PROJECT 365: January - Days 20 to 26

Wednesday 20 January 2010

 

 Day 3 of the Australian Open. Luckily at work I 'live' in the area of the office which houses the only flat screen plasma which had only channel 9 (cricket) tuned to it. I tuned this baby myself (without help from IT thanks) and had the company of the open the rest of the week.

(Yes, that is Buddah's head on the table...long story).

 Thursday 21 January 2010

 

One of the walls in my room which displays some of my favourite shots I've taken in my travels: Venice, Paris, Oxford, Positano, Bath, London, Stonehenge, Buckingham Palace, and the Whitsundays.

 Friday 22 January 2010

 

A random shot of my travel stuff. When traveling I always keep a journal to record places I have been, seen and people met. Full of some fantastic memories this one.

 Saturday 23 January 2010

 

Day 6 of the Open and I am in attendance! This game was Serena Williams (pictured), playing Carla Suarez Navarro. They day's plays also included Victoria Azarenka, Novak Djokovic, Denis Istomin, and even old Pat Cash on the show courts training.

 Sunday 24 January 2010

 

Today started with an invigorating walk from Beacon Cove to St Kilda's Acland Street, where myself and a friend enjoyed brunch at Rococo. An hour each way! This here is Luna Park in St Kilda and the Palais where I have seen the likes of Eskimo Joe and French & Saunders.

 Monday 25 January 2010

  

A bit of a slow news day, so I played around with some arty, take-from-it-whatever-meaning-you-like shots...

 Tuesday 26 January 2010

  

Australia Day!! Enjoyed an Aussie day picnic not far from the Big Day Out fun and games. Also day 9 and the quarter finals of the Australian Open. My best friend and I saw Rafa Nadal bow out due to injury after two sets lost against Andy Murray.

PROJECT 365: January - Days 12 to 19

Tuesday 12 January 2010

My sweet, sweet bi-monthly delivery which combines two of my three favourite things - food and travel. And the Mediterranean isusue no less!

Wednesday 13 January 2010

A picture of one of the family of maggies that visit me every morning and every evening. This one's picking at some bread left out for them, which may explain the winged family's constant visits. This was taken very early AM.

Thursday 14 January 2010

One of the favourite corners of my house - my book shelf. Classics, travel, Harry Potter, journo/media guides, love them all. The top shelf there contains my collection of antique books, for which I will need another bookshelf to house them in soon enough.

Friday 15 January 2010

Meet Dante and Polly (left to right). My brother's 'kids' of the Beagle kind, who I 'babysat' in their inner-city house recently. Very good listeners, very good guard dogs, and of course very cute.

Saturday 16 January 2010

A familiar house, situated in one of my favourite parts of the city.

Sunday 17 January 2010

The most sensical no standing sign I have ever come across!

This was the most overly decked out car in my beloved Geelong Cats colours, parked in the middle of Lygon Street, Melbourne - stopped me in my tracks.

Monday 18 January 2010

Another of my favouritest corners of my house; the place on which sits my lovely perfumes, costume jewelery, scarves, photos, lippies and every other girlie thing.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Me, in the midst of planning my next trip.

Project 365 requires a photo of myself to be taken once a month in order to document how I have changed over the year. So far, not much.

PROJECT 365: January - Days 1 to 11

Well what a week it has been, the first for 2010.

The first 11 days have been full of strange, funny and unforgettable happenings, now all recorded on camera. Each picture is worth a thousand words, but I will limit this so as not to bore you and give away too many secrets!

Friday 1 January 2010

This is mine and two friends' ponchos/picnic rug laid out on the couch of a hotel room to dry after they did the duty of keeping us dry...well, they tried. NYE was spent relaxing then dancing the night away at a festival at a winery in the Yarra Valley. At 9:30pm the heavens opened up and didn't let up! But we kept on dancing until midnight, with beautiful views of lightening crack across the Yarra ranges.

An interesting trip back to the city in the wee hours ensued via coach.

  

Saturday 2 January 2010   

The second day of the year saw a trip into one of my favorite parts of my city to check out some of the not-terribly-affordable-unless-you-can-save-your-pay-for-a-month-boutiques. Little did we know we'd make a new friend.

We had a long chat with the owner of one of the boutiques we popped into to see Alex Perry's latest. During conversation we assisted this person in making a decision on a major project of theirs. Yep, good deed for the day! The afternoon ended, of course, with a latte in a cute little Italian cafe.

Saturday 3 January 2010

  

A second trip into the Yarra Valley in as many days, and a lovely, posh 4 course lunch, a Christmas present tfor the folks.A perfect end to the first weekend of the year.

Monday 4 January 2010

For me, this is a sign of Summer.  Iced espresso (made every summer), with homemade shortbread (made every Christmas).

Tuesday 5 January 2010

The lovely, juicy, sweet apricots the tree in the backyard produces every summer - usually just after

New Year. The tree used to yield so much fruit that my mother used to make jam with the fruit no one could fit into their stomachs.

Another sign that summer is here!

Wednesday 6 January 2010

 Once a week I go walking with workmates along the Maribyrnong River. While I walk everyday, its nice to have a change of sceanery, and this area is like a slice of the bush in the middle of the big smoke.

Nothing but yiu, the birds, wildlife and ridiculous amount of flys.

Thursday 7 January 2010 

Not much of a picture really, but there's a funny story to it. This tree sits behind the fence in a paddock. Apparently my Dad had stood in the backyard, binoculars in hand, looking at a gold glittering thingie which appeared to be stuck in the tree.What it turned out to be was a new red, waxy leaf reflectingthe sun and making it look like a lovely, expensive, gold necklace was hanging from the tree.

However it did provide hours of fun....

Friday 8 January 2010

Today saw a visit from a family friend Joe Rouse (far right), who has been living and working in Peru the last 3 years. This was his first trip back to Australia since leaving. Absolutely fascinating listening to his stories on living among the communities there. Has made up my mind to definitely visit South America very soon.

Saturday 9 January 2010

Today was the first of the next few days of hot hot weather - around 35 degrees celsius. The afternoon was spent lazying around, while the evening was spent in Carlton, Melbourne's Italian precinct,with a friend.
Enjoyed a movie, dinner (at a vegetarian restuarant mind!), and coffee and cake at Brunetti. Brunetti is as close to an authentic Italian cafe/pasticceria outside of Italy itself!

Me, I had the giant Ammaretto biscuit...mmmmmm scrummy!

Sunday 10 January 2010

Jan Jun surf beach on Victoria's surf coast. A trip with friends via V-Line train to Geelong, then coach onto Torquay saw us get off at the wrong bus stop. So we disembarked at Jan Juc, and walked about 30 minutes until we hit the water. Lunch at the pub, before some relaxing and swimming on the golden sand and warm, blue water. A perfect way to spend a pleasant 34 degree day in Melbourne.

Monday 11 January 2010

Admittedly, not a very good, clear picture, however if you squint you should be able to see the mercury has climbed to 44 degrees! The hottest day since Black Saturday, and the first hottest day of the summer.

PROJECT 365: "...Photographs Could Reach Eternity Through The Moment” - Henri Cartier-Bresson

Thursday 31/12/09

I have made some resolutions for 2010 as we all do, but I intend sticking to mine. I have decided to undertake a challenging, possibly arduous and maybe a life changing task - Project 365.

They say that our lives flash before our eyes, and where do the years go, well I intend to slow it down by taking one photograph every day for the next 365 days.

I wish now this is something I had decided to undertake a year ago; 2009 has been a year with more highs than lows, I have traveled, left my comfort zone on many occasions, and attempted to live each day to its fullest since returning from my travels in 2008. It has been a good year and intend on making 2010 even better if that is possible!

By no means is this an original idea, I have already discovered other bloggers had the same undertaking in mind for 2010, but I think it a fantastic way to capture 'a year in the life of'. I intend to visually record what I have experienced, people I have met, places I have been, things I have seen, tasted, and smelt in 2010. I want to look back on this project one year from today and smile at the experiences and achievements the year ahead has brought.

And so it starts, Project 365 - 2010: My life in pictures.

"...Actions & Words, They Don't Always Say What They Mean" - Screaming Jets

www.time.com/.../article/o,9171,1659772,00.html

Maybe I am not in the right frame of mind to be writing this post, but after a long period of writers block the answer to the above statement just hit, previously eluding me in its meaning (or what I perceive it to mean; after all the meaning of art is in the eye of the beholder, or listener in this case, despite what the artist intended). 

Supposing it could work both ways; the actions or words of someone trying to hide something for instance, be it sinister or completely innocent, may mean for the rest of us that they don't care, are nonchalant, or they think little of something of great importance. However this might not be what they are wanting to SAY. Confused?

Now supposing the other way, someone's actions or words doing the complete opposite. They are an open book, tell you maybe too much and simply appear to be of complete moral standing. Do these actions say what they mean? Usually yes, but we are curious beings and as they say, you never REALLY know someone. Two words: Tiger Woods.

Seeing other people's sagas unfold over the last few weeks have made me think about this, and the conclusion I have come to is...truth. Good old fashioned truth. Don't withhold your thoughts, if something is bothering you tell someone, don't pretend everything is fine. And on the other hand if you want someone to know something, whatever it is, tell them. Don't be nonchalant. You don't know how long they'll be around and you don't know if you'll get hit by a bus when you leave the house. Don't assume the worst in someone right away, give them the benefit of the doubt; but at the same time simply tread carefully.

Won't someone lend me a helping hand!

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659772,00.html

"I Am A Weapon Of Massive Consumption" - Lily Allen

But it's not our fault, it's how we're programmed to function?

Consumerism has lately seemed to reach its peak. We're told we are not perfectly beautiful until we purchase three types of mineral and translucent make-up powder, we haven't cooked a decent meal until we buy a Tefal by Jamie Oliver crockery set, and we have a ridiculously disorganised life without an iPhone...and we buy them (or those material girls and boys among us).

The advertising execs are rubbing their hands with glee at our complete reliance on the latest technology, beauty products, and kitchen gadgets among other sometimes useless things. But it wasn't until a few months ago that the world went topsy-turvey, and had me thinking that maybe I, and few others, was the only being left with some sort of sanity, when I witnessed the most bizarre product being advertised on my television...

...the Snuggy.

"What a brilliant idea!" I actually heard people say, and "Isn't that clever!". Huh? Have I suddenly stepped into an alternate universe? Since when has wearing a backless blanket with sleeves at your son/daughter's soccer game been a good idea? So good that even high fives are required to show your enthusiasm? This is consumerism gone completely mad, MAD I tells ya! I would LOVE to see the SWOT analysis and marketing brief for this product. But obviously people the world over are buying them or they wouldn't be advertised twenty seven times a day.

One other disturbing infomercial product which gives me the shivers is the indoor herb/flower/vegetable growing contraption that doesn't need sunlight thanks to built-in 'grow lights' (sun simulator),and 'micro processor' and that controls nutrient intake. I don't know if I am alone here, but I wouldn't put so much as a cherry tomato in my mouth that has been grown by a sun simulator and 'micro processor'. But otherwise, an ingenius product.

Wonder what the genius advertisers will peddle to us next...

"Does My Face Look Boverred?" - Lauren Cooper

www.dailymail.co.uk

I put the 'pro' in procrastination.

I have always been aware of this somewhere at the back of my mind, but only recently admitted it out loud to myself after some coaxing by another party. In saying this I am not lazy and I don't consciously put things off because I want to avoid them. It could have something to do with the fact that if I don't write something down, I generally don't remember to do it (excluding birthday and other important dates).

But I think it's mainly because we always have (or think we have) something better to do or spend my time on. Yes I could ring the bank to get my credit limit sorted out finally, instead of complaining about it, but in order to do it I need to sit on the phone for 20 odd minutes of my life listening to bad hold music while waiting for 'the next available operator'....I can live with my current credit limit really. I could make a 'voluntary re-payment' towards my HECS, sorry, 'HELP' debt, but seeing as its a statement I received and not an invoice, it can wait a little longer and I can use the cash to pay for real live bills that are actually due.

Okay, so this basically shows that I am avoiding certain things by putting them off, but for non-lazy reasons! They all get done in the end and the only person I hurt, if anyone, is myself if I don't do them.

Call me a travel geek but something I usually find very fun, apart from the actually traveling, is planning a trip. Researching hotels, finding the cheapest flight on the best airline (very satisfying when you do find one), researching new cities, figuring out how to get from A to X and how many pounds/euros all this will cost. This was my life for several months before last years' big OS trip, and forward planning paid off nicely. This time around (leaving in 3 months) I find myself putting off the task. Not because I don't want to, more because I have done it before so surely I can wing it somewhat this time? Plus I have that HELP statement that needs finalising...

The real reason I think is, not only am I indecisive in general, I'm worried that all this careful planning will lead to a great trip, but nothing compared to the last adventure...I know, how silly and sentimental.

Whatever the reason, this is all procrastination and I am damn good at it. If you want to learn I can teach you my bad habits, but right now I have things to put off...

"It Has Become Appallingly Obvious That Our Technology Has Exceeded Our Humanity" - Albert Einstein

www.weblogs.baltimoresun.com

If you've started with the voice twittering, verbalising online abbreviations, or telling your friends you'll catch up with them later on Facebook, then we have a problem.

It seems we are almost becoming socio-phobes and feel more comfortable conducting our socialising online...a bit sad and scary isn't it.

Far be it for me to critisise the social networking sites - I do use them - but don't let it consume my life as much as it bloody well tries to. I'm sure anyone with a Facebook or twitter account however will admit that it can be hard to give the twitts and status swinging a miss for more than a few days. We like to let people know what's going on in our lives, let's face it...we're show offs and nosy beings:

Jane Twitt: is livin' it up in Tahiti / is eating expensive imported chocolate with 90% cocoa hand made by Belgian monks / is waiting for the limo to arrive while watching her money mote being cleaned.
There is even the presence of websites dedicated to sharing status updates should you so choose to use them...crazy!

Then there is the new set of manners that surrounds facebooking/myspacing/twittering...which in my opinion borders on ridiculousness at times. Here are some that I have been informed about:

- Don't ignore friend requests (but are we supposed to add people we really don't know or haven't seem since grade 2?)
- Don't ignore messages
- Don't post photos/messges that not everyone is supposed to see
- Don't talk about work/boss/colleagues
- Don't, for heavens sake, log on when you are supposed to be home sick

And my own personal 'don't' - don't spend your life online, log off, walk outside and breath some fresh air...I will do the same now :p

"There Is No Love Sincerer Than The Love Of Food" - George Bernard Shaw

I have realised recently that there are two types of people in the food universe: the 'Foodie' and the 'Packet Person'.

Each type has different priorities when it comes to eating and cooking: the Foodie likes to try new things, and they are usually inherently aware of what spice goes with what dish and what herb will enhance what flavor. A small majority of Foodies even go as far as boasting more competency in the kitchen than Mr Oliver himself and a better palette than the cravat wielding Matt Preston - more on that later.
On the other side of the bench, the Packet Person will usually stick to what they know in way of eating, will usually eat on the run (and even then sometimes very little), and is somewhat oblivious as to how an egg ends up scrambled.

For the purpose of not wanting to be physically hurt by those who know I may be talking about them, and to report fair and honest observations, I am basically going to sit on the fence with this one and not hint as to which person I am in the food universe...or think I am.


I know both of these types of food universe people and have observed the extremes of both; lets start with the Foodie.
Foodies tend to be decent cooks who can whip up something restaurant worthy with just a turnip and jar of cardamom. They have an eye for the best fresh veggies at the markets, and can tell you what star anise is. If you have Foodies as friends, I encourage you to encourage them to throw an extravagant dinner party immediately - it might be the best feed you will have for months (especially if you are a Packet Person, hence why they get on so well with Foodies).

However there is unfortunately the extreme Foodie that exists in the food universe - the Obnoxious Foodie. Not only is this sub type of Foodie a fabulous cook with great instincts in the kitchen, they are also a pain in the backside and forever exhausting to be around - they started using Spanish red wine vinegar because it was recommended in the glossys, and will precede to make the rest of us understand which grape they prefer their vinegar to come from and why. They pay in excess of $50 for a steak at Rockpool only to complain how overdone it was, and they are the type that watch some of the worlds most illustrious chefs on television commenting on what they would do differently to improve the dish they're making, while under their breath sighing "I could do SO much better". Exhausting no? I am sure the rest of the Foodies look upon their Obnoxious counterparts with a sigh and a shake of the head.


Now to the Packet Person, called so because of their self confessed ineptness in the kitchen and reliance on frozen meals and ready-made, ready-to-heat packaged goodies. They are not the adventurous type in the kitchen, nor do they care, as the Packet Person rarely has time to sit down and plan the next days' lunch, let alone a dinner party. You have to admire the carefree food life of the Packet Person - I personally think they know more about cooking then they let on!

A Packet Person will always have some sort of snack stashed in their bag - musli bar, hastily put together sandwiches - simply because they know one of the days' meals will not make it into their stomachs due to their running about like headless chooks. However, they always set aside time for posh nosh at a Foodie friends' dinner party or restaurant, and know a good meal when they taste it, they may have no idea what is in it, but they can appreciate good tasting food.

Alas, the Packet Person also has a sub type like their Foodie conterpart - the Clueless Packet Person. This extreme is the one who too vigorously tests avocados for ripeness in the wrong spot leaving them bruised and brown for the next person (although we should be impressed they are aware of their existence). They think it normal for apples to come in a cling-filmed packs of four, and buy pre-chopped fruit salad from Woolworths. To a Clueless, real cinnamon comes already ground in a small jar, as does real coffee, and bread comes in two forms - sliced and rolls.


Despite the difference between Foodies and Packet People, they are capable of being the best of friends - can you imagine the carnage of two Foodies getting together in the kitchen?
The partnership of Foodie/Packet Person can work out quite well (if only really for one of them). And they have a lot they can teach each other: the Packet Person teaching the Foodie how to relax, that a bowl for cereal for breakfast instead of a grand fry-up is not a bad thing; the Foodie teaching the Packet Person to cook for themselves so they don't starve on public holidays, be it even the simple scrambled egg.

Of course, there are many other sub types that exist, and I am grossly generalising here by simply splitting the people in the food universe into two categories. So if you can think of another type of person in this the food universe that I haven't identified, please fill me in!

Buon Appetitte.

"Two Means Of Refuge From The Miseries Of Life: Music and Cats" - Albert Schweitzer

While I am not sure about the 'cats', Mr Schweitzer - I would have to disagree and replace this with a good bottle of the red stuff or chocolate, or both - I agree wholeheartedly with the former. To me anyway, music is as much a way of escapism as a good novel, and can get the emotions flowing better than the soppiest romcom. Music has been an ever present entity in my life, starting from the time I was born when, so I am told, I was played classical tunes to put me to sleep as a bub (which would explain my appreciation today of a good piano solo or string quartet playing Brandenburg concertos).

I grew up with the sounds of early Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, The Cure, Split Enz, The Bangles, INXS, Midnight Oil, Led Zeppelin, Crowded House, the list goes on; MTV (when Richard Wilde hosted), Young Talent Time, Molly Meldrum interviews, and history making music events. Here are my top picks so far:

Sound Relief 2009 - MCG
I was lucky enough to attend thanks to a few special helpers. This day was put together in less than a month to raise money for the Victoria bushfire appeal, with a concert being held simultaneously in Sydney also for the Victoria bushfire appeal and the Queensland floods. The event was extraordinary to say the least; the attendance was outstanding and even brought some of the world's best bands out of retirement to reform for the event.

We were treated to performances by Jet, KOL, Paul Kelly, Augie March, Jack Johnson, Crowded House (this one was special), Wolfmother, Paul Kelly, Split Enz, Hunters & Collectors, and Midnight Oil. The atmosphere was peaceful and pumped, the weather was terrible, but it was one of the most amazing musical experiences ever.

Crowded House Farewell to the World - Sydney 1996
I remember well the big fuss that was being made about this event, and it was well deserved. This was to be the last emotional performance by my one of my FAVORITE bands, with their
www.amazon.com
original lineup, outside the Sydney Opera House in front of what looked like the largest crowd ever to have gathered anywhere. At my house, not only was this watched on the TV from start to finish, it was taped on VHS which is still around to this day. Crowded House ended the night with 'Don't Dream It's Over', very fitting, and I don't think I saw one face on that TV screen that wasn't covered in tears. Crowded House have since reformed with a slightly tweaked lineup, their latest tour being last year. Something tells me they will be spoiling us (in a good way) with their music for a few more years yet.

Kylie X - Melbourne 2008
Ashamed to say my first Kylie show, getting tickets for any of her previous was near impossible. The Kylie X tour was music and theatrical masterpiece. The sets and costumes were amazing, and her voice is astounding for such a small person! She had every single person on their feet for the entire two hours and certainly put on a forever memorable show of her latest and greatest tracks, and those she may have wished we had forgotten about. Never!

www.kyliesplace.com

Robbie Williams Close Encounters Tour - Melbourne 2006

I like Robbie for his left-of-middle, non-sugar coated type pop. He put on a fantastic show for a one-man tour, though he did bring out Johnny Wilkinson for a couple duets....hmmm.
The crowd went crazy when he took his place on a stool and started singing Take That's 'Back for Good' (a finger to the then recently reformed band mates maybe?), and I can't say I will forget the look on his face - he looked like he was genuinely enjoying the moment - and it was at that point I got the feeling we may not see him tour our fair land again....well, not for awhile anyway.



The Darkness One Way Ticket Tour - Melbourne 2005
An indulgent evening of pure GLAM. The boys swung on stage in their catsuits and leather, and put on one of the most entertaining rock shows I had seen for a long time. They may be completely daggy in a glitzy/80's/theatrical way, but boy did they know how to rock! Lead Justin Hawkins blew the crowd away with his ridiculously high pitched vocals, and even jumped into the crowd during the show and crowd surfed his way throughout the whole venue, giving us all a very British little wave and smile as he passed. A fantastic, good old fashioned rock show.

rockpopsters.today.com

V Festival - Melbourne 2009
A total 'boutique' style festival this one, with only the best of the best asked along for the tour...The Killers, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, Howling Bells, The Kills, Elbow, Louis XIV, even 80's fit outs The Human League and Madness...who to see first! Stand out act would have had to have been Kaiser Chiefs, or maybe I'm just biased. Ricky Wilson really knows how to work the crowd, and we were even witness to his infamous pogo stage jump and scaffolding climbing antics.

www.vfestival.com.au

My only criticism, if that, was the fact Ricky continuously referred to the $140 ticket paying crowd as "f@&*ers" on more than one occasion..."sing louder you f@&*ers" and "I can't hear you f@&*ers"...but being a rock star, he can get away with that!

Madness were fantastic fun and sounded no different to what they did in their heyday, and it was great to see the mix of the crowd there watching them - those who clearly followed them since day one, to those who looked like they completely missed out on the 80's, but enjoyed the music all the same. A fun, energetic and lively show.

And yes, I did go to watch Vanilla Ice, but couldn't see the show on account of the ginormous crowd crammed in the shed which housed the small stage. Although we did get to hear 'that song'.

I have been to a few music festivals in my time, but this would have had to have been the most well organised one of them all, with a really decent crowd unlike those of some other festivals.


Rock on!