May. Already. I seem to have skipped April on here, which is annoying as I was trying to keep the archives monthly again. Oh well.

It's probably best I skip over April anyway. Not the best month. Birthday wasn't the best day, but not for turning 44 reasons. Had a fling, behaved like a bit of a twat - and whaddya know, the fling suddenly ended! I need to take a good long look at how I behave sometimes. And a bloke behaving like a character out of Desperate Housewives is not a good look. Anyway, file away under 'Things not to repeat next time'. Though next time seems far away right now.

Saw the Human League. Twice. (Though technically one of those times was in March). Fantastic.

School finished, with me miraculously getting the permanent job at the school. Go me.

Holidays. OK. Didn't do much. Tried to keep fit, but didn't eat well and due to some calf issues and being in a bit of a bad space re fling I didn't train as I should so half marathon won't be as good a time as I'd hoped. Did go to Tokyo for 3 days which was great.

And now term 2 has started. 10 weeks to go. But a long 10 weeks. Lots of stuff to do at work. I'm off the booze too. No fun for Davie til July.

That's all for now. Feels a bit like I'm treading water again - a cyclical theme for those that might still be reading from years back. Not unhappy, not really happy. Limbo.

Meh.

Nearly a quarter of the year has gone, nearly time for school holidays.

I'm back in that treading water/limbo place, where everyday seems to be about work or exercise. Which is OK. Socially things are slightly different. I feel like I've connected back with some mates where the connection had gone a bit stale. I still feel like something or someone is missing though.

I just want to get through the next two weeks and then relax. 8 more days of teaching. But before that, I've got planning to finish and three (count em, three!) job applications.

Which means it's time to get off here, and onto that stuff.

I love autumn in Sydney. I want it to love me back this year.

Things are better. No real reason, but things just feel as though they're on the up. That's a good thing.

Still exercising like a loon. Still working hard but feeling guilty about not working harder. Still in control of my diet. Less than 4 weeks to the Easter hols.

Better. :)

I really should be asleep. Almost 11pm Sunday night - and school beckons in the morning.

Thing is, I'm in such a foul mood I can hardly bring myself to even bother to sleep. Actually no. Foul mood isn't right. I just don't care about much at the moment. Not school. Not having a social life. Least of all, me.

Work seems like a real chore and is hard. It feels like it's stopping me doing social stuff. I feel guilty if I don't do school work, so I stay in and resent staying in. And then don't do half the stuff I'd planned.

At the same time as resenting staying in, I don't really want to go out. I'm finding social interaction hard and shying away from it, and then bemoaning the fact my social circle is non-existent.

I'm still obsessing about and over-analysing things I cannot currently change.

Thank god for diet and exercise. At least there's something I can focus on and achieve right now (OK so I'm caring for me a little).

Since leaving school on Friday I've had two phone conversations. One briefly to say I wasn't going out and the other with my Dad, who called. I've seen one friend (well tennis partner rather than friend to be completely honest), to play tennis on Saturday night (when everyone else was getting ready for Mardi Gras). I had one text message (a general one asking for Toybox tickets); two Facebook conversations and a brief MSN conversation with my niece.

It's bad enough I have little non work related adult conversation through most of the week, but it seems like the weekends are becoming the same. I have no-one I can let off steam to, or even really just share what's happened on a daily basis. I have no partner; no flatmate and a seemingly dwindling number of close friends - most of whom are either partnered, becoming partnered or just becoming more distant (probably because of my social withdrawal). The number of close friends in Sydney? If I'm completely honest? 3. The number of really close friends in Sydney? 1.

I know a lot of that has been my steady distancing of people over time, whilst I've been involved with partners (and to be honest so have they). During the summer holidays I met some people out and about that I thought might become good friends. Turns out they were like most people that you meet out and about - they take from you on the night and the giving back part never seems to materialise. I wonder sometimes how I can still be so naive and foolish at the age of almost 44.

The thing is though, I've never lost that hope. That people will turn out to be genuine and have integrity. You'd think after having that hope dashed so many times that I'd have learned by now.

I think I'm closing myself down. For friendships, for potential partners. For most things. Which leaves me to fend for myself. And to potentially let myself down which, traditionally, I've been good at.

OK time for bed as that's taken 30 mins to vent. Interesting to write that down, as it didn't come out anything like the way I thought it would... and I've haven't even got it all off my chest.

It's a good job no-one reads this any more.

So, six weeks passes and where have I been? I've been to London to see the Queen...

Well actually no. I'll be doing that in October. And, well not 'the' Queen, but probably several others. Holidays are well and truly over and in fact tomorrow is the start of Week 6 at school. I have my new kindy class - they'll never replace my first ever class of last year, but they are seemingly lovely so far. School's been keeping me occupied so not too much social stuff to report.


Been on a bit of a health kick. Gym twice a week this year to date, with a trainer. Am back running again, and have signed up for the half marathon in May. Doing a 14 week training program for that which is three weeks in. Am hoping to remain injury-free, though slightly worryingly my left foot is a bit sore. I'm hoping some new running shoes (bought yesterday) will help cushion it to recovery. A run later will give me a better idea.



Have also been eating incredibly well and that will continue - I gave up alcohol, caffeine, chocolate and sweets for February which was a good challenge. Had my first coffee today and am working hard whilst still buzzing!

More news from the front line as it happens. Not really doing anything for Mardi Gras - I need to get the school stuff sorted first. Oh, and the Human League are touring - best news for ages! :)

Just home from seeing Grace Jones live at the Enmore Theatre. I'm not really sure how best to describe it, but boy was it fantastic! She looked great; she sounded great; and the costumes changes were very cool. A new hat for each song - seemingly getting more outlandish by the moment. Best moment? The silver diamante bowler hat being lit by two huge green lasers for Love Is The Drug - sublime.

Strangest moment? Me hearing the opening chords to Slave To The Rhythm and bursting into tears. Still trying to work through that one right now. It's not a particular favourite, though I like it. Maybe it was memories of times gone by, or people and moments lost. Maybe it was just the thought that I never thought I'd hear it played live, in my forties, whilst living on the other side of the world from where I was born. Maybe I'm in more of a fragile emotional state than I thought. But for whatever reason, floods of tears. Fortunately for me it was so hot at the gig that it just looked as though I was wiping sweat from my brow.

A great but slightly surreal night. And that's without mentioning the fact that Grace hula-hooped all the way through Slave. No, really. F*cking marvellous!

The last mix seems to be going down well too, which is good to hear. A few people have commented on the mix between Lady Gaga and Boney M, which is interesting as I wasn't too sure about including the Boney M track from a kitsch perspective. Here's the full track listing, and the link again for anyone who would still like to download it. Since I did this I also discovered that Giorgio Moroder actually produced the Sparks track, but that's just a happy coicidence!

Giorgio Moroder – I Wanna Rock You
Morgan Page featuring Lissie – The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Vocal Remix)
Cicada – Falling Rockets (Original Mix)
The Human League – The Things That Dreams Are Made Of (Remix)
The Ting Tings – Fruit Machine (Bimbo Jones Remix)
The Presets – Yippyo-ay
Sparks – Beat The Clock
Kelly Osbourne – One Word (Chris Cox Club Mix)
Hot Chip – Ready For The Floor
Lady Gaga – Poker Face (Glam As You Club Mix)
Boney M Vs Sash – Ma Baker
MGMT – Kids (Soulwax Nite Version)
The Ian Carey Project – Get Shaky (Ian Carey Vocal Mix)
Moby – Disco Lies (Spencer And Hill Remix)

http://www.filefactory.com/file/a00a5c8/n/MinkeredMix7_mp3

Click on the link; scroll down to download with the basic option; enter in the security code and the download will begin! Enjoy!

As my Facebook status says today: I'm a grumpy old Hector. Well I was earlier, and it hasn't got any better. Sometimes you see or read something that although isn't aimed at you, or even necessarily about you, it gets to you and affects your mood.

So tonight. A browsed remark has only made me more miserable and wallow-y. I had intended to get some stuff done tonight, but consequently I've done nothing. Eaten and drank. Ended up on a strange internet quest that I can't even remember where I started, but ended up with me spending a lot time reading about the Moomins and their author Tove Jansson. That brought back lots of childhood memories and only made me more sad.

Best to call it a night and head to bed. Tomorrow will be different.

Happy New Year. Again. And to keep you in that fun mood from a few nights ago, here is the latest mix from me. It was finally finished on NYE, so a lucky couple of people got a pre-release version for partying down, but this is now the definitive version. Enjoy everyone.

It's not dissimilar to the last one - mostly recent stuff mixed in with a few surprises... even a couple of songs from the 70s (with one of the artists producing the other one). Not sure how long this will take to download as it's about 100MB, but hopefully you'll think it worthwhile!

http://www.filefactory.com/file/a00a5c8/n/MinkeredMix7_mp3

Click on the link; scroll down to download with the basic option; enter in the security code and the download will begin! Thanks for your patience...

Happy New Year to one and all. I hope 2009 bring everyone some of the things they would like. Not everything, coz then there'd be nothing left to wish for. :)

Dave is inbetween parties right now, and bringing the NY in in fine fashion. Huzzah!

'Twas the night before Christmas,
And all round the flat
Nothing was stirring -
Well how about that!

Well Chrimbo is indeed upon us. This year has flown, and the last few days I've had a chance to reflect on some of the stuff that has happened. I'll put some thoughts up on here over the next few days, to lead nicely into 2009.

For the moment though, merry Christmas to one and all. :)

Almost a month since I last blogged. Not a huge amount to report - school, school, school.

Good news is I've had my contract extended another year at the school I've been working at so another year of Kindy for me. Yay! I'm looking forward to having the chance to consolidate all that I learned this year - and it means I can relax a bit over the holidays knowing I've got another year up my sleeve.

Very much looking forward to the holidays - only 3 more weeks. I'm going to spend that time exercising, eating and sleeping well and remembering how to relax, whilst working on my program for school for next year. If anyone wants to play tennis I'd love to play during that time... :)

I'll also do a full page with all the mixes and track listings etc. And hopefully do at least one other mix... Stay tuned!

OK boys and girls. Here's another mix. The last one was number 6, this is number 4. Upon listening to it again it seems pretty fresh. It was of its time in 2004, but other than the last 3 tracks which to me seem a little bolted on, it's pretty good (if I do say so myself!).

The mixes are a lot shorter, and some of them have hardly any overlap. However I'd still be very happy to be out dancing to this, and some of the tracks are real crackers. Hope you enjoy. Comments please...

Oh, and I'll put up the track listing once you've had a chance to listen. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise... :) Oh, and I do think one of the tracks does skip ever so slightly David... but I remember that being on the original mix and I never changed it so you'll have to deal with it.

http://www.filefactory.com/file/3e5541/n/MinkeredMix4_mp3

Just a quickie. Some good news but a dull story. A while back when I updated my PC I lost the master files of the older mixes I've done. Or so I thought. The versions that were left were the not quite final edits and as such I wasn't so happy about sharing them.

Having a squizz through my PC this week I made a discovery - I do have the final versions, but saved as individual tracks rather than a whole mix. Yay! But it's almost impossible to butt them up in my mixing program to make them, in the words of Atomic Kitten, whole again.

However I think I've found a way using iTunes to sort it, and so I'll be trying that over the next few days. Get ready for more minkered mixes!
Now, off for brekky. :)

The mix is still going down well. However, one person noticed a skip during Kylie so I've deleted the original file and uploaded it again. Hopefully this will solve any problems. Please note the different link address:

http://www.filefactory.com/file/03c87d/n/sometingnew_mp3

Enjoy. I might put some older mixes up soon too...

So. The mix has been released to varying responses... mostly the UK people love it, and the Aussie peeps haven't really said much...

Here's what some people have said...

"Fab. Tooks few minutes to download. Listening to it as we speak/type. Cheering up a boring Friday afternoon no end. x"

"I've got to say, this is one of the best dance mixes I've ever heard."

"Dave, I love the mix"

So, there you go. Please give it a whirl as it is pretty fab :)

Here's the track listing for those who asked:

The Ting Tings - That's Not My Name (LA Riots Remix)
The Presets - Talk Like That (Miami Horror Remix)
Cut Copy - Hearts On Fire (Calvin Harris Remix)
Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning (Cut Copy Remix)
Kylie Minogue - The One (Freemasons Vocal Club Mix)
Cyndi Lauper - Into The Nightlife (Soulseekerz Club Mix)
Tiffany - Just Another Day (Dave Aude Club Mix)
The Ting Tings - Shut Up And Let Me Go (Tocadisco Mix)
Freeform Five - No More Conversations (Richard X Mix)
Metro Station - Shake It (Lenny B X-Mix)
Miley Cyrus - See you again (Aaron Paetsch Club Mix)
September - Cry For You (Spencer & Hill Remix)
The Ting Tings - Great DJ (7th Heaven Remix)

These tracks are on mostly high rotation in Sydney at the moment, except the Ting Tingss, and Freeform Five, and Tiffany - which is a new single at 37 years old and I love it :)
Actually I haven't really heard the Presets out, or that particular Cut Copy remix, or Ladyhawke. But there were getting high rotation on my iTunes and they all just seemed to be what I would love to dance to in an ideal world if out in a club. Enjoy. I'll post some of the older mixes up in the near future :)

I'm going to try something different here and see what happens. Some of you may know that over the last few years I've experiented with doing some music mixing at home. My output has hardly been prolific - it kind of depends on if I've been going out to hear what music is current.

I've tried not to just beat mix the tracks and step away - I've tried more to think about the songs, the mood, the key, and for want of a better cliché, the journey. Here's the latest mix - hopefully the file hosting site that I've uploaded it to will be reliable and not fall over. Not sure how long this will take to download as it's about 100MB, but hopefully it'll get people dancing.

Given my current obsession with The Ting Tings, I'd like to call this one "All kinds of everyting". If people like this I'll upload some of the older mixes too. Enjoy - and feel free to share!

http://www.filefactory.com/file/d60714/n/sometingnew_mp3

Click on the link; scroll down to download with the basic option; enter in the security code and the download will begin! Thanks for your patience...

Sometimes life royally sucks.

But always better to have a definitive answer than to be kept dangling.

Short and sweet.

Things are a bit more settled in Dave world. Kind of. Getting ready for two week's holiday and I can't wait. This time I have nothing at all that I have to do. Looking forward to doing some things because I'd like to.
Julia left. Adrian goes tomorrow. Muz'll go in a month or so. Those bits still hurt.
We had a mad weekend just gone. I mean really... Which for the most part was great. A few little pangs for opportunities lost, a little jealousy, some anxiety and losses of self-confidence. But mostly it was fun. Which is progress.
Ran the 9K race on Sunday with Muz and we did 51'58" - which considering we'd done no preparation and been out all night the night before we did a great job.
So more soon, from a hopefully more chilled out Davie.

Two things that have either amused or perplexed me.






First the amusement - maybe for the girl that loves to feel the wind in her hair.













Secondly, the perplexer. Christmas tree daleks. In William Street. In September. Why ho why ho why?

A brief update. It's going to be short as I'm not in the best frame of mind and don't want to whinge on too much...

A year ago I was very excited and happy. New career, new man, new place to live. Twelve months on... another new place. The place itself is great, but part of the reason for moving here was to be nearer to mates, and in particular Adrian and Muz. So it's a bit of a shame that both of them are now moving on - Adrian up to Brisbane next month and Muz to Manly a month later. I appreciate why they're going and hope things work out for them in their respective places, but selfishly I'm really going to miss them.
New career - we're over halfway through term three and I'm ready for a holiday to be honest. Kindergarten is great but so exhausting. I wouldn't be doing anything else though, but it does sometimes seem relentless. However I'm not sure my contract will be renewed next year - not due to me but to people returning from maternity leave and long service leave etc. I'll not find out for a while but may possibly have to start applying for jobs. The thought of that on top of everything else doesn't really fill me with joy right now.
New man - well as I've mentioned previously that ended and we're now just mates. Still finding it hard but I guess it is for the best. Don't seem to have any enthusiasm for going out much either right now. Hopefully I can channel that into the gym and get fit whilst not drinking very much! I still haven't been to the gym even though I joined 2 weeks ago, so I'm definitely missing some get up and go at the mo. I have signed up for the 9km Bridge Run in three weeks so I'll have to get my act together soon.
Also Julia finally leaves to head back to the UK this coming week, which is really sad. I'm sure she'll be back as soon as she can but I'll miss her such a lot.

I wish I'd bottled that feeling I had a year ago when I was so full of optimism for everything. It would be great to be able to feel that again right now.

My love life is that of a Doctor Who assistant...

I love that as a title of a blog post, and am wondering if I could make it into a book title. But in essence it's true. I've recently finished watching Doctor Who Series 4 (new series that is) and as the series progressed it makes a point of highlighting what it is like to be a Doctor Who assistant. As these points were either stressed or alluded to I realised that it seems a lot like the last relationship of mine that recently ended.

1) Future assistants meet the Doctor and are usually amazed, entranced and often left wanting more.
2) Once the Doctor/assistant relationship starts, the whole thing is amazing for both of them. They have incredible adventures together and laugh and they become closer and closer. There is lots of running.
3) The Doctor, though very happy, usually starts to have misgivings of some sort. Often it's due to the fact that he won't ever be able to grow old with the new assistant and so lets them down gently so that they can be happy with someone else.
4) The assistant, heartbroken, tries to return to normal life but doesn't cope well as normal life becomes completely pedestrian compared to life with the Doctor.
5) The assistant often spends time trying to get back to/with the Doctor again - usually without success
6) The assistant gets a bit part role in future adventures of the Doctor and his new assistant.


I know that's a little contrived, but when it's fresh in the assistant's (my) mind then it's possible to make it work. That and the fact that the series is fantastic and I spent a few episodes crying over lost Doctor/assistant interraction.

This isn't meant to be a dig at anyone (!), just an observation twisted to fit a blog post idea. The Doctor who I was the potential assistant to I hope will realise this. And besides, the assistants always come out of the relationships as better people in the end...

Thanks Doctor... Who?

N.B. Here's a better working title... "Not sure if I'm Captain Jack or Martha..." :o)

Grrr. Still coughing and the doc says antibiotics won't help. Guess I've just got to ride it out.

Grrr 2. Apparently the problem with my internet connection is with the building, not my provider. Am now waiting to hear from the building management to get a technician to check the line in. God only know how long that'll take.

Grrr 3. Had lovely beers with Gary last night (that's not the grrr). After nattering away over a few bevvies and finishing our Vietnamese, the bill came with some Minties. Gary said he maybe shouldn't have his as he lost a crown on a toffee recently and it cost him a fortune. So I chewed into mine and lo and behold, part of one of my fillings came out. Although it doesn't hurt all the time I've just found out it's sensitive to hot and cold and so needs to be sorted out soonest. Hopefully it can be done whilst I'm still on holiday.

Aww... Whilst moving out of the old house on Monday I left a bookcase and a desk with a note saying 'Free to good home, enjoy!'. I went back yesterday just to check everything over one last time before handing back the keys and the same note was pushed back in the letter box. Hand written at the bottom was
"Thank you very much. I hope the good karma comes back to you. Will come in handy as I've just moved to the city and I'm lacking any cash for furniture. Cheers Jeremy"
So that makes me feel good. In fact I feel karma already...
Arf arf.

Well, well, well.

What's to say? Lots and nothing seem to have happened all at once. Discounting the last iTunes post, it's been about six weeks since I posted proper. I'm currently half way through the school holidays (which is great), but battling a cough and cold (which isn't).

So. Although alluded to I didn't actually say that Muz and me are now just mates. It's been really hard - in some ways more so in that we're still hanging out a lot. However the way I figure it is that he's a great bloke and should be in my life. I think some people think I should distance myself but...

School. Reports are finished, though we've got parent/teacher interviews coming up next term. The school year is half way through and at times I still feel like I've no idea what I'm doing! Still it is my first full year and I'm very much in learning mode. At the end of this term I may well have to start looking for full time work as I'm on a year's contract at my current school and not sure yet whether my contract will be renewed - it's maternity leave cover and I know the teacher is returning. It'll depend also on the numbers of intakes for the school etc. I've told the new head that I'd love to stay, so let's see what happens...

In other news, I've gone east (wonder if life isn't peaceful there?). Lately I've not been enjoying living around Newtown so started to think about moving elsewhere. I can't buy just yet as I've not been working full time long enough to get a mortgage easily, so I looked around at renting again. Some of my disatisfaction with Newtown is that 1) the pubs have gone and 2) it feels sleazy and seedy in a not good way. It's hard to qualify that I know, but that's how it feels. Much as I often hated the Newtown Hotel it was a place to congregate and have beer, play pinball or pool and occasionally watch the awful shows. Now it's gone, and the Imperial too, no one seems to know what to do or where to go. The Bank tries its best, but it's not the same.

Anyhoo, I digress. Most of the people I tend to hang out with live east and so it seemed the natural choice. I'm now in Potts Point, right down near the naval base (!) in a lovely one bedroom apartment that already feels more homely than the place in Alice Street. I loved sharing a place with Julia, my niece. I am going to miss her very much when she leaves to go back to the UK and hope as much as she does that she manages to get back here pronto.

It is a bit weird saying that I'm moving out of Newtown because it feels sleazy and then essentially moving to Kings Cross, but the sleaze factor here seems healthier somehow. Or more fun. Or something. But it really feels good to be back here. I've lived here before and when I first moved to Sydney some 10 years ago now, I lived just down the road in Darlinghurst. This feels like my "hood". I'm looking forward to more nights in; healthier home cooking; DVD nights with mates (I've already started Twin Peaks with Bobby); Wii-ing with Muz; running down by Woolloomooloo, into the Domain and round to the Opera House - how spectacular to have that on my doorstep; and generally just settling down again. I've taken a 9 month lease on the apartment and will look to buy a place after that assuming I've got a job. Watch this space.

OK. Think it's time to sign off and go and enjoy the winter sunshine. It's currently only about 8C, but with Sydney's blue sky and bright sunshine it's still a joy to live on this side of the planet.

Another iTunes meme...

Simple rules: Open iTunes, turn on shuffle, press forward for each question and use the song title as the answer.

What does next year have in store for me? Labelled with love - Squeeze

What’s my love life like? Lover come back to me – Dead or Alive

What do I say when life gets hard? Saturday night – Whigfield (yes I know!)

What do I think of on waking up? I breathe again – Adam Rickitt

What song will I dance to at my wedding? Cry Boy Cry – Blue Zoo

What do I want as a career? Toxic – Britney Spears

My favorite saying? Double Dutch – Malcolm McLaren

Favorite place? Face to face – Daft Punk

What do I think of my parents? Filthy/Gorgeous – Scissor Sisters (um…?!)

What’s my porn star name? You make it easy – Air or would that be Hugh Makeiteasy?

Where would I go on a first date? The land of make believe – Bucks Fizz

Drug of choice? Feeling for you - Cassius

Describe myself. Feel the love – Cut Copy

What is the thing I like doing most? Not afraid of romance - MGF

What is my state of mind like at the moment? Dangerous game – Kylie Minogue

How will I die? Somebody else’s business – Pet Shop boys.

Not sure how to react to some of those as they're a little too accurate for comfort! iTunes - are you watching me?
(thanks to Muz)

Haiku

First day of winter
Outside the pale sunshine warms
Inside I'm frozen.

It's a couple of weeks since the half marathon, but I can't say that I'm settled back into any sort of routine. It's halfway through term 2 at school, and I should be working on my term 2 program and/or reports. However I'm having an afternoon and now night when I'm feeling very sorry for myself and thinking a lot about what might have been. I know it's not productive, and that I have a lot to be thankful for, but I currently seem to feel like everything's against me and that there must be something about me that makes sure that people don't hang around too long in relationships. Normally these sort of moods don't last too long, so I'll be back to normal probably by tomorrow. I had a really good weekend last weekend, going out and about on the scene and having a good time. It's on days like these though that I realise that last weekend wasn't reality... and reality isn't half as much fun. Although it's great for some escapism, we all have to get back to living our everyday lives eventually. It's on days like these that it feels like I don't like my everyday life too much.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

Running record...


My half marathon history is as follows:

2003 - trained hard, torrential rain, Time 1'50"49
2004 - didn't train as hard, beautiful weather. Time 1'50"01
2005 - intended to run again, got shin splints and sore knees.
2006 - got fat :o(
2007 - was finishing up Masters and not exercising
2008 - late entry, attempted to kick start myself into exercise. Gorgeous day. Time 1'59"10

I was very happy with the run given I hadn't really trained properly, and best of all I really enjoyed myself. I'm seriously considering the full marathon in September. First though, a week off to let my sore legs recover :o)

It's the middle of May. Somehow since the last post the holidays have ended and two weeks of term 2 have already passed...

I did go into school after I left you last and rearranged the furniture in the classroom and it has been working much better for me. I have been running again, and managed almost 15k on Tuesday which should leave me able to finish next week's half marathon - I'm not really going for a PB time-wise as my preparation was scant at best. I'm going to do another 15k tomorrow morning, before Bad Dog.

Today's been a bit of a write-off. Nursing a hang-over I've spent the day feeling listless, sorry for myself and a bit lonely. I had big plans for school stuff and I've done none of it. I need to snap out of it and get going. There are some reasons for my mood and I guess I'm just going to have to get used to feeling like this for a while. More soon.

So. A week on.

I do feel a lot better - still not sure what was going on for most of last week, but I think it was either a cold or an allergy. Eye drops and antihistamines did help and I've not had anything since Friday. Maybe it was just me relaxing after the first term of teaching...

Had a good night with Muz Thursday on his return, and caught up with Anna off my uni course on Friday which was great as we swapped Kindy stories. The weekend was chilled with beers, brekkies and bonding. One of the many UK David's was in town and great to catch up with him...

I'm both restarting running action tomorrow and going into school - these holidays will be over before I know it.

Still, there's always Anzac Day to get up to some mischief... :o)

I'm feeling very listless.

It should be a good time - day 4 of school holidays should find me relaxed, playful and full of the joys of spring. Or at least autumn. But no. Unable to shake some sort of sickness - cold? Hayfever? Allergy? Lethargy? I feel like I'm not quite up for anything. Add to that Muz being away in QLD and Dave is not a happy bunny right now.

Don't seem to have the energy/desire for gym/running/cooking. Too restless for tv/DVD/movie/computer stuff/reading/museums. Feels like I've got ADD. My eyes itch and I go from being coldy/fluey to being ready to take on the world. Bi-polar anyone?

Hmph. Not happy Jan.

Numbers...

Well I turned 43 today. It was a lovely day. I was at school teaching, then at a picture book workshop, then had dinner and beer with Jules and Bill. Noice. Here are some other numbers for the day...

17 - kids that sang to me this morning
12 - SMS birthday salutations (8 Oz; 4 UK)
9 - Facebook happy birthday messages (including one from Facebook itself)
3 - actual birthday cards
3 - beers tonight
3 - phone calls in (one sleepy; one cheery; one wishing they could be here)
2 - phone calls out (one to the UK; one to QLD)
2- birthday emails
1 - cake from a parent

Happy birthday to me (and Stevie P in the UK)!

A few years ago I offered to look after a friend's dog whilst he went away for the weekend. Since then I have been lucky enough to be asked to look after George a number of times whilst Peter and his partner Gary have had weekends away. All those years ago Peter lived in Surry Hills - since then home is now Tamarama and George has a playmate Monkey who also needs looking after.


And so this weekend I've spent a wonderful time (so far) by the beach with the dogs enjoying the gorgeous autumn sunshine. I took some time yesterday to just go and sit on the beach in the late afternoon; and then this morning was a little more ambitious and ran from Tama to North Bondi, back to Bronte and then back to the apartment to a breakfast of fresh fruit and coffee. It feels like I'm on holiday!

I always enjoy my time by the beach - being near the water always seems to lift my spirits whether I'm feeling good or bad beforehand. There is also a lovely cafe nearby where I went and people-watched yesterday, and the intention today is to spend my time split between doing some planning for the next week at school, taking in the lovely scenery around here and eating fruit, fresh turkish bread, cheese and dips. The dogs will need another walk of course later when it's cooler and then I'll finally head home early evening feeling energised and ennervated.

It really has felt like I'm miles away from my place in Newtown, and it'll help me get through the last two weeks of term one of school before I get some holiday time.

A post. Quick and dirty as it's time for early bed as I'm fighting a cold.

School is great, but really exhausting. My kids are great (mostly!) and it's fun spending time with them at school. Days are quite long and there's always too much to do but... :o)

Having fun at the circus course too - it's my time to escape completely from thoughts of school. February has flown by and Mardi Gras came and went - spent the night with my sister who had arrived that morning from the UK and honestly didn't feel like I was missing out on anything. Sue's here til Easter which is great - looking forward to catching up on everything with her.

Don't seem to have much time for other stuff right now. Except Muz ;o)

And lo, it came to pass that another month went by and I verily did not blog...

Bugger. Happy New Year, and it now seems too late to review 2007. Let's just say it started badly; plateaued in the middle and somehow became incredible in the last 4-5 months :o)

January consisted mostly of watching tennis and it being too hot to do much else. I resisted the gym, but did end up eating more healthily. I had 4 days in Melbourne staying with my mate Rich which was great, and went to see the tennis live which was very cool. Then it's been back to Muz's birthday celebrations leading straight into work.

Day 3 of term tomorrow, the second with kids. So far my class seems pretty cool though we've not finalised final numbers yet. I'm actually heading to bed as I'm tired - it's pretty tough having to be 'on' for the entire school day - particularly kindergarten when they need help and instruction with absolutely everything. Fun and rewarding though...

More soon. Really. No, really.
:o)

Just a quick one to wish everyone a happy new year before it all goes a bit mad here tomorrow. I've been lucky enough to be invited to the VIP viewing area for the fireworks at Dawes Point tomorrow which should be very cool - I've never actually been down to the harbour for the NYE fireworks so if I'm going to do it I might as well do it in style!

Otherwise still very quiet. Hanging out; walking; Wiiing; reading... I'm probably the most relaxed I've been in ages! Mind you, so is my waistline so I really must get exercising - however it's really hot at the moment so hard to motivate oneself for running again. I will though. Maybe next year :o)

Here's to a great 2008 for everyone - I'll be back with a review of 2007 very soon!!

Not much to report at this point. School's out until 29 Jan 2008 though, so I'm pretty happy about that!

Still not back at the gym, but the Christmas shopping is pretty much sorted and most of my life admin is under control. Been having a laid back time of things lately. Highlights last weekend were playing with Muz's new Wii. If you haven't, do so immediately. If you have, you'll know what I mean! I'm still aching from the boxing, tennis and bowling at the weekend - I didn't think I'd even work up a real sweat whilst playing a video game.

So what's in store until Christmas? Relaxing mostly. Trying to do the running and gym thing. Trying to eat healthily - not the easiest time of the year to try and do that though!

It's all good right now... ;o)

It's Christmas-time. There's no need to be afraid.

Here are two images - I think it's going to be a close call as to which of these will be more associated with Christmas this year.

"The Holly and the iPod" anyone?

As you can see from the post below, I'm loving the fact I can take pics with my phone and bluetooth them straight to the MacBook for inclusion on Minkered... Too easy.

Huzzah!

So, only three weeks til Christmas, suddenly.

Still working at the gym and running stuff, but I did buy some pretty running shoes - they're lime green and everything! And I bought two pairs, so I can run long into 2008...

Hmm. I had a quiet week last week and the weekend was great and also quiet. Caught up with Muz, read a bit, played with the new MacBook. Ah yes, my new baby arrived so that was fun. And this morning the Remix JamPack has arrived so hopefully I'll soon be making sweet music. Well, music at any rate.

I'm also trying to renovate a couple of chairs I liberated from the pavement recently. I'll post a picture of them as they stand right now and then I can post again when they're finished and hopefully looking snazzy. (As you can see, they're going to require a bit of time and effort!)

That's it for the moment - I'll let you know what else comes up this week. Will Dave finally get back to the gym?

And lo and behold it was suddenly another two weeks since I last blogged and I again wonder who's stealing all the time I once had.

Since the last post things have been a little calmer I suppose. The five week block of teaching did indeed finish, and then last week I was in Thu/Fri for a couple of days. We had had a teacher night out in Newtown on the previous Friday night and that was fun.

Two weekends ago I managed to catch up with Adrian, Bobby and Gary & Peter which was great. Last weekend was a whole new show though Jerry. Muz and I entered the Sydney Urban Max race and have a really good time. It's a bit like the Amazing Race, with over 350 teams running around Sydney (or using public transport only) solving clues and undertaking challenges. Muz wrote more about it here, so go have a read and see the map of where we went. The highlights for me were two - one, stripping down to our undies in the pouring rain and diving into a swimming pool to find a rubber duck with the number 72 on it; and two, coming 7th overall and 3rd in our category. Way to go us! We also realised today that we did one extra checkpoint so could have actually come in second! Doh. We were really chuffed though, and good to know me and Muz can race well together should other challenges come up.

Yesterday was Gary's birthday do in Tamarama and it was good to spend a bit of time there and have a few beers with the sun setting over the sea. Today was a bit confusing as I thought I wasn't working unless called in. They didn't call so I didn't go, but apparently I was meant to be there! Oops. Better luck next time. If there's not much work this week then I'll finish the Christmas stuff and get back running and to the gym.

No, really. :o)

Another week goes by, and in fact we're now only scarily some 6 or so weeks until Christmas! Yikes...

As below. Teaching still as described, though only one more confirmed week and then back to casual until the end of term. We did have the first of the 2008 Kindergarten orientations this week, which seemed to go well. If the kids are all as well behaved as the ones I had it'll be fine! There are two more Thursday mornings of that to come, then one hell of a lot of planning and research for me over the long end of year break.

Sculpture by the Sea was good last week, though it didn't seem quite as busy as last year in terms of pieces on show. Was good to go with Muz though, and then spend some time with Gary and Peter and a few others for a leisurely lunch in Tamarama.

Dad seems to be continuing his improvement, and I'll find out a bit more later when I call to say hello.

In other news, all good. Hoping to spend a bit more time on this in the coming few weeks when I'm not so flat out with work. Let's see!

So, it's November and week 3 of the term is already past. So, what's been happening? Not that much to be honest.

Teaching remains the same - hard to plan, changing most days, not quite sure what's coming next. I see it as good experience for my future work. All good.

Dad went home from the hospital and seems good. A relief for us all.

Last weekend remained pretty quiet. Ended up spending most of the time doing life admin; playing playstation; watching trashy movies and reading. All good. Still very happy with my lot right now.

This weekend - who knows? So far plan is to visit Sculptures by the Sea on Sunday, but otherwise the world is my lobster.

Two posts on the same day? Monsieur, with these Rochers you're really spoiling us!

Whatever.

1½ weeks into the casual teaching which has been interesting. It's hard not really knowing what to expect on a daily basis - it makes planning really hard, and sometimes I feel I'm not really giving it my best as a consequence. I know things will be different when I have my own class, but for the moment I just have to go in and do my best.

On that note, the school has verbally offered me a year's contract for 2008, teaching kindergarten. It's great news - I had made it known that I'd quite like to work with the younger children - though I was thinking more Yrs 1 or 2 than kindy. However it'll be great experience and it's great that I don't really have to think too much about work for next year. It also means I can spend the Christmas holidays planning and programming ready to give it my best shot. I'll tell you more once it's all official like.

Otherwise, things are ticking along nicely thanks. I enjoyed my two weeks off and really did very little, but decided that was long overdue as I haven't had any long period of time off for over three years. Yay.

I've been worried about my Dad, who's had an operation to unblock one the carotid arteries in his neck - the good news is that he's on the mend, though he's still in hospital for the moment.

Love life is great. Thanks for asking.

Have a pretty free weekend this weekend coming. Now just working out what to fill it with...

The devil will find work for Idol hands to do...

Watching Australian Idol this serious has been car crash television - I personally don't think the singers are that great, but something keeps me watching. I have been fascinated with how much to me Matt Corby looks like a young Jane Fonda, but couldn't really find any pictures to prove my point. Fortunately my mate Muz did me this favour and found these two 'separated at birth' pictures:




I can't wait for Matt's workout DVD. And also given what he was wearing in the last couple of shows, I don't think it'll be too long before we see him wearing something like this:

I think I might have to be washing my hair that evening.

iTunes meme: (Thanks to Muz)

Sort by song title:
First: The A Team - TV theme
Last: 80s medley - Stars on 45 (I would like to say I did used to share this computer with a flatmate...)

Sort by time:
Shortest: "Not Happy Jan!" - TV ad soundbite
Longest: Hedgehog 1:15:46 - this is one of my own mixes

Sort by artist:
First: Take on me by A-ha
Last: D.E.V.I.L. BY 666

Sort by album:
First: Album: Absolute Dance Move Your Body! Song: Conquering America by Bodies Without Organs
Last: Album: 70s Preservation Society Song: Disco Inferno by The Trammps

Top 5 most played songs: These are all from the same album - Trip The Light Fantastic by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. There is a good reason why this album has been played so much...
1. Me and My Imagination
2. If I Can't Dance
3. New York City Lights
4. Only One
5. If You Go

First song that plays on shuffle:
Aerodynamic by Daft Punk

Type the following into the search and how many titles come back?
Sex: 19
Love: 263
Death: 3
Fart: 0
Tardis: 1 (No farts, but I do have a "tardis"!)

Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!

Yesterday afternoon I went to the local shopping centre to have a mooch around. Having a peek at a cheap DVD stall lead me to almost gasp in disbelief. The previous night I'd been at Muz's, and we'd spent a bit of time sharing weird memories by searching for stuff on YouTube. One of my searches was for the clip from The Fast Show which parodies The Singing Ringing Tree, one of my strongest childhood TV memories. Last time I searched for the clip it wasn't there; this time it was. Muz wasn't familiar with the original show, so I spent some time trying to explain it to him to put the clip from The Fast Show in perspective. I remember it as an eastern european production of a fairy tale that ended up being quite scary.



Last time I tried to buy the original Singing Ringing Tree it was hard to find, and weirdly only available from Amazon in Germany in order to get the version with the BBC voiceover. Hence my almost gasp. There nestled amongst the $5 DVDs was a locally produced version of The Singing Ringing Tree - the cover design drew me in. So I paid my money and came away happy. I'm saving it to play when Muz is next here, so I have someone to bore to death with my memories. I particularly remember the spinning dwarf; the musical bridge; the giant fish encased in ice and the glorious 'technicolor' it was filmed in, which only added to the spookiness.


Wikipedia has this to say about The Singing Ringing Tree:

"Imagine a fairy tale conceived by Wagner and directed by Fritz Lang, with nods in the direction of The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari and German expressionism, and you'd be close."


See all the screen shots and read the full story of The Singing Ringing Tree here.

See the Fast Show parody here. You need to watch past the fake introduction!

Well as promised, here it is... my 666th post. So, is it the number of the beast?

According to http://www.666man.net, this is what we should know about this number...

"The number 666 comes directly from the worship practices of the city of Babylon about the time of the Bible prophet Daniel. The people of Babylon worshipped gods that were associated with the sun, moon, visible planets of our solar system, and certain of the stars involved with the practice of astrology. The Babylonians were the principal developers of astrology, as we know it today. In their worship system, they had 37 supreme gods, and one of these, the god associated with the sun, was supreme over all the other gods. These people believed that numbers in some way had power over the gods they worshipped. However, they had to create numbers that they could assign to the gods so that they could have power over them. To do this, they counted their gods and assigned a count number to each of the 36 lesser supreme gods, and then added up all of these numbers (from one to 36) and assigned the sum to the sun god. The first god they counted got the number one assigned to it, and the second god they counted got the number two assigned to it, and so on up to all 36 lesser supreme gods. Now, if you have not guessed it by now, the sum of the numbers from one to 36 totals 666, which they assigned to the god associated with the sun. They did the calculation like this:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ... + 33 + 34 + 35 + 36 = 666

However, they went further. They feared these gods and worried that one of them might strike them down sometime, so they made amulets with a 6 x 6 matrix of the numbers one through 36 on them. The practice of creating amulets with this arrangement of numbers as part of astrology appears to have continued well past the time of Jesus. Archeologists have found amulets with Latin Inscriptions, so we know that the Romans were indulging in this practice.

Therefore, the 666 number came about because of the pagan worship practices of the Babylonians and their practice of astrology."

The weirdest thing about all of this is that 36 is my lucky number! I never knew of the association until today, and I'd not added the numbers up to 36 together either. Odd.

I'm officially doing bugger all. It's great. Think I might do a bit of life admin and treat myself to a trip to Manly on the ferry! Also Blogger tells me that this is my 665th post. That means I have to think of something suitably evil for the next one!

And so it became October, and it's really starting to be warm and sunny. Estival even. In summary, summery. I digress...

I've had a great few days since the last post on here thanks for asking. As mentioned I worked on Thursday and Friday - the first day covering for teachers as they did some planning so I had about an hour with six different classes. Friday I taught the Yr 5's, and then went off to the end of term teacher meal in Leichhardt. Interesting! It all got a bit hen night/18th birthday party for my liking, but it was fun-ish whilst it lasted.

Oh, and the best news of all? School offered my five weeks casual full time work as a roving teacher - basically this means I'll fill in for teachers as and when I'm needed, but it will be fixed term rather than a day-by-day basis. Cool! There should still be casual work for the last five weeks of term too, but this is a great start. Woohoo!

Saturday was a leisurely morning and then spent the evening over with Muz on the north side. Beers and thai food. Yum. Sunday back home and cleaned and tidied the house. Muz came over later, and when we were joined by Tim we hit the Union for food and beers. More beers back here before heading off to Bad Dog. We had a blast! Muz had a couple of shiny silver body suits (don't ask!), and we slipped into them once at the party. Did we steal the show!! That lasted about 3 hours before we donned our 'civvies' and partied till the wee hours.

Yesterday was a slow, lazy, wonderful day. Sleep, trashy movies, KFC, beers... all the things to do when you don't have to do anything! Noice.

I'm now at the start of a couple of weeks holiday as mentioned, but I think today might be another of those lazy days. Don't want to rush into my 'to do' list too quickly!!

Lots of posts from me - what's that about?

Today was a bit of a milestone, and an anticlimax all in one - if that's possible. The really good news? I now have my teaching number, which means I can officially teach primary school children in NSW and get paid for it! The eighteen months of study has paid off and now I'm let loose on the real teaching world. I may get a full time job offer for 2008, but it's about a 1:5 chance so I'm not holding my breath. Meantime, there should be plenty of casual work available for Term 4 (starting mid October) so that should keep me out of mischief meantime. However first I intend to have some time off doing nothing but Davie things.

The anticlimactic part? I was offered paid work for tomorrow and Friday, but my teaching number came through too late to accept it. Bugger. Mind you, the school is still keen to have me for next term on a casual basis, and I'm going to their end of term meal/booze up on Friday so it's all good. Today did involve me heading out to Blacktown (about an hour on the train); waiting for 1.5 hours to get served by their customer service rep only to be told I needed another document from Uni; another hour on the train this time to my old work at Qantas where I finally officially resigned (they'd kindly let me have leave without pay to study); to Uni to get said document faxed off; and finally home.

*Stop the press*
My school have just called to offer me the two days paid work - woohoo! I'm really teaching to earn my keep! Yeehah! Wonder which class I'll get tomorrow!

So what do you call it when your anti-climax gets reversed? I'm not sure I should be saying I've just now had a climax...

What a difference a week makes! And what little difference 3 years make! Read on...

I left you a week ago having not really done much stuff this time Monday night. However miracle of miracles I managed to knuckle down and so when a mate came over for dinner Tuesday night I was all but finished my full report. I even amazed myself as that's not even due in until this Friday! From the full report it was relatively straightforward to précis that down to a Powerpoint presentation and so by Wednesday mid-arvo I was done, dusted, finished and able to walk away from the whole thing for the evening. Very cool. Thursday was the post-Internship conference and I presented everything at around noon. Woohoo! Thursday night I printed everything else off and by Friday afternoon I had completely finished my Masters course (assuming the final report makes the grade). Almost unbelievable. The last eighteen months have really flown!

Yesterday was another interesting day, but for completely different reasons. Some of you reading this may remember I got into running when I last moved back to Oz in 2002-2004; completing 2 x 10K runs, 2 x City to Surf 14K runs and 2 x half marathons. I was pretty into it and only stopped when I got shin splints and then when I met Craig and started the uni course the running went by the wayside. Well my mate Muz persuaded me to do the 9K Bridge run and I took it as a way to kick-start my running career again. I had hoped to get in some decent training, but due to teaching, the uni stuff and some badly timed hayfever and/or headcold symptoms it just didn't happen. So my preparation for yesterday's race was a 3K run last Wednesday; a 5K run last Friday and then the actual race! Miraculously I did the whole thing without stopping and thanks to Muz's pace-making we came in at just under 52mins for just under 10K (according to Muz's iPod). I was really amazed how my much body remembered and readjusted as I'm not even sore today at all. Weird. Hats off to Muz too, as it was the furthest he'd ever run and a personal goal for him ticked off. Way to go mate!

Today ended up as a great impromptu day too. Caught up with Bobby and another mate Brett for coffee and ended up at the Coogee Bay Hotel for lunch and beers. Noice. Since then the day's been very chilled and has involved lots of cups of tea and searching the interwebnet for stuff. And here I am. Soon-ish to bed. I'm off this week if my teaching number doesn't get sent to my by the Department of Education. If it does I'm up for some casual work - if not it'll be mid October as it's end of term this week. Fingers crossed, but either way I'm going to make sure I enjoy the first time off I've had in two years ;o)

I sometimes find it amazing how I can find so many useless things to do when I've got some uni work to do. Right now I'm working on my action research project for my Masters. Allegedly. Today I had a leisurely start to the day, stopping for breakfast in the city. I didn't actually put fingers to keyboard until around 11.30am, and was over at the Metro centre having lunch only some two hours later! Bumping into a colleague only wasted a bit more time, and then it's amazing what else you can find on the interwebnet to keep you amused...

I even watched Australian Idol.

And then I came across a blog post from someone that just made me a little pensive. When someone else bares their soul a little it can often trigger stuff for me if pertinent, and this particular post certainly was. I'm not going to say much more than that for now, as my project research is still looking at me somewhat blankly. However let's just say I'm grateful for what I know and what I'm learning... and there's plenty still to come.

With a knowing nod and glass raised to the author... "To adventure and misadventure."

Bring it on.

September already eh? Haven't really had much time to myself lately, but that's all been in a good way. Finally online at (new) home, which helps.

So, the teaching practicum finishes tomorrow. The last nine weeks have really flown. So now it's head down to write the mini-thesis which I have to present on Thursday/Friday next at our post-intership conference. Then that's it. I'm on the open job market pretty much ready for term 4, which starts mid-October. This means I'll finally get chance to have a real holiday. Sigh. Can't wait.

Settling into the house properly now. Have even been cooking, plus the telly and CD player were returned from being fixed today. Woohoo! House warming and meal invites going out soon...

In other news... ;o) Going to keep that one under my hat. It just seems appropriate for now, but it's all good. Better than good. Almost incredible. Suffices to say I'm happy though... oh yes.

More soon, probably in between cups of tea instead of doing the thesis - I know what I'm like!!!

Ah. Well my archives are back which is good. Now I just have to sort out the formatting... :o)

One step at a time!

OK. So the number of posts is still not great. However I do have an excuse in that I currently have no internet access from home as since the move the phone line hasn't been properly sorted.

So, what else has been happening? I've moved house, and am now in lovely Alice Street in Newtown (not really that big a move, but it went very smoothly). Big thanks to Ken and Bobby who helped with the move - particularly to Ken who sold me his white goods at a knock down price. Julia moved in that first Sunday and so far it's been great to share a place.
The teaching is going well and it seems weird that I'm over two-thirds of the way through the internship already. Time is flying.

And about that time stuff. I wonder why else time has been flying so? Well I've been spending some quality time with a lovely bloke and really enjoying it. More of that soon, but suffices to say it's made everything else seem very easy ;o)

OK. In an internet cafe so I'll make this brief until we get online at home and then it's on for one and all. More soon... Oh, and thanks to some of the new people that have posted comments, directed here from other blogs!

Ay Caramba!

I promise I'll try and do this more often. Particularly as I've now realised that there are a few new people looking coz of Facebook (ah the perils of the interwebnetthingy).

So I left you in June. Lovely girl. Since then, in brief:
Spent three weeks in the UK primarily for my Dad's 80th birthday. Have to say it was fantastic. Wasn't sure how Dad's health would be, but he was in fine fettle and seems to have recoverd well from the stroke in February. It was great to spend time with him and he really seemed to enjoy himself. I also managed to reconnect with old mates from London/York and genuinely enjoyed myself even with all the running around up and down the country.
Returned to my DET interview which seemed to go well. Fingers crossed re job offers.
Started a nine week placement at school in Marrickville teaching some gifted and talented 11 year olds. So far, so good. They're a challenge, but it's all good teaching experience.
Am in the process of moving out of the house and renting a place to share with Julia, my niece. Moving in two weeks and I have to say I'm very much ready for it now. Prepare for lots of invitations for food and wine. I'm going to get back to being the entertainer that I always used to be. Woohoo.
Had some fun nights/days here since being back. Thanks to everyone that's helped my prop up bars around Sydney. Thanks to Tim for organising the theatre last Friday - it was lots of fun and good to spend a bit more time with Tim and Chris. Tim - you're now linked! There's a lovely picture of the two of us on Tim's blog from Kooky last when we inadvertently went as twins. Peas in a pod.
Feeling like the move will herald a return to form for this happy camper. Way to go me.
OK. Time to plan tomorrow's spreadsheet lesson. More soon. Really. Though there might be small gaps in transmission as I move house as I'm here and there for a bit and not sure when the internet access will be sorted out.

Woah! So almost 9 months goes by... and I wonder what the hell's been happening. You probably do too, if you're still reading.

So. What news? Well - since September there's been a lot happening. In summary:

Craig and I split up in March which is sad. However we're still friends and still living together as landlord/lodger (me lodging - Craig bought the house).
Dax our staffy is as beautiful as ever and will be 5 in August.
I have one assignment left before I have completed the Bachelor part of my two year Masters of Primary school teaching. Just waiting to see where I have my 9 week internship starting mid-July.
I hit the UK for three weeks holiday 20June-11July. I'm in London 23-26June and 2-10July. Prepare to catch up for beers and shenanigans.

In fact that will do for the first update in all this time. More soon - but look out people in Blighty... I'm on the way!

Wow.

Can't believe it's already been over two months since I last posted. Not that there hasn't been much going on - the opposite in fact - but it seems only recently that I was enjoying some time off from uni. Well I'm currently on day 46 without a day off. I've been doing uni work, cafe work, sometimes both, and for the last 4 weeks teaching in a school in the eastern suburbs. The teaching has been great fun, but completely exhausting, and I'm ready for it to be over tomorrow. Sad to finish, glad to get some time off!
Craig spent almost a month in the USA, and it's great to have him back. Julia my niece arrived a week and a half ago and I'm looking forward to spending some more time with her and her friend Bill whilst I'm on uni break. So two weeks of just cafe work and then back to uni for 6 weeks and then holidays until March 07! I will be working at the cafe, so it's not all relaxation, but the pressure will be off for a bit whilst the sun shines.
More soon :o)

Quick posting for July, just coz I haven't been posting regularly for some time now... Not a great deal to report since the last posting. Had a weekend down in Canberra, which on balance I can't really recommend! Partly due to the company (friend of Craig's 40th, but the weekend highlighted how much they've grown apart) and partly due to the place itself. Dull, soulless and rather scarily Stepford Wives. Other than that I've been taking it very easy. Lots of time with the dog, a bit of cafe work and not much else. Uni starts again in 3 weeks so still a bit more time to enjoy. Started doing some of the sorting I promised last posting - and that will continue. Oh, and the soccer's been replaced by Wimbledon watching - tennis was always more my sport!

Another week on and not too much to report. First things first though, happy birthday to my Dad, who is 79 today! All being well I'll be back over in the UK this time next year to help Dad become an octogenarian.
I've done very little over the past week and it's been great. Lots of walking the dog and leisurely admin and house stuff. Going to try and get some tidying done today - it's time to clean out the laundry. Don't you love lazy holiday time? I was up this morning watching the Australia-Italy match. We were robbed! Now go England...

Well this is definitely the longest time between posts since this thing began some 5 or so years ago... Apologies to anyone left that might still be reading. I alluded to stuff happening back in January when I last did post and yes, there have been some changes.
In February I finished up at Qantas as I have taken leave without pay until the end of the year. Sue (my sister) arrived from the UK a couple of days later to celebrate her 50th birthday and we had a week together enjoying Sydney - particularly the trip to the Hunter Valley. Then, on 6 March I went back to Uni some 18 years after graduating the first time...
This time I'm doing a Masters of Primary School Teaching, and that's what has been keeping me so busy! We've just finished semester 1 last Friday, hence finally having some time to focus on admin type stuff again. As well as Uni I've been working as a barista in a local(ish) café 3 days a week so it's been full on. Many thanks to Craig for being so supportive over the last three months - I'm not sure if I'd have survived otherwise! Also Jonathan was also over for part of the time, heading back just before Easter, and since then it's been assignments a go-go. Craig also started a new job too, so we've kept ourselves very much to ourselves whilst we've readjusted. Then, a couple of weeks ago we got the offer to take on a dog for someone that was going to live overseas, and so we welcomed Dax into the family home. He's a 3 year old pure bred Staffy, and very cute with it. As you might guess, things are quite a bit different from when I last posted!! Right, off to do a trial barista shift at a café round the corner - fingers crossed it works out as it would be so much more convenient and I need some extra shifts whilst I've got these next 5 weeks off from Uni. 5 weeks... count 'em!

So it's way past the Happy New Year time for the first post of 2006. But it'll say it anyway.

Lots going on. Some good, some not so good. When I've worked it all out, there'll be a full update. Meantime I'm off home from work to a public holiday tomorrow.

Happy Australia Day!

Twas two days before Xmas and all through the office,
Nothing was stirring.. not even ...er.. can't think of anything to rhyme!

Winding down now to 2 whole weeks off. I can't wait! Neither Craig nor I have had any time off since May, so it's long overdue. We're going to eat well, gym, go to the beach, do odd jobs around the house and generally just relax. We've got a relatively quiet Xmas and Boxing Day, and then may head up the coast to Newcastle for a couple of days. Then we'll do the big NYE party - this year called Fantasy. That'll get us into 2006 - and then best of all, we're not back at work until 9Jan. Woohoo!

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a minkered New Year! x

A second post for December - surely not? And we're only just half way through the month.

Having said that, there's not a great deal to report again. Still not going out a great deal; still trying to gym; movies; the odd meal out; DVDs etc. Cheap is good. The work Christmas party was OK - the crown green bowling was fun. I was fine in theory but not quite as good in practice sadly...

Not much on for this weekend, save drinks tomorrow night and a meal. So looking forward to having two weeks off - I finish work on 23Dec and don't go back until 9Jan... Joy!

More soon...

Well this will at least make sure I post at least something for December. That makes one a month since July. Go Davie!

Er, yes. Reportage: actually same old stuff which is good. Not so much going out; gym stuff on a semi-regular basis; eating out a bit; catching up with some friends; movies; DVDs and generally doing things that don't cost a great deal of cash!

We did go out with Craig's workmates for Marilyn's birthday. We did head over to Tamarama for Gary's birthday beers and pizza. I did get horribly hungover from drinking too much at my work department do - and it's the bigger full on one on Saturday. We're going crown green bowling which should be fun. I'll let you know how I get on. Until then, presume not much has changed...

Remember remember, the 5th of November - gunpowder, treason and plot.

Except of course it's now the 16th and I can't remember what happened on the 5th. I should of course remind all those UK types that Bonfire Night is a peculiarly local thing and so there's no celebration or fireworks here down under.

Actually the weekend of the 5/6th we went out with Adrian, David and Jason - and had a hoot. Up early Sunday morning and out - haven't done that in a bit and it was good. Originally we'd said we'd do the Pheonix, but no one was there so Manacle saved the day. We fell home sometime in the mid afternoon. Zzzzzzzz........

Last weekend was the Newtown Festival. We didn't so much go to it as it came to us - it's held in the park across the road from the house. We pottered through early in the day and it was just kicking off. Instead of loitering though we hit the beach, which was great - and that put us in a good mood to rejoin the festivities on our return with Bobby. Fun. A few drinks, some live music and then watching the world go by from the front porch - whilst eating a full Sunday roast. Cool. We could have made a fortune had we rented out the loo... On to the Newtown for beers to round off the night. Fun.

Otherwise things continue as normal. Both Craig and me have been busy with work so we've not done too much else. Gym, movies, the odd meal - standard stuff. Movie recommendation is Kiss Kiss Bang Bang - a real old style romp and one of the most intelligently scripted things I've seen in a while.

OK - that's it for now. Time to head home for the night. Not much happening I hope. A lazy night!

Well that'll be October almost over then. I really don't know how I'm managing to NOT to blog so much. It's not like I'm doing anything that's taking over my whole life. Apart from possibly having one :o)

The house is coming along nicely. Work is still busy but bearable. Most free time is spent enjoying the new place watching DVDs or going to the movies. Or the gym. Or for a run. These are the main things outside of work of late. We've had some friends for dinner, and pottered around to see other mates. We've been cooking more, out for drinks here and there and the odd game of pool.

Life goes on at a more leisurely pace. I like it.

OK. Long overdue as seems to be the way these days. In brief: we've moved into the house and have pretty much settled in. Very glad to be there and having fun getting it sorted. Work's been really busy lately and that's put a bit of a kibosh on regular updating of this thing. Not too much to report otherwise - trying to gym and run (though that fell a bit by the wayside during the relocation); keeping ourselves nice and having quieter times.

Once I get back into some sort of proper routine then hopefully this will be updated on a more regular basis. More soon...

Hello! Just in case you were all wondering, I am alive and well. Just a bit busy...

We move into the new house on Friday. The last couple of weeks have had every spare moment taken up with packing; sorting; painting etc. However we're almost there!

We had a good night for Craig's birthday, though nothing too outrageous in the end. Since then we also took our fetish clad tushes to the Rubber Ball - fun if a little cold. Not much going out or much of anything until Sleaze probably - we've got a house to move, unpack and settle into. It's going to be great having that bit more space, the spare room and the incredibly handy location. 3 more days of work and then 4 days off the aid our relocation. Yay!

It's Friday afternoon, though sadly not quite time for Crackerjack.

Either way to be honest there's not much to update you on! Work continues to be a bit busy without being startlingly rewarding. Things with the house progress a little more quickly - more work has been done (we've got no floors!) but if I began to tell you the hassle I've had with financial institutions you'd be asleep in a nanosecond.

Otherwise last weekend was good - pretty chilled with nights in, nights out, movies (Sin City - excellent!), good food and gym. This week's been a bit slower - good meals most nights and then a performance at the Opera House last night of Boomerang by the Bangarra Dance Theatre. Really cool. This weekend is Craig's birthday weekend (the day is Monday) so there's drinks and meals and stuff. Best news of all though is that we have Monday off to spend together. Woohoo!

Another weekend is upon us. I'm winding down at work at 4.45pm, trying desperately to look busy...

Nothing much to report really. Things still moving slowly house-wise but should kick in properly next week, when I can actually pay the guy!

Work is kind of ongoing. Yawn. And it's been busy, which so isn't right.

Otherwise it's exercise where possible; the odd movie; the odd dinner and nights in. This weekend will be gym and running; and just chilling out. Great.

Another few weeks passes and I've not really blogged again. As you may (or not) have noticed...

Things move on slowly in terms of house stuff. Builder is appointed and scope of work and price agreed - woohoo! All we have to do now is wait for it all to be done so we can move in and actually enjoy the place. Will keep you informed, but it probably won't be much before the end of August.

Work is kind of ongoing. Yawn.

Things with Craig are good - we're trying to eat healthily, keep fit and generally have fun with one another. So far, great!

Not much else to report. No going out partying, not much other socialising either. Money needs saving at this point. Lots of DVDs and movies.

The weather's been pretty good considering it's winter - for example went for a run today at lunch in glorious 20C sunshine. Marvellous! More soon.

Contrary to popular belief, I am in fact alive and well and living happily in Sydney. Some things I've done since I last updated this thing are...

1. Sold a house here in Redfern
2. Bought a house here in Newtown
3. Visited the UK for a three week period (apologies to those I didn't get chance to catch up with - particularly Pilar, Nelse and Garry). Many thanks to Jonathan, David Perry and Stevie P for allowing us to crash at their respective places
4. Went to Spain with my Dad for a week (not that much fun)
5. Went to Berlin with Craig for three days (much more like it)
6. Had the braces off my teeth
7. Had my eyes lasered
8. Had my PC get very sick and although it's in theory recovered, I've still not got it all up and running again yet.

There will be more soon. No, really. Don't give up on me just yet!!

Well that was the birthday weekend that was... and it was great!! Friday was my actual birthday and although I was at work there were various things to help smooth the day. First was breakfast with Craig in Glebe beforehand, and then there was cake for morning tea and then Allan took me out for lunch to Waterloo. All good. Didn't stay too late and headed home for a quiet night with Craig as we'd both had quite a busy week.
Saturday we were up and off to Leichardt for brekky and Craig pick up cakes for me and Aaron for the meal later that night. Then it was off to do the Harbour Bridge Climb. It was a glorious day and soon we were we suited up and had been through the safety stuff and we were off. Magnificent!! The views were great and we couldn't have had a better day. Many thanks to Craig...
Some 3½ hours later we hit the fish markets for lunch - beer and sashimi for me! We then chilled for the afternoon before heading up for dinner and drinks with Gary and Pete; Bobby; Aaron; Patrick and Robert. Great fun - thanks to those that came along. Home around midnight, a little drunk...
Sunday was pottering around Newtown as Craig was off meeting friends. I viewed a house that was too small and had brekky alone as I was stood up for a potential brunch! Craig came back and we pottered some more before home and chill. I made dinner and we watched DVDs. All was right in the world.
I am now 40. And very happy with it! :oP

And lo and behold Davie hits 40... quiet please! Hopefully no-one will notice...

It's probably one of the longest times between posts ever. No excuses, just stating the (somewhat) obvious. It's not even that there's been huge amounts going on - rather more settling into a status quo and not leaving myself time for quality blogging. Or even low quality blogging.
It seems a bit like a treading water time at the moment. Some good news in that the UK flat completed OK and that's a weight off my mind. And a bonus to the bank balance. However, the Australian house didn't sell at auction at the weekend and so that's still hanging over me a bit... We'll wait and see what happens this week in terms of further talks with prospective buyers. Work is still dull, but I've really got to hang in here until the houses are all sorted out (and that means potentially until this one sells and a further one is found and bought - I'm aiming high!). Things with Craig are good though we'd like to move from the place we're currently living in - but a lot hangs on the other property outcomes. Only 6 weeks until I'm back in the UK for 3 or so weeks - so hoping to catch up with as many people as possible.
Finally seem to have shaken the chest infection that knocked me down after Mardi Gras - and it wasn't due to overdoing things either! Good to catch up with Jonathan and Mark, and looking forward to catching up with them again at the end of April.
Birthday coming very soon - the big 4-0. Don't really care either way, but not doing anything big to celebrate. Very low key. Meal with Craig on the actual day, and probably beers the night after as it's a Saturday. I'll celebrate more when other stuff is a bit more sorted out! OK, back to work a while. More news as it happens...

It's the middle of February. Or to be a bit more precise it's about 60% of the way through February, and I'm still not a posting. No real dramas, just a bit of apathy in general and a large dose of work boredom.

Still waiting for UK flat to complete. Oz house now on the market as Pete wants out again and I can't afford to do it by myself. It's a real shame as the place has so much potential. Oh well. Onwards and upwards. Really not much else going on - believe me that's been taking up a lot of time. Looking forward to seeing Jonathan and Mark who arrive on Saturday. Otherwise just business as usual. Will report more soon.

No, really.

And lo and behold it was 2005. In fact it was almost a month into 2005 and still no blogging from Davie. OK - very quick and dirty, with a full update early February promised.
Living with Craig as mentioned in the last post. Cycling to work currently which is great (about 20 mins each way) and starting to get back into the gym. Currently doing a 21 day detox - no alcohol, no caffeine, nothing fried or processed etc. Feeling a bit more energetic than of late so it's all good.
Work is OK - a bit dull and soon I'll need a change. But for now it's constant and easy if not very challenging. Next!!
Houses - still waiting for the UK flat to complete. Once done full decisions will be made on the place here.
In other news: been chilling out of late (helped by the not drinking). Staying home, DVDs - that kind of stuff. Heading to Tasmania for 4 days with Craig on Wednesday which should be fantastic. Really looking forward to it. ADSL should be connected at Craig's once back so expect a bit more of a regular update. And finally, finally, finally I got my first tattoo on Saturday night. Long overdue as I've dithered for ages about design and location etc. Craig bought me it for Christmas bless him, which forced me to make a choice. I'll upload a pic very soon.

Right. Honestly there's not much else to report. Really need the UK flat to complete to free up money to even consider any more stuff. So watch this space boys and girls...
P.S. Happy New Year!

It's almost that time again. New Year beckons and there's been nary a posting for three weeks. Well that's the Christmas time of year I guess - though I'd like to say I've been out gallivanting but I haven't. Actually I'm glad I've not been out gallivanting so strike that. I've been spending time with Craig mainly and fitting in work, some limited exercise, limited socialising, various house shenanigans and that's about it. It's been fantastic. Except for the work and the house stress, obviously.

So it's 2005 in about 36 hours. I'm currently in work, but have the day off tomorrow to fly to Byron Bay as we organised to be up there last year having had such a good time. However, many things have changed and to be honest I'd rather not be travelling up there. Half the people that were meant to be going have dropped out and Craig's staying in Sydney. If it wasn't for Stevie P, who changed his plans to be up in Byron at the same time, I'd gladly stay in Sydney and lock myself and Craig away until it was all over :o) But I digress...

So. Work is still busy and ultimately unsatisfying. Once things with various houses progress, it's time to do some serious re-evaluation. Houses. Well. Still waiting to complete on the UK property. Aussie property is dependent on the UK money so no further progress. Hoping that might start in mid January if we're lucky. Was sharing a rental place with Pete and Bobby, but due to various mis-haps we finally broke the lease and as of Tuesday just gone I'm living with Craig. Wow. Big step but it feels incredibly right. He's such a great bloke and we're having so much fun. Long may it continue...

That kind of brings things up to date. I've been feeling really tired and generally run down and so am hoping that will improve once the New Year hits and I get back into proper eating and a decent exercise routine. So there you go. Happy New Year to one and all. See you back in 2005.

Hello again everyone! Not sure why it's taken me so long to blog again, but it has. And this is going to have to be short as I'm at work but wanting to leave.

Short and sweet. Things are OK. Not great, but OK. Some bits are great - Craig; the fact we finally got the house plans approved; the weather. Other things are not so great - UK flat - taking forever to complete; apartment here - trying to break the lease; the job - dull; gym - not been going.

Overall though it could be a lot worse. Stevie P is on his way here for a visit and it'll soon be Christmas. Though of course it doesn't feel like Christmas because it's been too hot!

Recent highlight - weekend away with Craig to Newcastle. Surprisingly nice place - relaxing, funky and beachy. Noice! Watch this space for more...

Yay for weekend's away for the short working weeks that follow them! Last Thursday I left work relatively early and then managed to visit the Young Street house to pick up mail; go to Oxford Street to pick up various stuff for the weekend away and finally into town to get some other things. Home and food, pack, Craig's. Sleep.
Friday was a long but nice day. Up early for our 6am flight to Brisbane. The mate who did the booking for us suprised us with a limo pick up instead of the coach transfer which was great - meaning that we were on South Stradbroke Island in time for a second breakfast! The whole weekend was great. We ate, slept, sunned our buns, cycled a lot (it's the way to travel round the island), worked out and worked in :o) Finally we arrived home tired but happy late on Monday night.
This week has been busy with work and just readjusting to the real world. Caught up with Craig on Wednesday and then tonight it's drinks after gym after work. I'm leaving in about 10mins. Woohoo. Not sure what the weekend holds. Watch this space.

Very quick update. Overdue again I know but...

Two Fridays ago I had quick drinks with work people then bolted to Craig's for a much better time of things. The weekend was quiet, we did the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition and had a groovy old time. That was preceeded by brekky at Bronte and a catch up with Gary and Peter. Can't remember what the rest of the weekend held, but it probably revolved around Craig's and chilling out. Noice.
Early November is a blur of work, a bit of gym and catching up with Craig whenever possible. Pete and Bobby headed up to Brisbane and I embarked on some sorting and tidying last weekend. Hung out with Craig some more too. The lowlight was being mugged. Nothing serious in terms of physical injury of anything, just loss of cash, cards and phone. Hey ho. The police were great though.
This week's been work, gym, sorting through paper work and getting ready for a long weekend up at Stradbroke Island off the coast of Brisbane. Mine and Craig's first trip away!! Am excited. More next week when I'm back... hopefully tanned and rested.