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Hello Blog-ders! (as in Blog Readers)

I realise that I failed to meet the self imposed 3rd May blog-target, but it's been a case of 'I am so busy I could be a bee' (obviously not a Queen-Bee though ... *sigh*).

Where do I begin (from the very beginning insists Julie Andrews).
Well I was down in Melbourne last week for 3 days, and it looks like I will be back there next week (which means I will miss out on basketball AGAIN! *sob*). Melbourne is a very classy city. Just walking through the CBD you realise a few things, namely: buildings are FAR nicer, transport system is much more efficient (but then you can't possibly imagine anything worse than City Rail ... don't get me started!), people are much better dressed, people seem to be better looking (though quite possibly an illusion effected by the better dress-sense), there are more inter-racial couples, it's a fantastic place to shop! Moreover, you realise the inherent EVILNESS of big coffee chains such as Starbucks and Gloria Jeans (sorry Joe). Melbourne is littered with wonderful cafes and bars. You can't walk 3 steps without bumping into one. Demonic things such as Starbucks really take away the personality and character that you find in these cafes/bars - and each one is so different. Plus the coffee is so much cheaper than the sub-standard crap you get @ Starbucks (except when you're the coffee-master Joe of course).

Anyway, I was actually half-entertaining the thought of migrating to Melbourne until I realised that I enjoy the bogan-ness of Sydney too. Walking down the streets of Melbourne with a pair of tracky-dacks would probably be a violation of all sorts of standards, whereas I would be quasi-comfortable sporting my trackies down George St (maybe).
There were a few horror stories during my stay. First I got lock INSIDE my hotel room. And what made it even more dire was that I was running late for a bus. Had to ring up concierge TWICE and once someone came to rescue me, I didn't even have time to check out whether he was cute ;p Fully bolted through the CBD - thank gosh it was cold or else I would have had sweat patches all over my clothes. Second, I went gambling alone - and yes Fiona didn't fail to remind me the sadness of that sight. Third, I was the only one that turned up in 'Sydney casual gear'. Obviously Melbournites have a different standard of 'casual', and that involve something more than jeans and an abecrombie top!

Moving on, work has been hectic lately. Been average 3.5 hrs sleep for the past couple of days, and coupled with deadlines for College assignments ... well it's a perfect formula for nose bleeds. My nose began bleeding in bed 2 nights ago and you know, it is really the acme of laziness/tiredness when you decide that you're going to swallow your blood rather than the expend energy to grab a tissue.

I have been working on a presentation which my manager was due to give to a bunch of masters students. It becomes a whole different ball game when your work is to be displayed and critiqued publicly on transparencies - and the worst bit is that I had to account for myself by being at this presentation last night. Anyway 52 transparencies later, and with all my reputation, dignity and self worth at stake, what should happen??! The FIRST SLIDE HAD AN ERROR! For the love of everything sacred! WHY WHY WHY! And on the FIRST SLIDE?!? Could not have been a worse start! I had repeated the word "estimated" twice - admittedly one was in parenthesis, and the other wasn't. But when it's magnified times 1000 on a transparency, there was no saving to be done. Oh the shame and horror! So BAD!!!!! This is something you only read about! Gradually I began to sink lower into my chair until the next whammy - someone decided to question of my slides. Feeling far too incompetent to verbalise anything, I decided to let my manager handle the situation. And that folks is how to manage to appear completely incapable in front of your superior. Excellent work! *sigh*

Should mention that we had our end of season party for dragon boat on Saturday. All I have to say is that I am henceforth vindicated of my shameful Bar Ace incident. Stepping in to take my place is Sharlene Wong, whom although spewed somewhat gracefully, still managed to hurl in excess of 7 times throughout the night. Twas a good night - movie was great, music was good and company was happy.

I realised something earlier today. If you track through all the truly 'strong' female characters that have appeared on the movie screen, their motivation stems from the love they had for their children - think Ripley and Newt (Aliens), think Sarah and John Connor (T2), think Black Mumba/The Bride and her child (Kill Bill). So my point is that perhaps I will never be 'strong' because I don't desire to have kids? Speaking of which, didn't you love the way Quentin Tarantino managed to squeeze in 10 minutes all the different stages of grief in that coffin scene. And they were visually so succinct and distinguishable: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. I guess moving past that last hurdle was the true sign of Black Mumba's strength. Because if it was me, I would probably reach the acceptance stage but just kinda be content with lying in the coffin thinking of the best way to breathe my last gulp of air - quite possibly because I don't have a child you see ;p

Anyway, it has been a long diatribe so I shall stop here. Happy birthday to Gregan for last Wednesday! More photos to come soon so stay tuned.