Pipelines and Pyramids

Okay, so I'm just waiting at the moment for an email to come through listing the some payments that I need for work today, and then I'll be out of here. I'll be brief. Or try to be.

The wedding on Saturday was great. As was the hair cut. I even managed to buy a couple of shirts and a new tie for the day, although I have since lost the tie. I'm a little annoyed by that, and hopefully it will show up. It may still be in the back of a cab somewhere.

The ceremony was at St Stephen's in town, and it was really very warm. I got there just before it all happened, but I couldn't find a program anywhere, so I went and asked these guys that were sitting at the entrance to the church. I thought that they might be ushers, after they didn't respond to my request for a program and just looked at me blankly, I noticed that they were all wearing 3 piece suits. So I backed away and took a seat in the church.

From start to finish the ceremony only really lasted about 30 minutes. I had been told that Catholic wedding can sometimes involve a mass beforehand, which tends to go for an hour and then have the wedding on top, but thankfully we were spared this. There was no hymn though, and I thought that was a bit sad, as I quite like a well chosen hymn. There was a few readings, Ria looked great in her dress, Videa (the bride) looked beautiful, and Peter (the groom) looked like he was going to shit himself, and then he looked overwhelmingly happy with himself.

Out the front after the wedding some drunk guys walked through the crowd without their shirts on and were quite rude. The photographer took some photos and everyone hung around for a little bit. There was a dude there who I thought that I recognised, but when I asked what his name was, I was given the answer Dan. It turns out that his name was Aaron, and I was right, and I'm a bit disappointed with myself that I didn't go over and say g'day.

After the ceremony was over I had about 4 hours to kill. I gave my brother Stuart a call and he was down at Southbank. So I went over there and we hung out for a bit. Then we noticed some guys wearing matching AutoSalon shirts and we remembered that it was on that weekend. So over to the Convention Centre we headed.

Once in there it was great, although the twenty dollars it cost was a little steep. Immediately we saw Savage of The Deceptikonz. That dude is as big as a house. Like really big. Not so tall, just really wide. He seemed pretty relaxed though, looking at the cars. The promo girls that were on display were a little unsettling. You know, they are there to be looked at, but I don't like to do it, as they are actual people, not just hood ornaments. Anyways.

So the cars were pretty sick. Some of them were pretty wild. The cars on the dyno made a whole heap of noise. I didn't like it as much as Bike Week though.

After we'd seen all there was to see at AutoSalon Stu and I headed back down to Denim for a little bit. Then it was time for me to go into the Hilton for the reception.

The reception was fun. I was sitting next to some interesting people who knew how to have a good time. It could be argued that I had a little bit too much of a good time towards the end, but these things can't be helped. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and was dragged out of there just as things were beginning to turn a little nasty.

The father of the groom was a very interesting man who made a reasonably inappropriate speech. There were some laughs involved, but they were of the nervous variety. You never knew what he was going to come up with next. Apparently the father of the groom lives in Thailand these days. When I asked him why he lives over there he said that it was because he had a love of salsa dancing. Apparently Brisbane just doesn't have that big a salsa scene. Ria told me later that he also enjoys the company of young ladies. Not girls, they are out of their teenage years, but certainly not near his 60 years.

During the father of the groom's speech he made reference to a guy sitting at his table called the Devil's Advocate. I didn't know what he was talking about so I went up and asked the Devil's Advocate about it. The Devil's Advocate said that I really didn't want to know and I probably shouldn't be asking. He told me that he'd been in jail 4 times and that the tattoo I could see on his hand was actually a triad one. I then surmised that he had some rather large back pieces hidden by his shirt, he said that he had underestimated me. Or something like that. I was pretty "happy" by this point in time and was talking a fair bit of shit. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Anyway, those were just two of the people at the reception. Everybody else seemed normal and everybody was having a good time. There was lots of dancing towards the end which was great. I had a wonderful time and am glad that I went.

The next day I didn't do a whole lot of anything really. Ria and I grabbed some breakfast at 2 in the afternoon, and that was about it. In the evening we did a bit of curb side collecting, finding an old fashioned bike on Chatsworth Rd that we then took over to our friend Emma's place. She's been looking for a bike like the one we found, so she was quite excited when we gave it to her.

Yesterday was a pretty average Monday.

In the evening we had a family meeting/dinner type thing. It got a little heated there for a while, and I, in particular, found it quite intense. I don't really know why, but I think that I'm just worried about things and sad about things at the same time. I'm not too bad most of the time, it's just occasionally. Especially when other people don't seem willing to address the fact that there might even be a problem.

Now I'm going to go and check on that email again.

Congratulations To Stephanie And Eduardo

Friday night. I'm about to go and do some hosing, then I'm going to buy some crappy take away food, then I'm coming home again. Next I am going to eat the crappy take away and drink a bottle of wine that I won in my first online auction. While eating and drinking I am going to watch my purchase for today. The Jackass box set.

I was driving home today and Johnny Knoxville was on the radio with Jeff Tremaine and I got pretty excited. I remember when Jackass first came out and how exciting it was to watch. I remember seeing the movie and being horrified, disgusted and appalled. And laughing the whole way through. It was awesome. I still love that show, and will happily watch it for a couple of hours at a time. I'm pretty excited.

The end of the week is here, and I had no real plans for the weekend. Ria is tied up with a wedding tonight and tomorrow, so I was planning on taking it pretty easy. I've had a pretty full on few weeks, and work has been pretty hectic for a little while, and I wanted to just relax. Hence the take away, the wine and the dvds. I'd booked myself in for a hair cut tomorrow at a new hair dresser, so we'll see how that goes, and I thought that I'd check out the wedding tomorrow. Just the ceremony as Ria is a bridesmaid for nuptuals, and I thought that it'd be nice to see her all dolled up. Not that she doesn't look great all the time, but you know. Plus I wanted to make sure that there weren't going to be any groomsmen trying their luck. You never know! Ha!

But I got the call late this afternoon that there was a spare seat at the reception, and seeing as how I had such a nice time at last week's wedding, it might be nice to go to another one. So I'm going. I've even got a date! Hopefully I won't have to help with the cleaning up of this one. It's at the Hilton, so I hear that their staff is okay. It should be a good time.

Not really sure where I'm going with this, but we'll carry on anyway.

I'm home alone, with the dog, and it's pretty cool. Just hanging out. I have disappointed myself a little this afternoon, but it's just boredom I guess.

I read something wonderful this morning, it warmed the cochles of my heart. It's nice to see people that you care for happy.

Umm.

That kid who was mental earlier in the week came back on Wednesday and again today. He was a changed boy. I don't know what it was, but he's a different kid. I'm putting it down to the fact that he was wearing a crucifix on Monday, and not Wednesday and today. I think that the inner demon in him didn't like being so close to the sign of the Cross, that it angered him, making it manifest itself in his behaviour. That makes sense doesn't it? Still, the whole two days I felt like there was a ticking sound in that room. A time bomb waiting to explode. It finally did late this afternoon when he hit one of his teachers in the face. Boom!

I managed to do my tax return this morning. I think that it's pretty much right. I didn't make up too much crap. I did have trouble finding my NOA (Notice of Assessment) from last year. I'm pretty sure that I had trouble with that last year too. That's the thing that I hate most about tax, finding all the bits of paper you need. Every year I put them into a safe place, but it's always too safe a place and I can never remember where it is. I haven't found it again.

(pregnant pause)

Okay so that plan is now in action. My posting was interrupted by Disco and King (Stuart and Felix). I went and did my hosing, bought my crappy food and I am now enjoying my first alcoholic online purchase. It's not too bad. I guess I just need to finish this and then I can get on with phase two.

I'm thinking about buying a new shirt to wear tomorrow. Something colourful. I don't know, maybe a nice peach coloured shirt or something? Can you even get a peach coloured shirt? Maybe with my complexion that wouldn't be the greatest idea, but you never know until you try.

That's about it. Enjoy yourselves!

Beta Blocker

I received a phone call on my mobile yesterday from a lady at a charity. I was just about to start up work for my afternoon, and didn't have long to talk to her, but I didn't recognise the number, and I thought that it would be prudent for me to answer the call. So I did. And it was the lady from the charity. I can't remember which one.

She asked me how I was, how I was going, the usual. Then she asked whether everything was still okay for the payment to go ahead on the 30th. I said, "Huh?" I couldn't recall signing up for anything, but she checked my details, asking me my name again, making sure she was speaking to the right person. She was. I told her that I was fairly sure that I hadn't given the go ahead to start making payments from my credit card. She said that I'd signed up for automatic payments to be made on September 30. At SouthBank. Then I remembered.

I'd been at SouthBank on September 30. I'd been at ParkLife. And then I remembered being ambushed by some volunteers on my way back into the festival after taking a bit of time out across the river in the city. I was very drunk when I had my run in with these two, and although they hadn't taken advantage of me, I certainly wasn't in any state to be signing up for a year long commitment, but they'd gladly taken my signature.

Because I was in a rush to get back to work, I told the lady that sure it was fine, and I'd be happy to make the payments. So I hung up and went back to work.

While I was working I was thinking about what had happened, and while I'm not upset that I signed up for this worthy cause while I was drunk, I wasn't overly excited about it. They were going to be taking an amount of money every month, and I don't really know too much about it. I can't even remember the name of the charity. Then I realised that the credit card details I had given them were going to be wrong. Because I had lost my wallet in the days prior to ParkLife, I had cancelled my credit card. This means that the payment won't come out.

Now this brings me to my dilemma. They are most likely going to call me when the payment doesn't come out. What do I do? Should I give them my new details and pay the price for my being inebriated and out in public all year long? Or do I tell them that I won't be contributing this time around? I mean, I was totally gone when I was talking to these people. I can't really remember much about talking to them. I can only recall wanting to get away from them quickly. Hmmm.

I mean, the right thing to do would be to give them the new details, but I'm not especially happy about being taken advantage of during a generous/weak moment. And I don't really want to give money to some random charity. I can't even remember who it's to! Maybe I should get their details, check it out, and then make a decision. Maybe I should just tell them to bugger off. I already donate to a few worth while causes, I get people ringing me up at the centre, and I make contributions out of my own money. I don't exactly have a whole lot, and I need all I've got to buy shit that I don't really need.

Oh well, I'm sure I'll make a decision eventually, but if you've got any pointers, hit up the comments.

Just a short note. I recently downloaded an album that I had a while ago but have long since lost. It's Limp Bizkit's Significant Other. 1999 really was the year of the Bizkit, and it's not a bad album. The rap/rock hybrid that is nu-metal was in full swing back then. It has certainly become uncool today. These days it's all garage rock and roll. Distilling it back to the basics. Or whiny punk/emo bands. I was a fan back in 1999, and I still don't mind it. This was back when Fred Durst was king. It just couldn't work out for them though could it?

I Only Ask You To

Today was an interesting day.

This one is a bit of a hard one to get out, so it might be a bit disjointed. I've had the blogger create post up for a while, but I've been killing time. I'm also reasonably hungry, but I'll do this then I'll eat.

So today I was beaten up by a kid. It was his first day at the centre, and he's fucking nuts. Well, that might be a slight exaggeration, but there were times when I thought that he might have been possessed. Seriously. Some of the shit was straight out of The Excorcist. It was mental. The kid didn't want to speak, so he grunted. When he did speak it was things like, "I could bite you," or, "I could stab this into your face." Weird shit. And he just refused to co-operate on any level. That was just the morning.

Then something happened and he was okay for an hour or so. Playing some games, doing activities. Then it was lunch time, and he flipped out and reverted to his former self. He had some two minute noodles for lunch, but instead of using a spoon or fork, he decided to try and eat them with just his face. Then he decided that he didn't want to sit at the table, but preferred two metres away from it. And it was all an act. He was just putting it all on. There was nothing stopping this kid from joining in with everybody else. He just chose not to. Or didn't know how he should behave in a different environment. It's not like he hasn't been in care before, but there's something going on. He was one very angry individual.

I was restraining him for a while. It was very strange. I have never had to do that with anyone like that before. It was a matter of holding him down, holding his arms and legs so that he wasn't able to kick or punch. Weird. He would struggle and try and get away, but I held onto him. The reason that I had to hold him was that whenever he was let go he'd run off into the toilets, or into the store room or try and escape the centre. Just mental.

The plus side of it was that some of that rooms more "interesting" children took a step back and were pretty horrified, meaning that they were happy to join in with the group. It was full on though, and I don't know if this makes any sense, but that's the way it was. We ended up calling his mum who came and picked him up. She found him hiding underneath the director's desk pulling faces and generally being a rat bag.

We rang his mum in the afternoon and asked how he was doing, as he was very upset and very frustrated when he was at the centre. His mum said that he was fine. Maybe he's just misunderstood? Maybe she's in denial? Who knows?

So yeah, that was my day today. It was a bit strange. He's back on Wednesday, so we'll see how we go.

Yesterday the party was a hit I guess. I was driving and was a bit pissed off at the end that it was me who was cleaning up. Kind of annoying, but I don't think that many other people were in much of a state to help. But a shout out to Will Turnbull and Michael Reiken for helping out.

The costumes were pretty sweet, and it was great to see so many people making an effort. I wasn't sure about Pete's Steve Irwin costume (a wetsuit with a hole above his heart), as that may have been a bit too soon. But I guess different people have different ways of dealing with loss.

I don't know what I'm having for dinner. I do know what I'm having for dessert though.

Security Tips

I eventually got my act together enough to pull some clothes together for the wedding. I ended up taking down a few different options so that I could have it covered. I ended up wearing some trousers and a smart casual shirt. Ha!

But yeah, I was freaking out a bit on Friday night. I think that it was just the end of a long week and I wasn't really thinking quite right. So I drank a bottle of wine in the car on the way down. I was okay after that, although I was making threats of smoking in the car to my sister and brother.

So we got down the coast eventually. My dad and Dirty Dave had been at the pub so they were feeling pretty cheerful too. We had some Mexican food for dinner. It wasn't the greatest. I think that Mexican might be one of those things that is best in the home. Maybe I just don't know what to order.

After dinner we all went up to our room and I sat on the balcony for a while listening to Erin's iPod, talking on the phone, drinking beers and talking to people on the phone. It reminded me of my time at Burleigh a little bit. Not the good parts though.

Yesterday I was up pretty early. I went and bought some provisions, then when everybody was up we went out for breakfast. I can't remember what I had, although I was surprised to see lamb's fry on the menu.

After breakfast we went to the beach for a while, saw a few jelly fish. It was nice. Once we'd had enough we went back to the unit and watched a show called The Dudesons. It was pretty full on. Kind of like Jackass, except it was in a Scandinavian country. They burnt down their house by accident.

Soon enough it was time for the wedding. So we had a burger from Big Chief and then headed up the hill to where the ceremony was to take place. It was being held in the small park atop Green Mount. The skies were very threatening, but we were lucky in the end. Everything went according to plan. The celebrant made a couple of jokes about where to squeeze the tooth paste and which way to put the toilet paper onto the holder. At the end everyone blew bubbles into the air. Christine looked beautiful.

There was a girl at the wedding. She was wearing a black and white cocktail dress. Stu and Dave and my cousin Michael were checking her out. Trying to figure out her age. She looked about 18, but they considered that she might be a year or two younger than that. She wasn't. She was 13. That was one of those moments that you feel kind of bad. But that doesn't mean you stop looking. Uh oh.

So the reception was pretty fun. I was running drinks for a while which was okay. It seemed to take ages for everyone to get something to eat though, and there was a bit of time where nothing was happening. It was only after all the speeches had been completed that the dance floor opened up. It was great to see Dirty Dave up there cutting a rug. Towards the end I was given bin duty. So I made many trips out to the wheelie bins. I was trying to save this life sized pictures of Elvis. I thought that one would have looked great on my wall. Erin told me that I threw them out though in a frenzy. I was a little intoxicated by this point. It must have been the love in the air. Or the beer.

Today I woke up very early to my sisters incessant snoring. She puts me to shame. So I got up at 6:40. Thankfully I had a clear head and I went and read for a while. I thought about going for a swim, but it was pretty overcast. So I didn't. Once everyone else woke up we packed up and headed out. We almost forgot to take the key back, but we got it there in the end.

We dropped some things we had to take last night off at Christine's place. She was getting up Buff for some reason. Then we had breakfast at the North Kirra surf club. It was very relaxing. And my 3 egg omlette was massive.

We're now back in Brisbane. I'm about to get ready for the party this afternoon. See you!

Dirty Looks From Passers By

Ungh. Fucking Fridays.

You know, you get to the end of a big week, and you just want to get it out of the way with a minimum of fuss. And then Friday gets up you from behind quicker than you can say Jack Robinson.

Actually, that's a little bit dramatic. Although today was full on, it wasn't all bad. It was actually quite enjoyable in some parts. Talking to parents, talking to kids. Having a hamburger for lunch. Eating English muffins with tomato and cheese for afternoon tea. It wasn't too bad.

There were a few trying moments though.

I made a little boy cry today. It was all for show though, he wasn't really upset, just making noise. I wasn't going to give him what he wanted though. Not until he'd finished his yoghurt. So, whatever. He was fine after a couple of minutes.

Another incident was in the afternoon. There was sort of two parts to it. The way that it went down was that I'd decided to let the younger kids have the first crack at seconds on the afternoon tea. The older kids didn't like this very much as they normally have their seconds first, but I was sick of the little guys missing out, so today was going to be reversed. The older kids weren't happy. They were going apeshit. I still don't really understand why. It was so over the top that it was kind of funny. So I went along with it. They said that I was smiling and that I was enjoying the pain that I was causing them. I said that I was, of course. Then they came up with something else. I can't really remember what, and I said something that I can't remember either. And then they kept on going, so I thought that I'd play the game their way.
They said something else, and I said, whatever, like I care. And that was it. You would have thought that I'd told them that their mother sucks cocks in hell or something. There was a look of absolute shock on their faces. I guess that in the heat of the moment maybe I stepped over the line. So a couple of them tried to stage a walkout. They didn't get very far.

I felt kind of bad about that, because obviously they hadn't gotten my intended joke. Maybe I was the only one who got it? So I went out and apologised for that, but then they came in and thought that they'd be able to be the first ones to have seconds. I said no, again. Again they went apeshit. This time instead of walking out, they put their plates down and went and sulked for an hour. That was okay with me, because I was pretty angry and didn't want to have to talk to spoiled tweenies.

The little kids liked that I stuck up for them, and they enjoyed their seconds.

Actually, I was talking a lady on the phone the other day. She was trying to sell me something, and we were getting on famously. We were bonding over how we'd both lost loved ones to the evil that is World Of Warcraft. But she was from Mexico, and I'm a Queenslander, and she tried to be funny about rugby. She wasn't specific about whether it was league or union, but it doesn't matter. She said that it was just an excuse for grown men to roll around together and press their bodies up against one another and grab hold of each other. And I said that that was why I liked to watch. We didn't get along quite so well after that.

This weekend I'm at my cousin's wedding down the coast at Coolangatta. I've been wondering what to wear all week, as I'd been told in the past that there was a Hawaiian theme. I didn't know if this meant that they wanted me to wear a shirt with a whole heap of hibiscus flowers in garish colours, or whether I should just wear normal sort of gear. And the answer finally came through this afternoon at 4:30. Smart casual to the wedding, and I can get changed if I want for the reception. But this poses a bit of a problem, what is smart casual anymore? I have no idea.

Is it shirt and slacks? Polo shirt and shorts? Shirt and shorts? Shirt and tie? Who knows? And what about shoes? I have no idea! I don't think that my Crocs will be acceptable. I hope that they're not. But what shoes do I have?

The wedding itself is being held in a park near the beach, I think. The reception is somewhere else down there.

Anyways.

Disco Stu is having his costume party this Sunday in the New Farm park. It should be interesting. I must admit I'm kind of scared about drinking on a Sunday though. I can't handle hangovers at work anymore. If you haven't heard about the party, it's a Halloween one. From midday. In New Farm park. It should be a good time. Come on down! Make sure you wear a costume though!

Not Singing Anything Anymore

Well, the cross town sprint proved to be pretty easy in the end. I asked a few people and decided to make my way down Brunswick Street, onto Ann Street and then across the Victoria Bridge into South Brisbane and the QPAC carpark. Across the Story Bridge, along Kangaroo Point and then down Grey Street was deemed an unnecessary detour. So we didn't take it. We arrived with ten minutes to spare, even with the traffic restrictions on the Ann Street on ramp to the Riverside Expressway. We picked up our tickets from the box office and made our way in. We were in row A in seats 24 and 25.

The play itself was very enjoyable. I was a little surprised, as I didn't really know what to expect, and the last few times I've been to see something it has been a little bit disappointing. So I'm glad that last night turned out the way that it did. I enjoyed the cast, costumes, sets, dialogue, music. The whole she bang. It was well paced, with 3 acts and didn't feel overly long, although it went for about 2 and half hours. So yeah, if you feel like seeing some live drama or whatever, do yourself a favour and get down to see it.

After it was all over Ria and I were quite hungry. Unfortunately there's not many places open at a quarter to ten on a Monday night in Brisbane. Or if there are, I didn't drive by them last night. Not that I really went exploring, it was more just around West End. We ended up heading into the Treasury Casino. I was pretty keen to go, remembering something that Lil had put up on her blog about Cafe 21. The last time I ate there I was very under the weather, but I was feeling much better this time. The food was delivered swiftly and was just what the doctor ordered. I had the salt and pepper squid. Boo ya.

I slept pretty well last night, but was still tired this morning. This didn't stop me from having a great start to the day. Unfortunately things went downhill slightly at work. I think that I was a little grumpy, and I find that if I'm not feeling tip top terrific, then little things that shouldn't annoy me do. I had a pie for lunch though, and that was pretty sweet.

This afternoon I helped a friend's son out with an assignment that he's doing. It was very frustrating. The kid just has no idea or concept of how to do these things. I'm not saying that I'm great at them, because I certainly am not. In fact assignments were my biggest stumbling block at high school because I simply did not like doing them. I preferred doing just about everything else except for them. But I still knew how they should be done. The layout and things like that. How to write a paragraph. Anyways, it was frustrating, but I've given him a plan and hopefully he'll use that to get it done. And not make up bullshit stories that do nothing other than piss me off and make himself sound like a dick.

So that's it. I bought a container of Jelly Belly jellybeans tonight to make myself feel better. It's shaped like a big jelly bean. I like it, but all of the jelly beans are gone now.

Come And Take A Look

Ah, just a quick one this afternoon. I'm off to see a play in a few minutes, but I thought that I'd do a little bit of this first.

So, the party on Saturday night was fun. The bar tab ran out in an hour. There were lots of 18 year old kids dressed up to the nines. Some guys looking awkward in their suits, some girls looking much older than their tender years in dresses with plunging neck lines. Some tall guy called Wazza. He was a dancing maniac. Some other dude called Andrew. He was dressed in a pvc jacket, had a flat top hair cut apart from the fringe, which hung down to his jaw line. He was wearing black nail polish and sparkling silver eye shadow. I spoke to him for a little bit, as he looked pretty interesting. Apparently he's really into industrial music, androgyny and that sort of stuff. It must be hard for him living in a college on campus at UQ. Oh well. While I was talking to him I actually had to ask him if he was a guy. I wasn't trying to be rude, but he was kind of pudgy, and the clothes he was wearing could have been hiding some feminine curves. Plus he had a really high voice. But apparently he's a dude. He wasn't too offended. He said that there's not really much of an industrial scene in Brisbane. And he doesn't like Nine Inch Nails. I think that he said that just to try and get a reaction out of me. I didn't talk to him too much after that. He tried to tell me that he likes a band called Front Line Assembly, so I might check it out. Whatever.

So the party when on into the night. I drank too much towards the end. It was really loud up there at Uber. Plus drinks were hideously expensive. That's the way that it goes though.


Yesterday started off with a bang. It could have been the jaegerbombs from the night before still exploding. Then there was some breakfast and eventually Ria and I made it down the coast. We went to the second hand book store where we picked up some chick-lit and a book about a black call girl entitled, Blondes Don't Have More Fun. It's a true story.

The beach was a little bit too windy again, and the surf was blown out. It was still pretty rough. After the swim Ria and I grabbed some Big Chief burgers and ate them in the park. They were disappointing. Too much lettuce and not enough sauce. I think that I scared the guy behind the counter a little bit too. I don't know how. He had something growing on his ear. I don't know what it was.

After the bad burger experience we came back to Brisbane. It was a good trip. We were very tired though and had a nap. Then we woke up. Then we went to sleep again. It wasn't terribly exciting, but it was nice.

This morning I went and did some hosing. It was good. I went home afterwards. I stayed at home for too long, but I was reading the Sunday paper and the time slipped away. When I got to work it was pretty hectic. After a little while things settled down again, and it turned into an average Monday.

In the afternoon I showed some new parents around the centre. They've been living in the UK for the past 8 years or so. The dad is an Aussie and the mother is from Brazil. Her name is Kiki. The took the spot and that made me happy.

This afternoon I took some of the boys up to the oval. We played frisbee and kicked the soccerball around. It was nice.

Tonight I'm off to see Noel Coward's Private Lives. I won the tickets last week from Time Off magazine. The show starts at 6:30, and I'm picking Ria up from work at 6. I hope that there isn't any traffic, as it could be close. Anyways!

Removal Stench

Another busy Saturday today. No hosing though unfortunately, so that was a bit of a bummer. I did manage to get a fair bit of other stuff done though.

Today we held a small memorial type thing at the centre for my Mum. It was pretty low key. It was a Special K event. Not too heavy, not too light. We all knew why we were there, and it was sad at points, but overall it was a good day. I had a bit of a shaky voice at one point, but that's the way it goes sometimes. If anyone asks, I was crying from cutting the onions. Just kidding, although the onions were especially pungent.

The turnout was nice. It was for the staff and just about everybody was there. The people who weren't had good excuses on the whole. The way that the afternoon worked was that everybody was asked to write down leading sentence of a memory of theirs. These were written down on cards that read, "I remember when...". All of the cards were then placed in the box and randomly pulled out. Whoever wrote on the card that was drawn would then share their memory of my mother. It was a great way of hearing some of the funnier stories, and a few of the poignant ones that other people hold dear to their hearts.

After everyone had shared their stories we had a bit of a feed and a couple of drinks in the front playground at the centre. The grass was looking good. Stuart cooked a great barbecue. Reggie kept the kids entertained. So, overall I would like to think that it was a very fitting way of remembering who Judith was, and what she was about.

Before heading down to the centre for the memorial I went to the gym. I had a bit of a row on the ergo. I managed to do 3000m. I don't remember them being that hard when I was younger? Actually, I do remember them being pretty intense, but they seemed a little easier. Oh well. I can only get better.

Tonight I am off to an 18th. I haven't met the Birthday Girl yet. It's being held at Uber in West End. Starting 7pm. I gotta get rolling. This girl is from Rocky originally and is now living in one of the colleges at UQ. There's a bus leaving from the college to take them to the bar. From what I recall, kids at the college tend to get pretty loose, so it could be an interesting evening.

Over and Out!

Catfish

I just got back from doing the groceries. I bought a bit of stuff. Some healthy, some not so healthy. I hope that none of it goes to waste, because that is definately the most frustrating thing. Buying something, and then it not being used, and it rotting away.

So last night I went up and saw The Devil Wears Prada. As often happens, I preferred the book. What was disappointing was that this could basically have been a completely different story. In the book it's more about how much she hates her job, but sees it as a way of getting ahead. She calls it her year of servitude. And as much as she hates her job, she still allows it to consume her, because she can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't get that impression from the movie. The movie just left me feeling hollow. Anyways. The movie was just clothing porn. If I was into that more, maybe I could have bought a box of popcorn and put a hole in the bottom, but I'm not, so I didn't.

After the movie was over I took Ria to one of my favourite eating establishments. The 24 hour fish and chip shop in Kangaroo Point. It's one of my favourites not because they do great food, because they don't. I just like how everything is behind bullet proof glass, and the attendant/cook serves you through a little window. And they have pin ball machines. It's always interesting going there, as there are often a few unsavoury characters around. Last night was no exception. There was a couple of ladies there who had seen better days. Or at least I hope they had, because if they haven't I feel very sorry for them. Tight jeans were the order of the day, and the older lady had tastefully hitched her bum floss up high on her waist, while her jeans remained around her hips. They were talking about debts that they owed, and one said to the other how some guy should just "shove it up his fucking arse." Gold. Just as we were leaving, some dude came in. He wasn't a very happy camper. Shouting and pointing his finger. Something was going down.

The burgers we had were okay. The chips were nice.

I'm listening to some Cannibal Corpse at the moment. I don't know why. The other day I was sitting around, and I thought to myself, you know, it's been a long time since I've listened to any real heavy metal. I still listen to some old trash Metallica, but the heavy stuff has been lacking. Not that I was ever really into it. But there's a time and place for everything. Even the double kick drum.

I haven't been back to the gym yet. I hope to get there tonight, although I'm not sure how that is going to go. I'm supposed to be having coffee with my sister at some point. She wants to talk to me about something I think. I don't know what it is. I hope that it's not too heavy.

Dual Screen Imperative

I kept the same level of intensity all day long on Saturday. It wasn't just the morning. It was the morning. It was the afternoon. It was the evening. It was the night. It was a big day.

I won't go in the same level of detail, because I have to pick my brother up from work in a couple of minutes, but I will make some quick points.

• Washing
• Washing
• Made a deal with my brother to go with him to the city
• Went to the city with my brother
• Bought a pair of shorts in the Elizabeth Arcade (which is an awesome arcade these days)
• Bought some Japanese food in the Arcade
• Bought another pair of shorts (board shorts this time)
• Was very happy with both of my purchases. Very happy.
• Went out to the RE, my brother came, holding up his end of the deal
• Had a look at some shoes before going into the pub
• Went into the pub and hung out with Angus and Tanya and a couple of other dudes
• Went home
• Went and signed up at a gym
• Did some exercise for the first time in a long time
• Came home, didn't shower
• Went to Ria's
• Watched Private Parts and had a fantastic burger from Sea Food and Eat It
• Went to Laura's place
• Drank beers
• Went in to Noi Bar
• Drank beers
• Drank shots
• Went to the Port Office
• Drank beer
• Drank shot
• Had disagreement with Ria
• Full drama ensued, not funny at time, but kind of funny afterwards
• It was very cliched
• Took cab back to Ria's
• Woke up hung over
• Eventually got out of bed
• Had some breakfast
• Went home
• Went to beach
• Had Nandos
• Went for a swim
• Felt better
• Read book
  
• Bought some fantastic baked items from the Manolas Brother Deli at Broadbeach
• Came back
• Read book
• Fell asleep

That was the end of my weekend. It was pretty awesome. The drama of Saturday night was a pain at the time, but that's what happens when you get bad news after drinking to excess and being a bit tired/grumpy. The best part about it was running into all these people that we knew during it. That's life though.

I've got to go and get my brother.

I Love Riding...

Even though it's only 9:30, I have had a busy morning. I was up at sparrow's to go and water the lawns at the centre for one of the last times. It was peaceful, and serene. I gave the grass a really good soaking because it I don't think that I'll be up before 7 tomorrow morning, but I guess you never know. So I listened to the radio on my phone while I spread the love around and then I finished. I went back to Ria's place, and I thought about getting some croissants on the way back to have for breakfast. Then I remembered that Ria didn't really like them, and there's not much point in just buying them for me, so I didn't.

I got back to Ria's, let myself in with her key, then told her about my wet adventure. When I got up to the part about the croissants she told me that she did in fact like them. And since the idea was now in my head, it was decided that I'd go back and grab some. So after a bit more of a sleep in, I headed back out into the big bad world to pick up some croissants for breakfast. I went down to the Rock and Roll Market Place which is on Logan Rd. I've driven past this place many times, but haven't actually been in there before. It was pretty cool. And guess what? It's not called the Rock and Roll Market Place for nothing! Oh yes. They were playing rock n roll over the speakers. Although it wasn't Cannibal Corpse or anything heavy like that. It was more your old style 50's rock n roll. But that's still cool. I liked it.

So I bought some croissants and then some strawberries too. The girl behind the counter asked me what I was doing up so early, and if I'd have had any sense I would have said that the early bird gets the worm, but I don't so I didn't. I think that I mumbled something like I don't know. Smooth.

I drove back to Ria's, past some people who were packing up for the weekend. They looked like they were heading out for a camping trip somewhere. One of their number was certainly excited. He was wearing a wide breamed hat. Sun smart.

I took the croissants upstairs, and Ria put them into the oven while she made some coffee. I ate some strawberries. I wasn't too sure whether I should have bought two punnets of them, because they were 3 dollars for one, but 5 dollars for two. They were delicious strawberries, but I think that two punnets would probably have been too many.

Once breakfast was over, Ria finalised getting ready for work, and I sat around reading a QHA trade publication. It wasn't terribly interesting. Articles about how to use email databases to keep people coming back. Little jokes and quotes and things that you could stick on the end of the emails, and another idea of putting tips for avoiding hangovers in them. One of the tips was from Russia and involved eating salted cucumbers. Another of the articles was about the changes in business since the introduction of the new smoking laws, and general market forces. I didn't get too into any of it, but it was okay. There was also a write up on The Fox, the new pub in South Brisbane that I was at last Saturday night. I didn't read any of that article, I just looked at pictures of fuckheads dressed up like gangsters and molls.

Soon it was time for Ria and I to jump in the car, and make our way over to New Farm, where I dropped Ria off for work. She was a couple of minutes early, which is much better than being a couple of minutes late.

On my trip home I needed to get some diesel for the car. The fuel light had been on since the previous evening, and I thought that it would be a good idea to get some sooner than later. I had put a shopping docket that would give me the 4 cent discount at all Caltexs in my pocket the day before, but unfortunately I had changed out of those shorts, so now I was faced with the prospect of having to pay the full price for fuel.

Until I remembered that Mobil was now offering a 4 cent discount if you spent 5 dollars or more in one of their service stations. So I hunted down a Mobil. I thought that there might have been one on Lytton Rd, opposite Mowbray Park. That one turned out to be a BP. That was cool though, I was pretty sure that I'd be able to find one on Old Cleveland Rd somewhere. And I did. In Carina. So I pulled in, and filled up the truck. It was actually a really good pump. The reason I liked it so much was for the fact that it was one of pumps that has a hold for the trigger. Because a lot of larger vehicles are diesel, and larger vehicles have larger fuel tanks, some service stations have holds for the diesel pumps so that you don't need to squeeze the trigger the entire time that you are filling up. The service stations that I usually fill up at don't have this luxury. So I stood around while I filled up the car, watching the workmen feeding cable into a hole. Eventually the tanks were full, and I went inside to pay the attendant.

The attendant was a lady a couple of years older than me, she was speaking frantically to someone on the phone and holding her eye. While I looked through the store's meagre supplies to find something worthwhile spending the 5 dollars I needed to spend in order to receive my 4 cent per litre discount she continued her conversation on the phone. I ascertained that it was to do with the computer system, and specifically the EFTPOS system. This was going to be a problem as I only had 100 dollars in cash, and was looking to pay the rest on my debit card.

After umming and aahing for a few minutes I ended up settling for FHM. A magazine that I've written about before as being pretty terrible these days. I guess when in doubt go for the T and A. Dear oh dear. I picked up my copy and made my way to the counter.

As I approached the counter the attendant put down her phone and spoke to me. I told her how I would like to pay with both cash and with my debit card. She said that this would be okay, but I would have to wait for a couple of minutes for her to get the EFTPOS online again. That was okay with me, so I hung around. She hadn't taken her hand off her eye yet. Before she picked up the phone again, I asked her about the eye, she said that yeah, it was sore. So I kicked around the store for a couple minutes, read the front page of the paper, looked at the new slim line 300mL coke cans, wasted time.

The attendant finally finished on the phone and told me that I would now be able to pay for my purchases. This pleased me a great deal, and I did exactly that. Before I left the store I asked her about the eye again, wondering if there was anything I could do for her. She said that it had been flicked by a rubber band last night, and had apparently "taken a chunk out." This seems pretty extreme, but she did seem to be in pain. So, who knows? I suggested putting some ice on it, or even sunglasses. She said that she'd have a look at the shades in a bit. I said farewell, and walked out of the store.

I jumped back into the car, and proceeded to the exit of the station. I looked to the right and saw a line of traffic approaching, so I let my eyes wander further to the right to watch the workmen still feeding the cable into the hole. I don't know how long I was watching, but the next thing I knew, there was a gap in the traffic and I jumped in and pushed the car to full revs to get up to speed down Old Cleveland Rd. At the Creek Rd intersection I turned right and went past the Carindale Shopping Centre then made my right turn in Winstanley street. I made a few more turns, and then I was back at my house, where I pulled up on the easement next to my driveway.

When I walked through the front door I called out to the dog who came running down. Reg picked up the paper and then we went inside together. I took my bag and magazine upstairs, then got my dirty clothes together and brought them downstairs where I intended to put them into the washing machine. At the washing machine I found my brother, Stuart, already loading his clothes into the machine. That was okay. We talked briefly. Then my dad came downstairs with his dirty clothes. Saturday is washing day here at the Musgraves. While Dad and Stu were having breakfast I thought that I would put a post up on my blog.

Before I started writing about it I thought that I would write about the oysters and steak I had last night at the Story Bridge Hotel. Or the walk that I went on yesterday. Or the crazy parents that I spoke to yesterday at the centre. Like the one who had come out from Western Australia, signed up within half an hour, then an hour later again cancelled because she didn't get the house she thought that she was going to. Or the one who had recently found her birth mother after 25 years, and was now not speaking to again. Or I thought that I might even write about the burrito that I'd had for dinner on Thursday night. But apparently not, because this is what has come out.

Swear At Me

I woke up early again this morning. I was planning on getting down to the centre and doing some hosing, which I did. After that I had planned on sticking around and being there for the programming. Unfortunately things didn't go according to plan.

When I arrived at the centre today, one of the girls who is on the early shift poked her head out the door. She didn't look real well. And she told me that she'd been spewing all morning. Uh oh. So I told her to try and get a replacement, but not to worry, because I could always work if we got stuck. And we got stuck. I still managed to do a bit of hosing which was great, but didn't get a chance to give the front the watering that it needs.

So today I worked in the Red Room. This is a really fun room. The kids in there are aged between 2 and a half and 3 and a half. Lots of good times. Lots of boys. A real hoot. They're old enough to talk to you when something is wrong, but old enough not to talk back to you. Sure things were a bit hectic, especially at lunch time. And when the phone rang. And when I had to show some new parents around the centre. But otherwise, it was great.

For the activities today we had a few different things out. There was a listening station playing a Mem Fox story. There was that old chestnut, play dough, which the kids still go nuts for. A city cat (chairs placed randomly around the room) took some people to the shops (home corner) where many exotic products (empty plastic containers) were bought. We also had some collage for creating masterpieces.

During rest time I organised the afternoon activities. We had a figure eight train track with correct signage. We had a scene from the African savannah, with a pride of lions tracking and hunting a variety of prey. There was a warthog who was missing a leg, so he was lunch. It was great.

Have you seen the Big Day Out line up yet? It looks pretty awesome. I'm pretty excited about a few of the acts. I haven't seen Tool before, but I don't know if a festival would be the right sort of venue. I've seen Muse and My Chemical Romance, and they were both fantastic. Really awesome, so it should be good to see them on the big stages. Peaches will be an interesting show, for sure. And I wouldn't mind checking out the Killers. I'll have to get my A into G and get a ticket at some stage. I don't think that I'll be getting a ticket for Christmas this year.

So yeah. A good day. Lots of fun things.

Mardy Bum

Last night after I hopped off of here, I had some dinner. We had chicken. It was nice. Especially the corn. Extremely juicy. One of my brothers, Dirty Dave, doesn't like corn. Apparently he doesn't like the taste, and the juiciness of it. Which is weird. That's exactly why I like it. Then again, I like lettuce. And the part of the lettuce I like the most is the part right near the core. Where it's really succulent. I don't like that leafy shit out near the ends. That may as well be a palm leaf as far as I am concerned. Yet some people don't like the crunchy parts, they prefer the softer, more leafy parts. Weird, huh?

I had my alarm set for 6 o'clock this morning so that I would be able to go down to the centre and do some hosing. I actually beat the alarm at first, waking at 5:30. Knowing that I still had a half hour to go though, I decided to go back to sleep. So I did. And then I started having this really rad dream. It wasn't too wild or crazy or anything, but it was a good one. I can't remember what was happening, but it came up to a part where I was going to have to make a decision, and then my alarm went off and I woke up. I was pretty annoyed about this, as I was really interested in seeing which way I was going to go. So I hit the snooze button and went back to sleep, hoping that I would be able to get back into the dream that I'd just been having. Unfortunately this didn't happen, but I think that I started dreaming about something else. It was also a good dream. But again the alarm went off just as all the dream was getting interesting. I was over being disturbed in my dreams so I got up. And I went hosing.

Today was another busy day at the centre. I managed to sign up the family that I was hoping to get in which was good news. I've got somebody else coming in tomorrow, and I'm hoping to get them in to, which would be great. I'm on a bit of a hot streak, and it's been good. I've only got two days left of doing this stuff, so it'd be great to finish with some more successes.


There's a song around at the moment. It's by Justin Timberlake. I remember when his first album came out, I ended up with two copies of it. I really liked it, I thought that it was awesome. It used to send me off to sleep every night. I haven't listened to it for a long time, but I've been looking forward to the new album. So far I'm not overly impressed with it, but I don't know if that's just because I haven't really listened to it. I remember the first one really struck a chord with me, and I thought that it had a nice variety of good pop songs. Anyways, the song that I like now is My Love. The first time I heard it I thought that it was really annoying. There is the noise during the chorus that sounds like a little animated bird cheep cheep cheeping away. I think that I even said the first time that I heard that it was shit, and that I would never liked it. Well, I've changed my mind. I like it now.

That's about it for today. I finished work a little early and went and hung out with Ria for a while. That was enjoyable. Now I am home and am about to have dinner again. I'm planning on doing some more reading tonight. I'm going to do some hosing again in the morning. It should be good.

Chop Me Up

Another week without posts. Another week of forgotten highlights. I can't even really recall what I wrote about here last time? I think that it was something about not caring. Trying to make the next day a good day. I'm pretty sure that I succeeded. In fact, I'm not entirely sure why I was having a bit of a whinge that night. Maybe I was tired?

So the dinner that I cooked up that night was awesome. The potatos in particular. I even had enough left over to have some for breakfast. I managed to get out to the pub. I wasn't out there too long in the end, I was pretty worn out. I hope that Nick has a great time away. I'm sure that he'll have a tonne of wild and crazy stories, because he has a tonne of them from here, and this is just little old Brisbane.

Thursday and Friday at the centre were both busy days. The phone was ringing off the hook with people that were wanting to start up which was great. I'm trying to slam as many of them home while Louise is away as I can. I think that I'm getting the hang of it.

One of the new families, one that I can't take all the credit for, are a group of recent immigrants to Australia. They are from a place that I haven't even heard of before, Burundi. They don't speak much English. They came with a translator. The dad's name is Sylivester. He seems a happy soul. Except when he shakes my hand he doesn't always let go. So we'll be talking, and shaking hands, and talking more, and shaking hands more. It can end up that I'll be holding his hand for a while, because when we talk, we don't speak the same language, and it can be quite difficult making our points to each other. Especially with one hand. Still, that's pretty minor.

The family live in the same street as one of my other families. She was telling me that they were in the South East Advertiser when they first got out here. Apparently they spent 13 years in a refugee camp before being able to come out. And apparently there's an army of them! Sylivester told me that he had 7 children. I couldn't help but think that there's not too much to do in a refugee camp.

I saw the mother's entrance papers to Australia. In the papers they had her down as having a birthday on the first of January. The translator commented that it seemed like half the population of Africa were born on the first day of the year. I also noticed that instead getting the mother to sign her name, they used her thumbprint. In all, it was a very interesting day.

I've had some other people coming in. Tomorrow I've got a Japanese lady coming down. I don't think that she's bringing a translator.

Last Thursday night Ria and I had a bit of a shocking run of luck together. To begin with, we went to the movies to see Talladega Nights, which was quite enjoyable. Except I lost my wallet. And Ria locked herself out of her house. I wasn't overly pissed off about losing my wallet. It's been a long time since I've lost it, and even though there was some money in there, I was most annoyed when I thought about all the lining up I was going to have to do in order to get all my cards replaced. I wasn't looking forward to that at all. Ria leaving her keys at home wasn't a huge deal either, all we had to do was pick them up from her housemate, John. John was even in West End, and we were at Southbank, so it was just down the road. Except Ria and I had no idea where the Tongue and Groove bar was in West End. Eventually we found it on Hardgrave Road. We thought that after all this bad luck we'd go and get a pizza from Earth and Sea. So we did. I still had some money, but no wallet, and Ria now had a key to her house. We ordered a pizza that looked great. Ria, in particular, was looking forward to the succulent prawns which were to adorn our choice. The pizza came out. No prawns. Uh oh.

It was a fitting end to the night when nothing could go right.

Friday night was a nice night.

Saturday morning was a bit of shemozzle. I finished reading my book though. The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs by Irvine Welsh. I didn't mind it. I didn't love it though. I guess the impossibility of it was a little frustrating.

I eventually made it home on Saturday, and that's where things took a bit of an interesting turn. Stuart and Tim came home. The sun was shining. So I had a beer. Then I rang the cinema to see if my wallet was there. It was. So I had another beer. Then I got dressed. I'd decided to go to Parklife.

I picked up my wallet, then bought a ticket, then headed in. Then proceeded to get intoxicated. I ran into some familiar faces. Some I haven't seen for a long time, and some I've seen more recently. At one point I remember trying to think of something to say to somebody, but I couldn't. They were standing in front of me, and I was thinking of things that I shouldn't say to them, but I didn't want to say those things. I can't remember how I got out of that one. I might not have. I was pretty drunk.

Unfortunately my phone ran out of juice later in the day. Unfortunately I didn't. At one point I walked over to bridge to the city to get some more money. And a chocolate thick shake. And I ate some vegetarian food. And I made the change from beers to Smirnoff blacks. I bought a pack of Marlboro Reds. And I danced. And it was a good time. I'm not entirely sure who I saw. A bit of Mix Master Mike. A bit of Krafty Kuts. A bit of Cut Chemist. A bit of My Ninja Lover.

At one stage I was dancing, and this dude in front of me collapsed and started having a seizure. At first I bent down to pick him up, then I realised what was happening. Some other dude was clearing him a space, so I went and grabbed a medic. I'm not too sure what happened to him. I headed off to another stage.

The night ended with me going to the Fox with Stuart. I ran into a guy I knew back in Whistler. He was being a bit of a dick I think. I didn't hang around too long. Stuart disappeared with some girl so I took that as my cue to head home too. Which I did.

When I woke the next morning I didn't feel too crash hot initially, but then I had a shower. Stuart was going to play some lawn bowls with my grandmother, and I wasn't going to go. But then I thought to myself, Robb - Stop being such a pussy. Suck it up and get out there. You're not going to do anything but sit around at home and feel sorry for yourself. Do something!

So I went and played a few ends with Stuart, Nanna and Dean. Dirty Dave didn't want to come. It was a nice morning. I even had a bit of a win on the pokies.

That was about it for my weekend. It was a big one, and it had its ups and it had its downs.

It's dinner time.