july 31, 2002
4.17am
if you take a look at my travel section you'll notice a new design.
i'm pretty happy with it, and hopefully i won't get too sick of it over the next 7 months.
[maybe i'll end up getting some work with web access, just in case i get design fidgetty!]
if you notice any style sheet issues and are feeling friendly could you contact me and tell me what browser version you're using?
i've checked the page out on Netscape 4.0 and it degrades relatively well.
pipstar @ 05:22 AM | link | Comments:
july 31, 2002
turningpoint
i almost cried last night when i realised i hadn't backed up my email.
i lost the emails from pam and mia in switzerland and barbara in adelaide and adam (now somewhere in a campervan in northern south australia) and some people from uni who commented on my site.
i feel so bad. i'e lost your addresses.
please contact me. i feel so sad about it.
pipstar @ 01:59 AM | link | Comments:
july 29, 2002
let's make a list (and cross everything off)
i'm currently doing a whole lot of little things, like bank account clarifying (if i lose my keycard it has to be posted from australia by my mother, but if i lose my credit card it can be replaced overseas) and buying batteries and a cd bag and some new budheadphones (because i stood on my previous pair... whoops!).
all the while i've been blowing my nose continuously and feeling very achey and sorry for myself.
i really don't know how i'm meant to get everything done!
pipstar @ 11:26 PM | link | Comments:
july 27, 2002
aiii!
i went to see ali g-indahaus last night with karah and james.
funny and rude. i can imagine that my thirteen year old brother would find it amusing.
i also had dinner with pete at the central market before i met karah and james (who lay in wait in a corner of the cinema and surprised me when i didn't notice them).
at the market i figured that i should get into an ali g mood, so i ordered "dry ho fun". it was too spicy. i gave up eating it after about ten mouthfuls.
pipstar @ 05:35 PM | link | Comments:
july 27, 2002
it's about snot and blood... feel free to skip
as if to spite me, my body has decided to catch a cold. right now! just a week before 24 hours of airtravel. i can deal with the pain (over 12 years of unpressurised small plane travel has given me patience) but i'm worried about is blood.
i think it was in year six or seven that i had a severe cold before we went on a family holiday in dad's plane. [well, you couldn't really call them holidays as they were forced family time. and unlike road trip family torture, you didn't get to take breaks.]
anyway, the conditions in the plane were such that my sinuses actually started to bleed. and they remained that way for about a fortnight. everytime i blew my nose (remember, i still had a cold) there was horrible bloody snot in the tissue.
i made two boys in my class look at one of my tissues (forgive me: i was about 10 at the time) and they went "ew!" and then i got in trouble for distracting the class.
pipstar @ 05:05 PM | link | Comments: *
july 27, 2002
kineticenergy
yeah! mark has put up the clue to kalo website.
i know i shouldn't whinge, but because i'm going away i miss out on his next adelaide gig. but there is always the chance to see him play in europe.
pipstar @ 04:59 PM | link | Comments:
july 25, 2002
the red shoes
i'd told myself that i'd only buy a pair of camper shoes when i was in spain, but on tuesday there was a pair of red boots on sale at symchoon and i had a $140 credit voucher, so i bought them.
and i'm going to wear them everyday until i leave, because i'm going to be strong and only take my hiking boots and black slides. which is a smart move as i'm planning on buying camper and birkenstock shoes in their countries of origin.
today i picked up my tickets and insurance forms for my trip!
there are so many little bits of paper, but i've sorted them out into things that need to be safe in a money belt, things i can keep in my backpack (maps etc) and things i can leave with mum such as photocopies of stuff and an itinerary.
i'm working on my aunt's webpage at the moment, but after i've uploaded movable type and got the design finalised, you'll all be able to see images of her art and copies of her articles. send her email! go to her exhibitions! buy her prints!
pipstar @ 07:17 PM | link | Comments: *
july 25, 2002
the gods must be crazy.
two weeks, and i'll be on a plane somewhere over eurasia. after about 12 hours of plane travel, i think the novelty of flying in a big plane will have worn off.
i spent the holidays of my youth in the back seat of my dad's cessna, so there remains absolutely no novelty about light aircraft travel.
for instance, i know that going to the toilet can be very difficult. as there is no toilet. we used to pee into the foil lined bags that roast chickens come in, and then throw them out the window.
younger sibling done a poo in their disposable nappy? 3 hours until the next landing? once again, out the window.
and the greenpeace people wonder why i run away from them.
it's not that i'm easily bored by their spiel, it's because i'm guilty!
pipstar @ 02:04 AM | link | Comments:
july 24, 2002
baterz
baterz, a local musician who wrote some of the most getting stuck in your head songs ever (target airconditioning, if i could just stop thinking about girls...) recently passed away.
On Sunday July 28, there will be a Baterz tribute concert at The Grace Emily Hotel.
This had been planned for a while, and was an idea of Baterz and Greg: A list of performers put together by Baterz have been asked to perform a coupla Baterz songs of their choice.
It starts at 6pm, it will include performances from Leigh Stardust, Soursob Bob, Juliet Ward, Mahatt, myself, + more, each doing 2, 3 or 4 Baterz songs.
This is not a mourning ceremony!
It's a celebration of his songs, an occasion for us all to get together and celebrate the fact that whether you got to know him personally or not, Baterz was an incredibly talented singer-songwriter.
When we were organising it, Baterz told me: "If I die, you should still do it." It is set out to be a fun night for all lovers of Baterz' stuff.
pipstar @ 11:55 PM | link | Comments:
july 23, 2002
bustraintram
on thursday i arrived in melbourne after an 11 hour train ride. i trammed up bourke street to the fad gallery to meet amanda and luella, drank some free wine, lost my green beanie and went to the empress to see by ferry or steamer where i also met up with robin.
on friday amanda and i walked down to smith street, caught a tram into the city, visited lue at work, went to the supermarket and walked home for naps, cups of tea and fruittoast.
that night we walked to the vegie bar [in beautiful, chilly, but i love it melbourne cold]. i had my first risotto of the weekend. then we went to sleep.
amanda and lue worked on saturday. before lue went to work we went to a brotherhood of st laurence store and i found mysteries of pittsburgh, on green dolphin street and a margaret fulton cookbook. and then lue dropped me at smith street and i explored factory outlets for a thermal top, one of those polarfleece neck warmer things and then a tiny tin of tiger balm. the tigerbalm was only $1 and the tin was a bitch to open, but it was the only thing i could justify buying from a chinese store which sold silk and the most amazing tin wind-up toys.
i walked home to eat more fruit toast [so that i didn't needlessly spend money on food], read my books and to answer the door to luella's neighbours who were kindly advising that she'd left her car lights on. unfortunately i couldn't find lue's spare keys, but fortunately the car battery didn't go flat.
after the girls came home from work we all drove out to northcote for a hardcore gig and free, very yummy vegan food. i only saw george w. bush play, but they were full of energy and played very short, fast songs. but i suppose that's what being in a hardcore band is all about.
and then we went back to the girls' house with where we watched a stylin' breakdance video with robby, simon, jess, kynan and brett. later on we headed off to the tote. we managed to fit 7 people into brett's hatchback, and i cheerfully curled up in the boot, which meant that i had an odd view of the sky and simon's hair.
at the tote i was surpised to be greeted by ben. which was a silly surprise as i knew he lived in melbourne and you have to expect to see half of adelaide's former residents in melbourne each day you are there. especially when you are attending a ninety nine gig. and what a gig it was!
then we went to the rob roy to hear boys named ben and guy play r'n'b. lue got drunk and we all ate chips on the way home. robby and i were both slightly disappointed as we'd wanted to brave the melbourne equivalent of shotz, the cherry bar, but asides from that the night was great.
on sunday amanda worked again and lue and i slowly organised our minds and bodies in the company of carla. at one point lue disappeared, so i walked to brunswick st, bought a new beanie and then got a lift from luella [returning as mysteriously as she left] and carla into the city. i returned to fad gallery to find my original beanie was safe and sound (now i've got two ace beanies!), visited amanda at work and bought a black top.
i trammed back to lue's and ate more toast and then we went to dinner at the lounge with karen, susann, fennela and jess. i ate my second risotto for the weekend (duck and mushroom, so yummy!) and i got drunk on the house red and susann gave me a list of places to visit in barcelona.
back at lue's we watched the end of baseketball with amanda and then we all went to sleep. at 6.45am lue and amanda's housemate alex returned and i prepared myself for my v-line bus and train ride home.
phew.
but that's not all folks! i met a lovely woman on the bus whose name i didn't catch (hello if you ever get to read this!) and an amazingly outgoing, precocious 12 year old called david. i attempted to make him use his powers for good not evil, so i may soon be linking to his forthcoming webpage containing photographs with wwf stars. i reckon he talked for 3 hours straight, but unlike many grown-ups he actually spoke about lots of things and wasn't boring. but i didn't get to read or listen to my cds. oh well.
and now i'm home!
i have thoughts and feelings that i want to record, but they'll come later.
pipstar @ 02:30 AM | link | Comments:
july 20, 2002
urgh
i'm using lue's computer and i'm reminded once more that my site does not look good in IE5.
oh well.
sleep. lue need sleep as well and i'm hogging the computer.
pipstar @ 01:09 AM | link | Comments:
july 20, 2002
blood and guts
steve, one of aidan's uppsala friends was attacked by a bull in a spanish bull run. and he survived to tell the tale [link might not work as aidan's archives are acting a bit weird].
i'm in melbourne. i haven't bought anything apart from food and metcards. which is a good sign. but tomorrow lue and amanda are both at work so i'll be left to my own devices. which could be dangerous.
pipstar @ 01:06 AM | link | Comments:
july 17, 2002
relief
my attitude towards my university subjects this semester has been very poor. so i was half-expecting to have failed at least one subject, particularly e-commerce technology.
so i was pretty surprised to find out that i'd passed the course, and i got a Credit!
I also managed to fool everyone and get a Distinction for Information Systems Maintenance and Re-Engineering. wicked!
now i need to wait for the exploring technoculture marks. tick.tick.tick.
and now i'm going to buy my ticket for melbourne and pack my bag for an early departure tomorrow morning.
brunswick street! i love you!
pipstar @ 05:42 PM | link | Comments:
july 17, 2002
half [pink] moon
yesterday i swapped bedrooms with my little brother. this way we were finally able to get him to look at his belongings so he could work out what to throw away. he hasn't moved anything in his room since we moved here four years ago, so when we moved his bed away from the wall the skirting board was dark grey with dust and spider webs and who knows what else!
i'm in the habit of rearranging my room a couple of times a year. it makes me throw things away and give the room a really good vacuum. but that technique involves moving little piles of belongings around. when i moved in and out of parkside everything was packed up into boxes so i couldn't see how much stuff i have.
when it's all piled up in the middle of the living room it looks like i have so many things!
anyway, the move around has resulted in me leaving my computer in al's room as he's going to inherit it in three weeks. so sorry if emails and posts aren't particularly forthcoming.
:::...
mum and i went to yoga this morning and i also went to visit my grandma at her house.
and then i made pasta using the pasta machine and some bread rolls. yummo!
and now i'm in the process of sorting through all my cds and working out which cds to burn in full, which tracks to take off the cds i want bits of so that i don't end up with too many kilos of music.
i think alex needs to go to bed.
goodbye until tomorrow.
pipstar @ 02:45 AM | link | Comments:
july 14, 2002
wicked
the warped boys get to go to japan!
could this mean they might do a european tour?
[my arm hurts]
pipstar @ 12:54 AM | link | Comments:
july 13, 2002
contraception for the next generation.
i really punished my body at the avalanches dj show last night. 4 hours of non-stop dancing, including semi-moshing of the type not participated in since year 12.
robbie and dexter pulled out some amazingly cool combinations of songs. and the mixing was amazing (but that was to be expected anyway).
:::...
i actually managed to wake up today to go up to the doctor's for my typhoid vaccination and implanon contraceptive implant. (yep, the product that is advertised by elderly sex-education teachers dancing around).
so now i have a 4cm x 2mm bit of hormone-releasing plastic in my arm. hopefully i won't suffer any horrible sideeffects as this means i don't have to worry about contraception for 3 years, and the implant is government subsidised... $24!
and karah and i went op-shopping yesterday. she found many super things, and ended up spending about $50. however, i restricted myself to a blue and white striped top, which i wore to the avalanches last night, 4 tiny little sewing kit tins for 50c each, two cool - near new - string bags (red and blue), a couple of books (including brazilian adventure by peter fleming) and the most amazing religious icon ever (for karah's birthday present). this icon is truly gaudy. there is a lot of gilding and there is glitter, but the crowning glory is that it has a different image from each angle. i'm going to take some photos before i package it up for karah.
pipstar @ 04:13 PM | link | Comments:
july 10, 2002
dirty [blue] jeans
this is going to be a big rock week. and i'm hoping that i can fit everything in.
tonight - the nation blue, gvsb and magic dirt
and on friday the nation blue and magic dirt are playing again. but the avalanches dj show is on too and i've already bought a ticket so i'll have to do some superenjoying of tonight's show.
[i want new clothes. but i shouldn't buy anything as i won't be able to take everything with me. but i have $140 credit at symchoon? what to do!?]
i've got a new power supply in my computer, so i don't need to continually worry about fires and lost data. i'll also feel better about giving my little bro' my computer if everything is still working and not so potentially deadly!
pipstar @ 07:44 PM | link | Comments:
july 09, 2002
dehydration
spectacular family disturbances. which aren't really blog material as they involve too many other people and their feelings.
but i'm pretty sorry for my continued anger. but not sorry enough to completely forgive people who won't forgive a larger group of people.
so let's just say that my eyes are very dried out.
and i visited the old parkside house and hung out with chris and milky, mykl's new kitten. we had chamomile tea, watched neighbours and milky chewed my jumper and slept on my stomach. [when i come back i am so going to get a kitten. or a puppy. or maybe both!]
my computer is also pretty dehydrated. my powersupply fan completely packed in today. i'd left my computer on while i watched monday night tv (with the knowledge that my fan works only intermittently).
when i went into my room there was a slightly smoky feel to the air. and the power supply area of my computer was very warm. i'm glad i found the computer when i did, and i'm extra glad that only one of the side panels of my computer is attached. otherwise it would be very very hot in my room.
and aidan sent my a beautiful email. he makes me feel strong.
last tuesday we spoke for the first time in a month. we'd only occassionally been able to email each other while he was in paris due to his poverty and virus stricken computer and my commitment to literature and not studying.
needless to say, it was good to speak to him then and on saturday.
i also visited my grandma's house today, but not my grandma as she's in a nursing home (and yes, i really should go visit her soon!). the house is all locked up at the moment, so i could only check that the armchair i'm storing in her garage was not too musty and damp. but a gardener has been through lately and cleaned up a decade's worth of undergrowth. the garden looks much better, and i was able to reach the mandarin tree and picked a bright orange but very sour and pip-laden mandarin.
i'm going to drink some water and finish oscar and lucinda.
tomorrow i'm going to update my student card and buy a new power supply for my computer.
pipstar @ 01:59 AM | link | Comments:
july 06, 2002
splendid
i've finished my exams and on thursday i had my last day at work.
so now i'm free. without income. without specific things to do.
apart from selling my car, designing a website for my aunt and designing a weblog.
pipstar @ 06:41 PM | link | Comments:
july 06, 2002
no plot! no problem!
i've decided that i'm going to participate in nanowrimo hand-written stylee.
maybe it will be a travellogue-ish novel, or an expose into the uneventful life of a character who remarkably resembles me, but unlike most nanowrimo submissions, i think that i'm going to have to hand-write it and then type it up. (unless i spend a whole lot of time in internet cafes or manage to scam myself a job in some foreign land with a computer.
i have the next four months to think about what to write. but come november 1st, i'll actually be writing.
and i'll possibly even finish.
if i can write awfully long emails and blog posts, then surely i can write over 1500 words a day?
pipstar @ 06:21 PM | link | Comments:
july 01, 2002
square-cut or pear shaped
i woke up and realised that gentlemen prefer blondes was on television, so any plans of immediate study were put away while i sang along and thought about 1950s evening dresses and diamonds.
:::...
yesterday i woke up after having a dream about catching transcontinental flights and having to speak in spanish and i looked at my alarmclock.
and i did do some study, and spoke to lue on the phone and weeded out soursobs so that i didn't feel like i was just speaking on the phone. (procrastination guilt has set in)
i watched pilot guides and the big brother eviction.
and i actually did more study!
© 2002 - 2007 Pippa Buchanan