Oliver's 1st Birthday

In a weekend jam packed with social events, probably one of the briefest was my flying visit to the 1st birthday party for Oliver, handsome son of my friends Daen & Adrienne. On account of it being the start of the Christmas Social Season and all, and me being the social butterfly that I am, I could only pop in en route to a pre-Christmas lunch that another friend of mine was throwing.



At least I was lucky enough to be there for the blowing out of the candle and the opening of the presents! And from my point of view, fortunately it was long enough to take some snaps of Oliver.

I discovered a little while back that children are amongst my favourite subjects to shoot. One of the benefits of the baby boom amongst my friends is that there are all these beautiful kids around to photograph. Sadly, people sometimes doubt that your motives are pure if you try and take pics of kids, so I only like to shoot the children of my friends. I like the fact that I'm helping in my own small way to document their lives as well.



I was also lucky to be there long enough to see Zoe, the new daughter of my friends Meaghan and James. Born Tuesday the 5th of December, and absolutely adorable and just perfect.



Yay! Another subject... :)

Bowling For Santa

On Saturday afternoon we had the Christmas party for the Sydney Photobloggers group on Flickr. It was a really hot and humid afternoon, and about 30 of us gathered for a friendly lawn bowls tournament, lunch and drinks.



We played about 6 games, gave out "secret Santa" gifts for all, had lots of laughs and then retired to the cool of the clubhouse for the rest of the afternoon.



It was a really fantastic afternoon, with lots of laughs and friendly competition. Lawn bowls is deceptively hard, and most of us sucked badly, but that was all part of the enjoyment.



Whoever decided to market what was traditionally an old persons' pastime to young people definately came up with a winning concept. The clubhouse had a funky nightclub feel to it, and the place was packed with young people. We had an easy on the eye young American guy (think 'frat boy') who gave us the run-down on how to play, and made sure everyone kept their shoes and drinks off the green.

Other groups were obviously having Christmas parties as well, including the group who were all dressed up as things starting with "P", such as pirates and professors (above right). Good times y'all.

[Here are all of my photos from the afternoon, and here are everyone else's.]

Would You Like The Chicken Or The Beef?

Just a little update on yesterday's Christmas lunch for the clients at work. I had a blast. So much fun! I haven't had much to do with the clients up until now, because I'm in the office and so only ever talk to some of them briefly on the phone. I got to meet most of them as I helped serve the meals and the beverages, and got to chat with quite a few.

Everyone had a lovely time, the food was good, the entertainment was fun, we gave out some door prizes*. It was a blast. For the brief bits of time that I actually got to sit, I sat next a lovely couple and he told me fascinating stories about his 43 years in the police force. It was also great to see the friendship between our field workers and the clients. Lots of Christmas hugs and kisses being exchanged, and even some small gifts.

The worst thing about the day? HAT HAIR from wearing a Santa hat all day.

The best things? Being referred to by one of the clients as a Christmas Elf (good call), all the "thank you" comments and best wishes, getting to play Christmas Elf and hand out take home gifts of tiny Christmas puddings as everyone left and best of all one lady took my hand and told me that she'd had such a good time that it will be enough to carry her all the way through Christmas and into the New Year. (She nailed me with that one and I almost lost it entirely.) It was an exhausting but very rewarding afternoon. Christmas doesn't have a religious significance for me, but you could certainly feel the true spirit of Christmas in the air. Giving. Kindness. Thinking of others.

Good times y'all.

* Michael Guy - you'll be pleased to know that we were giving out potted poinsettias! The sort you love so much.

Play Nice And Don't Break Anything

I'll be away from the computron all day tomorrow, ladelling out Christmas fare and making nice in a Santa hat with the old dears. It's client Christmas party day for my work, and we have about 60 frail elderly clients coming for lunch.

Let's pause and consider that for a moment, shall we. That's like eating Christmas lunch with your grandparents 30 times over.

It'll be lovely. There's entertainment (sadly not a Z grade Korean 'Elvis' like I was pushing for), a tiny Christmas pudding to take home (for all but the diabetics) and crackers to pull. The crackers may not be a wise choice, but we'll just hope for the best. See you on the other side.

Your Face Is Telling Secrets That Your Heart Wants To Keep

I met with a couple of marketing guys last night at the huge conference venue we are hiring for the conference we're doing mid next year. To do a walk around and look at the venue, start to plan the fixtures for the bookshop I'll be running there, talk about access and timing issues etc. It was a really good meeting and the two guys were really nice.

But, here's the thing. I kept looking across at one of the guys (and not just because of the salt & pepper hair, blue eyes and slim figure) and he kept furrowing his brow and looking so worried that at one point I thought he was on the verge of tears. So much so that it was kind of odd. It certainly wasn't encouraging. Wow, if he's that concerned we should be really panicking.

It made me think about the times I've had my photo taken, for instance, and I've been pulling an expression that I didn't even think was in my repertoire. Once a senior manager of mine pulled me aside and mentioned to me that sometimes in meetings my face is an open book, especially when I think someone is proposing a stupid idea. Contempt writ large. I was kind of floored and had no idea I was doing it.

I'm sure nice marketing man with the piercing blue eyes wasn't really all that concerned, but he's kind of giving off signals that indicate otherwise. Maybe not even signals he knows he's giving.

On Switching

Hey, you Blogger bloggers out there. Anyone switched to the new version? I heard that the one-button photo posting from Flickr no longer works with this new version, and I was wondering if that's the only downside?

The rest of you, as you were.

The Cast Members of the Movie "The Family Stone", Ranked In Order Of Ummm.. Bangability

Michael suggested, so I'm powerless to resist.

1. Tyrone Giordano


2. Dermot Mulroney


3. Luke Wilson



4. Paul Schneider


5. Brian J White


6. Jamie Kaler


7. Craig T Nelson


8. Robert Dioguardi


Because I'm such a big homo I've restricted myself to the male members of the cast, but given the chance you know I'd at least make out a bit with Dianne Keaton, right? I mean, the gossip! That woman could spill a few stories, you know it.

Also, don't feel bad for Robert Dioguardi. He's only on screen for a few seconds, so it's not like I even had time to form an attachment. I agonised over where to place Craig T Nelson, because in terms of fun in the sack I'm sure he'd be a riot, but that Jamie Kaler is pretty cute though!

So, there you have it. Care to share your rankings?

Note To Self

No matter how tired/grumpy/perimenopausal one might feel and no matter how heinous telephone callers to the Big Christian Charity at which you work may be, perhaps best not to use Jesus H Christ! as an exclamation of frustration. For yeah verily it may incur the dipleasure of the good Christian folk.

Book Dilemma - The Solution

For those of you playing along at home, I finally solved my lack of book to read dilemma. After some ummmmmmming and ahhhhhhhing in Borders, I settled on American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I just started it on this morning's commute and loving it so far. I can't believe that the only book by Gaiman that I've ever read is his joint venture with Terry Pratchett Good Omens. Where have I been?

Hey Mr Sandman, Bite Me

If I suddenly stop using punctation in this entry it's not because I'm lazy or don't know the seven correct uses of an apostrophe. It's solely because punctuation takes extra key strokes, which takes extra effort, which takes energy, which I frankly don't have because I woke up like fifteen frigging times last night. Not because someone was nuzzling my neck, or attending to my nethers in a loving fashion. Solely for the reason of, ooooh, no reason.

My morning 20 minute walk from the train station was almost conducted in a crouching position.

I'll come good. There's the morning vitamin B tablet to kick in yet and I have full and free access to the coffee maker. It's all good. I've got that edge that comes with tiredness, the one that has already loosened my tongue enough for me to ask The Office Pen Clicker if she could please, pleeeeeease stop clicking her pen (forgodsakeorimightjustgopostal).

A Post So Much About Nothing It Almost Reads Like A Seinfeld Script

The natural bookend for a post about not having many plans for the weekend, is a post about not having done much over the weekend. They go together like like a pizza binge and shame, like Jake Gyllenhaal and a hormone surge, like Salt 'n' Pepa, like like... and whatever.

I planned on not doing a lot this weekend and I achieved it. See, see how task orientated and disciplined I am? I set goals and I go for them. I might consider a career change to Life Coaching, I'm so good at not do anything. I could not do anything for hours, and still find time to not do things.

So. I did go to drinks, dinner and a movie on Saturday night with Mikey (the lovely ex), Steve and his girlfriend Bec. Shortbus again. I enjoyed the evening, although the combination of a wet Saturday night around three weeks before Christmas meant that getting a taxi at the start of the night was hellish. I loved the film just as much as the first time, and probably picked up more from it the second time around. I certainly caught a couple of lines that I plan I using ad nauseam. "I used to want to change the world, now all I want to do is the leave the room with a little dignity." Har.

Mikey's first question of the evening to me was "So, have you cleaned your room yet?" (Ack. You know you're in trouble when friends bust your chops about promises you make to yourself on your blog.) In keeping with this weekend's goal orientated theme, I set to yesterday afternoon with vacuum cleaner and Scotchbrite 'Miracle' cloth. I didn't exactly produce a miracle (false advertising?) but I did pretty much part the Red Sea Of Detritus. I'd say I got the job about 60% done, which given my other goal of sloth I figure wasn't too bad an effort. I'll tackle the remainder during this week.

If Santa brings me a man for Christmas, at least my room will be ready.

Weekend Plans

As it turns out, it looks like this weekend is going to be the last weekend before the end of the year where I won't have to try and juggle a bunch of social committments just to get through my weekend. Unless I'm having a senior's moment and have forgotten something (entirely possible) the biggest committment I have this weekend is to beauty. Haircut day!

I heart Haircut Day.

Also on the agenda, cleaning my room. It kind of looks like a landfill site at the moment. If there was a landfill site comprised of size "Small" menswear, back issues of magazines, some piles of books, and the odd bit of detritus that is. With a bed perched on top.

Sadly, one of the things about being a fast reader is that sometimes even magical experiences are over too soon. I tracked down the sequel that I mentioned here and devoured it in a night. I tried to make it last, really I did. Loved it! It's not that often that a book makes me cry, even though I'm a big ole softie, but I shed a few tears during this one. Anyhoo, my point being that I have some reading time this weekend and I'm open to suggestions. Hit me up in the comments if you've something to suggest. Remember, it's Summer here now so I'm looking for nothing too weighty and challenging. Think your better class of Beach Reading and you're on the right track.

Given that it's December 1st, my pre-Christmas panic has kicked in. Must. Start. Shopping. I enjoy gift giving but it can get a bit stressful, so the last thing I plan on doing is leaving it to the very last minute. I really don't want to be stalking the shops the day before Christmas feeling like the 10 seconds of Think Music is counting down, and I haven't yet come up with the right answer.

::dunka, dunka, dunk... dunka, dunka, dunk::

So, that's my plans. Not rivetting, agreed. Not entirely suck-worthy either. There's room in there to mix it up, be spontaneous, and avoid doing some of them (room cleaning, specifically). You?

On The Other Hand...

Me,
me,
me,
me,
me.

It's all about ME.

This One's For Michael Guy

My soul-sister Michael Guy has a love/hate relationship with Christmas.

Michael, I saw this sign outside Elizabeth's Bookshop in Newtown. This one's for you.

Fireside Chat, Anyone?

So, how's everyone doing?

You might think this is weird (but if you've been reading this blog for a while you've probably reset your paramaters of "weird" by now) but I think about you guys a lot. People who drop comments, whether it's frequently or only now and then. If I check my stats and see that someone from Poland or Ireland, or central Australia has been by to read this, it makes me wonder about who you are and what your life is like. I think a lot about my blogging buddies, the people I read often and think of as friends, or the people I only drop by every so often and maybe think of more as fond acquaintences.

You're a nice bunch of people. Obviously I feel I know the bloggers and commentors the best, those that share an idea or an opinion, but in the couple of years I've been writing this stream of consciousness (and occasional stream of unconsciousness) I've only ever had I think two, or maybe three, negative comments left. Those are pretty good odds in my book. You all come across as thoughtful, funny, frequently very sweet, and well, good to hang out with.

You could argue that I don't know you, I guess. Maybe so. But, have you ever had someone thoughtfully hold the door open for you, or met someone's eyes on the train and shared a moment with that stranger over something funny or strange? A little human connection. Thought to yourself "that's really sweet of them" or "they seem nice/funny/interesting", or "I'll bet they're a nice person". That's kind of how I feel about you guys.

Anyway, I'm not shilling for more comments, but I do enjoy them and just want you all to know that (comments or not) I find you guys fascinating and I really enjoy hanging out with you all. I would have packed this in long ago if it was just me talking to myself.

wOOt!

I totally love it when you read a book that you really enjoy (actually re-read in this case, but let's not quibble). A book that kind of leaves you wanting to know what happened to the characters after the novel ends. A book who's author can boast singing in The Eurovision Song Contest, forchristsakes, as one of his acheivements. (So, where were you Mr Gore Vidal?) Then you decide to do a little bit of research on The Interwebsuperhighway, only to discover there's like totally a sequel, and everything! OMG!

So I just emailed my favourite local bookstore to order a copy.

Pray it doesn't suck.

Boos! & Yays!

Freakgirl's post of Boos! & Yays! made me realise that a) I hadn't done one of these for a while and b) there's some Boo-worthy and Yay-worthy things to share:

• BOO! for last night's dullish Dancing With The Stars finale. Too much negativity towards Arianne & Carmelo made it a forgone conclusion from the get-go.
  
• YAY! for my newest obsession So You Think You Can Dance! [Warning: major spoiler! I didn't realise the show is already over in the U.S. and the website splashpage has "Congratulations XXXX, winner of So You Think You Can Dance!" Oh crap. BOO!]
  
  
• YAY! for really, really good fruit salad.
  
• BOO! for leaking take-away containers. Sticky fingers, much? And not in a good way.
  
  
• YAY! for The Family Stone which I finally got around to seeing like a year after its release, and after buying the DVD on a sale table. I heart writer/director Tom Bezucha! Oh, and hello, cute!
  
• BOO! for the sound cutting in and out on the extras.
  
  
• YAY! for feeling really happy and healthy lately.
  
• BOO! for friends going through tough times. I'm thinking of you, and you know who you are. *mwah*
  

Archetypes

I'm currently a bit obsessed with the Face of Tomorrow project. Around a hundred photos of people from each city are layered transparently over each other to form a facial composite archetype for that city. The artist who started the project was interested to see what a multi-ethnic person would look like, one formed from the people he encountered in each city.

The results look slightly stylised but still quite realistic. I'm not sure how the technique works, but to me it look like each face has been slightly elongated or otherwise manipulated to match up the location of the eyes, nose and mouth.

The Sydney composites archetypes are kind of spooky, these people don't actually exist yet they really do look like any number of good looking, slightly Mediterranean faces you might see on the streets of Sydney. The archetypes formed from pictures taken at Bondi Beach and Sydney University are quite unique to each location.

My only one quibble is the youthful good looks of most of the participants. The brief says that they approach 100 indidividuals, but it seems that the locations like beaches and universities (in Sydney at least) are designed for a young and attractive demographic. Having said that, I guess the archetype works best though if you have people of various ethnicities but a similar age range. It would be nice to see the same exercise with aged people, for instance.

Turkey Day 2006

Here are the pics I promised from the Thanksgiving eatfest on Saturday, "Turkey Day 2006". I used to be quite hesitant about photographing people, shy about taking their pictures. This year I decided to break through that hesitancy and to focus on what makes gatherings like this so great, the extended circle of my friends and their kids.



One of the joys of always having my camera with me is that every now and then the conditions are just beautiful for photography. Saturday was one of those times. Hot and overcast, casting a softer light on everyone and without stark shadows. The bushfires around Sydney had put lots of smoke into the air, which is a terrible, terrible thing, but perfect from the aspect of creating a soft golden sunset.





The dynamic of photographing friends is easier too I guess. I had my camera out all day, snapping away like a mad thing, which serves to desensitize people to the presence of the camera. Being able to display the photo on the camera and show people just how good they look (glory be for digital!) helps put people at ease a bit too.



Alcohol, food and a bunch of laughs also puts people at ease. There was lots of all three.





I've only posted my absolute favourites so far on Flickr. They might not even be the best pics I took artistically, but I love them for the moments and the personalities that they capture.



It's great to have records of these goods times. Already I look back on photos from events just 6 months ago and see the new children that have arrived, the rapid growth of others, the relationships that have come and gone, and the laughs and the good times shared.





The hosts of Turkey Day are heading back to the U.S. in January, so it's a bit bitter sweet to think that this may be the last Turkey Day. Certainly not the last party by any stretch of the imagination, but Turkey Day has a unique magic that will be hard to recapture.

How Much Eating, Drinking and Socialising Is "Too Much"?

Oy. It's Monday afternoon and I'm pooped. I had an absolute cracker of a weekend. Fabulous, full of socialising but perhaps a bit light on for sleep.

Friday night I went to dinner at the home of one of the guys from my Buddhist centre. What a fantastic night. We sat outside in the warmth of the summery evening, drank exotic Samoan beers, had a lovely dinner, talked, patted the neighbourhood cat who has adopted him as her own and took a walk down to the water's edge in Balmain to look back at the cityscape over the water. He has such a beautiful home in Balmain, full of persian rugs, Chinese antiques, lots of Buddha statues and memories from a lifetime of travel.

Saturday I kicked the day off with a solo breakfast at the cafe around the corner, before heading off to the Thanksgiving extravaganza hosted by my friends Coz & Rob. Rob is from the U.S. and after years of living here in Sydney, and marrying local girl Coz, they've decided to head back to the U.S. at the start of next year. So this year's Turkey Day will sadly probably be the last. Saturday was hot and hazy from the smoke of bushfires around Sydney, but the night was mild and comfortable for the 30+ of us seated at the odd assortment of tables and trestles set up in the garden. I took somewhere in the vicinity of a hundred photos, a couple of which I'll post here soon.

Yesterday I had a long delicious lunch at a friend's house, way too much wine, and lots of laughs. Oh, and then a fantastic much needed massage in the afternoon.

It seems like I've started the Holiday Weight Gain Season early this year...

Lighting The Tree

On Thursday night I met up with my favourite bunch of photogeeks from the Flickr Sydney PhotoBloggers group. We meet pretty much every Thursday but this time we planned it around the lighting of the big Christmas tree in Martin Place, here in Sydney.



It was a fun night, full of the usual laughs, food and drink that these outings entail. We started with a photoshoot around the tree, before heading off for dinner at Wagamama and then returning to see the tree fully lit.



From my point of view these days as an enthusiastic amateur photographer, a lot of the fun of these sorts of events is the crowd. Christmas brings out the kids and big kids.



It's always interesting to me to see the variety of shots that we end up with as a group. I mean, sometimes the moment someone photogenic appears, or something interesting or quirky, we have been known to descend upon it as a pack. Despite this we always get a wide variety of takes on the same thing. Points of view. Different technical choices. It's fascinating and I think also educational. It's broadening my eye, which is a good thing.



The rest of my photos from the evening are here.

I Had A Dream...

I don't usually remember my dreams in the morning, but this was so good, so enriching, that I guess that's why I woke up in the middle of it. Just so I could remember it.

I had a dream that had Martha Stewart in it. I kid you not. I was working for her as (get this) a souvenirs buyer. I guess she had opened a chain of Martha Stores?...

Anyhoo. I had just started work and I was telling her "You know, you really don't need this many different keychains. Like 30+ designs. Your assortment has really blown out, and we need to rationalise it." This made Martha happy. She smiled at me. It wasn't exactly as if the sun had come out, but it was a nice smile. She looked happy. Well kept, and kind of stylish. That sweater thrown casually over your shoulders just so, what is that? Cashmere?

Then we were looking at a novelty pen that was packaged with her face on it, sort of a caricature. Except it didn't look all that much like her, and we were laughing about how little it actually resembled her. She was friendly, if perhaps a little brisk. Sort of economical with her approval.

I'll bet this one isn't in any of those "Guide To Your Dreams" type books...

Toeses

Feeling ansty and confined today. What I'd really like to be doing is walking barefoot on the beach.



But I'll have to settle for kicking off my shoes under the desk. Compromises.

The Giving Of The Thanks

Saturday night I'm off to a Thanksgiving free for all thrown by some friends of mine. Rob is a gen-u-ine American and so throws some authenticity into the mix, while for the rest of us it's an excuse to party and eat lots. I like the idea though of considering what it is that you have to be thankful for. I think it's good to do this often, and maybe we should do be able to do this without having to have a holiday occasion, but it serves as a good reminder.

So with this in mind, I'm currently thankful for:

• My friends. I've met some amazing new people in the past year, who I'm pleased to call friends. I've also treasured the friendship of my older friends, and marvelled at how most of those friendships have withstood the test of time and changing life circumstances.


• The Internet. That wonderful series of tubes that delivers people and places right to my very computer screen. I can't overstate this. Connecting with people on the internet, here, through other people's blogs, and through Flickr, has really been a highlight of the past year.


• Having somewhere to have a voice. Here. Sometimes it's therapy, sometimes it's an ego boost, sometimes it's a soapbox and sometimes it's a stand-up stage. It's fun and it lets me feel like I'm connecting with people. It also gives me a spot to express myself, play with language and practice writing.


• Health and sanity. These days, through my work, I get to see people who have a shaky grasp on both and it's very sobering. When I think I'm having a bad day it always pays to consider the suffering of others. Perspective.


• Daniel Craig's torso, and similarly, the manufacturers of square cut swimming trunks.


• Laughter. So many people make me laugh; the friends I hang out with, you guys in the comments, other bloggers, the list is long. Thanks to each and everyone of you.
  

Care to share. Let's form a Gratitude Circle!

Cautionary Tale

When emailling one's ex-boyfriend, first be careful to check the email address. In order to avoid the embarrassment of accidentally sending someone, with the same name, who works in your large organisation (a Big Christian Charity say, for example) the email intended for said ex-boyfriend.

Here endeth the lesson.

Let's Hope She Never Discovers Format / Font / Comic Sans

I just got an email from a senior manager at the charity where I work. It contained the following gems that made me want to claw at my (flushed from the heat) skin in displeasure:

1. 'cloud' background
   
2. a Microsoft WordArt curly, swirly, 3D date at the top
   
3. 5 different font colours

Pray she never creates a homepage.

I'm Melting. This Is Not A Metaphor, I Think I Really Am MELTING.

I'm sure I felt something slide off during my walk to work this morning, but I'm too afraid to look.

38C (100F) and humid in Sydney today. Where I work, out in the Western suburbs of Sydney it's always at least 3-4 degrees hotter. Let's consider what 40+ and humid feels like for a moment.

That's like taking a pair of still wet underpants, hot from the dryer, and walking around with them over your head.

Updated:

See! Here's proof it's hot.

What's On Your 'Fridge?

Originally inspired by a couple of my Flickr buddies, I posted this pic on Flickr a few weeks back. My 'fridge in all its glory.



First impression; I'm into Buddhism and semi naked men. Actually that isn't too far from what a second or third impression would tell you. Also in evidence are a couple of cute notes and handmade cards from Quin and her kids, advertising for the stage version of "Hedwig & The Angry Inch", a postcard of an old linocut by an Aussie artist, the contractually obligated novelty magnets, a book review and home delivery menus. Sort of "art fag with friends, who is sometimes too lazy to cook".

If you click the picture above it will take you to the Flickr page for this photo, where I've tagged each item on the 'fridges with a descriptive note.

Care to share, fellow bloggers?

The Weekend That Was

OHMYGOD you guys, old people are exhausting.

I just thought I'd kick off with that little nugget of insight, and get it off my chest. We sent out like 100+ invitations to our frail aged clients for our work Christmas function at the end of last week, and this morning the phone has been running hot. RSVP central. Since 8.59am the phone hasn't stopped, and as nice as these old folks are, I just need the first hour or so of my day to be me time, you know? There's coffee to be drunk, email to be read, blogs to be surfed, shit to be pulled together.

::ring, ring::

Anyhoo, so a nice weekend. How about you? Our sudden arctic snap of late last week passed on and we went back to Summer weather. The mighty Quin [sadly, no longer updated] was in town for a visit and on Friday night she, Bodes and I went for a yummy Thai dinner, and then on to watch the drag shows at The Imperial Hotel. It was kind of a strange night, because the dance bar of the Imperial was closed for renovations and the place was deserted. Tumbleweeds type deserted. The shows were still fun, but we left to go home after the midnight one.

Saturday I caught up with Mikey (the lovely ex) for a shopping expedition. I had to buy a birthday present for one of my Flickr mates, and Mikey was starting his Christmas shopping what I consider early. I cannot think "Christmas" when it's still November, I'm just not built that way. We flamed our way around the stores, and had a lovely lunch in the food hall of David Jones at Bondi Junction.



One slightly boozy lunch later, one gift purchased (Isn't the paper super cute, btw? Just what is it with gay men and gift wrapping?), a swish through Hermes, and then we headed our separate ways. I had a lovely evening at Ana's birthday party, met some nice new people and caught up with a bunch of my Flickr mates.

Sunday morning I kicked off with breakfast with Bernard and Stewie and then hung out with Quin for a few hours, wandering the streets of Newtown in the Summer sunshine, prior to her heading out to the airport to head back home. A Sunday night of slugging out on the couch watching tv, and that's my weekend. Done and dusted. Good times y'all.

::ring, ring::

Literary

I've decided to write a sci-fi novel, but the interesting twist is that all of the characters are going to be named after Blogger comment 'word verifications'. I'm thinking of calling it "The Adventures of WYKFFLIG". I haven't worked out all the details yet, but there's like an evil overlord and stuff.

The Velvet Mafia

Last night's meet up with my fellow Sydney Photoblogger geeks was exactly what the doctor ordered, after a frantic couple of days at work. A late billing cycle, a massive mail out and sending out Christmas Party invites to 100+ septo-to-octo-genarians (and a few even older) has seen me uncharacteristically working of late. Im not a fan. Working is hard.


Coaster, the Velvet Room.

The Bank Hotel in Newtown recently underwent a total refit, and as part of that they opened up a new floor on the top of the hotel as a cocktail lounge. The Velvet Room. Surprisingly, not a huge amount of velvet in evidence. Curtains and a couple of the sofas I think. Maybe "velvet" is more of a state of mind, you know?


Warm glow (left) and backlit stone bar detail (right).

Anyhoo, the refit is very nice. I loved the backlit stone bar, as you can tell from these photos, and I fell in love with the 'oil slick' coloured tiles in the men's room.


Adventures in drunken men's room photography - again.

Maybe my only complaint is that the lounge is a little light on seating. Spacious and very nicely appointed, but really best for a very small group of people sitting together. We had to go on a couple of raids to gather enough seating.


Bar detail (left) and drink #15... but who's counting? (right)

I had a lovely night, met a couple of really nice new photogeeks, had a few beverages, and was home in time to watch The Amazing Race. Score.

4 Things That Popped Into My Head This Morning

Hella busy today, so sorry for the paucity of posts. Too busy even to have thought of 5 Things today, 4 is the best I could do.

So, here are 4 random thoughts I had during the course of this morning:

1. I wish I lived in El Salvador, because I would love to have a blog called Salvador Daily.
   
2. There is a special hell reserved for people who don't pick up their dog's crap. Nobody there gets to wear any deodorant and the whole place smells worse than summertime ass.
   
3. At one point earlier today, while I was on the phone, there was someone jackhammering the footpath right outside my office, the front doorbell was ringing and two very loud people standing right beside my desk were having a conversation. There are special hells reserved for everyone involved.
   
4. Movember seems to be well supported, half grown 'taches are everywhere. I counted a half dozen this morning on my daily commute alone, from the whispy unfortunate to the '70s bow-chikka-bow-bow pornstar hot. I kind of liked the '70s pornstar hot. Obviously.

What Do You See?

I saw this last night on my way home without my camera, and was pleased to still see it there this morning.



I guess somebody decided to beat the bill posters at their own game.

How Much?

Every Fire Station needs a mascot or two.


Window of the Newtown Fire Station. Newtown, Sydney.

Add That To The List Marked "Life Experiences"

I was shopping for food last night, when I was punched by a crazy lady.

It was so astoundingly unexpected that I just stood there in complete shock. I was grabbing something down from the shelf in my local IGA (small supermarket) when I heard a noise behind me. At first I thought something had fallen off a shelf, so I just glaced around to see what it was. There was a woman about 4 paces away, and once I realised that's probably where the noise came from, I turned back around to finish what I was doing. It really was just a glance, not me shooting her The Look (the one that can stop small children and full steam locomotives in their tracks).

A second later she bumps into me, and then follows it with the hardest punch she can land right between my shoulder blades. She then followed that up by saying, as sarcastically as she can deliver, "Oh, sorry mate. Sorry I bumped into ya." I asked her "What the fuck was that for?", and her response was "Mind your own business. Now piss off!"

So many thoughts tap danced in steel capped boots through my head in the next second. That she's crazy. That I could probably hurt her real bad if I wanted to. That I wonder if this supermarket (normally staffed by 2 indifferent cashiers) has such thing as 'Security'? Why me? etc etc.

But then in the next second I thought about what it must be like inside her head. What must it be like to be walking such a tightrope, to have such an incredible hairtrigger temper? Was she high? Was she actually nuts, or just pissed at me for somethig maybe I didn't realise I had done? What must it be like to live a life where your own reactions are so outside the norm, as to make people look at you and label you "crazy"? Unhinged. From a Buddhist point of view, I was really interested in what story had she told herself to make her label me "enemy" in that split second? Someone punch-worthy.

Short answer, I walked away and went and bought my stuff. Yes I was furious, and a small part of me still considered the option of smacking her back from one side of the aisle to the other, but I decided to swallow my own ego reaction and not escalate the situation. I was tense, and trepidatious that she wasn't going too make some further scene for the minute or two I stayed in the store.

I thought about it a lot on the way home, still kind of reeling from being on the recieving end of someone's unexpected anger. I thought a lot about how I reacted, how I labelled her as "crazy" straight away. If I had actually shot her a judgemental look, then I would have still been shocked at her reaction but it would have felt a bit more understandable, I guess. I don't know. Ultimately we can only guess at what goes on in each other's internal landscapes, and reactions are not always what you expect.

Newtown Festival

Sunday was the Newtown Festival, a celebration of all the crazy diversity of my beloved neighbourhood. Aside from the colour of the Festival, the people, the hundreds of cute pooches underfoot, the music, the heat and the dust, one of the highlights for me was the Writers' Tent. I went to a couple of sessions there in the morning, wandered around the Festival for a while, before meeting up with a couple of people from the Newtown Flickr group.



Amberwaves of the Newtown Flickr group (left) and some of the assembled crowd (right)


It was a very hot day, so sun protection was important - and colourful!


Dogs, dogs and more dogs!

It was a fantastic day, even if somewhat hot and draining. Although it looks overcast in some of these pics it was stinking hot, and by early afternoon the Festival was packed and dusty. I love the Festival. Lot's of people come in from other neighbourhoods, but yet it still captures much of what I love about Newtown. Young, old, gay, straight, well dressed and 'feral' all mingling. It's quite commercial these days, but there is still enough creative local colour and community oriented stalls to off-set the commercial flavour.

When the mercury started to soar further in the early afternoon I beat a hasty retreat, and stopped by a pub on my way home to use the loo (the porta-potties at the Festival were beyond gross by afternoon), where I ran into Amanda, Coz and Anti Ob (Rob). A couple of beers in the shade of the pub beer garden was the perfect end to the afternoon.

Good times y'all.