Burning Daylight

I have 1 full day of work left before the entire city of Canberra shuts down for 2 weeks over Christmas. Its a beautiful thing, unique amongst the towering and glittery metropolies of Australia.
Unusually I've been working right up to the wire. Typically December is a slow down with the last week being a blur of Xmas parties, work BBQ's and random drink driving tests.
Not this year, this year has finished busy. So I have to say I'm glad that I have time to jot down a few notes. I haven't even had time to go shopping for presents, I've got an office Secret Santa, a nieces first birthday, Jesus's birthday and my Dad's to sort out.
My apartment is decoration free, mostly because I haven't been home and partly because all the decorations are at my ex-Wife's place (but at least they'll get used, so thats a good thing). I haven't sent out any Christmas cards because I find it a pain in the arse and I've only received one. People are getting the message.

And yet I'm waiting on that last minute phonecall from Sydney, insisting that we force through an action with a customer on issue X... Perhaps if I play dead.

Well I only have a few more days left before presents are due and as usual it looks like descending into a last minute scrabble. I both like and detest Christmas shopping. I like buying presents for people I genuinely do. But Christmas has this pressure cooker feel to it that shits me and nobody wants an IOU.
Like anything creative shopping for that perfect present requires a state of mind or grace that cannot be forced. Its an ascension of the spirit and budget that should reflect harmony and happiness.

I'm not quite there yet.

Why, Why, Why

My car is back in the shop.
I've had this vehicle for 2 months and its been off the road for about a third of that time.
I name thee Achilles.

This time it turns out the drive shafts I had replaced where for a 4 cylinder Landie not my 6 cylinder. The correct parts won't be ready until mid Jan...

On the plus side its Christmas soon, so having a car will be less of an issue as I'll be up in Sydney for a week. After I have discharged my fillial duties it'll be off to NZ for a New Years monster PAR-TEH with Seraph, Mrs Seraph and others.
Possibly might be low key, we'll see...

Actually I'm really looking forward to it. This year has been one of huge changes and I'm grateful for the chance to drop out of it all. And to be honest I don't know what the next year will bring. Or where the hell I'll be or what I'll be doing. As I'm typing this out I have this sense of big change coming. Perhaps a new city, definately a new job.

A wiser man than I once told me 'everything changes, nothing stays the same'. In my book he has not been proved wrong. The way to handle change in my opinion is to either be effected by it or be responsible for it. When ever I can spot that a change is coming or is needed, I try and face it on my terms.
Otherwise it can just be terrifying.

A lot of Soccer

While some people manage to cripple themselves horribly in a social game (LINK)
I manage to win 'Best and Fairest' awards.
This weekend was Soccer a go-go, had the final Saturday Morning match of the year (Blue team got pantsed by the Red 2-1). We will now retire for the Summer and regroup around March some time. Its just too darn hot trying to play in 30c+ temperatures, or so those guys say...
I've just started playing in a Sunday league and their games are Sunday arvo. I've only played in 2 games we lost last week and this week pulled off a 1-0 victory. Part of the way the league works is a Golden Boot award and a Best and Fairest award at the end of the year.
Golden Boot = Most Goals
Best and Fairest = For being a good sport

Its a lot of fun and everyone is there to enjoy themselves (except the odd dickhead who has nothing else in their miserable meaningless lives)(but you'll always get at least one).
Part of the responsibilities is being a ref for other games. Usually the teams can ref themselves very well (being adults) but its part of the game. As I got Best and Fairest I got to ref a game as well.
Which gave the chance to see last years champs (Goalissimo)play - those guys where fraking amazing!! The other team was great, but these guys made them look like they were underwater. Wow!
Both teams will ofcourse utterly destroy my team, Nerds FU, when they next meet.
We should probably just forefit now and save our energy...

Do you believe me now?

I filled in on the radio last night and brought along my regular late night radio conspirator Deano with me.
We programmed a fairly loose mix of Motown, jazz, funk and the occasional soul track thrown in. we even got a couple of calls telling us how awesome we were. Always helps I think.
Here's a photo of me looking all professional and with a cold head!

Bubbajay's Totally Awesome and Well Researched Book Review

His Dark Materials By Phillip Pullman
I really recommend this series. Its a trilogy of The Nothern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

In a nut shell, we start off in a parallel world were the Reformation never happened and neither did the two World Wars. People also have personal Daemons which are a physical manifestation of themselves (its get weirder and more fun).

The writing style is actually quite light and although the book is marketed at 'young adults' ("nosin' around, nosin' around") Pullman advises that he had no particular audience on mind. To that end there are some great ideas explored about the soul and the nature of identity, awareness and consciousness. As well as an ever quickening pace of an adventure that involves armoured Polar Bears, Zeppelins, murderous children, angels, tourture and fanatical priests.
In comparing these book's to the Harry Potter series, the principal difference in my opinion is Pullman is a better writer. He knows when to economise, when he has painted a scene with just the right amount colour for us the reader to see as well as allowing us to see though the eyes of the characters. He also has that rare talent for a fantasy writer to be able to invent names without employing the lesser used consonants.
I've never been a fan of the Fantasy Genre for the simple reason that, to me, the author spends far too much time inventing the setting, its history and people's and too little time on prose. The story doesn't seem to want to move along without the usual crutches or clichés.

His Dark Materials works for me because its is simple on the one hand and on the other explores some really great ideas about humanity, evolution, quantum theory.
I can't imagine what some children will make of it, but for me it was good fun.

Four Ninja Stars: ****

PS If you do decide to buy it, look for special edition covers (not the movie tie in's) in the back of the book there are some 'bonus features', that mark Pullman out as good writer.

Bike Riding

Its not the distance, I've been getting better at that (last Saturday was a ride around Lake Burleigh Griffith 37km and a 20km ride on Sunday) its my seat.
Or more specifically my tail bone. I've noticed it starts to cramp after about the 10km mark.
Will have to find a more comfortable seat (perhaps one with arm rests!!)

Well other than bicycling around and catching some really sweet air on the odd jump (like swear to god, one had to have been 5 feet at least) there was an election on Saturday.

So some buddies and I held an election night BBQ and there were fun and games (election night Bingo, which I won!) and a new government.
I'm a little stunned to tell you the truth. I had a good feeling that Labor would get in, but certainly not by the margin they did. And no body went the mongrel in their victory or defeat speeches.
It was eerily civilised. Like I said stunned mullet.
Having voted earlier in the day, I was full of vim and vigour for the democratic process. Labor has run an aggressive campaign from January when Rudd took over. Canberra is traditionally safe Labor and after the humiliating defeat last time... I was just gobsmacked by the result this time round.

To be continued...

Some good old fashion ROCK

These guys were my world in '85.
Its time to reconnect with some fantastic good old fashion family values.

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?

Quiter

I got invited to sing as part of the University of Canberra Choir a couple of months ago. They are preparing to sing Handel's Messiah this Friday.
The problem is, after 2 months of practises, I still don't know the music well enough to be confident to sing it. Its weighing on me a bit, I made a commitment and now I'm backing out on it.
That said, there are a few things I don't like about the choir;
- For most of the last few weeks the practises have been lead by a reserve back up instructor, not the guy with the mad skills.
- Then there's this officious little old lady who wants to run things, but in a 'I've got nothing better to do with my life' way. It kinda pisses me off to tell you the truth. Especially when I get a phone message from her during my work day wanting me to ring her back about some trivial crap
- Its a fairly average choir I would have to admit. I could wonder how much of that is my fault, having never heard let alone sung most of the music before, but there are veterans there who should be on top of their game and who are not.

Anyway I could go on, the performance is this Friday but I've got to be on the radio so its a no go on that front.
A bit disappointing, but there it is.

The last time I played golf

Last week was busy, in a good way. My radio station did its radiothon we were aiming for $35,000 and got $41,381. So all in all an outstanding result.
For my part I was there every night from about 5.30 to 10 answering phones, spruiking, organising stuff. Just glad to be part of it all to tell you the truth. Did a massive show on Friday drive (5 - 7pm) got $1,500 in two hours. Feeling good about that.

Well on Thursday I took time out from my busy schedule to play golf for the Legacy society. Actually I though I was playing golf on the Friday, but a reminder call got me out of the office and into a golf shop for pants, shoes and a crash course lesson as to exactly how you hit a golf ball.
armed with a 15 minute tutorial I rocked up to the golf day.
It was an 'Ambrose' with a 'shotgun start'.
Ambrose - team event, everyone tee's off and the team can then play on from the best shot. The team must play at least 3 drives from each player.
Shotgun Start - Each team is assigned a hole to tee off from, the proceeds in a clock wise direction.

I was crap.
Possibly the worse person on the field but a lengthy margin. I did sink some putts, but that was about the limit of my contribution.
I did have fun though.

A good idea at the time

This has been an insanely busy weekend I have to tell you Bubba's.
My radiostation is holding its annual radiothon, so its been a lot of work at the station answering calls, co-hosting and stuff in between. Its running all week so I'm locked in for a fair bit of it.

But I had some time this morning to go on an actual mountain bike ride. I went up Mt Stromlo it would be about 20kms all up (and down). I consider myself the kind of guy who is happy to take a challange, especially if there are thrills and spills involved.
Well the medium track I took today was no exception. Thinking back on it, I have to ask, just what they hell was I thinking! I mean for the most part going down the track was less than half a metre wide!! One side was up and the other was a steep down!!

Did I mention I was flying down this thing at amout 30kph!
I've had some time to thnk about my actions and I have ask myself, just what the hell was I thinking!?!

Can't wait to try it again though.

Melbourne Cup - Gamblor

Yesterday was Melbourne Cup, the so called 'race that stops a nation'.
Which to be fair its always been a bludge day only in Canberra it is now a public holiday. Hoteliers and restaurateurs complained a bit at the idea, but otherwise everyone else seemed happy enough. Monday was pretty much a write off for productivity as well (lord knows if I was able to I would have bunked off too).
Anyway, Tuesday lunch time and I was down the pub with some mates, one of whom had a clue about horses. 7 of us pooled $20 bucks each as a kitty and we began picking ponies.
There was beer, steak and chips for lunch and good company.

Only one beer fuled bogan fight to be seen and otherwise a pleasant afternoon. The horses ran and thankfully we each made our $20 investment back AND $10 profit. Everyone was jolly excited until we worked out how much we actually make an hour and we had been at the pub for 5 hours.

Such is the vicious grasp of gambling.
Still it was a fun day out. The only problem with the day as far as I could tell, it was almost impossible to find a restaurant or take away joint open for dinner. Perhaps that will change next year.

Changing of the Guard

It is a time of changes and it is with a heavy heart that I wave goodbye to my F-100.
Too be honest I'm not too sorry, there comes a point in every relationship when its time to move on - the skill is being able to recognise that point and being prepared to be honest about it.
In the case of my truck it was the growing regularity of stalls while idling that really did it. I could look past the noise, the total lack of creature comforts (such as a passenger side window that could roll down, or holes in the side of the truck that would blast freezing cold air onto my leg during winter that no amount of detective work could uncover).
I could forgive the absence of power steering, its perchance for fish tailing in the wet weather and the car radio that would only play out of one speaker and that could not be heard at all above 60 kph.
I could forgive all that because it was awesome.
People stopped and looked and starred and wanted a ride. It could haul arse like few things in the world. Its tray could hold over a ton of crap and then some. It was big, it was tough and I was the only person who could drive it.
It was a totally awesome 1979 F-100.

It was also starting to cost me to maintain it. In the last few months it's been in the shop 3 times, all for some fairly major work. I did not take me too long to work out what it was going to cost to fix the current problem (again).
So I had to harden my heart and clear my head. This needed some tough decisions and they had to made without consideration for the truck.
On Saturday I picked up my new wheels, a 2001 Land Rover Feelander. Its not an apples to apples comparison. But it is an improvement and a better ride. The radio works as does the tape deck and CD stacker. There is an abundance of buttons on the dash, the purpose of many I can only begin to guess at. The engine is more sophisticated than the F-100, even though its a 6.
But at the heart of it all is the right vehicle for my needs.

Haven't got a name for it yet, but I am looking forward to driving it home tonight.

Crushing Victory

Conan was once asked to describe the ideal victory, in general terms was something something, crush, something something, kill/destroy, following this was a general raping and looting theme, followed by the promise of a warm teddy, hot chocolate and an early night.

Well thats his view and he's entitled to it. For me victory (at soccer) is a 7 - 4 pantsing of the Red Team. We kicked off in 25C+ with 4 Blue against 5 Red. By the end of the first half we were 1-3 and the Red guys were cocky as all get out. It was hot, I was slighty hung over - but I knew I had a secret weapon.
By the end of the second half (we play 3 halfs, trust me it makes sense) we were up 4-3. but the heat was taking its toll. the Reds had a guy they could rotate in goal so their team would have a reasonably fresh player AT ALL TIMES.
But then my secret weapon arrived, his name is Vince and he's an instructor at my gym and from the Caribbean! There are oak tables and granite cliffs that look like warm butter next to this dude, he is cut! He's also a really friendly guy and likes to play social soccer.
The next half was a humiliation for the Red team. A crushing humiliation!!!
Vince popped in two goals in short order, both totally awesome!

So thats 2 back to back victories for the Blues!! I'm sure the Reds are even now hatching some scheme for pay back...

In the country, people can hear you clearly

This weekend was a weekend of victories!!
Was on the radio on Friday for the drive show (5pm - 7pm) and I totally kicked arse!! Had people ringing me up telling me what an awesome show I was doing it was really great fun!

On Saturday the Blues whomped, those scumbag Reds!! It was totally sweet, and by totally sweet I mean it was totally awesome!! Twas was a 3-0 whitewash. I played my part, being the goal keeper of doom. Plus my foot still hurt from last weekend so I really wasn't all that mobile.
But we won!! 3-0 is the biggest margin we've had for a while. Which makes the victory just that little more extra tasty!!

For the rest of the day and Sunday as well I was helping out at the Murrembateman Field Day. Its a big fair for the local farming community (Murrembateman is about 20 minutes to the West of Canberra. A friend of my ex-wife had asked me a few months ago if could help out, I said no problem. It was an easy gig, just had to read out announcements for stall holders and visitors; you know the usual 'lost child', 'go to stand such and such for a great discount on worms farms' etc...
The people were fantastic, I love volunteering to do this kind of thing - you always meet some really great people. I was even given a meal voucher to buy my lunch. Having gone to a couple of these field days when I was spruiking wine last year it was a lot more enjoyable to be there as a volunteer.
Added to which I brought some great Batlow apples and some pretty impressive fishing lures. Plus I got the drive the truck around the country side, like a real cowboy!!

Now its Monday and I have to wear a tie again.

Awesome Mo Poster

Movember is a coming...
This should help to get y'all in the mood!

Spring is Sprung

Spring in Canberra is my favourite time of year, my next favourite is Autumn.
The weather is warming up, the colours take on a fantastic hue during the morning and evening. It feels as if the world is waking up after Winter.

So I thought it might be fun to review the day on which we all might die, so visit the DEATH CLOCK.

I'm off to find some flowers.

Oh Woe is Me

Isn't it funny when one thing goes wrong it can reverse your whole outlook on life.
Yesterday I got a reaming from my boss, I've learnt a long time ago to not take it personally - but still to go from a high off last week to a chewing out (it wasn't really that bad). Does shake the old confidence though.

That and I just got a message from a girl whose car I backed into with my truck.
Oh boy! I ummed and ahhred about leaving a note... in the end I did the karmically responsible thing. So now I guess I've got to pay the piper on that one.

This morning I'm fighting off the little black dogs trying to make me focus on all the things that have gone wrong or might be seen to have gone wrong lately.

Thank goodness its a sunny day.

Was lost, now found

I used to have this link up on my site, but it dropped off for some reason.
This is The Sartorialist

Its a great Blog about fashion. This chap wanders around with his camera taking pictures of people whose outfits he likes. Its all done in a very positive way.
Enjoy

Wrong, Wrong, Wrong

This weekend was an injury fuelled affair.
I sprained my shoulder at the gym on Friday and rolled my ankle at soccer on Saturday. Thankfully the shoulder should be back in action in a day or two. My foot however is sporting a grapefruit sized bruise (twas my right ankle as opposed to the other ankle I broke while rock climbing).
So Sunday was a lazy day.
I almost went nuts.

On Saturday night I invited some friends around for dinner. My first entertaining in the new place and it worked out very well. Its a good sized place, I think at a pinch I could get 8 - 10 people and have them in reasonable comfort. Time will tell.

So I slept in on Sunday, till about 6.30am when I had to get up and get a tea. My foot was sore so I figured a bike ride was not the best idea. I spent Saturday afternoon getting a few bits of furniture for the apartment. The previous night I had discovered I did not have any wine glasses and that my roasting tray was too big for the oven I owned.
So I sat in my chair and watched Neo Genesis Evangaleion until I felt hungry enough for breakfast.
It was a lazy start to a lazy day.

I went out around noon and picked up the extra stuff I needed for my kitchen. ran into an old work colleague and enjoyed a warm but blustery Sunday. After a couple of hours my foot was hurting, so I figured return to base was the order of the day.
The sun being over the yardarm I sat back down with a good book and beer. It was all going well.
Then for no reason, my body wanted salt. Not just any kind of salt - KFC.
I have had KFC twice this year. Only one of those times did I actually eat most of the crap in the box. But for some reason, KFC was the go.
I blame the beer.

But, whatever, I get back in my truck and head on down to the local KFC cess pit of shame. I regretted my decision the moment I walked in. There was a family of fat stupid people cleaning bones off mutant chicken, while their sugared up children were grabbing straws and getting loud. It was dirty, the staff were the usual bred of shit useless young people with attitude and no care for their job or the customer.

I still brought some chicken and it was the worst meal I've had in a long time.
Even the food in America seemed better by comparison.

This morning my shoulder is slightly better and my ankle is still sore and in 3 days time the last of that crap will be clear of my digestive system.

Exercise Surprise

Earlier this year I posted some thoughts about my world view of health and fitness.
As a quick summary I proposed;

• Health is about what you eat, the quality of the fuel you put in the engine.
• Fitness is about the kind of exercise you do, how efficiently your engine uses the fuel.

My suggestion was you can be fit but not healthy and vice versa. If you exercise but still eat stupid, its not going to do you any good. Neither is eating well but never giving your body a chance to use all its muscle groups.

Well I found an article on line that has an interesting view about exercise here. Have a read and let me know what you think?
For myself I suggest it raises a good point, people have different metabolisms that respond to different stimuli. I also suggest that people looking to change their lifestyle should also do some investigation as to how their body responds and work around that.
I would also suggest that people need to stop concentrating on weight loss and focus more on the body shape (in my opinion BMI scales are totally bogus, eg a Mr Universe contender is considered obese by the BMI scale). If you're flabby, diet and exercise will give you muscle tone, more energy and better posture, but muscle mass IS heavier than fat - so your weight probably won't improve, even though you'll look better and feel better.

I try and eat well whenever I can, I also try and exercise regularly. What I can say is I don't waste my time with scales. I focus on how I'm feeling and whether or not I'm having fun!