monday : 31 dec 2007
5:32pm and 42 degrees Celsius, at least. Here it is, New Year's Eve, and the last journal entry for 2007. Tonight I've been invited to a party out in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. In about six minutes I'll be racing out the door to catch a train that will eventually deliver me across this baking – nay melting – family-sized serving of urban pizza topping. Fuck, even my teeth are sweating. Anyway, see you next year!
monday : 24 dec 2007
1:23am. I'm heading off to Queensland tomorrow night (i.e. tonight) for a short spell. It's been an insane week on Planet Melbourne – a swirling tempest of mad socialising and wild weather. Have a good break.
sunday : 16 dec 2007
Work Social Club Christmas Bash. Also known as the End of Year Celebration or even the Special Team Meeting in some places. Me personally, speaking as an atheist, I'm not against marking JC's birthday. But next year I'll be selecting other worthy people from history, for example Albert Einstein, and celebrating their birthdays too. Watch this space. Anyway, our Xmas function this year was held at the MCG, in a huge function area that overlooked the illuminated grounds and stadium. Tres classy. There was a band playing, an open bar, decent food, and even a dedicated photographer, an amateur whom I met at Cookie one night and arranged the gig for. Afterwards a group of us ended up at Spiegltent. I managed to catch the 3:30am Nightrider bus home. A damn fine night out and only a very mild hangover to nurse yesterday.
Hellfire Club. Another fine night out a few Friday's back involved the usual bar hopping itinerary, with most of the time spent at the refurbished Albert Park Hotel, which has gained a reputation for being a singles venue. There's no prize for guessing that I like going there, inconvenient as it is for CBD dwellers. With my friends gone by 2:00am, I caught a taxi from the city where things were winding down and headed over to Chapel Street Prahran to see if I could gain entry to the revival of Hellfire Club, despite the strict dress code. I figured I could talk my way in, but that proved unnecessary due to missing the shows – they were now admitting anyone, and for $10 instead of $30. I didn't need any convincing and almost twisted an ankle rushing inside and up to the nearest bar. Clutching a bottle of JD and cola premix, I was pleased to see a few friends I had hoped would still be here. Yes, I was already well pickled from constant doses alcotherapy all night – even carefully moderated drinking nevertheless gets you drunk if you take in more than the liver can metabolise each hour. Also while there I chatted up a newbie my friend Gillie pointed out; I had her contact details before leaving the club. By now it was 4:00am, and things become a bit strange. Instead of going home, I somehow wandered into Porter Street, picked a garden just off the footpath, and went to sleep there as if it was the most natural thing to do. I woke up at 7:15am, as per my usual workday routine, after a restful three-hour nap. Nobody assaulted me or bothered me. Still had possession of my beautiful Mont Blanc chronograph on my wrist, no less. Who knows if anyone even saw me there? I have no idea, and never will. Staggering to my feet (not a morning person) I walked back to Chapel Street to buy breakfast at The Coffee Club. The woman serving me was courteous but gave me queer funny looks. I put it down to looking like I'd just slept on the street after a heavy night on the turps...hey, guilty yer honour. It was only half way through brekky that I noticed the dirt and leaves and bark sticking to my left shirt sleeve and torso.
Silly Theatre Nonsense. The other week I saw the rather mad Monty Python stage show Spamalot at Her Majesty's theatre, courtesy of who else but Marylu. Truth be told, Eric Idle dreamt up most of the concept, so it's not technically a joint Monty Python creation, although it is based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail and it has the blessing of Python members. Anyone familiar with the movie can pretty much guess what to expect. I'd never seen the film in its entirety, and couldn't remember anything apart from the knight dismemberment scene, which means that all of the jokes and gags in the stage show were fresh and funny. Where it kind of lost my attention a bit was during the musical numbers in the third act – much of this material consisted of spoofing other stage shows and basically doing the whole song and dance thing to the hilt. I preferred the dryer Monty Python sketch comedy stuff in the first two acts. Idle also inserted 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' twice; a newer number would have been better. However, both musical comedy fans and card-carrying Monty Python devotees should have a blast watching Spamalot. The production values, performances, and stage craft are all top shelf.
wednesday : 5 dec 2007
Training day? More like training week. I'm half way through on a five-day IT course being held down St. Kilda Road. Which means a break from the usual office routine. Now I hop off at South Yarra train station and walk down Toorak road to St. Kilda Road, grab a large takeaway cappuccino with two Equals, sit in the sun outside the café sipping my hot beverage and watching pretty girls in gym gear stride past (ponytails and sundry other parts bobbing), then switch to sponge mode for eight hours of Hardcore Tuition. Lunch is also supplied, thus saving me $40.00 in food expenditure, but we've been finishing after 5:00pm, unlike most offsite courses that tend to wind up by 4:30pm, so there's no real bonus early arrival home. I went back to work HQ on Monday and Tuesday afternoon; that won't be happening for the remainder of the week.
Corrosive Quiz!
And now, since I'm in an instructional kind of mood, can you guess the right answer to the following visual Corrosive Quiz? The first correct entry posted in the Comments receives a free 12-month subscription to Toxic Waste. Be warned though that it's a toughie. Ready? OK. Please to be viewing carefully the two images (left and right) demonstrated below.
One of these photos is of a grotesque and hideous alien monster that frightens
people with its leathery reptilian skin, jagged teeth, misshapen skull, and inhuman
guttural snarls. The other photo features a character from the popular 1987
action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Which is which?