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!!

Merry Christmas vs Bah, Humbug?!

I should say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all but I'm afraid it wouldn't be very sincere right now. I wish you all well,but I don't have the energy for a hearty, upbeat and cheery greeting.

The Christmas Spirit has had a little trouble finding me this year.
I had the usual lunch at my parents place surrounded by family, food and lots of lego (nephews) but having worked (and i use this term loosely as there was no financial gain) almost 22 days straight, possibly more, depending on where you wish to draw the line - excuse me if I am a little exhausted.

What was I so busy with??

I went to Dubbo for 17 days to work in some very muddy and unexpectedly cold conditions and I chose to sandwich that project with 2 short film projects - one of which was my very own where I had the thrill and honour to work with a much loved comedian from my younger days.

These little red boots were new and virginal on Day One in Dubbo. The photo to the left is what they spent most of the next 17 days looking like. I put them to rest in Dubbo as they had started to crack and die on me (photo to right).
They did me well and I was sad to see them go.  RIP little red boots!

And YES, I went to the Zoo in my  "downtime".   GO TEAM ZOO!!!


I got home form Dubbo on Monday night (after about a week of night shoots, so my body was kinda jet lagged) I spent the next 2 days set dressing and finalising all the requirements for my own project which I shot with friends on Thursday, Friday was running around between an Editor and de-dressing my set/location. Friday night - me time, so I did my grocery shopping and started cleaning the house, Saturday a deluxe car wash  while I finished my Christmas shopping, then home to cookie baking, present wrapping and a bottle of Sparkling Shiraz. ;-)

So, Christmas has felt like a bit of a chore and to be honest for a single woman in her late 30's,  it can suck a little. What does Christmas mean to you? It is a time to be surrounded by family, friends, and celebrating with loved ones. I have an amazing seafood meal with family and give gifts to those close to me - which is lovely but on the other side it can be a bit of a reminder of what I don't have. Oops, I have a career and an apartment in the eastern suburbs, did I forget to have a family? I am happy with who I am and the choices I have made in my life to get me to where I am but I am also home alone writing this blog on Christmas night. Nuff said.

I don't write this for your sympathy or your pity - it's simply what is in my head right now.

This week I also found proof that I can sleep walk - it was pretty freaky!!

love what you do!

I'm sure no one missed me last week. I have been in Dubbo for work playing in the mud.

This is the only industry I know where people are willing to work so hard and not get paid - and why? Because we love it!!!

Passion. I am SO lucky to have a job that I really enjoy. I am spending 12 hours running around in sun, rain, dirt, mud, day, night, hot and cold with people who are just as in love with what they do and it is great being surrounded by like minded people.

If you are a regular reader here you will know how miserable i got when i took the office job. never again. I'm sticking to doing what I know and love. AND it's always different project by project, always new challenges.

I don't have a lot on my mind right now other than being very busy with my passion until early next year and beyond. I will probably have more to say towards the end of the year. I tend to start reassessing things again. With a birthday in June and then new years, i do this quite regularly - where am i? what have i done with myself and what's the next step.

I'm excited at the moment - it can only get better, right. life is good.

The Island

Do you remember the line in "Stand By Me" - I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?

 

My 12 yr old friends were pretty special but I think I have been lucky enough to experience it again at 30.

When I was 30 - we had the ISLAND. We were all young and single and having fun. It was a bit like the show "Friends". We would have weekly adventures that would involve all of us, some weeks more focused on some characters and less on others, regular special guests and lots of bit parts and extras who you can't remember the names or faces of anymore. There were a few intergroup hook ups - some that lasted, some that didn't. It was during a surge of reality TV where people were voted off if they weren't liked enough. We developed an easy way to explain what someones relation to the group was by using this ISLAND analogy. There were the key players - we were citizens of the island. If you were a new friend to the island but we weren't sure about you yet - your visa was awaiting approval. Short term boy/girl friends - temporary residents. Friends who were in but we just didn't see as often - permanent residents who could come and go as they pleased. But if you crossed us, ba-bom - voted off and you were no longer welcome on our island.

The island over time - like the land masses on this earth that separated out to form the continents - has also spread out into satellite islands. Most are married, getting married or co-habitating with partners - they have their own little islands now. Me? I have my own little island and the best boat - coz I tend to be the one that goes and visits everyone. No one's island is quite big enough to get us all on it anymore and I can't remember the last time we all saw each other. I don't even know if that time was as special to them as it was to me. I like to believe it was coz I am still very close to them all, I just don't see them every week like we did back then.

I miss the times I had a close group of friends I could rely on. Now I have a little hermit shack on my little island. I visit the other islands from time to time, and have new networks of islands that I spend time on. Can't wait to see who I might meet at age 50!!

Another big week!

I actually got through quite a bit this week - despite also procrastinating a hell of a lot.
If I want to get fit then I need to exercise - this means going to the beach and swimming. But Y'know, it's been a while so I have to take it easy. And after a good little swim I need to recoup by lying in the sunshine on the sand for a bit. I wasn't lazing at the beach or procrastinating - i was "exercising". There you go - justified.

Loving the whole "working for myself" thing. I do what i want when i want.

How can I be so incredibly busy yet feel so incredibly lazy at the same time. Is that a contradiction?
Maybe if I wasn't so lazy, I'd actually get everything done and therefore wouldn't feel stupid busy.
Been sleeping in, got a new car stereo installed, did a chunk of Christmas Shopping (YAY - toys are us!!), did Sculptures by the sea, caught up with mates and made some new old connections.

Things are so disposable these days. I buy a new pair of Havaianas every year, cars aren't made to last much more than 5 years, financial records only have to be kept for 5 years, I disposed of my marriage after only 3 years, I work freelance contracts.  Everything is disposable. BUT beware - Things have a tendancy to come around again.

I have been making new connections with people from my past this week. I got an email from someone from the very beginning of my career 18 years ago asking me to work on his new project, and I also found someone I worked with back in 96 by the pure coincidence of doing a small favour for a friend. Very Random! People remember you - it can be good and bad - but so far it's been good for me.

I really need to reduce my alcohol intake of late (I blame you ROB!) I have been drinking like I am on holidays - ie Often.  The other downfall is the saturday morning sleep in and hangover which means you don't get your ass to the beach until all the bloody tourists have set up camp.

HIGHLIGHTS
HINKY DINKS - highly recommended small bar at 185  Darlinghurst Road.  I had a Dinky 5-0 cocktail. So yeah, a funky 60's decor with cool cocktail names, little kitchen containers like my mum has and they have a mini popcorn maker!! So much fun. But get in early - they close at midnight.

BANK ACCOUNT - A hefty surprise pay out from the corporate job that i quit. Happy Bank account! :-)

So there you go - my priorities and what makes me happy - alcohol, money and cute popcorn makers!