The Waiting Man

So let me think... Saturday... Ah yes. I had 2 measures to do locally before we met up with a friend for an early lunch in Surry Hills & she handed over our South Coast cheeses order/hoard we'd tasked her with collecting for us, before we came home & had a bit of a domestic afternoon, which also involved me drawing up plans & dropping them at the respective stores they belonged to

Sunday, we headed north-west to Windsor, about an hour & a bit from Sydney to check out their markets, their renowned candy store & to have brunch at a crêpe place we found on the main street. Great crêpes & coffee & plenty of it - 5 stars!!

On the way home, we detoured to Rose Seidler House, an early project of L-SP's favourite Australian architect Harry Seidler. I prefer his later work - when he discovered curves & had a little more respect for the surrounding areas & how the buildings blend with them, but there's something to be said about the blatant bold disregard for the location, that kind of works here.



Just don't get me started about Blues Point Tower, or it will end with me driving a car full of semtex into its basement

Today, I had some measures in the morning, then spent waaaay longer than I thought this afternoon drawing & scaling them, meaning the plans were delivered to the relevant stores after dinner & after dark...

This had better all be worth it. I really don't want to jump on the jobsearch (un)merry-go-round again, but simple economics may force me to buy yet another ticket to ride...

Wise words... especially if you can back them up by producing art like this:



So yes... we've been to see the Van Gogh Alive exhibition in Sydney. You have to book a time well in advance & we chose a Tuesday afternoon after all the school holidays were over, thinking it wouldn't be too crowded, right? A fine theory as far as it goes. Where it all falls down is the amount of Great Unwashed & their non-school age kids in attendance. I don't care how artistic you say little Tarquin is - a kid under 5 is NOT there to take in the art & music & experience, (s)he is there to run amok in the semi-darkness, run up to the screens & bang on them, run into other people, then have a tantrum when (s)he's tired. And as for the "adults"... many of them seemed to think that Vincent's paintings could be infinitely improved by having themselves stand in front of the pictures & strike poses... & in one case, doing a fan dance performance in front of one of the screens, while a friend filmed it on their phone

Misanthropy aside, it's a wonderful exhibition/experience... whatever the marketeers want to call it. Beautifully soundtracked & visually creative

And probably better at one of the (starry) night sessions...

An adventure out in the world today... to "just have a look" at new stoves at one of the whitegood appliance stores nearby... our new stove will be installed on Friday. I suppose we got off lightly this time - the last time we went to "just have a look" at something, we bought a new car...

Then to the Sydney Fish Market, to satisfy a craving for sashimi, prawns & oysters... & to also be put off ever going swimming again...



The business end of a Blue Cod. Who knew they had teeth like that?!

You'd think with a name like Red Snapper, these guys would have the teeth...



... when it actually looks like one is saying to the other "Here's another fine mess you've got us into, Stanley..."

I took the point'n'shoot camera with me today, as I knew we'd be at the Fish Market & there's always something worth photographing, especially if there are hungry pelicans around. So, having found the killer Cod, I turned on the camera... & it immediately shut down again - dead battery

O Fortune, how you mock me!

I forgot to mention that, in March, I did another photography morning with the Canon Collective... a very early morning walk in Sydney's Bicentennial Park to the wetlands where the swans, waders, pelicans, egrets & ducks were just waking up. Lucky little buggers, I'd been up since 4.30am to be ready to make the drive from the Northern Beaches to the Inner West

But they were rather photogenic:







Okay, enough photo spamming... Next entry I'll try to have more to actually say... There's a Federal Election due any time now, so that should provide quite a bit of grist for the mill

Another productive day at work... this could become a habit

Back to Trivia tonight & I don't know if it's the venue, the crowd, or members of our own team... but it's the second time I've had a thumping headache by 8.30pm & can't wait to GTFO

Nurofen... Aspirin...

By now, the Loved One & I should know better than to aim for the conventional... it never works out for us

On the other hand, when we have a mad or ill-conceived or relatively unplanned idea (like "Hey, let's drive across the USA with no booked accommodation!!) it all goes swimmingly

Therefore we should have known that arranging a special dinner-for-two to celebrate our Six Month Semi-Anniversary was never going to conform to expectations... We'd decided on a Spanish restaurant in town that we hadn't been to in a while, but retained fond memories of atmosphere & food quality. Firstly, parking was the usual nightmare, then the waiter showed us to a table behind a large group of large people with their chairs so far out I couldn't squeeze into my spot. So we moved to the back of the place, next to a pair of young women who were telling themselves & anyone in earshot (which was a number of us) that they were having a "Girls Night Out... Boo Ya!!"

It then took quite a while to attract a waiter's attention, but once we'd ordered, the food began arriving fairly quickly ~ including a garlic bread we hadn't asked for, but whatthehell... The first couple of courses were tasty, but it all fell apart when a wrong dish arrived & we were assured it was the right one. It wasn't. From there... well let's just say the pork belly was salty as hell, the garlic prawns made up in chilli what they lacked in tenderness & the idea of dessert was quickly quashed in favour of paying up & getting out

An attempt to visit a favoured Gelataria was thwarted by traffic & lack of parking, so ~ of all places ~ we wound up at our local RSL Club for cake & last drinks, accompanied by three different football games on the screens & all the attendant, well-lubricated fans. On a whim, we decided to visit the Poker Machine Lounge & 'gamble' some of the money we'd allocated to our special night...

And so, of course, this is where it all went right... walking away with a $25 profit on the evening. All down to the Loved One's skill with the 10 Credit button, but credit where it's due, I say.

On this evidence, maybe we'll celebrate our first year a day, week, or month late. Trust me... it'll be a better time

Blmmpphhhpthphhh...

I tired... I very tired

Having become used to working a mere ten minute drive from home, the last couple of days working on the other side of town have been a bit rough ~ leaving home before I'd normally be out of bed, then sitting in the peak-hour traffic with the rest of the drones. I don't know or understand how anyone could do that five days a week, let alone all year

Having gone to bed rather late last night after a productive proto-band session, I arrived at work yawning & was told by my cohort to have a coffee. Which at least stopped the yawning... if not the cause. Then dinner this evening with the Loved One's immediate family at a pizza place in Paddington, before heading to an inner-city Shopping Mall for various purposes

Now home & medicated for headache, lower back/upper thigh-ache & a touch of afterburn... & so ready for bedzzzzzzz

A PostSecret event at the Enmore Theatre tonight. Quite the rollercoaster ~ funny, poignant, unpredictable, yet very humble &, I'm sure, very helpful to & for a lot of people. Possibly myself... who knows

First commission payment today... I could get used to that... & I hope I will