Sunday night

On Wednesday after work we went to the local RSL to play lawn bowls.  It was really nice; we'd booked ahead and the bowls club had organised some of the regulars to show us the ropes and give us a rundown of the basics.  Friendly friendly people, but then again most of them here are.  It's such a different culture to the one in the city, the small-town aspect makes everyone seem to group hug and be openly friendly to strangers.  I've gotten used to it, so much so that I find it really strange when working in the city office, when people don't say hello in the kitchen or bathrooms!  The 6 months working here has really changed my perspective of country living.  I can see how people that have grown up here would stay here - things are cheaper (especially houses, where you can build your dream house on 10 acres for cheaper than a 2br apartment in the city), the commute's easier, people are more relaxed.

After bowls, we went back to the hotel where the owners threw us a bbq, fully catered with meat/salads/bread/dips/cheese and booze.  It was awesome and really nice of them, plus really nice weather, perfect for sitting outside by the pool.  From the bbq we headed out to star bar to watch the locals karaoke it up. I still don't have the balls to go up and sing solo... but maybe on the list to do before we leave here for good.

I'm starting to listen to some Japanese language podcasts as a quick-and-dirty cram session before flying off.  I don't know much other than basic greetings, and a few common phrases like "pleased to meet you", "sorry I'm late", "I don't understand", and "I am American" (the podcasts are made in America).  My reading is almost non-existent - but importantly I can recognise the characters for "ramen", "udon", and "karaoke"... so, I'm all set in that department! Haha.

Am considering buying a new camera before Japan to get the 10% GST off.  Mine is now 2 years old and the battery is starting to wear out, so I'll have to check out what's the latest and greatest... I am hoping that, like computers, they've gotten 10x better and 2x cheaper in the last couple of years. I can only hope.

Christmas party is on Friday and I am not prepared at all.  I bought a dress a few months back and am thinking of just wearing that, and am going with the assumption that it still fits as trying on dresses requires effort which (because I have a cold), exceeds the effort I currently have.  So it will be a matter of trying it on on Thursday when I get back from the country and finding some appropriately-themed accessories to accompany the dress.  Thank goodness it's black, thereby theoretically matching anything.

Strange happening for today: one of the library books Dad has just borrowed from the library is "The Single Girls Guide".  Is this weird or is it just me?  I can't comprehend.  Read error.

Nostalgic weekend

Took a trip back to uni days this weekend.  Yesterday was Al's birthday dinner and we went to Sofia's and Pancake Parlour. Predictable food in a predictable setting, and although the food-snob in me shies away from eating at chains (for the most part), there's just something really comforting about eating at a place where you know exactly what is on offer and exactly what your food will look and taste like when it comes (in a predictable amount of time).  Thus you can focus on conversation.

Having said that, I think after last night, I've had my fill of Sofias/PP for the next 6 months!

Today drove down Mornington-way to visit the hedge maze (which really only took about 20mins) and to the beach.  Really nice weather, mid-20s and I'm already burnt! Slightly scarred of the upcoming summer if Melbourne is going to put on 40deg+ days again.  Bring on open air Sunday sessions!

Japan trip planning is coming along nicely.  All accommodation booked!  This time in 3 weeks hopefully I will be sitting on the Narita express en-route to the hotel... countdown = 21 days!

One of my fears...

One of my biggest fears is that the toilet won't flush after I've used it.  I wonder if that's a normal fear or just a sign of being overly self-conscious?

Dinner and food planning

Made apricot chicken for dinner tonight. It turned out well, but I cheated using a Masterfoods "apricot chicken" base.  So, almost foolproof!  I'm ok with that, I have no problems cheating when cooking, especially for dinner on a weekday, where all I want to do is eat tasty food as soon as possible.  Life is too short to waste stomach space on average/uninspiring food.  Too many things to eat in the world, not enough stomach space.

Very excited about returning to Japan, and most of that excitement is about the food! Have started making a list of things to do/see, but I also want to make a list of things to eat! Starting now:

- Chawanmushi
- Takoyaki
- Sushi/sashimi
- Eel
- Taiyaki (fish waffles)
- Katsu-curry
- Cold soba noodles
- Yakitori
- Kaiseki
- Onigiri
- Ramen
- Gyu-don
- Tempura
- Omelette
- Bento boxes
- Green tea icecream
- Daifuku.

Bring it on, Japan, bring it on!

That's all right because I like the way it hurts.

My day today.  FU.



Focusing on happy thoughts.

I know it's immature to want to escape from a situation instead of deal with it, but I just want some time out right now. I am a sad puppy.

On etiquette

Years ago, someone once said to me, "Geez, do you always know the right thing to say?!" I took that as a real compliment becuase back then (and fast-forward almost a decade to now), I find it difficult to know what to say in everyday situations, and I'm not really known to possess the highly-useful trait of tact (also known as lacking a "gatekeeper" or having a poor brain-to-mouth filter). But other than in business situations, where clearly it is better to say the right thing, rather than honesty (in most cases), is it important to say the right thing rather than the "first draft" product from your brain? I am not sure the case is quite so clear once we leave the workplace.  Sure it's great to talk to a friend who always knows the right thing to say, because it will leave you loving them, loving yourself, loving the world, and everything else will make sense.  But sometimes I want to cut the crap and just talk for real, even if the conversations go into awkward territory.  I think I'm just envious of those people who know how to talk the talk - is this what we call charisma (or spelt 'kharizma' if you watch xfactor...)? 

On a related note, I am really fascinated about the right things to do in everyday situations - that is, etiquette. I have started an unofficial list of good etiquette practices that I feel are ways to keep society functioning efficiently.  Yes, there is a lot of energy that is just wasted (time, frustration) and it's time for it to stop.  

Here's a few:

• On escalators, slow lane is the left lane, right lane is for people who want to move-it move-it
• Shops - have one queue leading up to your checkouts so the inefficiency is dispersed across all checkouts.  I don't want to be stuck behind someone that wants a price check on their items.
• People at checkouts - I know you're not required to do this, but if you are next in line and have a trolley-full of items and I am behind you and I have 2 items, it will make my day if you say we can trade places
• Medical centres - still not quite sure why you ask me to move from the general waiting area to the waiting room 2 when it's almost my turn to see the doctor.  It cuts short my back-issue germ-infected women's magazine reading and Dr Phil-watching (I'm female = multi-tasking).  On the up-side, I know that all the drugs in your locked medical cabinet are indeed within their use-by dates, I can possibly recognise some (but not all) signs of meningococcal, and some of the isolation periods for common childhood afflictions, all thanks to the helpful posters in waiting room 2.  But back to the point, wouldn't it be easier for the doctor to just buzz the reception when they're done, and then the receptionist can tell me to go straight to the doctor, or if I'm not there, call the next person to go straight to the doctor's room.  This saves you a room, Medical Centre. Kaching.
• Restaurants - don't ask me if I want the dessert menu.  Because if you do, I'm going to have to ask around the table and people are going to be non-committal so we'll end up saying "Yes, we'll have a look".  Even if no-one is really keen on dessert, we want to see the dessert menu to make sure we are not missing out on something like a snow egg ala MasterChef.  That is all.

Coffee machine impertinence

I discovered that the coffee machine at work is a cynic. Went to make a coffee this morning and the machine display said to empty the grounds container as it was full. When I emptied the container and replaced it, it a new message appeared asking if the grounds container was really emptied, as if someone would just open the container and replace it without emptying it out of laziness. It’s worrying when even machines don’t trust you.

Still tired today so I left work early to work from home in the afternoon.  Surprisingly got a lot more work done at home, in front of the TV than I do usually at work at my desk.  I don't know if anyone would believe me if I told them this though!  I'm so glad to be home today, it's just been a weirdly tiring week at work.  Not sure really why - the workload hasn't been super-crazy and there haven't been any deadlines, but I've just felt stressed and exhausted (mentally and physically) and not able to think straight.  My brain needs a holiday.  Bring on mind-dumbing Jersey Shore episodes!

In a rut and countdown to holidays

Another day, another blog post.  Really want to start blogging more but it forces me to think and my head hurts from thinking all day at work. Not sure what's going on but I'm finding it hard to concentrate on a task for more than a short period of time.  Distracted by internet, by music, by talking, but even when there are no distractions I struggle to keep focus.  I would self-diagnose myself as having ADHD, but then I feel like I'd be trivialising the syndrome and just using it as an excuse!

Need to start planning Japan, but I forget some of the places we visited last time so I will revisit the photos (my theory is that Japanese temples and shrines all look the same, just as European castles and museums/art galleries do)!  Lisa is flying from Japan on Dec 21st, and I am not flying out until Dec 24th.  It will be interesting as I've never been alone by myelf overseas.  I plan to spend the 3 days shopping, visiting the Osaka aquarium (geeky, I know) and eating lots of takoyaki balls!  Researching Osaka hotels on the weekend, I discovered that, for the most part, Japanese hotel rooms are tiny!! As in, no-floor-space-to-put-your-suitcase tiny!  I suppose I didn't know how lucky we were last time as we had, by comparison, really roomy rooms.  Citadines had room for a couch, and the Four Seasons hotel room was comparable to the size in any major Australian city.  The ryokan hotel room in Osaka had beds that were removed during the day to make the room seem bigger, but even with the beds laid out was more than enough room for us to stretch out.  I am sure any hotel room is far more spacious than staying in a capsule for a night though haha.

I can't wait.  I need a break to get out of this rut-like cycle.  Let the countdown begin: 33 days to go!

Tired, oh so tired...

I feel physically and emotionally drained; I have, once again, lost my work-mojo. I'm blaming Monday-itis, but fear it's bigger than a psychological explanation of the phenomenon (hah!) of having to be at work when, for the past two days, you were out partying or whatever the heck it is that you do on weekends (hey, who am I to judge?  My weekends consist of eating out, and then eating out some more.)  My point?  I need a boost, some inspiration, some passion, and I hope it comes soon.

On a brighter note, Japan trip is booked in for December - in 5 weeks I'll be eating it up in Tokyo.  Very exciting, and even though I have such a long list of other places to visit, I can't wait to be back.  It's a country that I could imagine living in, if not for the language barrier and the lack of space! Oh and the fact that my body is too big to be clothed and shod there.  Thank goodness for the Internet age and globalisation.  Looking foward to spending some quality time with Lisa, and visiting things that we missed out on last time... Disney Sea here we come!

Random question/thought: I wonder if the two Pancake Parlour guys on the radio ads are voiced by the same person?