Christmas Weekend #1

Well, Christmas started this weekend.
Friday was the work Xmas Party. A bit glamourous really, 17th floor of a swish new building in the middle of the city, fancy ballroom, with a pretty amazing terrace with great views. A few hundred of the people from work, some rather more successful than others at trying to look suave and sophisticated, most of them just there to have a good time. Despite my best announced intentions that it was time I misbehaved at the office party, I didn't. Dammit.

Xmas function #2 was today. The family lunch. Not thank goodness the usual full turkey, ham, and plum pudding. BBQ and salads, good wines (can always rely on that at my brother's house) and all the family, with two new additions this year, my nephew from Sydney has moved down with his gorgeous French-Canadian wife. She works in a cheese store, and brought the cheese platter. French cheeses (funny that) - two goats cheese, a a semi-soft and a soft (delicious), a hard goats/sheeps cheese (very subtle, very yum) and a runny cows milk cheese that looked like a brie that had been wrapped in brown cardboard, but tasted like nothing I've ever had, incredibly smooth and creamy, with a slightly sharp edge and a taste that lingered and changed like a good wine. I declared it to be the new love of my life.
Traditionally it has been my task
to make the plum pudding. I got brave this year, and made plum pudding ice-cream instead. Far more sensible in a Melbourne summer. First try, and not entirely successful. It didn't exactly freeze properly, but tasted just like it was meant to, and went like a dream with the selection of berries my sister-in-law provided and the dessert wine my brother chose.
It was a wonderfully relaxed day, my brother unusually in a very chatty mood, the "kids" stealing my cigarettes. Memories of me not smoking in front of my mother when my nephew dragged me out to the back of the garden because he doesn't smoke in front of his father. My great nephew almost in tears because he thought we thought he'd been watching South Park, when we trying to tell him he should be watching it. Nice that my nephews asked me if I was seeing anyone - nice that they don't think I 'm too old for that, and nice that they want me to be seeing someone. Nice that we can all relax, because no-one is torn between seperated parents and getting kids off to their absent parent - that's why we do it the weekend before. No stress. It's OUR day. Nice that we can all talk about all the family that aren't around for Christmas any more, and talk without sadness, just remembering all those other Christmases when the family was bigger, and the kids really were kids, not the grown-ups and parents they are now. Nicest of all that for at least one day a year we can really be a family.

Can't hardly wait



After all, it's only taken 25 years for someone to get around to filming it.
25 years of anticipation . . . . thank god it looks like it just might be worth the wait.

More clips here

Unfair
It’s a nice face to look at.
Great smile, starts as a crinkle around the eyes, and blossoms from there.
Infectious laugh, just bursts out, like the snatches of song when he’s concentrating.
Sad songs, he loves them, but sings along with unbridled joy, as if the sadness could never touch him. And you hope it never will.
Plays the piano too.
And cooks like a dream.
He’s funny, makes me laugh.
Seems to understand my jokes too. If he doesn’t he at least knows when he’s meant to laugh.
Intelligent enough to be able to discuss more than Britney’s marital exploits.
Perfect match? Yeah.
Except he’s only 20, dammit.

Strange ad from Denmark - can't figure what it's selling!

http://www.oliveroggeden.dk/

TAGGED:Three Meme

1. Three things that scare me:
Goverments
Spiders
Accidents

2. Three people that make me laugh:
Melly
the lady in Hong Kong cafe
my nephew

3. Three things I hate the most:
Arrogance
Prejudice
Violence

4. Three things I don't understand:
Quantum theory
Myself
Fundamentalism

5. Three things I'm doing right now:
Thinking about getting dressed and going out into the sunshine
Drinking the fourth cup of coffee today
Listening to “Grey Gardens” Broadway cast album

6. Three things I want to do before I die:
the Grand Tour of Europe
Live in Thailand for at least a year
Retire

7. Three things I can do:
Smile
Survive
Enjoy

8. Three ways to describe my personality:
Reticent
Kind
Loyal

9. Three things I can't do:
Stop smoking
Get motivated
Sing (but I love to do it)

10. Three things I think you should listen to:
Other people
music
the birds in the morning

11. Three things you should never listen to:
Other people
prejudice
politicians

12. Three things I'd like to learn:
Thai
How to stop smoking
To be brave

13. Three favourite foods:
potatoes
Pad Thai
Pasta carbonara

14. Three beverages I drink regularly:
Coffee
Coffee
Beer

15. Three shows I watched as a kid:
Adventures in Paradise
Disneyland
The Lawman

16. Three people I'm tagging (to do this):
Mel’s beaten me to them

I think I want to see this

You're A Passed Out Drunk

Drinking gives you that warm fuzzy feeling, until you're thrown in the back of a police car...

What Kind of Drunk Are You?

WHAT NEXT ?

"Evil Dead: The Musical unearths the old familiar story," reveals a press release, "boy and friends take a weekend getaway at abandoned cabin, boy expects to get lucky, boy unleashes ancient evil spirit, friends turn into Candarian Demons, boy fights until dawn to survive."

Songs like "All the Men in my Life Keep Getting Killed by Candarian Demons," "Look Who's Evil Now" and "Do the Necronomicon"

three strikes and . . .

; two months in a position and I don't get confirmed.
; apply for another position, interviewed, not successful.
; apply for a third position, don't even get an interview.

Am I getting an increasingly unsubtle message somewhere here?

50 Questions I Had To Answer

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7am – and that was a sleep-in on my RDO.
2. Diamonds or Pearls? I'm looking after my mother's pearls cos no-one else in the family wants to, my niece has her diamonds. I wear a sapphire, black, yellow star.
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? King Kong
4. What are your favourite TV shows? Great Food Live - obligatory viewing. I suspect I am Jeni Barnett's greatest fan.
5. What did you have for breakfast? Been a Weet-Bix kid all my life.
6. What is your middle name? Geoffrey
7. What is your favourite cuisine? Thai - Lanna Thai (northern) if I had to be specific
8. What foods do you dislike? those curries where everything is brown
9. Your favourite Potato chip? Plain.
10. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Katie Melua "Call Off The Search"
11. What kind of car do you drive? Daihatsu
12. Favourite sandwich? Tomato, cheese and vegemite - the cheese has to go between the tomato and vegemite or it all stains brown
13. What characteristics do you despise? lack of consideration
14. What are your favourite clothes? Sweatshirt, jeans and sneakers.
15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I always answer Thailand, but Portugal would probably win at the moment if I had the money and the time.
16. What colour is your bathroom? A particularly nasty dull blue.
17. Favourite brand of clothing? Probably Armani, but I can't afford it.
18. Where would you want to retire to? Jomtien, Thailand.
19. Where you born? St Andrew's East Melbourne (now the Peter McCallum Cancer Clinic)
20. Favourite sport to watch? Tennis, diving, gymnastics
21. Who do you least expect to do this / send it back? JP
22. Person you expect to send it back first? She already did it.
23. Coke or Pepsi? Pepsi
24. Are you a morning person or night owl? Night Owl forced to live as a day person.
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with everyone? We've passed the Winter Solstice.
26. What did you want to be when you were little? An Archeologist.
27. What is your best childhood memory? My grandma's scones.
28. What are the different jobs you have had or do in your life? Film Crew, Quarry Labourer, Usher, Barman, Retail Manager, Stage Manager, Travel Agent
29. Nicknames? Denny - only one I've ever answered to.
30. How many Piercing? None
31. Eye Colour? Dark Brown
32. Ever been to Africa? Not yet
33. Ever been toilet papering? Not sure just what that involves, so I guess its a NO.
34. Been in a car accident? Three
35. Favourite day of the week? Sunday
36. Favourite restaurant? The Lanna Thai restaurant opposite my hotel in Bangkok, doesn't have an tranlateable name
37. Favourite flower? Rose
38. Favourite fast food restaurant? Sorry - KFC
39. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Sat it once at 18, hung on to it ever since (touch wood)
40. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail? Not counting all the ads for porn sites and Viagra ? Would have been best friend John, letting me know Jane Powell had died.
41. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? No contest - JB Hi Fi.
42. Who are you most curious about their responses to this questionnaire. Whoever bothers to do it.
43. Last person you went to dinner with? The family, Topolino's in St Kilda, Sunday.
44. What are you listening to right now? The magpies in the park across the road.
45. What is your favourite colour? Blue.
46. How many tattoos do you have? None, so far.
50. How many people are you sending this to? Not sending it, it's just here for anyone who wants it.

Just did a few more of those quizzes.

Apparently I am
;A Fierce Femme
;A Romantic Date
;A Tiny Tease
;29% Bitchy
;A Passionate Kisser

I should live in Rome.

Men see me as desirable.

I Don't Have a Boyfriend Because I'm Too Shy

I Should Be Dating A Swede.

I am no Drama Queen.

And I don't need a man - but I want one.

OK . . .

You Are Bad Girl Sexy

Girl, you are nothing but trouble. And that's hot. You've got the classic bad girl sexiness mojo going on. And your badass attitude makes men fear you - and crave you. Don't give into people who say to tone it down. You're perfect as is.

What Kind of Sexy Are You?

I answered this truthfully, honest I did.

So I have to wonder where this bad-girl stuff coes from, I mean - ME ??

Of course, if I really was a girl . . . . :-)

Skating Cowboys

loved this.
thought of Melly for some reason . . .

Second Love

random memories;

First meeting Scott at tap-class, trying to master a basic time-step. Laughing a lot, falling all over each other, something curiously comfortable from the start, his then girlfriend suspicious from the beginning. But me not suspecting - or expecting - anything. I can be so easily blinded by a girlfriend.
Scott sharing my bed for weeks during rehearsal, the physical comfort we shared not transferring there, enjoying the closeness, but wanting more, not believing it could happen.
Making love the first time, his face covered in an oat-meal face mask.
Making love the last time, in Sydney, knowing it was the last time. Bitter sweet but cherished memory.
Talking, all the time.
The notes left on the table in the morning. I still have them.
The pride watching him on-stage opening night.
The overwhelming, overpowering ache of loving someone so much.
Holding hands.
Seeing each other after a few weeks apart, feeling everything is right with the world again.
Cooking for two.
Holding him when his world was not going right.
Being told I was loved.
Most of all, knowing I was loved.

MY ONE AND ONLY SOCCER POST

So we didn’t win.
But we got further than we ever have before.
Hell, we got further than anyone expected we would.
It’s not as if we played badly.
So shouldn’t we just be celebrating what they did achieve, and thinking “maybe next time . . . “

So, today is the Southern Winter Solstice. I much prefer to call it the Shortest Day of the Year. That sorta makes me feel the day will go quicker, and implies that now the days start getting longer it will get warmer. Both those assumptions are crap of course. It seems slightly ironic that work is really dragging, and it sure isn’t gonna feel like a short day. And while it was all of 5C when I headed off to work this morning, an improvement of 1.5 on the last couple of days, I know that is just a teaser. August is our coldest month. Its downhill till then.
I guess Mother Nature just likes to remind us she is anything but logical.

So here's what you do - go to Wikipedia and pop in the date you were born, leave out the year for a broader selection of interesting facts.
Then you post - Three Facts. Two Births. One Death.
FACTS:
1879 - Using a filament of carbonized thread, Thomas Edison tests the first practical electric incandescent light bulb (it lasted 13 1/2 hours before burning out). And where would be if he hadn't done that? Even more in the dark than we are now.
1945 - Argentine military officer and politician Juan Perón married actress Evita. And if they hadn't, then Andrew Lloyd Webber wouldn't have written all those musicals. I leave it to you if this a good thing or a bad thing.
1983 - The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures in terms of the speed of light as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. I never knew that! LOVE useless useful information.
BIRTHS
1833 - Alfred Nobel, Swedish inventor and founder of the Nobel Prize (d. 1896) Yeah, don't mind this one.
1956 - Carrie Fisher, American actress and writer Great. I share my birthday with Princess Leia.
DEATH
1805 - Horatio Nelson, British admiral (mortally wounded in battle) (b. 1758) Battle of Trafalgar of course. Britain ruled the waves for a century or so as a result, and of course London got Trafalgar Square, and the world got "Kiss me Hardy."

You Are 44% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

Song of Perfect Propriety
(A little Dorothy Parker to start the day.)

Oh, I should like to ride the seas,
A roaring buccaneer;
A cutlass banging at my knees,
A dirk behind my ear.
And when my captives' chains would clank
I'd howl with glee and drink,
And then fling out the quivering plank
And watch the beggars sink.

I'd like to straddle gory decks,
And dig in laden sands,
And know the feel of throbbing necks
Between my knotted hands.
Oh, I should like to strut and curse
Among my blackguard crew....
But I am writing little verse,
As little ladies do.

Oh, I should like to dance and laugh
And pose and preen and sway,
And rip the hearts of men in half,
And toss the bits away.
I'd like to view the reeling years
Through unastonished eyes,
And dip my finger-tips in tears,
And give my smiles for sighs.

I'd stroll beyond the ancient bounds,
And tap at fastened gates,
And hear the prettiest of sound-
The clink of shattered fates.
My slaves I'd like to bind with thongs
That cut and burn and chill....
But I am writing little songs,
As little ladies will.

(Not to be taken too literally of course, just a gentle (?) rant against propriety and the imposition of society's expectations.)

PATTI LuPONE

On receiving a Tony nomination for her performance as Mrs. Lovett in the revival of Sweeney Todd at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York.

Q: What does being nominated mean to you?
LuPone: It's a relief ! [Laughs.] It's almost like it's a validation of your performance. You don't want it to be that, but it feels like you're accepted. It feels like your performance has been stamped with approval.



Love this lady, she's one of the biggest names on Broadway. I was lucky enough to have seen her in "Evita," she's been nominated (and won) before.

This just gets me as a refreshingly honest comment.