Quiz

I love quizes, so when I saw this on someone else's blog, I just had to do it. I actually did it yesterday, but decided to post it to my blog today. Apologies to those I've already sent this to by email.

Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says.

"should be borne in mind when considering United Kingdom legislation. The" - Statutory Interpretation in Australia (5th Ed) - it's not only the nearest book to me, it's also the only book on my desk. It might have been a more interesting answer if I was doing this at home.

Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?

CD case - speedstar* - Bruises you can touch

What is the last thing you watched on TV?

Law & Order, last night. Couldn't tell you what it was about though - I was checking and responding to my email at the time.

WITHOUT LOOKING, guess what the time is.

10:00am

Now look at the clock, what is the actual time?

9:58am

With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

I actually can't hear the computer, I'm listening to speedstar* - bruises you can touch. I can also hear my co-workers chatting above the music. Oooh - now I can hear the phone - better answer it. Okay I'm back.

When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

This morning. I was walking to work.

Before you came to this website, what did you look at?

I'm actually doing this from an email, but anyway... I last looked at my blog and posted to it. I also wrote to Blogger support because I can't actually view my blog at the moment, but I can still sign in and post to it. It's a little weird.

What are you wearing?

From the ground up (sort of) - a toering, black Docs, grey socks, cream trousers, my work ID, navy top, navy jumper, claddagh ring, my funky watch from Switzerland, amethyst bracelet, gold necklace, diamond earings + one gold sleeper, glasses, headphones. I'm not going to tell any of you underwear - it might be too confronting! ;o)

Did you dream last night?

Yeah - I remember waking up this morning feeling a bit bleh. I think I was dreaming about work.

When did you last laugh?

About 10 minutes ago. I was chatting to the girl who sits across the way from me.

What is on the walls of the room you are in?

Well, it's not really a room, more a cubicle - with sort of pinboard dividers. So there are bits of paper all over the walls - phone lists, a gym timetable, a letter of reminder about a course I'm attending in August, an article from the paper about a proscution I did, print-outs of my electronic calendar for May, June and July. There's also a printout from the AusAID website about my friend who is currently in Cambodia, a printout of a catalogue search for "The Adventures of Augie March", a Philip Gray print from Dublin, and a postcard from a restaurant in Prague called Gitanes. And that's just the wall in front of me, theres also stuff all over the wall behind me and postcards of paintings I like all lined up along the window.

This photo, which I've texturised so you can't read any of the documents, shows what my desk and wall look like.

Seen anything weird lately?

Depends on your definition of weird. Nothing that really made me stare.

What do you think of this quiz?

It's nice, it's different, it's unusual... (I haven't actually seen that episode from Kath & Kim - my friend that I stayed with in London kept on quoting it and I've picked it up)

What is the last film you saw?

Etre et Avoire (To be and to have) at the Centro on Sunday with my best friend from uni and my ex. Really enjoyed it.

If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?

A house. Then I could buy a dog and a couple of cats to go with it.

Tell us something about you that we don't know.

I sent this to a lot of people and they all know different things about me (some know far too much).

Which really only leaves the mundane - I've just drunk a litre of water in 1 1/2 hours, I ripped the speedstar album and Tamas Wells into MP3s on my computer this morning so I can listen to them both without having to change the CD, and I can't stop yawning, even though I went to bed pretty early last night.

If you could change one thing about the world, regardless of guilt or politics, what would you do?

I guess remove poverty - make it so everyone in the world at least got a roof over their heads, enough to eat and sufficient medical attention. Problem is - I don't think it's actually possible to do.

Do you like to dance?

Definitely - love to dance. In fact, I regularly can't help myself - nearly always dance at gigs, even if it's only seat-dancing. Even now as I'm sitting here at the computer, my feet are tapping to the music.

George Bush: is he a power-crazy nut case or someone who is finally doing something that has needed to be done for years?

Maybe both? I don't really know much about the politics within the USA, but I think he was misguided in attacking Iraq without UN approval.

Imagine your first child is a girl, what do you call her? Imagine your first child is a boy, what do you call him?

Don't know - would depend a lot on who it was with and the sort of names they like - after all, it really should be a joint decision by both parents. I like the names Imogen and Liam - but that will probably change tomorrow! ;o)

Would you ever consider living abroad?

Been there, done that. Even if it was only for 7 months. As for whether I'd do it again, it would depend on the circumstances. If it was just up to me, probably not. I'm very close to my family and missed them so much when I was in Europe. But I would probably go if I was heavily involved with someone who wanted to (and wanted me to go with him) - after all, I can pretty much work anywhere in the world once I learn the language and jump through a few hoops to get admitted.

Listening to: speedstar* - bruises you can touch

Correcting documents - my system

I was reading this blog and one of the posts is about one of the bosses making corrections in red pen and someone having a go at her. I added my comments to the blog, but thought I'd share on my blog as well... because I'm just a sharing sort of a person! ;o)

The comments on the other blog were more about the fact that some people find red pen all over their documents confronting. I tend to agree - red pen all over a document looks pretty bad, less so than does blue, or black, or green. But I have no real aesthetic problems with the use of red pen, it's just doesn't fit my system.

First a brief background for any overseas folk reading this - a solicitor is a lawyer, an article clerk is like a trainee solicitor. In Queensland, to be admitted as a solicitor, you need to do one of the following:-
- complete your law degree, then work for 2 years as an article clerk full time; or
- complete your law degree part time, while working at the same time as an article clerk for 5 years; or
- complete your law degree, then do the legal practice course, which is like a post-grad course which is supposed to provide the practical knowledge that articles provides.

When I first started working in a law office, I was a 21 year old articled clerk and, other than the junior, the youngest and lowest paid person in the office. It wasn't a big office, I was one of two article clerks and the other one was in his fourth year of five-year articles; there were about 7 professional staff all up and maybe 15 support staff. So I learnt office procedure from the secretaries - they taught me how to dictate properly, how to mark corrections so that they would understand what I wanted them to do, and to make corrections in blue pen - not black as that was too hard to see against the black type, not red, because they ticked off the corrections in red as they went to show that they'd made them all. They always gave me back the draft with the corrected document so that I could see easily that the changes had been made (and that they'd been able to read my handwriting correctly) without me having to re-read the entire document.

After I changed offices, I found that this wasn't always the case in other firms, but I liked the system, so I always taught my new secretaries, or any solicitors/article clerks under my supervision the same system.

And when I went to Europe for seven months and worked in Dublin as a legal secretary (I couldn't be bothered going through the hassle of getting admitted in Ireland when I wasn't going to be working there for that long, and working as a temp suited my lifestyle seeing as I wanted to do lots of travel while I was there) I followed the same system working for the solicitors over there. And the more I used it, the more I liked it - especially when working as a secretary in Dublin - you were constantly interrupted by the phone, or by one of the solicitors wanting something done urgently and putting a document aside when only half the corrections were done. By ticking them off in red as I went, I always knew exactly where I was up to.

And now that I work with contracts and policy documents that are hundreds of pages long, I like the system even more. When you are correcting someone else's work, so they need to see the changes you've made, and you only have maybe one alteration every 2 or 3 pages in a very long document, it makes sense to tick them off as you go. Of course, I work in government now and don't have a secretary to do my typing for me, but I still follow the system so that my drafts on the file show clearly what changes were made and when. Of course, we have versions (usually by date or version number) and can always do electronic comparisons, but I still like my handwritten changes in blue ink, ticked off in red.

Guess I'm old fashioned that way.

Listening to: Tamas Wells - A mark on the pane

Whew! What a weekend!

Well... my plans pretty much all worked out, with a few amendments.

Friday

Didn't hear back from that guy in time (pity, because he emailed me on Sat to say that he'd just been hanging around at home as well), so I ended up having a quiet night in. Ate some dinner, watched some telly and did a little work. This is becoming a bit of a pattern with me and I think I like it...

Saturday

Spend most of the morning having had a 2 1/2 hour phone conversation wtih my Mum. She's a little stressed because another one of her sisters might now have Alzeimers and losing her mind is pretty much my Mum's worst fear. We also talked about the online dating thing (yep, I finally told her) and her reaction was pretty much as expected (in order):-

1. Excellent! My daughter will be producing grand-children for me soon!

2. She'll probably be too picky and won't like any of them though.

3. And they're all going to be weirdos anyway who'll lie about themselves to get their dirty little paws on her.

So anyway, I've made it very clear to her that I'm not even sure if I want a relationship full stop, let alone one with any of these guys; that I'm vetting them by email before I meet them or give them my phone number; but that I'm having fun just dating and that's all I'm really interested in. She was remarkably supportive of the idea anyway - she knows other people have done the same sort of thing because when you're a professional working long hours, you just don't tend to meet people. My cousin actually met both his first and second wife (who he now has a baby with) through dating agencies. He's a psychiatrist in the hospital system and I'm hoping he -wouldn't- want to date most of the people he meets through work. Mind you, I'm more outgoing than my cousin and probably more social, but the theory still holds. If you are fairly specific about what you want in a guy, older than 25 and don't like the meat market pubs, chances are you're going to have a little more difficulty in finding a single guy you're prepared to spend time with. So anyway, it's all good now and we can talk about what I've been up to without me keeping secrets or having to worry about her jumping to conclusions. I hope.

Finally got off the phone when I realised that I had 1/2 an hour to have a shower and get into the valley to meet up with the K couple at the Valley Markets. Turned out they'd seen all they wanted to see and we headed into the Southbank markets. Ended up missing Miles from Nowhere. We had a nice time running around the markets. I was very good and didn't buy anything except for some food. Mind you, that was a bit of a drama. At first we went to the pub, but I wasn't allowed to get a kids meal unless I'm a kid (I'll never understand that, why do they care?) and knew I'd never finish a full size meal (they were huge!). So the K couple just had a couple of beers with boy K's friend from work. And then we moved on to one of the take-away places in Southbank. I went to this fish & chip shop and ordered calamari & chips. They said it would be 5 minutes. 10 minutes later, I saw them put on a whole bunch of calamari and asked if that was my order just going on then... yeah - it was! Was not happy at all (besides anything else, I was hungry dammit!), so asked for my money back and gave them a bit of a serve about not saying "it'll be 5 minutes" if it won't. And then I went next door and got the same thing for cheaper! I'll certainly never go back to that place!

Sat night I was supposed to be catching up with the 'flu guy from last weekend. But then he contacted me mid-afternoon to say he wouldn't be able to make it - 'flu again! So I rang around - the Dendy guy was out of town, I knew that the 1st movies guy had a dinner party that night, I didn't really want to ask the boring guy, and I didn't have anyone elses numbers. So I emailed a couple of guys I haven't met yet, telling them to get back to me on my mobile if they were up for it. Heard back from one of them about 7pm and we met up outside the Troubadour at 9pm. This was the guy whose flatmate plays with The Meadows - I've only emailed him a couple of times and probably should have emailed more before we met. He's a nice enough guy, we just didn't have much to talk about outside of music. And there was very little physical attraction. I have a tendency to get hung up on the little things (there was the guy I wouldn't go out with because he had annoying speech habits, for example) and this guy's hair looked like a toupee. I'm sure it wasn't mind you, I think it was just the style and the fact that it looked too dark for his skin tone. Anyway, it was distracting and there was no tummy flipping or toe curling.

I really enjoyed the gig though. The supporting act, A Fleeting Glimpse, were a little ordinary. They have a nice sound, but all of their songs sounded much the same and the singer's voice wasn't clear enough to really hear the words, so couldn't get wrapped up in them that wey. They were just a little bland.

I've always enjoyed Art of Fighting, but I'm not a huge fan and don't own any of their CDs. I wasn't too sure how their sound would come across from a solo artist, but Ollie Browne was really good. He joked with the crowd, played some stuff from his old band, The Remotes, and managed to get a pretty big sound for the AofF stuff that really needed it. It was still pretty mellow stuff (being just a guy and his guitar), but it wasn't so mellow that I was falling asleep, because he kept it interesting with the mix of songs - old stuff, new stuff, faster stuff, slower stuff. I'd certainly see him solo again.

Sunday

Sunday morning I decided that I'd like to catch up T&S if they were around, so I gave them a call late morning. Turns out that T was going to the movies with my ex, so I ended up tagging along to that. It's still a little weird with my ex - we always had a lot in common and so it's easy to talk to him, but we've only started talking again really since February (after I got back from overseas), and so there's a chunk of about 2 years where we didn't communicate. I've changed a lot in that time, but I don't think he has at all - so chatting to him is a little like deja vu for me. It was kind of nice for my ego that he's obviously still attracted to me and I'm no longer interested in him at all... got high on the power trip there! ;o)

So anyway, we went to see Etre et Avoire (To be and to have) at the Centro. It's a documentary about a little single teacher school out in the French countryside. Apparently it was shot over 6 months and it covers one class (ranging from 4 to just before middle school, which I think is 10 or 11) up until the end of the school year. It was really good - the kids (especially the younger ones) were so cute and it was interesting seeing how the teacher dealt with some of the problems his students faced.

Afterwards, we had coffee and chatted for about an hour before T and the ex had to leave to pick up S from the footy.

Sunday night, the law student and I had made plans to see Guy Webster at the Bowery. She insisted that I invite the Dendy guy along as well, which I did and he agreed. So it was me, the Dendy guy, the law student and this guy she's dating (the one that I met at speedstar which convinced me to join online dating - they're still seeing each other). It was a fantastic night. Early on, the Dendy guy asked me if I wanted a drink and I explained my financial situation, so he bought me drinks all night (I've promised to return the favour at some stage though). I'd barely eaten all day and had drunk 2 coffees, so 2 beers later, I was getting very silly. The law student was drinking cocktails to celebrate the end of exams, so she and her date were getting pretty silly as well. I almost felt sorry for the Dendy guy! ;o)

Once again, Paulie B did a set first up and then Guy Webster did a set (this time all on his lonesome with no occasional guests). It was a little weird because Paulie and friends were sitting at the table behind us and whenever GW looked over at them to make some comment, it felt like he was looking at us... instant paranoia! ;o) Of course, I just kept smiling at the world and fidgeting and probably giggling too much, and the others were acting almost as strange, so it could have been us he was staring at... ;o)

It was a good mix of songs - he set up a keyboard this time and did a couple of tunes on that. Probably more of a mix this time than last time, but he had the backing guys on a couple of songs last time. Last night was the final night of his June residency, so I guess he was also trying out some new stuff. He did say he's probably be doing another one in a couple of months though - which would be good.

The law student and her date left before the set ended. The Dendy guy and I stayed to the end and then he gave me a lift home (he lives down the road from me, but he drove in - a little bizarre...). I think maybe he was going to kiss me before I hopped out of the car, but I didn't realise it at the time and was already getting out... only later did I think that maybe I missed some vital cue there. I'm so bad at that sort of stuff - I generally assume that everyone is just being friendly until I suddenly find myself with a hand sliding up my thigh or a tongue down my throat (or something similarly obvious).

Anyway, he's supposed to be emailing or texting me. I'll see if I hear from him again and what he proposes. Maybe I can overanalyse that to figure out if I missed something last night.... *g*

Listening to: The Pixies - Wave of Mutilation (best of)

plans for the weekend

Once again - I have big plans for this weekend. Lets see if they actually come to fruition this time!

Possibly got a date for tonight - still not sure (he hasn't confirmed) - with a guy I've been emailing for a while and have practically shared my life story with by now. I've told him about hassles with my ex, heard about hassles with his ex. We've discussed work and family and music and languages and child rearing ideas... the list goes on (and on and on - each email usually takes about 45 mins for me to reply to!).

It will be a late start if it happens, so I'm not particularly concerned. I'd like to either see Love Lies Bleeding at the Troub or the Montgomery Clifts (with george's ex-drummer) and Eden James (I really like his song that was on the Core Sample '03 CD, Never Setting Sun) at the Alley.

Also got an email from a new guy last night - he was at speedstar* and one of his flatmate's guested for The Meadows - he went to see them on Wed night and the law student and I are planning to see them next Wed night. I've only received 2 emails from him and I like the sound of him already... ;o)

Anyway, the weekend plans:

Saturday

Catching up with the K couple and K's sister R in the city at lunchtime. Miles from Nowhere are playing on the Queen St Mall. And I think we're planning to check out the markets as well.

Got a date with the guy who had the flu last weekend. We're going have dinner together and then go to see Ollie Browne (from Art of Fighting) at the Troubadour. Should be a good night.

Sunday

Will probably spend the morning recovering from the rest of my weekend and doing housework (terribly exciting!)

Sun night, the law student and I are planning to head in to see Guy Webster at The Bowery - she will have many cocktails and I will watch. She wants me to bring the Dendy guy (from Tuesday night) - apparently one of her friends knows him and says I should "hook in 'cause he's a sweetie" (and yep, that's a direct quote!) ;o)


Listening to: Tim Reid samples I downloaded from his site

Money troubles

For the first time since I effectively left home at 16, I've had to borrow money from my parents to pay a bill. It's to pay my VISA bill, and I could have just carried the part I couldn't afford over to my next pay and paid some interest, but I've not paid interest on my VISA in over 10 years of having one and I know my parents would throw their hands up in despair at me if I'd paid interest on it rather than borrow $350 from them to cover it, which I'll be able to pay back in a fortnight (next pay).

So how did this happen? Well, it's a combination of a number of factors - firstly, I came back from Europe dead broke (as expected) and so didn't have my usual savings to dip into in those months where all the bills hit at once. Then I borrowed money to buy a car, which I'm paying off at $500 a fortnight so that it will be completely paid out in a month's time. Of course, with buying a car, I also had to pay for a $200 service, $600 rego fees, and $500 in insurance all in the space of 2 months, which also put a strain on my finances (but I was still able to pay for my VISA bills up until now). I also had to pay $250 in household insurance a couple of months ago and $315 for a practising certificate last month. So it's been a lot of expenses in a fairly short period of time.

However, that would have probably all been okay if I also hadn't let my spending get a bit out of control. I recently lent $200 to a friend who was travelling in Australia becuase she'd run out of money and I knew how I would feel if that happened to me in a foreign country. I've spent about $200 on work clothes in the last couple of months - that was necessary though because I've lost so much weight that the trousers I wore last winter barely stay over my hips, and everything I had in Europe looks so ratty - not the way to win the confidence of clients/bosses in a new job! Somehow I managed to spend over $500 in groceries this month - I think that was mostly cleaning stuff that my flatmate didn't have - this seems to happen whenever I move in with boys! But I really have no excuse for all of the gig tickets and CDs I've bought. Or the $120 backpack I bought (but I do use it every day when I walk to and from work). Or the $87 in framing my Paris oil and lamination of my posters from overseas - I was always going to get it done eventually, but I could have put it off for longer.

All in all, it added up to an over $1500 VISA bill. Considering my usual monthly VISA bill is less than 1/2 that, it's a bit of a worry. And my flight to Melbourne and Belle and Sebastian tickets haven't hit yet, so my next VISA bill is likely to be sizeable as well.

But I thought that the spending I was doing would be well and truly covered out of my wage now that I'm earning more. But I think I'm also spending a lot more in cash because of all of the dating. So I might have to pull my head in there a bit as well... Damn! Or maybe I could just try and do things that won't cost me anything... Hmmm

So anyway, I've decided that I'm going to have to pull my head in with my spending. As it is, I have $80 in the bank and maybe $15 in my wallet to last me a fortnight. This could be interesting...

But I've decided that I'm going to start bringing my lunch to work every day rather than buying it, I'll stop drinking for the next fortnight (well, at least at pubs, I still have a sizeable collection of wine at home that I'll happily polish off) and I'm not allowed to buy any CDs at gigs. If I really want it, I'll just have to get it at Skinnys later (thereby making myself think about whether I -really- have to get it).

And I'll start transferring the bulk of my wage to my Bank of Queensland account each pay so that I have limited cash available in my ANZ account (my everyday account) to be able to withdraw and this way, should keep better track of what I'm spending, and will also have the money immediately available to pay my VISA (which is also with Bank of Queensland).

Hopefully, this way, I'll be back on track in no time.

And will get over the embarrassment of being independant of my parents for nearly 15 years, then having to borrow money from them because of an overactive VISA card. Dad was cool about it though - I went into how I felt guilty borrowing from them (when I know they're not that financial themselves at the moment), even if it is only for a fortnight, because I can't really say it was for essentials. Just me spending money to have fun. But he said that you work to live, not live to work - and he didn't begrudge me any of my spending as long as I was having fun (he also offered to lend me more and I pay it back later when my savings are more healthy so that I can continue to have fun at the same rate as I have been, but I didn't take him up on it. I would feel bad to keep on spending when I know I owe someone else money). And he said that after all, it's not like I borrow money off them every day.

I really love my Dad.

Listening to: FourPlay - Catgut Ya Tongue

last night's date

Actually, it went pretty well. He's really easy to talk to, actually has quite the sense of humour (which didn't really come across in his emails or phone call), and is better looking (less nerdy) than his photo. More interestingly, my tummy reacted when his leg brushed mine in the movies... and my tummy often knows better than my brain does whether I like a guy or not. It's not quite as indicative as a good toe curl, but it's certainly a sign! ;o)

He's supposed to be emailing me (don't know when) and maybe we'll go out again.

Movie review for Twin Sisters
It was really good, quite intense and I cried (always a good look on a first date *rolls eyes*) but it was really good, quite fascinating. It wasn't really a holocaust movie. There is really only one, maybe two, mentions of it in the movie and no scenes shot at concentration camps. The whole "Jewish issue" is really only raised as a dividing factor between the two sisters. It's mostly about the two sisters and their lives after they are seperated, centering on their different experiences during the war - one being a maid for a countess in Germany and the girlfriend and then wife of an officer in the German army, the other being the girlfriend of a Jew in occupied Holland. I thought it was interesting as, for a change, it showed both sides of the story and was symathetic to the viewpoint of the ordinary German, rather than showing them as monsters or heros (aka Schindlers List).

Having discussed a lot of this sort of stuff with two of my friends from Dublin (and with some of their friends from home that I'd met) who were German and Austrian, I thought it was pretty indicative of how German speaking people, of our generation at least, see the whole issue. There is still quite a bit of prejudice against German speaking people because of the war and the holocaust (especially by drunken English boys) in the same way as I found that many of the same people seemed to think that I (personally) was responsible for the Aboriginal adoption policies of the '30s (because they'd seen Rabbit Proof Fence once).

Back to dating
I'm still waiting for the one that I have the best email relationship with to actually ask me out. I might just have to ask him out instead.

As indicated yesterday, I emailed T&S about the whole online dating thing - they think I am a "wonder" (T) and "terrific" (S - hopefully not literal) to try it. Always nice to get some positive reinforcement for something I'm not so sure about.

And I loved this comment:

But honestly, I don't know what's wrong about the whole internet dating thing. At least you get to know a little bit about them before you have to spend time in their company, which is got to be better than hooking up with some dodgy bloke at the pub.

Absolute classic considering T&S met in a pub... ;o)

Listening to: MGF - Paging Mr Strike

date tonight

Well, off on another date tonight. We're going to have a bite to eat and then see Twin Sisters at the Dendy. Not sure how this one will go - think he might be a bit of a nerd, and I'm more into geeks! ;o)

I just went and bought tickets to Belle & Sebastian. They are playing at The Tivoli midweek in about a month. Tickets were nearly $70 each (expensive for the Tivoli) and I'm not sure that I know anyone to go with yet, but tickets only opened for sale today and they think they'll probably be sold out this afternoon, so I figure if the worst comes to the worst, I should be able to sell them (or maybe just one of them) again.

*sigh* I've just heard from R. Why does he insist on calling me on my mobile during working hours? And he's said he's going to come to Belle & Sebastian. Yay. Not. Oh, he's not a bad guy or anything, he just has no idea about the art of small talk or fitting in to the conversation. He's so very intense. So not good company. Ah well.


Listening to: Belle & Sebastian - fold your hands child...

Another boring weekend

Well, I've successfully managed to do practically nothing all weekend again. However, considering I lost my voice on Wednesday and it was still a bit scratchy by the weekend, this probably wasn't a bad thing.

Friday night
I was supposed to go to the Brindle CD launch at the Rev but my date (a new guy from RSVP) texted me to say he had the 'flu and the law student bailed due to the amount of study she had to do - she actually chose passing her exams over a gig with me! How could she! ;o)

So instead, I grabbed some Tibetan take-away and crashed in front of the TV for the night. My flatmate was gone for the night, so I actually look over the loungeroom for the early part of the night, and then pottered in to the TV in my bedroom once the eyelids started spending more time closed than open.

Saturday
I was supposed to be catching up with T&S on Saturday with their bub, but the bub threw a bit of a wobbly just as they were getting ready to head out, so that was postponed until Sat evening. I thought of heading into the markets to hear Neighbourhood Groove Collective instead, but it was already after midday by the time I heard from T&S and NGC was supposed to start at midday... also, I couldn't really be bothered! ;o)

Saturday night
T&S came over to check out the new pad (though not so new anymore) in the early evening with a friend of S's from Cairns who was staying with them. Had been planning to tell them about the online dating thing, but it felt a bit awkward to just raise it suddenly and didn't really want to discuss it in front of S's friend anyway.

I didn't have any plans, so I went over to T&S's place for dinner and a video (Stuck On You) that night. It was very pleasant, but once again S's friend was around for the early part of the night when we were just chatting and then we just watched the video once he'd gone, so I still didn't get to tell them about the dating. It's going to feel very weird soon if I don't get around to it. Maybe I should just email them instead... yeah - I might do that! Decision-making in progress in an online diary... ;o)

Anyway, back to my night - I got to play with their bub and feed him his bottle and put him to sleep, which was really nice. They reckon I have the magic touch, coz he doesn't go down that easily for them! I'm sure it's not true, but it's still nice... *g*

Sunday
The plan was to get up early, complete my applications for a couple of jobs I'm going for* and then head off to the movies to see Shrek 2 with T&S. Like most of my plans, it didn't happen. I ended up sleeping in (sort of) until nearly midday, cancelled going to the movies so I could do my applications, and then still not starting them until after 4pm. I only spent a couple of hours on them (maybe 1 hour on each) and finished them off today, having taken a long lunch to do so.

*My current job is only temporary until the end of the year, so I figure I apply for these couple of permanent jobs that have come up in my area at PO4 level, so that if my current PO5 job ends in December, I won't be suddenly going back to a PO3 wage. Being government jobs, applying for the jobs means addressing 5 or 6 selection criteria for each position. Considering you usually write a page or two per selection criteria, you can see that applying for the positions involves a lot of work!

I did get to watch the first 8 episodes of the 2nd season of Buffy though... it was background noise for the work on my applications I swear! ;o)

Listening to: Jeff Buckley - Grace

more on Myers-Briggs

Okay, I've found a longer Jung Typology Test
(which apparently the MB test was based on) that you can still do for free here.

This starts to make some more sense. I still tested as ISTP, but my strength of preferences were:-

Introverted 44
Sensing 22
Thinking 22
Perceiving 11

Which makes me a:

- moderately expressed introvert
- slightly expressed sensing personality
- slightly expressed thinking personality
- slightly expressed perceiving personality

The Kiersey description for ISTP is:

The Crafter Artisans are not only concrete in speech and utilitarian in getting things done, they are also directive and attentive in their social roles. Though directive like their Promoter counterparts, their directiveness is leavened by a good deal of attentiveness and seclusiveness. They do not approach strangers readily, but once in contact do not hesitate to tell them what to do. And they can be quite forceful in this, such that others tend to do their bidding.

Like the other Artisans, Crafters live a life is artful action, but their particular nature is most easily seen in their mastery of tools of any and all kinds, from microscopic drill to supersonic jet, from potter's wheel to grand piano. A tool is any implement that extends or varies our human powers -- vehicles, musical instruments, cutting devices, and weapons are just four of the many categories of the tools that surround us. Most of us use tools in some capacity, of course, but Crafters (only ten per cent of the general population) are the true virtuosos of tool work, with a natural ability to command tools, to bend them to their wishes, and to become adept at all the crafts requiring tool skills. Even from an early age Crafters are drawn to tools as to a magnet; tools fall into their hands demanding use, and they must manipulate them. Indeed, if a given tool, whether scalpel or earthmover, is operated with a precision that defies belief, that operator is likely an Crafter.

This one makes a lot of sense. Especially the second last sentance of the first paragraph! ;o)

Listening to: nothing right now

Myers-Briggs test

I've been thinking of posting about this for a while.

On one of my friend's blogs, she linked to a Bloginality test, which is a very simplified version of the Myers-Briggs personality test (apparently the full thing has hundreds of questions). So anyway my Bloginality is ISTP

Basically, this means apparently I'll tend to be: "logical, pragmatic, and matter of fact; quiet, unassuming, and autonomous; realistic, pragmatic, and aloof; impulsive and curious about the physical world; flexible and resourceful; objective and unemotional.
The most important thing to ISTPs is the freedom to act independently and follow their impulses."

These give some more info:-
Relationships
Career
General

You can also do a more generic version of the bastardised Myers-Briggs here.

I think, having read the above pages (amongst others), that I'm actually a borderline ISTJ. Basically, ISTP all sounds a lot like me, except for the lack of planning. I tend to plan things to some degree, but also like doing things on the fly. For example - when I was travelling in Europe in my last 2 months, I booked my train travel so that I could tell people which cities I would be in when, but I didn't book any accomodation or work out what I would be doing on each day (which seems to be how an ISTJ would approach it). I think I'm basically an ISTP who has discovered that life is a lot easier if you plan a little.

The physical/vocal features listed here are also not really me. Not sure that any of them would be though. How can you say what a person will look like based on their personality? Oh, and I love to hug. Particularly when drunk. Then I hug people A LOT!

But some of the comments are a even freakishly descriptive of me - I actually do read Trivial Pursuit questions for the fun of it! ;o)

Unfortunately, this does mean that I'm probably in the wrong career... none of the ISTP career pages mention being a lawyer.

Listening to: the coffee guy's MP3 he's just sent me - him on guitar and vocals.

Bloody Caldwell Meghan

I'm not very impressed with my Irish employer right now!

For about 5 months last year, I was employed in Ireland as a temp by Caldwell Meghan (now the Megan Group), who are a temp agency in Dublin.

When I finished work (on 5 December 2003), on the advice of Jo McAndrew (my temp agent), I faxed her a letter to the Irish tax office which requested a refund of the tax I'd paid in Ireland. I sent this to Jo rather than to the tax office directly because they had yet to do my leaving certificate (called a P45 in Ireland) and Jo told me that she would send my letter to them with the P45. Now I know that Jo received this letter because (a) it was faxed to her with my timesheet for that final week's work - I don't get paid if they don't get the timesheet, and I got paid for that week; and (b) I was talking to her about a week later and she confirmed that she had it all in order.

So I get back to Australia late January - nothing from the tax office. I think this is a little slack, seeing as my claim (supposedly) was made in early December, but I give it a little while in case correspondence was held up with the Christmas post or something. Nothing arrived, so I emailed Jo in March, April and May to see if she had heard anything (she was the contact person on my claim letter on her advice). Didn't even receive a response - emails were received, she still works there (there's an article by her on the website), but not even the courtesy of a reply. How rude.

As it is now nearing the end of the financial year and my tax return will be due soon (for overseas readers, in Australia the financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June the following year and pretty much everyone who earns income has to put in a tax return), I decided to contact the tax office direct a couple of weeks ago. And what to I discover? That my email to them (in June) was the first they'd heard of my request for a refund!

Despite the occasional error, I had thought that Caldwell Meghan (and Jo in particular) were pretty efficient up until now. But this just takes the cake! Now I know why I didn't get a response I guess. They obviously just don't give a f**k once you're no longer useful to them and don't even do the basics they promise to do!

*wanders off muttering*....


Listening to: Speedstar - Forget the sun...

Jackass competition

This would be why I don't like going out in the city (CBD or central business district)... *sigh*

Hotel mouse chewers will be charged

We do seem to get an extraordinary number of morons in this little city of ours... the CBD is becoming more and more like the worst aspects of Temple Bar during buck's nights.

I still like the valley though - it seems to get most of the relaxed, non-pretentious people that Queensland is known for - other than at The Bowery. ;o)

the weekend

Well, it was an interesting weekend.

*Friday night*
Had a date with another guy - we went to Stones Corner for coffee at this cool little place called The Stones Throw. I was pretty tired after a big week and wasn't sure how long I would last, but we ended up chatting over coffee/hot chocolate until 9pm.

He's a nice enough bloke, but he kind of reminds me of a female friend of mine (not that he's feminine, more like they could be siblings) in a way that's a little off-puting.

*Saturday night*
I had plans to go to iOTA with the law student and her friend. The surrogate daughter had also said that she was interested and I'd invited the coffee guy the night before. As it turns out, we all went. The surrogate daughter and I shared a bottle of champagne before we headed up to Cosmo to meet everyone else, so we were a little tipsy. We had dinner at the Cosmo... figured we should after the champagne... and then headed up to the Troubadour to nab a couple of cubes in a good spot before the gig started. It was a great gig - Tamas Wells (the support) were really good and I just HAD to go and buy their CD after. iOTA has a new backing band - well, new since I'd last seen him live anyway. He's now just singing and not playing guitar as well. They did a nice set - good mix of old and new - heaps of songs from The Hipbone Connection, so I was happy. Started to get a little bored with the coffee guy though.

*Sunday night*
Guy Webster is doing a residency on Sunday nights in June at The Bowery. I had planned to go last weekend, but didn't make it. This time, I agreed to meet the K couple and the coffee guy there, so I knew I'd actually go! Once again, great gig. First up was Paulie B from george doing the solo thing. From a couple of comments he made, I got the impression that this was his first solo gig. He was good - his voice is a little quiet, not as strong as his fellow george-ers (possibly why he doesn't sing in that band) but has a nice tone and is very pleasant. He did quite a few songs with this comlicated loop pedal which the tall guy and the coffee guy were both quite impressed by. The coffee guy went and asked questions afterwards. There was a short break (during which the K couple went for a walk) and then Guy Webster was on - the "friends" listed in the gig guide were Nick Apps from AfroDizziAct and Paulie B. He did a good set, I think he did everything from his EP and I'm pretty sure there was a couple of Informants songs thrown in there as well. The K couple left a little way into the set and the coffee guy also left before it ended, so I'm guessing they weren't quite as enthralled as I was... but I was really enjoying the gig, so I stayed until the end.

It was the first time I'd been to the Bowery and, while I liked the venue (reminded me of a couple of cafe's I've visited in Melbourne), the crowd was really weird. They seemed to have been transplanted from the city - they were either young and very trendy, or in their 30's and very conservative. In either case, I felt that I just wasn't trendy enough for the venue! The only people who didn't fit this mould seemed to be our little group, the band, and a couple of friends of the band (including Ty from george - I seem to see that guy more off-stage than on it lately). Very odd for a valley venue!

As for the coffee guy, I think I'm a little bored with him. Maybe it just isn't a good idea for me to see a guy 3 nights in a row. Maybe it's the way he tells jokes/funny stories but can't make sarcastic and witty comments about stuff in general (also his funny stories tend to be a bit long). Anyway, he's nice enough, I'm just not really that interested. Maybe this is the "I'm not really sure that I wan't a relationship" part coming out in me! ;o)

*The Days*
Saturday, Sunday and Monday (a public holiday) were all very quiet. Got housework done, watched some TV (stuff I'd taped during the week mostly), read a couple of books and got lots of sleep. Quite enjoyable really!

Listening to: a couple of Dave McCormack MP3s & Taxi Live

The Mayne Inheritance

I went to see the Mayne Inheritance at the new La Boite Theatre last night. It's a play about an old Brisbane scandal where one of the forefathers of modern-day Brisbane allegedly admitted on his deathbed to commiting murder to get his start in life. His five children all died without marrying or having children (one of them went mad and another joined a convent) and the money (a substantial fortune) all went to various causes around Brisbane, including building parts of the current University of Queensland (the biggest public lecture hall is still called Mayne Hall).

It was a fascintating play - I knew of the legend, but not the details. Although the play assumed that Patrick Mayne had in fact killed the man (Cox), this was always one of the "rumours" of Brisbane and not as cut and dried as it was in the play. I thought the actors all did a great job, except possibly the character of Patrick, who seemed a little one dimensional. However, much of that probably came from the fact that he had quite a strong Irish accent (which I this was natural) - it wasn't a problem for me when he was speaking normally, but the beginning and end of the play, he's yelling and mumbling as he's supposed to be in a fever just before he died. Unfortunately, even me with my experience of trying to decipher real Irish accents on dictation tapes, had trouble trying to understand him then. It did detract from the play somewhat.

La Boite Theatre is also a Brisbane institution. It's been around for ages but has recently moved from its old venue to a new one. And this is the first time I've been to the new venue. The weird thing is that the new venue seems exactly the same inside as the old one did! It was a little disconcerting. Like walking into a modern government building and encountering the lush surroundings of the Louvre, or something like that. The La Boite isn't lush, it's just that it doesn't seem to belong in the building it's in - probably because it retains that sense of an alternative theatre that it had in it's old building (which it fitted like hand and glove).

Anyway, it was a good night. My friends (I'll call them the K couple) were good company as per usual. The surrogate daughter (female part of the K couple, she was surrogate daughter to my folks while I was away) was casually playing with the tall guys's (the male part of the K couple) jeans (near his knee - it wasn't gross!) during the 2nd part of the play - very cute! And very unusual for her - she's not generally very touchy feely. She's obviously really comfortable with him which is lovely to see as they were both my friends for years before they ever became a couple. I also caught up with the tall guy's sister which was great. I haven't seen her in months and she's always good value - very observant and very witty with it.

I'm off to the gym again tonight (only got time to do about half my weight routine before yoga last night) and then I've got another date tonight. We are having coffee at the Coffee Club at Stones Corner. I'll have to SMS him today and check it's still on - I didn't get to check my email last night and probably won't have time to tonight either before I have to head off. I'm not sure how this one will go - he's been a little more circumspect that the movie guy about himself. But then, this one's in IT, so maybe he's not good with language that involves letters and words rather than 1s and 0s... he he.

Listening to: Guy Webster (eponymous EP)

kids

I have just finished reading a friend's view on having kids on her blog. Her view is that "that having kids is a big responsibility and one shouldn't have them unless one really wants them". She also hates people hinting that she might be being selfish by not wanting them. I'm paraphrasing, but I'm sure she'll tell me if I've got it wrong.

I've always just assumed that I'll have kids. Not right now, but at some stage. I have a nurturing personality. I've been "looking after" my friends ever since kindergarten at age 3 when I used to beat up the pre-school boys (who were 5 and much bigger than me) who teased a girl in my class who was a little disabled.

Unfortunately, I'm also one of those that ususally can't help myself telling my friends in the early 20's that "they'll change their minds" about having kids. It's not that I don't think they believe what they are saying, it's just that most of my older friends said the same thing at that age, and they're now sprogging up all over the place!

The change seemed to come in their late 20's or early 30's. I have a theory that it's a dual reality-check that seems to bring it about. Firstly, most of them see their friends settle down with kids around this time and realise that it's not the end of your life to have kids. They also see how rapt these new mums and dads are with this tiny bundle - gazing at him/her with the same sort of dewy-eyed attention they used to pay to their beer. Secondly, around the same time, most of us come face to face with the fact that we are getting older - grey hairs and wrinkles start to appear, for guys - sometimes the hair on top of their head starts to disappear, muscle tone is harder to maintain, and you find that your body takes longer and longer to recover when you do something stupid with it (like drinking 10 shots in an hour at your baby cousin's 18th). Suddenly the idea of settling down to a simpler life with a couple of pieces of immortality doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

Also, having to continually use birth control gets to be a bit of a drag.

Back to my friend's points. To some extent, I agree that you shouldn't have kids unless you and your partner want them. On the other hand, it's fairly rare for two people to continuously have the same view about NOT wanting kids throughout the course of a long relationship. As I've said, most of them seem to change their minds. Most of us like being part of a family. As cool as it is to be "the fun aunt" to my niece and nephew (and my friend's kids), I will never achieve the kind of closeness that they have with their parents. And, ideally, I would like that. In much the same was as, ideally, I would like to achieve the sort of closeness that my married friends have. Long term relationships are about sharing your life with another person, and creating a new little being that you both adore is a great way of sharing that life.

I don't think someone is selfish for not wanting kids. Possibly short-sighted, but not selfish. On the other hand, my observation is that people who DO have kids tend to be less selfish than those that don't. But that's not about wanting, that's about having!

Kids are a great learning curve. They are completely dependant on you for the first few years of their lives and you have to put their needs before your own. For most of us, I think this is a hard lesson to learn. We spend a lot of time thinking about what WE want and then going out there to get it. Even people who spend their lives helping others tend to do it for basically selfish reasons: because they enjoy it, because they want to make a difference, because they like to be needed. That doesn't mean that I respect those people any less, I'm just realistic about their motivations.

Most parents I know do stuff for their kids because it needs to be done. And because they love that kid, sometimes without having any logical reason for doing so. I know there are bad parents out there, but I truly believe that a good person will make a good parent, whether they are 'nurturers' by nature or not. Even the most non-nurturing parents I know still feel very protective of their child.

So I guess my main reason for wanting kids is that I want to be a better person. I look at people in my parents and grandparents generations and I generally like the ones that have been parents, and dislike the ones who haven't because their priorities seem to be all skewed. In my experience, the non-parents in their old age have become more focussed on issues than on people.

I think as you get older, you either focus on your family, or your work (by which I include non-paid or community work). Those that focus on work seem to get very driven and determined to achieve their goals regardless of the cost. Those that focus on family (ie their own, you can't really focus on someone else's family, even if it's your sibling's) seem to me to be more balanced people and this is the sort of person I want to be.

The date

So I went for coffee and to see a movie with this guy last night.

What can I say about it? It was fun, I enjoyed his company, I enjoyed the movie (Van Helsing), but I didn't get that spark with him. It was like going to the movies with a friend. I don't know - maybe if we see each other again, I'll feel different next time - maybe I was just feeling off - maybe it just wasn't meant to be!

Anyway, the movie was brilliant. It was the first time I'd been to the new cinemas at Southbank. They're good - I like it there. Will definitely go there again - could well become a favourite haunt of mine actually!

I loved the cinematography in it. I'm sure the staircase at the beginning of the film (which is meant to be Paris) is one of the ones that heads up to Prague Castle. I got a definite sense of deja vu from it. Obviously what he's looking over is CGI - Paris doesn't look anything like THAT from any vantage point anymore.

Kate Beckinsale looked amazing in it - that gypsy look with the darkened eyes and wild curly hair really suits her. Of course, she has that pale, clear skin to start with, but she usually looks so "english rose" and she looked almost Spanish in this.

And of course, Hugh Jackman was gorgeous - but then, he's always gorgeous. *g*

I hadn't realised that David Wenham was in it! His character was the comic relief and he did it well. But I don't think I've seen him in a role yet that he didn't do well.

Anyway, I asked the movie guy if he wanted to come to a gig on the weekend - I'm planning to see iOTA on Sat night and Guy Webster on Sun night. He said he was playing golf on Sunday and didn't think he'd be able to make either of those - he would need a decent sleep on Sat night to be prepared for golf, and a decent sleep Sun night to recover from golf. The man has all of his priorities wrong! ;o)

We'll probably see each other again though.

Listening to: Augie March - Sunset Studies

My theories on dating

Going to the movies tonight with a guy on met on RSVP. It's the first date from there that I've been on and I'm a little apprehensive. We are going to do coffee first (meeting at 8:30 for a 9:30 movie), so it shouldn't be too difficult. It just feels so weird!

Thinking back, I think this is only the second date I've ever been on. The first was Konrad from Cameroon, who I went on one date with in Dublin. During the course of that date he said he loved me and asked me if I'd be interested in having children with him, so you can see why I'd be a little freaked out! So the guy was gorgeous (he looked like the "Shwopshire? Weally?" guy from the Moccona ad), he was just a bit full on. He was also a little serious and didn't get my sense of humour.

I probably should mention, before I start to look like a loser with my non-dating, my definition of dating is that it involves doing some sort of activity one-on-one with a guy that you are sexually interested in (or might be sexually interested in, in the case of a blind date) but are not actually sleeping with or committed to. I've often gone out with guys one-on-one who are just friends and we both knew we were just friends, but I don't count that as a date. Even when those same guys have ended up as boyfriends later - at the time, the activity wasn't a date. There has to at least be the possibility of snogging at the end of the activity. Obviously, I've also gone out to dinner and stuff with guys that I'm in a relationship with, but I don't count that either, because we're already in a relationship, so the snogging is a given. ;o) So yeah, I guess dating is when you can see a different guy each night of the week and no-one is likely to get jealous, because it's just dating. It's actually quite hard to define in the post- "sexual revolution era" I think!

My Mum seemed to have it down to a fine art in the 60's. She often tells tales about the guys she used to go out with. She refused to go out with any guy that didn't have a car (which many guys didn't in those days), and if he gave her chocolates, she wouldn't open them until she got home so she wouldn't have to share. She was a real bitch! But I think it was about the norm back in those days. It was nothing to be dating 10 different guys at the same time, and not be serious about any of them.

In some ways, I think that's a little like when I was travelling. You'll invite someone you met 5 minutes ago to dinner or a gig with you because you are both at a loose end that night. It's a way of getting company for something. Even if you have nothing in common with them. Some of my best times overseas were spent with people that I probably would never have made friends with otherwise because we're so different. But they happened to be the in same place at the same time as me, so we spent time together. That seems to be like why my Mum dated - he had a car, and no-one more interesting had come along yet.

Maybe my theories will change as I start to date with people who don't want me to have their children on the first date... ;o)

Listening to: an MP3 compilation of Brisbane bands, including Charles Foster Kane, Dave McCormack, Taxi, The Informants, Guy Webster, & Tylea. Don't worry, I either sought permission from the copyright holder first, or they are downloads from websites!

Nothing much

I ended up having a really quiet weekend.

Friday night - I went to the gym and then headed home for a night in front of the TV.

Saturday - I cleaned the house (including mopping all the floors), then headed over to my mate's place to pick up my keyboard from her. She's had my keyboard for a couple of years, but has just moved house and said she wasn't really using it and would I like it back. I had actually forgotten all about it! Am pleased I got it back though. And I got to check out her new place, which is a gorgeous little workers cottage in the old Queenslander style, with big verandahs, polished floorboards, and full height underneath so she can park her car off the street. It's probably the nicest place she's lived so far (in my opinion).

After that, I headed into the Valley and picket up my Paris oil that I got framed, and the posters I got laminated. The Paris oil came up brilliantly! I got an old-looking wood frame for it and it just pulls out the colours of the paint, making it look so much more vibrant. I was pretty happy with the laminated posters as well, only problem is that they are now pretty heavy and the Louvre and Siscilian Chapel ones won't stay up on the doors of my cupboard with just blue-tak, so I'll have to buy some poster stickers, which have a lot more stick. The two Dali's are staying up so far, but I might use poster stickers on them too, just to be sure.

Saturday night - I had planned to go out. I had the best of intentions. But it didn't happen. Basically, because I was going to this gig on my own, I was planning to head in there pretty late (around 9:30 - 10) and hung out on the couch watching TV in the meantime. Then of course, I fell asleep on the couch and didn't wake up until after midnight. So I just trundled myself into bed instead.

Sunday - caught up on a couple of movies I hadn't got around to watching. Didn't make it in to see Guy Webster either... god I'm slack!

I did manage to set up a date though. Going to the movies (to see Van Helsing) on Tuesday night. We're still working out the details, but he seems nice enough and has promised he won't bring his meat cleaver this time! ;o)

I'm also supposed to be going to some comedy thing at Stones Corner with another guy, but I haven't heard back from him and he's being pretty hazy on the details, so I'm not sure about that one. I'll see if I hear from him.

I'm also seeing The Mayne Inheritance (play about an old Brisbane murder) on Thursday night at La Boite Theatre with two friends of mine. That should be good. Those two are good company. I also saw Zigzag Street (play based on the book by Nick Earls) with them in Stanthorpe and that was a good weekend.

I think I'll leave it there for now. I have a meeting with my boss to discuss one of the procedures I'm writing in 15 minutes.

Listening to: the sound of my workmates talking. Nothing on the CD player.

I should post more

In the interests of making this more interesting for my interstate and overseas friends that I've just invited to it, I think I'll blab on some more for a bit about what's going through my head at the moment. I'm also checking out the facility where you can email your post, rather than just posting it on the site to see if it works.

I read this today in Time Off:

There's been a dust up between Triple M and The Vines, leading to the band's tracks being yanked from the radio network. Last Thursday, The Vines were playing a Triple M Garage Session performance in Sydney at the Annandale. Five minutes into their first song, an exchange of words between singer Craig Nicholls and bassist Patrick Matthews saw the bassist walk off stage and into the crowd, forcing them to continue playing as a three-piece. Nicholls then harangued the 400-strong crowd, calling them a pack of sheep and asking them to break into a communal "baa".

After furious calls from listeners the next day, Triple M's program director Mike Fitzpatrick confirmed the station had dropped The Vines from the playlist after the band refused to apologise

I think this is just hilarious, but this may be because I'm not exactly a fan of The Frames.

Something I've been thinking a lot about lately is that, although I'm happy single, I'd like to date. I've never really dated. I've always gone out with friends of friends or had one night stands or win-ons (like one night stands, but without the sex) that somehow developed into relationships. This is not exactly a new thought, but one that has received more attention lately because a friend of mine has signed up to the online dating service RSVP and had a couple of fun dates through it. She's actually looking for a relationship, and I'm not sure that I am, but I've decided to sign up nonetheless and see what happens. It's a bit of a weird thing and I'm feeling very dubious about it all, but at least I'll be able to say that I've tried it and can start whingeing about the fact that I don't date with some real purpose. This is what I should have done when I was in Dublin - that way I would have met heaps of Irish people! Maybe...

Future plans - I'm thinking of trying to see some parts of Australia that I haven't seen before this year. I would love to get to Perth. I heard a lot about WA from some of the others on my Contiki tour last July/August and I'm thinking that it's a part of Australia I really should see. I've heard wonderful things about drinking beer while watching the sunsets over the ocean - is it a little sad that this is my main reason for wanting to go? Ah well, that's just the way it is.

The next overseas trip I'm planning is Asia sometime in 2005. I'm not sure about exactly where and when yet, but I have a lot of reading to do to work that out. This one will just be a holiday (maybe 4 weeks) not a prolonged trip with time off work without pay. I'm still tossing up whether to do a tour of some description, or just do it on my own. Upside of tour - get to see a lot more in the limited time I'll have. Upside of my own - can spend more time at the places I really want to go.

This weekend - I was half thinking of going to Tim Rogers at The Zoo tonight, but Skinnys were sold out and I'm not all that keen on going to a packed gig tonight. Still got a bit of a sore head. I'm planning to head to a gig at The Rev on Saturday night - the Neighbourhood Groove Collective. It's got muso's from george and AfroDizziAct in it and the write ups have always been good on them. They sound like they'll be pretty funky and dance-able. Also, The Rev is a new venue, recently bought by the same people that own The Alley. It's the old Chelsea, next door to the Healer - both of which I always thought were great venues. I really want to see what they've done with it. Guy Webster has a residency at the Bowery every Sunday in June and I would really like to head to that on Sunday night. Guess I'll see how it all goes. As long as it's not one of those really quite gigs where the only people there seem to be friends and family, I don't have any problems going to gigs on my own. Especially Guy Webster gigs, which are generally pretty laid back and I can just find a comfy seat somewhere and have a couple of wines and just chill out.

Work-wise, things are pretty quiet at the moment. I have to get this appeals procedure finalised and review a couple of other procedures, but nothing terribly urgent, despite having a couple of days off this week with my mild concussion. Still getting pretty annoyed with my co-worker, who seems to think that any amendments to the act need to be of urgent attention to warrant doing something about them. In my view, if I find a problem, I should let them know how to fix it, even if it will only come up every once in a blue moon. Better to have it fixed now while we've got amendments being drafted to go through parliament, rather than realise that we need to be able to use it and then find that we can't because of problems with the legislation. With some of them, it's just a matter of changing one word which can make all the difference. Anyway...

Listening to: Speedstar: Bruises you can touch

First off...

Okay, after hearing about (or reading) a few friend's blogs, I thought it might be an idea to start my own. No idea what it will be about. I don't know if it will be funny, or even interesting, but I figure it's a better way of getting out my thoughts, dreams, ideals and dramas than any other.

So - first thoughts:-

- I'm currently recovering from mild concussion. Who else but me would manage to have something heavy fall on the same part of her head twice in the space of a few days. I'm back to normal (well, for me) now though. It's a bugger only being able to take Panadol for the thumping headaches still coming out of the bump on my head though.

- I went overseas last year and came back on my birthday (31/01) this year after 7 months away. It's still a little weird being back. I missed home so much when I was away, but I'm finding that I'm missing aspects of my life in Dublin so much now that I'm back. I have to admitt that I sill see every sunshiney day as a huge miracle though!

- I've just joined QMusic and got myself listed as a music photographer. I love music, I love photography (and I think I'm pretty good at it), and I need a hobby. I always feel a little weird taking a camera to a gig, especially as I'm worried that the venue will take it away from me, but maybe if I get a couple of muso's interested in getting me to do their promo or gig shots, I won't feel so weird about it. I have to find some of my old shots from before I went overseas to augment my photo album.