I heart IKEA

This weekend, Bear and I went on another big day out, but it wasn't driven by the pursuit of food! No. Instead, we desperately needed more surface area to store all that damned food, so we went to IKEA! The "biggest IKEA in the southern hemisphere" no less.

Yay. It was fun. It was colourful. We collected things as we wandered around with our sticky sticky hands and after a brief sit down with meatballs and chips and a surprisingly yummy cheesecake, we decided to get this:

Whee! We couldn't decide between a table or a shelf, so we got a kitchen trolley! Its got a tabletop, and shelving, and wheels! tadah. Only $149. So everything was good, all was well, i had several more bowls and a water jug and a vase to put long utensils in and stripey napkins and tealight candles and tealight candle holders and storage jars and this trolley, and amazingly, it all fit in Bear's little Alfasud!

So happily we went home, we heart IKEA, etc etc etc. Dismantled the packaging, started assembling, and then discovered halfway through that one of the boards was cracked.

"Aaargh" said Bear.

"Aiyah" said Suyin.

So off we went back to IKEA after calling up and checking they had stock (5, apparently, although the online inventory said they had none and we'd gotten the last one in that big collect-it-yourself section)... So, half-trusting but wary, we drove back, got our little ticket. waited, and then were told, surprise surprise, in the half an hour or so since we'd called, they must've sold all 5 trolleys, because there were none in stock. Hurrah.

I still heart IKEA, because they sell those wacky perspex and blue LED light-art installations, but we're not the happiest little swedish meatballs at the moment.

Straits Times delusions

Stupid straits times interactive. Also, interactive my foot. wishful faddish word attachment, never could stand the site, not only does it hang and load slowly and fail to keep archives, its just shit lah. But people kept sending me links to articles, so i registered, and answered a great many unnecessary rude and intrusive questions in order to do so, and then what, 3 weeks later, they say, we're going to start charging money for this, and so there. Their stupid notification email was so rude too! As if they didn't have to sell it, just had to notify the public, whether they liked it or not.

My god.

After 10 years of giving ST news reports out for free online, STI will begin charging readers to access it.

Also,

We believe that we have a good and valuable product that users will want to pay for. It's also not a tenable business model to charge for the print edition of the newspaper and not for its online edition.

This last bit is my favourite:

You will want to know whether you will get anything more, now that you have to pay.

The answer is yes.

You will notice that up till now, you get only three reports from Life! and Sunday Life through the week. If you subscribe, all the showbiz gossip and lifestyle features you see in the print edition of Life will be available online.

The weekly tech magazine Digital Life is available online now but a day after its print edition goes out with the newspaper. If you subscribe, Digital Life and the health magazine Mind Your Body -- now not online -- will become available from 6am on the same day they are distributed with the newspaper. The fashion magazine Urban will also go online, but later this year.

All news reports in the Money section will be available from 6am daily, instead of 6pm.

The last perk is that the archive will grow from the current three-days to seven-days. This means you can search back a week's worth of STI editions.

You can almost taste the rather particular and .. tiny little shrivelling mindset that thought that up, wrote it down, and then decided, yes. that makes sense!

It was a flawed product to start with, but still somewhat useful, because people live overseas or don't get the print edition or just prefer to scroll and click rather than turn pages, Whatever. But now, they're going to charge money for it, because that would make their business plan tenable, and in return, you'll get something that's only marginally better than before, and still less than one might expect of something you Pay for, considering the sheer volume of free quality news and everything else available on line.

Tenable Business Model!!!

I can't get that phrase out of my head now.

As YJ put it best, good riddance.

I'm not paying for propaganda.

On rattie sensitivities

We've recently discussed the need for Kimi to lose a little weight. He's getting a little... squishy. We've been careful to not say the word 'diet' in front of them though... i can just imagine, both ratties would stop in their tracks, stiffen, and Linus would say, that's it. we're leaving. And pack his brown leather suitcase and put his hat on. Kimi would also look in his pile of stuff and emerge with a long stick and all his worldly belongings (i.e. stash of yoggies) wrapped up in a piece of red cloth tied to the stick, and a straw hat to put on his head, because he saw Linus had a hat on, and then they'd leave.

Waiting for the weekend

I had a fed-up-with-work day today. Nothing particularly bad happened, i'm just so over it. So i came home and Bear, wonderful Bear, had already done the shopping and was making his hamburgers which are the Best hamburgers in the world! and i had a bier. beer. beeer. wheeeeeee!

I never drink.

Never meaning of course here and there if it's proffered but not otherwise because Bear doesn't drink so it doesn't come proffered many often.

Still, we had beer in the fridge because i felt bad paying by credit card for my $5 bottle of wine (to cook with) the other day so i also bought two bottles of steinlager. yum.

Steinlager goes very very well with marinated goats cheese. And marinated goats cheese can be wrapped up in lettuce and eaten as a sort of semi-healthy salady lie, because that cheese is richer than buttered cream cake.

haha. goats cheese disguised as lettuse! (which is how its pronounced properly in Suyin's World)

rhymes with obtuse.

and profuse.

and refuse.

and infuse.

and defuse.

and fuse.

and.

syracuse!

It was a hot day today

Came home all sticky today, from the hotness of the day, to find Bear fresh and shiny, having taken a shower in expectation of going out for dinner.

Bear: I took a shower, am clean.

syn: Ahah! I shall be sticky upon you!

Bear: Do your worst.

...

La la la la laaaaa...

Cushions!

Isn't it sad that the last album I was really excited about after buying it was by the White Stripes?

I think Beck is releasing his new album soon. Yay!

You know what, if there were aliens, who just happened to look like yoggies (Kimi and Linus' favourite treatie), and then they decided to visit earth and landed by chance in our living room whilst Kimi and Linus were running around, they'd probably come across Linus first, because Kimi likes to sit inside the fort and rest his sore ankle, and they'd say to Linus, Hello Earthling! We are beings from the planet Dumdeedum and we are here on holiday! Bring us to your leader please, we wish to exchange presents. And then Linus would think, oh dear, the yoggies are talking to me, I don't know if i should eat them, perhaps it might be unethical or wrong somehow, hmmm.. and then Kimi would come out to see what all the fuss was about, see the aliens, think, Yoggies! and then go chomp! crunch crunch, and that would be that.

It might even have happened already!

*gasp*

Vet visit

We went to the vet today.

The ratties weren't too happy as it was rather hot and the airconditioning in my car is not very effective... but they were nevertheless very brave and very well-behaved!

There was mild entertainment to be had while we were waiting at the vet, when out of one of the examining rooms emerged a walking orange keg, attached by leash to a human, who was discussing the rather urgent need for his dog (the keg) to lose some weight quickly. I know animal obesity is not really a laughing matter, but damn that was the happiest, roundest dog in the world. And it proceeded to wander happily around the office, doing a wee and dribbling poo out of one end, while the other end was excitedly sniffing everything in sight. It was great fun to watch, especially when the little doggie presents were discovered by the vet nurse, and gave some relief to the worrying. Poor Kimi's left hind leg had swollen up by this point, and he didn't look very happy at all, poor boy.

Thankfully, the vet diagnosed a sprain, rather than a broken bone or fracture, and recommended plenty of rest and relaxation for the little guy. Kimi was beautifully behaved and graciously allowed the vet to move his feet around, only trying to burrow into my arms when it hurt (aww...), and Linus was quiet and stayed well hidden away (I'm not here! I'm just a furry piece of bedding! Tell the vet Linus stayed at home!) whilst Kimi was being examined.

The vet was very cool, and i have to say, much much nicer than any doctor (for humans) i've seen in the last 2 years or so.

Hooray for nice and knowledgeable vets!

If you're in sydney, I highly recommend the Balmain Vet Hospital, and Dr Steven Cooney. Unfortunately, I think he's married.*

*Disclaimer for Bear's benefit: It's unfortunate for all the nice young and available ladies of my acquaintance, and not myself. Okay? :P

Ah!

I have succumbed!

and got a livejournal account. So, now, all those lj people who kept pestering me to get one, add me to your friends list or whatever it is that your wacky insular community does to induct new members.

lj username: iloveratties. Yes, not very imaginative, but consistent.

More food excursions

Bear and i had another big day out yesterday, we went to the Simon Johnson store at pyrmont, then walked to the fish markets.

It has occurred to me that our weekend activities are increasingly driven by the pursuit of chocolate. And other increasingly expensive foodstuffs. I don't know how far we should let this go, because when you can (will) only eat valhrona and can no longer even stomach the taste of toblerone, not to mention cadbury, life could get very poor.

Oh well! I shall tell you what we bought. Simon Johnson has a little store in pyrmont, and its kinda crowded and cramped and woody and is quite charming i suppose, with all kinds of stuff everywhere in sacks and bottles and barrels full of colourful sweets and lollies... We spent an hour in there, going over the produce several times, musing over the coarsely ground cacao beans, the array of infused oils, the pasta section, the tea section, the locked cupboard ($5000 per kg for whole truffles! teeny little bottles of vanilla extract for $50!), and then the chocolate wall, where we collected several items... and then Bear found the Cheese Room.

It was a little intimidating. We just sortof looked at the blocks/rounds/logs of cheese sitting around on tables, some oozing away quietly, others shrivelling up into blue-grey moulds as we watched... In the end, we decided on a small little sheeps milk camembert, and a jar of marinated goats cheese from Meredith Dairy, which was the Most Beautiful Cheese i have ever had! You get a little taste of it, and you go HMmmMmm! and then you look at the jar in awe for a few minutes... and then you insist Bear has to come into the kitchen and try some.

Apart from the two afore-mentioned cheeses, we finally emerged from the cheese room with a wedge of Parmigiano Dolce, which was really mild and sweet, as well as a slice of Reggiano Roca, which turned out to be sortof dry, and deep flavoured (fruity, said Bear)... I am under the impression that these two cheeses are types of parmesan. Can anyone correct or confirm this?

In addition to cheeses, we also had to have several items from Valrhona, including two bars of their 66% caribbean chocolate, a bag of their 100% cocoa powder, a block of orange flavoured dark cooking chocolate, and a bar of something called Grand Couva, which is described as a "vintage" chocolate made only from beans grown from some plantation in Trinidad, harvested by machete and probably hand-made by virgin albino monkeys who happen to be born blind and therefore have an exquisite sense of smell but despite all that, it is easily one of the best chocolates i have ever had. Sigh! It was a day of bests. And spending money. We also took with us a skinny little bottle of terrabianca truffle-infused oil. I am a little obsessed with truffles now.

Then we went to the fish markets. But enough about food for now. Suffice it to say, there was fish and we ate some and then we brought some others home.

There was also a great big wooshing wild storm on the way back, which was scary in parts because visibility was about 50% and then hail started pelting down on us. Especially scary because my insurance doesn't cover hail damage, but we got home safe and unshattered.

And then we had cheese for dinner.

Yay!

Random photo: Pillars of society

Jo and I, contemplating a rather drab bit of campus on the day of my graduation in May, 2003.

Jo and Bear kindly accompanied me to this major milestone event that I wouldn't even have bothered going to since those friends i was graduating with were not in the country (Qiao, for example), and even my parents were not able to travel due to the SARS scare. Nevertheless, they insisted i attend and take many photos so they'd have something to frame and send to the grandmothers, so we did. And then I went home and slept all day.

Milestone fooey.

Cannt sleep

I'm still up, somewhat past my bedtime, not able to get to sleep because every few minutes or so, some strange salty transparent mucusy fluid travels up my oesophagus and makes my throat whistle when i breathe. It's really hard to sleep when your throat is going wheeeooo wheet whit wheeeeeyeeee so you have to get up and cough it out and then lie down again but it is very futile because 2 minutes later its all wheeeoooo whiirrr wheet wheet again.

So frustrating!

Random photo: Desktop furries

When Kimi and Linus were still widdle, they would hang out on my desk while i did work on my laptop, and chew on various cables when i wasn't looking. Linus especially. I think he personally left his mark on my modem cable, mobile phone charger cable, mouse cable, and bit some chunks off a knob on my laptop power adapter cable. Because he never really bit through any of those cables (except for the mobile phone charger), i thought he merely wished to remove the black rubber casing and look inside. As a result, i was never really that paranoid about keeping him away from wires. This was, of course, stupid and foolish. He later went on to separate Bear's mouse cable into 5 or so roughly equal sections, and also to neatly bisect Bear's multi-wire keyboard cable, thereby consigning it to the dusty unopened box of stuff that doesn't work anymore but could perhaps be fixed one day.

In this particular photo, Kimi is in the middle of washing his face (never sit still, that boy), and Linus is just lounging and looking relaxed, probably contemplating the dangerously close telephone cord.

Random photo: Birthday 2004

Qiao and Kelly, at Tamade in Singapore, displaying the effects of two rather strong and yummy cocktails (also in frame) and some very very (strong and yummy) chocolate cake. This indulgence was conducted in honour of my turning 24, which wasn't very long ago at all, despite having turned 25 recently. Its too fast, you know? this passing of time business.

Foot rubbs

Another thing i learnt from yesterday but forgot to include:

Tips on giving foot rubs.
1) Use lavender oil - it relaxes the person
2) add a drop of tea tree oil - gets rid of tinea
3) covering the foot in liquid paraffin is also a good idea, gets rid of bunions and scaly bits and stuff.
4) liquid paraffin is not just melted lamp wax, apparently.

hrm.. must see if this radio show has a website... *search search* well it doesn't really, but its local ABC station 702 AM, and its called "Spotless", previously known as Spiders and Lemons (?) and the woman who knows Everything is called Shannon Lush. If i'm not wrong, she's some sort of fine art restorer, and for half an hour or so, answers questions from listeners on how to fix clothes, household items, etc, that have been damaged. It's quite fun to listen in, not only do you get expert advice on all manner of stain removal, its also highly entertaining when listeners call in, all nervous and cowering... "i know i shouldn't have done this.. it was very foolish i know.. but now that its all a mess, is there any way i can possibly fix it?" and then Shannon sighs, and in her drawly superior tone gives them their miraculous solution all the while imparting the sensation that this is really terribly beneath her but because she has nothing better to do this afternoon she might as well sprinkle some divine wisdom onto the mere mortals of this earth.

She's sooo coooooool!

:P

Things learnt today.

Things i learnt today, from listening to ABC AM radio.

If, having sent one's angora cardigan to the dry cleaners to be cleaned, you collect it and find it all flat and non-fluffy, the key to reviving it is:
1) Wash the cardigan in hair shampoo and conditioner.
2) Dry it on a white towel
3) Fold it up neatly, flat, and place in a plastic bag.
4) Place in the freezer for a few hours at least.
5) Take out and wear!

Apparently, freezing your fluffy items prevents the fluff from coming off on your furniture and other clothes and thingybobs.

Also, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar will remove most stains, but don't leave it on for hours on carpet, because it might bleach it. Apparently, just sprinkle the bicarb on, then sprinkle the vinegar, let it fizz, then wipe off and vaccuum up the dried bits. Hurrah!

Lastly, if you have bicycle grease stains on your pants, they can be removed with baby oil, which is a mineral oil, to help break up the grease.

All useful stuff, no?

heheheh

Sunday cricket

Bear: You know what we haven't done yet? We haven't brought you to the cricket!

syn: Yep. Let's go, wanna see Vettori. Vettori's hot.

Bear: I think new zealand's finished with their australian tour.

syn: Oh... Nevermind then. Anything will do i guess.

Bear: Its really quite embarrassing and I feel bad, especially since David (Bear's boss) just gave me a ticket to a domestic one-day match.

syn: Just the one?

Bear: Yes. *makes apologetic face*

syn: Hock it.

Bear: ...

syn: sell it on eBay, we'll buy something nice.

Bear: (laughing) you can't hock a ticket to a corporate box!

syn: corporate box? qantas? OOOooooooh...

Bear: hey.

syn: well, you might as well enjoy it then.

Bear: I guess so. Wish you could come.

syn: I don't, i've got nothing to wear.

So Bear is off today at the SCG watching pyjama cricket (where they wear colourful uniforms instead of white) - NSW vs Victoria, and i stayed at home like a good girl and did not do my work. Instead, i watched my Fast Times at Ridgemont High DVD, which was rather good. Very cult-movie-ish. Now i'm bored. Anyway, the way i see it, he's really at work. After all, how enjoyable can a day be, being holed up in a room with bosses and work colleagues and having to be on one's best behaviour?

And then Bear calls me up after lunch. He sounds like he's enjoying himself... and says something about having pepper steak with mashed potatoes, smoked salmon, etc etc for lunch and that it was really quite fun after all.

*stick tongue out*

Now i want to go to new zealand to see Vettori! Isn't the australian side touring there soon?

:P

Aren't they gorgeous?

BUT,

We've eaten them all.

Bear: let's go to max brenner to buy some more?

Hurrah!

What a clever bear!

Wacky chef dude

(via New Scientist)

Excerpt: It is not quite the stuff of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but the fare coming out of Homaru Cantu's kitchen is just as bizarre. In Roald Dahl's famous children's book, chewing gum is made to taste like a three-course meal. Cantu, a cordon-bleu chef, has modified an ink-jet printer to create dishes made of edible paper that can taste like anything from birthday cake to sushi.

What fun!

The new york times put out a similar article on this chef last week, but wouldn't load the second page for me so i said pah! in disgust and forgot about it. But i've found it again, on one page, go see it if you've registered. I particularly like this paragraph:

He is testing a hand-held ion-particle gun, which he said is for levitating food. So far he has zapped only salt and sugar, but envisions one day making whole meals float before awestruck diners.

Links: New Scientist article, New York Times article.

point and clicky whee bumsie, said the mouse.

Yay!

My favourite person in the education faculty just asked me to tutor for him this semester!

Undergraduateewiddlys, here i come! mwahahah.

In a less effusive voice, if anyone out there has undergrad tutoring experience, please throw advice at me. *would be grateful*

:D

Little Golden Books

(via Corinoco)

This is kind of amusing: The Cuddly Menace

Morning treats

So i rock up to the rattieboys' cage to say good morning, and find Kimi on the top level having some breakfast, and His Royal Highness Linus is sortof hanging out in his tissue box downstairs. I say Good morning boys! and Kimi looks up, still holding his pea, and says, Treatie? I give his furry head a little scratch between the ears and say, Kimi, i've just got to do a few things then i'll come and give you a treatie, okay? Kimi says Okay! and gets back to his pea. Linus hasn't moved.

A few minutes later, cup of tea made and laptop opened, i wander into the living room (where they live) to retrieve my water bottle. I happen to glance over at the cage and there's no one in sight, they're both down on the bottom. I walk up to the sofa (next to the cage), and whooosh! Kimi has jumped up two levels, and is standing up, sticking his nose through the bars and is very definitely looking at me, and is also very definitely saying, Treatie!! Even Linus is interested and has come out of his box to investigate.

What can I say, you've gotta keep your promises! :D

Holiday spirits

So how are everyone's new year festivities so far?

Not much is happening here leh.

Have to go to work too, although that's not too bad since i get paid, and it's been fun trying to festoon the care centre walls, ceilings, and ceiling fans with all manner of red, gold and shiny decorations. heheheh.

I got several kids making those "Fu" signs, on red squares of paper that we liberally splashed gold paint over, and that was fun, until i realised i'd forgotten how to write it... or rather, had forgotten exactly what the left part of the character was. Good thing i guessed correctly, or it would've been embarrassing... That is, if there were any chinese-literate people around to comment on it.

Very boring lah, being the only person who thinks chinese new year is a big thing.

At least Bear helped a bit, gamely agreeing to model his newly-bought red item of clothing for me, and wear it all day. heheheh. I love my Bear.

Which reminds me... Is anyone actually doing a valentine's day thing? I think Bear and i agreed from the start we couldn't stand the whole manipulative exercise and wanted nothing to do with it... but that's now evolved to using valentine's day as an excuse for buying ourselves a rather nice box of chocolates, and then eating it.

I think that's nicer. Don't need to pretend its not happening and do nothing yourself while scowling at the kissysmoochy people trying to enjoy themselves. Use this overly packaged event to honour yourselves and your loved ones (pets counted) with the confectionery/yummy thing of your choice (disqualified if it's covered in red ribbons or pink foil, and especially if it also comes with a rose), and then sit around enjoying it, being thankful that you're not toting around overpriced flowers, trying to purchase pre-packaged romance in the same way, on the same day, as everyone else.

Happy New Year!

Gong Xi Gong Xi Fa Cai to Everyone!

May you all be happy, healthy, wealthy and well-fed this new year. :)

Moppets

(again, via Neil Gaiman's Journal)

Another strange but lovely little short film: Muppets Over Time.

More on Tetsuya's again

Yes, we're still talking about Tetsuya's!

Now bringing you, the colour pencil artists' version!

Thanks Adrian!

By the way, we also forgot to draw the oysters and petit fours... and the 'something else' in the picture with the gazpacho and tuna was trevally sushi... oh! and we also forgot the thing that came with the strawberry shortcake.. i think it was mandarin sorbet with honey and cracked pepper.

hhhrmmgh.

Is everyone sick of hearing about Tetsuya's yet?

truffle truffle truffle truffle truffle truffle butter!

yeah!

:P

Soap bubbles

Spotted whilst channel surfing though the dead hours of monday morning television:

Girl: But you lied to me! You said it was over between you two, there were so many fights and arguments, and when you had a chance to sleep with her, you didn't!

Guy: Yes, but that was different. I sensed something had changed with her, it wasn't really her, just that zombie walking around pretending to be her while she was really locked away in a block of ice in that underground cave!

Girl: But how could i have known that?

Guy: You couldn't.

Girl: So you lied to me to get me to sleep with you? You've totally ruined my life!

Guy: I'm sorry.

Lunch today

consists of:

Fusili tossed around in black truffle salsa and extra v olive oil, mixed with slices of marinated sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil from the garden. And then some grana padano was grated on top, because!

Yum! It is Very Yummy! and also looks good, in the way that simple pasta dishes look good, with all that red and green and little black truffly bits with curly pasta shapes all jumbled up together happily.

happy is my tummy today.
:D

Kimi at the windowsill

Bear and Syn's big day out

We went out today!

We left our cars behind and took the train down to the city for a good walk around.

I wanted to see the chinatown markets, and was sorely disappointed. It was just a really boring trade fair! yargh. I mean, the australian tax office had a stall. That's how exciting it was. Really poor attempt at cashing in on chinese new year festivities shoddy shoddy money making lousy merchandise cheap ass decorations nothing to eat but fishballs and fried dimsum. pleah!

Then, we wandered down to the David Jones food hall and things got much better. We had lunch there because i was very curious to find out what a ploughman's* lunch was. Turns out, its a bunch of salad leaves, couple of gherkins, a slab of pate, a squashy but sweet preserved onion, slice of cheddar, a couple of crackers and some baguette slices. Kind of interesting. I like dishes which come unassembled without instructions. Fun. Like lego.

On our way out, we collected a bottle of walnut oil, Tetsuya's truffle salsa (!!!), and chocolate! and then more chocolate! and when we left the food hall to wander around outside guess what we passed?

Max Brenner!

Hello!

We probably would've gotten more chocolate if the Lindt concept store had been open. It's probably better that it wasn't. We do still have a slab of that Lindt 70% stuff as well as the fantastic candied orange and almond slivers one... Hmmmmmm...

At last count, we'd bought several truffles (darkchocolateandchilliganache, lushlemonganache, hazelnuthedgehog, darkchocolatewithmarzipan, and two shiny little Godiva nuggets), a tin of Valrhona Carre de Caraibe dark chocolate squares, and a small box of Max Brenner beauties (darkchocolatewithorchidoil, whippedmilkchocolateganache, milkchocolatewithcaramelisedpecans, milkchocolatewithwalnuts, darkchocolatewithroastedcoconut, darkchocolatewithspices, um. i forget the rest.)

So! we have enough chocolate to last us for a little while. Perhaps a week or so. :P

In other news, we also went clothes shopping and Bear has now got something red to wear! heheheh!

* (if i remember correctly, its pronounced ploh-man... hangon oops Bear says its PLOW-man! Remember! the Man Who Drives The Plough! argh. I think Bear is fed up with me asking... but its hard to remember! sniff.)

Bears at Taronga Zoo

Random photo: Wheels

Wacky house Bear and I saw in New Zealand, in some little town we were stranded in after taking the steam train (steam engine?) one way and then realising we had to wait a few hours to take it back. To our car. Luckily, it is not at all terrible to be stranded in a quiet happy little town in New Zealand with a station cafe that has really BIG and yummy hot breakfasts, and then a path by a little creek nearby to walk it off afterwards.

addendum

just added a wee bit more information to the Sailor's Girl post. Go see it! registering was a breeze in the park.

Ah buggrit

Looks like i'm going to the reception after all. Maybe i will get away with not talking to anyone and not answering questions about my research. Feel so out of place. The education faculty is generally speaking really really nice, but i Always feel awkward around them, even my own supervisors. I haven't yet figured out how to behave around them. Being graduate research student is so scary when so clueless.

The earlier plan for nice glass of wine, book and maybe nap was interrupted by handyman turning up out of the blue to fix our gate/garage door/leaky pipe. They NEVER call! They just turn up! Once, i received a few terse messages on my voicemail from a plumber who'd rocked up at our place one afternoon without any notice, and then was Angry, when no one let him in or answered the phone. We were at work!

Crazy people.

Supposed to be.

I'm supposed to be going to a reception later today, welcoming a certain Professor to be director of research at this organisation at UNSW. I wonder, would it be inappropriate to tell her that i went on a monkey hunt through the labyrinthian libraries of two universities to find an article she had sourced quite regularly in her book and seminars, only to find it had nothing of what she'd said in it? Not only that, but it was a lousy article. Waste my time. Can only presume it was some research assistant's mistake. In which case would it be inappropriate to ask her for a job?

Probably.

I took the day off from work, ostensibly to get some work done on my research design and then to attend said reception... It's just that I'd much much rather stay at home, drink a very chilled glass of white wine, and then curl up in bed with an easy book. Sleep would not be declined either, if gently proffered.

Indeed, self-discipline is not winning out today.

But it must!

Why?

Because!

Poor argument. I might stay at home after all.

Oh Suyin.

Whaat?

nothing.

The Sailor's Girl

(via Neil Gaiman's Journal)

There is a rather extraordinary short film called The Sailor's Girl, directed by Brett Simon, that was part of the Sundance film festival short film show and is available for viewing online.

Story: In an abandoned car on the outskirts of town, Julia offers an unusual service. For a small fee, she'll show you a vision of your conception. For a few dollars more, she'll throw in a vision of your death.

I highly highly recommend it, so if you have the bandwidth, and are willing to register (as Mr Gaiman says, its worth it. Trust him.), have a look at it here: www.sundanceonlinefilmfestival.org/2005/index.aspx

I know most of the people who read this would probably love it, so *push* go see!

If you have the time, it might be worthwhile to check out the other shorts as well, and let me know if any others are worth watching. :)

Heheheh...

Almost all gone.

Is my birthday over already? People seem to have stopped saying happy birthday and giving me cards and presents.

The cake is also almost gone, although i think i must've had a strange altered sense of smell the last few days if it tastes better today than it did on sunday. I don't think cake improves with age, does it? Excepting maybe fruitcake or other baked-to-last-through-winter things... The cake this year was a creamy tiramisu confection, my usual cake, covered all over with caramelised almonds. Mmmm...

The presents this year were wonderful too, and not nearly gone yet. :)

Adrian gave me this wonderful set of loose leaf teas from T2 which i'm really enjoying, including a beautiful earl grey with cornflowers, something called "red green and dreamy" which smells absolutely heavenly, like peaches and cream, and lastly but most wonderfully, choc chip chai! I haven't tried it yet, but will very very soon... *puts kettle on*

Bear's mum and step-dad got me a gift voucher to my favourite homewares store, where Bear and I regularly visit to look at (and lovingly fondle) their very desirable wares, especially the funky shaped glasses. My wonderful parents sent money, with the directive to "buy something nice", and Bear (Bear!) got me this Beautiful set of professional acrylics, along with a set of brushes, quality canvas paper and a super intimidating large canvas board thing for a big painting. It's all far too Professional for me to mess around with, but i'm doing my best. :D

Anyone want to give me free painting lessons? :P

A bit about the food.

I shall wait till Adrian scans in our post-Tetsuya's memorial drawings to write about the food... although i can't help but imagine it'll just sound something like: and then we had the scampi on foie gras with walnut oil, and that was amazing! and then the confit of ocean trout with konbu and a fennel salad, that was also amazing!

You get the idea.

There were a few particularly astonishing items though, like the strawberry shortcake that arrived in a shot glass, on account of being liquid! It looked like some thick cream swirled in with some smooth strawberry puree, but digging the spoon in further, discovered that Tetsuya had managed to make a liquid crust. Well literally that's what it was, something that had the consistency of a crumbly custard, which tasted like the yummiest pastry crust ever. That was a highlight.

It was also sweet when, on account of it being a (pre) birthday celebration, they presented me with a surprise dish, consisting of a lighted candle, a fluffy flourless chocolate cake, orange ice cream, and a bitter chocolate sorbet that was pure Evil. Bear described it as the liver of some bitter chocolate monster. All i have to add to that is that my first taste made me giddy!

So the menu was pretty much as promised, although we had spatchcock instead of beef, and instead of hazelnut soup, had macerated cherries in kirsh and some vanilla ice cream (i think).

3 dessert courses! The truffle butter! Ohhhhh....

It was such an extraordinary experience. I'm so glad we went. I have the most wonderful Bear in the world (he paid for me), and I'm glad we asked Adrian along as well, because it wouldn't have been as fun without him. Yay!