to quote frankenfurter

"i'm going home".... :) of course i'm not wearing the corset and suspenders but you get the general idea.

brad, ains & me

the day after christmas

what is boxing day exactly? what does it mean? beside it being a public holiday which everyone loves, what is a boxing day? is it the day that you box all the presents you received the day before and didn't like and put them into storage? and why doesn't south australia get a day to box?

anyone? anyone? bueller?

christmas eve 1986

i've had many lives since then. but that christmas eve was spent with a group of my best friends from high school; sonia, chelle, sue, allan, brian, kevin, was phil there? or matthew, billy and samantha? about ten or twelve of us went along to midnight mass for a sing-a-long. none of us were church goers but it was something we all wanted to do together this year. i remember it being pretty fantastic, probably more because we were all together on christmas eve than anything else.

the following christmas night we gathered at hammond park and one of the tapes we were listening to was an album of prince's. maybe brian had received it that morning, i don't remember but one of the songs was 1999 and it felt like such a long way away then. we had many dreams to fulfill before the millennium.

i'm not sure where all those high school friends are now. but i look back at those years with absolute joy and thankfulness. not many people can say they loved high school, i'm one that truly did and it was because of this amazing group of friends.

merry christmas to all those i've been lucky to call friends and those friendships yet to come.

cold showers

i'd forgotten how much i love cold showers. those ones you need after working in dirt, and up a sweat. that first bite of cold water... ahh.... those are sweet summer moments.

sorting through storage containers this day. a quick look through all the boxes to see what's actually in them, and after all the moving i've done in my life, 2006 was the first time i didn't write the contents on the boxes. i'm not sure what evil befell me that day but yes, i paid for the slackness two and a half years on. now it's all ready to be shipped to melbourne, to another storage facility, but some day soon i'll have all my stuff around me again.

three naps & two books

how i love my holiday so far. obviously needing sleep. i guess i should also get out into the blue sky days but i'm sure they'll be there tomorrow, afterall, this is perth. :)

a bit of generational shopping today with mom, sister ainsley and niece larissa. riss is gorgeous, mouthy and intelligent. love her.

surprise!!

turned up at griffin crescent late yesterday to surprise melis for her birthday. nope, i didn't pop out of the cake, nor tied a big bow about myself, just wandered in off the street. :) it was great to see all the familiar faces, hugs and kisses all around. definitely could get used to that.

lots of catching up to be had in the days to come.

today i meandered down to the freo markets for reflexology and a nutella & banana crepe (not at the same time). and again, the shopping for others turned into shopping for myself... i'm sure i deserve it all. :)

blue and green should never be seen?

there was every intention of shopping for others, but somehow i lapsed into buying myself presents. nan's xmas money went to these fabulous electric blue shoes. and i'll wrap the green ones up from santa to me. :) i love the quick brown fox.


was carnivale strange for everyone last night or was it just my mood? only a couple of dances and a lot of talking before heading home to a fairy-lit room.

a little bit of christmas

nat and i caught up last night to watch four holidays. starring vince vaughn and reese witherspoon. it was a light film with a lot of laughter. it's called four christmases in the states, and written by a friend of julie's, scott moore.


we went and watched the advent calendar reveal at federation square as well. just sat on the pavement and watched as a couple of elves flew over the side of the building. i liked the show. there was a moment it felt like christmas.

cup-puffins or muff cakes??

an insane conversation about muffins, cupcakes and their hybrids at blues last night. there was no alcohol, drugs or chocolate involved in said insane conversation.

these are cupcakes that i made yesterday arvo for tonight's xmas party at brunswick. mmmm.....

why do weekends end?

sunday evening... again. and there's 5 whole days before the next one. why?

a call to arms at the spiegeltent on friday night - closing the shuffle club season. i'm surprised no one drowned when leaving the premises - insane downpour of rain. yes, there was the prerequisite singing of singing in the rain.


saturday consisted of frost/nixon - a really interesting film on the interview between david frost and richard nixon. the laundry in fitzroy for jazz and laughter with friends, before migrating to sippers for tapas and blues. a most pleasant day and night.

one kind of afternoon in melbourne

i took these on my phone a couple of weekends ago and forgot to upload.

a parade of minis - tried to find the closest colour to the one my dad used to have.


the fed square atrium where there is a weekly book market. i don't get there very much which is probably a good thing for my bank balance. :)


there's also a regular design market in the carpark under federation square. i didn't buy anything this time. i was overcome with all the good stuff and underwhelmed when i couldn't get myself a helium balloon.

wednesday in the city

skived work a little early today so i could meet af at the steps of the nicholas building. we were joining/re-joining the vic writer's centre. yes, i'm preparing for the onslaught of words in 2009.

we wandered down to degraves street for a pot of tea in a very cool cafe. it serves good porridge i'm told, and though i'm still screwing my nose up at the very thought of something sticking to the insides of my stomach like cement, i promised af i would let her feed me a portion at some stage. we took a wander through the under pass art gallery on the way to pick up her boy.


then onto mexican....woooohoooo... taco bills on russell. i wasn't expecting much so i was pleasantly surprised. a tiny room, packed to the brim with diners. lucky af reserved us a table. a small (but free) bowl of chips and salsa to start - yah! and then onto mains. there was room enough at the end for dessert even. this here's af slurping down the last of her sangria...eww.... yes i tried it, yes it was horrible. ;)

it is december isn't it?

okay, so i'm in melbourne. i know this. and whilst i'm not really complaining (okay maybe slightly), i am sitting on the couch wearing winter clothes, and it is technically the start of summer. i should be complaining that i'm actually at home on the sofa on a week night but nope, just that it's cold. and there is still no way that i'm moving back to the west. i LOVE melbourne.

something will happen

saturday i had condemned myself to a day of christmas shopping, so imagine the joy i felt when my phone rang whilst sitting in traffic on sydney road... "interested in some polo action?" he asked. "why yes, i imagine i could go to the effort of dressing up and winding my way down to albert park for some ponies and champagne," i replied. hurrah and huzzah!

met J at the gate and dazzled the punters with my glorious chinese red parasol. i was introduced to a bunch of new friends and i think i spotted some horses at some stage but i can't quite be sure. there were the traditional running races between the games, men and women competing for large magnums of champagne (and being presented with small bottles of said champagne - oh the indignity of it all - ha!) and yes for those of you who remember pretty woman, some sort of divot stomping thing on the field. we finished up at the pub across the road for a while, then a quick change before heading off to penny's housewarming in preston (yes preston, everyone's going to preston).

what a funny night. a small group of us ended up retiring to the shed in the backyard because it was so darn cold. of course we were lounging on banana chairs as if it were summer. a lot of laughter and silliness ensued.

in all a bloody fine day and night.

tree at melbourne central

a huge ferrero tree just for you mom. :)

had a day off on friday so wandered around the city. it was nice just hanging out with nothing to do. will report back on mlx happenings shortly. of course there are no pictures yet. sorry.

one year swinging...

oh yeah. it was a tuesday back in 2007 when i got over-eager and went to the mount lawley class a week before level 1 actually started, but i returned the following week. and here i am, one whole year later. now in melbourne and dancing a few nights a week. lindy, balboa, blues. it's all so so good. you gotta try it people.

oh and the melbourne lindy exchange has started so beginning tonight there'll be dancing galore. i promised my feet a pedicure if they get me through. :)

tonight i was told

i'm a WRITER.... oh yeah. i think i skipped half the way home (the half when i was not riding the tram). i'm a writer. i like the sound of that. i can sleep now. :)

what do you get...

if you cross a mad hatter, cocktails and flaming flesh? a birthday bbq at lol and chris's place in the boondocks. a fun night even with the wild weather. and best of all, i won pass the parcel - oh yeah. these blow-up boxing glove things, i'm thinking good presents to get for the nephews for xmas. not mine of course. and then there was sing-star. karaoke always goes well with alcohol, have you noticed?

late to bed, early to rise. i don't get that. it wasn't by choice, it just happened. caught up with inga, who was in melbourne for a conference, for a starbucks brunch. great to see that girl. from there it was onto the jam factory for burn after reading with friends (a very good chance that this film will be revisited on dvd when it comes out). japanese on chapel for a late lunch/ early dinner.

a few dances later on in the evening before retiring. oh, why is monday's work always around sunday's corner?

i want a garden of pinwheels

be more exciting!!

yes, you heard right... i've been told to be more exciting. i'm not sure if i'm getting a direct quote from alan via melis, or she's para-phrasing. nonetheless i'm a little hurt. yeah, not really. but i hear what you're trying to say - perk the blog up. make sure your actual real life doesn't get in the way of you blogging about it. hmm....

anyway, so here are a few pics from the past couple of weeks. taken on the phone (again, i will try and do better). these first two photos are from the rooftop cinema. yes, we got rained on but we will return.



spiegeltent action with the shuffle club in attendance. very hard dancing around those who have no floor etiquette. maybe i'm becoming a dance snob. hmm... bears thinking about for all of 20 seconds. over it now. :)



then a sunday in the city. i accidentally fell over some storm troopers returning from the first xmas parade of 2008. ridiculous.

la la la... i can't hear you...

yes i know... it's been a month of inactivity on the blog. a whole month. and it's not as if i haven't been doing things, it's been 4 weeks (and a bit) of non-stop fun. dinners & movies with friends, a day trip to wangaratta in the tarago of jazz (many many stories from that day alone), big band dancing, low blues grooves, still writing for tv classes. i've tickets booked for franz ferdinand, nick cave at ATP and leonard cohen in january, the who in march. a quarter of my 2009 is already booked out. i caught dandy warhols a couple of weeks ago, sat at the rooftop cinema to watch the ghostbusters under umbrellas and blankets, danced at the spiegeltent, painted toenails with new gal pals and sang-along to mamma mia. it was a full month and the next looks to be more jam-packed than ever. the lindy exchange madness starts next wednesday. i probably should be stocking up on sleep. hmmm... nuh, too many things i want to do.

i'll try to get back sooner rather than later, with pics. i promise to try. :)

i'm alive...ALIVE!!!

weird science... sorry... everytime i hear "i'm alive" i go into a bad rendition of that song. 80s child, can't help it.

it's been a time, i know. sorry. but i've been doing stuff. good stuff. stuff that keeps me busy and away from computers for the most part.

life is very good right now. i'm smiling lots. how about you?

see me swing...

apologies for tardiness. i've been busy living. i love that. i've been living. friday night was a fringe festival show with non-swing friends, just fabulous. last night was the performance ball - two routines later and a lot of rehearsals, it's all over. but there is evidence that i was in it. here's a link to youtube that will show you the brunswick routine. i'm front and centre (thanks em and josh) and yes, i screwed up the timing once. you'll see it, it's apparent. ha!! it was good. it was fun. anyway, here tis and i shall say no more.

Performance Ball 2008

something i adore

the nicholas building. it's glorious. and all the societies of writers, designers, button-makers, retro stores held within it's walls. ahh... makes the heart beat just that little bit faster.

and the fabulosity that is buttonmania. sigh.

the challenge

for the past few years i've been reading this weekly astrological newsletter sent out by one rob brezsny - author of *PRONOIA IS THE ANTIDOTE FOR PARANOIA: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings*. anyway, the newsletter is not just about what aries is doing this week but usually the words he offers are full of craziness, ones to live by. this week held a dare, a challenge that i may pick up, so people watch out.

Every day for 44 years, the German writer Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt composed a poem for his wife, the lively and brilliant Karoline von Dachroden. In accordance with your astrological potentials, Aries, I will ask you to briefly imitate his prodigious outpouring of creative love. Every day for the next two weeks, please find it in your wild heart to make a sublime, or at least gorgeous, offering to someone or something you adore.

not the dog on the tucker box

but the one on the corner of collins and swanston. it's been attacked by some knitting needles. :) wednesday morning into the city to deliver some training. a quick stop at starbucks and i'm set for the day.


i'm wearing my granddad's jacket. i've had it for about 20 years now. it's travelled with me around the world, so many more places that granddad ever dreamed of.

happy mid-week all.

too straight for curly me

for those of you not on facebook, i've had straight hair for the weekend. i snapped this dramatic shot sitting on my bedroom floor, french doors open so that the wind blew the curtains across my face a second or so after this pic.


it's an unbelievably beautiful day out. the city is chockers with people walking around enjoying the sunshine.

and i realised a couple of days ago that i've been blogging for over a year now. my overseas trip came and went, i've now been in melbourne for 6 months and i've met so many wonderful friends. i'm having fun. how 'bout you?

(late addition to post: oh and yes, i have a marvellous flatmate in sophie)

you MUST see this film

wall-e and eve, a love story. ;) nat and i played hooky with jamie. hurrah!

my dad's birthday

he would've been 59 today. i miss him.

weekend's should be 3 days

so the third day can be filled with catch up sleep. yawn!!

funpit on friday - 3 hours of non-stop dancing and glowing. i'm totally scared of what the summer is going to bring if it's already this hot on the floor.

i wandered round the city in the glorious sun on saturday. total bliss. then out that evening for some birthday celebrations. pub, dinner, movies (see in bruges if you can, enjoyably funny film), pub, club - i'm intent on nabbing a couple of new friends from this night as well (a&c).

sunday i managed to pull myself out of bed around 9.30 only because no one would let me sleep any longer. more reading than writing at starbucks and then over to ACMI to finish off the jim henson spectacular with some fraggle rock and then jamie joined me for the dark crystal. (it's his birthday today - hbj).

do you think i'll be missed if i did a bronzewing and found a dark corner to curl up in and fall asleep for a few hours? yah, it's monday already.

little brother's b'day

yep today. september 14 is brad's birthday. i've known him for a few years now. :)

we grew up together and i really couldn't have picked a better companion. there was kambalda, bougainville, telfer, kalgoorlie, teutonic bore, australind and kalgoorlie again. that's where he's stayed after a short stint in perth.


we caught tadpoles in the stream behind the school in arawa, looked for painted boiled eggs for easter with the neighbour's kids, watched dad float out to sea on the lilo and weathered an earthquake together.


there are memories of mulberry fights at nan's and double gees surrounding the slide and swings across the road. oh, and frank's mr whippy icecreams.



there were boondie fights, and bikes and red sand dunes. pretend circuses in the backyard, surviving cyclones and driving through fires to get to mum and our new little sister.


we made it through highschool without killing each other. always a bonus. and now he's a dad with two boys of his own. and getting married next year.

happy birthday brad. i'm glad that i got you as a brother. love always from your big sister. xx

not the end of the world quite yet!!

well i hope not because there are way too many things i have to do before then. :) with the new atom splitting machine being turned on later this afternoon, HERE are some worse case scenarios from yahoo answers!

muppet mayhem

i had a weekend of jim henson magic at acmi. absolutely fabulous. friday with nat was muppet history 101 - a guy from the JH legacy group, craig shemin, commented on the clips to start with. then the next was a doco, the world according to sesame. which again was brilliant. talking about taking sesame street to the world - but not just dubbing the language but incorporating the culture into the show. i love this. had i known earlier maybe this is what i could've done with my life. is it too late??

saturday was the muppet movie (kermit on the bike always reminds me of my mom on a bike - though she's not green, she has the lanky legs). and then muppet musical moments - a collection of classic muppet show moments.

sunday after writing the morning away i turned to labrynth. love that film. to death.


there will be more this coming weekend. woooooooooot!!

thursday's tramming

i catch the 96 into the cbd each thurs to swing. it stays twilight for so much longer and it's just gorgeous.

beer floater

and no, i'm not talking about a drink. well, sort of but not really. :) on the drive to work this morning there was a glass of beer floating in the blue. i snapped a pic with my phone so i really didn't get anything but a blur. but if you imagine the blur is actually a hot air balloon in the shape of a glass of beer you'll be seeing what i saw this morning. ha!! imagination, who'da thought?

spring into Spring

of course, i would much prefer to spring into bed for a long snooze right about now. too much going on, i'm exhausting myself. chin up, and get on with it!!

a wow of a weekend

another big weekend in the big city. friday i went along to cheer some friends competing in a university dance comp. then the bunch of us trammed into the cbd to carnivale. an old venue with a new concept, downstairs swing and upstairs 80s tunes. yes, there was a little mad dancing.


saturday i managed to do some writing and shopping. thai for dinner (which i will be getting back to because it was quite scrumptious) and the company wasn't bad either. pearly shells @ manchester lane - a tiny, tiny dance floor which we navigated well until a 60s tune was played. i went into some go-go action and proceded to knock a tray of glasses from a waiter and onto a patron's table - oops. i skedaddled not long after that. ha!!


sunday after some more writing and completing half my homework, it was off to fitzroy and the copacabana. the b# big band played a few sets - what a great way to come down from a fabulous weekend. oh and then there was icecream with nat.