It's the little things

I am grateful for small pleasures like cool changes in weather... catching Gene for a couple of minutes as he was leaving the house and I was just getting home from work... lactose free chocolate flavoured milk (yes I'm still excited about it)... and left over dinner that takes a mere three, no four, button presses to be ready to eat.

Today passed quickly and slowly at the same time. It was one of those I've-been-doing-things-all-day-but-don't-feel-like-I've-done-much kind of days. Possibly because it was mainly filled with much paperwork. Paperwork tracking other paperwork really. Gotta love the papertrails.

Currently I have the back door, bathroom and bedroom windows all open as wide as possible in an attempt to cool our house down. Nomes, if you felt like a roasting turkey over the weekend then you would have been right at home in our oven of a house! Let's just say the insulation isn't so good in our house so it's cool for a few days of heat but after that it just keeps getting hotter. So bring on that cool breeze and hopefully we can bring the temperature down enough that the 40 degree Thursday that's being predicted won't be so bad!

I'm typing between mouthfuls of a delicious cabonara (cream free for both Gene & my dining pleasure) that he made the other night. While enjoying my latest mouthful I realised that I won't actually be at home on Thursday (aside from the whole being at work for most of the day with the dying air conditioning) I'll actually be at my parents house. That's right, the house sitting time of year is coming in just one day. As much as the thought of the much longer commute is causing me small amounts of anxiety, I'm vaguely looking forward to it as some peace and quiet. Zeus and Clio (Mum's much adored pugs) have settled down greatly and are pretty self sufficient now they have a dog door. My folks have someone else on plant nourishment duty so that this time I don't have to worry about killing any plants. Not that I did last time... or at least not that I know of... hmmm...

Chinese New Year's Eve is this Saturday so Gene's heading back to Geelong. Actually he's heading back on Thursday to help his folks move house... so Nomes this is a good time to catch up... maybe Friday? As with everyone and planning at this stage in the lead up to the show I'll have to confirm later as I may be working late and may just want to curl up in a ball and fall asleep. It's a bit of a struggle staying awake past 22:00 at the moment.

Speaking of staying awake I have many more things to do before I turn into a pumpkin so in the immortal lyrics of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy...

So long. Farewell. Good night!

The Yellow Brick Road

Wow. I can't believe how down I've been getting in the last week. I've been grumpy most days and it only picks up slightly every now and then. I don't think it's work either. It's this feeling of being housebound. I hate it!

I just want to get back to my place where I can just walk down the road and see people. Or jump on my bike and head to the park or to the city. I want to be able to come home and know that I'm in my own home and everything I want is there and not have to worry about having to cart it around with me, just in case...

The first couple of weeks were good and I've really enjoyed watching TV at home... I've been able to gorge myself on "Will & Grace" for the last few weeks. I'll miss that! The dogs are a little too jumpy for my liking... or more accurately their claws are just so long! I'd trim them but I'm not particularly good with that and I'd probably just cause them pain... I remember Ziggy had a fear of nail clippers for good reason.

I'm really loving the cable internet and I'll definitely miss that more than anything else! It's great to be able to just jump on whenever I want to and be able to get everything I need quickly. I just feel more efficient :)

It's not long to go now though. Just a few more days.

I think the carnival is over. I'm ready to return to Kansas.

More Swinging

I had a good day today, but for some reason I'm rather grumpy. I didn't really notice it until I was driving and the people trying to overtake me on the left from the bike lane really got to me. Maybe I'm more tired that I'm letting myself believe.

At the moment I'm content to blame it on having to start work again tomorrow. I'm shifting back into reality and I'm not liking it! I'm missing my city lifestyle more and more each day as I shift back into my usual lifestyle. The only difference being I'm now living a forty minute drive from where I need to be as opposed to a fifteen minute bike/tram ride. Not long to go now...

I ended up heading back into town today to catch up with Gene and Claire to go to Summer in the Park at the Fitzroy Gardens. It was good fun and the free lesson was the same as yesterday's so it was like a quick revision. The uneven ground was a bit different, but it was great to watch all the Swing Patrol's dancers when they performed! Gene's really keen on improving so that he can learn to do aerial work. There's a particular favourite of his where the follow goes over the lead's shoulder. So we're going to another class tomorrow - I'll be sprinting from work - and then there's a second class on Thursday at a different place.

It's a bit like the Speigeltent left our lives and I've replaced it with swing dancing... I guess the music's pretty similar. I'm just more sober at the swing dancing but having an equally good time!

My eyes are tired and I've got no idea where my glasses are. I can only assume they're in Brunswick. I'll have to get back there early tomorrow and have a good hunt.

On that note, I'm off again, hopefully to sleep. If not I'll keep reading "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" by Mark Haddon. It's proving quite an interesting read! Lighter reading than "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell" by Susanna Clark which I'm also quite enjoying at the moment. Highly recommend both books!

I want to break free

Well last night was fantastic!

It's the first night of virtual freedom in close to a month and I'm aching to go back for some more! I headed into town to meet up with Gene and ended up finding him at the shops browsing various bike paraphernalia. We ended up going back to the bike shop that we bought our bikes at, looking at everything we had decided we wanted and then making a note of it for a couple of weeks time when we take our bikes in to service. We made a quick stop at the supermarket before heading to the Zoo for a bit of twilight jazz. All in all there was much drinking and fun! Lisa and Naomi came along and had a bit of a dance with us during the swing lesson and they're now coming to class on Thursday which is great! I like my swing dancing at the moment... it's currently my creative outlet.

After all that we went and drank jugs at The Retreat before heading home at about 2am. I've had about four hours sleep so far, for some reason I couldn't sleep so I came back to Mum & Dad's and fed the dogs, and now I'm contemplating a nap vs a shower...

Another week and a half to go and then I'm free again...

The Cheshire Cat

I stepped out of the shower this morning (yes that's right morning... but we'll get to that later) and I thought to myself "it sounds like there's someone in our front yard mowing the lawn". I quickly dismissed that thought as I'm the only one here at the moment and I'm not even sure if have a lawn mower... I know we used to but it's been a while since I've had to think about that. I ambled my way to my bedroom and as I passed the window I looked down to discover that there actually WAS someone in the front yard mowing the lawn. Needless to say I moved significantly faster having made that discovery.

Well, the guy who I can only assume is our gardener (which is news to me) eventually finished up and left. Again I'm assuming there'll be an invoice in the letter box but you know what they say about assumptions.

Now, morning. It's the first time in a while that I've actually gotten up in the morning... excluding the brief trips downstairs to let the dogs out and give them breakfast (I swear they get more regular meals than me or anyone else in my family). I usually trot back upstairs and hop back into bed with a book or some knitting.

Speaking of knitting I'm going great guns at the moment with it. I'm now just under halfway through the sock. I'm a centimetre off starting the heel. Hopefully I'll have managed to finish it by the end of the week.

I can't believe I'm starting work again. Part of me is looking forward to it - the routine will be good for me - the other part is rightly thinking I need to start working out where to apply for theatre work.

I'm pretty excited at the moment. I'm going into the city for the first time in three weeks and I'm very much looking forward to it. If I leave soon I have time to get a train to our place in Brunswick to pick up some shoes and jeans for Gene (he he he, that rhymes) and then ride into meet him so that he can change. Then we're heading to Spleen for drinks and then swing dancing. Yay! Other cause for excitement is that this will be Gene's first swing class and I'm stoked that he's actually coming. Call me the Cheshire Cat today :)

Only Happy When It Rains

I seem to have missed out on another bright sunshiny day. I'm feeling a little under the weather today, it seems to have something in common with warm weather really... My throat is feeling particularly constricted and parched and I can't seem to rid myself of the cotton wool in my brain.

New Year's Day at the beach was good if a little tense at points. Large groups of people can be hard to co-ordinate without anyone taking leadership. It wasn't the warmest of days to be at the beach which worked out well for us. I didn't end up getting into the water for once - namely my feet are still being difficult - but I spent the afternoon lazing in the semi-cloud-covered sun. I still haven't gotten all the sand off. The bbq was delicious with the steaks cooked to perfection. We ended up going to Dot's place to eat and there was quite a large number of us. Most of Gene's close family were there and it was great to see them all. Will probably be doing the same again soon for Chinese New Year depending on what happens with my family. It's hard to tell because they tend to do things at the last minute... I'm likely to get a call the Monday before stating that as I'm aware Chinese New Year is on the 9th Feb so I am coming to the dinner right? They wonder why I have trouble coming to dinners...

Well, I can't ignore the other things I need to do today, like cleaning... I'm missing our lovely two bedroom place at the moment... this four bedroom house thing is just a bit too big for me to cope with! Only 16 days to go...

Today has seen a record twelve hours sleep for me, with two short breaks - one at 04:00 to speak to Mum and Dad in Egypt and the second at 09:15 when I let the dogs out. I was hoping that the more sleep I got the more likely I would be able to walk normally again. It worked for all of two minutes before the blister from the liquid nitrogen the doctor applied to my foot started to sting more than I cared to have it do. I take it the ibuprofen has worn off...

I just woke up from a dream where I rode with Gene and Anthony to this decrepit looking place which looked like it was a warehouse in a former life, or at least trying to be so. We parked our bikes (if that's the term for just putting them out of the way) and for some reason chose not to lock them up. (Down the gravel laneway we headed up there was a pub which looked like an old Bridie O'Reilley's but had a cream upper floor, "The Rose and "something I can't remember", looked good if a little empty, there was a small group of people entering as we passed). After heading up stairs my company changed and I was with different friends, Rami and Treens and a few others who didn't really stand out. There was a bar upstairs (there's always a bar) and as with bars in my dreams it was dimly lit with a predominantly blue light with the flicker of small tea light candles glowing at each of the small tables adding warmth to the atmosphere. I was about to follow everyone into the back section to get to the actual bar when I saw that the act was about to start. It turned out that my highschool had some sort of review thing there and Beth, who looked an awful lot like a young Treens started to sing. I'm fairly sure that there were at least two songs that some how merged into one, "Unforgettable" but a swing style. I remember closing my eyes in my dream and swaying to the music. I was really getting into it. Each time I opened my eyes there was a different group of small children doing their school-dance-performance-style moves which really struck home the whole school performance thing. When the song finished there was applause and it was a beautiful moment. Then I woke up.

It's warm in the house at the moment. A sign that it's been a beautiful day outside while I've been curled up asleep in my darkened room. I have the nagging suspicion that either my hayfever is worse up here (I'm feeling lousy and sneezy) or I've got a cold... but I'm not feeling too bad. Just a husky voice and the sneezes. It's hard to tell. I should probably start on my hayfever stuff again.

Gene came to visit me last night and that was wonderful. We lay on the couch and watched TV and had dinner together. I was thinking of heading into town and surprising him at being home except it's 17:47 and he finished work an hour ago... The thought was there. I might head in anyway.

I probably should mention that we live together most of the year, Gene and I that is (pardon any poor grammar). I'm just house sitting at the moment while both my parents and I are on our respective holidays - the difference being I'm not in Egypt. He's had to head back into town for a few nights because of work. We spent the night apart and apparently neither of us slept well and then he came over the next night. It really is my turn :)

On that note, I'm going to attend to things in the world of the living for awhile. Feed the dogs... work out why I'm the only one who seems able to call the landline and get through... visit my man... the usual ;)

It's Oh So Quiet

This morning I tried out the alarm clock function on my new iPod. I highly recommend Björk's "It's Oh So Quiet" as fantastic wake up music. The hint of the triangle gives your brain a subtle hint that something is about to happen before the quiet melody of the woodwinds gently ease you into waking. If that didn't grab your consciousness, then the brass section is sure to remedy that! It almost has a snooze function with the quiet sections interspersed with blasts of theatrical music that you really can't complain about. All in all a great piece of music that I love at any time of day (certainly better than a blaring off-key siren) and a cute film clip to boot!

The dogs seemed a little drowsy when I let them out. Particularly Clio. I think she must have had trouble sleeping. I heard her pacing around in the wee small hours of the morning.

Today will be a tough day. I've had about 3.5 hours sleep and I'm aiming to be awake for a few more hours before I undoubtly crash and have a nap. I decided that I needed to go to the doctor regarding my stupid foot which hurts to walk on. I might mention that I've been having trouble sleeping. Then again I'm sure that the sleep patterns being strange have something to do with the recent changes to my social life having moved to the burbs while house-sitting.

I should also go shopping and get some more dog food for the dogs and a set of 7mm circular knitting needles for myself. I also need to put petrol in the car . That will be expensive given the size of the petrol tank and the type of fuel. Oh well, it's a price that I'll pay for the luxury of not having to walk to the doctor's.

And so this is Christmas...

I was about to say that 2004 has been a big year, but I still haven't really decided whether or not it has.

I suppose my biggest achievement would be having made a decision about what I was going to do with my life, more specifically with respect to my studies. It's one of those significant decisions that will never seem quite as bad written/spoken as it was to make.

2004, the year of the Monkey, saw my:
- first secondment to a professional show (which was awesome and a great learning experience)
- first taste of daily "long" distance travel between two jobs and what it's like to live in a car
- first paid gig on a festival
- first three months of Spiegel
- first debit card
- first festive season without my family
- first full time job (which lasted all of two months before I had a minor epiphany and remembered that I didn't want to work in a call centre for the rest of my life, regardless of how great a place my work place is)
- second dispute (unsuccessful) with a university
- second discontinuation from a university course
- second house move with my better half and our first housemate

Looking back on that, it has been an eventful year, but no more eventful than any others really. It certainly isn't the most eventful year. that would have to have been four years ago when there were a few deaths in quick succession of people that I knew, some more surprising than others.

I'm ready for the new year, as ready as I ever am. Armed with my new organiser with its lovely blue ball point pen and the hope that I will achieve a few of my goals for the year. I'm looking forward to making the most of my year off study.

Having said that, we'll see how I fare when the year actually begins...