thanks dad for the laptop

in which the author secures ownership of two small rodents.

2009-06-08T11:18:04Z

woohooooo
much goodness in mood today.
ok i did just have what turned out to be a rather large white russian (my hand slipped when pouring the vodka). anyway...

i have two new pets: tilly and rosie the guinea pigs. they are small, not very clever, cute, very nervous, and *really* like eating. in fact tilly disappeared into the garden today and couldn't be found for about an hour. that was quite scary. not least because i was going to have to tell my boss (who i got them from) that i'd lost one of them, one week into having them. that could've been a bit awkward....

i'm also completely obsessed with shootenanny by the eels. this cd really does make me happy. his music says to me: life is shit, but beautiful. that warms the cockles, doesn't it?

i think i have a new flatmate, he moves in in a couple of weeks... roberto from peru. he is cheery, sociable and laid back, it seems. that's exactly what i was looking for in a flatmate. and somewhat more of a relief than if i'd said yes to the other south/central american guy i showed the room to, who didn't say anything til it came to leaving when he said he was really worried about people kicking in the front door (hello?) - i actually think he had a coke/meth problem as he was walking and talking very fast, plus looked a bit unwell. and was moving house from maroubra in a very great hurry.

hopefully it works out well, anyway...

actually... searching for a flatmate is nothing like i thought it would be. i had loads of calls, and about a third cancelled, often 10 minutes after they were meant to be here (and i was waiting around for them)... others say they want the room for sure but then don't call back, i've offered it to a few people who say they'll take it then text the next day to say they don't want it after all, etc etc... basically: people are really crap. so much more being f-cked around than i had expected. i think it's a bad time to be renting out a room in bondi... people don't want to live near the beach in winter.... personally i don't really get why you wouldn't... it's not like it isn't a cool place to go when it's cold, now, is it? hmmmf. (though... i barely go down there myself...but then - *i* like the suburb too, not just the beach). it's got too many four-wheel drive-in-the-city types, but apart from that it's tops.

i've also decided to teach myself to cook. the chicken, harissa, sweet potato and baby spinach was wonderful. thanks, donna hay.

thinking... having a peruvian flatmate and two peruvian foodstuffs of the guinea pig variety currently being kept as pets in the back garden... hmmm, i hope that wasn't an oversight...

take a long, slow, deep breath... it was never going to be easy...

2009-05-17T11:50:56Z

the questions i have to ask:

Can anyone recommend any blogs? I'd like to increase the number of cool people/places I know about on the interweb... people on your 'friends' lists, perhaps, or otherwise regularly read...

Who was that woman who sang 'sweet guy' onstage with paul kelly, who just completely blew everyone away with the most incredible voice I think I have ever heard? And I do mean ever. I need to find out who she is... and see her again. ♥

Here are some pictures from Havana - they're pretty much all Durand's, he's got a good eye hey? and one of him in front of a tank used in the revolution... oh, and one of me being a brat, because y'know - while I might be a ranty old bag at the moment, I still think I'm hilarious after a couple of wines...

nicemongoose @ 2009-05-09T13:55:00

2009-05-09T03:55:26Z

new things:

food processor i didn't really need. yeah, thanks, gin and online auctions.

framed picture by my sister. it looks great. thanks, framer man.

plans for fun things and hangover following one or two wines with aditi and sophie at the beauchamp hotel in darlinghurst. fun night. seriously, hooray for excellent people.

flatmate search. [know anyone in sydney who needs a room, get in touch!]. amie leaves at the end of this month.

the word 'cank'. used in polite company to denote someone who is a cross between the c word and the w word.

look. i've banned myself from wearing the same tshirts over and over and over again.

long stripey socks. yes, i look like i'm trying to recreate my 'alternative' teenage years, but i'm liking it, alright?

climbing buddy. simon and i have started going climbing once a week. it is the awesomeness.

getting $900 from the Rudd government to spend on ANYTHING I LIKE. i've spent it already, twice. that's how much i care about keeping the Australian economy afloat.

flat. well, the same flat, but my mortgage application has now gone in and should settle in about 6 weeks... my ex agreed to let me buy him out which was a good result.

jane's addiction ticket for july. okkervil river cd. yeah yeah yeahs cd. metronomy cd. bertie blackman cd.

resolve to try and keep this thing more up dated. I way prefer it to facebook which is where I spend most of my time ~~stalking~~ keeping up with how everyone's doing. Shame more cool people don't blog...

nicemongoose @ 2009-04-18T22:31:00

2009-04-18T12:59:28Z

well i have been back in sydney for a whole four days now and, given how stupendously NOT looking forward to coming back i was, i have to say it's really not too bad. simon (friend) was wonderful and picked me up from the airport at 6am (his team, liverpool, was in the process of losing a game, hence being up) and took me for tea at a cafe round the corner, listened to me pour, rant and sob my heart out about the shiteness of the things in my life i could use losing, and then took the day off....

...so we trotted off to sydney's north shore where i swear i had the weirdest headf*ck of my life when i stepped onto the sand in my bare feet. after two weeks in the uk i had completely acclimatised to home - and my head hadn't caught up with the fact i was no longer in london... result: 29 degree heat, 4 hours' sleep in 36 hours (i ended up being awake for around 48 hours - rock n roll), hot sand, surfers, yellow and red lifesaver boards, and the sea plus being completely unaccustomed to the australian accents around me meant i felt like i was in some crazy dream. or like i'd just stepped into an episode of home and away.

sort of appropriate, then, because we were on palm beach, where they actually film home and away.

yeah, weird.

since then it's been an interesting (read: both great and bollocks) time. a bit of a new beginning, and a new 'me' (i have the new wardrobe to match - love h&m).... wish me luck! i hope it's a big, shiny, fabulous one.

i'll update about my trip too - i'm still going through the photos...
i hope you are doing well x

nicemongoose @ 2009-04-11T21:12:00

2009-04-11T20:33:37Z

I don't know who put the sticker there, but I love that they did.

tulum, mexico. that is the caribbean in the background.... wow.

2009-03-11T02:23:29Z

nicemongoose @ 2009-03-10T20:21:00

2009-03-11T02:22:37Z

watching the sunrise over the clouds from a mountain in Brazil

2009-03-07T18:58:50Z

I'm in Brazil at the moment, it's my last night in Rio before flying to Mexico tomorrow - three weeks have gone fast but I have visited lots of amazing places...

I will update with pictures and stories when I have had a chance to sort through the photos - but for now I just wanted to say hi, so...

'HELLO!'

Also sparing a thought for those affected by the fires in Victoria...

2009-02-10T09:28:10Z

Oh wow, I am taking two months' leave from Saturday and visiting lots of cool places...

I'm recovering well, thanks for the concern - ongoing dental work over the rest of my life but I'm happy I look normal and my front teeth look completely fine now (even if I can't use them yet! the molars work, what else can I possibly need?! I can't tell you how important texture is after a few weeks of soup and mushy stuff...). I'm surprised to be doing as well as I am; I've been having a very blah week this week (oh wait it's only Tuesday) but apart from that, since Christmas I've been doing much better than I would have ever expected, given my rather sub par end to 2008. I'm excited to see friends, new places, and all the good things that go with travelling... and to wear my superlovely new dress to two weddings! Actually it feels like the start of the new year for me at the moment: I'm on the edge of something new (preferably not just bankrupcy, but something fun and exciting and.. er... you know, cool stuff).

On a less futuristic topic, there's something really lovely and luxurious about new sheets and candlelight, isn't there? I've just made my bedroom all sanctuary-like with these things this evening... think I'll spend the rest of the evening curled up listening to the new Franz Ferdinand cd (is it good?) or reading one of my excellent birthday pile of new books... Or maybe I'll just drink all my housemate's beer, laugh at my own jokes and be generally obnoxious. Ummmmm... ok maybe not that one.

Hope 2009 has started well for you.

nicemongoose @ 2008-12-04T13:11:00

2008-12-04T02:22:48Z

i was on my way to work on monday when my bag got caught in the wheel of my bike. i flew over the handlebars -i think, at least, the bike didn't seem to be there any more- and landed on my face. luckily there were no cars behind me to run me over. my first trip in an ambulance! the medical staff were all very lovely, and it's lucky i was wearing a helmet, given that i landed forehead first. as it is i have smashed teeth, a damaged face and lots of horrible grazes, am on painkillers and am stiff and sore. was very shaken for the first couple of days but that seems to be subsiding, thankfully. it's quite upsetting to have damaged my teeth- i was quite attached to them actually, especially after years of orthodontics as a teenager - but i guess that's better than damaging my brain or eyesight or something.

i can only drink through a straw or off a spoon, no chewing, and i can't talk properly. i think this will get old quite soon....

but it could be an awful lot worse in so many different ways. i'm very happy to have come off lightly, given the potential for brain damage, broken bones, major scarring, etc.

schmaps

2008-09-13T07:08:46Z

I got an email a few weeks ago saying that one of my pictures on Flickr had been shortlisted for use on a Vancouver city guide website/programme called Schmaps.... and I've just received an email saying that's going to be used! That's quite exciting, isn't it?

I don't really understand it but I think it's an iphone thing... anyway the picture was taken on cypress mountain when i was there with amie in dec 2005.

it's a beautiful day in sydney, and the cat is sitting on the windowsill meowing at the birds as though she can follow the conversation. i hope you're having an ace weekend.

why is it called the falls festival?

2008-09-06T03:11:43Z

I'm going to the Falls Festival, which will be my first camping festival since Reading 2000!! It's in a place called Lorne, which is on the Great Ocean Road, surrounded by national park I think, in Victoria. Exciting!

Here's the line-up - tell me if you think it's any good and who I should check out! And... who I should avoid... I already have some ideas but would love any thoughts esp if on a band I've never heard of!! Any advice on Falls also appreciated... I've heard they are really strict on banning people from bringing alcohol in, and there's a bus that goes into town and to the beach, but that's all I know. Perhaps you haven't been before either...

Franz Ferdinand
The Hives
Eli `Paperboy` Reed
The Cat Empire
The Kooks
The Grates
Gomez
Tegan and Sara
Fleet Foxes
Faker
SoKo
Donavon Frankenreiter
Jamie Lidell
Augie March
Ash Grunwald
TZU
The Drones
Mystery Jets
Architecture in Helsinki
Atmosphere feat. Brother Ali
The Dodos
A-Trak
Wolf and Cub
Liam Finn
The Cribs
Late Of The Pier
Rocket Science
British India
TinPan Orange

It's chucking it down with rain outside, but I don't really feel like spending today at home either... I'm feeling wildly uninspired by today. Perhaps another cup of tea will improve things...

PS sorry about the ads making the page look shit... they just appeared there....

Kakadu-du-du, push pineapple shake the tree

2008-08-28T10:37:05Z

helloooooo
i just got back from a few days in the top end, i.e. Darwin and surrounds - visiting Dr Clare, and it was a lovely 32 degrees with a breeze, just gorgeous weather... we went to Litchfield National Park including some off road adventures to find the lost city (it took so long to find that we questioned whether it had, in face, genuinely been lost) and some water holes plus a 1920s/30s tin homestead, some fab night markets, the very large, beautiful and really very breathtaking Kakadu National Park, the museum (worth visiting for at least two reasons - 1) the very large scary stuffed crocodile 'sweetheart' and 2- some really good art)... and a few other places too. We also met a snake that had crawled into a chicken's cage, eaten the chicken, and was then too fat to crawl out again. Very NT experience I'd have to guess!

Crocodiles

magnetic termite mounds at litchfield national park

clare at the lost city

the lost city

the road ahead... litchfield

i forget the name of these but they are everywhere (usually green leaves...). any botanists out there?

one of the water holes

kakadu

anbangbang billabong - very peaceful (i took more pictures but it basically just looked like a swamp in them... it was much lovelier in real life, i promise)

me

i just liked this one

the climb up to look out over the anbangbang billabong, escarpment etc...

yellow water cruise (flood plains, but not so flooded as it's the dry season)

cormorant relative

jabiru with dinner (a snake)

eagle (2nd biggest in australia afer the wedgetail... forget it's name, though, curses)

crocodile cooling its brain

cockatoos

one o' them there eagles in flight

kingfisher

sunset over kakadu

turtle

man

no shit

cahills crossing which you can't go into without a permit (unless you're aboriginal)

thanks all to the lovely clare for such a fun five days!!

Lemongrass and ginger tea is excellent

2008-07-25T10:59:41Z

That last post was crap, sorry I didn't realise it wasn't going to do a proper linky picture thing. Anyway, I'm doing Dry July, which means I'm not drinking alcohol for the whole month and it raises money for charity (the local hospital). This means I'm now the most boring person on the planet*. I'm sure it would be harder if I wasn't stuck down with a shitty, stonking cold that threatens to morph into potentially fatal manflu at any moment. I am feeling rough as a badger this week, and look forward to rejoining the world of normal hearing, speech and brainfog-free-ness.

I've started my new job (same place but new position) and it's great. I also have a new housemate, Amie (who I went to the USA and Canada with back in December 2005), and her cat, Scat, who is very cute and who miaows for attention and purrs when she gets it a LOT. I'm also still pleased to have such new items in the house as curtains, a dining table, picture rails and plug sockets.

I've discovered mountain biking (of the easy variety) is GREAT and I want to do more of it. I've visited the world's largest collection of babies (all of whom were most cute) and their excellent parents as well. I've got (cheap) tickets to see the Rocky Horror Show (free), tickets to the Red Paintings and tickets to the New Pornographers. I saw a talk by Bill Miller, one of the gods of drug and alcohol (see: motivational interviewing) and he was excellent. I've vistited Hope Street, where Timmy works, and learned about what they do in Woolloomoolloo, Surry Hills and Darlinghurst (suburbs of Sydney with lots of homeless people).

I'm loving Mother Tongue, a book about the English language, by Bill Bryson.

I hope you are having a ball!

PS Did I rave about how brilliant Lars and The Real Girl is? You really, really, really should see it.

*Or, slight less obnoxious on a Friday night at approximately 11pm

DJ Profile - Emma Black > Dry July

2008-07-01T03:59:20Z

DJ Profile - Emma Black > Dry July

Posted using ShareThis

How great are my workmates?!!

2008-06-12T08:22:59Z

They bought me tickets to see this as my leaving present!!!
(apparently it's really good, which is EVEN BETTER)
I'm really quite overwhelmed, it was a total surprise, yay! And they wrote lovely things in my card too

in other news I went interviewing today, aren't people great? my jaw hurts now from talking so much.
I am also going to visit Timmy (insanetimbo) at Hope Street (hopestreet.org.au, urban orientation) on 29th June which will be fab as a) I haven't seen him in ages and b) it will be interesting

Books: I'm also chowing through the books (if that's a word to describe reading, which I suspect it's not)... so pretty much everyone's read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (if you haven't then you should)... but i just read the sequel, A Spot of Bother, and *oh my* that was fab. Totally recommend it. I definitely do NOT recommend The Magus by John Fowles, and do recommend reading Brick Lane by Monica Ali.

Music: have been totally crap with new music - see last post about flights for reasons behind no live shows and no new cds - but am liking Plans by Deathcab for Cutie and still love the Panics, they are getting quite big here now which is good.

Films: I just joined Palace cinemas which was a grand idea, and two of the sweetest and funniest films I've ever seen were this year- Juno and especially Lars and the Real Girl (the latter of which I will hire again on DVD eventually)

Art: I can't believe the controversy about Bill Henson - ok ok there are points on both sides (i.e. whether his photographs are art or irresponsible 'cause they have naked teenagers in them and stuff) - but seriously, he's been an acclaimed and very famous photographer for, um, years - so how come it's all front page scandal NOW??!

Babies: friends are still getting pregnant and having babies, which is lovely. If only I wasn't being expected to pop one out myself!! In good news it did take until I was 30 to cop it at least!

Where will you be in February/March next year?

2008-06-03T09:46:21Z

I wanted to draw a funky little map to show you where I'm going to but it's proving way too hard: but next year this is happening --->

14th February:
I leave Sydney for Niseko (near Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan) for a week of skiing (Adam will already be over there with a bunch of other crazy ski-lovers and it will be fun. I am hoping for someone who's not a pro-skiier-narrowly-missed-out-on-the-olympics level to hang out with too if possible!!)

21st February:
Adam and I leave Japan for Cancun for Lucie and James' wedding *yay*. We get there about two weeks early so head off somewhere around Mexico and/or other Central American countries. Would like Cuba but think it will be too expensive to get there. Maybe see Armando!

12th March:
Lucie and James get married on the beach and much celebrating will occur. On the beach!!!

24th March:
Adam returns to Australia. I catch interesting connections via Fort Worth (Texas) and New York (do I know anyone in either of these places I should make a detour to see??) to London en route to Helen and Nick's wedding

28th March:
Helen and Nick get married in Caerphilly Castle. A castle!!! (this is still exciting despite being from a country stacked with the things)

15th April (I think- Easter Monday anyway)
I return to Sydney

So: that's about one week in Japan, about four weeks in Mexico and about two weeks in the UK (don't test me on the maths)... I'm hoping to catch up with as many people as possible & I'm pleased it's so far in advance because I will have something to look forward to for absolutely ages.

South America will have to wait another few years!!! (That was my last plan). Central America looks great....

more kangaroo island pictures

2008-06-01T08:03:48Z

australiana-tastic!

this is an orphaned wallaby

this is a baby koala

enjoy the rest of your weekend! i'm going for dinner wearing my brand new knee high boots and am very happy about that.

nicemongoose @ 2008-06-01T17:57:00

2008-06-01T07:59:50Z

nicemongoose @ 2008-05-25T20:32:00

2008-05-25T11:08:35Z

wooo, sitting in the internet cafe part of the adelaide yha with wet hair and pyjamas (don't ask) --> what a fine way to spend a sunday evening, no? anyhoooo i'm here on account of a conference - which was realyl great and inspiring, i might add - sorry for the typos i don't have long left on here - it was on homelessness - the prime minister kevin rudd opened it as a last minute surprise which was quite exciting. his speech was pretty good if a bit too long and not half as good as the one by nick francis - i am going to go and read his book. it's called the end of charity and he is one of the most moving and passionate speakers i have ever seen. i learned heaps and it was funny being at a different sort of conference to drug and alcohol, which is often stuffed full of academics and service providers and drug user representatives and generally all a bit segregated at times. at least there is a lot more of a consensus in the community about homelessness, too. people make more judgements on drug use, i think, than homelessness.

i also went to kangaroo island where i saw wallabies and penguins and seals and sealions. hurrah!

hope you are well - i'm looking forward to my new projects at work - i think i start in july/august.

nicemongoose @ 2008-05-17T12:24:00

2008-05-17T02:52:45Z

hello and welcome to the latest entry on my journal. i've been an irritating little holidaymaker this year but rest assured, this pay period sees me with an empty bank account and an empty holiday savings account. oops. anyway the last trip i went on was to VANUATU. it's an archipelago (spelling i'm not so sure about, but anyway, a bunch of islands that together form a country) in the south pacific. sort of like fiji but less famous in the northern hemisphere. the reason for the trip was nick and colette's joint 30th party. so a whole bunch of us booked up as many budget flights as possible and headed over there for a while.... the party was great, the snorkelling was great, the noticeable presence of an ozone layer was great, and oh my god, the visit to the live volcano was AMAZING. not quite so enjoyable was the aggressive chasing of adam by a girl back in sydney. but other than that: ace.

i went up a live volcano!!!!!

i've also got a new job which i'm very excited about. it's at the same place and with the same boss so i won't be able to start until the new person is in - i think july/august. i'm also going to adelaide for a conference next week and plundered the rest of my savings for a trip to kangaroo island (and a visit to clare in darwin in august). shame megan has left adelaide now: she's moved to melbourne and is currently on tour with the audreys.

it's coming up to two years of my relationship which is lovely, and a surprise that it's been two years.

i'm carbon offsetting lots of flights. more needs to be done, though. i'm all about learning to be greener. just as long as i don't have to go to lots of meetings. i'm one of those young and upcoming people who likes to do green things: otherwise known as guppies.

and the presets are ace. woooo!

it's easy to have exotic holidays when you live in australia. europe has its charms too though...

2008-04-06T01:08:50Z

we got to airlie beach township....

....we went on a boat....[we also sea kayaked and saw lots of turtles; we also had dolphins swimming round the boat eating the fish that were attracted by the night-time lights which was GREAT]

.... we went to whitehaven beach....

.... we went snorkelling and saw lots of coloured fishes [even a maori wrasse named priscilla who's in the process of changing sex]....they're hard to get good pictures of so here's one of purvi instead...

.... purvi had a go at sailing....

.... and a grand time was had by all, i think. nice bunch of people on the boat, and there was even an engagement!....

... and then it was time to come home...

hope you're well - and on a separate note [because they're in cardiff], congratulations, helen and nick, on your engagement!

nicemongoose @ 2008-03-26T20:22:00

2008-03-26T10:29:03Z

i'm writing this from an internet cafe in airlie beach. purvi is sitting next to me - we're here because we're going on a 3 day, 2 night boat trip around the whitsunday islands tomorrow- woohoo! it's a boat called summertime, which hopefully will have cool people on it. the sea here is beautiful, really turquoise. airlie beach (the township) is a bit of a hole, actually, a bit like hervey bay - lots of pissed-up backpacker joints and bad restaurants, without much else to commend (recommend?) it - oh, the people are nice.

i'm excited to go snorkelling, and hoping not to have to wear one of those all in one lycra-like bodysuits they call 'stinger suits'...

holidays rock!

nicemongoose @ 2008-03-15T17:31:00

2008-03-15T06:57:43Z

Hooray! The crazier six months of the year are over and I'm feeling more human again!

In other news, Adam and I went on a kayaking trip to Kangaroo Valley, two hours south of Sydney, the other weekend - my belated 30th present. We didn't see any kangaroos but *did* see my first ever live, wild wombat; a delapidated old thing munching grass and paying no attention to all the people around it. Very excellent. They are just brilliant. Just ask my mum, she's quite the fan. I'm not too good at the old upper body work but that's where an enthusiastic six-foot sandboy of a boyfriend comes in rather handy; we still got overtaken quite a lot, though. At very slow speed. Hur. We then pitched our tent on some tree roots AND on a hill (flat cushy ground and decent sleep is sooo last season), failed to have any other equipment (who needs roll mats, cutlery or crockery anyway) and on the way home found a petrol station with LPG four kilometres before we were due to run out of fuel. It was great (actually it was).

It's funny how horribly boring things become interesting when you have your own place- I ♥ hardware shops these days (this started when I discovered they often sell house plants, of which I have many; some say too many), and have been teaching myself to paint walls and skirting boards. In spite of all the paint I get in my hair, I am quite proud of myself. It has also unfortunately introduced me to the not-so-exciting world of curtain shopping and interest rates, but whatever.

PS The OED says under the entry for sandboy that the origin of the phrase 'happy as a sandboy' is 'probably originally denoting a boy going around selling sand'. How odd. I love the English language.

home ownership- nice view, dodgy pipes

2008-01-21T23:07:26Z

Happy January, everyone. (Meant in a good way, of course!)