Just Call Me The Muffin Man
Saturday was the usual work, lunch, taekwondo, shopping, day is practically over. Sunday was a little bit busier. You see, today is the boy's birthday. Being a school day he will take something to school for the other kids to eat and it turns out that muffins were decided upon.
I had to wait a bit longer than planned before heading to the markets as it was pouring with rain early on. Managed to catch a window where it didn't rain. Got everything I needed except bananas, which I though were too expensive, and chinese cabbage, which the shop I go to had run out of. I put all of the fruit and veg in the car and went back to the markets to see if the other F&V shops had these items. Bananas were even more expensive than the first shop but both shops had chinese cabbages - one less than half the price of the other. So, I stood in line holding two wet chinese cabbages for about 15 mins and this is not a highly regarded experience.
The boy and I made the muffins. There were little ones and there were big ones. When my missus found out that I'd made some big ones she went beserk. It's hard being a man and having no idea. Really. You try but it's just not good enough. I was banished to the vacuum cleaner - a job that I can handle.
After lunch, and a little bit of calming down, we went to South Perth for a walk and a drink at the Bellhouse Cafe. The last two times we've been we got caught in the rain so this time we were prepared with our umbrellas. Talk about windy. It was quite difficult to walk. We played "I spy" for the whole walk and then whilst in the cafe.
Miky wanted to go to the supermarket nearby to buy some more muffin mix to cover-up my stuff up. To our suprise we discovered bananas to be cheap and a few other items that we needed to be on special. Isn't it always the way that you go for one item and then walk out with three bags of groceries?
On the way back to the car we stopped at the playground for the boy but it started to rain so we had to cut that short. By the time we arrived home the clouds were rolling in again and I raced around like a blue-arsed fly putting dynamic lifter on the back lawn as it was the ideal time to do so.
As we had had a late lunch Miky prepared a small tea and I went to work making more muffins. Once they were safely in the oven I started on the boy's birthday cake - a continental cheesecake. From a packet of course. Looks nice though.
Gee, I'm surprised that the boy isn't up yet to open his presents. He was all excited when going to bed and thought that he'd be up before me. My boy is growing up.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
Funny Number Plates
Don't let me out of the house with a camera. I must say, BMW owners have much more imagination when it comes to personalised number plates than Subaru drivers.
Flat out - like a lizard drinking.
Just because. Why not, if you have the money?
Don't let me out of the house with a camera. I must say, BMW owners have much more imagination when it comes to personalised number plates than Subaru drivers.
Flat out - like a lizard drinking.
Just because. Why not, if you have the money?
How Many People In The US Have My Name?
Got this from Staypuff.
# There are 1,420,944 people in the U.S. with my first name.
# Statistically the 18th most popular first name.
# 99.58 percent of people with my first name are male. (Thank goodness)
# There are 24,135 people in the U.S. with my last name.
# Statistically the 1454th most popular last name. (Right up there, obviously)
Got this from Staypuff.
# There are 1,420,944 people in the U.S. with my first name.
# Statistically the 18th most popular first name.
# 99.58 percent of people with my first name are male. (Thank goodness)
# There are 24,135 people in the U.S. with my last name.
# Statistically the 1454th most popular last name. (Right up there, obviously)
Thursday, April 26, 2007
ANZAC Day Wrap
Yes, it was a busy day. According to the news there were 30-40000 people in attendance at Kings Park for the ANZAC Day dawn service. I was a bit surprised by the number. Luckily the rain held off. It is wonderful to see so many people paying their respect to the men and women who have served this country in times of war. Apart from the couple of people who brought their dogs and others with noisy kids. But there were very few disturbances.
The State War Memorial
Some of the 30-40000 thousand people paying their respects to the fallen.
Perth just after dawn, ANZAC Day 2007.
Flame of Rememberance.
Biplane flyover.
After the official ceremony, which included the Last Post being played on the bugle which always sends a chill up my spine, people were allowed to lay their own wreaths and walk around the memorial. I returned home shortly afterwards and managed to miss most of the traffic jam as I had parked a 10 minute walk away from Kings Park. Not so silly.
Traffic jam trying to leave.
Everyone else was up and we had breakfast. This was the second breakfast I had had for the day but I didn't tell anyone. The young fella and I jumped in the car to head back to the city for the ANZAC Day parade. We secured a reasonable spot and I ended up taking some 210 photos. Thankfully, not all of them will be included. I promise.
ANZAC Day Parade just starting.
11th and 28th Battalions Australian Infantry Force.
Aussie soldiers with a common service medal (possibly from the Gulf War).
Decorated naval personnel.
More decorated naval personnel.
There was one lady watching the parade calling out , "Thankyou guys/ladies. We think you are wonderful!" to every passing group of marchers. I'm sure that she was well received and appreciated.
Australian Women%27s Army Service 1941-1946.
Onya Digger.
This old Digger had too many medals to allow him to walk. Maybe.
Engineers were involved in conflict too.
Engineers were involved in conflict too II.
Fighter Squadrons of Western Australia.
Hello sailor.
Older veterans in jeeps.
Regiment involved in the Galipolli landing.
Police served in conflicts as well.
Vietnam Veterans 1962-1973.
Vietnam Veterans 1962-1973 II.
After the parade we bought some mandoo for lunch from Seoul Mart. The Aussie girl who was served before me spoke to the shop assistant in Korean so I did too. He was so surprised he said, "Everybody is speaking Korean!"
The footy was on after lunch - Essendon vs Collingwood. A genuine blockbuster with over 90000 fans in attendance. Normally the form team loses. And so was the case yesterday, which is a bummer because I'm an Essendon supporter and they were the form team but they went down by 17 points. Collingwood's hideous inaccuracy kept them in the match, it must be said. During the ad breaks I washed the dishes and helped Yu-Jin set up his army men. We had watched a bit of "The Desert Rats", a movie about the Rats of Tobruk - more. He set up trenches and the like that he had seen in the movie.
About 10 minutes before the footy finished Miky yelled at me to get outside to do the gardening which she had been doing on her own for the best part of two and a half hours. I told her when the footy would be finished and later on explained that our deal whereby I would do gardening until sunset only started once the footy had concluded. What right has she to get upset with me watching three hours of football anyway?
So, we spent the next three hours gardening together. I did the hole-digging/throw in soil conditioner/mix it up bit. Then we planted new grass for an edging effect. Can't believe we spent the afternoon taking out lawn grass and transplanting it to areas on the lawn that badly needed it and then placed more expensive grass in its place. It does look nice and three Xanadu plants were put into the garden as well.
Both too stuffed to cook tea afterwards so it was pizza on the menu. I filled Miky's car up with fuel before picking up the pizzas. The EFTPOS wasn't working at the petrol station and the young boy was having to charge credit cards manually. He wanted me to visit an ATM and withdraw cash to pay for my purchase. I explained that it was a credit card and not a bankcard therefore I wouldn't be making a cash advance. He wasn't too pleased as customers were waiting but I guess they would have been in the same boat. Who pays for petrol with cash these days?
Bit of an early night after a shower and story for the boy. I fell asleep after reading the story so that was the end of my night.
Yes, it was a busy day. According to the news there were 30-40000 people in attendance at Kings Park for the ANZAC Day dawn service. I was a bit surprised by the number. Luckily the rain held off. It is wonderful to see so many people paying their respect to the men and women who have served this country in times of war. Apart from the couple of people who brought their dogs and others with noisy kids. But there were very few disturbances.
The State War Memorial
Some of the 30-40000 thousand people paying their respects to the fallen.
Perth just after dawn, ANZAC Day 2007.
Flame of Rememberance.
Biplane flyover.After the official ceremony, which included the Last Post being played on the bugle which always sends a chill up my spine, people were allowed to lay their own wreaths and walk around the memorial. I returned home shortly afterwards and managed to miss most of the traffic jam as I had parked a 10 minute walk away from Kings Park. Not so silly.
Traffic jam trying to leave.Everyone else was up and we had breakfast. This was the second breakfast I had had for the day but I didn't tell anyone. The young fella and I jumped in the car to head back to the city for the ANZAC Day parade. We secured a reasonable spot and I ended up taking some 210 photos. Thankfully, not all of them will be included. I promise.
ANZAC Day Parade just starting.
11th and 28th Battalions Australian Infantry Force.
Aussie soldiers with a common service medal (possibly from the Gulf War).
Decorated naval personnel.
More decorated naval personnel.There was one lady watching the parade calling out , "Thankyou guys/ladies. We think you are wonderful!" to every passing group of marchers. I'm sure that she was well received and appreciated.
Australian Women%27s Army Service 1941-1946.
Onya Digger.
This old Digger had too many medals to allow him to walk. Maybe.
Engineers were involved in conflict too.
Engineers were involved in conflict too II.
Fighter Squadrons of Western Australia.
Hello sailor.
Older veterans in jeeps.
Regiment involved in the Galipolli landing.
Police served in conflicts as well.
Vietnam Veterans 1962-1973.
Vietnam Veterans 1962-1973 II.After the parade we bought some mandoo for lunch from Seoul Mart. The Aussie girl who was served before me spoke to the shop assistant in Korean so I did too. He was so surprised he said, "Everybody is speaking Korean!"
The footy was on after lunch - Essendon vs Collingwood. A genuine blockbuster with over 90000 fans in attendance. Normally the form team loses. And so was the case yesterday, which is a bummer because I'm an Essendon supporter and they were the form team but they went down by 17 points. Collingwood's hideous inaccuracy kept them in the match, it must be said. During the ad breaks I washed the dishes and helped Yu-Jin set up his army men. We had watched a bit of "The Desert Rats", a movie about the Rats of Tobruk - more. He set up trenches and the like that he had seen in the movie.
About 10 minutes before the footy finished Miky yelled at me to get outside to do the gardening which she had been doing on her own for the best part of two and a half hours. I told her when the footy would be finished and later on explained that our deal whereby I would do gardening until sunset only started once the footy had concluded. What right has she to get upset with me watching three hours of football anyway?
So, we spent the next three hours gardening together. I did the hole-digging/throw in soil conditioner/mix it up bit. Then we planted new grass for an edging effect. Can't believe we spent the afternoon taking out lawn grass and transplanting it to areas on the lawn that badly needed it and then placed more expensive grass in its place. It does look nice and three Xanadu plants were put into the garden as well.
Both too stuffed to cook tea afterwards so it was pizza on the menu. I filled Miky's car up with fuel before picking up the pizzas. The EFTPOS wasn't working at the petrol station and the young boy was having to charge credit cards manually. He wanted me to visit an ATM and withdraw cash to pay for my purchase. I explained that it was a credit card and not a bankcard therefore I wouldn't be making a cash advance. He wasn't too pleased as customers were waiting but I guess they would have been in the same boat. Who pays for petrol with cash these days?
Bit of an early night after a shower and story for the boy. I fell asleep after reading the story so that was the end of my night.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
ANZAC Day
The weather has turned cold, wet and miserable. Must be ANZAC Day. The weather changes this time of year. It wouldn't be ANZAC Day if it didn't rain. I'll be off to the dawn service in a few minutes. Right after I've gotten dressed and had something to eat. Yes, I'll have brekkie at this hour.
Later on in the day I'll take Yu-Jin to watch the ANZAC Day parade. Then we'll kick back to watch the footy - Essendon vs Collingwood. After that the missus has several hours of gardening lined up for me so it's not all beer and skittles.
The weather has turned cold, wet and miserable. Must be ANZAC Day. The weather changes this time of year. It wouldn't be ANZAC Day if it didn't rain. I'll be off to the dawn service in a few minutes. Right after I've gotten dressed and had something to eat. Yes, I'll have brekkie at this hour.
Later on in the day I'll take Yu-Jin to watch the ANZAC Day parade. Then we'll kick back to watch the footy - Essendon vs Collingwood. After that the missus has several hours of gardening lined up for me so it's not all beer and skittles.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Where Do You See Yourself In 10 Years Time?
I was asked this question a while ago. It is a common enough question to be asked in an interview. When my apprenticeship was about to finish there were four of us apprentices looking for a job. So we all went for an interview. It had become company policy to put off apprentices once they had finished their time.
Gee, that was way back in '93. Being young and naive, now I'm not so young, I answered, "I want to be as good an electrician as ...." (Buggered if I can remember his name. Really, it's on the tip of my tongue). I had seen myself stuck in the same job for a further 10 years. Young and naive, I said.
Help me out here James. It wasn't Wacka, or Fletty, or Dal, or Foxy or the Wog. Brain fade.
Ten years on and where did I find myself? I had travelled the world for a year, worked for several companies in different capacities as an electrician, got married, had a kid and was just finishing my third and final year of university. Wow, I didn't see that coming. And boy am I glad that I didn't get stuck in that job.
What about you? Have you been asked the question and what were you doing 10 years later?
I was asked this question a while ago. It is a common enough question to be asked in an interview. When my apprenticeship was about to finish there were four of us apprentices looking for a job. So we all went for an interview. It had become company policy to put off apprentices once they had finished their time.
Gee, that was way back in '93. Being young and naive, now I'm not so young, I answered, "I want to be as good an electrician as ...." (Buggered if I can remember his name. Really, it's on the tip of my tongue). I had seen myself stuck in the same job for a further 10 years. Young and naive, I said.
Help me out here James. It wasn't Wacka, or Fletty, or Dal, or Foxy or the Wog. Brain fade.
Ten years on and where did I find myself? I had travelled the world for a year, worked for several companies in different capacities as an electrician, got married, had a kid and was just finishing my third and final year of university. Wow, I didn't see that coming. And boy am I glad that I didn't get stuck in that job.
What about you? Have you been asked the question and what were you doing 10 years later?
When Is A Pupil Free Day Not Like A Pupil Free Day?
When the kid has to go to school. The first Monday of every new term is a pupil free day. It's used so that the teachers can get all learned up. In students' time of course. And it just makes it that little bit more difficult for working parents who have to go back to work after two weeks off. I don't know too many people in that situation anyway.
Today was the first day of the school term. So Yu-Jin stayed at home. He went to visit a boy who is staying nearby with his grandma so that they could play together at the playground. His grandma told Miky that he had gone to school. So Miky rang Yu-Jin's school. The principal answered the phone and told her that indeed school was on today. Whoops! She raced him off to school and luckily he didn't miss the circus that he'd paid $10 to attend. When I say circus that's what the form said. In actual fact it was just one girl performing some tricks with spinning plates and the like.
I'll go and wipe the egg off my face now.
When the kid has to go to school. The first Monday of every new term is a pupil free day. It's used so that the teachers can get all learned up. In students' time of course. And it just makes it that little bit more difficult for working parents who have to go back to work after two weeks off. I don't know too many people in that situation anyway.
Today was the first day of the school term. So Yu-Jin stayed at home. He went to visit a boy who is staying nearby with his grandma so that they could play together at the playground. His grandma told Miky that he had gone to school. So Miky rang Yu-Jin's school. The principal answered the phone and told her that indeed school was on today. Whoops! She raced him off to school and luckily he didn't miss the circus that he'd paid $10 to attend. When I say circus that's what the form said. In actual fact it was just one girl performing some tricks with spinning plates and the like.
I'll go and wipe the egg off my face now.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Bullying Is Bad For Health - Cho Seung-Hui
I've been mulling over this issue for the past few days. Amazingly on the day that 32 people were murdered at Virginia Tech by Cho Seung-hui I made it to work before hearing anything about this quite horrific event. I missed 9-11 although I was awake I was doing uni homework and didn't see or hear any news about the World Trace Center until the following day when it had all happened. It did sound like another massacre in the United States and America does it better than anyone. Quite chilling to watch the mobile phone video by Jamal Albarghouti where shots were constantly ringing out. It's quite possible that the video will be removed under copyright claims but I'm sure it will be out there in one form or another.
Further news came to light later in the day. The killings had been split into two shifts, if you like, and the wrong guy had been arrested following the first lot of shootings. Then it was revealed that the killer was a Korean, albeit one who had been living in America since the age of eight.
Not a lot of print media in english mentioned bullying having been a factor in pushing Cho over the edge. Nothing much in the way of causal at all. Instead the english media kept pushing his Korean nationality "He's not one of us", his stalking of women and his history of mental illness.
Miky was shocked when I told her that a Korean had been responsible. But then she came to realise that she understood a lot of how this young man felt. Many of the Korean news sites have posted stories related to how he was humiliated in school for his poor pronunciation and this is something that Miky faces regularly. At least she was an adult before it started but it is humiliating just the same. One wonders why he was majoring in English literature if it was a source of such pain.
Miky discovered that he'd had some girlfriend problems. I did make mention that if it was a Korean girl I could fully understand his actions. Ooh, that's grabbing the tiger by the tail. But, she didn't bite. I'm sure she'll store that in the memory bank for later use.
Cast your mind back to Columbine. Two American kids, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 13 people before killing themselves. Bullying was a factor too. Did anything in particular happen to address bullying and the mental health issues raised? What about gun control?
I've noticed a distinct lack of gun control talk relating to Cho's rampage. And Cho was very well organised it seems. After the first killings he emailed NBC with a video. He obviously wanted to make an impact. His morbid plays and writings had no real significance in isolation. But now that make for more impressive reading. With his "Ismail Ax" inscription on his arm he will have brought about one of the 100 most popular search items of the year, I'd say. Calculating. Cunning. Cold.
Australia had Martin Bryant. If anybody points out to Miky about Cho being Korean so they must be bad by nature then she'll make sure they remember Martin Bryant. Don't tease her about it. You're starting to see what Koreans are capable of when riled. Australia brought in gun control laws, which weren't popular in many places, but I'd say we are a safer place because of it.
We actually feel a bit of sympathy for Cho. Apart from the fact that almost nobody on the TV can pronounce his name correctly. But we're not condoning his actions, rather, we can understand them to some degree. Here was a guy crying out for help after years of mental abuse and the only assistance he got was pretty slack gun laws that allowed him to obtain a fearsome handgun or two. The comment made by the owner of the gun store which sold Cho his Glock was along the lines of, "It's not unusual for students to buy guns." What sort of society is it where that is the case? Not the sort of society that most Americans want, I'm sure. The silent majority may need to find some voice here. Ok, he was diagnosed as in need of mental health counselling but didn't accept this. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
So what is the future for gun control, not just in America, but worldwide? Is bullying going to have more attention paid too it? Is mental health in the developed nations in need of serious development and resources? Will we learn anything from this?
I was bullied a lot at school. When you have ears like those of Prince Charles you are ripe for it. That did leave me a little bit scarred. When I started my apprenticeship following school I was shell-shocked at the amount of shit that was thrown my way in the form of insults etc. I would say it was about eight months after starting my working life before I came to the realisation that it was an accepted part of work. In most cases we Aussies don't find it much fun if the victim doesn't bite. And if you are prepared to dish the dirt you must be prepared to receive it. By the end of my apprenticeship I found myself going around and hanging shit on people before they even gave it too me. But there were a couple of quiet blokes at work I didn't do it to because it seemed to hurt them, both were apprentices who had relocated from interstate when their jobs were threatened due to a downturn in the industry, and it is the quiet ones that you must be careful of.
I never got to the stage of seeing the necessity of having a gun. It was all part of the knock-about Aussie larrikin character. But it did take some getting used to. I'm big enough to handle it now. And it certainly didn't come from every direction so I can't compare myself to Cho.
Time for a bit more compassion and understanding people. Before I forget, the students and teachers murdered didn't deserve to die. At the moment I feel greater sadness for Cho and his family because I can see it from his point of view and he was dealt a poor hand. His treatment at the hands of his peers appears to have a lot to do with the creation of a motive strong enough to carry out this massacre which had been several months in planning.
Could have been worse - what if he had done his military training and was a better shot?
Could have been better - he may have appeared on American Idol and relieved us all of the controversial human headline in Simon Cowell. Cho seemed to be detached enough to warrant an appearance on American Idol. One could only imagine how the ratings would have gone through the roof had he criticised Cho for his poor pronunciation and, probably, rendition of whatever song he had chosen. Having a judge culled in prime time TV sounds a little to Italian though.
P.S. The reasoning behind having more sympathy for the gunman is that I know none of the names or any of the faces of the victims. That will come in time but so far we have only heard the gunman's side of things.
I've been mulling over this issue for the past few days. Amazingly on the day that 32 people were murdered at Virginia Tech by Cho Seung-hui I made it to work before hearing anything about this quite horrific event. I missed 9-11 although I was awake I was doing uni homework and didn't see or hear any news about the World Trace Center until the following day when it had all happened. It did sound like another massacre in the United States and America does it better than anyone. Quite chilling to watch the mobile phone video by Jamal Albarghouti where shots were constantly ringing out. It's quite possible that the video will be removed under copyright claims but I'm sure it will be out there in one form or another.
Further news came to light later in the day. The killings had been split into two shifts, if you like, and the wrong guy had been arrested following the first lot of shootings. Then it was revealed that the killer was a Korean, albeit one who had been living in America since the age of eight.
Not a lot of print media in english mentioned bullying having been a factor in pushing Cho over the edge. Nothing much in the way of causal at all. Instead the english media kept pushing his Korean nationality "He's not one of us", his stalking of women and his history of mental illness.
Miky was shocked when I told her that a Korean had been responsible. But then she came to realise that she understood a lot of how this young man felt. Many of the Korean news sites have posted stories related to how he was humiliated in school for his poor pronunciation and this is something that Miky faces regularly. At least she was an adult before it started but it is humiliating just the same. One wonders why he was majoring in English literature if it was a source of such pain.
Miky discovered that he'd had some girlfriend problems. I did make mention that if it was a Korean girl I could fully understand his actions. Ooh, that's grabbing the tiger by the tail. But, she didn't bite. I'm sure she'll store that in the memory bank for later use.
Cast your mind back to Columbine. Two American kids, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 13 people before killing themselves. Bullying was a factor too. Did anything in particular happen to address bullying and the mental health issues raised? What about gun control?
I've noticed a distinct lack of gun control talk relating to Cho's rampage. And Cho was very well organised it seems. After the first killings he emailed NBC with a video. He obviously wanted to make an impact. His morbid plays and writings had no real significance in isolation. But now that make for more impressive reading. With his "Ismail Ax" inscription on his arm he will have brought about one of the 100 most popular search items of the year, I'd say. Calculating. Cunning. Cold.
Australia had Martin Bryant. If anybody points out to Miky about Cho being Korean so they must be bad by nature then she'll make sure they remember Martin Bryant. Don't tease her about it. You're starting to see what Koreans are capable of when riled. Australia brought in gun control laws, which weren't popular in many places, but I'd say we are a safer place because of it.
We actually feel a bit of sympathy for Cho. Apart from the fact that almost nobody on the TV can pronounce his name correctly. But we're not condoning his actions, rather, we can understand them to some degree. Here was a guy crying out for help after years of mental abuse and the only assistance he got was pretty slack gun laws that allowed him to obtain a fearsome handgun or two. The comment made by the owner of the gun store which sold Cho his Glock was along the lines of, "It's not unusual for students to buy guns." What sort of society is it where that is the case? Not the sort of society that most Americans want, I'm sure. The silent majority may need to find some voice here. Ok, he was diagnosed as in need of mental health counselling but didn't accept this. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
So what is the future for gun control, not just in America, but worldwide? Is bullying going to have more attention paid too it? Is mental health in the developed nations in need of serious development and resources? Will we learn anything from this?
I was bullied a lot at school. When you have ears like those of Prince Charles you are ripe for it. That did leave me a little bit scarred. When I started my apprenticeship following school I was shell-shocked at the amount of shit that was thrown my way in the form of insults etc. I would say it was about eight months after starting my working life before I came to the realisation that it was an accepted part of work. In most cases we Aussies don't find it much fun if the victim doesn't bite. And if you are prepared to dish the dirt you must be prepared to receive it. By the end of my apprenticeship I found myself going around and hanging shit on people before they even gave it too me. But there were a couple of quiet blokes at work I didn't do it to because it seemed to hurt them, both were apprentices who had relocated from interstate when their jobs were threatened due to a downturn in the industry, and it is the quiet ones that you must be careful of.
I never got to the stage of seeing the necessity of having a gun. It was all part of the knock-about Aussie larrikin character. But it did take some getting used to. I'm big enough to handle it now. And it certainly didn't come from every direction so I can't compare myself to Cho.
Time for a bit more compassion and understanding people. Before I forget, the students and teachers murdered didn't deserve to die. At the moment I feel greater sadness for Cho and his family because I can see it from his point of view and he was dealt a poor hand. His treatment at the hands of his peers appears to have a lot to do with the creation of a motive strong enough to carry out this massacre which had been several months in planning.
Could have been worse - what if he had done his military training and was a better shot?
Could have been better - he may have appeared on American Idol and relieved us all of the controversial human headline in Simon Cowell. Cho seemed to be detached enough to warrant an appearance on American Idol. One could only imagine how the ratings would have gone through the roof had he criticised Cho for his poor pronunciation and, probably, rendition of whatever song he had chosen. Having a judge culled in prime time TV sounds a little to Italian though.
P.S. The reasoning behind having more sympathy for the gunman is that I know none of the names or any of the faces of the victims. That will come in time but so far we have only heard the gunman's side of things.
Birthday Dinner At A Revolving Restaurant
Note, I said a revolving restaurant. Not a revolting restaurant.
Yes, there is a revolving restaurant in Perth. It’s called C Restaurant - and is situated on St Georges Tce.
The day started with me making breakfast in bed and being late for the bus because of the extra time involved. The missus on this day is more important than work. I was about three minutes late in getting to work. Then a bit later on I received a phone call from the childcare centre where Yu-Jin was because Miky had forgotten to book him and he was due to go on an excursion. After many phone calls it was decided that Miky didn’t have to return to sign him in on this occasion. She spent the day at work after initially going to have the day off.
Straight after work she picked me up and we found a parking spot near the restaurant. It’s on the 33rd floor and access is definitely by lift. We were greeted politely and told that a fabulous table had been reserved for us. I told the girl that I thought every table should be fabulous. I was also asked if I had my early bird voucher. The deal was that we received $15 off each meal if we dined between 6-8pm which, for a family, was ideal as it would be stupid going out to eat at 7:30 or 8 o’clock. I’m not as cheap as I seem. Well, sometimes.
The view was wonderful, even if the sunset was a little spoilt by some incoming storm clouds. Our meals were very nice and the waitstaff were pleasant. Christophe, from France, was our waiter and a Chinese girl came around and asked if we would like, “Clacked pepper”. It took a split second to decipher that she wanted to serve us cracked pepper. When Christophe asked if Miky would like wine she replied with, “No thanks, we don’t drink alcohol.” He proceeded to ask me and I responded, “I’m in the same boat as her.” He asked, “Are you Australian?” and then said, “You are the first Australian I have met that doesn’t drink.” That’s not the first time I have heard that.
Miky's Birthday 2007.
Northbridge from C Restaurant.
Northbridge Tunnel from C Restaurant.
Perth City from C Restaurant.
The Narrows Bridge from C Restaurant.
We had a lovely time and took a few pics. When we went to pay the bill the girl who had greeted us and taken my voucher charged us the full set menu price. Christophe noticed this and informed her of her mistake upon which she recalculated the bill. It still seemed too high but I paid. When we got downstairs I noticed that I had been charged for a cocktail and two other drinks totalling $47! So I went back upstairs in an elevator with a young couple. The same girl who had greeted us couldn’t work out how to refund the money and had someone else do it. The young couple were left waiting.
The money was refunded and then this girl apologised to the young couple as she thought that we were together. Very poor service from someone, in a classy establishment, who had served me only four or five minutes earlier. Not impressed.
But we would go again, for sure. Great atmosphere and lovely food. Almost perfect setting too.
Note, I said a revolving restaurant. Not a revolting restaurant.
Yes, there is a revolving restaurant in Perth. It’s called C Restaurant - and is situated on St Georges Tce.
The day started with me making breakfast in bed and being late for the bus because of the extra time involved. The missus on this day is more important than work. I was about three minutes late in getting to work. Then a bit later on I received a phone call from the childcare centre where Yu-Jin was because Miky had forgotten to book him and he was due to go on an excursion. After many phone calls it was decided that Miky didn’t have to return to sign him in on this occasion. She spent the day at work after initially going to have the day off.
Straight after work she picked me up and we found a parking spot near the restaurant. It’s on the 33rd floor and access is definitely by lift. We were greeted politely and told that a fabulous table had been reserved for us. I told the girl that I thought every table should be fabulous. I was also asked if I had my early bird voucher. The deal was that we received $15 off each meal if we dined between 6-8pm which, for a family, was ideal as it would be stupid going out to eat at 7:30 or 8 o’clock. I’m not as cheap as I seem. Well, sometimes.
The view was wonderful, even if the sunset was a little spoilt by some incoming storm clouds. Our meals were very nice and the waitstaff were pleasant. Christophe, from France, was our waiter and a Chinese girl came around and asked if we would like, “Clacked pepper”. It took a split second to decipher that she wanted to serve us cracked pepper. When Christophe asked if Miky would like wine she replied with, “No thanks, we don’t drink alcohol.” He proceeded to ask me and I responded, “I’m in the same boat as her.” He asked, “Are you Australian?” and then said, “You are the first Australian I have met that doesn’t drink.” That’s not the first time I have heard that.
Miky's Birthday 2007.
Northbridge from C Restaurant.
Northbridge Tunnel from C Restaurant.
Perth City from C Restaurant.
The Narrows Bridge from C Restaurant.We had a lovely time and took a few pics. When we went to pay the bill the girl who had greeted us and taken my voucher charged us the full set menu price. Christophe noticed this and informed her of her mistake upon which she recalculated the bill. It still seemed too high but I paid. When we got downstairs I noticed that I had been charged for a cocktail and two other drinks totalling $47! So I went back upstairs in an elevator with a young couple. The same girl who had greeted us couldn’t work out how to refund the money and had someone else do it. The young couple were left waiting.
The money was refunded and then this girl apologised to the young couple as she thought that we were together. Very poor service from someone, in a classy establishment, who had served me only four or five minutes earlier. Not impressed.
But we would go again, for sure. Great atmosphere and lovely food. Almost perfect setting too.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
A Poll For Which Leg You Put Into Your Shoes/Socks/Trousers First
Poll Result
There's always one, isn't there? Well, I did put the third choice in so I guess I asked for it.
The reason for the poll was that I put my left leg in my sock, shoes or trouser leg first - and I'm right handed. If everyone else had the same habit as myself then the poll should have shown that 7/8 people did the left leg first as only 1 in 8 of the population are left handed. Either I'm strange, hardly debatable, or my poll wasn't a large enough slice of the population to be significant, quite possibly so.
Poll Result
There's always one, isn't there? Well, I did put the third choice in so I guess I asked for it.
The reason for the poll was that I put my left leg in my sock, shoes or trouser leg first - and I'm right handed. If everyone else had the same habit as myself then the poll should have shown that 7/8 people did the left leg first as only 1 in 8 of the population are left handed. Either I'm strange, hardly debatable, or my poll wasn't a large enough slice of the population to be significant, quite possibly so.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Interpreting Bus Drivers' Sign Language
Driving a bus has its rewards and also its problems. You get to deal with the public and you get to deal with the public. Most drivers remain friendly whatever the situation but just lately I've seen a few of them beep the horn at car drivers who fail to give way to the bus when it is leaving the bus stop. And rightly so. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a one-finger salute to go with it.
The other day I hailed a bus after work and noticed that the bus wasn't pulling into the bus stop, which was a little odd. Then the driver gave me a cut throat gesture, not unlike Kevin Sheedy did to Mitchell White all those years ago, which took me by surprise. It was then then I noticed the bus was full and not that the bus driver intended to slit my throat.
Funny that.
Cut throat gesture - from http://folksong.org.nz/kapa_o_pango/index.html
Driving a bus has its rewards and also its problems. You get to deal with the public and you get to deal with the public. Most drivers remain friendly whatever the situation but just lately I've seen a few of them beep the horn at car drivers who fail to give way to the bus when it is leaving the bus stop. And rightly so. It wouldn't surprise me if there was a one-finger salute to go with it.
The other day I hailed a bus after work and noticed that the bus wasn't pulling into the bus stop, which was a little odd. Then the driver gave me a cut throat gesture, not unlike Kevin Sheedy did to Mitchell White all those years ago, which took me by surprise. It was then then I noticed the bus was full and not that the bus driver intended to slit my throat.
Funny that.
Cut throat gesture - from http://folksong.org.nz/kapa_o_pango/index.html
Even More Ben Cousins Jokes
Q. Did you hear that Ben Cousins has picked up an acting gig whilst he's in America for rehab?
A. He'll be a special guest on the family comedy "Happy Daze".
If Ben Cousins worked for McDonalds they would change their annoying slogan to "Would you like coke with that?"
Since Ben Cousins started working at McDonalds sales of coke have gone throught the nose, er, roof. It's nothing to be snorted at.
Q. Did you hear that Ben Cousins has picked up an acting gig whilst he's in America for rehab?
A. He'll be a special guest on the family comedy "Happy Daze".
If Ben Cousins worked for McDonalds they would change their annoying slogan to "Would you like coke with that?"
Since Ben Cousins started working at McDonalds sales of coke have gone throught the nose, er, roof. It's nothing to be snorted at.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Proof That Not All Weirdos Support The Eagles Or Dockers
Saturday was derby day in Perth. The two local AFL clubs, the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers were playing their 25th twice-annual grudge match. A lot of people that follow these teams I would classify as weirdos. But, that's just me.
Dropped Yu-Jin off at taekwondo and had some shopping to do. Normally Coles is bustling with people but it was strangely quiet. "Aha!" I thought, "Derby today". I expected to see quite normal people in the store. But most of them were social misfits and strange looking people (I blended in quite well). It shocked me a little to conclude that not all the weirdos in Perths support the Eagles or Dockers.
Saturday was derby day in Perth. The two local AFL clubs, the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers were playing their 25th twice-annual grudge match. A lot of people that follow these teams I would classify as weirdos. But, that's just me.
Dropped Yu-Jin off at taekwondo and had some shopping to do. Normally Coles is bustling with people but it was strangely quiet. "Aha!" I thought, "Derby today". I expected to see quite normal people in the store. But most of them were social misfits and strange looking people (I blended in quite well). It shocked me a little to conclude that not all the weirdos in Perths support the Eagles or Dockers.
Sunday Special - Go Out, Get Wet, Eat
Bit of a strange start to the day. I checked out the Internet for places in Hawaii to visit and then Yu-Jin started playing one of his computer games. Promptly at 8:07 the power was turned off. Western Power had to replace some power poles that were in our section of the grid and power wasn't due to be turned back on until 3pm. That changed our plans rapidly and meant no washing could be done and we were quite limited in how much we could clean the house. And it didn't go down too well with Miky as she had planned to work all day and it's a bit difficult to use an electric sewing machine without electron flow. No, I'm not tight enough to have a pedal-powered sewing machine. Miky and Yu-Jin also borrowed five DVDs the night before so it meant that they wouldn't be getting any use either.
In what is turning out to be a regular activity we went out, got wet and ate. Went to Subiaco to do the fruit and veg shopping. The weather forecast was, "fine and cloudy". Notice there was no mention of rain? Pottered about, did some window shopping, made a booking for a restaurant and at almost exactly 12 o'clock it started to rain.
Had lunch at our pretty much favourite restaurant, Senoji, and got a bit wet on the walk from the car. It wasn't supposed to be raining hence I didn't take an umbrella.
For a fine and cloudy day it rained continuously until 5pm. Then the rain was sporadic until well into the night. According to the Bureau of Meterology we have had 40.4mm of rain. Not bad for a "fine and cloudy" day.
I hope his doesn't become habitual.
Bit of a strange start to the day. I checked out the Internet for places in Hawaii to visit and then Yu-Jin started playing one of his computer games. Promptly at 8:07 the power was turned off. Western Power had to replace some power poles that were in our section of the grid and power wasn't due to be turned back on until 3pm. That changed our plans rapidly and meant no washing could be done and we were quite limited in how much we could clean the house. And it didn't go down too well with Miky as she had planned to work all day and it's a bit difficult to use an electric sewing machine without electron flow. No, I'm not tight enough to have a pedal-powered sewing machine. Miky and Yu-Jin also borrowed five DVDs the night before so it meant that they wouldn't be getting any use either.
In what is turning out to be a regular activity we went out, got wet and ate. Went to Subiaco to do the fruit and veg shopping. The weather forecast was, "fine and cloudy". Notice there was no mention of rain? Pottered about, did some window shopping, made a booking for a restaurant and at almost exactly 12 o'clock it started to rain.
Had lunch at our pretty much favourite restaurant, Senoji, and got a bit wet on the walk from the car. It wasn't supposed to be raining hence I didn't take an umbrella.
For a fine and cloudy day it rained continuously until 5pm. Then the rain was sporadic until well into the night. According to the Bureau of Meterology we have had 40.4mm of rain. Not bad for a "fine and cloudy" day.
I hope his doesn't become habitual.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Is There A Doctor In This Town?
Hard to believe but we've had a bit of trouble finding a doctor in this town. Yu-Jin had a wart appear on his thumb close to two months ago. I didn't think too much of it as I had a few warts on my hands when I was a kid. But recently it started to get much bigger and the colour changed. Before getting a doctor's appointment Miky saw a couple of chemist and one told her to get some antibiotics and the other said see the doctor.
Well, an appointment was made at Yu-Jin's normal clinic at the university. Not sure what happened, perhaps she mixed the dates up, but come last Monday and she needed to change the time but there was no answer from the clinic as it was closed. I rang the university itself and discovered that the whole place was closed, not just the clinic.
There are a couple of other doctors' clinics nearby and we were starting to worry as it looks pretty bad so Miky gave them a call. One clinic informed her that they were not taking any new clients and the other said that they weren't taking new clients until next month. WTF?
The only thing I could think of was the Australian Locum Medical Service. I rang them on 9328 7111 and a doctor, after getting a little bit lost, visited us about an hour later. Now that's service. He only charged A$112.50 for the 10 or so minutes he was here but happily he bulk-billed which means I didn't have to pay a cent up front. If it was for me I would have had to have paid. He said that if a red line had started stretching up Yu-Jin's arm then that would have indicated blood poisoning and would be very serious, even life-threatening. Miky had been putting antiseptic cream on the would which had opened up, which is why it became infected, which was the right thing to do.
I bought the antibiotics and some antiseptic fluid to put on it. The doctor said that it may clear up by itself but it would be a good idea to use the antibiotic if anything changed. And he informed us that it was safe to use the antibiotic as I was a little concerned with the overprescription of antibiotics that we hear about in the media so much.
Can't believe it was so difficult to find a doctor in this town. "Is there a doctor in the house?" - Yes, and he doesn't take long to arrive but he can't do any minor surgery.
Hard to believe but we've had a bit of trouble finding a doctor in this town. Yu-Jin had a wart appear on his thumb close to two months ago. I didn't think too much of it as I had a few warts on my hands when I was a kid. But recently it started to get much bigger and the colour changed. Before getting a doctor's appointment Miky saw a couple of chemist and one told her to get some antibiotics and the other said see the doctor.
Well, an appointment was made at Yu-Jin's normal clinic at the university. Not sure what happened, perhaps she mixed the dates up, but come last Monday and she needed to change the time but there was no answer from the clinic as it was closed. I rang the university itself and discovered that the whole place was closed, not just the clinic.
There are a couple of other doctors' clinics nearby and we were starting to worry as it looks pretty bad so Miky gave them a call. One clinic informed her that they were not taking any new clients and the other said that they weren't taking new clients until next month. WTF?
The only thing I could think of was the Australian Locum Medical Service. I rang them on 9328 7111 and a doctor, after getting a little bit lost, visited us about an hour later. Now that's service. He only charged A$112.50 for the 10 or so minutes he was here but happily he bulk-billed which means I didn't have to pay a cent up front. If it was for me I would have had to have paid. He said that if a red line had started stretching up Yu-Jin's arm then that would have indicated blood poisoning and would be very serious, even life-threatening. Miky had been putting antiseptic cream on the would which had opened up, which is why it became infected, which was the right thing to do.
I bought the antibiotics and some antiseptic fluid to put on it. The doctor said that it may clear up by itself but it would be a good idea to use the antibiotic if anything changed. And he informed us that it was safe to use the antibiotic as I was a little concerned with the overprescription of antibiotics that we hear about in the media so much.
Can't believe it was so difficult to find a doctor in this town. "Is there a doctor in the house?" - Yes, and he doesn't take long to arrive but he can't do any minor surgery.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Birthday Weekend
I decided to have a birthday over the Easter long weekend this year. Ok, ok. My decision had nothing to do with it. That's just the way it happened. It was really nice to have four days to do bugger all.
On Saturday we headed down to Fremantle to have some famous, high quality fish and chips at Cicerello's. Unfortunately we didn't find the famous, high quality fish and chips although we paid the price for them. Not impressed with the Cicerello's Delight, let me say.
All weekend in Fremantle it was the Fremantle Streets Arts Festival and they even closed off the main street to traffic for the street performers. There was a small area outside Cicerello's which had a different performer every hour. Once we had finished our meal we sat outside to watch Great Scott and his juggling act.
I know that Great Scott had an hour to kill so he started off fairly slowly but he had a big finale. At one stage he called for a child member of the audience to volunteer and my boy put his hand up and was chosen. I thought my kid was shy in front of strangers but it seems if you put him in front of a hundred people or so he loses his shyness altogether. He even tried to upstage Great Scott by telling him he could juggle as well and was given a go, as you can see in the video.
The big finale, which goes for nearly 11 minutes and so is slightly too big to put on youtube (I also had trouble uploading the 89MB of video), involves Great Scott standing on a board on a pipe which is on a board standing on champagne glasses which were on a board on some canisters and juggling three tennis racquets. It was quite a performance. Yu-Jin had to throw him the last tennis racquet and he was paid $5 for his part in the show, which he promptly turned around and donated to the performer. It was a very enjoyable show.
On Monday I went golfing at Marri Park with golfing friends Joe and Shayne. I haven't played with them since August last year, also the last time I played golf, although I did go to the driving range a couple of days after Christmas. I thought seeing as I hadn't played for so long and the fact that my neck was in a bad way, shouldn't really have played I guess, that if I broke 115 I would have done alright.
Marri Park is narrow and the greens aren't smooth at all. The ball bobbles around on the putting surface far too much. There are plenty of trees but not too much trouble as there is a very limited amount of undergrowth. Both Joe and I shot 48s and Shayne hit a 57 on the front nine.
I played pretty consistently and did no worse than a 7 on every hole although the par 3s were abysmal. Love to say that I powered away from Joe on the back nine but the truth is that his game went to pieces with me shooting another 48 and he a 59. So, a 96 off the stick at a course I've never played and without playing for some eight months I think I did ok. I did hit a lovely drive into a slight headwind on the last and Shayne outdrove me by 50m with a massive drive.
Straight after golf I met up with the family and some friends for a BBQ lunch in Belmont. I don't think few families there had other family members with them - nearly everyone was a mixed couple (lots of Thai wives) and some of our friends are from Mauritius with no other family members in Perth. It was very nice to get together with other people at this time of year. I guess for all of the kids in attendance the Easter egg hunt in the nearby gardens was the biggest thrill. That kept them busy for quite some time while I was cooking my BBQ lunch. We didn't get home until after six o'clock.
A nice relaxing weekend for me but Miky did some 23 hours of dressmaking over the long weekend which wore her out.
I decided to have a birthday over the Easter long weekend this year. Ok, ok. My decision had nothing to do with it. That's just the way it happened. It was really nice to have four days to do bugger all.
On Saturday we headed down to Fremantle to have some famous, high quality fish and chips at Cicerello's. Unfortunately we didn't find the famous, high quality fish and chips although we paid the price for them. Not impressed with the Cicerello's Delight, let me say.
All weekend in Fremantle it was the Fremantle Streets Arts Festival and they even closed off the main street to traffic for the street performers. There was a small area outside Cicerello's which had a different performer every hour. Once we had finished our meal we sat outside to watch Great Scott and his juggling act.
I know that Great Scott had an hour to kill so he started off fairly slowly but he had a big finale. At one stage he called for a child member of the audience to volunteer and my boy put his hand up and was chosen. I thought my kid was shy in front of strangers but it seems if you put him in front of a hundred people or so he loses his shyness altogether. He even tried to upstage Great Scott by telling him he could juggle as well and was given a go, as you can see in the video.
The big finale, which goes for nearly 11 minutes and so is slightly too big to put on youtube (I also had trouble uploading the 89MB of video), involves Great Scott standing on a board on a pipe which is on a board standing on champagne glasses which were on a board on some canisters and juggling three tennis racquets. It was quite a performance. Yu-Jin had to throw him the last tennis racquet and he was paid $5 for his part in the show, which he promptly turned around and donated to the performer. It was a very enjoyable show.
On Monday I went golfing at Marri Park with golfing friends Joe and Shayne. I haven't played with them since August last year, also the last time I played golf, although I did go to the driving range a couple of days after Christmas. I thought seeing as I hadn't played for so long and the fact that my neck was in a bad way, shouldn't really have played I guess, that if I broke 115 I would have done alright.
Marri Park is narrow and the greens aren't smooth at all. The ball bobbles around on the putting surface far too much. There are plenty of trees but not too much trouble as there is a very limited amount of undergrowth. Both Joe and I shot 48s and Shayne hit a 57 on the front nine.
I played pretty consistently and did no worse than a 7 on every hole although the par 3s were abysmal. Love to say that I powered away from Joe on the back nine but the truth is that his game went to pieces with me shooting another 48 and he a 59. So, a 96 off the stick at a course I've never played and without playing for some eight months I think I did ok. I did hit a lovely drive into a slight headwind on the last and Shayne outdrove me by 50m with a massive drive.
Straight after golf I met up with the family and some friends for a BBQ lunch in Belmont. I don't think few families there had other family members with them - nearly everyone was a mixed couple (lots of Thai wives) and some of our friends are from Mauritius with no other family members in Perth. It was very nice to get together with other people at this time of year. I guess for all of the kids in attendance the Easter egg hunt in the nearby gardens was the biggest thrill. That kept them busy for quite some time while I was cooking my BBQ lunch. We didn't get home until after six o'clock.
A nice relaxing weekend for me but Miky did some 23 hours of dressmaking over the long weekend which wore her out.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Who's Idea For A Walk Was It?
Miky thought that Sunday morning would be ideal for an early morning walk. So, we got in the car and went to South Perth to walk along the foreshore. The weather report on the radio forecast some showers in the morning but the newsreader added his own bit along the lines of, "I think that the rain has finished."
It was dry for the first six or seven minutes. Then it started raining. We sheltered under a tree. Then it got heavier. And heavier. And it set in. We decided to make a dash to the Bellhouse Cafe for a hot drink and were soaked by the time we arrived. Not wanting to have a takeaway drink we asked for a table and were lucky to obtain one as we didn't have a booking. A breakfast menu was presented and my, the pancakes looked attractive. We also ordered toast with our hot drinks.
Can't say I enjoy paying $8 per pancake or $2 per piece of toast. Our "hot drinks" cost over $32 in the finish. And, of course, it stopped raining just before the food arrived.
There were a few spots of rain on the walk back to the car also. Who's idea was it for a morning walk?
Miky thought that Sunday morning would be ideal for an early morning walk. So, we got in the car and went to South Perth to walk along the foreshore. The weather report on the radio forecast some showers in the morning but the newsreader added his own bit along the lines of, "I think that the rain has finished."
It was dry for the first six or seven minutes. Then it started raining. We sheltered under a tree. Then it got heavier. And heavier. And it set in. We decided to make a dash to the Bellhouse Cafe for a hot drink and were soaked by the time we arrived. Not wanting to have a takeaway drink we asked for a table and were lucky to obtain one as we didn't have a booking. A breakfast menu was presented and my, the pancakes looked attractive. We also ordered toast with our hot drinks.
Can't say I enjoy paying $8 per pancake or $2 per piece of toast. Our "hot drinks" cost over $32 in the finish. And, of course, it stopped raining just before the food arrived.
There were a few spots of rain on the walk back to the car also. Who's idea was it for a morning walk?
Monday, April 09, 2007
Friday, April 06, 2007
Miserable Day Finally Over, I Hope
What a horrible day yesterday was. The day before Easter holidays started and a four day break. It was quiet at work for an hour and a bit. Then the phone started ringing, emails started coming in that needed my immediate attention, somebody ordered the wrong sized cable and I had to change the order, Miky calls me and yells at me because I've given her the wrong birth certificate for Yu-Jin to renew his passport.
This rigmarole lasted until lunchtime when things died down a little bit, although I did go to lunch over an hour late as it was, and it wasn't too bad by about four o'clock. Another hour and a half and work was done. Time to go home to my lovely wife who had calmed down a little bit.
Last night I spent an hour and a half going through all of my papers looking for Yu-Jin's birth certificate. Ended up shredding two bins full of papers not required anymore, threw out a few magazines and papers of no use and generally tidied up my computer room quite well. No sign of the birth certificate.
Then it hit me. Perhaps we had sent this paperwork out to get something and it was never returned. As it is, there are only three places that I would keep it anyway and it wasn't in the most obvious place, despite having looked there thoroughly two or three times. Miky was a great deal calmer after my explanation of that possibility. Bed at 1:30. At least the room is clean even if the paperwork was nowhere to be found. It will only take 30 mins, and $40, to get it replaced. But the room is tidy.
Spring clean came early this year. About five months early.
What a horrible day yesterday was. The day before Easter holidays started and a four day break. It was quiet at work for an hour and a bit. Then the phone started ringing, emails started coming in that needed my immediate attention, somebody ordered the wrong sized cable and I had to change the order, Miky calls me and yells at me because I've given her the wrong birth certificate for Yu-Jin to renew his passport.
This rigmarole lasted until lunchtime when things died down a little bit, although I did go to lunch over an hour late as it was, and it wasn't too bad by about four o'clock. Another hour and a half and work was done. Time to go home to my lovely wife who had calmed down a little bit.
Last night I spent an hour and a half going through all of my papers looking for Yu-Jin's birth certificate. Ended up shredding two bins full of papers not required anymore, threw out a few magazines and papers of no use and generally tidied up my computer room quite well. No sign of the birth certificate.
Then it hit me. Perhaps we had sent this paperwork out to get something and it was never returned. As it is, there are only three places that I would keep it anyway and it wasn't in the most obvious place, despite having looked there thoroughly two or three times. Miky was a great deal calmer after my explanation of that possibility. Bed at 1:30. At least the room is clean even if the paperwork was nowhere to be found. It will only take 30 mins, and $40, to get it replaced. But the room is tidy.
Spring clean came early this year. About five months early.
Monday, April 02, 2007
Impact World Tour - Unreal BMX Flip
Yu-Jin and I went to Impact World Tour last night. Yes, I realised that it was going to be a Christian evening with a good dose of Bible-bashing but it was BMX, very entertaining. They had dancers, dancer with fire sticks, a Haka, people breaking bricks and tearing up telephone directories along with blowing up hot water bottles. The most amazing thing was probably the BMX and skateboarders. Just check out the video below of Todd, a 15 y.o. with his absolutely crazy stunt. I can't believe that he pulled it off. Check it!
Yu-Jin and I went to Impact World Tour last night. Yes, I realised that it was going to be a Christian evening with a good dose of Bible-bashing but it was BMX, very entertaining. They had dancers, dancer with fire sticks, a Haka, people breaking bricks and tearing up telephone directories along with blowing up hot water bottles. The most amazing thing was probably the BMX and skateboarders. Just check out the video below of Todd, a 15 y.o. with his absolutely crazy stunt. I can't believe that he pulled it off. Check it!
So Much Time And So Little To Say
The weekend before last Yu-Jin stayed over at his friend's house. Well, he nearly didn't because we'd organised it the week before and then forgotten about it. His friend's mum rang to see if we were still coming. Hastily readied some tea for him as we were preparing to go out for a meal.
Dropped him off and went to Senoji Restaurant in Vic Park. I think Senoji translates to "Wait a moment" or "Please wait" as that's all the waitstaff said to us that night. Along with "Thanks for your patience". We sat there, the two of us, and found it so hard to talk about anything. Normally junior is there with heaps to say and you are fighting to get a word in edgeways. This time there was no incentive.
Our food took over 30 minutes to come out (that review I read where they indicated that service was a bit slow was correct) but we weren't worried by that. In the end we found plenty to talk about, as a married couple should, but it was a strange feeling for a while. Just needed that little something to push us.
The weekend before last Yu-Jin stayed over at his friend's house. Well, he nearly didn't because we'd organised it the week before and then forgotten about it. His friend's mum rang to see if we were still coming. Hastily readied some tea for him as we were preparing to go out for a meal.
Dropped him off and went to Senoji Restaurant in Vic Park. I think Senoji translates to "Wait a moment" or "Please wait" as that's all the waitstaff said to us that night. Along with "Thanks for your patience". We sat there, the two of us, and found it so hard to talk about anything. Normally junior is there with heaps to say and you are fighting to get a word in edgeways. This time there was no incentive.
Our food took over 30 minutes to come out (that review I read where they indicated that service was a bit slow was correct) but we weren't worried by that. In the end we found plenty to talk about, as a married couple should, but it was a strange feeling for a while. Just needed that little something to push us.
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