a few friends over for beers on Saturday, and although it was a bit of a novelty, I'm not really into booze anymore. Weird.

Here's a sneak peek of what I'm working on (click to enlarge):

Whoa-oh, I'm half-way there

2010-05-17T07:46:00.004+10:00

Whoa-OH! It's time to have a be-er!

What an intense couple of weeks I've had! After handing in my fist two assessments I had three weeks to complete another two 2000 word essays. I handed in my last assessment yesterday morning, so I'm feeling a great sense of relief and accomplishment.

I got two of my assessments back from being marked; I received a Distinction and a High Distinction. Woo-hoo! Last year I gave myself an incentive to get a High Distinction which I'd reward myself with a tattoo, so I'm thinking I'll get one when I'm in NYC. I'm going to base it on this design:

Yes, I know, I'm a nerd.

Last week I also hit 100 days of being alcohol free. I'm really used to it now, but I guess that's also because I'm not going out a hell of a lot.

I've decided to have a bit of a piss-up at my place next weekend. There are some people who I've missed having a beer with, and dare I say they've missed having a beer with me too. So I'm going to have a blow-out, regroup, then I'm back to water and diet coke until I fly out in August.

Only 104 more sleeps until I fly out, and only four more essays between now and then.

My first overdose

2010-05-12T18:11:00.003+10:00

When I was about 12, my mum bought a tin of Milo for us kids. With four kids in the house a tin of Milo never lasted very long. After I noticed the tin in the cupboard I thought to myself, "Fuck my brothers and sister, this time I'm going to make sure I get my fair share".

That afternoon I made up a glass of Milo, probably about a 50/50 mix of milk and Milo. It was delicious. After that I made myself another glass, then another glass. It was excellent and I was very pleased with my greediness.

That night I woke up during the night with a really itchy head.

I scratched and scratched and scratched.

When I got up in the morning, bleary eyed I checked my scalp for what I assumed was knits (having never had them before). There was no sign of knits, so off to school I went.

As the day progressed my neck started to get itchey, so

I scratched and scratched and scratched.

By the end of the day my entire torso was covered in enormous hives. Mum took me to the doctor who told me that it was the worst allergic reaction he had ever seen. It seemed to be subsiding so he left me with the warning that if it went anywhere near my mouth, or if my tongue started to swell, to get my arse to hospital.

A couple of hours later I was playing with my neighbours. I noticed my lips were getting a bit tingly, so I told mum and she took me straight to hospital. When I arrived they gave me some strange little blue pills, and then gave me an injection in my stomach. Hardcore! I hung around for a couple of hours, and went home as right as rain.

The doctor told me to write down everything I had eaten in the last 24 hours to see if I could identify anything new I had eaten which may have caused the allergic reaction. Milo was obviously the culprit. When you look at the Nutrition Information Panel (or NIP if you are in the packaging business) on a Milo can, a suggested serving size contains twice your recommended daily intake for pretty much everything, including vitamin A, B, C etc.

It's no wonder my body freaked out.

I haven't had any Milo since.

super gay

2010-05-03T08:15:00.004+10:00

Pasqual, me, and some randoms.

Things really picked up since my trio of cancellations last week.

I went out to dinner with Leesa, Huon, Robin, Ange and Aaron on Wednesday night. I hadn't seen any of them in months so it was nice to catch up over dinner and eat way too much Peking duck. On the walk home I felt so completely content, and loved (and stuffed). I was a little amazed at how such a low key event could make me feel so good.

On Saturday I had my last class for Counselling Skills 2. It was bittersweet. I really hated going to school on Saturdays, but the day always flew by because it was practical, interesting and engaging. Let's hope next term is as rewarding.

On Saturday night I went to Club Kooky. The theme was Kooky Super Gay. I had trouble deciding whether to wear my Britney and Madonna kissing t-shirt with leather pants, or my pink overalls with rainbow t-shirt. I opted on the latter.

The music was really good. Really, really good. I danced for hours and hours which I haven't done in ages. I caught up with lots of people I love, and I didn't really bother engaging with any new people which was ok.

Pasqual and me.

Great Expectations

2010-04-29T11:53:00.002+10:00

Last weekend was a long-weekend thanks to ANZAC day. I had plans to catch up with someone on Sunday night, and someone on Monday afternoon. Plenty of opportunity to have some fun, right? Both of them blew me off (not in a good way) at the last minute.

I was climbing the walls on Monday morning so I phoned a neighbour (who is also in my class) and we had a coffee and I had a bit of a social fix. On the way there I ran into a neighbour/friend, I promised him years ago that I would make lamb chops for him. I told him I had chops in the fridge, he was excited and told me to pick a day, so I picked Wednesday. We've been running into each other a bit lately, so I thought it would be a nice way to solidify the friendship.

Before I left work yesterday afternoon I emailed him and asked him what time he normally ate. I went home via the supermarket and picked up some last things for dinner. When I got home I started cleaning, cooking etc. I heard my phone bleep and I just fucking knew he was going to cancel.

Shit Shit Shit Shit I forgot about dinner tonight, shit shit shit shit.

Can we rain check, forgot I had something on already, shit shit shit.

This infuriated me for a variety of reasons:

1) Cancelling via SMS? Rude, gutless, tacky.

2) I blew the remainder of my pay on ingredients that I could have done without.

3) Some of my limited spare time was wasted.

I was disappointed and angry. I guess it didn't help that I'd been cancelled on twice over the weekend. I started wondering what I was doing wrong. Why have I been having so much trouble connecting with people? Do I expect too much from people?

I think I must.

The three people all had something in common, in that they are new people in my life. It made me realise that I have a whole bunch of reliable friends who I can have fun with. I love meeting new people, and getting to know them, but it would seem that new people are unreliable.

Well, fuck them, I say.

In a bid to increase fun levels in my life I've decided to plan at least one event per week with someone I love, and more importantly, someone dependable. Sure it's not spontaneous, but I'm getting a bit tired of my own company.

it's pronounced "piss-chick"

2010-04-13T13:16:00.004+10:00

A friend of mine who is a counsellor whom I have a very close and open friendship with sent me an SMS out of the blue this morning saying:

You've been popping into my head all morning. How are you? All OK?

I replied:

Sure, I'm fine, just a little conflicted over some stuff that has happened in the last couple of days.

I ended up elaborating a little on what was confusing me. Essentially my gut feeling was fighting with my tendency to see the best in people. My friend happened to have first hand experience with the person causing the conflict and happened to have some information pertaining to said conflict.

Fucking tops.

Hooray for psychic friends.

better late than whatever

2010-04-12T14:02:00.002+10:00

Nothing better to do

2010-04-12T11:30:00.003+10:00

This year I decided on four priorities that I wanted to focus most of my energy on:

1) Go to New York City

I've bought tickets, booked some accommodation, and savings are slowly growing. I'm on my way!

2) Study

I've been pretty good with my studies. I've done most of my reading, and I've practically finished two essays that aren't due in for another two weeks.

3) Health/Fitness

Not drinking since January has definitely improved my health, but my fitness is still in need of some work. I walk to and from work each day (25 minutes), but I need a bit more of a challenge. After work today I am starting the Couch to 5km program. In nine weeks I should be able to run 5km non-stop. My diet is fucked, but I am slowly working on that.

4) Fun

I just realised that fun is at #4 in my priorities. This is in complete violation of my mantra, fun is number one. I must be getting old. I'm not having as much fun as I usually do, but this is in part because I am not spending as much money on fun as I used do, as well as an increased study workload. I have a new friend who is also studying and claims to want to do fun and cheap things, but every time I check his facebook he seems to be off to the Opera House, or a $150 dance party.

So I guess I'm slowly getting there. It's nice to reflect on my progress over the last few months. It seems that I just need to have more fun, I used to know how to do that...

totes artistical and shit.

2010-04-06T07:57:00.002+10:00

I've been holding off on this post because I was hoping to receive some good news to share, but it doesn't appear that it's going to happen.

I am a member of a fan-page on Facebook called "Gay Boys with Beards". It's probably one of the most active pages I've become a fan of. It's quite fun and there is a nice sense of community on there, not to mention lots of nice eye-candy.

A couple of weeks ago the guy who runs the page set the members an artwork challenge. I accepted the challenge along with 20 or so other members. The winner was supposed to be announced over a week ago, and according to the votes, I won.

There has still been no word, and I'm a bit pissed off to be honest. I contacted the guy and he said he's moving so, "I'll get to it shortly I promise". Anyway, that was four days ago... and he hasn't stopped updating other stuff on the site.

So here is my winning entry. I think my self-portrait is more effective, but I still like it. I'd like to do some portraits of my beardy friends.

Bing!

2010-03-23T14:36:00.004+11:00

Look, it's my head!

I woke up at 4am today and went back to sleep. Then I woke up at 4:30 and was really, really awake. This was quite bizarre as I normally struggle to get my arse out of bed before 6am, and even then I'm still not awake.

After taking a shower I took the advice from one of my new favourite blogs zenhabits and wrote a list of all the things I wanted to achieve today. I sat there in the silence of the morning, with only my thoughts buzzing around my head, jotting down goals for the day, intermittently looking at my new-ish whiteboard (with bigger goals that I have to achieve on it) for inspiration.

I've chugged through most of my list and I feel like I've achieved quite a lot.

There is a post on zenhabits listing heaps of reasons for getting up early in the morning. I tried a few weeks back to reset my body clock with no luck, so I pretty much gave up. It just occurred to me now that yesterday I was reading about altering behavioural habits. I couldn't think of any behaviour that I wanted to change... but now it looks like I have.

Looks like I'll be my own guinea pig for the next month or so.

An Irish Blessing

2010-03-17T07:47:00.002+11:00

As you slide down the banisters of life, may the splinters never point the wrong way.

skool is cool

2010-03-16T07:29:00.003+11:00

This term I have my Counselling Skills 2 class every second Saturday. It's a pretty good group of people and my teacher is fantastic (it's the same one I had for Interpersonal Communication, I love her).

In the morning we did a practical exercise and I got teamed up with this chick Alex. We were asked to pick a real problem that wasn't too big or deep, or something that we had some "energy around" to talk about for 20 minutes. Alex was the counsellor, I was the client.

I spoke about all the shit that had gone on last weekend which had led me to feeling pretty shit. She barely said a word, and just listened (but she let me know she was listening through non-verbal communication, and asking the odd open question). It was the first time I've done one of these practical exercises and really got something out of it. By the end of the session I felt like a massive weight had been lifted from my shoulders, even though I thought I had already dealt with all the emotion surrounding the issues.

It makes me realise what a difference counselling can make to someone's life.

When we were debriefing after the session, I used Asteroids as a metaphor to describe my experience. I realised that a few things had happened in quick succession before I'd had time to process them. All the emotions snowballed into one big, heavy weight which seemed too much to bear. When I broke the big "ball of shit" - as I so eloquently put it - down into smaller pieces, they were easier to understand and process. I kept doing this until all the emotions were gone (or blasted away).

Uncultured

2010-03-09T07:57:00.005+11:00

This past weekend I was faced by some inner demons.

I went to several bars over the weekend catching up with friends who were in Sydney from out of town, and I also tried (unsuccessfully) to have a bit of a boogie at a dance party (shit music). For the most part I found it unbearable, and didn't stay much longer than an hour at each venue.

It's no wonder I usually self-medicate with alcohol to endure blaring music, overcrowded venues and drug-fucked idiots. And why the fuck were they playing porn on the TVs in the main bar of the Oxford Hotel?

I realised that I would have had fun if I had been drinking. It's not that I think that I can't have fun without drinking, I'm just going to have to be more selective about where I socialise if I want to avoid things that piss me off. I should keep in mind that it was Mardi Gras, and everywhere was crowded, and people like to overdo it at this time of year.

I also tried to get some study done over the weekend and my brain didn't like that idea at all. I read so much, but very little of it sunk in.

I caught up with George on Sunday afternoon for a chat and something he said hit a nerve with me and it compounded with all this other shit that was going through my head. By the time I got home I was pretty down in the dumps. There are a few people I would have liked to have talked to to sort my head out, but I knew they were unavailable. It always seems to happen like that (not that it happens very often).

I stuck on a couple of episodes of Kablam and that cheered me up a bit (and made me feel a little less like a grumpy old man). Yesterday morning I sent someone an email detailing what was going on in my head and it helped me unjumble all the emotions that were overwhelming me the night before.

So I'm feeling OK today. Not great, not good, OK. And that's fine with me.

There is a drinking culture that permeates through all of Australian society. It's impossible to escape, and as long as I'm not drinking I'm going to feel a little isolated.

[I realise this isn't the cheeriest post, but it ain't balloons and confetti all the time.]

Eight bucks

2010-03-02T10:20:00.005+11:00

I feel like I've been writing quite boring content recently. I thought that I'd share something with you that happened over the Xmas/NY break which I thought was quite funny.

For New Year's Eve/Day I flew up to Lismore to attend the Tropical Fruits festival. The night before I left I was lying in bed with a million things running through my head. I thought of a few extra things I should pack the following morning including an insulated bag for beer, some paper plates, a picnic rug and some cutlery.

The following morning I jumped out of bed and hastily packed these extra items while I made sure the house was locked up and that I hadn't forgotten anything I had thought of the night before. Before I knew it my friend, Marc, was downstairs waiting in his car to take me to the airport.

After arriving at the airport I checked in my luggage and made my way to the security check. Surprised that no-one made me remove my belt, I waited at the end of the conveyor belt to collect my carry-on luggage. It was only then that I noticed that my bag had been put to the side. I tried to catch the x-ray operator's attention, but he told me to wait. A couple of minutes later I was attended to by a supervisor asking me if I had any knives in my bag. Shit! I was in such a rush that I'd packed the cutlery in my carry-on luggage instead of my checked-in luggage. The guy was friendly enough, and I told him he could keep the butter knives, Lord knows what havoc I would wreak on the plane with them!

I ran into some friends at the gate, and they all proceeded to make fun of me. Lesson learned.

Flying home from Lismore (a small regional town) the security system was much different. Upon checking in, the staff member asked me if there was anything dangerous in my bag. "No" was my reply. No X-ray, no metal detector, nothing.

Two days later, back in Sydney, a friend arrived from out of town. I the spent the following four nights staying with him, with a bag I'd packed. At the end of his stay I took him to the aiport to see him off on his adventure to Melbourne. Not thinking I would be taking the bag I'd been living out of to the airport, it never crossed my mind to scrutinise what was inside it.

I showed my friend to the security screening area after he'd checked in, and I placed my bag on the X-ray machine conveyor belt. I saw the operator pull it off the conveyor belt and put it through the machine again. By this stage I could see the screen of the X-ray machine, and I could also see my pair of handcuffs sticking out like dogs balls. I had a bit of a chuckle to myself and told one of the attendants that I had some handcuffs in there.

He didn't seem to see the humorous side of things.

"Please come over here, sir"

I followed him to the table. "Sorry, mate, I have some handcuffs in there".

"Please remove them from your bag, sir."

Condoms, lube, there they are, handcuffs!

"Do you realise it's a federal offence to bring handcuffs into an airport?"

"Shit, no, sorry, I completely forget I had them in there!"

"I may need to call the federal police, I'll just check with my supervisor"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

After chatting with his supervisor and pointing at me, the supervisor, a lady of small stature with a thick Russian accent came over and started talking to my friend. They were both talking AT each other.

"EXCUSE ME! These are my handcuffs, can you please talk to ME!", I exclaimed.

The woman told me that I wasn't allowed to bring them into the airport.

No shit. "Keep them, they were eight bucks."

"Did you drive here, sir?"

"No, we caught the train"

"You can go and put them in your car if you like"

"No, we caught the train"

"Oh, you can't take them into the airport, if you like we can hold onto them until you leave."

WTF? Weren't you about to ring the cops on me?

"Keep them, they were eight bucks"

Then the guy with so sense of humor chimed in.

"They're not even real"

No shit, Sherlock. Eight bucks.

We walked away, and after the adrenalin rush subsided I realised what a bunch of cunts I was dealing with at security.

Seeing as my next flight is direct to NYC, I'd better be extra careful about what I pack in my carry-on. Maybe I'll just check all my bags in.

Testes, testes. 1, 2, 3.

2010-03-01T15:54:00.003+11:00

I've got a new phone and hopefully this will pop up on my blog

Assertiveness > Politeness

2010-02-25T20:34:00.005+11:00

This afternoon I had my neighbour, Nija, over to help her connect her mac to my wireless internet. It didn't take as long as expected, and the sun was shining so we decided to walk over to the pub for a beer (I had a diet coke). We were enjoying a chat and then my other neighbour, Sean, walked past.

I initially met Sean at the Oxford Hotel, he was working and he asked me if my name was Tim and if I lived at (my current address). I asked him how the fuck he knew and he said he lived next door to me and his housemate pointed me out to him as I walked past. It was kind of creepy

We finished our drinks and all walked back to our building together, then said our goodbyes.

Moments later he buzzed me and asked if he could hang out for a bit (for some retarded reason he and his housemate only have one security key). His housemate had gone walkabout and he couldn't get in touch with her.

I stupidly said yes. He came in with a shitload of beer and asked me if I'd like some. I replied, "no thanks, I'm not drinking".

"Why?"

"Several reasons"

And then the standard Australian response, "Are you sure you don't want some?"

We stood out on the balcony for a bit and made small talk while he smoked cigarettes and drank beer.

His phone bleeped and after checking it he informed me that his housemate was off somewhere scoring pot and would be an hour.

Sure he can hang out. "I guess it's only an hour", I thought.

I really wasn't in the mood to entertain so I kept whacking Simpsons episodes on, expecting his housemate to arrive home at any time. I wasn't making any conversation and just kept watching telly.

I was starving so I cooked myself dinner and didn't offer him any because I wanted him to get the fuck out of my house. I can't believe how annoying I was finding his presence. I really love living alone, and I really love my own company.

"A little longer, Tim, a little longer", I kept telling myself.

After his fourth visit to the bathroom and three longnecks of beer (plus the schooner at the pub) he came and sat down next to me, a little too close.

*sigh* "Here we go", I thought.

Then he tried to put the moves on me, stinking of beer and cigarettes. I put my hand up and said "no".

"Why?"

"I don't want to"

"Why?"

"I just don't want to"

"but I thought..." blah blah blah.

"No"

He sent a text message and guess what? His housemate replied almost instantly and had just arrived home.

He left, three hours after arriving. Now I'm in a shitty mood because he stole my fucking night. I didn't have anything planned but I'm sure I would have come up with something better than entertaining his sorry arse. I can't even watch Simpsons to cheer myself up because I've already been watching it for the past three hours.

Grumble, grumble.

>:(

oh, Academia.

2010-02-25T08:35:00.002+11:00

I started back at school on Tuesday night. It was great to be back. There are three cool chicks in my class that I enjoyed studying with last term. This term I am completing the modules Introduction to Psychology and Counselling Skills 2.

I've really been looking forward to Introduction to Psychology, I've always had an interest in what makes people (and myself) tick. Although the lesson was supposed to introduce us to Psychology and giving us an idea of what we would be learning about, most of it went over my head and I couldn't really grasp what the teacher was trying to teach us. I put it down to the fact that he didn't have a lesson plan and was happy to go off on a tangent for 3 hours. It was pretty interesting, but I didn't feel like I learned anything. I was confident that after I read the course guide I'd have a better idea of what was going on.

I was wrong. I didn't have a clue how much biology would be involved in the basics. I finished about half of my reading last night and it took some serious concentration, particularly because my brain has been on holidays for a few months.

I've resigned myself to the fact that this year I am going to save lots of money, which means less partying, which will give me more time to study, which should take the pressure off when assessment dates draw nearer. It's win/win, right? Then why the fuck do I still struggle to sit down with a book?

My goals for yesterday were to clean the house, do my washing and do some study. Washing - done. House - clean. Study - I'll start in 5 minutes. Why the fuck must I procrastinate? I really need to do something about this. Time to google some study tips.

For the record I did do some study, and it wasn't all that painful.

My Left Foot

2010-02-22T13:04:00.003+11:00

I woke up with a sore knee on Tuesday morning. I thought I'd "walk it off" and this worked pretty well but when I sat down at work my left foot was in quite a bit of discomfort. I thought it would sort itself out, but by Thursday morning I was in quite a bit of pain. I went to the doctor and got some x-rays (and pain-killers) and the results were "normal", meaning I hadn't fractured anything.

My foot felt much better yesterday, but it's still feeling a bit tender/tight at the moment.

On the upside, the x-rays are really cool. I'll have to scan them in when I get a chance. I booked in to see my podiatrist, so I'll just have to wait and see what Dr Duffin has to say.

Start spreading the news...

2010-02-17T13:00:00.003+11:00

...I'm leaving in about 6 months (to New York, in case you didn't guess)!

I've wanted to visit NYC for years but my goal seemed unreachable for one reason or the other. Ending a relationship and having to get my life together took me a while. GFC completely fucked the exchange rate and made travelling to the US terribly expensive. Being made redundant screwed me over... blah blah blah.

Well, 2010 is the year! Yesterday I started looking at airfares and noticed that some of the cheaper fares had already been snapped up. I transferred some funds from my savings account yesterday afternoon, jumped online today and booked a return airfare to NYC.

How fucking exciting!

I'm also going to pop in to Toronto for a week to visit some friends, including Dennit who I had a great time with when he was in Sydney.

I'm also planning on visiting a friend in Miami, but plans are still sketchy.

Right now I need to concentrate on saving my arse off.

Good Vibrations

2010-02-15T14:39:00.006+11:00

Greg, Spliffy and me

On Saturday I went to the Good Vibrations festival. It was the only festival I bought a ticket to this Summer. The main acts I wanted to see were Basement Jaxx, Friendly Fires and Salt'n'Pepa. At the last minute The Killers (who were supposed to be headlining) and Friendly Fires cancelled. I was a bit annoyed about Friendly Fires, but I saw them last year so I was sort of glad when they announced that one of the band members would be doing a DJ set instead.

The weather was pretty crappy, but that didn't dampen my spirits. Salt'n'Pepa were heaps of fun. The crowd were really into it. They started their set with some songs I was unfamiliar with, then played favourites Shoop, Whattaman, Let's Talk About Sex. and then Spindarella dropped some classic sing-a-longs like Shout, Celebrate, I Will Survive and the crowd were all really getting into it. Out of nowhere the oh-so-familiar Push it got dropped and the crowd completely went nuts. Fuck it was fun. Spliffy and I were bumping and grinding (quite poorly).

When they finished and the crowd had quietened down a bit they started talking about God. WTF? That's exactly what a bunch of drunk and drug fucked people want to hear about!

Friendly Fires DJ set was pretty average (and a little disappointing) compared to sets I've downloaded.

Basement Jaxx completely blew me away. Even though I've seen them heaps of times they still put on a great show with lots of surprises. Great costumes, dancing and lots of FUN :) The energy was electric, and dancing in the rain was special too. I can't really put it into words.

Sunday was a complete write-off and a timely reminder why I can't party while I'm at school.

ZOMFG!

2010-02-12T09:53:00.008+11:00

I've been inspired by Buffalo Void's return to blogging to get my arse into gear and get my blog happening again. A culmination of my camera-phone breaking and general laziness has let blogging fall by the wayside.

The last 6ish months in a snapshot:

•Got made redundant from work

•I got a credit and a distinction from that teacher I didn't like.

•Got a new job just down the road about 2 weeks later (they pay me more and I work less - it was pretty fucking stressful though)

•Finished another two modules at school.

•I saw the Presets in concert again and they were amazing. I also saw Friendly Fires and they rocked too.

•Went down to Melbourne for my birthday and caught up with some mates.

•Had a killer birthday/housewarming party at my place.

•Went to see Britney Spears (and loved it - tragic, I know).

•Three weddings in three weeks. (Two in one weekend)

•Drank my own weight in beer, several times over.

•Had a super relaxing time at Tropical Fruits in Lismore over New Year's Eve/Day and enjoyed catching up with mates from all over Australia.

•Had an amazing yet fleeting time with a gorgeous man from Toronto who was visiting Sydney.

•Stacked on a few KGs

•Relaxed, relaxed, relaxed.

That pretty much brings you up to date. I'm on holidays from college at the moment and I was spending my spare time lazing around the house completely relaxing. I was enjoying it for a while, but then I realised I needed to get proactive.

I wrote down a whole bunch of goals for 2010, and things I need to do to achieve them. I've discovered the power of writing things down, so that is also another incentive to get my blog happening again.

I've decided another goal I want to achieve is to write at least one blog entry a week.

Here are some pictures from the last 6 months, because text heavy posts are so boring.

Bina, Leesa, me and Aaron at Leesa's Birthday shenanigans (also the day I was made redundant)

My birthday

Me and Jackie at the RearView's Xmas shindig.

Robin and me at Baddog: Love-in

Me and Dennit

funk

2009-07-15T13:01:00.003+10:00

I've been in a bit of a funk lately - so i thought i'd write about it in the hopes that it would be a cathartic exercise.

I love my new place so I've been spending quite a bit of time at home, which I've really enjoyed. Unfortunately, I forgot that I can't study at home; I get REALLY easily distracted. My studies have suffered a little bit. Well, they haven't actually suffered, but I've been procrastinating, and when I procrastinate it puts me in a foul mood. My teacher is a bit of a loser as well, so he hasn't exactly been a source of inspiration (I forgot how much of a difference a shit teacher makes)

I've had a bit of a case of the flu as well which means I've been housebound and not really in the mood for reading anything

It's not until sitting down at the computer now that I've really thought through why i've been feeling so shit, and now that i've broken it all down I feel a hell of a lot better. I felt much better yesterday as soon as i started downloading some articles for school.

blah blah blah

I feel better now. HOORAY!

Thank fuck... I don't handle being depressed very well.

so.

2009-06-12T11:08:00.002+10:00

Life has been changing rapidly and I LOVE it :)

I just glanced over my last post and it's nice to know that I've come a long way since then.

I finished my first term of school a few weeks back and I received 2 x High Distinctions, one for each of my essays. I'm really proud of myself. BTW. I LOVE school :)

I found the course particularly confronting at times and really useful in how I communicate with others. My listening skills have improved dramatically, I'm more assertive (who would have thought that was possible), I am managing my emotions better and I am more aware of my prejudices (which will help me to become less judgmental).

I learned that expressing my emotions when I communicate gives my message a lot more meaning, so it is important for me to understand how I feel, and to actually put effort into knowing exactly what I feel.

In other news, I was "expiration dating" this guy who was moving to Melbourne. I sort of fell for him a bit, probably because he was moving away. I'm heading down to Melbourne for a mate's b'day party next weekend so I will catch up with him then. I can't wait to party with my Melbourne friends.

I moved house last weekend. By complete fluke I discovered my neighbour was moving out, so I checked out his pad and discovered it shits all over my old place. 2 weeks later I was all moved in and living the high-life. More space, a huge lounge area and a balcony.

Nothing else to report really. Work is kinda giving me the shits, but as of next term I am going to double my study workload so that by this time next year I should have a Diploma in counselling, so hopefully i can leave this job and do something in the counselling industry. I might even be able to study full-time and finish my degree more quickly :)

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2009-05-17T02:08:00.001+10:00

I'm really going to miss Joe

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2009-04-24T00:26:00.001+10:00

huh?

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2009-04-16T22:05:00.001+10:00

Totes interessant

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2009-04-13T19:35:00.001+10:00

What pub is complete without an extra-large book on the human anatomy?

long time no blog

2009-03-26T15:27:00.005+11:00

I started school 5 weeks ago.

I've begun a degree in Counselling (a bachelor of applied social science)

It's been a baptism of fire but I think I finally have my shit together. I am the least freaked-out individual of all the people in my class, but I must admit I have been through lots of highs and lows, and on several occasions I contemplated dropping out due to stress.

From speaking to other people in my class I discovered that I'm not the only one who has been shitting themselves, or been completely stressed out.

I have a 2000 word essay due in a week and a half which I have sort of started, i'm still collecting information, but I think writing the essay will be the easiest part of the process.(fingers crossed)

A couple of weeks ago we were encouraged to start a journal to document our experiences. The module I am studying is called Interpersonal Communication and a lot of it focuses on the self and developing one's communication skills.

I considered myself to be a pretty good listener, but after a little bit of study I realise I need a lot of practice. It's really difficult to listen to someone and completely detach from your own process and focus on them and their process; to put yourself in their shoes and listen to what they are really saying. My goal is to be able to be able to listen empathetically without having to remind myself to, it's very difficult.

Other things I should note that I've learned about myself:

I read about "disclosure of information". When is the ideal time to disclose information about yourself, but the thing that interested me was WHY we disclose information. I tend to disclose inappropriate information to people I barely know. I did it again last night and today I questioned myself as to why I did it.

I think when I don't know someone very well but I like them, I have no reservations in telling them anything, perhaps it's in the hopes that this will make them like me (or perhaps i think it creates a kind of intimacy). I think it potentially has the opposite effect. They might think I am trying to big-note myself, when in actual fact that isn't the case. Still, it's something for me to work on. At least now I know why i do it i can hopefully recognise when I am going to do it and stop myself.

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2009-03-25T21:50:00.001+11:00

Sia

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2009-03-14T16:35:00.001+11:00

Get in early!

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2009-03-13T17:38:00.001+11:00

Special junk mail!

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2009-03-03T22:22:00.001+11:00

FUCK I LOVE BASEMENT JAXX

laziness & prettiness

2009-02-12T13:44:00.002+11:00

so i've been light on text, heavy on photos.

let's mix it up a bit with a shit-hot video.

this is really beautiful, I'm not exactly sure what it is.

SCINTILLATION from Xavier Chassaing on Vimeo.

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2009-02-08T16:25:00.001+11:00

chris liebing at 10 warehouse party

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2009-02-07T13:01:00.001+11:00

More bondi

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2009-02-07T11:19:00.001+11:00

bondi beach, for joe.

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2009-02-01T00:52:00.001+11:00

mad racket atBecks bar:) sydney festival. Fucked up

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2009-02-01T00:12:00.001+11:00

Awww

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2009-01-31T11:59:00.001+11:00

Totally

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2009-01-28T13:28:00.001+11:00

Den at little beach.

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2009-01-28T11:01:00.001+11:00

Fingal bay. Yay sunshine!

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2009-01-28T10:16:00.001+11:00

dad and I scale mount tomaree

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2009-01-27T17:06:00.001+11:00

hello, sunny port stephens

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2009-01-27T10:46:00.001+11:00

Goodbye shitty, rainy Sydney.

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2009-01-23T18:47:00.001+11:00

Smd

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2009-01-23T16:52:00.001+11:00

Silent disco

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2009-01-23T15:30:00.001+11:00

the big goon

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2009-01-23T15:02:00.001+11:00

Lily pad

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2009-01-23T13:08:00.001+11:00

finally, "everyone" meets up.

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2009-01-23T11:50:00.001+11:00

oonce oonce

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2009-01-23T10:52:00.001+11:00

it begins. Big day out 2009

so much farkin' culture, eh?

2009-01-21T09:22:00.007+11:00

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.

2009-01-09T14:03:00.002+11:00

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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2009-01-03T13:14:00.001+11:00

tasty

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2008-12-31T22:05:00.001+11:00

Tropical fruits. Yay

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2008-12-31T15:22:00.001+11:00

the big Prawn, ballina

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2008-12-30T19:47:00.000+11:00

Pretty.

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2008-12-30T19:35:00.001+11:00

Happy.

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2008-12-30T09:57:00.001+11:00

the big banana. And aaron. On my way to lismore for new years. Woo hoo!

ZOMG

2008-12-18T23:23:00.002+11:00

I was all geared up for a catch-up, but i've just received a call from jack so it's not going to happen right now. well that was worth reading, wasn't it? ..... anyway. i just had the best brand experience at mcdonalds. i walked up there, ordered a lge big mac value meal and a cheeseburger, the guy repeated my order and then said ok, then he started asking people how to make it, but he had me fooled that he knew what he was doing. then when he went to serve my chips, i said i wanted fresh ones because the chips were shit. and i told him i used to do his job and the chips were worth waiting for and he smiled at me. i waited a small eternity and i have just eaten the chips
great chips.

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2008-12-18T17:55:00.001+11:00

Totally hot with Eve.

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2008-12-18T16:21:00.001+11:00

i am so there.

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2008-12-18T13:55:00.001+11:00

Mmm... Smog

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2008-12-18T13:51:00.001+11:00

Manly. You might need a magnifying glass.

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2008-12-18T13:31:00.001+11:00

late for lunch. Faster!

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2008-12-18T13:30:00.001+11:00

Rose bay

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2008-12-18T12:26:00.001+11:00

middle harbour

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2008-12-13T21:53:00.001+11:00

happy birthday paul. X

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2008-12-12T23:32:00.001+11:00

Wee

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2008-12-12T15:35:00.001+11:00

for jackie

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2008-11-30T19:26:00.001+11:00

gaz

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2008-11-30T17:08:00.001+11:00

oh on you di'n't

for simon

2008-11-29T01:23:00.000+11:00

Simon was begging me to make an entry on my blog so I thought I would oblige him. (Are you happy now, Simon?)

I have been to Jackie's house before, on many occasions. On each occasion when I have ventured to the bathroom and lifted the toilet seat to take a wazz, the toilet seat has crashed down in front of me when both hands have been busy my unzipping my fly. I have ended up resorting to holding the toilet seat up with one hand awkwardly as I weed one-handed, or pulling my pants down when I have been drunk and lazy.

Jackie is my bestie and when i get fired and evicted i don't want to have to worry about weeing on the toilet seat when i wake up in the middle of the night after i've passed her sleeping on the lounge when i walk to do a wee!!!

when i closed the bathroom doori after me I fell to me knees and groaned (it's been a while). My fingers fumbled before they got busy unscrewing the wingnuts on the toilet seat. I slowly pulled the seat forward. When i had gathered my thoughts I pulled the seat foward a little more, then a little more and a little more. Then I tightened the wingnuts.

I lifted the toilet seat and it didn't fall down.

Gentlemen, you owe me.

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2008-11-12T18:34:00.001+11:00

Sinking beers with muz in the x

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2008-11-04T20:43:00.001+11:00

i love jackie. And muzbot.

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2008-11-03T17:34:00.001+11:00

Cute

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2008-11-02T13:22:00.001+11:00

on the gayest cruise ever.

On being cool:

2008-10-30T08:38:00.004+11:00

Over the last few mornings I've been catching the train to and from work because the weather has been shitty. I've been listening to so much new music lately that I got a sudden urge to listen to some of my old favourites from 10-12 years ago. This morning it occurred to me that these were the songs that I used to listen to at full-blast on my walkman on the way to and from school, hoping that everyone on the train would hear it and be annoyed by it (because I was so cool). I found myself this morning making sure my volume wasn't too loud for fear of annoying anyone.

Little Timmy's growing up.

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2008-10-17T17:56:00.001+11:00

Beer. Yay!

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2008-10-11T02:02:00.001+11:00

Gay.

Romance is not dead.

2008-10-02T13:06:00.005+10:00

Last Thursday I went out for drinks with work colleagues to farewell our glorified receptionist. It turned into quite a big night. We headed back to a B-Grade celebrity's house for more drinks and got rather pissed. I decided to walk home and as I crossed Oxford St a cute-ish guy in a car made eyes at me and I smiled. As I walked past he offered me crystal meth and sex.

That soon wiped the smile off my face.

Last night I had plans to catch up with a few friends and for various reasons the night was cut short before it had really begun. I phoned a friend to see if they wanted to catch up and as I did a rather cute, nerdy looking guy smiled at me and I smiled back. Not a moment later I heard a car horn and as I craned my neck to see who it was, it was cute-nerd-guy poking his head out from his car. Again, I smiled back and giggled like a schoolgirl that someone beeped their horn at me.

Walking up the street I was feeling quite pleased with myself and relayed the events to my friend who I was still on the phone to. I got to a set of lights and as I waited for the little green man to appear, cute-nerd-guy popped up right in front of me, greeting me with yet another smile. I smiled back as he handed me his card and ran back to his car.

After I crossed the street and composed myself, I ended my call and read the card.

If you're single & free call me. You're cute. x Cute-nerd-guy

awww

how romantical.

I emailed him today to tell him I wasn't available but thanking him for making my evening. I told him if I saw him out I'd love to buy him a drink.

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2008-09-27T21:40:00.001+10:00

OMG that bridge is upsidedoxn

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2008-09-27T21:22:00.001+10:00

some bridge

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2008-09-27T21:18:00.001+10:00

opera house. Fancy

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2008-09-17T18:26:00.001+10:00

I was blinking! Tastes great

Mission: Complete

2008-09-15T09:49:00.006+10:00

So today is day 101 of no booze. Hooray for me! I already have some sparkling-wine market-research lined up for Thursday night so that should be a nice way to ease myself back into the swing of things before my birthday on Friday. Before I fall off the wagon I want to make some notes from an alcohol free POV.

Firstly, I feel pretty good. It's probably a combination of walking to work and keeping a bit of an eye on my diet but I can't deny that getting out of bed in the morning is much easier without a hangover. I went out to a club on a Thursday night a few weeks ago and struggled to get out of bed after a short sleep. As I dragged my arse out of bed I thanked my lucky stars that I didn't have a hangover to deal with on top of my sleep deprivation.

I had mixed reactions from people when I told them I had chosen not to drink for 100 days. I had 3 main reactions:

1) Support/praise. "Excellent, Tim. What a great idea"
2) Self-examination. "I could never do that"
3) Intolerance. "What is wrong with you?", "Have a drink"

I got sick of telling people that I wasn't drinking, and on occasion I told people I was on antibiotics and couldn't drink but they still encouraged me to drink. People who I work with were very supportive but one in particular disappointed me greatly at a very extravagant work lunch. The Bolinger was flowing and we were celebrating a number of things. As I was offered a glass I said "no thanks" and my co-worker said, "go on, you can have one, no-one will know"

I was very frustrated by her words but it only confirmed my suspicions that she is a fuck-wit, but I digress, I guess she just didn't realise that I was doing this for myself.

Australia is full of people with alcohol problems, but because alcohol is legal, people forget it is a drug, and alcoholism is accepted. Eg. Several of my workmates (including my boss) come to work with hangovers and have no qualms about mentioning that they have hangovers (whenever I came to work with a hangover I never mentioned it, it seems unprofessional to me).

I came to analyse my own alcohol use, and why other people use it. In social situations where I didn't know anyone I found myself a little uncomfortable at first but as soon as people loosened up a bit (after a few drinks) I felt quite comfortable with my sobriety. I can socialise for hours with people when they drink (even heavily) but at a certain point I tire of their beer breath and bullshit stories. I am suprised, however, by how long I can enjoy their company.

I also realised how much I love beer. On several occasions when I was out dancing/partying I was truly craving a beer. About 2 weeks ago and I even seriously contemplated having one after about 10 diet cokes/soda waters.

It is harder to say no to free booze.

I enjoy a social drink (getting a little bit tipsy/relaxed and catching up/talking shit), and I also enjoy drinking to get drunk. I think after a few social drinks I had no problem in finding an excuse in getting completely smashed. In hindsight I realise that this was affecting my quality of life. I had gained weight from drinking (heavily) several times a week, and I was also working with hangovers, not to mention how much money I was spending on booze.

How will I alter my behaviour now that I feel a little wiser about alcohol? I'm not entirely sure. I am not going to rush back into drinking heavily, that is certain. I think whenever I part-take in a drink I should decide before I have my first sip exactly how many drinks I am going to have. A few months back the government released a study saying that any more than 4 drinks is binge drinking. I laughed when I first heard they had reduced the number from 5 drinks, but now I think any more than 4 drinks is probably when I'd decided it might be a good idea to buy a case and get annihilated.

If I so desire to get drunk for the sake of getting drunk, I need to make that decision before I start drinking. If I do get drunk I should only do it a maximum of once a week, and never during the working week.

All in all it has been a really positive experience and I am proud of myself for sticking to my guns.

Now somebody get me a fucking beer ;)

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2008-09-13T18:55:00.001+10:00

Ooh!

huzzah!

2008-09-12T12:10:00.002+10:00

Black is the new black, apparently. I've had a few "new favourites" since I last posted. The Black Ghosts' self titled album is exceptional, but I have now discovered the Black Kids' album, Partie Traumatic and I can't stop thrashing it.

Life is good.

The last couple of months have flown by, we have launched our new website (it not entirely finished) and a concept i came up with for avant card is in pubs and clubs across Sydney at the moment. Also look out for our ad in this weeks SSO.

I went to Brizzie for a long weekend and enjoyed some quality time with myself. I did my head in a bit, but I left Brisbane feeling rejuvenated and energised. I still don't know why I picked Queensland of all places to go when I knew I wouldn't be drinking, it certainly was an eye opener, and a little scary.

Brisbane is a beautiful city, I was actually surprised at how gorgeous it was, it shits all over Sydney. When I was flying over Sydney about to land, the familiar feeling of comfort of arriving home had been replaced by a feeling of disgust at knowing how dirty and overcrowded Sydney would be. This was a little disconcerting.

I love my life in Sydney. I love my job. I love my network of friends. I don't love the overcrowded, polluted, fithy city that I live in. I think I'll stay at my job until I get sick of it and then live somewhere else for a while. When I speak to my brother, Pete, who lives at Port Douglas, I am starting to get more and more jealous of his lifestyle.

Blahdy blah blah.

I've done loads of interesting things since i last posted but I just couldn't be bothered posting anything except for the occasional mobile post.

I'm on day 98 of my 100 days of no drinking and it's been quite a ride. I am going o make a post of all my discoveries and observations before I have a drink.

ummmm..

toodles.

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2008-09-06T23:07:00.001+10:00

grafton primary! Yay

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2008-08-30T21:32:00.001+10:00

Madonna a la pipe-cleaners

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2008-08-16T13:19:00.001+10:00

magic bullet, 20 bucks. Couldn't resist...

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2008-08-10T11:50:00.001+10:00

Ahh

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2008-08-10T11:13:00.001+10:00

The Story Bridge. Fancy!

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2008-08-08T11:36:00.001+10:00

goodbye sydney. . .

one hundred pushups

2008-08-06T15:14:00.002+10:00

I evaluated myself on this website today.

I squeezed out 10, I probably could have done a couple more but I didn't want to spend the next few days with sore boobs.

I am going to start week 1 on Monday... feel free to join me.