and then there's Blake (In stereo where available)

Kangaroos are forever bounding across the Tamala Park section of Connolly Dr and to see one or two lying dead on the side of the road is not rare. It makes me wonder how people can merrily speed up and down that road as if it would be impossible for them to have a head on collision with these animals. On Saturday I had two confrontations with them. The first was when Peter was driving. He hit the breaks to narrowly avoid one hastily making its way across the road. The headlights shone on the roo crossing the road about a metre in front of us. I think that woke us both up a bit. Later it happened again while I was driving home. It is certainly a good test of reaction time and the breaks on the car. Sometimes you see them from a distance, sometimes you don't. After collecting my heart from the windscreen I continued down Connolly Dr with great caution. I have never hit a Kangaroo and can't quite imagine what it would be like. Hopefully it will never happen.

A little bit of self indulgence goes a long way. Reading through my archive from this time last year I noticed that I had more to say. The subject matter was never terribly exciting but at least I spoke about it. Some random moment of the day would somehow spawn a small paragraph of text. The part of me that could waffle like that seems to be missing this year. Looking back has inspired me to try and energise the blogger spirit that has seemingly wilted inside of me. *Please note the tactical use of the word 'try'.

» Friday is my beards first birthday. I'll have to write about that.
» I finished making a new business card for my brother.
» I am still enjoying watching Top Model.
» Lost has been surprisingly good this season.
» I bought a new DS game to fry my brain before bed.
» I want a burger from flipside now.

We have been going out for coffee for almost three years now. It's funny how our situations back then just fell into place for us to discover we both enjoyed sitting at a cafe and conversing about what is on our mind. Now here we are, still enjoying ourselves and driving even further than before for our enjoyment.

We had just sat down at The Moon on Saturday when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. For a moment I freaked out (-1 manliness) but then I noticed that it was Tiffy. Running into somebody I know is a notable event because it rarely happens to me. Due to this rareness there is no schema in my mind for the brief hi/bye style of conversation. I think I talk to much in that situation and unintentionally keep the person around for much longer than they anticipated. Whoops.

Today I said good bye to Toni by organising a farewell lunch for us. We ate at The Lucky Shag. My BLT was fine, nothing amazing, and thus I deem it to be overpriced.

I'm always complaining about people leaving (mostly complaining to myself) but only because I am not leaving too. It's a little baffling to think that if I didn't screw up my degree then I would have been booked on that same flight as Toni. Oh well, there's no rush. Good things come to those that wait . . etc.

I am sunburnt.

No one would have believed in the last hour before Jeff Wayne's War of The Worlds stage show that I would be racing time and traffic.

I had put a lot of faith in the fact that everything was running smoothly with my partner in crime and holder of my ticket. The phone call took me by surprise. Peter was apparently rocketing his way to Burswood as fast as he could. He was running late after spending a day many hours south of Perth. When he had cellular reception he called me to give me my task. I was to drive to his house to pick up the tickets and then make my way to the show. Balcatta to Clarkson and then to Burswood is a long journey (~70km), the first portion is in the opposite direction to the latter. While driving I became completely enraged at the man for making me do this with only an hour until the starting time. I realise he had reasons for being so late but my anger surpassed any reasons I could muster in my mind.

I was late and parking was ridiculous. We missed the Prelude and Eve of The War. The preceding events accompanied with missing these beginning moments might be the reason I didn't enjoy the stage show as much as I think I should have. Maybe I hadn't been put into the correct mood.

The sound was not good at all. Our seats were close to the stage which was unfortunate if only because of the hologram of Richard Burton. It looked good far away but up close it was simply a ghosted 2-D projection on a sheet of plastic. Most of the cast did a good job. This is the part where I have to mention Shannon Noll. I can't believe I have now seen an Idol singer perform live on stage. It makes me wonder who else would have better suited the role of Nathaniel. Having an Idol star up on stage was a distraction (for me) as I carefully watched and waited for him to fumble a line.

The $177 I paid for the ticket will be missed. I enjoyed watching the musical but it was very mediocre and certainly not worth that amount.

I weigh myself every few weeks. It's not for any particular reason, it certainly doesn't make me alter what I eat or give me an increased desire for exercise. This is more for the sake of curiosity. At the beginning of the year I was about 66kg (a bit over 10 stone) but now in August I'm weighing in at 59kg (1 stone lighter). Where did that 7kg go? Have I been eating less... or maybe it's somehow related to uni stress? This does baffle me to some degree. To all friends and family - it is time to fatten Blake up!

We all enjoy seeing scooters zip about the city streets. What we enjoy less is seeing them parked. Especially when the owner has decided to park in a car bay. This always annoys me. On Friday this was taken to ridiculous levels as I was trying to find parking on Beaufort St. Two of these little scooters had parked side by side taking up two bays. Let's all remember that you can easily fit three scooters or more in one bay.

Finally I will mention Pan's Labyrinth. What do you all see in this movie? Almost everybody I know says they thoroughly enjoyed it and yet I was largely unenthusiastic after the viewing. For starters I got more out of Capitán Vidal than I did from Ofelia. The labyrinth and Ofelia seemed like a side story. It felt as if I was being forced to pay attention to the fairy tale while the paper thin real world story was given more screen time.
I did enjoy how the Capitán's character was built. This was post WWII Spain and he was doing his job. Sure he was mad with power and a fascist but let's not hold it against him. We were made sure to know he was the bad guy, not only that but I kept thinking that he was a Germanophile which for the time period clearly made him Evil. There were a few reasons to think this but none more obvious than one line that in English read - "... a new, cleansed Spain". Of course I wasn't meant to be paying attention to him as much as Ofelia. Unfortunately I couldn't care less about the little girl and her fantasy that she rehashed from things that she had read.
The movie wasn't what I expected and is probably suffering because of what I was led to believe it would be. It was more adult and violent than the fantasy tale I was expecting. Even so I don't think the separate stories were glued together well enough to allow Pan's Labyrinth to receive the praise that surrounds it. Also I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the moment when the Faun turns into Jar Jar Binks and we get a Star-Wars-like applause for our sub-plot hero.

Fifteen minutes to a student is the equivalent of half an hour, especially if they are waiting for a lecturer to arrive. When the class is thinking of leaving after fifteen minutes you better get there quickly. If somebody says their clock shows twenty minutes, you're out of luck. Your students, they are gone.

So here I am with my Bacon and Potato Cuppa-Soup getting ready to start other work. Oh it seems I have voicemail from the lecturer, I shall call him.
How very apologetic he is.
Now I feel bad for leaving.
Only a little.

The tradition of drinking tea has taken over from what used to be instant coffee. My bladder was shocked today after a strong instant coffee. Every twenty minutes was pee time. The ~45 minute journey to uni was a struggle.

A guy cut me off on the way home. I lightly tooted the horn. He gave me the finger. I returned the gesture. He didn't reply. I think that means I won.

Monday

Received a new wallet thanks to Yen who bought it on her recent trip to China.

Yen also gifted me a bag teeming with coupons from the entertainment book.

Tuesday

Learnt about Schema Theory.

Reaffirmed my dominance over Peter in the 1992 World Sports Competition.

Realised my fingers are not as nimble as when I was 10.

Had my first cup of Lapsang Souchong tea.

Thursday

Escorted Nuala to the Red Cross.

Ate Dolsot Bibimbap at Poppo.

Had an afternoon nap in my car for the first time this semester.

Ridded myself of hunger by eating Kimchi Ramyun while in class thanks to my lecturer.

Developed the dreaded lip pimple.

Friday

Watched Oceans 13. 6/10

Watched The Number 23. 5/10

Saturday

Watched The Lost Boys with Weeena and Nuala.

Went for a long drive with Peter. A spontaneous midnight stop at a portion of Quinns Beach invigorated my desire to travel somewhere far away by car when time permits.

*study, sleep, and other mundane things fall between the lines

[20070812 | 1630] Additional: to waste some time I've completed the 'Five celebrities you'd have sex with without asking questions' meme. I included links instead of images.
( and they are... )

Tags: beach, driving, food, gift, korean 312, list, meme, nap, nuala, oceans 13, peter, poppo, red cross, schema theory, the lost boys, the number 23, virtual console, wallet, weeena, week, wii, world sports competition, yen

want.want.want.
not so nonchalant.
today is the beginning of my final four months of university.
love my timetable.
found my chinese worry balls.

The other night was interesting. After a hefty meal at Chatters I suggested to Nuala that we go visit Peter. He had previously said we could come up if we wanted. I am mentioning this because I don't often introduce people for the first time. I was wondering how each of them would take to one another, if Peter and I would have too many 'in ' jokes, or if I would notice a difference in my demeanour having two people from different social circles interacting. I was studying my memories later on about everybody's behaviour including my own. You'd think I'd have something better to do with my time, but no.

The night was fun. We played 15 rounds of Mario Party 8 and called it a night around 0100. When I eventually got back home a car pulled into the driveway after me. I knew immediately that it was once again Peter. Earlier he had mentioned an interest in a drive to The Moon and he was apparently not as tired as I initially thought. Instead of going to The Moon we decided to remain in the car and go for a drive. We toured the old streets of Fremantle enjoying the sites at night while constantly conversing with one another. Seeing Freo at night only made me wish I had a camera with me. I got home (again) about 0245 and went straight to bed. It had been a long night but one that I was very happy with.

I bit the inside of my bottom lip last week. It would heal if I could stop accidentally chomping down on the swollen area in my mouth every other day.

A few days ago I drove past an Icecream Van that had overheated. It looked like Mr. Whippy was on fire. This was the same day the first of two trucks fell over. The world was falling apart!

Bought new clothes earlier this week. They look good but the collars on the shirts feel like sandpaper around my neck. I also bought a couple of new DS games to keep me amused.

Today I travelled to Kings Park for Nuala's birthday bbq. The location is still so foreign to me even though it is one of the great landmarks in Perth. It was easy enough to find my way. Once there I joined some other friends and chatted for a few hours. I left slightly before the event finished to head beyond the northern end of the freeway.

I managed to be an hour late to a housewarming/engagement party for Peter and Tracy. I met Steven again, an old acquaintance from my web development days. It was odd seeing somebody from all those years ago. He asked if I was engaged or married yet. It is understandable why he would assume such things. So much has changed.

Later in the evening many people had left but the nurses who remained decided to take claim of the entertainment room. With not much left to do Peter, Markus, and myself travelled the 45 minute drive from Clarkson to Mt. Lawley. Yes, for a coffee. We made our way down the freeway singing along to Roxette. We enjoyed our renditions so much that it hurt our throats.

There is a possibly for playing tennis this afternoon if the weather permits. Actually in my case it's less playing and more just trying to hit the ball. If that doesn't pan out then I'll be here watching Six Feet Under and devouring Pizza. I think I'll be happy either way.

What an odd feeling day.
I decided to take the long way to uni and avoid the typical freeway mess but as I made my way into the city I realised that it was obviously some kind of holiday. It was a public holiday but as usual not a University holiday. With no traffic I managed to get to Curtin in 15 minutes. Not bad.

Anyway after a class of Korean I went home, had lunch, watched an episode of Skins, got picked up to go out, played some Wii boxing and some Mario battles on the DS, went and watched The Pick of Destiny, and finally ate at Poppo for dinner.

Wii boxing exercises my lower back and arse. Not because I get a pounding but because I duck and weave like a crazy man. I'm a believer in moving while playing those sports games, it's a little workout.

The Pick of Destiny was a fun romp but I feel a bit cheated by how the movie ended. I honestly thought we'd hear Tribute. I know it's overplayed but it would have fit in there. Also I had no idea that Liam Lynch had directed it.

ummm.. that's all I've got for now.

Quick Thought:
You go seize the day. I'll read the highlights of it on your blog.

Thursday:
I went for a drive along the coast and soaked up the fresh air. After that I decided to go to JB's to purchase DVD's but alas there was no place to park.

After that I went to The Globe to sit for an hour with a coffee. Later that night I returned there with aussiepoida for an evening drink. I don't want to delve too much into it but I get an impression that a member of the barista staff likes one of us. How awkward would that be? seriously.

After the coffee we went to JB's and I purchased 28 Days Later after I realised I don't actually have my own copy. It wasn't on my list but it was only $10.

Friday:
Went to Perth this morning to meet Yen and to go donate blood. It went without any problems for me. Poor Yen couldn't donate because of a sore throat. Once I had given blood I had some free food and a few cartons of pineapple juice.

Went to Poppo Korean and Japanese restaurant for lunch. I had the Dolsot Bibimbap (which I highly recommend) and Yen had the Gyu-don. It was great, I will go again :). I'd never seen the restaurant before, I think they are really new. So new infact that they are not in the Yellow Pages, White Pages, or internet.