pushing the sky

I remember about 6 months ago, I was thinking along the lines of “Wow, what on earth would I do for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year?!” as I entered the workforce. I assumed work would be at the pace of assignments in their later stages, and there’s no way they could keep that pace up, all the time, could they? And yeah, while there were days where things ran together and suddenly the sun was setting outside and I barely realised the time, it wasn’t crunchy, it wasn’t like “whoa where did that hour disappear to?”. But I’d also had the opposite, days where I stared at the screen waiting for it to tick over to the next hour, and it just seemed to not want to.

Naturally, you will assume that I will next say “oh, but not today, etc etc”.

And you’d be oh-so-right.

31 days till London! *starts countdown timer*

July 30, 2006July 30, 2006

Act III, Scene IV

TWO PEOPLE, one MALE, one FEMALE, lying on a DOUBLE BED. It is A SUMMER NIGHT, and no lights are on inside THE APARTMENT, though LIGHT filters through the BILLOWING CURTAINS from the STREET OUTSIDE.

The CAMERA zooms in from the door, taking in the scene. They are TALKING, IN SOFT WHISPERS. There is a note of AMUSEMENT in the banter, with OCCASIONAL QUIET LAUGHTER, more often feminine. The camera switches to OVERHEAD, CLOSE-IN, as they CONTINUE TO TALK.

“And… let’s see now, your eyes are gorgeous,”

“Go on,”

“They’re so big, and so blue, it’s like they’re pools I could just drown myself in, all day long,”

She chuckles.

“And have I mentioned your nose?”

“Yes, you have,”

“Ok then, your hair, it’s the most perfect hair I’ve seen, and that hairstyle, just perfect,”

“Get out,”

“No, I’m not kidding!”

“I haven’t shampoo’d it in days,”

“Does it matter? It still looks like you stepped out of a shampoo commercial,”

“I hope it’s not the anti-dandruff one you’re thinking of,”

“No way!”

“Ur-huh. You were saying?”

“Your lips…”

“Been there, done that. Getting bored, bucko.”

“Am I seriously losing track? I keep forgetting what I’m up to… it’s like you keep hitting reset on my senses,”

“Did you know it was once a crime to murder metaphors? They’ve gone soft these days,”

“Hey, I’m no Shelly or Keats you know,”

“Honey, if they handed out poetic licenses you’d have failed your learner’s test,”

“Gods that pun was horrible,”

“Not as bad as your metaphors,”

“Quite possibly,”

“Shut up and kiss me, boy.”

“Yes ma’am.”

FADE TO BLACK as characters KISS

July 29, 2006July 29, 2006

Updates

Updated WordPress to 2.0.4, so let me know etc if there are any issues.

Will be in Melbourne next weekend & the following Monday because we get a Bank Holiday in NSW that day, and, funny that, I’m working in a bank :D Score! So yeah, hopefully may meet some people at some point. It is the last time I’ll be down before I leave for London, so chances are that I’ll be prioritising family time.

Also will be planning my 21st party… which will be 2 months after my actual birthday. Given that I’m off on the 1st of September, it’s gonna be difficult to come back here a week later :P Planned date is Nov 18th, a Saturday night, though the final details have yet to be finalised. Haven’t had a lot of feedback from people, I must say, when I asked them for their experiences, so gotta make it up as I go along I guess (obviously with the able assistance of my family). Consider this official notice to keep that night free.

Starting to scope out stuff and think about what to pack. Very scary in a way… I’ve travelled for that length of time (well nearly), but only to India, and the destination was always family. Living alone already means I know how to look after myself, but 2 months… is a long ass time. Definitely wish to keep in touch.

I have not had a reply from my first-round letter writers. Going to send a second round – i refuse to be frustrated so easily! – before I leave in the hope that by the time I get back they may have gotten around to writing a letter in reply. I’ll post up my details of where I’ll be staying in London as soon as I get them, so if you’re feeling particularly creative you can send it over there.

New design in the works, will have it within the next month.

July 28, 2006

Comments may be held against you

Hey guys,

Had an attack of spam recently (100 spam in one day) so I’ve chucked in a tougher spam catching system (Akismet). Unfortunately it’s a little more strict than it needs to be, so occasionally your comments will be held for moderation when they’re just normal ol’ comments. Bear with me, I’ll approve it as soon as I see it (which at my normal rate will be probably once every hour or so =D)

Thanks.

July 27, 2006

New Headphones

Stories abound of people getting mugged just for having those famous white headphones, so I went hunting last week for a new pair. That and I had medical advice that I better switch away from the in-ear headphones, meaning my choices were in the over-the-ear range. I strayed for all of 2 minutes into the sound-cancelling zone; the sound cancelling really does work, but gods, the price. THE PRICE, MAN. $250 for a pair of headphones that are as chunky as my attempts to chop up onions?! (woo bad mixed metaphor~)

In the end, I paid much-too-much anyway ($60) for this pair. I’ve always wanted to get the “street style” ones, mainly because the over-head band just wouldn’t cut it (bad past experience), and I couldn’t find any other style really. The first thought: oh, my, god, these things are sexy. the sound is so sexy. it’s like i’m hearing things i’ve never heard before, probably indicating they’re better than my computer speakers. no real surprise there, since i spent more on them than the computer speakers, but still. This was soon after followed by other thoughts, like “They barely fit on my big head” and “hey, I’ll get even more noticed now than the ubiquotous whities” and “well it increases the ‘pod’s battery life because i only need volume at a quarter”, and also “wow my ears aren’t cold anymore!”

Suffice to say, good money well spent, but completely missing the point of not getting mugged. Ah well, at least the doctor will be happy.

July 27, 2006July 27, 2006

Apple replaces discoloured MacBooks

Apple will replace discoloured MacBooks: Where’s that Apple Store? [Update: I seriously could not find the Apple Store in Sydney, despite wandering around for 25 min. Anyone tell me where it is?]

July 25, 2006October 20, 2007

Movie Roundup

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest: ★★★★ Good fun ride, but much like Kill Bill 1 or The Two Towers, it’s been stretched a little too long in order to justify release as a movie by itself, and basically has only half the plot it should have had, with the end leaving you hanging. The last half hour has all the stuff that really counts, so I’m very much looking forward to the final chapter of the story wrapping it up. Which, as a matter of course, is exactly what the creators intended. Bastards.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang: ★★★★☆. I wanted to watch this when it came out, but the stars just didn’t line up and I ended up missing it, so when I spotted it at the video store I grabbed it instantly and look around as though someone was going to snatch it from me. Rollicking good fun. I don’t even know if that’s a word. Exactly the kind of movie I love – self-aware, dark humour, characters who seem genuinely human (i.e. they don’t know everything by any means), and a plot which stitches itself together at the end very nicely. Tears, of, Laughter, I tell you.

Syriana: ★★★☆ Excellent movie with timely message, great acting and direction a cut above. Plot somewhat like Crash, as I mentioTned previously, but more… visceral, more real – not cutely tying itself up like Crash. However, I didn’t care quite enough about the characters when bad things happened, and as almost inevitably so in this kind of movie, very America-centric and has a lot of talking heads you just end up listening to the script more than anything. Would be very interesting to read the book.

Date Movie: Ugh. Terrible.

9 Songs: Porn, basically. The only thing which stops it from being put in the porn basket completely (as opposed to “Arthouse”) is the fact that the time is almost evenly split between the sex scenes and non-sex-scenes. Possibly great exploration of two people in a deep, physical relationship, but spoilt by the fact that the director clearly wanted to see how far he could push the envelope. Watching with members of the opposite sex extremely awkward.

Click: ★★ Argh, I don’t know why I give Adam Sandler chances. He’s slowly moving towards better movies, but this ain’t it.

Oh and if I haven’t harped on about it enough yet, make sure you don’t miss Hoodwinked (★★★★★), which should be in cinemas soon (taking its damn sweet time getting to Aus). Laugh-till-you-hurt kind of irreverent humour.

Upcoming to-see movies: