It’s been an ordinary year, a couple of highlights, a few lows, but nothing which has completely shaken my world. However, declaring it an ordinary year still makes it a damn sight better than 04.
I have big expectations for 2006. I’m starting to get life in order, which will mean buying a house, possibly a new car & working towards changing my career. I think I’m chasing a life changing event rather than survive in the slow lane as has been the case (Winning tonight’s Lotto draw would be a nice start).
Since I can’t speculate too much on what is on the other side of midnight, I’ll work through a few a couple of items which have failed to grace this blog during the year for one reason or another.
On the work front, I changed offices in the last couple of weeks which had the added bonuses of a promotion to “Group Financial Controller” & a 20% pay rise. On paper it looks fantastic, but it now means doing two jobs instead of one for at least the next four months. Again, it’s all about having the job rather than enjoying it because the CV looks a lot better than it did! It occurred due to someone leaving & the negotiations over the position even had me walk into work with a resignation letter in my hand. I had a sleepless weekend & I was convinced I no other option but resign. Things have worked out to some degree, but I've had a couple of moments since which makes me wish it was all over!
Back in August, someone I went to school with found the blog. Back in the early days, I was careless & mentioned a name or two, which were eventually googled & the game was up. It allowed me to catch up with someone I hadn’t heard from for ages which was nice, but having a site which is hidden in plain sight from most people I know, the event made me feel pretty vulnerable. I don’t know what I’d do if I didn’t continue blogging, other than having a lot more time on my hands. I know it will eventually end, but I’ll fight it to the very end!
Musically, I haven’t written much, but I’m enjoying getting into other artists’ music. The days of hardcore R&B & gangsta rap seem to be getting overshadowed by some amazing singer/songwriters. I’m still working on getting some of my stuff online in the early part of the year to try & kick start a new adventure. Stay tuned on this one!
It looks like I might just have a quiet one tonight. Most people I know aren’t doing anything spectacular & let’s face it, it’s too darn hot. I had someone tell me that the New Year isn’t important at all, rather your birthday is the true start of each year. I must admit, I’ve never thought of it in that way, but it’s completely correct, however it leaves me with a problem. Out of all the events on the calendar, New Year has been a favourite & I hate birthdays! I find the changeover of one year to the next is a psychological barrier which allows me to dispense the past to its rightful place.
Overnight I won an auction through the Hard Rock Café website which celebrates the new year. It’s costly but cool & hopefully a good omen to have displayed around the place.
So ends 2005 & the 714th entry on “one before unlucky”. I hope everyone has a good night without getting too intoxicated!
On a scale of 1 to 10, today was "Fucking Boiling".
If it didn't hit 40 degrees in town, I'll be amazed. Darn windy as well.
I made the mistake of walking a couple of city blocks to drop off some paperwork. On the way back I bought an Ice Coffee which wasn't very cold by the time I made it back to the office. However, I did manage to get it down before it started curdling!
With what was supposed to be all night trading in the city, my sister joined me to hunt for some last minute gifts. All in all, there was quite a crowd but not a great deal of places open, especially the little stores who would have probably done well trading late into the night.
As we entered Rundle Mall, we passed a guy on his mobile who said quite loudly "yeah, I'm here in the Mall". A couple of seconds later "No, not the Morgue.... the Mall... Rundle Mall".
The Myer Centre wasn't particularly busy & we spent a fair bit of time there. At one point I was waiting & noticed a shoe store in the complex had been left with the front roller door part way up. There was definitely no one inside the black void of the store & for a fleeting moment I thought "Wow, Free Shoes!!!", but then realised they would all be for the left foot only! I suspect someone's going to get fired over it.
The Borders store needs its airconditioning checked, as we both nearly dehydrated. I thought about collapsing near the section containing books on Burke & Wills to make it all that more authentic.
Whilst I'm on it, the Goth community has found a new meeting point at the front of Borders & they're in residence day & night. Now, so long as Goths mind their own business & slither into the shadows in their drabness, I don't have a problem. However, this new congregation are mostly cocky little fucks who have no qualms about passing comments or spitting in the direction of normal folk who may be... god forbid..., wearing colours! It's not very impressive.
We left a touch after midnight & on the way out of the Mall we heard another phone call in progress. A guy in his twenties was screaming into a phone "Everyone keeps looking at me, but I'm fucking straight!!!! I haven't taken anything!!!". Sure mate, I've seen far straighter bananas in my time & they've also done less drugs!!
Now, all I have to do is a bit of wrapping to get another Christmas 2005 out of the way.
After four days without fish in the neighbour's pond, they all came back!!!
It seems that something gave them an almighty fright & they dropped to the bottom of the pond & hid for the entire time. Not once did they pop up to the surface for food, as the fish food remained untouched & floating.
Then on Friday, they were all back munching away, oblivious to the fact we were tearing our hair out wondering what had happened to them.
I am surprised they could stay down so long & remain undetected. Granted, the water is not exactly clean & the algae hides the bottom of the pond, but I did drag a stick carefully along the bottom to see if any dead fish would be raised. Now I know they were cunningly dodging my exploration efforts!
It's not about the value, but the act of giving, so this guitar will do nicely. Just keep in mind, it's going to a good cause!
Of course, Fender released a signature edition guitar for John Mayer, which includes a similar stripe to that which graces this page, but I would really like this one. Yes, I know it's a competition... so shouldn't you be putting in copious amounts of entries for me?? Well?? What are you waiting for??? Start entering or you won't be able to give it to me for Christmas!!!
A couple of other options are here & here. If they're a bit too loud in their design, there's always the subtle use of gold leaf on the Master Salute Stratocaster.
I don't think I'm being over zealous with what I want for Christmas. No Wait... that should read 'need for Christmas'. You know they'll be put to good use & I wouldn't even consider returning them to the store or worse still, packing them up & giving them as gifts next year!
Put the joy back into Christmas. You know what you have to do!!
Our neighbour is a professional cave diver & as such, travels most of the state & occasionally other bits of the country looking for places to dive. From various stories, it sounds fascinating but as scary as hell. Since he is away for a week or so at a time, we feed his fish which are located in a pond beside the house.
There are around 25 goldfish ranging upwards from three inches to a couple which would be five inches long. We're talking big, healthy goldfish here!
Last week, said neighbour went away on another expedition & we've been feeding the fish. The last time we fed them was around 6pm on Sunday evening.
Last night, there isn't a single fish left in the pond! Every fish big & small has vanished.
We looked around for any disturbance, expecting to find traces of dead fish, possibly attacked by an animal, but nothing. We looked for any sign of someone stealing the fish, but again nothing!
It truly is as thought they have just vaporised & as a result, we're completely miffed!!
On the Sunday night we did notice one of the smaller ones floating on the surface, but we didn't have anything to scoop it out with. Now we don't need to because it's missing too!?!
If someone did steal the fish, why didn't they take the brand new barbeque sitting on the verandah nearby? It would have been far easier than wallowing around trying to contain some feisty fish. Also, why would they take a dead fish? It therefore doesn't make sense that they were stolen.
Could it have been an animal? Again, the dead goldfish is missing, so for a cat to consume all the fish, is one hell of an effort, especially to not leave any behind! The only other creatures around the area are a few dogs & the occasional koala (which prefer the vegan way of life). If it was an animal, there would surely be some disturbance of the surrounding areas & catching all the fish in a reasonable size pond would have meant the animal getting wet!
So, I don't get it, where the hell do goldfish vanish to??? Aliens are the most logical explanation at this point, because I just can't fathom any other means of escape for the fish.
There are spiders & then there are spiders. I'd put this one in the second category.
In the backyard, this little lady has been busy for the last few days, building a web & popping out some kids.
I hate all spiders, no matter how big or small & after being bitten by a Redback spider back in 1987, my phobia has stood strong. With all the spikes, really tough web & vibrant colours, this spider looks rather threatening. Of course I've tormented it a bit by blowing on it, in which case it turns the spikes in the direction of the target.
Before deciding on whether to give it a dose of toxic spray, I thought I'd at least Google it & find out what sort of menace she is. Turns out she is a Jewel spider & is commonly known as a Christmas spider which is appropriate being this time of year!
Her Latin name is Gasteracantha Minax, meaning "threatening and projecting" & while not harmful to humans, she does eat her male partner after sex, which I think is completely bitchy!!
I would love to know just how many times the refresh button, on web browsers all around Australia, was pressed as everyone tried to grab U2 tickets on Monday.
My button press quantum would have been significant on its own, but it eventually paid dividends & I scored my ticket in what will hopefully be a great spot.
It was only after I'd made the purchase that I discovered everybody else in the office wanted tickets, but getting through a second time didn't happen! Most wanted extra tickets to sell on ebay, which were (& still are) selling for insane amounts.
One thing I do want to know about is security for AAMI Stadium & if I tried to sneak a camera in, would I achieve or be deported to a far off land?!
A female coworker recently left for London with her boyfriend of approximately one year. During that time, said boyfriend worked in various areas around the state & spent a fair bit of time away from Adelaide & his girlfriend.
Since Adelaide is so small, I'm friends with his ex-girlfriend who he was with for four & a bit years. He broke it off with her & it wasn't long before he attached himself to his new girl.
I had my suspicions this guy wasn't being faithful to his new girlfriend & the odd comment around the place was cementing those concerns.
On Friday night, I caught up with his ex & we had a long chat about things before his name came up in conversation. It seems that it took him quite a while before he announced he had a new girlfriend & was occasionally coming back to sleep with his ex. He also gave her a festy little infection which suggests he was really playing the field.
Since his cheating prowess is 100% confirmed, I have the issue of his new girlfriend, who I was close to, being messed around be a guy who she is now traveling the world with.
