(*) Car tomorrow

Fingers' crossed, I'll be picking up a car tomorrow that I can call all my own - at last! It's been over 2 1/2 years' since I last had a car of my own. More news as it happens...
It's exactly one of these - same colour too!

(*) This week's pics

Here's the back patio of the townhouse in which I live. Gotta love that BBQ... plus it's nice to have a place to hang the washing out undercover during the frosts of winter!


This is one of my guitars, which I sit and 'doodle' with while watch TV.


My little flowers aren't coping with spring, it seems!


And this is one of the books I've been reading recently - a lighthearted comedy by the great writer Tom Sharpe (along with "Blott" and the "Wilt" series too, amongst others!)

On this day:
Born: Guy Sebastian; Bob Hoskins (actor, 1942); Leon Trotsky 1879.
Died: Pablo Picasso 1975.
Events: Beatles awared MBE's, 1965.
Weather: amazing blue sunny skies, dead calm, about 25c.
My Soundtrack: Rolling Stones "40 Licks"

Cyalayta

(*) A flying moment in time

Speaking with the boys on the phone this week, both Josh and the boys' mum have come down with the lurgi... coughs, vomiting, sniffles... eewww. The younger two seemed immune to it all (thankfully), and they chatted happily enough to me over the phone. They sound so grown up now - 5 and 7 going on 6 and 8 next month... They were telling me what they were eating for dinner one night - broccoli and peas with bread... hmmm... they still have an eclectic diet... hahahaa! Aint they precious?

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George Johnston... oh gawd, Mal, don't you ever give up with these?!? hahahahaa. Well, you guessed it - I managed to find and purchase a really excellent 2nd-hand copy of a very rare out-of-print book by my favourite author, George Johnston (he wrote 'My Brother Jack'.) He was a war correspondent in 1944 when he wrote this particular book, "Skyscrapers in the Mist" (Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1946). I'm amazed at the excellent condition of this book, considering it's like 58 years' old - and it only cost me $8. Whoo hoo! What a thrifty shopper!

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The rain here has managed to abate long enough for me to inspect the garden, quickly pull a few small nasstie weeds that've popped up uninvited, and open all the windows to let some non-damp air thru the place - at last! The rain has been wonderful, but we need lots and lots more of rain like this out here - steady showers for a few days at a time, on a consistent basis. The water supply for this town is pretty good (we haven't got water restrictions here, unlike the poor buggers on the coast), but it's still far from full. And yes - the whole town has gone bezerk in a maze of spectacular colour, with shrubs, trees and plants everywhere blooming their hearts' out. I'll have to go exploring with my new camera...

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Random thought... (those of you who know me will appreciate that I often operate on a series of 'stream of consciousness' thoughts from one moment to the next, often totally unrelated, but still keeps my mind working overtime... I suppose there's some psychological term for it! hahahaa!) Anyway... when I used to chat heaps on MSN a few years' ago, I 'created' an 'alter ego' called 'Moofie' - he was like a naughty, cheeky 12-yo boy! It was always done in good clean fun, and everyone in the room knew who it was and enjoyed playing along with it. Anyway, I digress... after having met quite a few of those people face-to-face whom I'd met online, I had to laugh that they pronounced this character as "Moo-fee". fair enough - it's not like they'd ever heard me say it, only type it a zillion times! BUT - in my mind it's pronounced "Mo-fee" - ie. short 'mo', not long 'moo' as like the sound a cow makes! "Mo' as in "Mormon" (gees, I couldn't think of something else that sounded right off the top of my head...). It's just a silly random thought thing, of no real consequence - I just thought it was funny hearing people talk about Mooofie, and I didn't know at first what they were talking about! hahahaa!

An interesting side (yes, yet another random thought... the only problem is that my mind works a zillion % faster than my typing ever could... d'oh!) When I was first discovering the world of chatting, people were talking about getting 'Moofied'... in my ignorance as a newbie, I had to ask... I was told that it was chat slang for getting your computer disconnected from your server, or 'falling out' of the chatroom unexpectedly. I always thought the whole name, Moofie, was so bizarre (which, of course, appealed to me immediately), that it soon became personalized (as such!)  When I was teaching kids, I used to have a big puppet called "MC", and eventually that thing evolved into the character of 'Moofie Monster'... it's a long story, involves lots of lint, is very silly, and good for a laugh. Check out a little slice of cyberspace Moofie has slimed for himself... http://au.geocities.com/maljam2002/lint.html

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My brother is coming up on Sunday. It's been a few weeks since I've seen him, so it'll be good to briefly hang out together again. He's 10-years' older than me, and in many ways we are like 'chalk and cheese'. But over the past few years we've come to realise we are a lot closer than we realised, and it's been just so refreshing coming to know my only brother in a whole new way for the very first time.

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Fingers' crossed - possibly by this time next week, I may have possession of some cheap little car to get about town with! At last - I can get all those little jobs done where you need to have your own car! Brilliant for work searching too...

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On This Day...
Born: Timothy Leary (LSD, 1920); Franz Liszt (composer, 1811); Sarah Bernhardt (actress, 1844); Geoff Goldblum (actor, 1952).
Events: Jefferson Airplane's first ever gig, California, 1966.
Useless Trivia:  111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
My Soundtrack: "Harvest", Neil Young (boring - I know!)
Weather: 7/10ths overcast, mild/warm, winds light to variable (thanx Eccles!)

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Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard the Quackers)   :o)

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Nuts"  (US General, Battle of the Bulge 1944, in reply to German surrender demand)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)

(*) Thursday is today

This is the lovely little townhouse I'm living in quite happily right now, thank you.


I spoke to my mum this morning - she sounded terrible... weak, breathless, lethargic...

On This Day...
Born: Manfred Mann (muso, 1940); Steve Cropper (muso, 1941); Dizzy Gillespie (jazz god, 1917); Samuel Taylor Coleridge (writer, 1772).
Died: Jack Kerouac (writer, 1969).
Events: Battle of Trafalgar & Nelson dies, 1805.
Useless Trivia: The blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby wrote 8,500 hymns.
My Soundtrack: Beatles "Anthology 2"; local radio.

(*) Latest pic

For those of you interested in a recent pic of me - here's one. It's literally the first thing I've taken my my new digital camera... a self-portrait using the bathroom mirror - complete with flash spots on the glass! D'oh!


Here's one of my precious goldfish "Thoon", complete with his resident dinosaur!


And finally for today - my two teddy bears, "Whitey" and "Edward". Dear ol' Edward is 40 years' old - and really starting to show it!

On This Day...
Born: Tom Petty (muso, 1953); Arthur Rimbaud (writer, 1854).
Died: Burt Lancaster (actor, 1994).
Events: Sydney Opera House opened, 1973.
Useless Trivia: Largest pleasure beach is Virginia Baeach, VI, USA, with 45km of beach frontage.
My Soundtrack: Beatles "Anthology 2"

Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard the Quackers)
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Nuts" (US General, Battle of the Bulge 1944, in reply to German surrender demand)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)

Monday Madness

This week's questions are all about computers! Let's play, shall we??? (and let's make it fill-in-the-blanks....)

1. I have reformatted my hard drive just one time.
2. I usually reformat my hard drive about one time a year.
3. When I'm working in a document, I save about every thirty minutes.
4. I've upgraded my computer by adding a cd-rom drive! lol.
5. I've got about fifty CD's/floppies with info on them and about six of them aren't labeled.
6. Since I've been using my computer, I find the easiest way to organize my files is to put 'em into organised and clearly organised folders & sub-folders.
7. I have three email accounts.
8. Whenever I have a computer-related question, I usually call my local bloke.
9. I usually use a search engine when looking for Uni or work-related stuff.
10. My computer is about five years' old.

posted by otto

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I just wanna say a huge big thank you to all my regular Bloggers who read this stuff and say hello when they can - thank you so much for your wonderful feedback, comments and advice, wisdom - and a great sense of humour!


Cyalayta
Mal :o)

Adopt a useless blob

Adopt a Useless Blob here!

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43.75 %

My weblog owns 43.75 % of me.
Does your weblog own you?

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Thanx sooooo much to the wonderful Third Daughter and her blog - whom I've liberally pinched stuff from! Argh! lol

(*) Sinus headaches are no fun

Argh! I hate having a filty sinus headache like right now! Makes my Sunday blech...

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I realise I usually just talk about my activities rather than my feelings when I write these posts. I know that - it's not a conscious thing... I think it's still partly my defence mechanism... I think I'm still too frightened to tell too much to people.. it's the whole violated trust thing I must be unconsciously fearing still, I think... oooh, heavy stuff! As it is, I think too much anyway... If I'm ever going to fully trust someone else ever again, it's only when I can fully, freely, confidently share those thoughts and deeper-deeper level feelings with them one-on-one. I know I share a lot in this blog, but in many, many ways, it's only really skimming the surface of what's going on in my chest for me from day to day. A blog is only an externalization anyway - a shadow of reality in so many ways. I realise and appreciate the whole limitations of what a blog can hope to achieve, and that's OK. Tho it doesn't stop me writing and sharing who I am. I USED to write like that all the time, years' ago. I guess I'm just out of practise, being so used to writing about stuff and not about feelings... I dunno! So, I guess I'll have to get practising again! Yeah yeah, I know... I don't have to justify myself writing this blog! I'm not! I'm just 'sharing my feelings'! hahahaa! I think I have to relearn vocalising my "inner voice" again...

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I caught up with an old friend yesterday over 'coffee' for about an hour in a nice small quiet cafe, and we talked and talked the whole time! Great time just to hang out and catch up. Rod admits he's as slack as the next guy with keeping in touch with people, and admitted he's missing out on just hanging out with blokes again. Life's busy as a new dad of a 2-yo, a husband and a shift manager! So, we'll be spending a bit of time from now on just hanging out together - playing pool at the RSL Club - whatever, whenever his shifts and home life allow it. Just some bloke time. Male bomding stuff, maybe? lol. heck knows I need it too!

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The boys' mum is pregnant already - they've only been married about 6 weeks or sommat! I feel fine about it - really. The wierd part is - my brother told me! I spoke to Shell yesterday afternoon - and she didn't say anything about it! "Strange woman." My brother and I agreed with her that we wonlt tell my mum about it in the near future - the thought might physically kill her! My mums' never really coped with Shell not only divorcing her youngest son, but remarrying another! Poor mum...

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In that same phone call with my brother, he's convinced my mum to allow me to buy a cheap 2nd-hand car! She knows she hasn't got long to live, and she's thinking of giving some of our small inheritence to us now while she's still around - so she can see us enjoying and appreciating it. So, I'll be hunting around for a small cheap car - something that hopefully's not a complete bomb. $2.5K isn't exactly a lot to purchase a car with... but, beggars must not be choosers! It'll be wonderful - I'm sure Shell will be even more over-protective of me hanging-out with the boys now she's pregnant (she's still wierd about some things! I just take whatever I can get...), so having a car to pick them up and go places together will be awesome!

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In amongst all this, along with some $ that mum had given me for my birthday back in July, I finally bought myself a new digital camera. Little Kodak thing that does everything except makes a good coffee! Now all I need is get the USB port working on this puter, so I can download my pics! I've tried getting the USB happening, but no go. I'll take it along to a computer dude tomorrow, and he says it's probably just a simple thing. I don't wanna start taking the cover off the thing and fiddling around!

I got domestic with the new camera too - I sewed myself a new camera bag for it. But... I made it out of unconventional materials (of course!) I'd already cut-down a pair of old jeans to make a pair of grotty house-shorts for summer, and I made the camera bag out of the denim leg cut-offs! hahahaa! I guess the sewing bug got to me (or maybe just the heat of the direct sun shining straight onto my head in bed first thing in the morning), because I made a quick trip to Spotlight and bought a few meters of nice looking (and on sale!) rubber-backed curtain material. I've got nice curtains on my bedroom windows already, but they don't stop the heat coming in first thing in the morning. I had an old blanket up against the window behind the curtains last summer, just to take the heat out. This year I thought curtains would be much more sensible! Anyway, yesterday watching the Rugby League Test on telly (Australia Vs New Zealand - 16-all!), I hand-sewed my new curtains, that now go behind those blue curtains I've already got hanging. Well, they work really well... it was so dark in my room this morning - I slept in!!!! hahahahaaa!

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And, to top off a nice sunny week - it's raining as I speak! We've had a few mm's over this week, which helps - every little drop helps out here. Needless to say, the gardens around town are looking amazingly colourful as a result of rain and sunshine. Whoo hoo.

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Week 89
I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Dimension:: the equator
   
2. Roger:: Climpson
   
3. CSI:: ooze!
   
4. Passenger:: crowded, smelly dark noisy underground trains.
   
5. Thankful:: my three sons' laughter.
   
6. Has-been:: Mofie!
   
7. Bambino:: Bambi's child?
   
8. Wrinkles:: middle-age at thirty seven!
   
9. Cable TV:: wassat?
   
10. Voicemail:: mobile phone used as a glorified answering machine...
    

Cyalayta
Mal :o)

Foot'n'Chair
Silly News

Try this...

Note: This link is a bit norty - adult content!

So you think your blog is pretty hot. Pretty out there maybe? Maybe even a little too sedate. What ever you think, you have to try this. It will not change anything in your blog - it is only a fun thing to try.

Just click here, type in your blog address, or any site address for that matter, hit submit and sit back and have a read. Amazing and very funny. If you are a little unsure, just copy and paste my address in and see what comes up. Make sure you read around and see what is written.

Have Fun!! lol

(Thanx sooooooooo much to Just Cruising for this extreme silliness! Love it!)

(*) A varied week of inertia

I ended up borrowing a car on Monday (the buses/trains after the car races were a joke), so I could go and visit my mum on the Blue Mountains. I haven't seen her in a few weeks, although we keep in touch via the electric-type wireless telephonatronics. She looked terrible, basically. She's frail-as, weak, breathless, lethargic. I hate to say it, but I do not know if I will see my mum alive again. That may sound a bit blasé, but it's all a bit surreal at the moment. We had a great day just hanging out together - talking for hours about old films! All this 'level seven' stuff happening one after another in just a few years is wearing me out...

I can't believe it - my "Robert Lowell Collected Poems" finally arrived! A copy turned up from the UK about 2 weeks' ago, but it was damaged in transit! Argh! But a brand spanking shiny and new copy now sits beside me at this very moment, the authors' near-sighted face staring at me from the hard cover. At last at last! I spent an hour or so last night just perusing the 1,100+ pages cramed-full of all of his stuff! Whoo hoo! My favourite poet - all mine! Eargh!

I made a great find at the local library... the Led Zeppelin DVD. Amazing live never-before-seen concert footage released officially by the band! wow - awesome stuff! I was never into Zep at the time, and it hasn't been until the last few years that they finally 'clicked' for me. They were a really great tight little outfit, playing supersonicly charged blues a whole lot of the time. Great footage and a great sound on this DVD too.

Recently I've managed to catch-up again with the guitarist from the band I used to play in in the 1820's... he sent me a copy of his new CD he wrote, played and recorded all on his own at his place down on the South Coast of NSW. "Flop" by Alexander. Good stuff. Very 'Alex' stuff - what can I say?! I like it!

Along the way I also discovered and ordered a cheap copy of a very old (1945) George Johnston book I haven't got as of yet, "Skyscrapers in the Mist" - not one of his best, but at least i'll have a copy of this rare book of my own - all for just $8.00!

I'm having morning tea with a guy I used to hang out with a bit before I was separated. I haven't heard from him in over a year, so it'll be good to catch up with him again, and just casually hang out. This warmer weather saw me out pottering in the garden again... just pottering, nothing too serious, mind you... Thoon sends his aquatic greetings... and finally, to top off a varied weeks' highlights - my sinus' have gone out on strike, for no apparent reason. If only I could get a good nights' sleep without choking to death beforehand...

Check out the other post "Vroom Vroom" about my race weekend too.

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On This Day...
Born: Cliff Richard (ever youthful, 1940); Roger Moore (007, 1926); ee cummings (poet, 1884).
Died: Errol Flynn (actor, 1959); Bing Crosby (singer, 1977); Leonard Bernstein (composer, 1990); King Harold of England, 1066.
Events: Charlie Watts marries Shirley, 1964.
Useless Trivia: A 3.07m tall electric guitar weighing 137kg was built in San Francisco, 1980.
My Soundtrack: "Flop", Alexander; "Wings Over Dagenham" & "The Flea", The Goons.

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Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard the Quackers) :o)

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Nuts" (US General, Battle of the Bulge 1944, in reply to German surrender demand)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)

(*) Vroom vroom

I am NOT a rev-head by any means. But living in this town - once a year - drives you a bit potty along the way. The population of this place literally doubles for one week a year every October, with the Bathurst Mt Panorama 1000 Race. Twas the weekend just gone.

I'd only been up to 'The Mount' (as we locals know it affectionately as) in my first year here, 9 years' ago. Even then, I was running a bookstall at a site alongside the racetrack, having nothing at all to do with the cars at all. As I sat and waited for the gates to open (it must have been a practise day), the very first car I saw go past me thru Forest Elbow was the Brock 05 Holden! Whoo hoo! So, in all these years, i've never been back to the mount when the madness invades. Lo and behold, my housemate, who works for the local rag, leant me her Media Pass for Saturday afternoon! That's like access all areas sort of thing! Wow! Rather than drive there (the place was going to be crowded as...), I walked the 3km easily enough. As soon as I got over the rise near the Uni, I got my first glimpse of the whole scene - cars, tents, people - everywhere! I felt like I was walking into a rock festival rather than a car race! The weather was perfect - clear blue skies with a light breeze... no sign of the 4 seasons in one day Bathurst is famous for that day.

I'd never been to Pitt Lane when it was all go go go before... I didn't quite know what to expect. The first thing that hit me was - the smell! That burnt rubber/petrol/hot smell! For a second I thought I was going to throw up! But with crowds of people everywhere I felt kind of happily lost, although I knew where I was going. Having 'that' pass was a bit magical - I just walked straight in! No queue or anything! I climbed the bridge across Pitt Straight (which anybody can - for a fee of $30/day!) with V8's roaring past underneath my feet! The whole bridge shook... being the mild wimp I am, I have to admit it was a bit scary for a few seconds! The roar, the thump, the shudder... right under my feet. With the bridge totally enclosed, it was a surreal experience, and I hurried across so i could see what was going on.

In the recent months the local Council has spent like 500 bizillion dollars building a whole new Pitt complex - and I had a good sticky-beak thru it all. It looked amazing - the cars and drivers were right there! I climbed the stairs to where the Corporate Hospitality areas were on the next 2 levels - altho I couldn't get in there, the amount of food/drink just getting wasted ad thrown out was staggering! People who own a car (or whatever) have these places they can just hang out and get spoilt as they watch the race in relevant comfort. They've got live TV feeds, all the race programs, even waiters - crazy stuff! On the roof there's a viewing area, and that's where I found my perfect pozzie. Half-way-between the Start line and the Finish line, I could clearly see the whole of Pitt Straight, both Murrays' and Hell Corners, as well as the scoreboard. Behind me I had a great glimpse of the madness that is Caltex Chase (where drivers brake their cars from 300km/h to about 80km/h!) I grabbed a white plastic chair not being used from one of the Hospitality tents, and settled in with my water bottle, hat, and jaw hanging open.

Whilst the view was amazing - there was a 20-something-lap race almost finishing when I arrived, it was the whole spectacle of the crowd along the opposite side of the Straight that was amazing to see. So colourful, seething human mass. i found out there was like 45,000 people there that day! People everywhere! And the noise they made - the collective 'oooohhh' as 2 cars came around Hell Corner side by side! Amazing! I love sound as it is - that was like the ultimate in crowd quadraphonic! Right in front of me, the Porches lined up along the start for their Carera Cup race - smash! Three Porches all in bits when the lights went green. Luckily no one was hurt, but that was my introduction to car racing at the Mount - a messy, noisy prang at the starting line! Whoo hoo!

Between that race and the start of the Top 10 Shootout (which decides the starting positions for the big race the next day), 2 stunt bike riders blew us all away. Not just filthy monos, but huge burn-outs, and even front-wheel monos under brakes! Amazing. There was this Ute that was the noisiest thing I've ever heard - its' only purpose was to do burn outs! Thick white smoke everywhere! The bogans on the hill loved it - well, it did look pretty damn cool! Then 5 planes came over in precision formation, trailing coloured smoke streamers behind - they did about 10 passes right over my head - they were flying so low at one point they were only about 100 feet up!

While other people arrived at the spot I'd made for myself, I was sweet - I had my chair, so it wasn't gonna get nicked! While everybody else had to stand while they were waiting between cars, I could sit down and put my feet up - luxury! lol. It was an eye-opening experience listening to peoples' reactions and comments as drivers either blew the clock away or bombed out totally!

Once the actual racing was finished for the day, I went back downstairs to check out the noisy activity in the pits. Teams were working furiously on some of the cars, making all sorts of clunking noises trying to put things right for the next days' race, I guess. As I got to the end of the row of pitts, there was a very small knot of people huddled around someone, so i went and had a sticky beak. There was Peter Brock casually handing out autographs, so i got one for the boys! Walking back along the pits, i managed to get a set of posters each for the boys, and grabbed another 2 drivers' autographs - for the boys (really!) - Glenn Seton and Russell Ingall. I had no idea who Russell Ingall was at the time - i just got the autograph and found out later who it was! How dorky is that! pmsl! The crowd waiting to get back across the bridge to get out was huge, so i just hung out along the back of the pits, watching as they brought cars in off the track, that sort of thing. Well, one car came in off the back of a tow-truck - only bits of it came in! As they were reversing the wreck off the tipper- tray, one of the crew handed a smashed mirror to a kid standing next to him watching all this unfold! The kid was wrapped - wow, a broken rear-view mirror from a race car! hahahaa!

I eventually managed to get back across the bridge, and took a sticky around where all the displays and merchandise stalls were set up. I was amazed at the amount people were spending to get their Ford or Holden stuff... gees. I thought I heard a band starting up, and at a large paddock all fenced off a band was going thru their paces - they just finished their sound check as I got there! hahahaa! Walking back between all the stands, I saw the funniest thing - they were selling bourbon and cola slushies! Seriously - $5 for a small bourbon slushy! How's that for pure bogan pleasure?! I'm sure glad I walked, because the line of cars went on forever... I'm sure I beat some people home.

The next day - watching the start of the main race on TV and with the sound turned down, being able to hear the roar of the engines from my place! Although I'm only about 3kms from the Starting line, I could hear them as plain as daylight! A very surreal experience - watching on TV and hearing it in real life!

The whole weekend was a bit of an experience. There's no way I'd ever want to go up to the top of the Mount where all the pure-bred bogans reside while the race week is on, but the view from the Pits was a great memory to have.

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On That Wednesday That Was Yesterday...
Born: Paul Simon (singer, 1941); Lenny Bruce (1925); Margaret Thatcher (1925); Sammy Hagar (Van Halen etc, 1949); Neil Aspinall (Beatles road manager, 1941).
Died: Ed Sullivan (TV guy, 1974).
Events: Leonard McMahon swallows 501 live goldfish in 1975 (sick bugga!)
Useless Trivia:  Ratu Udre Udre, Fijian Chief, ate between 872 - 999 people in the 19th century.
My Soundtrack: "Lurgi", The Goon Show; "Tapestry", Carol King.

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Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard the Quackers)   :o)

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"Nuts"  (US General, Battle of the Bulge 1944, in reply to German surrender demand)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)

(*) New post is on the way...

There are a few new posts on the way, I'm just being a bit side-tracked at the moment. "Coming Soon... 'Coming Soon.' "

Cyalayta
Mallard the Quackers

(*) Monday madness

Name 3 things....

1....your ideal salad has on it. Tasty Edam cheese, cherry tomatos, snow peas.
2....you do religiously in the morning. Fart in bed (!!), go to the loo, boil the kettle.
3....you look forward to doing in your spare time. Reading a novel or auto/biography, surfing, long walks in the setting sunshine.
4....you've never done before, but think you will at some point in your life. Watch a sunset over the ocean, get some of my poetry and/or fiction published, hmmmm.....
5....you love to do while on vacation. Lay on a deserted beach, go 2nd-hand book shopping, watch the sunrise/set.
6....you took pictures of in the last month. damn - now, if I had my camera still...
7....you have to do before the end of the day. Check the doors are locked, go to the toilet, look at the photos of my three wonderful sons and say goodnight to them.
8....you like about your best friend. They listen to me in good times and not so good, they appreciate me, they forgive and forget.



Free association is described as a "psychonanalytic procedure in which a person is encouraged to give free rein to his or her thoughts and feelings, verbalizing whatever comes into the mind without monitoring its content." Over time, this technique is supposed to help bring forth repressed thoughts and feelings that the person can then work through to gain a better sense of self.

That's an admirable goal, but for the purposes of this excercise, we're just hoping to have a little fun with the technique. Each week I'll post ten words to which you can respond to with the first thing that comes to mind.

"Rules are, there are no rules." There are no right or wrong answers. Don't limit yourself to one word responses; just say everything that pops into your head. AND you don't have to have your words up on Sunday. Take all week if you want!

Week 88

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Spacious:: the Far West of NSW.
   
2. Crash:: watching a Porche come to grief in bits-and-pieces right in front of me at the start of the Bathurst race on Saturday!
   
3. Autobiography:: George Johnston's "My Brother Jack"
   
4. Sparkly:: Bodega
   
5. Wild Thing:: You make my heart sing... Sydney to Hobart yacht
   
6. Haagen-Das:: yyuuuuuuummmmmmmmmm... the HD storefront in Manly, with a girl sitting in the window making the cones as people stood around and watched.
   
7. Sci-fi:: giant worms in the sand...
   
8. Voice:: horse (hoarse)
   
9. Boy Scouts:: the distinctive dry dusty rope/canvas 'smell' of every scout hall across the Universe!
   
10. Grief:: having to pull over driving after my dad's death finally sank in.
    

(*) Some photos of Maljam the Mallard

Here's some photos of me taken over the years...

(*) Most recent pic I've got - Nov.'02!
(*) Being a teacher, Tamworth NSW 2000.
(*) When I was a rock star (yeah, right!)... playing in front of 5,000 people in 1990.
(*) Playing with 'Surprise' in 1990.
(*) Sitting on Santa's knee, 1988.
(*) In 1988, when I played in a band 'Montage' around Sydney NSW.
(*) 1985 - using one of those horrid photo booths - at Manly Wharf!

(*) Aussie Cricket!

At last! The cricket season has begun! AND - Clarke's made a century on debut! Whoo hoo!

Right now:
2004/05 India v Australia - 1st Test
India vs Australia
Venue: Chinnaswamy Stadium
Australia : 5/393 (106.2)
Australia have made 393 runs with 5 wickets in hand
Batsmen Clarke, MJ: 105 (178) Gilchrist, AC: 80 (85)
Bowler Kumble, AR: 3/111 (29.2)
Last Wicket Katich, SM: 81 (169) Bowled Kumble, AR

(*) A weeks' worth in one post...

Well, it sure feels like it... thinking about it, it IS! More than a weeks' worth.

After having been told 'no' once already, I was able to see the boys on Tuesday, when we went to the movies together to see "Garfiled." Good fun family film - Sebbie has the most captivatingly cute laugh that made everyone else in the darkness giggle along with him! Very cute! It was a little weird, as the boys' mum (I really shouldn't call her 'my ex' - that's such a negative sounding expression, you know...) came along with us! At first I felt a bit cramped with her being there, but after a minute or so the boys and I were having fun and chatting and swapping silly one-liners like we always do - just enjoying being together. I could tell she was a bit annoyed at first, but then she relaxed too, and a good time was had by all. When Alex hugs me, his arms clasped around my neck, it's like being filled with a trillion litres of cool refreshing water to my parched dry soul!

Afterwards I went for a bit of a walk - the sun was glorious as it hit the western horizon. I admit I was a bit naughty and bounced into the (I was going to say 'record' store... now that's showing my age! pmsl!) CD shop, and to my amazement saw The Beatles Anthology 2 double CD at $10 off the normal price! I assumed it was a price-ticketing mistake, but - noope! So, that's been most of my soundtrack for this week. I went for a walk along the riverbank parklands in the glowing evening air, watching the water rush past through its' endless search for the lowest ground. It's lovely down there, and with a bit of rain, there's actually good water in there! I suppose to someone who's used to a 'real' river, the McQuarie River here is more-or-less a large creek at this point! Then my right knee gave a twinge (which it hasn't done in over a year), and I had to hobble the 1km+ home - D'oh!

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The week before I stumbled past the DVD store (just down from the 'record shop'), and I couldn't believe my eyes to see 'Dances With Wolves' for only $8.50! I grabbed it - it's one of my favs - just the whole spectacle of it helps me feel refreshed. The storyline is convoluted, sure, but the ending leaves a dry knot in your throat. Heck - we did the exact same thing to the Australian Aboriginals! As I went to pay for that, out of the corner of my eye I spotted something else... 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' was on special as well... I couldn't resist. I hadn't watched that classic in years - I think the last time was late one right with Mr Raven in Brisbane! Can't remember the time before that... Plus it's got all these bonus features, you know... Pythons - always good for some helpful absurdity! So now, even my DVD collection is slowly growing!

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It's been so dry lately, so two huge rainstorms in a week have been a huge bonus. It's still an almost bedwetting experience to see the flash of lightening and a split-second later feel the BANG explode right on top of you - especially in the middle of the night! Sheesh! The upside has been that the gardens here have taken off without much prompting. I've kind-of become the default gardener of the townhouses (as the old lady who used to do it had moved on), so I've been slowly pottering here and there along the garden beds along the 100 meter driveway tidying things up and pulling the occasional weed etc, and keeping it all watered (a sprinkler system helps see to that). Otherwise it'd just dry off and die away, like it did at the end of last summer. There's so many flowering plants and shrubs along the long driveway - it's very pretty, really. Plus the postage-stamp backyard of my place has enjoyed the rain as well - the whipper snipper has needed a fresh change of twine to get its' job done this week! Good health rainfall, then about 5 days of glorious sunshine... if only it would always be like this for the rest of summer... not for me or this place, but for the poor farmers who are battling to grow crops or feed stock with no feed and no water in their dams.

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Last Sunday (like 2 Sundays' ago now...), I was feeling absolutely claustrophobic stuck at home on such a gloriously sunny day. My flatmate allows me to borrow her ute whenever she's not using it, so i thought I'd go for a bit of a 'Sunday Drive in the Country' for a change. I just headed south with no real idea of where I was going to go. All I knew was that getting out of the house was a huge priority. Plus, not having a car of my own limits my ability to go anywhere at a distance on my own anymore. After a few hours, I realised I'd clocked-up 100km very easily. Gorman's Hill - The Lagoon - Chifley Dam - O'Connell - Loxley - Brewongle and home again. The countryside was amazingly green! It is the best time of year to see the place at the moment - we've had some good rains, and everything looks so lush and green. But, don't be fooled - we're still in drought here. In a few weeks, the hotter weather will dry-off all that greenery, and it'll be brown, dry and dusty again in no time. So, it was great to see the beautiful rolling countryside around here looking so revitalised. There were many times I was driving, and overlooking some pretty little valley or the side of a hill, that I'd have to stop to draw breath, just to soak it all in. I hadn't been out that way for about 3+ years, so it really was like a fine tonic to be out in the peaceful freedom around here again. I know it sounds silly, but I don't get to have long quiet drives very often anymore, so it was like a trip into timelessness for the afternoon.

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The annual Mt Panorama V8 1000 car race is this weekend this weekend. The population of this large rural town quadruples as people come all across Australia (and even O/S) to see this great race between arch-rivals Holden and Ford! In this town you are either a Holden man or a Ford man - whether you drive one or not! Last night in town they close off a whole street while hosting a free BBQ, as all the drivers have a free signing. People were lining up from before sunrise just to see Peter Brock! Bad craziness! There was people everywhere. I considered lining up for a signature or two (for the boys, mind you), but in the 20 minutes I was there the line hadn't even moved! Bugger that! Yesterday arvo after shopping, having borrowed my housemate's car, I drove up to the Mount (as us locals know it as). They've spent 500 billion dollars (or something like that) rebuilding all the pits facilities - looks good. Much better than the glorified tin sheds they used to have, that's for sure! I couldn't believe the amount of people up there already... the actual racing practise didn't start until this morning (Thursday), but there were people sitting along the hill and stands of Pitt Straight just watching things going on already! Talk about die-hards! The amount of bogans who camp atop the Mount has to be seen to be believed... it's like a hippy campout or something, 'cept far worse! They even have their own free shuttle bus to-and-from the Mount into town, so people can drink as much as they like and not have to drive. Hmmm... Firewood is at a premium around here come race weekend. A person who used to live up near the Mount a few years ago wondered where their wooden fence palings went to one night... D'oh! Mind you - the whole thing means zilch to me - whilst I have a mild passing interest if a Holden gets on top, car racing just isn't my cup of tea, you know. It's much easier to stay home than face the throng of interesting spectators atop the Mount - and far cheaper too! Just going to the shops yesterday was an interesting experience, watching obviously out-of-towners challenged by roundabouts and 50km/h speed limits! All the farking visitors think that everyone in this town drives like they're a race driver! Ggrrr!

Come tomorrow, when the V8's do their Top-10 Shootout race-thingy, I'll be able to hear the distant roar of their cars from this place, even though I live about 4+km's from the starting line! If you end up watching the race on telly on Sunday - that's where I live!

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Walking home from the bemusement of the driver signing, I popped into one of my favourite little second-hand bookstores here in town. It's a worry when the lady owner knows you by sight and we can have a nice little conversation along the way! Anyway, it's always foolishness to walk into any bookshop with cash in my pocket... I walked out with a few dollars less and three books. "Angela's Ashes" by Frank McCourt (which I used to own and have no idea what happened to it...), plus two funny novels by a guy I first read in the early 80's, Tom Sharpe. He's the guy who made me laff thru "Blott on the Landscape" and the three "Wilt" books!

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On This Day...
Born: Heinrich Himmler (Nazi, 1900); John Cougar Mellencamp (singer with an identity crisis, 1951).
Died: Edgar Allen Poe (writer, 1849); Mario Lanza (singer, 1959).
Events: Janis Joplin cremated 1970.
Useless Trivia: Poll (1970): Worst Household task - dishwashing (17.0%)
My Soundtrack: The Goon Show - The Lurgi...

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Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard the Quackers) :o)

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)

(*) Monday's Unconscious Mad Mutterings

Week 87
I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Courage:: single fathers
   
2. Stamina:: marathon
   
3. Leader:: listens to followers
   
4. Idea:: conceived in inspiration
   
5. Rockstar:: lonliness
   
6. Dew:: breathless sunrises
   
7. Guards:: Beefeaters
   
8. Lenny:: Bruce
   
9. Alliance:: cooperation
   
10. Cigarettes:: poison
    

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Sunday, October 03, 2004
Since in this part of the world, we are in the midst of changing
seasons, I was inspired to ask the following...
Using the letters in the word 'AUTUMN' describe your favorite season. (NB. It's Spring here for me! lol)

A - April leaves turning gold
U - untamed wilderness within swirling leaves
T - translucent skies
U - underneath warm blankies
M - mindless wandering in acres of golden grasses
N - not to worry - Spring is coming soon!

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The new episode of weebl and bob is finished. Enjoy.
http://www.weebl.jolt.co.uk/parallel.htm

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On This Day...
Born: Buster Keaton (comedian, 1895); Charlton Heston (actor, 1923).
Died: Graham Chapman (Monty Python, 1989); Janis Joplin (singer,
1970); Rembrant (artist, 1669).
Events: Sputnik launched 1957.
Useless Trivia: 'Melba Toast' was accidently served to Dame Nellie
Melba in London's Savoy Hotel, and added to the menu. It's burnt toast!
My Soundtrack: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970); Jimi Hendrix
Live at Monterey 1967; Neil Young 'Harvest' (1972).

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Cyalayta
Mal (ie. Mallard the Quackers)

"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, it's the light of the
oncoming train." (Robert Lowell)
"The Lord survives the rainbow of His will." (Robert Lowell)