Somedays every thing just goes your way...

and then days, like today, it just gets off to the wrong sort of start.
I cooked dinner last night just for myself. If you know me, you'd know that's quite unusual... I experimented with Korean starch noodles, vegies, chicken and some thai chillies, soy, and penut oil. So, in the early hours of this morning, I was rudely woken with a STRONG desire to go to the loo. This desire lasted about two hours.

So, when I re-awoke this morning to the sound of the alarm clock, I seemed to be struggling a little to get ready for work. I opted for the easy iron shirt, packed my bag, went to the kitchen had my swig of Yakult, picked up the rubbish and walked out the front door to the bin. Closing the door to the morning behind me. Realising then, as the door clicked into locked position, that my keys were resting next to my computer keyboard. (Plane Spotter is out of town, so I couldn't rely on his set of keys to get me back inside)

My team meeting at work went an hour and a half overtime. It dragged on... and on... I didn't get a chance to go out of the office for lunch and ended up almost arguing "business logic" for new development work and defending my team's heavy workload and short time frames.

But as soon as I walked out of the office today, the world had righted itself. My walk home from The Rocks went so smoothly. I seemed to get every green walk light. This NEVER happens. It's usually stop-start all the way home. AND... I luckily I had leant a spare set of keys to Judo the day before and he was waiting back at home to let me in. There was a slight cooling wind. Dinner was tasty. Conversation was interesting. People were smiling... I was smiling... I picked up the new Faithless album from Hum. And now I'm going to lie back in bed, chill and enjoy listening to it as I drift into pillowy comfortable slumber. Still smiling.

Just a very quick update...

the trough has been cleaned.

Unconscious Mutterings

Rhyme :: time
Substantial :: loss
Instant :: regret
Greed :: corporate
Brad :: 's got a sexy bike
Season :: 's in the sun
Accomplished :: The end of the road...
Invite :: me next time
Sparkle :: and shine
Rainbow :: Storm

You can play too.

And the winner is...

not us. But we did do ok. The results have been posted and we came 68th out of a field of 171. Our aim was to finish in the top 50%, so not bad for my first urban adventure race.

I know this is slightly gross but...

this cockroach has been in this trough for 3 weeks. Now what does it say about the cubicle?
1. I piss on him every time I go to the loo.
2. How sturdy is he!
3. Does it really ever get cleaned?

I, personally, still think the troughs should be cleaned more fequently...

The "cusp of love"...

is a very precarious place to sit. With one false move you could be sent tumbling down the side of it with nothing to grab onto. No holds. Nothing to put your feet against to stop the slide. Just falling, no net.

Sometimes you're going to land on your feet. But other times, when you don't know why you're falling, you're going to land on your head and break something.

Ouch. I'm broken in numerous places.

Ready... steady... go

Today I took part in the Sydney AdventuereMax race. This race was a hell of a lot of fun. Think: The Amazing Race, but only local and only public transport. It's my first adventure race of this sort. I took part in this race with Judo, and had a heap of help via phone ("phone a fiend") from Kim.

If running all over Sydney in a "stylish" red bib, doing tasks such as..
rock climbing in St Leonards
putting together tiny wooden puzzles on a train across the harbour bridge
kicking soccer goals with your left foot
basketball hoops
running through Paddy's Market to find stall #767
visiting the Travel and Adventure expo to find a Motorola stall
searching Centenial Park for some federation landmark
Walking the wharves at the Fish Markets to find some boat
cruising the harbour
running up Glebe Point Rd trying to figure out what war memorial has a checkpoint on it
tasting a juice drink and having to identify the three fruits that the drink was made from
all within a 6 hour non stop race against another 170 teams of 2
..than, this is your event.

I had fun.... I'm a little wrecked now, but what a bloody good day.

Putting myself out there (part 2)...

This is a tune I wrote Wednesday night.
It's called "I Didn't Mean It That Way" - Muzbot

It's Friday...

and I haven't made a post since Tuesday.
What's going on in my life then?

Oh, hang on, now I have.

Unconcious Mutterings

1. Teacher :: Pick me!


2. Fifty :: ways to leave your lover


3. Crossword :: ZZzzzz Boring


4. Stuffed :: Olive, dry martini


5. Family :: album


6. Purr :: fect


7. Toad :: in the hole


8. Cocktail :: Cheesy 80's Cruise movie


9. Insecurity :: Ummmm, do I have to answer this one? I might muck it up.


10. Magical :: Love

You can play too

Surely you would have seen the proof...

and thought, "I don't think the spacing is quite right on that font. Can we fix that before we print?"

A pub with balls.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

I love this time of year. Although, this year, I'll be spending it alone. Not the happiest thought.

Count 'em...

My garage this morning.
-==-
1) Mine
2) Farmer's
3) Mine
4) Plane Spotter's
5) Judo's
-==-

Hooray for Friday!...

gota love the local pub and the friday night meat tray.

My favorite...

film is on teev this weekend. (Channel 7 8:30pm, Sunday)
This is the doco that has inspired me more than any other film I have ever seen. It's the reason why I got out there and learnt to climb. I can't recommend this film highly enough. It's a true story and proves that the human spirit is a truly amazing beast.
As a quick summary: Simon and Joe go climbing a mountain that had not been climbed before. As they climb further into uncharted territory Joe falls and breaks his leg. The rest of the story involves getting him off the mountain. The cinematography is simply breath-taking, and if that does not take your breath away the white knuckle tension will. It's one of those rare films proving fact is far more engaging than fiction.
There is far more to this story than this movie portrays. I shall post more after the movie screens, so as not to give too much away prior to it's screening.

Sydney 4pm...

Inspired by a post by Bec, I have taken a couple of pics of the city as I left work today.
All except the last one, that is one my sister sms'ed me of her new puppy called Jack.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Nick :: at nite


2. Focus :: people! You're not listening!


3. Police :: man


4. Miles :: Jazz


5. Earn :: your keep


6. Twice :: shy


7. Razor :: stupid scooters


8. Personality :: bypass


9. Dumped :: :(


10. Reliable :: Machinery made before 1960

You can play too

In and out meme...

From Kookyknut

Soda Water or Mineral Water
Soda - I prefer a slight bite over a sweet tang

Tim-tams or Anzac Biscuits
Anzac Biscuits - But only when they're fresh out of the oven. I'm one of those freaks of Australian nature that don't like Tim Tams.

M*A*S*H or Happy Days
Happy Days - M*A*S*H was tedious.

Chocolate or Cheese
Hmmmm... Cheese. From the strong blue to a mild brie.

Kisses or Cuddles
Oh, smack a hot pair of lips against mine and I'm in heaven.

Fold or Scrunch
Scrunch.

Red or Blue
Blue - but I'm more of a lime fan.

Mac or PC
Duh - Mac.

Hot or Cold
Cold - so long as there's a fire place and a nice bottle of red.

Tetris or Pacman
Pacman - I love the thought of being chased and then turning the tables.

Lasers or Fireworks
Lasers - They don't fizzle out.

Elvis or The Beatles
I was a huge Elvis fan in highschool. Now, I'd have to go with Beatles. I understand now how brilliant melody writers they were.

Big Spoon or Little Spoon
Little - Especially eating desert. Savor a flavor for longer I say. I'm not one to shovel food.

White Bread or Brown Bread
White. But I do love peanut butter and banana on brown.

Gangster Rap or Death Metal
Death Metal. Why? The lyrics are so endearing and inspiring.

The weekend that was...

involved a lot of riding. So here's a picture from today... busted perving.

Meme: My Life as a Soundtrack...

This is not going to be pretty people.
If your life were a soundtrack, what would the music be?

Here's how it works:

Open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod).
Put it on shuffle.
Press play.
For every question, type the song that's playing.
New question - press the next button.
! Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool !

Opening Credits
"Touch Me With Your Love" - Beth Orton

Waking Up
"Love Is Strange" - Everything But The Girl (this one actually seems like a waking up song!)

First Day of School
"MyMyMy" - Armand Van Helden

Falling in Love
"All Through The Night" - Cindy Lauper (see, I said this wouldn't be pretty)

Breaking Up
"Sub-Culture (Edit)" - New Order

Prom
"Heaven" - Lamb

Life's Okay
"Giving Myself Away" - Faithless

Mental Breakdown
"Manhattan Idyl" - Henri Rene & His Orchestra (This is so appropriatepriate too! I'm sure lounge music would accompany my descent into madness!)

Driving
"Your Lovin' Arms" - Billie Ray Martin

Flashback
"Stephanie Pompougnac" - Morento Featuring Clementine (Bossa Mix) (Ahhh, beautiful french lyrics)

Getting Back Together
"Let's get down" - Supafly V's Fishbowl (LOL)

Wedding
"Delerious" - Prince

Birth of a Child
"Lido Shuffle" - Boz Scaggs (Yes, BOZ SCAGGS!)

Final Battle
"I'm A Wonderful Thing (Baby)" - Kid Creole & The Coconuts

Death Scene
"Legion" - Junkie XL

Funeral Song
"Knob Job" - Angel Alanis

End Credits
"Circles (Just My Good Time)" - Busface ft Mademoiselee E.B.

Tonight at the Dag-land...

oops, sorry, the Raglan.. we had live music.
Tonight, me and my mate Kookyknut, went to the pub for dinner. And by the time the live band came on, we were the only two in the pub. It actually created a very weird intimacy. Thank god for pints of beer. It's the beer that prompted me to be a little more vocal than usual... so that the rather large kiwi dude playing the guitar knew Kookyknut's first name by then end of the night and was offering the mic and bongos over to him... "Maybe next time" was Kookyknut's response.

A change is as good as...

blah blah...

I actually had an hour to myself this evening so I decided to update my blog template.
If colours were solids I would have been chucking them over my shoulder like a mad scientist - just trying to get the right combination... In the end, I came up with this.

How cool is this...

currently in my back yard I have 4 motorbikes and 1 Holden SS ute!

Sequencing and smearing....

sounds like something you'd do at a trashy dance party. But it wasn't. It was what I learnt tonight at climbing.
Sequencing is a technique of alternating left and right grips to enable a further reach sideways. Smearing was a technique where, if there aren't any foot holds, you get a strong grip with your fingers and then use your feet against the bare wall to move up. It requires further practice from me.

There's something very un-natural about "walking" up a vertical wall. But smearing is a very handy technique to know. I'm now starting to get a greater appreciation for those dudes and dudettes who get out there and do this stuff up a cliff face.

The other exercise we did tonight was to climb up the wall with one hand behind our back. Yep, only one hand. It wasn't easy. Half way up we had to swap hands and continue using only the other hand. I would say I got three quarters through this one before I couldn't go any further. Kookyknut had just as much luck as me on this one...

Judo has a new toy...

and I have a new riding buddy! Woohoo.
Judo's new 07 GSXR600 is a very nice bike.

I have the concentration of...

a strainer. Ok, did that make any sense? My wandering mind is causing me too much grief. Not really the best to be out and riding on a bike. But I actually thought I was riding very well. So well in fact, that I decided to do some weaving down a quiet street and stand up on the foot pegs. "Look Ma, no hands!"

Well, Mr Policeman didn't think I was being very clever. Damn. That's where the lack of concentration comes into it! I didn't even see him. Although, he must have been slightly impressed because he didn't book me. I just got a little talking to about the "should do" and "should not do" of riding in the streets. I didn't say this, but I just kept thinking, "Man, if I'm going to learn to do handstands I need to practice somewhere!"

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Theft :: wrong


2. Storage :: is expensive


3. Pick :: of the litter


4. Los Angeles :: Who cares?


5. The one :: and only


6. Accent :: Exotic


7. Rivalry :: Inter-departmental


8. Process :: habit


9. Streets :: where you live


10. Museum :: train station

This was a very un-interesting Unconscious Mutterings.

you can play too

My mind was elsewhere this morning...

and I miss read the lights at the pedestrian crossing and stepped out in front of a car. For a very quick second tires screeched and horns blared. I wasn't hit. How could this be? I'm so sure now that I was very lucky this morning. So, I was sworn at and I felt like a complete fool. My heart was racing and I was breaking out in a nervous sweat. 5 minutes later as I walked further towards the city I burst out laughing and thought to myself that there is no way I would want to die being hit by a car. I have grand plans that my death will possibly be caused by attempting something actually dangerous, not crossing the street...

the coolest thing I saw today was...

not this tree. It was in fact the smooth round boulder encrusted hill behind the tree. My love for geology grows. My timing for taking pictures from a moving vehicle gets worse.

the weirdest thing I saw today...

was a road sign for "Hanging Rock" and tied to the sign, was a real rope noose which was wrapped around this big hanging rock. It made me laugh.

I had a great weekend. Judo and I went to Canberra for the weekend. I kind of get the impression that I'm not a good friend to have. You see, Judo had planned to go down Sat night so he could be up bright and early on Sunday for a race event being held in a state forest in Canberra. So, after ariving in Canberra, Saturday evening started off great with dinner at an Italian restaurant. I wanted pasta with a creamy sauce and peas and got exactly that. It ended with us being still out later with me inching closer and closer to a dancefloor with each new song that was played. Then a song was played that got me all the way onto the dancefloor. I have no idea what it was. I was having a great night. Judo was having a great night. It was just plain fun. Canberra once again impressed me with it's coldness for people who are on their own and the warmth of the place if you have someone to spend some time with.

I'm not sure how well Judo woke up, but I can say I had a mighty big headache. And worst of all, Judo didn't make it to his race. Instead we went and had some stomach lining breakfast. Oily food. Mine served up with lashings of melted cheese. I just LOVE how sometimes if you just choose to react differently about something and take that different route how your day can be filled with unexpected laughter and seeing/experiencing things you've never experienced before in your life. We went on a road trip around the outskirts of Canberra and saw some mighty good bike riding road. I'm keen to get back for a weekend on my bike and do that ride.

I'm loving this right now...

but it's a long post.
--------------------------
"Stopwatch Hearts"
Delerium

Not that I'm that hard to Please
but lately when I hit the street
it's hum-de-dum
(hum-de-dum-de dum)
When the hard times hit
they Hit the biz
The hardest hit make the best of it

Strong dollar stockbroker right to the bottom
Sink down with your boomtown
High water realtors arrive
With numbers over their eyes
Stopwatch hearts

Good God I love the party-starved
businessmen with stopwatch hearts
They don't beat
(They tick)
They don't beat
(they tick)

Good God I love the party-starved
businessmen with stopwatch hearts
They don't beat
They don't beat

'Round that corner
Down the street
There's a dive where working girls retreat
from their hum-de-dum
(hum-de-dum-de-dum)
So tilt that felt hat to the side
Thrift store 3 for .99
Gonna get me one
Gonna get me one
(and Get it every night)

Strong dollar stockbroker right to the bottom
Sink down with your boomtown
High water realtors arrive
With numbers over their eyes
Stopwatch hearts

Good God I love the party-starved
businessmen with stopwatch hearts
They don't beat
(They tick)
They don't beat
(they tick)

Good God I love the party-starved
businessmen with stopwatch hearts
They don't beat
They don't beat

Good God I love the party-starved
businessmen with stopwatch hearts
They don't beat
(They tick)
They don't beat
(they tick)

Good God I love the party-starved
businessmen with stopwatch hearts
They don't beat
They don't beat

(they tick)

So tilt that felt hat to the side
Thrift store 3 for .99

Gonna get me one
(and Get it every night)

The trashy 70's horror flick...

is such a good option for thursday night viewing.
the "Trilogy of Terror" is one of those midday movies that you somehow catch glimpses of when you're a kid and that one scary scene in the movie stays with you into adulthood. I say "scary scene" but now when you watch it you just can't help but laugh and add your own script edits and commentary. I had not seen this movie since I was probably 7 or 8 years old. What a classic.

The lads cooked up another FEAST. So much tasty food in one week!

you know sometimes...

you just look at a sunset and go... "Shit, that's pretty awesome. I'll NEVER see this again. I could actually die right now and be ok with it."
I'm actually very cool with that thought. This moment.