The Amazing Flickrace

I'm excited!


Amazing Flickrace
Originally uploaded by figuromo.


Tomorrow morning Morgan and myself, and about 40 other local photographers, are taking part in the inaugural Amazing Flickrace. The rules are a little different; relationship meltdowns, calling non-English speakers "stupid" and ritual money counting aren't included. Sadly, neither will we get to see Phil. No turtleneck and no substantial trouser bulge. Sadly. I'm kind of hoping for a food challenge though...

Our version is basically a photographic treasure hunt. Many of the details are still secret, like the nature of the "challenges", but if you go here you can read the rules (at the start of the discussion thread). What started as a fun little event for the Sydney Photobloggers has turned into something much bigger, thanks to the hard work of the organisers. Not only have the numbers grown enormously, but a bunch of corporate sponsors have come on board to provide prizes.

It should be fun, the teams are being picked at random and we all have to work together to finish the challenges, even though only one person can take the photo required. Should be a fun way to meet new people.

Just pray I don't get an asshole.

Truth & Fiction

The Fiction:
The lie we tell the tourists...



The Truth:
Feral killers of the bush...



Both photos were taken at the Koala Park, Pennant Hills last Sunday with Morgan. Thankfully the ratio of cute fuzzy koalas was greater that that of feral killers crazed with bloodlust. Fortunate huh?

Tired But Happy.

Thanks for the kind comments everyone about the change of job, and what that means in terms of a new start. Today was very, very busy but rewarding and fun. After work I met with a publisher of Buddhist texts and pictures, one of our suppliers for the Buddhist centre, who is visiting from America. So, it has been a long day and I was hungry and tired by the time I got home to Morgan's apartment, quite late.

Some cuddles and having dinner cooked for me went a long way to restoring equilibrium. (Question: Could he BE any sweeter? Answer: No, not really.)

So it's quite late and bed calls. I know, I know. Where's the quips? Maybe a 5 Things list? Shallow thoughts on deep subjects, and vice versa?

Sorry, but it's no contest. Good night, see you tomorrow.

Kisses,
xxx

A New World

So, day one at the new job. Um, have you ever had an experience where, say, you got so used to how something was that when you discovered there was another way it was like a light coming on in a darkened room? Maybe like black and white tv... and then along comes colour. Or something.

Ok, ok. Sure, it's only been day one but no tension, no swearing, no aggressiveness - and that's not me I'm referring to.

I'm back working in a large public hospital, like I did about 6 or so years ago. This time I'm working directly with the Executive Director of the hospital. She's lovely, the departmental staff are great, and the job seems interesting. It's only a short term contract, but one of the other staff was a contractor initially and is now a permanent staffer. I kind of like working in public health, at least it gives me a sense of doing something positive and meaningful. 'Right livelihood' as we Buddhists like to say, something that doesn't just do no harm, but that makes a positive difference. That isn't making a living based on greed, or harming others, or creating attachment, or killing anything.

Hopefully day two will rock as well...

A New Start

I start a new job tomorrow morning. It's only a short(ish) contract position, but given that a huge fight on Friday with my boss resulted in me leaving, never to return, the timing is perfect. It pays ok, but what it's worth to me in terms of my own mental health and self esteem, after the events of recent weeks, well that's priceless.

I can't imagine I'll have the opportunity to blog tomorrow, but I'll try. See you then.

xx

Mere & Drew's Wedding

When I first discovered the Sydney Phtotobloggers group on Flickr, I attended one of the group meet-ups, and after wandering around for a while the large group of us went off to yum cha. I sat next to a lovely and very funny woman by the name of Meredith, who I easily struck up a convesation with and whithin a few minutes we were laughing and getting along like a house on fire.



On Saturday I had the joy of being a guest at Meredith's wedding, amongst a bunch of fellow Flickrazzi, when she married Andrew (aka Bloody Big Johnno). If you are going to invite a bunch of friends to your wedding, you could do a lot worse than to invite a group of enthusiatic amateur photographers. Have a look at some of the stunning results this Flickr group and you'll see what I mean.



It was a glorious bright, sunny day and the location down by the water at Balmain was a perfect match for the weather.



The lunchtime ceremony was followed by a picnic, which lasted throughout the afternoon. A long, lovely, lazy afternoon of socialising, eating and photographing well just about anything that could be photographed.



Around dusk we moved into the rowing club alongside the park, where the party kicked on into the evening. Like all good receptions, there were speeches, there were good natured hecklers during he speeches, there was lots of food and drink, kids underfoot and dancing. All the essential ingredients for a fun night.



I still have more pics to post, in fact I have so many that I like that I'm having a hard time editing them down to a reasonable number. The pics I have posted so far are all in this set.

Tomorrow Meredith and Andrew are off on a grand honeymoon. A world trip, taking lots of photos of course, and even planning on catching up with with other Flickrazzi the world over. Hopefully this will mean that we can share some small part of their adventures with them, just as they let us share this special day with them.



I hope they have a wonderful trip, and I can't wait to hear all the stories! Safe journey, safe return guys.

Ch-Ch-Changes

The old job is no more, long live the new job! One door closes and another door opens. This new job isn't permanent but it's exciting nonetheless... and best of all it's change. I start next week.

I Heart Pteropus Poliocephalus

I love bats. LOVE. THEM. Sydney is home to many thousands of Pteropus Poliocephalus or grey headed flying foxes. For quite some years there has been a substantial sized colony of them in the Botanic Gardens, although their numbers have fluctuated over the years.



This fact file on an ABC tv children's website even includes facts about how flying foxes do the nasty.



They are such a part of Sydney life, from the dusk fly-overs of large flocks of them, to the night time chittering you often hear. Morgan and I hung around these trees in the Botanic Gardens for quite a while, trying to get good pics of them in flight. 9 times out of 10 they are too quick and silent, so you miss them, but I managed to get at least one reasonable pic. [Click them to see larger sizes.]

I'm not the only bat fancier on Das Internetz, Matt likes them too.

The "What's On Your Bookshelves?" Meme

There's been a bit of a meme going around on Flickr, amongst some of the Sydney Photobloggers flickrazzi, of taking a photo of your bookshelves and then posting it (with notes added) for all to see.



Here's a corner of my teeny, tiny living room with 3 of my bookshelves. These are just 3 of the 7 bookshelves I have in my house. I'm so literate!

To play along, click the pic above to go to the photo's page in Flickr. Then click All Sizes and choose the biggest size if you want to see the details of what's on my bookshelves. The magnification is such that some titles are hard to read, but at least it gives you the idea of what's fabulous and what's tragic on my bookshelves. If you go back to the regular photo page and mouse over the pic, you should see the notes I've added and any notes that have been added by other Flickr users.

Start judging!

A Lovely Weekend

Despite the fact that today is cool, grey and a bit blustery in Sydney, the weekend was another beautiful sunny Autumn weekend. More like Spring really, with mostly clear skies and temperatures up to 26C. Glorious.

The boy and I got off to a slow start on Saturday, having a leisurely breakfast and lolling about. Late morning we headed off to visit two friends of mine Spyder & Gordon, and spent about three hours sitting in the sunshine in their backyard, drinking tea and coffee, eating cheese and crackers, gossiping and catching up, and playing with their two whippets. Mid afternoon their young son Aemon woke up from his nap, and another friend (and my old roommate) dropped by, making it a lovely afternoon in the garden. I was on one of my first outings with the new camera so snapped a bunch of flower pics like the flowering tarragon, the hot orange/yellow gladioli and the pink rose below.





In the late afternoon we headed into the city and Morgan bought a new camera, in fact the same one I now have. Once you try an SLR, going back to the limitations of the point & shoot style camera is kind of tough. We headed back to Morgan's apartment and spent the evening relaxing, watching the limited edition DVD of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, posting pics to Flickr and doing a bit of web surfing.

Sunday we got off to an earlier start and went to the Botanic Gardens, where I took lots of photos (as did Morgan) and got to really start experimenting with the new camera. Afterwards we walked around the harbour foreshore to the Opera House, where of course lots more photos were taken (I've yet to post these, but will do soon). That building does not have a bad angle to it I swear, and it was glowing in the Autumn sunshine. We capped the afternoon with a stroll up historic Macquarie Street, late lunch and a spot of chimping at the Hyde Park Barracks Museum cafe, then home for a relaxed afternoon of posting pics to Flickr and then cooking dinner (fried halloumi with salad).

So, now it's Monday morning. I might have exploded from the happiness of it all if the weekend had gone on for another day, so it's probably for the best that I'm back at the salt mine... :)

Botanica

Morgan and I spent part of today at the Botanical gardens, trying out our new cameras and soaking up the Autumn sunshine.



The new camera is turning out to be an absolute joy. Easy to use, but with enough capability for creative control to make the results much more interesting.



I'm especially taken with the ability to do crisp close-ups, and to play with exposure and depth of field (focus depth). Loving it!

[Updated: Oh, I forgot to mention, we passed Russell Crowe having a bite to eat with the wife and bub at the outdoor cafe in the Botanical Gardens. Slouched down, with baseball cap, five day crowth and an whiff of surliness at being spotted. We both had cameras in our hands, and Morgan suggested the likely action. My suggestion, don't make eye contact and keep on moving!]

Click the pics to be taken to Flickr, and for larger versions.

The Art Of Julie Shiels

The Sunday arts show on ABC tv just profiled the Australian artist Julie Shiels. She is interested in all sorts of issues to do with perceived meanings, text, advertising messages and especially the cityscape of her neighbourhood of St Kilda, Melbourne. Julie adds text to discarded street items, or to the streetscape itself, photographs it and then blogs the results on her blog I Love St Kilda. As part of the process she tells the stories of each piece, or interactions she has with people while she's taking photographs.

Interesting stuff.

Gift Idea

It's a while yet before my birthday, but just so you know this is top of my wish list.

[Link via Apartment Therapy]

The "I Never Do That!" Thread

It all started when Morgan saw this picture:


morgspace never does this
Originally uploaded by yankinoz.


...and said "I never do that!"

Then Rob saw this picture of himself:


Show me the money
Originally uploaded by Leorex.


...and echoed Morgan by saying "I never do that!"

So then you'll understand me when I say, I never do that!

Fog & Mist

Last weekend Morgan and I were in Canberra for the wedding of two friends, and on the Sunday we spent some time hanging out at the National Gallery. I love the Sculpture Garden at the gallery, but had never been there before between 12 noon and 2 pm when the Fog Sculpture by Fujiko Nakaya was playing.


Mist Sculpture 1
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


These photos don't really do it justice, because the reality is quite magical. The fog settles amongst the trees and descends into the shallow depression around the artificial lake, changing the mood of the landscape entirely.


Mist Sculpture 4
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


The Sculpture Gallery has quite an extensive collection of works, and Morgan and I both also fell in love with the floating sphere sculpture Diamonds by NZ artist Neil Dawson:


Sphere 1
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


Morgan's atmospheric photos of Diamonds are here.

Wednesday Work Day Haikus

Forty-something plus,
Bank reconciliations.
My brain turns to mush.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Nummy nums orange,
Neatly cut up in segments.
Damn strings in my teeth.

My Precioussssssssssssssss

I'm now the proud owner of this baby. Woo hoo! I bought it second hand, only 7 months old, in mint condition and with a heap of extras thrown in for free, for a great price from one of the guys I met through the Flickr Sydney Photobloggers group. He's only selling because he's upgrading to something with more bells and whistles.

I'm loving doing more photography these days, and the idea of being able to do more than just point & shoot is very exciting. (Not that I'm not a fan of the odd point & shoot. Are ya with me? Eh? Does your wife like photos? Eh?... Eh?... Know what I mean?)

Anyhoo. New camera! Sweet.

I Ask You Very Confidentially...

Morgan
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

...ain't he sweet?

Firsts

Dani tagged me for a meme, and it's been a while since I dipped my toe in the meme pool, so here goes:

First town you ever lived in: Morecambe, UK, until we emigrated when I was 1.

First album owned: Abba, "Arrival" I think.

First pub gig seen: I don't remember actually seeing a pub gig as such until after I had seen a few major concerts. My first concert was Adam & The Ants! I'm ancient!

First Celebrity Crush: Gah, I have no idea! Um, maybe the cutie pie singer from Haircut 100, or the lead singer of ABC. Actually, probably either Tony Hadley (lead singer) or Steve Norman (saxaphone) from Spandau Ballet. Again, I'm ancient! How embarrassing...

First Film you remember seeing: "My Fair Lady" I think it was. It made me gay. That must have been it!

First time you drank alcohol: My parents always gave us little sips, but probably the first time I did something more than have a sip would be raiding the liquor cabinet after school in order to get my school friend Ian drunk enough to let me touch it. (He didn't take much encouagement, or alcohol. But the alcohol gave him a valid excuse I guess,)

First paying job: Shop assistant at Myers department store, Small Electrical department (irons, toasters and such).

First Kiss: Possibly Ian (see above), no doubt promptly followed by wrestling and half hearted cries of "get off me!".

I don't like tagging, but anyone care to play? Just answer the same questions.

It's Big. It's a Merino.

I'm back, from the wilds of Canberra! We had a lovely trip, if anything it was too short.

If I told you that we went to a wedding where during the reception the groom stabbed the bride in the hand, would that make it sound like they were white trash? Like the wedding was in a trailer park? (Actually it was a lovely wedding, at a lovely home, and the bride and groom are anything but white trash, but in terms of blog material you almost couldn't make this up if you tried.)

At the end of the evening the bride and groom were opening their gifts, when there was an accident involving a kitchen knife, the recalcitrant tape on one of the gifts, some alcohol and a slip of the hand. Fortunately there was a nurse in attendance as a guest, but the evening ended with the wedding party heading off to the Emergency Room for the bride to have some stitches, as we headed back to our hotel. Apparently they returned an hour or so later and finished opening the gifts, so it wasn't too bad.

We stopped at Goulburn on the way through to Canberra to visit the great Aussie icon, The Big Merino. During the '70s and '80s Australian country towns were obsessed with building Big Things to attract passing tourists. The Big Pineapple, the Big Banana, the Big Prawn... the list is almost endless.


It's Big. It's a Merino.
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


As always, I took a lot of photos. Canberra is quite a bit cooler than Sydney at this time of year, and has a lot of European and American trees, so has a much more spectacular Autumn than we are used to. The colours were absolutely stunning, and so Morgan and I couldn't help but stop and take lots of photos. I'm still in the process of putting pics up on Flickr, but if you have a look at my photostream you'll see some of the Goulburn and Canberra pics that I have put up already.


Canberra Colours
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Autumn Golds
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Before heading home on Sunday we visited the National Gallery of Australia and spent a few hours touring a wonderful exhibition of Islamic art from South East Asia, wandering through parts of the general collection, and exploring the sculpture garden. Then we met up with a lovely friend of Morgan's, and fellow blogger, Zoe for a late lunch of yummy Turkish food.

It was a very relaxing weekend, the perfect antidote to a busy and stressful week. The wedding was beautiful, even with the reception bloodbath, and it was really nice to see friends I hadn't seen for a while and catch up with what has been happening in their lives. Morgan and I are just enjoying spending time together more and more, and so spending the weekend together was a joy.

Morgan has also posted a blog entry about the weekend.

Sleepless In Sydney Town

It's early morning here, dawn was just a little while ago. I've been up for over an hour, and awake for a little while longer than that. I've been sitting in Morgan's lovely apartment admiring the view as the sun rose, listening to the crows calling, watching the light change and looking at pics on Flickr on his laptop. A bit frustrated with myself for lack of sleep, but feeling quite content anyway.

Morgan is fast asleep in the other room, and I'll go in and wake him up with a cuddle soon as we need to pack and set off for the three hour drive to Canberra today, for Robyn & Jeremy's wedding. I'm looking forward to showing him off to my friends, introducing him to the people I care about. Come and look, come and see this precious treasure I found, how rare and beautiful it is.



Have a great weekend everyone!

Sphinx

Sphinx
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Another pic from the visit to the Art Gallery of NSW last weekend. This pair of Sphinx (Sphinxes?) act as guardians at the entrance to the park opposite the gallery. It took quite a while to get this pic because people kept wandering into the frame, but I got it eventually. It also took quite a bit of effort to get my point and shoot camera to focus how I wanted, and while it could be a bit better and sharper I like it anyway.

[Best viewed large, click to go to Flickr.]

Back On Deck

Okely Dokely, now that that little bug has finally worked its way out of my system I'm back, primed and ready to party. (In the way that 41 year old men party that is, somewhat slowly, with ocassional rest breaks, and a complaint to turn that damn music down.)

I don't have much from the past few days that's news worthy to report, which is never a good way to intro a blog entry, let's face it. What's that I hear?... running footsteps and doors slamming? Anyhoo, whatever.

What the past couple of days have been is frantically busy at work. Everything else is just ticketty boo, jim dandy, peachy even. Morgan is a joy, a treasure and an absolute sweetheart of a person. I'm very lucky. He's even a quiet sleeper. Yeah baby! Despite eating out a lot and being a fair bit less careful about what I eat, I haven't stacked on much (if any) weight. I thought I might have, but my belt indicates otherwise. I might even have had a small loss from my appetitie not being what it usually is (voracious) while I was sick.

The little quiet patch while I was sick aside, life is throwing plenty of fun stuff my way at present. I was about to buy a new camera, when one of the wonderful Sydney Photobloggers offered to sell me his, the exact same model, which is less than a year old, in great condition and he's only getting rid of it because he's upgrading to something more spectacular. He's throwing in a heap of accessories too and charging me a lot less than I can buy it for new. Score. Some of my friends are having babies and others are getting married.

In fact, this weekend Morgan, myself and Mikey (the lovely ex) are doing a three hour road trip to Canberra for the wedding. It'll be great to see all the gang in one spot, and a nice opportunity for Morgan to meet a bunch of them in one go. The present is bought, spectacularly wrapped (a vision in bright orange and shot silk ribbon - as the saleslady in David Jones card & wrap department said "Lovely! This will stand out amidst the sea of white and silver wedding wrapping!" You betcha.) and the new outfit has been purchased. All systems are go. We're off in the morning. Road trip!

City View

City View 2
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

I took this picture from the upstairs ante room between the Asian Galleries and the Cafe at the Art Gallery of NSW. It's a spectacular view of the eastern inner city suburbs of Sydney, and I love the rhythm of the floor to ceiling windows reflected in the polished parquet floor.

Harry Seidler's "Horizon" building looms large on the...well, horizon.

[Best viewed large, click to go to Flickr.]

Resting

Yesterday was a very important public holiday for Australians; ANZAC Day, a day for remembering fallen war heroes, honouring returned service personnel and eating yummy ANZAC biscuits. The viral bug I've been struggling with since Saturday was still kicking my butt, so Morgan and I had a very quiet day and only ventured out of the house to pay a visit to my friend Judy. Judy's husband John is a Vietnam veteran, and was marching in the parade and then drinking with his buddies, so Morgan and I had a lovely lunch with Judy, and then hung out with her (and her beautiful 22 year old cat Rover) for the afternoon. Morgan was starting to feel unwell (hopefully not with the same horrible bug I've had) and my energy started to lag, so we headed back to Morgan's in the late afternoon to just chill out on the sofa with cups of tea and a laptop each. So modern! We both needed a good night's rest, so I headed home for an early night.

It sounds like an uneventful day, and I guess in some respects it was, but it was pleasant and it's always lovely to hang out with Judy. Morgan hasn't met all that many of the greater extended clan of friends that form a bit of a family for me here, so it was nice to introduce him to Judy and to see that they got on well and both liked each other. No surprises there. We're going to Canberra together this weekend for the wedding of two friends, and that will be a great opportunity for Morgan to meet a bunch of them in one go. It won't be as daunting as it sounds, they're all lovely people.

I'm still not feeling 100%, actually 80% is what I'm aspiring to, and have a huge volume of work to get through so this will probably be it for blog posts today. Unless of course I feel the need to curse James Blunt again. That might yet happen.

See you tomorrow, chikadees.

Dante Got It Wrong

The 5th Circle of Hell is not the muddy waters of the River Styx, outside the city of Dis. It is in fact:

1. Running a fever
   
2. Making an ill advised trip down into a crowded Victoria's Basement, discount homewares purveyors to the masses, at lunchtime... during a sale... in search of a wedding present
   
3. James Blunt's whinetastic "Goodbye My Lover" playing on the PA

Dante did however rightly describe it as the dominion of the Wrathfull and The Sullen. He was on the money there.

It's Because I Am A Massive Nerd...

...that this news has my jumping out of my skin.

[Link via Freakgirl.]

Poorly

Monday morning is weekend recap time, and in a life largely spent lurching from self enduced crisis to self enduced crisis, I like having this small degree of structure.

Friday night I stayed over at Morgan's apartment and cooked dinner for the two of us. Morgan and I had both had short but hellishly busy weeks, so we just hung out and watched a DVD (The outrageously fun 2001 UK mini-series Metrosexuality. There's more info in this Wikipedia entry.) and then had an early night.

Saturday morning was Haircut Day, so I headed off into Newtown for my haircut while Morgan finished off some work from home. Afterwards Morgan joined me in Newtown for a wander around, a bit of window shopping and a coffee at Campos.


PDA
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


I snapped this pic of a cute couple having a Public Display of Affection in Campos. One of the things I love about Newtown, and much of the inner West of Sydney, is that we of the homosexualist pursuasion are largely able to be ourselves without anyone batting an eyelid. Morgan and I hold hands almost everywhere we go, and even though you need to exercise a little discretion at times to avoid danger (sad but true) the vast majority of Sydneysiders in the inner city just take it in their stride.

Later on Saturday afternoon I started feeling a bit achey and developed a bit of a headache, and it turned out I was starting to come down with a bug. One which made its presence felt in grand fashion with a massive wave of nausea and lightheadedness while sitting down to dinner at a restaurant with Morgan and a friend. (No, it wasn't after the bill arrived.) Consequently I spent much of Sunday on the couch at Morgan's, feeling achey, hot and nauseous. Nurse Morgan tended my fevered brow with gentle ministrations, so even being sick has some advantages.

Late afternoon we were both feeling a little stir crazy, so we headed into the city to take a walk around the Art Gallery. I enjoyed it, even though I was still feeling a bit unwell and very achey. Afterwards I headed home for an early night.

Truth is I'm still sick, so I'm not really firing on all cylinders today. It sounds like at least two of my workmates have had to deal with a similar issue over the weekend with almost identical symptoms. Given that it is a Public Holiday here tomorrow for ANZAC Day it would have been a bit suspect if we had called in sick today. Were it any normal week I certainly would have.

So, OK not the most rivetting of weekend recaps. As reportage goes, maybe it could use some work. Sex up some aspects and emphasise the drama of others. Add in a car chase.

All this rambling? It's the fever talking.

Congratulations Speedy!

My friend Louise (who comments here as Worldpeace_and_aspeedboat) and her partner Gordon are the proud parents of a baby boy, born Tuesday the 18th at 6.35am. 3.41 Kg (7lb 8oz in old money), mother and baby both doing well.

Congratulations!

In Need Of Some Therapy

Apartment Therapy that is.

Their second annual Smallest, Coolest Apartment Contest makes me want to have a groovier, more stylish pad. Like Rob's place, or maybe Lucy's "Love Shack" even.

Oh, but bigger.

Orangey

Showy
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Because pretty is always the perfect antidote to crabby, here's a pretty flower I snapped on the walk from Coogee beach to Clovelly last weekend. I feel better already.

Wrong Side Of The Bed

Who knew that two back-to-back four day weeks could be so exhausting? A short week last week and a short week this week on account of Easter has meant that two weeks worth of very busy work, busier than normal, has been crammed into 8 days. A public holiday next Tuesday for ANZAC Day makes it a third week in a row. I'm not complaining about having days off (trust me when I say I will never complain about that!) but it has made the time I am at work busier and more stressful than normal. Yesterday I spent over an hour on a bank help desk trying to make 528 client payments go through, payments that absolutely had to go through, and it was so stressfull I thought my head was going to explode, Scanners style.

Urgh. I suspect I got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. (Or someone else's bed to be more accurate.) I'm a bit tired, a bit crabby, and counting down to the weekend already. Less of a Glass Half Full Day than a What Is The Damn Glass Doing On My Desk? I Didn't Ask For This Glass! Day.

On the good news front, tomorrow is Saturday! Not just any Saturday, but Haircut Day. Like my compadre I heart Haircut Day. I have one instruction Make It Pretty.

Indian Summer

You would never know that it's currently Autumn down here in Sydney, my little corner of the Southern Hemisphere. OK, the days are shorter, but aside from that we seem to be having a glorious Indian summer.


Baths
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


The stores are full of the heavy coats, knits and somber colours of Winter, while people stroll past in shorts and singlet tops. Sales are starting already. The nights are getting much cooler, but the days are beautiful. The sea is still quite warm, and the beaches are full.


Warning
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


In the notorious way that it sometimes happens in Spring and Autumn here, next week this all might change and it'll be wet and cold. I kind of like that changeable nature of these two seasons. It's sort of a lucky dip on a grand scale.


Slippery When Wet
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


These photos were all taken last weekend, late afternoon as the warmth of the day slid casually towards a pleasantly cool evening. Morgan and I spent the day and evening with my friend Stephen who was visiting from Bisbane, and in the afternoon we did the stroll from Coogee beach to Clovelly. I took quite a few photos, as did Morgan. It was a great way to spend an afternoon, and the pathways were full of people making the best of it. In the evening Morgan cooked dinner for the three of us, and we hung out and watched a DVD, and enjoyed each other's company.

As much as I love the colours of Autumn, I hope this Indian summer stays around for a while yet.

Connecting

I've been thinking a lot recently about how we connect with each other, and how as humans most of us need to feel that connection with others. The big connections, the people we love and the people we call family or friends. The little connections, the ones we make when we thank someone for shifting along to give us room to sit on the train. The important connections in between, the acquaintences, workmates, friends and people we chat with over the internet, that enrich our lives. The flipside of this I guess is the sad story I posted yesterday about the woman who sat dead and unmissed in her apartment for two years. Her life must have been lacking in important connections with others, for nobody to seek out what happened to her.

I remember the early days of the internet, back when it was The Internet, the Information Super Highway even, when doomsayers predicted that we would become a race of shut-ins living vicariously through chat rooms and machines, not truly connecting with others. My experience has been the opposite. Blogging and reading other people's blogs, as well as posting pictures and looking at other people's pictures, makes me feel connected to more people than ever before. Sure I couldn't ring any of these people up to cry on their shoulder at 3am, or ask for a loan of $50, but when I chat with people through blog comments or read their entries I feel that I am learning about them, connecting with them. It makes me think of the penfriends I had as a teenager, I cared about them and I felt they cared about me, even if we never met.

Not everyone wants, or is able, to take the next step and meet face-to-face but all the people I have met face-to-face through the internet (through blogging or Flickr) have for the most part been regular folks. The internet also allows people to portray themselves as someone else if they want, maybe who they would like to be, but I think this maybe happens less than the doomsayers predict. It's hard to maintain for a start, and I think most people can start to spot a fake after a while.

A pleasant bonus of connecting with people online has been the 'real life' friends I have made, the ones I can go out with, laugh with and have common ground with. I never expected to find a more serious connection through the internet, but it was the internet that initially brought Morgan and I into circumstances where we could meet, and that has turned out to be a very big connection indeed. Love.

Ummm, What?

Typos
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Hey kids, let's play the What's Wrong With This Picture? Game!

[Best viewed large, click the pic to go to Flickr.]

Sad Story

It boggles the mind to think that a 40 year old woman could be sitting in her apartment dead for two years without anyone noticing. She was found sitting in an armchair in her living room, with the tv going and the heater still on. Mail going back as far as two years was piling up in her hallway, presumably posted in through a slot in her door.

Aside from the practicalities of how it was that her electricity etc was still running, and that whoever received her rent hadn't investigated after being unpaid for two years, did nobody care enough about this woman to try and track down what happened to her? In a big city people often keep to themselves and don't get to know their neighbours, that I understand, but it's so sad to think that a youngish woman of 40 would be without friends or family that would be concerned for her welfare.

Roll Up, Roll Up

The blogging of the mega 4 day Easter weekend continues. Let's see, I've covered Thursday night, and prior to that I already covered Friday afternoon and evening, so that brings me to Saturday...

Hot on the heels of the social get together for the Sydney Photobloggers on Thursday night, the group had also planned an outing to the Sydney Royal Easter Show on Saturday afternoon for a group photo shoot.


Rainbow
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


It was a gorgeous day, warm but not too hot and with a huge big blue sky. After meeting at the train station, we wandered around the show for about 4 or 5 hours in total.


Vucko1000 Wins
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


The show is a wealth of photographic opportunity, especially the bright colours and frenetic activity of the sideshows and rides.


Arial
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


We had a look at the dogs, the mostly naff crafts, the prize fruitcake winners and the woodchopping contests - all the mainstays of a day at the show.


Meta
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


Of course we all shot hundreds of shots; of the show, the punters, the food, each other, each other photographing each other... and in one instance it almost go so meta that the universe nearly imploded. Good times.

My full show set is here and Morgan's is here. As of writing there are still photos from the day being uploaded, but if you are interested in seeing the rest of the photos from the day, look for this tag.

Geekin' Out

It's Tuesday morning in my part of the world, and I'm back at my desk after a fabulous 4 day weekend. 4 day weekends are wonderful, and I vote for more of them. Someone please do something about that, m'kay? Anyhoo, normal transmission now resumes. Of course, I have a ton of fantastic stuff to blog about. Because I have to start somewhere, here's an update on the Sydney Photoblogger meet I went on last Thursday night.

Last Thursday night Morgan and I went along to the 15th midweek meet for the Sydney Photobloggers group on Flickr. If you've read this blog for a while you'll have seen that I've mentioned these guys quite a few times, and posted pics from some of the meets I've been on.


Tracey Has Giant Hands
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

From what I can see of other groups on Flickr, the Sydney Photobloggers is one of the more social ones. Sure everyone loves posting to the group photostream, and chatting in the forums, but there is a strong emphasis on getting together for social food and drinks, and for group photo shoots. I even met my new boyfriend Morgan through the group, after we chatted a bit online and then met in person at a group outing. He has a wonderful set of photos on Flickr himself.


A Restaurant Called "Super Bowl"
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


Last Thursday the emphasis was on socialising, with the added bonus of a public holiday the next day! About 10 of 12 of us got together for dinner in Chinatown, a short stroll through the quarter, and then beers at a pub. There were so many cameras out, so many of us in a pack, and so much snapping going on that some of the pedestrians were looking around for who was the famous person we were all chasing. The food, the restaurant, stray pedestrians, each other, all was fair game for the lens.


Lemoney
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


This is a nice group of people. We all come from different backgrounds and points of view, but aside from having photography as a common interest everyone also seems to be fairly laid back and funny. Morgan and I are both very comfortable about being relaxed and affection with each other in public, and as a consequence there were a lot of photos of the two of us taken during the evening. As Gadgetgirl captioned this photo of us we were the "most photographed couple of the night". I really love the photo Figuromo took of us holding hands at the pub.


Mwah!
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.


We left reasonably late, but a few of the more intrepid members kicked on until the pub closed, and then just moved on to a later closing one. I have it on good authority that there was at least one severe hangover the next morning.

All my photos from the meet are here, and everyone else's are here.

Sydney Harbour Sunset

Sydney Harbour Sunset
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Last night I met up with some of my friends, and photography peeps, for a sunset photo session from the spot on Sydney Harbour known as Mrs Macquarie's Chair. They kindly brought along some better camera equipment for me to play with, try and test out before I upgrade to a better camera soon.

This pic is taken with my regular little point & shoot camera, and it's a bit of a visual cliche for Sydneysiders, but oh my it was just too beautiful not to photograph. What you can't see in the photo are the laughs we were having, the mild cool night, the fruit bats flying and chirping overhead or the handsome man holding my hand. Good times.

[Update: Morgan has posted an entry on his blog about the evening, brimming with gorgeous pics.]

Easter Cheer

Sadly, as far as I know anyway, there are no Buddhist holy days celebrated with chocolate. We should probably work at changing that.



So in lieu of any Buddhist Chocolate Festival I thought I'd get in early with a little pre-emptive Easter cheer. It's Thursday morning in my part of the world, the last work day before the 4 day Easter weekend. Let's just say that one more time - 4 day Easter weekend. Such a pretty, pretty little collection of words, don't you think?

I have lots planned for this Easter break, a whirlwind of social engagements and catching up with people. Slotted in with plenty of time to spend with Morgan of course. Tonight we're off to the #15 Midweek meet-up for the Flickr group Sydney Photobloggers, the group that was instrumental in bringing Morgan and I together. Tomorrow night I'm catching up with Miss Eudoxia (who also takes wonderful photos) and a few other friends for dinner and an evening photoshoot around Sydney Harbour. Saturday afternoon is a group photo shoot with the Sydney Photobloggers at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. In the evening we're planning on having dinner with Morgan's friends I think. Sunday we're catching up with my friend Stephen, who is in town from Brisbane. Monday I think is unplanned at this stage.

Whew, busy but should be lots of fun. So, what mischief is everyone else getting up to?

Lotus

Lotus
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

The photo-heavy trend at TOA continues!

Last Sunday afternoon Morgan and I were walking around the southern end of Newtown, where it borders on St Peters. This lotus is a companion piece to the Eyes Of Ganesha (below). It's not from the same image, but its on the same stretch of wall alongside. Morgan took this image of another lotus on the same wall, which I also love. The colours and the quality of the line work in these images really lifts them above standard graffiti in my opinion. Stunning.

5 Things For A Kick-Ass Wednesday

1. Summer deciding that this concept called "Autumn" is overrated, and elbowing it aside for a while.
   
2. A distinct lack of work crazy. It helps that the boss is in Italy, that means we all get a holiday of sorts.
   
3. The super slim fit shirt that's been languishing in the wardrobe, quietly taunting and judging me, wearing it. Minimal gut-sucking-in required.
   
4. Sleep-over at the boy's house tonight. Woot!
   
5. Hot buttered raisin bread toast. (Contradicts #3 I know, but everything in moderation.)
   

The Eyes Of Ganesha

Eyes Of Ganesha
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Part of a beautiful street art mural Morgan and I walked past the other afternoon. I love the vibrant colour in particular. I need to go back and take more pics of this before is gets painted over or covered in tags.

Palatial

Palatial
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

Note the correct use of the apostrophe of possession, as this is the palace belonging to the ho. Nice.

Ho's Palace, Blackheath.