Weddings Weddings Weddings

I had a blogworthy week recently - so here goes.

Think of 3 of the most different styles of weddings that you can and that was my week.

The first one I went to was a beautiful surprise wedding in a suburban park.  One of my dearest girlfriends “married” her girlfriend. They invited everyone to an engagement party using the gay marriage rights as a bit of a cover. I was one of the 17 (!) bridesmaids dressed in a theme of Fire and Ice or Red & Blue.  A  fun filled event complete with drag queen, karaoke dj’s, live performances from friends and a bridal dance/flash mob. SO much fun and by far my favourite.

The second wedding was a triple wedding for the show I am working on. So completely staged.  In summary and without giving anything away – cops chasing members of the bridal party all over the place,  fights breaking out, guests in handcuffs and a rather disinterested celebrant. I can’t tell you any more coz then I would have to kill you.

Wedding # 3 was completely traditional. Nothing could be faulted really – white dress, 3 bridesmaids, suited up groomsmen, photos, cocktails, canapés, speeches, cake and a dance to a slightly cheesy party band. But that’s just my opinion. The traditional wedding was a relative - I think she was the last cousin on this conservative side of my family to tie the knot other than a few confirmed bachelor cousins in the far away land of Canada and me. Yes, I have been married but nothing says “black sheep” like divorced, creative freelancer living in the eastern suburbs other than relatives introducing you point blank as the black sheep. Hmmm… such fun! Thank god the wait staff were good enough to keep my glass of red wine bottomless, just lovely.

It was the only ‘real’ wedding of the 3 and funny enough it was the most “normal”, traditional one that made me laugh. That was probably more to do with it being the last one I attended rather than it being funny in anyway. During the lovely garden ceremony with beautiful north shore water views was the moment my brain started thinking over a big week of weddings and it made me giggle, a little inappropriately. Thus cementing my title of black sheep/crazy member of the family.

I can admit I am pretty bitter about the whole marriage thing and I still don’t get it, but I’m always up for a party so go for it.

Overindulgence in WA

This week I find myself in Perth. Old friends, new babies, drinking buddies, damn good eating, hangovers and random events. This is my holiday and last little hurrah before starting back at work the day after I get back to Sydney. 
So my terribly difficult holiday sees me lunching with my foodie buddy, and discussing what we will cook up at her place that night, And catching up with my drinking buddy has us checking out the small bars of Perth in a very short amount of time. It was our duty!

Here's what I got up to - its gonna be a big blog this week! Apologies for no visual yet but I'm still learning how to do that on the iPad and the formatting isn't perfect coz I need to board a plane in a minute.

Thursday
Lunch Zing's at Hillary's boat Harbour. Pleasant little spot and we shared a taster platter. All good but I forgot to take photos.
After a settling walk around the harbour we decided we needed to stop for dessert. It wouldn't be fair to baby if we woke him up just to put him in the car. (not really, this is he worlds easiest going baby)
How terrible that we end up at San Churros again. Can't go past it's namesake. I've tried, on numerous occasion to drink the hot chocalate here. I can never finish it. it is soo rich!
And a lovely home cooked meal that night.

Friday
Tapas lunch at Duende in  Leederville with a friend who when we were in Sydney we never quite managed to catch up. I've seen him 3 times in the past week. A lovely meal, good service and an amazing glass of wine, highly recommended.
I really like this area. Lots of cafes and restaurants and a few pubs and bars for later.
From here I jumped on a train to Fremantle to meet up with a regular Sydney drinking buddy who happens to be in Perth right now. We dumped our stuff in the hotel room and freshened up for the night ahead. The three of us jumped on a train back to Perth city.

Now here is where I had to start referring to Facebook to remind me what we got up to.
Friday 5:47pm Greenhouse

some fruity cocktail @Greenhouse

This is the first bar we walked past and we were thirsty so we stopped. Not bad but we could have been in any city CBD. The bar looked cool with bottles hanging off hooks above their heads. Looks can be deceiving, the bartender did have a little trouble trying to get the bottle down. But the drinks were good and it was a good start. And from the reasonable high turnover of patrons tells me that most people use this place as a starting point.
6:25pm Helvetia bar
A little rum bar hidden down a little city ally. If you are a regular reader you will know that apparently women aren't supposed to drink dark rum. And i find this a challenge so i drink it without screwing up my face. I had a dark and stormy, a nice gingery one. After the very girly looking fruit filled cocktail at the last bar, it was the boys I was with that got their drinks in fancy glasses while I got a tumbler. Dark, noisy converted warehouse that tries a little too hard and didn't quite get it right on the decor.

tea - long island style

7:17 pm Bobeche
This place was good, although the staff were a little rude and not as attentive as i think they should be. I shared a teapot of long island iced tea with one of my male minders for the evening. Served in a fancy teapot and very pretty teacups. The drink was fine but they forgot our order of chips and I had to flag down bar staff. The crowd were a bit older and it looked pretty cool in there, good atmosphere but the bar staff weren't having nearly as much fun as the last establishment.
Time to get out of the city
9:17pm the Stanley
A general thumbs down here, we order basic beer, and i think it should be a cafe. And the only thing they had on the food menu was peanuts, olives and some other insignificant snack. Also a few too many religious icons and not sure how ironic or kitche it was supposed to be. Next!
Moving on to Subiaco ( I think, started getting hazy around here)
Kebabs, but we forgot to check in. I'm pretty sure we tried a bar or two but can't remember coz we didn't check in on Facebook.
10:46 pm Fire and Ice
Cheap and tacky but above Subiaco station so perfect for that last drink before heading home. Well that was the plan. We lost one person who had to be responsible and work the next morning. So then there were 6? How does that work? Easy, you find like minded individuals who just don't want to go home yet. 2 girls, 4 boys so the odds are looking good for me and we hit a few bars in Subiaco. It was late so some establishments were closing, others brimming to capacity. But it's all who you know and one of my new friends says, "wait here, gimme a minute" and goes to chat to the bouncers. Is he being a wanker and just trying to impress us? We wait, he comes back followed by one of the hostesses who leads us around through a car park and in the back door. Ok. Drinks in hand and some danceable tunes like Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie?! Yes, Facebook says so.
12:55am Purl - all night long with Lionel Ritchie
We got in so no, not a wanker and yes, suitably impressed.
So when this place closed what are a bunch of drunken party people to do in a town that is closing down for the night?
Well, assuming this blog doesn't get read that far and wide I don't think I'm getting anyone in trouble by saying that we ended up having a few more drinks at my new friends work place. It's all who you know.
You can find out where if you really wanted to but it doesn't need to be listed here.

I know my head hit the pillow at 6:30 the next morning.
The next status update was
Saturday 1:03 pm - ouch.
I at least managed to get out of the hotel, wander around Freo and find some food unlike my companion who I left curled up in bed for the day.
6pm and my companion managed to down the medicinal bundaberg ginger beer I got him, make it to the shower and get ready to head out for dinner.

my mini steak

6:48pm char char bull
Steak dinner in Fremantle - yum! My salt and pepper squid was average but I couldn't fault the steak. Ironically, Fremantle is mostly geared around seafood, basically the "fisherman's wharf" of Perth. But we felt like steak and their seafood was average.

8:00pm Little Creatures
An local institution and a must for any visit to Perth and Freo.  1 pear cider and a Chinese lion dance. Yeah the Chinese lion dance was rather random but very entertaining none the less. Due to the previous nights activity we were going kinda slow on the alcoholic beverages...for now. Took us about an hour to get through 1 pint, pretty sad, I know..
9:21pm the Sail and Anchor pub.
Met up with a few more folks and got going on the beer games. Taste testing and basically being beer wankers trying to pick the aroma and flavours and what it would best be paired with.
Because we have very little will power we continued drinking beer til about midnight , grabbed yet another kebab befor heading back to our beds again.

Sunday 9:48am Cafe Lumos
If you get the chance check it out. Great atmosphere, good menu and the chef' s not a bad guy either. How you doing?;-)

12:55pm yum cha at Emma's in east Vic park.
This is the best (albeit, only) yum cha place I have tried here. Don't miss out on the shanghai dumplings that we like to say look like little spaceships.

Monday

med platter and green beans

The ladies (and baby) lunched at Broads cafe at Upper Ridge winery.
Highlight! Amazing menu. The two of us mega foodies couldn't decide between about 4 different entrees and another 3 mains.. Best menu I have seen in a long time! Thank god they had a Mediterranean plate that included most of the entrees we were after. Happy now. But we had to go over to the cellar door and do some tasting to decide what wine to have with our meal.

just a few dumplings - YUM!

After stocking up my hosts wine rack we moved onto Lancaster Winery known for its Old vine grapes. Not a huge selection but made for my taste buds. And a sticky Shiraz that you can mix with the muscat. Or chill in the summertime. YUM-O!!

Quickly headed home to start making our Home made wontons and gyoza. My generous host asked about making dumplings so it was my duty to share my dumpling skills with her and the yumminess of it with her and her partner.
I'm bursting with dumplings right now.
And we teamed it with a sparkling Shiraz from upper ridge.

Tuesday
Japanese Lunch in leederville
Chai tea and tiramisu at Greens
"work" woohoo, this is now a business trip! (Seriously, it's a screen australia forum.)
Nachos and beer at a little "local" pub in Wembly

Wednesday

all gone

I have some time to kill so I am abusing the free wifi at the apple store here before one last dumpling feast with my food buddy over in east Vic park. Yummy house Chinese restaurant. Quieter than Emma's and I can see why. It was yummy enough but the menu too big for an easy lunchtime fix. Oh well.






So here I am at the end of a HUGE week and sitting at the airport I know I am ready to head home.
Why does it look like all I did is eat and drink in Perth? Oh coz I did. Food buddies and drinking buddies are here so how do I not? No touristy stuff this time round, but a great week of visiting. I reckon I could live here if I had to. BUT I did have the illusion of being more popular than I actually am because I had to see everyone I know in a short amount of time. I caught up with 4 good friends, only two of whom knew each other before this visit, spoke to another on the phone and made a few new ones too. Busy week. It'll be shell shock when I get back to my little apartment and an empty fridge and calendar.

Boring!

I have no excuse for not writing at the moment coz I am pretty much doing nothing these days. Since my last post, I have been gyming it, got a haircut, went surfing, schmoozed a bit at an indie film forum, done a few tv series marathons, got a hangover, over eaten, seen every movie i want to see, caught up with a few friends, and even got all my tax bits off to the accountant.

 But this week I got bored! I think I need to work again now, or find more people that can play during the day. Or find friends that will actually call me from time to time to catch up or at the least check in. I just realized I didn't make one phone call in or out all weekend! So to counter this what have I done? (not a lot really) I have started dreaming up what to do next. Right now I want to move to another country and re-invent myself. My bestie pointed out that this brings mixed feelings for her. On one hand she is excited for the new adventure I will embark on but sad that I won't be around. I get it, but seriously, who would miss me if I went away for a few months, maybe more? I'm lucky to see my friends every few months as it is.
Oh trust me there is still a lot I could do -  I could do a huge house clean, I could tackle some sewing projects that are buried away, I could write that award winning screenplay, I could research all manor of things from film festivals to internships in New York to holidaying in Thailand to renovating the apartment but these don't encourage much social interaction which is what I am lacking at the moment. Not sure what happened?
 Facebook happened!
What has it done to our social lives? Has it increased social activity due to ease of contact or has it decreased activity due to people now socializing via digital means instead of real live interaction? I'm starting to get over the whole Facebook thing. They say the more online friends you have the fewer actual friends you have.  I tried not adding everyone that I meet but then there is the politics of it not accepting friend requests, coz they know. I thought about unfriending people that I really don't need to know anymore but that didn't seem quite right either. And I find myself sensoring what I post on Facebook because of the range of people that I have on there. I know you can change all your settings so some people see certain things and others don't but that means wading through your friend list to categorize them all. Do you really wanna to be put in a box and categorized? Family, old friends, new friends, school friends, work friends, work friends from one job, work friends from another job, someone I met on holiday once, a friend of a friend who you got drunk with once...the list goes on.
I didn't realize how private I chose to be with certain people until FB. Odd thing to say when I am pouring out my thoughts in a blog that is more accessible than my FB page. I realize there is a work me, a social me, a family me, and a private me. I used to be so focused when at work that I didn't really get to know anyone, and they didn't get to know me. It wasnt until I worked on a very different paced project that I relaxed enough at work to make friends. That's a bit sad really isn't it?
The freelance friend is a funny category. As a freelancer, you jump from project to project and it's now rare that I don't know someone from another job and it's all very friendly as long as you see each other. Once you take the need to spend time together away, then a friendship requires effort! And that's when it gets difficult. Hmm, oh well, I know that in a few weeks time I will, once again be too busy to write these as I will be immersed in another all consuming project. I vowed not to let it take over my life last time, but it didn't work. Methinks I'm gonna have to shake things up a bit real soon!!!! Stay tuned...if you dare!

What's the hurry?

In the words of Ferris Beuller "the world moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around, you could miss it!" (have i used that line before?) It's not until I get out of Sydney that I realize how crazy the city can be. Everyone is always in a hurry, everything is urgent. But is it? Get out of the city and it can take a while to wind down, but it's worth the ride. I went to the NT and yes, I had my boss on my back to get things done immediately, but things in the NT just move slower. There was nothing I could do about it.
I went surfing this week. Its been a few years but after a few wipeouts I got my confidence back. I was rushing it and falling off. I had to zen out and slow down. Once I did that, I got better. It was weird, I had to slow down and think about what I was doing, and the more I thought about it, the less I thought about it. I relaxed and that is what led to happiness. Stop, breathe.

The city teaches us to be uptight and impatient. I do this too. My chosen career has been a role where I am the whip cracker and schedule keeper. My responsibility is to keep things moving and get things done on time. So is it odd that my down time truly is DOWN time. I like to keep busy and on the move. But I know how to do nothing and do when I can!
I did have a few calls for work in my down time and somehow turned them all down. I was offered 1 or 2 days filling in for someone due to illness but I had just locked in my trip up north to go surfing. I was buying tea at the time and asked the sales person "should i take the work or go play?" His initial reaction was - take the work, its work. But then I told him I work in film & tv and he quickly changed his mind, saying "I'm dating someone in that industry! please go play, go spend time with people that love you!". So I did.
Kids have the right idea. I once asked my nephew what we would do if he didn't  have to go to school and I didn't have to go to work. The answer was simply "play". And I think that is beautiful! I f I don't make time to play with some of the kids in my life - that's when the bitch comes out. What is adulthood? Is it responsibility? Is it when you forget how to play? I don' t ever want to forget that. Neither should you - go play!!

Nothing!!!

Pt 1

Doing nothing is harder than you think. Well for me it is. It's quite a challenge, seems I have forgotten how to 'have a life' in one month where I gave a little too much of myself to a project. Seriously - what happened? What the f#*k am I doing with myself? I find myself going days without speaking to anyone and I can survive without leaving my house too. Don't worry, I find it odd too. It's been about 10 days since I finished up completely. I justify it to myself by saying that I deserve the down time and there is nothing wrong with spending a day on the couch doing a series marathon of Avatar- the legend of Korra, and/or other movies I have waiting for me. Then there is the cooking, and the eating! I either need to curb the eating or start burning a hell of a lot more energy on a daily basis. I go to the gym, but I'm starting to get bored with it. I'm so edgy right now! Gotta find a new challenge - any suggestions? Hmm... Too many damn options. I have good and bad days. I was pretty restless today, but thanks to iPad I am writing this with a cup of tea in the sun down at a beachside cafe. So I have until the battery dies coz I forgot to charge it. Still trying to work this into my daily life. This is a damn good start - me likey! I can go anywhere, do anything - but the choice is so vast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pt 2
Nothing seemed like an appropriate title this week.
It nearly became "Nothing or What to do when you find out your ex is getting remarried"
It was a bit of a surprise coz I found out via facebook thanks to mutual friends commenting on his photo of his betrothed with an actual engagement ring on her hand. Sorry, I'm allowed to be a little bitter there coz he never actually gave me a ring that I could wear. So if that is anything to go on, hopefully he has learnt a thing or two about relationships and how to be a decent husband.
Anyhoo, when I first read the news I wasn't sure how to feel about it. Society tells me I should be upset, but I wasn't really, so I became confused. I spoke to a few friends about it and they all think he should have had the decency to give me a heads up so as not to find out through other people. It has been over 3 years since we separated and about 2 since we last saw each other. We are not in each others lives anymore, there are people who know us both and there are photos of a time when we knew each other. I can honestly say if the roles were reversed, I don't know if I would feel the need to tell him about it either. So my answer to the question of What to do when you find out your ex is getting remarried? is NOTHNG, hence the appropriateness of this weeks title.

But on a much more fun note - what I got up to this week - visited a friend in Newcastle, stopped by the Hunter Valley to stock up on some faves, spent lots of play time with nephews at the beach in the beautiful weather, started kick boxing (loving it, mostly coz I'm not as sore as I thought I should be), booked a flight to Perth, decided to shoot the next film at the end of the year and had the satisfaction of putting together a few IKEA pieces for a friend.

Withdrawal...

Back of my car at the end of shoot

Withdrawal from early morning alarms and being on for 12 hours a day, withdrawal from my daily can of V addiction, withdrawal from seeing the same dozen people all day every day, withdrawal from putting everything in my life on hold simply for a job?!

Good and bad - as you can see I am full of mixed emotions. It is very lucky I like what I do for a living, and I have the pleasure of working with a crew that have become a very odd little family of sorts.

I get a little lonely after finishing up on all consuming projects. It's no surprise after spending a month or more of having at least a dozen people depend on me to be there and to have the answers to everything and to make things happen, I get a little lost when I suddenly find an abundance of time for ME! Oh how I have missed me!

I have cleaned my house, done all my washing, caught up with friends and family, I'm going to cook food that I want to eat, I'm catching up on admin, i may get my taxes done early, I've been back to the gym, been to the movies, I've had afternoon naps and I even spent a few hours reading a book today!!!!!

Still so much to do!!

Gotta find a new job for 1 - though my career has been feeling a little stuck lately. It's not bad, I'm freelance and I've been working - so that is good. But I need to figure out the next step. Just like me to never be satisfied with what i have and to always want bigger and better. Me in my career, my relationships, my life, but alas too lazy to do much about it. Damn this ambition! I often think if I wasn't so ambitious I might actually be happy and stay happy. Sooner or later i start to get bored with the same ole same ole. It's taken me a while to realise this after the divorce mind you, and a little longer again to do anything about it. I'm surprised it took so much out of me - see, I am human!

I find myself with many options in front of me, but I am unsure which one to chase and my need to wait a little to see if some fall away while others become a little more prominent in my life.

So til then I will continue to enjoy the ME time and see what happens next.

I went to a birthday party yesterday. A very important one for a boy in my life who adores me and who I just can't get enough of. He is my friend's 4 year old. When he was asked who he wanted at his birthday party, there was his family and friends and Aunty Munky. So the party itself can be a little awkward for a single girl at times. People only know each other as so-n-so's mum & dad or by their relation to the Birthday boy. I only got asked once "which one is mine?", so that's always fun. 

Once everyone had left and as I was extracting cupcakes from the sandpit on cleanup duty, I realised it was just like old times but it used to be the next day with all of us extremely hungover finding beer bottles in the oddest places around the garden. Floors were just as sticky though. While my friends sat, exhausted I got to put together numerous lego projects with the birthday boy and play til the sun went down and he fell asleep in my lap while watching a dvd. awww. Almost enough to make you want one... Best Saturday night date I've had in a while - why can't all boys be this cute and adorable?

Another Birthday rolls around - make it stop!!

So another Birthday is upon me, that mean's its been a year since I started this blog - Yay me! So I hope you have enjoyed it and that something amongst all my rants has amused, confused, entertained or effected you somehow.

I definitely don't feel my age and it seems very odd to say that I am now 39?! I feel like I am lying somehow, probably because no one believes me when I tell them.

Meanwhile, I have been working my little butt off not sure if I love it or hate it - depends on the day you ask me. I love being busy and I do enjoy what I do and the people I work with so all in all pretty damn lucky. I had to do 2 x 6 day weeks in a row then 12 days straight but I got a trip to Alice Springs and Uluru out of it. Though my role on the trip was to organise everything so I had 10 adults asking when the flight is, where do i sit, where do we check in, where are the toilets, who do i have to share a room with, where do we eat, what time do we eat, what's my next line, where are we going next, how far is that, can i go to the toilet now, i want a snack, can you get me a coffee.... the list goes on. So my plan today is to make very few decisions and to not be responsible for anyone else but myself!!  How selfish!!

Something else I realised on this trip away is what a solitary life I lead. My choice and not too concerned about it really, just noteworthy. We lost mobile signal for a good amount of time in Central Australia. We had to go old school and use pay phones and phone cards (which really don't last long at all!) Everyone was desperately trying to call home to speak to loved ones - spouses, children, boyfriends, girlfriends - and most had someone to pick them up at the airport too. I had no one that I couldn't go a day without speaking to or hearing from and I am not used to depending on someone else to do things like pick me up at the airport. And this is not to say that I don't have loved ones, it made me realise that I am rather unique in the way I handle relationships. My friends and family have known me in this type of work for many years now so to not see me and have minimal contact with me for a few weeks, sometimes months is quite normal to them. They knew where I was, and they knew I'd look after myself - coz I always do. Five days in Central Australia is nothing after I've done year long trips to the other side of the planet.

Anyhoo, Happy Birthday to me and thank you all for the well wishes via text, facebook or face to face (what?!) 

And please - no more cake!!!!

Mother's day

I have watched a lot of my friends become mums in recent years and it looks like hard work. So a moment for the mum's out there. Congratulations and keep it up - I don't know how you do it but I salute you for it.

These days most women have careers that need to be put on hold for children. All well and good to say - just do both, but easier said than done. Priorities change when kids become part of the mix. And I think that's for the best - Family and watching your kids grow up is way more important than work and money.

I'd be a mess if i didn't get my dose of kid play time every week. So I do thank those around me for the role as crazy, not fully grown up Aunty in their children's life.  I notice a difference in my attitude if I haven't had some down time with the kids in my life. It just puts things in perspective.
I remember one time when I  was stressing about work and an 8 year old said to me - "oh well, it's not the end of the world", and she was right.

I am stupid busy at the moment so no chance of having children, a relationship or even meeting someone right now but I am getting excited by a new project I am playing with as a writer/director. I'm getting a real charge out of the creative energy. It's my baby, ok. At this stage of my (single) life I don't know if I want kids, let alone will have the opportunity to make one with someone I can stand having around for that much time. So it's the best I can do right now and I'm pretty happy with that. At least I don't have to change it's nappy, and it doesn't cry. But I love it and it is a priority in my life.

But do you really need this Halmark holiday to show your mum how special she is?

My mum is great. Yes I rebelled when I was a younger and moved out as soon as the opportunity came up, I travelled the world and I made a radical career choice with no security at all. But more recently I have been able to spend time with both my parents as an adult and have genuinely enjoyed getting to know my parents on a different level. We generally bond over food whether it's Mum teaching me how to cook special chinese delicacies or Dad taking us out to an amazing restaurant.

Mum's are awesome!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

The Avengers Are GO!!!

So yes it's Saturday night and I'm sitting at home..again.
Yet somehow people seem to think I am out all the time? I have set a meeting for early tomorrow morning and my colleague said "if you are not too hungover". My parents are surprised if I can book in a Saturday night for a family dinner - "Aren't you going out??" they ask. Where and how did I develop such a reputation? (yes, I'm SO innocent!)

I probably would go out more if I had people to go out with. Here is my dilemma - we live in an ageing population, my friends are ageing. They don't go out anymore. I keep having to find younger and younger friends to keep doing what I like to do. The average age of my friends is now about 10 years younger than I am. And once they get a partner, they don't seem to need me around anymore. I never did get that. And I am quite capable of doing things on my own, I'm pretty good company. The schizo/ gemini in me means I can have great conversations with myself.

Here's another interesting thing. So I am at a friends BBQ. The friend is a male friend and his wife, we were old drinking buddies a few years back. So meeting others at the Q and it was automatically assumed that I was a friend of the wife's. Am I the only person that finds this odd? If men are only allowed to have men friends and women are only meant to have women friends why does the majority of society think coupling with the opposite sex is a good idea - makes homosexuality make more sense. Call me crazy but no matter what your sex, age, sexual preference, religion, what have you - I will pretty much treat you the same and I can become friends with you, unless you are an idiot that I don't care to know or until you find a partner and I get de-prioritised again.

People also seem to think I need to 'meet someone', couple me up, blah, blah blah. I am supposed to WANT this. And it baffles me!! Do I actually WANT a partner? Six years ago this week I got married, 3 years ago this week I got divorced. Am I happier now - YES! the difference? no husband!!!! Can someone please tell me why I want one? Ok, I never had to take out the garbage or change a lightbulb and it was much easier getting a load of groceries inside in one trip but what else did i get out of it? I guess I 'fit in' for a while and made my parents happy meanwhile spiralling myself into the deepest pit of depression I had ever experienced. Does that count?

Sorry, if it sounds a little bitter, but it is kinda where my head is at right now. I just don't think me and relationships really go together. I not writing it off, it's just not a priority. If you want a relationship with someone who spends her Saturday nights ranting about social norms and how I don't understand them then be my guest, give it a go - I dare you!

So for those of you who have actually stayed with me through this weeks rant, here's something much more fun - THE AVENGERS!!! I saw it this afternoon and it truly is awesome!! Not "Tin Tin awesome" but "lets destroy NYC with cgi effects and superheros triumphing over aliens from another world AWESOME".  So if you want to watch a movie made to be seen at the cinema - Go see it!!!!

Also, enjoying my quiet weekend because I am out Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon next week. Then we start shooting the week after that - and that will mean I'm pretty much working, or sleeping for 4 weeks solid. So maybe no bloggy blog, we'll see how I go.

So- where do I get this reputation that I am always out, or hungover? Hi - have you read my blog?

Holidays

I am so chilled right now. I love it!

I have had about 2 weeks off between projects. I didn't go away so i got stuff done around the house and just chillaxed and did whatever i felt like doing.

I've watched heaps of movies, i shopped myself out, I've seen friends, gone to the beach, I've been cooking, I have even gone back to the gym and I've been wearing dresses (coz i can)!!!!

I totally lost track of days and time - it was bliss!! I had an impromptu night out in the middle of the week, so spent Thursday kinda hungover. This lead to me being invited out on Saturday night, replying promptly and then forgetting completely about it until I got a text on Saturday night asking "so are you still planning on coming out tonight?"

I reminded my self of what a good cook i am and just how much i enjoy cooking. here's the list
- banana pancakes (life gave me mushy bananas so I made banana pancakes)
- chicken, mushroom, zucchini risotto (I will be eating this for a good week!)
- lamb chop dinner with vegies (one night only)
- hearty chicken and vege soup (ready for winter)
I have a terrible habit of overcatering so I have lots in the freezer ready to go - so if anyone wants a quick meal just give me a call.

i went swimming so much that i had about 3 pairs of swimmers on rotation and still put on slightly damp bikinis this week. I am tanned too - but i hate 'baking' at the beach, so i try to go early or late, or do a walk along the coast instead.

my impromtu wednesday night out was to D'vine - a fantastic little wine bar in Bondi owned by a friend of a friend. So my catch up at the beach turned into dinner, cocktails and 2 bottles of wine and a lost mobile phone later found us hungover watching dvd's on my couch the next day with a yum cha outing and another trip to the beach. yes - life is tough! If you get the chance to check out D'vine - please do it. It rates on everything - food, wine, atmosphere. I think it was reasonably priced - i didn't pay so I didn't pay as much attention. And there are also some very cool artworks on the walls and photos taken by the owner/chef too.

Movies
- The Artist, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Lorax, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Hunger Games
- Cry Baby, Reality Bites, X-Men: Origins, The Big Hit
- Series 2 of Misfits, Supernatural, Grimm

Alas, the party will be over soon enough. I start back to work on Tuesday and it will only get busier after that. But I plan to make a conscious effort not to let my job take over my life this time around. Tho precedent says I will put everything I have into it and lose my life, temporarily, to the project. Oh well, it;s a good thing i like my work!!

Happy chocolate overdose weekend!!

Belly laughs!!!

So I finished up on a project this week - we blew up a car.
I finished up on Wednesday but it feels like forever ago already. I went on a great shopping spree, had dinner with my Cuz, caught up with my flatmate for the first time in 6 months(?!), watched a heap of DVD's and movies that I wanted to see, had my last wrap party for a while, recovered form a hangover, finally let the "crew flu" get the better of me, got called a yak and blew out some birthday candles with 3 of my favourite boys in the world.

And now, I sit on my balcony after finishing a lovely bacon and egg breakfast with tomatoes and mushrooms, basking in the sunlight and typing my blog. This whole not working business is something I could easily get used to. Oh Sugar Daddy, where are you?

So I'm walking through the city yesterday and I saw the funniest thing. Don't ask me why, but it cracked me up - I was crying with laughter and couldn't stop. The friends with me found it amusing but not nearly as amusing as I did. I saw this little old man walking towards me with a plain sweatshirt on and some very bold lettering stating "Big Dick is back in town". It just didn't fit with the image of him so it cracked me up. tho he did have a cheekiness about him which probably loves that people like me see him and laugh out loud. apparently on the back it said "and loving it" but i was too busy bent over laughing to see it.  So I thank you "Big Dick" for giving me the best belly laugh of the week, possibly the year so far.

Here's a question for you all - If you are friends with a couple and they break up - who do you stay friends with? When I broke up with my ex, some friends went one way or the other.  A few friends have managed to stay friends with both of us which is fine. I have friends that used to be friends and no longer get on - so now I just don't see them together, or friends from different parts of your life - just keep them separate right? Now, I know a couple who have broken up - I have known one half of  the couple forever and the other I met through coupledom. I will stay in touch with the other half but I don't think I will be able to be good friends with them simply because I know how much it bugged me when I knew my friends were still hanging out with my ex.

Also - working on a computer screen in full sunlight in polarized sunglasses means you have to tilt your head a bit to get the right amount of tint or to see the screen at all. hehe.

Saying Goodbye

We say this everyday but you never think it will be the last time you say it to someone.

My ex and I used to say "It's not good bye, it's see you later", because despite leaving the country indefinitely I knew it wasn't over between us. After I married and divorced him - I knew it was over between us.

I said good bye to a friend of nearly 20 years as he moved his family to Japan last week, and then I said good bye to an absolute LEGEND of a man that I had the pleasure of working with over the past few years at his funeral on Friday.

Funerals are strange events. And I feel like I have been to a lot in my lifetime. And if you mix up the letters you get REAL FUN. They make you think, don't they?

I have traveled a lot and found that everyone would come to my farewells but when I returned and tried to catch up with them - they were busy. Does this mean they were more excited about me leaving the country than coming back to it? We often take our friends and family for granted and people would put off catching up because they figured I'd still be around the next week. This is to help prove my point that farewells are celebrated more than arrivals or returns. You don't get nearly as big a turn out for a birth, do you?

I didn't cry at my grandfather's funeral. I was 17, in my final year of High school and he'd lived with us all my life. It was a surreal event where I felt like an observer removed from the emotions that were welling up within so many of my relatives and running down their cheeks. I remember seeing a lot of my older male relatives crying, something I had never seen them do before.  I didn't cry at my Grandfather's funeral because I had watched him deteriorate over the last 6 months in a hospital bed to the point where he didn't resemble the person I knew him to be. I felt that him finally letting go of what was left of his life was a blessing. It saved him from any more pain and he would be reunited with his wife, My Grandmother,  who died 14 years earlier. I may have cried at her funeral but I was 3 and not getting enough attention or a lollie or a toy would probably have been reason to cry.

My other Grandfather died a few years before that and the biggest reaction came from my overseas Aunty who hadn't lived in the same country as her family since she was 16. She howled with grief, it was hard to watch.

I put it down to the amount of time you get with a person. I believe most relationships are finite. Some get burned up fast and intense, others are drawn out over years.  I'm not saying one is better than the other everyone is met for a reason some relationships just have smaller hourglasses with bigger holes.
Does this make any sense? Friends I don't see often (particularly those in other countries or cities) - I still hold dear because our hourglass gets put on hold more often, some people you see way too much of and sometimes just need a break from them. Am I right?
I got more than my fair share of time with my grandfather, both of them, compared to my other relatives and my OS aunty. My hourglass was almost empty anyway. I cried at the funeral on Friday because he was a lovely person who I would have liked to have had more time with. My hourglass still had a lot more sand in it.

"If you mourn me a little, it's too much. If you celebrate my life to the max, it's not enough."
Cheers Turps!

Can anyone spare some time?

hmmm - have I run out of things to say?

No - just the time in which to say it.

I used to bag people out for being time poor and claim that they should just be more organised. Now it's me. I blame this full time work thing - when do you rat racers find time for things like going to the post office and catching up on your personal admin. I've had a post it note with TAX written on it since July last year. The other one says BLOG and I did well with that for the first 6 months, which is the goal I set myself and I did it so these are just bonuses now. 

A PA would be great right now - get my groceries, organise plumber and electrician, go to post office to mail DVD's out to festivals that don't accept online screeners(?! how archaic!),  burn some more DVD's (this time at the correct frame rate), buy my nephews birthday presents, email CV out to get a work after this contract runs out...the list goes on and on. Now while someone is doing all of that for me can they squeeze in researching and booking me a holiday!! Maybe a time machine would help - right now i'd use it to stop time while I sleep, then once rested I'd go do crazy stuff with it  Back to the Future style.

It seems to be the time for wrap parties. I have 1 every 2 weeks lately but only 3. Society wants me to get drunk at these things to prove what a good time I am having. I don't understand this. People I work with think I am drunk at these things anyway coz I am not in 'work' mode and social me comes out a bit more and they are not used to her. I have also made a conscious effort to not get tanked at these events as they are work functions; invite me to the after party and that's another story. ;-) I've always kept my work and social life quite separate until more recently when I have been working with people that I want to hang out with outside of work.

Said good bye to a dear friend (emigrating to Japan) who has been a huge influence on my life though not as prominent in it for the last 10 years. He had a farewell yesterday and it dredged up some deep buried emotions in me and left me a little fragile last night. All good, just very contemplative in a what am I doing with my life and what does it all mean kinda way. 

The weather has been crazy, I have been dealing with a case of manflu at work and in denial that i am actually coming down with the same bug. Trooper that I am gives them all the support they need while quietly running myself into the ground. Does this job ever get any easier?? 

Today - the SPOT festival in Randwick and a short film screening with my Cuz.

Have the tables turned?

What in the world is happening to my life??

I went for dinner at the casino last night with my parents. Bistro 80 - a lovely simple menu, excellent tasty food but lacking in service. It wants to be classy but then it serves burgers and chips on paper table cloths?
But here's the thing - I went home and left my parents out to play at the casino and they had a room at the new Darling hotel with all it's high tech lighting and gadgetry. And that was my Saturday night?!

No wonder I'm confused.

I did go out Friday night too - Wrap party for the Dubbo shoot lat December and a screening of the brilliant trailer. I have made a conscious decision to behave at wrap parties now putting in the category of 'work' function. It's true, you never know who might be there and probably not the best idea to be fall down drunk in front of them. So I have a few drinks, catch up with people I hadn't seen in a few months and got a lift home before midnight.

So far - a very non alcoholic weekend. Unlike what I have previously reported on in this blog.  And my body does thank me for it, especially come monday morning and a 530am wake up call. I guess it's thanks to my recent drinking buddy finding a 'real' girlfriend. I hang out with him less and therefore - drink less alcohol.


I am thinking of starting a Sunday session at a pub and just putting the word out to everyone I have ever said "yeah, we should really catch up soon." to. In my work and work related situations, I meet all these people and only ever get a 5 min chat that inevitably ends in "we should catch up" or "we'll go for coffee/drink sometime, i'll call you". Never happens, does it? So to make an effort to catchup with everyone that I have ever said that to I am thinking of putting the word out that I will be at some random pub (preferably a sunny beer garden) on a sunday afternoon and if you really mean to catch up with me then come along.  Don't count on this - I may change my mind and still have to get my shit together to actually organise it.

I did some adult stuff this weekend too - I checked out an auction for an apartment in my block and bought some home improvement stuff (lights and ceiling fans) for my home. Now I just have to get around to getting someone in to install it (hehe - this could take a while, I'm lazy!)

AND while I have been writing this blog today - I baked a cake!! How marvellously domestic of me! The photo makes it look like a gigantic cup cake - but its not. It's a chocolate truffle cake. I don't eat cake much so I' taking it to work tomorrow.

Crazy days ahead, my friends!! Change is good!

Blah

That describes my weekend - Blah.

Maybe it's due to it being a rather big week, or getting the place to myself for a while, or it's just some weird hormonal thing that I don't want to admit to but at least it proves I am female when I have moments of irrational and emotional behaviour.

I barely left my apartment all weekend except for the beach and a visit to my parents house for an epic dumpling making session in honour of my Bro's birthday.

It was a rather busy week. The crew at work were playing up more and more as the days led up to our break week, holiday mode kicked in. And I wasn't home much. Ironically I had a little cooking frenzy last Sunday which created a fridge full of leftovers which i wasn't home to eat.

Monday - I battled through the day barely finishing in time to make it to my own film screening (stupid work - it does get in the way sometimes doesn't it?) The screening went well - I had lots of positive feedback and the audience laughed in the right places, so I guess I did something right. Very touched by the friends and family that did turn up and a little disappointed that some people didn't manage to get there. But it was a school night and all so I'm disappointed but they are still on the Christmas card list.

Tuesday night I went to the movies with girlfriends. "This means war" was much better than I expected and the Paintball scene is just brilliant! Interesting how american films need to tie things up with a pretty bow and a happy ending where everyone is coupled up. I don't want to spoil it incase you do go see it but the girls I was with, myself included, liked the guy that she didn't choose.

Wednesday was relaxing and chilled but I still wasn't home. I had dinner at my folks place - yum.

Thursday - we finished late and Friday I came home and crashed out on the couch in front of the telly - til Sunday!! Kidding - napped in the sunny spot on the floor of my bedroom on Sunday too.

Honestly, I have been a little lacking in energy this weekend and in denial about having a little cold. Actually I'm not sure I do but everyone at work was starting to get sniffles and scratchy throats - dosing up on Vitamin C and echinacea. 

Anyhoo - here's a treat. Kerplonk. Enjoy.

February - the weather, a screening, and VDay!

HI,
Been busy and coz I try not to go on about work on this blog there's not a lot to write about when I'm spending most of my time working. But seeing as the O so important (sarcasm!) Valentines day is upon us, I felt it necessary to speak up.

V day is dumb! It's a hallmark holiday that promotes consumerism and enforces social stereotypes that you MUST be in a couple and if you are not - why not! It also puts us back to the dark ages of sexism where it's about men needing to prove their love to women. My father used to tell us that he didn't need one day on a calendar to show my mum he loves her. He continues to buy her flowers whenever he feels like it.

Christmas is about family and it reminds me that I don't have one of my own and V day reminds me that I don't have a relationship. I'm ok with this, why is society not ok with it? It's not about me being a bitter loveless old woman, it's about me not conforming with society and not understanding the expected norm.

Anyhoo, what I can say about work is that it's really tiring doing 10 hr days and trying to maintain a social life and alcohol should not be the answer. So I ask you - why is it so tasty?

Oh - the weather!! How annoying has it been lately? Get your beach gear together and head down in time for it to cloud over and rain on you, wait an hour, it gets colder, wait another hour and the sun comes back out?!

My little short film is being shown on the big screen tomorrow night. That's pretty exciting - a little nerve -racking. Hoping it gets a good reaction and everyone gets a little giggle out of it. Also found out I am expected to get up in front of the whole theatre and speak about my film - I have no idea what i'm going to say, guess I'll just wing it.

Oz Day?!

I have nothing much to say this week?!

Just back at work and kinda routine this week.
yoga, ocean, work, eat, sleep.
Movie - young adult.
Australia Day/invasion day /bogan day and most importantly my Grandfather's Birthday - BBQ, pavlova


For the first time in 3 years I didn't do the Havaiana thong challenge.
I already have 2 large inflated thongs in my living room from previous years.


A quiet nights out with friends - Din Tai Fung and a mini pub crawl /catch up that was well and truly done by midnight. Yes things have changed.


My other creative outlet has had a few achievements this week. Went back into the edit suite for a few tweaks and got my little film a screening at a big cinema. OUTCASTS.


Interesting tid bit - according to  my femanine hygiene products "4 year old's laugh an average of up to 300 times a day while adults only 15 - 100" -  so what I glean from this is that I have the  mind of a 4 yo.

Goong Hei Fat Choy!!

Back to work, an unexpected foodie week, spiritual well being and a kick ass movie - how else would I celebrate the chinese new years eve?

Back to work is a bit boring - so I'm gonna skip that. All I will say is I love being able to work from home!

FOOD - tried 2 great restaurants this week. 

Sokyo @ The Star (aka Star City Casino). It's a rather swanky new Japanese restaurant in a new hotel next to the revamped casino. The menu tries a little too hard with fancy combos at times but it is also a great opportunity to try stuff not commonly available - Like the morton bay bug sashimi. The presentation is faultless and everything tasted great just take it easy on the ordering. Go with a group and order a plate of everything that tickles you and then get seconds if you like it. And save room for dessert!

Atmosphere was loud and hip but thinned out pretty early. The bar and cocktail menu are very impressive along with the 4 figure bottles of wine on offer - Ouch. Thanks Dad!

Chefs Gallery - Cnr of George st and Bathurst st in the city. YUMMO! Just wish I was hungrier. This place was set up by the same guy behind Din Tai Fung but specialises in hand made noodles instead of dumplings. We got primo seating at the bar in front of the noodle making master. Very Cool!! Just go - it's yummy and they have desserts made to look like piggy's but I forgot to take a photo. But go to the link and download the menu for pics.

Spirituality and health - I have been very good and getting up for early yoga classes followed by a dip in the ocean. It gets me outta bed in the morning but also sends me to it early in the evening. Not that interesting to write about either and I would end up offending too many people with my attitude towards spirituality and how to get it - some other time when I feel like a rant.

Kick ass movie  - The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn in 3D!!!

An absolute must see! Now, I've never been a huge TinTin fan from my youth or anything so I was expecting an epic animation of an ok boy story. I was completely blown away by this, absolutely brilliant film making. Peter Jackson, Steven Spielberg and a huge list of other recognisable names. I never imagined these 2 working together but the result is mesmerising to watch and very entertaining not to mention the potential for many, many sequals to come. Is it live action or is it animation? It's like they did a live action movie and when their imaginations went further than they knew how to realise, they animated it. But because it is a careful blending of both it creates a seamless new look to the film so that animated sequences, particularly stunts and explosions, are even more believable. This is breakthrough cinema!

And for Chinese New Year - I will be having dinner with my family and making gin dois (fried sesame dumplings with red bean paste inside) with 3 generations of cooks. Photo is not the actual  ones I made (because I haven't made them yet!) but so you know what I am talking about.

Til next week: Happy Year of the Water Dragon!!

Beefcheeks, dumplings and my week off.

What a great morning to sleep in! Rain outside and no commitments til this afternoon.

This was my one and only real week off - I start a new contract on Monday and am already getting into the routine of work. I did my laundry yesterday and am diligently writing my blog on Sunday before heading off to my parents place for dinner via afternoon tea drop in on friends. The holidays are over...for now.

I still didn't quite get to everything I needed to get done. I did get my car rego'd,  floated around Gordon's Bay on giant inflatable thongs with bestie, catch up in Manly, up to Nelson Bay dumpling making and eating session, haircut, check in with next week's job and even started on my taxes and read some scripts for next week. Oh and to prove I am not a complete alcho - I stayed in on Friday night and only had 3 drinks on Saturday night and was home by 1030. (tho 2 of those drinks were absinthe?!)

It's been a huge movie week-  I saw Puss in Boots - which I had been wanting to see for months and HIGHLIGHT of the week - The MUPPETS!!!!!! And I've been catching up on some DVD's too and the original animation of Avatar: The Last Air Bender. Which means happy me!

Now - The Absinthe Salon should be experienced at least once.  If I actually liked the taste of aniseed and liquorice more then I would probably love Absinthe, but as it is I've tried it a few times with varied and interesting experiences to follow, I don't need it in my life. It's not like it's tequila - ahh Patron, my one and only.

Afterwards I went in search of a good feed and ended up with beefcheeks at the Dolphin hotel and they were excellent. My fellow diner had the lamb which was also a gastronomical delight. For Pub grub - highly recommend the food there. Beefcheeks - who knew?

My little tummy was so satisfied from the Absinthe experience and the beefcheeks that I was more than ready to go home after that - so I did. And I like the word beefcheeks too - can you tell.

Now because I am such a grown up here's a photo of MY muppet (thank you FAO Schwartz) and I'm off to play with the kids.

A little Magic and a few more cocktails

I have just been reprimanded for pre-mature blogging. Who knew my weekend would end up to be so eventful?!

If you haven't been to the Victoria Room in Darlinghurst on a sunday night for their Performance Carnival night you haven't really been to the Victoria Room at all!

Magic tricks, singing, tap dancing, pole dancing, trapeze and cocktails - now that's a winning combination. And it helps when the Magician is an old friend who is getting you cocktails on his bar tab - recommend the sugar daddy and the horny devil. Did I mention the cocktails have cool names that are fun to order too?!

Rewind a little to the Dumpling and Noodle house on Victoria St in Potts Point (between the Soho and Doughboy). It's a tiny little place with yummy and cheap dumplings. It's pretty tight inside so we got a prime table outside on the street - til the rains came. We were lucky enough to get a table inside so we could continue our scrumptious meal and watch the waters rise to cover the footpath where we were just sitting.

I mentioned it is next to the Soho - well the Soho was empty but had a sign out front that said $8 cocktails. Nuff said? Just a starter - Apple and cinnamon mojitos.

Two skills which you rarely see combined are static trapeze and singing. Each difficult on their own to most and very impressive when a toned and  topless guy does both at the same time. It got a little scary when they decided to re-enact the Dirty Dancing routine (never did like that stupid song).

Highlight to the night was the pole dancing. Pole Dancing has kinda a bad reputation as a stripper thing. But if you have ever tried this (and I have) there is a definite talent to being able to do this well. Funny (and a shame) there are not more men doing this coz it uses a lot of upper body strength and men are generally biologically advantaged in this department. Some absolutely beautiful and powerful moves were demonstrated to us tonight by a very fit man in sequinned shorts. Most impressive.

Did I mention how great the Magician is? Magic is always fun. Magic Dave roams from table to table performing tricks, sorry, illusions, and making people laugh. I'm sitting right in front of him and I can't figure out how he does these card tricks and slight of hand stuff with a little handkerchief. But I love being caught up in the illusion too, so I don't know if I want to know.

In Summary - Go to the Victoria Room on a Sunday evening. A total WOW experience and a great night out.

Sydney Festival

Every year I tell myself that I really should get into the Sydney Festival more. Somehow each year, I don' t quite get there.

This year I have managed to go to Flickerfest opening night and to First night in Hyde Park - kind of.

Flickerfest - I figured it was the place to be for a filmmaker who has just finished a short film. I went, I sat on the incredibly uncomfortable chairs for the way too long speeches and enjoyed the selection of shorts on an unseasonably cool summers night at Bondi Beach. I could have stayed for the afterparty but I was quite content to go home. Yes, I'm getting old, ok! But I've just really been enjoying sleeping lately - it's holiday mode and who am I to fight my urges?! And it really can be quite the wank fest at these industry do's and sometimes I'm just not up for it, not to mention the breakfast plans I had for Saturday.

First night - A huge event which takes over a good chunk of Sydney's CBD with multiple stages and performances. I checked out the Art Gallery and walked through Hyde Park a few times and enjoyed waling down the middle of city streets usually full of car traffic. I knew a few other people in the crowd and thought great, lets get out amongst it and experience the Festival.  We walked through it, experienced the disappointment of the ANZ "chill zone" at the Keystone Festival bar, saw some cool blow up Tim Burtonesque characters on Macquarie St and out the other side of Martin Place in search of a small bar.

Bit of a fail on my part here as I seem to be rather forgetful this week. I forgot my wallet when I went grocery shopping earlier this week and actually left the house without my phone tonight (I had to go back and get it), I went on to mistakenly wander down Clarence St believing it was Kent St, lost the little festival book we were using as a guide for some places to find and directed us around the block to find a little cocktail bar on Burton St in Darlinghurst.

Clarence St  did bring us to the Red Oak Beer Cafe and tasting plates for $20. I got the seafood one to the left. I love Seafood Chowder!! And honey beer and crisp apple cider aint bad either. My companion got the meat plate which also got a thumbs up. the only downside was that it wasn't filling enough so we went a few doors down and got Oporto - you can never go wrong with Oporto!


Now my plan for the evening was to eventually circle back to the Festival - but I really don't like crowds these days. I'm going though a bit of a hermit phase, but not completely coz part of me still gets me to the event before remembering my dislike of the general public. I know it doesn't make sense but I really am on holiday mode right now and I don't have to make sense - it's my blog!

Back to the festival and the crowd around Norman Jay's Bus and a failed attempt to find a friend in the crowd. Damn text messages wouldn't go through!! So we decided to go for cocktails which led us on a roundabout trek to 13b Cafe & Cocktail Bar aka The Safehouse.  The cocktails were fantastic the "Amazingly Perfect" cocktail really was Amazingly Perfect and easy to drink (vodka, passionfruit, grapefruit juice and sweetness). Then I had a drink with Maker's Mark, maple syrup, lime, rosemary and pepper. Interesting, a touch sweet with the maple syrup, and weird licking pepper off the side of your glass but very drinkable. Atmosphere, service and even toilets were all impressive, The cockroach and spider put a bit of a downer on the whole experience.

Heres hoping my mate survives the spider bites. If he doesn't - Who wants to come to the Victoria Room with me on Sunday night for Performance Carnival?

Happy New Year?

New year's - A contemplative moment. No big party, no big hangover - have I lost it or have I matured? I hope neither. I had a quiet night in at a friends house with pizza and cocktails and fireworks and a lot of catching up.

As 2011 draws to a close I was simply tired and pre-occupied I have been working pretty hard this past year and hardest in the last few months when I decided not to make any money and do a couple of love jobs. Best decision ever!!

Another year done and what have I learnt?
Professionally - I learnt to say no and to stand up for what I am worth. I do know what I am doing and I'm pretty damn good at what I do too.
I learnt the direction that I do NOT want to head in.
I CAN write.
I also accidentally stepped onto the path of Directing. Something I never really thought I wanted...until I tried it. So that is why I am so preoccupied at this time - I am in the midst of finishing up my first short film, first of My Own that is and I am extremely excited about it.

Personally - Well, still on my own and not too much has changed.
Many of my friends are coupled and familied up, settling further into the suburbs. I have new little babies around for me to play with and be a bad influence on and spoil.
New friends seem to be younger in general and don't get half my references to the "old days" - hahaha!
Made it to Uluru (finally) this year.
Found the creative in me and gave it an outlet.
Stressed myself out and proved I can sleepwalk.
Burnt my ears in Dubbo, killed a pair of red gumboots, flew through the air with the greatest of ease on the flying trapeze (once), swam in the ocean in Winter, mastered various dumplings and got slightly addicted to deal websites.

Hope you all had a great year and best wishes for all of us in 2012!!