23 July 2005
Power Down
About to turn the computer off for the move. Might take a few days to start the ADSL at the new place. Withdrawal symptoms to start shortly. Will have to supplement with higher-than-usual caffeine intake.
Damn! While the Coffee Festival is on at The Rocks, I'll be moving house. That's the second year in a row I've missed it. I'll have to tee up with Eva to go next year instead.
Red Rum... Yarr!
Kris, the paint colour wasn't actually redrum, but red rum (according to Kathleen). That space makes all the difference. Instead of being a horror homage, the shade of red is actually a jolly reference to pirates! Possibly communist pirates! Yarr!!
In all fairness, Kathleen wasn't really oblivious, more unsuspecting. She just hasn't read the book or seen the movie. I read The Shining when I was 12, and it freaked me the hell out! Little wonder that those kind of details stick with you 15 years later.
Christmas In Japan
A slightly off-beat interpretation of the Christmas message from Japan prompted some interesting anecdotes from Westerners in Japan.
22 July 2005
Leaving Surry Hills
When we moved out of the place we were renting in Toorak Rd, Melbourne, our cheap and mean real estate agent took $90 out of our bond because the top of the skirting boards in our apartment were dusty. The clean up before we leave Goodlet St is going to be pretty comprehensive.
For the last couple of days, we've been packing a little, cleaning a little, and gradually moving some of the stuff that's hard to pack in a box from Surry Hills to Wollstonecraft. Each time we make a car trip, we have to remember to carry $3 worth of tolls for the return journey via the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I've heard the toll referred to as the "Rich Tax", since the rich people from the North Shore have to pay to get into the city, unless they want to travel thirty minutes out of their way via one of the other, less direct, routes.
The other thing we've noticed is the number of old people in Wollstonecraft. In Surry Hills, there seems to be hardly anyone over 35. It is truly going to be an interesting experience living here.
Anyway, the painter finished last night, so we now have a new coat of paint for the interior walls, and for the ceilings where it was starting to flake off in the laundry. That's what happens when you use a paint that doesn't go well with moisture. We're happy with how everything turned out, too. The existing curtains suck, but we'll have to save up to replace them.
On Sunday, we'll finally move in. Can't wait.
20 July 2005
Wedding Album
Hooray! The wedding album arrived in the post today. Kathleen had a work dinner last night, so it sat, unwrapped, waiting for her to get home so we could open it together.
Our wedding photographer did a fantastic job!
18 July 2005
Impatient
It took four doors before the decision to paint the apartment prior to moving in got re-evaluated.
Well, the decision to paint the apartment still stands. However, the original plan was that it would be me that did it.
By myself. In four days.
Which isn't exactly a herculean effort, by any stretch of the imagination. It would have meant, though, a lot of patience, and confidence in my own abilities, neither of which I have in any great quantities.
We'd started with a 3-in-1 primer on the doors, which, by the time we finished with them, looked pretty ordinary. If there's one thing that saps the confidence, it's looking at the results of your own handiwork and thinking, "Uh oh." The doors are undoubtedly the hardest things to paint, but given that we had to do a lot of other fiddly bits, such as skirtings and cornices, as well as making sure the walls looked good, it was surely just as easy to get someone professional in. After all, there'd be nothing worse than moving in and realising that the paint job looked crap.
So we rang around a few places first thing Monday, managed to get two places out to quote on the work, and with a bit of luck, the company we went with will be finished by Thursday/Friday.
And of course, it's become apparent that there's a lot of other stuff which needs organising prior to the move. If I'd done the painting as well, we'd be struggling to get it all done between now and then.
The only thing is, admitting defeat brings out the handyman in everyone else.
"Painting's easy," they exclaim. "All you do is whack a bit of paint on a wall and away you go!"
Well, we'll just tell them we did it ourselves. Only let a few people, like you, in on the secret.
Redrum
"So what do you think about this colour?" asked Kathleen, pointing to the paint sample brochure. "It's a nice shade of red, don't you think?"
I looked at the name.
Redrum.
"I'm not sure that's the message we want our apartment wall to be giving out..." I said.
"What's wrong with it?" she frowned.
"Oh, only the fact that redrum spelled backward is murder, and it was used as a major plot development in The Shining. Don't you remember the scene with the river of blood spilling out of the elevator?"
"Give me that!" She grabbed the brochure. "Oh."
We're not getting Redrum on our walls. I still can't believe Dulux have named a shade of red after it, either!
Rail Link
This government is all talk, no action, preferring to put up big fancy pants, pie in the sky plans, rather than doing the hard work to actually building important infrastructure, like new railway lines.
They do, however, talk the talk. The South West Rail Link and North West Rail Link are prime examples. Anyway, there's a spiffy little animation available from the government's web site. As usual, nothing concrete. Just the usual promises that no doubt will get cancelled or done in the usual half-arsed way.
15 July 2005
Owners
At 3.30pm today, I received the call from the solicitor to let us know that the settlement had been finalised.
We are now, officially, home owners.
"Plan 9 From Outer Space" Released For Free
Plan 9 From Outer Space, widely considered to be the worst movie of all time, is now available for download! It's been released to the public domain, under a Creative Commons license!
The movie is famous for poor props, bad acting, stupid dialog, pathetic plot, and a star billing by Bela Lugosi, who just happened to die before the movie was filmed.
Kris, this may be just the ticket for the background at your next Halloween party.
13 July 2005
Plot Development
"I have to leave work early tonight," said Ivan. "Going to the movies."
"What are you going to see?" I asked him.
"SimCity."
"...I know they're making a Doom movie, but I wouldn't have thought there'd be much plot development in SimCity."
He looked over at me.
"Oh, Sin City!... Yeah, that looks all right."
I need to get out more.
10 July 2005
Achievement
This cold, windy weather is making me lethargic; I'd rather spend half an hour watching TV, with Kathleen napping on the couch nearby, than continue packing.
Packing achievement for today:
- Six glasses.
- Five mugs.
- Three wine glasses back into original packaging.
- Playstation moved to spare room.
9 July 2005
Empty
The place is looking a little emptier, since we've started packing up in preparation for the move. We get the keys to the new place on Friday, and have pencilled in a week or so to clean and paint the walls before getting our furniture moved over. So there's a week there where we can move bits and pieces over gradually, rather than having the pain of doing it all in one day.
Having said that, since there's a week to go, then there's no real sense of urgency when packing.
Plus, there's a lot of stuff that we can't just chuck in a box, since we might need it sometime over the next couple of days.
Which means that we've spent more time procrastinating than packing.
The process we've followed goes a little something like this:
- Walk into random room.
- Stare randomly at various items, wondering whether they can be packed.
- Decide no, since either we will need it in the next week, or because I can't be bothered.
- Check email/web for 15 minutes (this packing is hard work, so I need a break).
- Repeat.
6 July 2005
No Smoking
Since the pubs, RSLs and leagues clubs up here in NSW have gone smoke free, it's as good a time as any to reflect on these smoking manners posters from Japan (courtesy of Al).
Typical of the half-arsed, can't-be-bothered-doing-things-properly attitude which seems to permeate NSW, they haven't gone the whole hog. Instead, smoking is confined to a room less than half the total size of the pub. Or something. Which in the case of the leagues clubs up here, still affords you a region approximately the size of Tasmania. It's not until 2007 when smoking is finally prohibited inside.
Personally, I think it's fantastic. There's nothing worse - absolutely nothing worse - than smelling like a filthy ashtray 'cause you've decided to stop off for a quick ale on the way home, or when meeting up with friends. Typical of the vested interest, status-quo-loving boofheads at the hotels association, they've decided that the sky will instantly fall in and all the pubs in NSW will shut. The Strawberry Hills has looked pretty busy the last couple of nights as I walked past, putting paid to that 'theory'.
PS If anyone knows why RSLs and leagues clubs seem to be the place to go here in Sydney, please let me know. I still can't understand why people feel the need to 'sign in' just to be able to sit down and have a drink.
It's Not All Bad
Random interesting stuff from the past week:
I like teasing animals and small children, so putting stuff on my cat is the next logical step.
Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans (The Onion):
"Sometimes, an item the factory produces resembles nothing I've ever seen," Chen said. "One time, we made something that looked like a ladle, but it had holes in its cup and a handle that bent down 90 degrees. The foreman told us that it was a soda-can holder for an automobile. If you are lucky enough to own a car, sit back and enjoy the journey. Save the soda beverage for later."
"Why the demand for so many kitchen gadgets?" Chen said. "I can understand having a good wok, a rice cooker, a tea kettle, a hot plate, some utensils, good china, a teapot with a strainer, and maybe a thermos. But all these extra things—where do the Americans put them? How many times will you use a taco-shell holder? 'Oh, I really need this silverware-drawer sorter or I will have fits.' Shut up, stupid American."
The first account of the Nagasaki atomic bombing, the first in human history, was suppressed by the US military, and copies of the destroyed originals were only recently discovered:
Though he skirted American authorities to get into Nagasaki, Weller submitted his reports - the first was dated September 6 - to the censors. The stories infuriated MacArthur so much he personally ordered that they be quashed, and the originals were never returned.
7 July 2005
Friends In London
Denzil and Lu are OK, nowhere near any bomb blasts.
Thank goodness for that.
Meanwhile, Channel 7 are continuing to telecast the cricket. Not sure whether this is admirable business-as-usual in the face of terrorism, or blithe disregard for the severity of the situation.
ABC and SBS are showing the live feed from the Beeb.
4 July 2005
Dreamy Trips
Yesterday, under the guise of 'cleaning up and packing the video tapes', Kathleen somehow managed to spend an hour watching a newly-discovered episode of Temptation Island, which has somehow survived, unerased, since we lived in Melbourne three years ago. Ah, I guess it's the weekend, and it's hers to spend...
Anyway, we also came across a couple of the videos with some of the TV shows we taped while we were in Japan. Excellent!
One of the shows was Iitabi, which translates to something like 'Dreamy Trip'. Essentially, it's like Getaway, except that the cast members only travel to Japanese places. Each show follows a roughly similar format:
- Travel by train to traditional Japanese inn, complaining all the time about dying of hunger.
- Arrive at traditional Japanese inn, and head straight for attached onsen.
- Eat elaborate and expensive Japanese feast, exclaiming delight over each beautiful morsel.
- Travel to the next location, by train, complaining all the time about dying of hunger.
It's a time-worn and obviously successful format, and it made us want to actually get out on the weekend and go see some of these places, which is something Getaway has never managed to do. Alas, these places were very expensive, so when we finally got around to doing our own iitabi, we took a more common, packaged tour. Which was an adventure in itself.
Lazy Tools In McDonald's Ad
If I was the bloke on the ad serving the coffees and some wanker and his vacant-eyed girlfriend tooled up and their BMW and sat on the horn, "Oi can we get a couple of coffees over here?", I wouldn't just shake my head, I'd go over there and kick his freaking door in for being such a lazy dickhead.
I mean, really, how lazy do you have to be to not get your stupid, arrogant, yuppie arse out of the car and waddle inside?
And that expression on the girl's face is priceless.
Damn, I hate that ad.
3 July 2005
Countdown
In two weeks, we start paying our mortgage off. If our lives had a soundtrack, the theme to Jaws would be starting to become noticeable.
The Office Remake Tanks
Gee, the American remake of The Office lasted a while, didn't it? All of two episodes.
Watching it, I could understand why. The remake went for cheap and obvious laughs, quite different from the original, where there was always an undercurrent of nervous tension. The comedy, the punchline was always aimed at a particular character, making it more nasty, more realistic, and far more hilarious.
Plus the general level of activity seemed much higher, characters more zany, in the remake, which seemed out of place.
Umbrellas
Due to the miserable weather on Thursday night, we had to cancel dinner with Elaine. Next week, for sure! Even though she's been up here for work for the last couple of months, we've seen her once since our wedding.
The number of broken umbrellas cast away on Friday morning is an indicater of how windy it was!
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