I stole the Internets

Before I go any further, let me just offer this:

Don’t get me wrong. I, personally, do not hate sandcastles. I quite like them. I also like this kid. The thing I find funny about it is that, after I laughed at his expression, I then noticed that it looks like he’s been eating sand. I don’t think he really hates sandcastles, I think he loves them, but in a culinary sense. Perhaps his hatred is a front, an excuse for the destruction, then afterwards he’s like, “well, it’s ruined, you won’t mind if I take a piece. Nomnomnom.”

So anyway, on with what I actually meant to say… Tim is on his way home as I type this! YAY! I think he won’t be in the best of moods when he gets in, because his plane from LA to Sydney was delayed by about two hours, so he’s going to miss his connecting flight from Sydney to Brisbane. He had caught an earlier flight from New York to LA, because he was worried about making his LA to Sydney flight. LAX can be a real bitch for connections, because they’re so pedantic and annoying. Plus it’s just a stupid airport (so I’ve heard, from several different people). So I know he’ll be tired and fed up, but I’m just going to be so happy to have him home.

A slight deviation - If you are doing an image search, check out this site: Flickr Related Tag Browser

So, this has been Tim’s journey:

Brisbane -> Tokyo -> Singapore ->London -> Frankfurt -> Paris -> London -> Boston -> New Hampshire -> Boston -> New York -> Philadelphia -> New York -> LA -> Sydney -> Brisbane

All that in three weeks. I think that list is right… It’s just the side trips I’m not 100% sure of.

Chris came over this afternoon and hung out for a while. We watched Little People, Big World (there was a weekend marathon of LPBW on) and talked about things. Then, Noelle arrived and we had to stop talking about her and talk about something else. Just kidding. We still talked about her. Not. Ok. I’m going to stop that doubletalk now. It was a lot of fun hanging out with Chris and Noelle, and Po. We watched the Pilot episode of “Dead Like Me”, and then Chris went home to his Doon but Noelle and I kept watching episode after episode of Dead Like Me. I really like it. The girl looks like she’s about 15, but she has weird, grown-up hands. They’re creepy, but it really fits in with the whole grim reaper theme. It reminds me of one of the radio shows of Ricky, Karl and Steve when they were talking about how they had watched that interview with Michael Jackson, where that guy followed him around and you got to see what his life consisted of. When they asked Karl’s opinion on Michael Jackson, he said, “‘e’s got big ‘ands, ain’t ‘e?” (substitute the extra apostrophes for ‘h’ in case you’re not familiar with his accent). Ricky and Steve laughed at Karl, just one more in a long line of extreme non-sequiturs. I can’t listen to the podcasts without laughing out loud. Sometimes I have to stop what I’m doing so that I can concentrate on not laughing too loud, because when I’m listening to the shows I am at work. It’s my escape from the daily grind (like Gloria Jeans wants to be, but we have a coffee machine in the lunch room at work so why would I go all the way to Gloria Jeans to escape the daily grind, there’s not even one near my work.)

I’m really tired. Here is another funny picture (I find it funny. Actually, I find it hilarious. I’m not sure why. Don’t get mad at me if you don’t find it as amusing as I did):

I think I really like that the thing behind it is so ugly, and the text is small and plain, and you could sort of imagine that kitten saying that. If you’re great at anthropomorphising like I am. Not as great as Karl Pilkington, who apparently saw a bee have a heart attack (because London is so stressful and all). Karl also said that ginger cats are always fat (you never see a skinny ginger cat, according to Karl) because life’s more stressful for them than other cats, because they would get picked on for being ginger. He also said they always look ‘fed up’.

Lauren and Nathan are coming over tomorrow morning to hang out before we go get Tim from the airport. Yay!

Filed under: Animals, Family, Friends, Links, Love, Pictures, TV, Travel, Work | 1 Comment »

Tim and I are engaged as of 31st May, 2008!

We haven’t done the whole “official announcement” thing, if there is such a one, but I’m just putting it out there right now.

I haven’t written a blog entry for a while because I’ve been a bit despondent about things - namely, Anthony’s death, but the more recent issue that has me down is the fact that Tim is so far away and won’t be back until the 22nd June. I feel ill-equipped to cope with things on my own, but I have been speaking to Tim every day, and he just bought a webcam today from Singapore airport and so we’ll be able to have video calls now also. We chatted for a while tonight when he was in the Qantas/British Airways lounge waiting for his flight to London, and it was really good to actually be able to see him. It made me feel less alone.

Also, Noelle has been staying over quite a bit, and she bought Dexter a couple of days ago for us to watch because the movie we planned on seeing wasn’t even out yet, so we went home and watched the pilot for Dexter, and I have spent the rest of the weekend watching the entire season. I just finished the finale this evening. I will have to check and see when it’s on paytv.

Also, Lauren, Nathan, Rosie and I went to Yum Cha this morning. I had a good time, I felt happy and positive for a little while. Everyone laughed at me for not knowing that “ranga” and “ginga” meant the same thing, and not knowing that “ranga” was short for “orangutan”. It made me laugh, the fact that they’re now being connected to orangutans, but I guess it’s logical. Sort of. I can’t wait until Nathan sorts out his photoshop issues and makes the fullmetal jacket parody.

I am sooo tired. I will go to bed in a minute.

I didn’t go to any other things this weekend. I don’t really feel up to social interaction. That’s a stupid place to be, I know, but right now I’m working on doing things that make me feel okay, and that’s all I can do for now. Sorry to Noelle, for not going to your Cardboard party, and sorry to Chris & Doon, for not going to your drinkies tonight. You know I’d totally be there if I was feeling like myself.

I really need some sleep.

Here are my survival probabilities:

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Today was rainy. This is the most floody I have seen the Valley.

Pictures by Bruce Long. Taken on Ann Street in Fortitude Valley today.

Coooool. 

Filed under: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Happiness is a bell ringing
At the back of your throat
And when you open your mouth
Shiny sounds tumble out!

Those who told you
“Life is lived through sunshine alone!”
Will stay silent when night falls
And they don’t know how to live!

I watched them all gather in a corner
Pronouncing us a lost cause
And, with a sigh, moving on.
Next order of business! …
Killing time!
Minute taker, take an hour
I’ve got no use for all this time
The day’s stretched out before me
Like a blank page
And me without a pen!

I followed the path but it
turned out to be a furrow in
a field of angry red flowers,
where I am standing, dismayed
and disenchanted.
I followed a path of angry followers on
an angry mission to rid the world
of amibvalence
Anything to feel something!

There was smoke curling in tendrils
From the corners of your mouth
You were on fire and I was
on the edge of my seat
But you are all burnt out and black inside.

That’s how I began.

Wait for the green to start over again, and
it will grow. It won’t become what you want it to be,
but I was much more impresed by the ending anyway.
Tell me again.

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

Anthony passed away yesterday. I am devastated.

Last night while I was trying to get to sleep, I kept wondering if my subconscious would respond with a dream where I could say goodbye, where I could say all the things I never said when I had the chance. What a good friend he was to me. How much he meant to me. How much he brightened my days.

I didn’t have that dream. I dreamt I saw Anthony underwater, as a calm, graceful being undulating gently in the currents of dark, silent seas. I dreamt a wizened, withered old man sitting high above in a golden cloud pointed an ancient, knotted wooden staff at a group of group of indistinct figures standing far below in hazy, grey surrounds. 

I don’t know what this means. I miss my friend. 

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

What is your favourite shape?
Tim: Dodecahedron. It’s not but I just said that. I saw that you basically copied my responses word for word the other night.
Me: Why is dodecahedron your favourite shape?
Tim: It’s not, I just said it. It’s weird.
Me: Can’t you tell me your favourite shape?
Tim: Probably a rhombus.
Me: Can you tell me why?
Tim: Cause it’s like a square that someone’s gone “poke” at and put it off centre.

What’s been the best day of your life so far?
Tim: Um… best day of my life… was meeting you. Haha is that corny enough?
Me: Can you say that without making it into a joke?
Tim: No, it was. Meeting you.

What is your most treasured posession?
Tim: you. A Cass.
Me: What if I said it had to be an actual posession?
Tim: If it had to be an actual posession… My PS3. No… probably… my iPod Touch. No… yeah. My iPod touch.

What are you afraid of?
Tim: Heights.
Me: Why?
Tim: I don’t know… because I don’t like it (said in a defensive tone).

Have you ever been scared in a movie? If yes, which one/s?
Tim: Um.. yessss… Event Horizon um… and when I was younger any movie where people used to get cut… Oh actually when I was really young, in Robin Hood at the beginning where that guy got his hand cut off for stealing, I always had to fast-forward that part.

What’s your favourite ad?
Tim: There ain’t no bugs on me, there ain’t no bugs on me…
Me: Is it really?
Tim: There may be bugs on some o’ you mugs… My favourite ad of all time though is “It’s a big ad, for Carlton Draught…”

What’s your funniest memory? Something that can make you laugh when you think of it?
Tim: When I almost ran a quad bike into a lake, cause I was trying to pull the accelerator, but at the same time I was pulling the handlebars and it went around off the track and towards the lake. It’s funny now.
Me: why didn’t you say that… what was that you used to call… Matt and your cat?
Tim: Oh… colostomy swiss and swiss Junior. Poor rambo, he couldn’t help that his teeth were holey. Holier than swiss cheese. Hence the name Swiss Junior. Thanks for making me laugh.
Me: Can you explain the names?
Tim: Colostomy Swiss was Matt cause he didn’t clean his teeth, so “Swiss”, and the colostomy was just a payout. It was just a dirty name that we came up with. Swiss Junior was Rambo, our cat, because he had holes in his teeth.

What are some nicknames you’ve had?
Tim: Rochey, Scholar, Brain.
Me: Why?
Tim: Because I was intelligent at high school. I was smart. I did well at high school. That sounds better, then I’m not blowing my trumpet as much.
Me: What’s the worst grade you’ve ever gotten?
Tim: Um… probably a… I got a 4 on an assignment at University.
Me: That’s not a fail though is it?
Tim: No, it’s not a fail. It’s just a pass.
Me: What about in high school?
Tim: B+ I think.
Me: Were you ever in trouble at school?
Tim: In primary school I got in trouble cause I gave someone the finger in class and … that’s about it. Oh no, I got in trouble in grade three because we were talking about time, and the teacher said the abbreviation for seconds was “secs”, and I laughed.

If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
Tim: I would invest it. I would … well it depends on how much money we won. But 1) I would probably give some away to family, 2) I would pay off the mortgage and if there was enough, buy a proper house to live in, keeping this one to rent, and 3) if there was a super amount of money, I would quit my job, and tell Cass to quit her job, and she could do some studies, and I could do some studies and we could live off the income from our investments.

What’s a funny looking animal?
Tim: That one that we saw at the zoo, what was it… it’s sort of got a half-elephant-snout on it… was it “tapir”?
Me: Yeah it was a tapir.
Tim: yeah.

What’s your favourite country? Why?
Tim: Australia. Cause it’s home.
Me: Other than Australia?
Tim: It’s probably a tie between New Zealand and the UK. I just like the climate and the people, and they’re both very beautiful.

Who’s your favourite female celebrity?
Tim: Jessica Alba.

Jessica Alba is HOT

Filed under: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

I’m just messing around with blog themes right now. So if you stop by and everything’s a mess, that’s why.

Also, enjoy this video. Enjoy it, or else (*shakes fist*)

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

What is your favourite purchase from the US?
Either my Adidas shoes, or my domo-kun.

I found a Domo-kun that you can make yourself by printing this picture out and following the folding lines (it also makes his TV set):

Some basic info about Domo-kun (credit to Wikipedia):
Domo-kun is described as “a strange creature that hatched from an egg.”  Domo’s favorite food is Japanese-style meat and potato stew, and he has a strong dislike for apples, due to an unexplained mystery in his DNA. Domo-kun is known to pass gas repeatedly when nervous or upset.

What’s your favourite souvenir from the holiday?
Either my Alcatraz/San Fran tee, or the grizzly bear I got from the San Fran zoo. (He is called Monarch, because the very first bear at the San Francisco zoo was called Monarch, and that’s who he’s supposed to be.)

What’s the thing you missed most while you were away?
Firstly, Po. I also missed peeps, my bed, the rest of my clothes, creature comforts…

What’s the thing that you missed the most about Australia?
A fundamental feeling of belonging, of knowing where I stand. Also, clothing variety. Australia seems to have a lot more range when it comes to clothes.

What did you like most about the US?
The automation of the toilets in rest-stops. Where we would probably have a pit toilet (even one of those modern ones that don’t smell all that much), they have self-flushing toilets and taps that automatically turn on when you put your hands under them. Keep in mind that these are random rest-stops along the highway - not in towns, or shopping centres, or anything.

What did you like least about the US?
Well, the bad thing about the automation of the rest-stop facilities is the self-flushing toilet. It would be good if it only worked when it needed to, but 99% of the time the flushing mechanism was over zealous, and not only did it waste a lot of water, it wasn’t an enjoyable experience.
I also found some Americans ambivalent and/or brusque, especially sales staff.
I feel I should counter this, though, by saying that there were also a lot of friendly, helpful, lovely people in America. One example was a lady working at a gas station near the Canadian border. She told us a lot about what to expect on the border crossing, and also about weird things to do with gas stations and the hoses and stuff.

What was the best food you tasted in America?
The organic strawberries that we got at either Safeway or Bristol Farms. They were delicious. Oooh and also this banana pudding thing that was made from tapioca and other stuff. It was so awesome. And Americans really know how to make burgers. I only had chicken burgers, but they were all good.

What was the worst food you tasted in America?
Maybe some chicken thing from McDonalds. Or the frozen yoghurt, but only because my mouth was expecting frozen yoghurt and it got vanilla soft-serve, and it’s like when you take a big gulp of what you think is apple juice and it’s actually vegetable oil.

What are you going to miss about the US?
Seeing things different to here, just ordinary things like walking down the street and seeing different stores, or being in a grocery store and seeing different products, or seeing different advertisements on TV (I got sick of the adverts quickly though, except one).

What was the funniest thing that happened on the holiday?
One thing that was funny was when we stopped at a KFC for lunch on one of the legs of our drive, and a kid tried to explain to me how biscuits were “sooooo good!”. Or maybe the multiple times Tim and I were asked if we were Canadian. Do Americans really think Canadians sound so different?

Filed under: Uncategorized | No Comments »

When you think about it, that catchphrase is pretty disturbing. You’ve got to be made of Milo, and then they would like you to buy Milo, so if you are made of Milo and then consume Milo, doesn’t that make you a cannibal?

Milo advocates cannibalism!

I am having trouble concentrating on this, since I’m sitting in the living room and Tim is sitting next to me on the couch playing GTA4, my train of thought is constantly interrupted by police sirens and random soundbites of NPCs.

I’m going to interview Tim about various aspects of our holiday, just for a different point of view. He has trouble doing two things at once. I wonder how irritated he gets by my questions.

What is your favourite purchase from the US?
Tim: GTA4
Originally, Tim’s answer was “Lucky Brand Jeans”, but I reminded him that he bought those in Canada, not the US.

What’s your favourite souvenir from the holiday?
Tim: I think maybe that skull thing mask that I got for Dad.
This is a small, dark brown tribal mask he got in Canada.

What’s the thing you missed most while you were away?
Tim: Po
Po is our cat. He stayed with Lauren and Nathan (sister & brother-in-law) while we were away.

What’s the thing that you missed the most about Australia?
Tim: Driving on the left-hand side of the road.
Me: Really?  
Time: No… I don’t know how to explain it. Just the way it feels like home here, the atmosphere. I don’t know if that’s a good explanation or not.

What did you like most about the US?
Tim: The Oregon Coast

What did you like least about the US?
Tim: Um.. Some of the people. Like, some of the sales staff and that were a bit brusque.

What was the best food you tasted in America?
Tim: Probably that steak at the San Francisco mall.
To explain - that steak was “Char-roasted Sirloin Tri-tip” from “Buckhorn Grill” in the Westfield mall on Market Street in San Francisco.

What was the worst food you tasted in America?
Tim: Probably those french fries we got that night that were cold and… you remember? They had the skin on them and all that.
These were fries we got through a room service thing from a local restaurant. They were cold by the time we got them, and undercooked, and they had potato skin on them, and some sort of seasoning.

What are you going to miss about the US?
Tim: Being on holiday.
Me: I knew you were going to say that. It’s not really specific to the US.
Tim: I know. Um… Probably the views of driving up the coast.

What was the funniest thing that happened on the holiday?
Tim: When I gave the quarter to the homeless man, and he paid me out. No, I gave him the change I had, and he paid me out.
There were these homeless guys standing outside Subway, where we bought dinner. As we walked out, they asked us for money. I didn’t have any cash (I relied on Tim for cash, since my cashcard didn’t work in the US) but Tim dropped what change he had from Subway into their cup. The guy he gave it to then proceeded to complain about how little Tim had given him, and “you coulda at least given me a dollar”. Isn’t there a saying that beggars can’t be choosy, or choosers? Gosh!

Filed under: Food, Money, Shopping, Travel, Video games | No Comments »

I thought I’d transcribe my diary entry from today, because I probably would have just posted this had I had internet access at the time. Anyway, you should know by now that Tim and I are back in Australia, safe and sound.

Tim and I are in the Japan Airlines “Sakura Lounge” at San Francisco airport (SFO) while we wait for our flight to board. It’s around 8 PM now, and our plane starts boarding at 9:40PM I think.

I have to note down before I forget - Americans call their main meals “entrees” and their entrees “appetizers”. I wonder if they get confused when they come to Australia… It’s not like it would be that difficult to figure it out.

When we went through security my bag got searched because I forgot to take my swiss army knife out. The lady seemed surprised when I declined her suggestion that I could go back out to the entrance area and organise to send it to myself at home. I said, “I don’t need it that badly.” Someone is going to be stoked with their new toy. It was a genuine Swiss Army Knife. Oh well. I was just sick of waiting to get through the gates. We had been waiting at the airport since around 3:00PM to check in, which we couldn’t do until 6:45PM. 

We got here so early because there wasn’t much else to do, hanging around in the city. We went to Union Square and I laid in the grass under a tree and Tim sat on the verge and couldn’t get comfortable. I was very comfortable. It’s so nice laying on the grass on a coolish day with just enough sunshine to keep you warm. You close your eyes and experience the sounds and smells of the city. San Francisco sounds like wind blowing through leaves, fire engine sirens, cable car bells and cables humming, and quiet conversations. San Francisco smells like green grass, dirt, exhaust and cigarettes (at Union Square, anyway). 

It’s not entirely unpleasant, the smell of the grass, dirt and sunshine mostly overpowers the other smells, and the strong gusts of wind blow everything away anyway. Things feel so fresh when there’s a cold, gusty wind blowing. San Francisco felt that way a lot of the time. 

Sometimes you will walk past a grate in the road and it will smell of sewage. In the evenings and when it is really cold, you can see the smell that rises from those grates like a malodorous fog.

23rd May 2008 

Back on Australian soil. Tim and I are sitting in the Qantas Club Lounge at Sydney Airport, waiting for our flight to Brisbane.

Tim is eating toast and other things on offer at the buffet table. I had some toasted Turkish Bread, which was delicious, and some white goop that I thought was yoghurt but now I think it was actually cottage cheese. It tasted horrible. I don’t really understand why they would put a big bowl of cottage cheese next to the muesli and fruit salad. That’s why I thought it was just natural set yoghurt. I also had some pineapple pieces that I picked out of the fruit salad, and they were okay. 

The “granola” that was part of the continental breakfast on the plane was crunchy and yum, but a little too sweet. It tasted sort of like Crunchola, which I used to get all the time and it was really good, but after a while it made me feel sick because I liked it too much. There can be too much of a good thing. The name “Crunchola” makes more sense to me now that I am aware of the existence of granola, and what it is. I hadn’t made the connection before, not having knowledge of what granola actually was. 

I am not able to eat a hot breakfast on a plane since Lauren and I flew to London on Royal Browneye and I ate some of the hot breakfast but I felt sick afterwards and still now when I think about it, it makes me feel a little queasy. 

In some of the hotels we stayed at in the US, at the breakfast buffet they had covered, metal trays with what looked like thin meat patties in one tray, and puffy yellow circular shapes in another. Tim says the yellow things were eggs, but I can’t make the connection between those uniform, pale yellow circles, and what you get when you crack open an egg. 

I forgot to describe the sickening Royal Browneye breakfast… it had a gelatinous, quivering mound of dimpled yellow stuff that was supposed to be scrambled eggs, a pale orange, soft tomato half, and a pink shiny sausage that looked like they had made it by cutting off some small animal’s dick, peeling the skin off and then boiling it. 

GROSS!!!

More later - we are heading to the gate…

…….

I just used my ATM card again for the first time in a couple of weeks. I had tried using it while we were overseas, but it let me get all the way to choosing an amount to withdraw and then told me it didn’t have authorisation to process my request. I didn’t check beforehand if my Suncorp card could be used overseas, it just seems like such a basic feature. Just another way Suncorp sucks I guess. I mean, seriously, get with the program Suncorp. Every other bank has had the whole “cirrus” or whatever symbol since forever. Since I got my first ATM card from Commonwealth Bank. God. Suncorp’s like that electronic store in Yamba that stocks record players but not MP3 players. Suncorp, you SUCK! I must remember to transfer all my banking business to ANZ. I was going to transfer everything to St. George, but now it looks like they are going to be taken over by Westpac. I feel a bit sad about that, St. George has always been my favourite bank, and they’re merging with one of my least favourite banks. I have little to no faith in Westpac’s customer service capabilities, not to mention that they’ve never impressed me with their product portfolio. Suck suck suck.

Apparently the woman at immigration here in Sydney didn’t stamp our passports to indicate re-entry to Australia. So I guess according to our passports, we’re still in America. 

It’s going to take me a while to get used to walking on the left side of footpaths, escalators etc. If I don’t concentrate on it, I find myself gradually drifting to the right-hand side. I don’t think Tim will have this problem, because he never really made a huge effort to walk on the right-hand side anyway. I would hold his hand and slowly drag him over to the right. He said, “Why does it matter?” And I said, “Because you’re messing with the natural order of things and confusing people.” I guess it doesn’t matter that much, and I’m not sure that Americans would make a similar effort to change sides were they to visit Australia.

What makes that whole exchange between Tim and I even stranger is that when we first arrived, Tim was the one reminding me to move over when we were on escalators. It didn’t seem like anyone was all that worried about rushing past us on the escalators anyway - not like in Australia. If you leave a gap, you can be pretty certain there’s going to be someone that the escalators just aren’t going fast enough for. In America, people seemed content to wait, and I guess they’re better shoppers in that sense because they don’t have to hurry through everything.

The boat that Tim and I went out on in San Francisco for the tour of the Bay was called “Golden Bear”. I like California’s flag - it has a picture of a bear and a star. The bear looks like he doesn’t realise he’s on a flag. 

The froghurt in America tastes like regular vanilla soft-serve ice cream. I didn’t like it because I don’t like vanilla ice cream. To me, vanilla always seemed like a crap flavour. It’s so boring and it just tastes like you’ve taken the base product and added loads of sugar. 

Tim was reading over my shoulder and shook his head at my opinion on vanilla. I knew he wouldn’t agree - he likes vanilla. He’s not very adventurous though. He said I was speaking through my ass, but it’s just an opinion, so with his reasoning everyone is constantly speaking through their ass, and they would make special microphones that go down the back of peoples’ pants. 

Filed under: Food, Travel | 2 Comments »