Encouraged by my Personal Trainer, who says we should learn a new skill every year, I have decided to learn a new skill. Most probably not what she had in mind, but I decided to learn how to play Guitar Hero. It’s fun, it promotes concentration and hand-eye coordination. Best of all my teacher is VWB [1], and we get to share some fun time together. (I know, Awwww)
So far I’m still on the Easy level, and playing Bass. I think my percentage is averaging in the late 80s early 90s, so not doing too badly so far. I find it easiest when I can play by ear, but that seems to be a bad thing to do because sometimes I can’t always hear the notes that I’m supposed to strum. Best to play by eye, but sometimes I can’t always see very well either. I think that’s a combination of me needing new contact lenses and because I concentrate so hard I don’t blink much and my eyes dry out!
Still, it’s a lot of fun. As someone who is not that much into computer games, I find it relaxing and rewarding. It’s great to get encouragement from VWB and lovely spending the time with him.
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You may notice the distinct lack of colour in my banner. This is to support The Great Australian Internet Blackout this week.
The year is drawing to a close, I thought I would do a bit of a retrospective. Looking back there were a few highlights and lowlights for me.
In January Tony Martin & Ed Kavalee released a tribute podcast for their late colleague, who died the month before, Richard Marsland.
Also in January, I read a letter that I had written to myself that should have been opened on my 35th birthday but forgot. I learned as mature as we think we are at 21, there’s still a long way to go. We continue to grow and learn every year until we become the people we are, then grow and learn some more.
We remember the bushfires that ravaged us in February. It’s almost one third of the way through summer now and we all hope that we won’t see any more this year. Though unfortunately there have already been some in other states. Out of the bushfires came a monumental community urge to help. One of the ways this manifested was the Sound Relief concert, which I attended. One of the most amazing days of my life. The highlight being that the rains that day, which bucketed down, put out the last of the fires.
There have been some spectacular photos released of Saturn and its Moons from Cassini this year. And we celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Moon landing.
Health wise: I’ve had bad sinuses since May. In fact I had a chronic infection there for a while, and went on four courses of antibiotics. The sinusitis persists as we speak.
House wise: I finally got my mains water pipe replaced! No more rusty water & so much more pressure. I still get a thrill every time I turn on a tap. I painted my kitchen cupboards. I finally got my air conditioning installed! I also have organised for Leaf Busters (not mythbusters as I kept accidentally telling people) to come and do my gutters so I never have to have them cleaned ever again. And I will be replacing the corrugated fibreglass that covers the back with corrugated polycarbonate.
The Black Panel launched their podcast.
And the highest of all highlights for me is after a two and a bit year break my boyfriend and I got back together. Not a planned thing, something that just sort of evolved. We’re both very happily now living together. It’s been a wonderful journey so far for the both of us. Things developed rather rapidly, but I can’t express how right it feels. I know people say that all the time, but this just feels right. It is so different to last time. This is the same VWB that suggested this very blog. If you clicked the link above and went back to read the entry about my letter to myself, you would’ve read the paragraph where I express how content I was living the single life. Perhaps you have to be happy with yourself as a single person before you can be happy as a . . . not-single person.
I went to Prahran today to visit the Chapel Street Bazaar. I wanted an old phone. One that doesn’t require power, so that I have a land-line phone during a blackout. I particularly wanted one with a dial on the front, like the one we used to have when I was little. Having checked local op-shops and coming up empty, the Bazaar was the only place I could think of that was sure to have one. I found one, and in my favourite colour- green! In fact it was exactly what I wanted! Of course it cost way more than I was hoping (but not more than I expected) however it came with a three-month warranty, so I could take it back if it didn’t work. Happy with that, I purchased it.
No need to take it back, it works!! Yay!! And the cats should find it difficult sliding the phone off the hook like they did with my other one.
On my way to the Bazaar, I walked past Swinburne University. My eye was caught by their sign. My first thought upon seeing it was ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe they teach design there and they went with that!’ The design itself is not bad, it just reads badly. 
I don’t know how long they’ve had this design, but really ‘SWIN . . . BUR . . . NE’? Swin burnie? We are the students who say “Ne!” I bet the designer demanded to be paid with a shrubbery.
I do know a little bit about what I’m talking about, as I did study design at . . . eh-hm . . . Swin bur ne. (Oh dear)
You may remember my ingenious creative solution to stopping my cat Fang from getting into the kitchen scrap bin. It worked for some time, but now it seems he is able to open it again. Seems he’s addicted to tea bags!
I’ve come up with a second even more ingenious solution. I can’t see him getting this one open any time soon, unless he works out how to tip it over.
Those rocks are glued on with Liquid Nails, so good luck getting them off Fang.
Attention Gamers . . . The Black Panel’s podcast can now be subscribed to on iTunes. Click Here.
If you love games and great conversation with people who know what they’re talking about then this is definitely for you. I’m not a gamer so listen to Miztres who is:
The Podcast was pretty techie as you know, really above my level, but they kept the conversation to my level so I could follow along well enough. For example the talk about a rumoured massively big Xbox360. As soon as I heard that I went “Why? What for?” Well they told me what for….not that it’s really useful for most of us and certainly not useful for me. I can now speak confidently that I do not need to upgrade to the new Xbox if it ever turns up.
I liked the conversational style, I felt I was also in the room with them…just not contributing to the conversation.
The segments are cute. Did you hear the one about screen names: Metal Finger! Tumourous Pizza? I was laughing as I listened to the podcast and then had to explain myself to Catherine who couldn’t hear it.
I love Good Game on ABC and don’t miss an episode. When the podcast reviewed games I’d seen on Good Game I could follow their review. Their review brought out different aspects of the game that the Good Game guys hadn’t mentioned for whatever reason. Pretty cool.
I will be listening in the future.
Now, if you love Star Trek, you love humour and you are a bit of a geek (hey dude, you just admitted to being a Star Trek fan), then you should listen to Wil Wheaton’s Memories of the Future Podcast.
I first started reading Wil’s blog after I thought I caught a glimpse of him in Nemesis (Don’t get me started on that film). Wondering what Wesley Crusher was doing at the wedding party and in Starfleet uniform, I immediately hit the net. I found that Wil Wheaton had his own blog. I figured it sure to have something about the film in it. I thought it would be just another celebrity blog that the actual celebrity has nothing to do with, but it was worth a shot. It turns out that he writes it himself. He turns out to be a really cool guy (for a geek). I had no illusions he’d be like Wesley Crusher (in fact I never really gave Wesley much thought, not even enough to hate or like the character), but I didn’t expect him to sound just like any one of my friends.
Memories of the future is a book he is about to put out about The Next Generation. He says it’s not a tell all book. It’s more like going through a high school year book. But if you listen to the first episode, he’ll describe it much better than I can. Go on, go listen. Go! Trust me, I’m a geek.
Here’s a link to the first three episodes (because that’s all there is at the time of writing) after that you’re on your own.
Oh, and just by the way. I was walking through the park on my way to work (by myself) listening to episode 3. He made me laugh out loud! So not only was I the crazy laughing lady in the park, but snot came out of my nose!
Directed by David Cowles and Andy Kennedy. From TMBGs new DVD/CD set Here Comes Science. Available at iTunes and Amazon now! http://bit.ly/AmazonScience
I seem to be suffering from a chronic sinus infection. It has been hanging on since May. Maybe even before, I had headaches before then. I’ve had 4 courses of antibiotics. With the third we added steroids up the nose. It seemed to clear it up, only for symptoms to reappear three weeks later. I finished my fourth course of antibiotics a week ago yesterday. It appears to have helped, but I’ve had horrible sinus headaches the past week. I’m giving it until Monday then back to the GP who will likely send me to the specialist.
All sounds like bad news right? Well, despite all this, I’ve been doing exceedingly well at gym! I am now able to do chin-ups. Multiple times! I did three sets yesterday. Five, then three, then five. Thirteen altogether! (Apparently not many girls can do that) I am also competing in the Global Corporate Challenge, and managed to get a personal best of 24,010 steps!
This illustrates a change in myself. A few years back I would’ve let the sinus infection beat me, and just lounge around and do nothing.
I feel good! I’m in pain, but I feel good!
My lovely garden. Yes, those yellow flowers are weeds but I like them. I’ll weed the garden once they’ve died off.
Does anyone use Stickies much?
I opened the app recently and found a note left for me. I’m not sure who wrote it, but have my suspicions. The note was created in 2005! I clearly have not found a use for them, since.
