july 29, 2003

yeah x 3

last night i came home and found a package in the mail!

a yeah yeah yeahs! album which i'd won in a dodgy magazine competition. i figure that even if i spent $20 on it at JB Hi Fi I was still making up the ludicrous amount of money I spend on magazines every month.

and the excellent thing was that i actually like the album. (this is a much better prize than the black panty liners i won a couple of years ago).

obviously it's not as good as the 52 cds i won in three d's radiothon in 2000.

one CD every week for an entire year? that was lucky!

maybe you'll get lucky this year?

pipstar @ 02:23 PM | link | Comments:

july 28, 2003

geek.battlecat.net

There isn't a "geek" subdomain to battlecat, but in the future there could be.

I've just attended an excellent lecture for Secure and High Integrity Systems, the content was interesting, but most importantly the course coordinator cared about what the students needed, and as such, has prepared a super thorough and well laid-out study guide. She's found out extra resources and not only were they listed, she also told us why they're useful.

And then she tells us that she loves technology, but that she's really interested in the way it effects people.

Now I'm considering a more IT based honours degree with Jill Slay as a supervisor. More importantly I have a reason to attend a Monday 9am lecture.

pipstar @ 11:04 AM | link | Comments: *

july 25, 2003

eat drink and be merry

so i got back from the supermarket with the lasagna sheets, started preparing the other ingredients and realised that i didn't have any cream.

so i got into my car again!

myeh. i was attempting the lasagna as part of my failed list of holiday projects (this was a new vegetarian dish that i was trying).

i hate using recipes for anything but baking because they are so specific, but that has meant that i am trapped in a stirfry, pasta, risotto, homemade pizza cycle. at least now i know how to make vegetarian lasagna and i'll be able to pull it out when i have people come over for dinner.

i also made a salad with a slightly bitter, chicory style lettuce with orange segments, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. it turned out pretty well.

but all this food preparation was in aid of karah coming over for dinner in what will hopefully be a series of recipe experimentation / cocktail drinking evenings. hopefully we'll be able to incorporate different friend combinations as well as food combos.

(thinking about what i'd feed people like sonja or lue, i came across the cool lookin' veganfood.net)

pipstar @ 11:55 AM | link | Comments: *

july 24, 2003

let's make a list and then ignore it because we really like driving to the shops

well not really. everytime i get into my car i feel incredibly guilty and wish that i didn't have a car so that i'd have to use my bike more often.

i've already been to the market and to the supermarket today, as both were largely social excursions i forgot the most important element of dinner tonight which is lasagna sheets.

which means that i'll get into my car and drive to the shops as it's about to rain but as i'm thinking as i write i've just realised that i can combine another job into that trip. and as it involves returning a cardigan i bought for my gran to try on i'll get money back at the same time.

[tangent]

i really, really love the theme song to the children's television series round the twist.

if we never ever do any other songs, the planned musical/singing fest that will be composed of cuchulain, ellie and myself should feature the round the twist themesong, and "it's a lovely day today" from call me madam and some whitegoods commercial.

and i've always wondered, if you had kids, would you buy a charity compilation of bands playing nursery rhymes?

pipstar @ 04:45 PM | link | Comments: *

july 23, 2003

invert

it seems that i must have been living in some alternate loop for the past six months because the term bling bling hadn't really entered my consciousness. i've now heard bling bling used by triple j presenters, luella and ugly duckling within the past two days.

and yesterday my grandma gave me a beautiful antique diamente buckle which sits somewhere on the dividing line between good taste and aforementioned blingbling.

sweet.

the moebius loop that i've been inhabiting seems to be all about yoga and peanut butter. not the tiniest bit of bling bling in sight.

for the last fortnight or so, my food consumption at home has been based on peanut butter [and sometimes jam] sandwiches or toast. i haven't been home long enough to actually cook anything for lunch or breakfast and almost every day i've had dinner somewhere else.

i got a little freaked out when i realised that vegetable oil, salt and sugar are added to commercial peanut butters, so i purchased a jar of pure peanut butter about a week ago.

it takes a little bit of getting used to, and there is a much higher degree of sticking to the roof of the mouthness, but call me a hippy, because i'm beginning to enjoy the real stuff. so next week i'm pretty sure i'll be heading off to the health food store to get some of the freshly ground stuff.

next week? oh lordy, university goes back and i've got three full days of attendance, not to mention actual reading and extra study so my body may go into shock.

luckily my completely favourite thing in the world at the moment (sneaking in ahead of hello minnesota, spooks and my new jeans) is yoga which will help keep me sane for the next six months AND the rest of my life.

i'm super chuffed about yoga this week as my teacher susan helped me to get up into handstand in class last night. it may take a couple of weeks until i can get up myself, but at least i know my body can do it.

i made a horrible deathlike gurgle as i went upside down the first time. but that could just be that my stomach wasn't expecting to be flung around.

and i'm able to move up into salamba sirsana (supported head balance) by myself! i'd never tried it before, and my technique is still a little dodgy, and i flashed the rest of the class on my first attempt because i forgot to tuck in my tshirt, but i can do it!

pipstar @ 12:34 PM | link | Comments: **

july 21, 2003

|| pause

i think that the wind very neatly posed the question which a post from last week might have inspired in dailyish readers.

i'm going to [hopefully] clear up the issue now that i'm free of sonic synergies commitments.

i am not romantically interested in anyone at the moment. if anyone has the slightest desire to partner me off with themselves, their best friend, unattached son / daughter, sorry.

for the first time since the age of about 15 i'm completely happy to be single and i want it to stay that way until i find someone who i like in that way. but i'm more than happy to have friends. and lots of them.

:::...

it's not that i dislike the persons under discussion. but they all have had a tendency to ignore the social codes which i expect new found acquaintances to follow (eg. hugging me and non-verbally vocalising some pent up desire / super best friendship / i haven't seen you in years emotion. read my visual cues... i just put out my hand to be shaken which signified that we're not on the friends greeting hugging level yet!)

or they expect me to immediately give them best friend / hot latin lover status. usually i like to mix with people in groups. if someone's a super dooper friend then they get to have one on one time with me (don't snigger... not in that way!).
once again i will use social cues to direct unwanted one on one invitations to a more preferred group / social activity.

"sure i'd love to come over to your house on saturday night to discuss the taxonomy of bread tags, but i'd love to meet up at the Exeter and introduce you to Bob. he loves oddball collections and it would be really great for us all to get together. how about wednesday after work?"

:::...

what i'm really desiring is a world in which i wouldn't have to resort to specifically blogging about general social graces. the persons under discussion ideally would have noticed my polite social cues and responded in an appropriate manner.

i like y'all, but not in that way. and if i did like anyone person in that way or a best friend way, they'd know about it almost straight away.

pipstar @ 03:35 PM | link | Comments:

july 21, 2003

<< rewind

before i go back and sum up the last week, The Escapist from Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay is going to become a real life comic book! (via bookslut)

and now, i rewind:

on tuesday i hung out with my grandma during her weekly visit back to her / my house. it was not in any way out of the ordinary, but i did finally move my old wardrobe from the garage to my room with the help of my father and toula. i'm hoping that i will be able to contain my clothes more effectively now.

i also had my first level two yoga class. i've been looking forward to more involved yoga practice for a while, but i was glad when i found a yoga buddy who was also making the transition.

ouch.

the poses weren't shockingly different from level one but the practice was more intense. we stretched our armpits(!) and held standing poses for such a long time. and we held foam bricks between our thighs and tried to keep them stable.

level two yoga is much more informational and instructional than the level one practice. i don't have to do handstands yet and i'll be able to take moving into headstands slowly. the yoga hangover was intense and lasted a good couple of days, which makes me think that my brain and body weren't being particularly challenged by level one sequences any more.

on wednesday i went into town with the intention to buy a zipper for the pencil case i'm making for my grandma's birthday, but i ended up embracing capitalism soundly.

i solved my need for everyday black pants with the discovery of the levi 608 cut. working outside of any money management principle that i'm aware of i bought a dirty denim pair (granted... they were on sale) and black stretch pair at the same time. $210 dollars...

and a pink paisley short sleeve cowgirl style shirt from daily grind. that was $20 instead of $90 so it wasn't too bad.

and delicious magazine from the abc shop and earrings and miniature clothes pegs for hanging up photos from lincraft.

and the zipper which was what i really wanted.

on thursday through to saturday i woke up early (shock! horror!) and headed off to the city east campus to help out at the sonic synergies conference.

i ran around a lot, carried things and put up signs. unfortunately being a volunteer meant that i didn't get to see that many sessions and i wasn't really in an academic mode so i'm going to direct you to ben's site where he has responded to some of the papers and ideas presented during the conference.

i did meet some great people who i'll hopefully stay in email contact with. all these people with good ideas...

it makes me feel kinda unproductive. though i do make stuff (such as the pencil case and bag pictured), garden, take photos and make battlecat.net (which is so closely a part of my identity that i forget that i actually produce it), and i'll be helping with the geek side of adelaide rock ladies and i did volunteer at sonic synergies. which made me seriously consider postgraduate research, but that's another story...

anyhooo. some of the good things i heard about over the weekend are the program (an offshoot of noise) which would be a great place to list adelaide rock ladies, ccd.net an online resource called community and cultural development developed by community arts network SA and ice (information and cultural exchange) from western sydney.

pipstar @ 01:43 PM | link | Comments:

july 17, 2003

direction

i'm not about to start up a new "secret" blog, nor am i going to make a significant change to content or style (though improving content would be a good change). and i'm not going to start ranting and raving in order to make a point and at the same time offend "my audience".

but i would love to use my blog to make pointed comments towards people who don't get hints! earlier this year i'd have loved to use my blog as a tool to direct a clingy, unwanted at that level friend to a more distanced acquaintanceship. and i'm tempted to use it for a similar purpose now. the problem with writing "I don't like you in that kinda way, if that's the kinda way you think i do" on your website is that the message may not reach the specific target. and it's kinda rude.

but still, i just wrote it...

:-)

pipstar @ 04:32 PM | link | Comments: **

july 16, 2003

indirection

enough people read battlecat.net now to prevent me writing about what i really feel like writing about.

being a good friend of sarah, i'm well aware of how writing stuff on your blog can backfire and you end up pissing people off, left, right and centre. or losing friends. or hurting people's feelings.

but what happens when people are distressing you and you want to write about it?

i know that one issue will pass and i'm really just hoping to avoid further conflict in that regard, but another issue is such that i'm going to have to make a concerted effort to advise the other party of my point of view.

nyeh.

pipstar @ 01:23 PM | link | Comments: *****

july 15, 2003

yeah. i'm tough.

i ended up not making mittens, but i did knit an armband using circular needles.

and after about a month i finally sewed in the ends.

pipstar @ 04:55 PM | link | Comments:

july 14, 2003

bits and pieces

i didn't have a table ready to put the sewing machine on, so i put it on my coffee table and pressed the treadle with my knee.

i'm going to embroider some flowers onto this bag and put on a handle.

pipstar @ 01:59 PM | link | Comments: *

july 13, 2003

pocustone

i am finally free of the self imposed hell that came of me leaving marking and one teensyweensy report until the very last moment.

so now i am going to clean and tidy up my house. which will mean that i have space and no guilt when i come to have some fun in the next two weeks.

i am going to sew some bags from lovely material using the replacement sewing machine which my mum bought for me at a garage sale.

and i will practice yoga on my spiffy mat whilst burning the frankincense and myrrh incense i bought from work yesterday.

i will cook at least three new meals from recipe books and magazines so as to break out of my pasta, risotto, pizza cycle. a vege dish, something with fish and something with meat as i'm getting all anaemic. gosh darn it! i'm going to attempt a roast!

and i will bake some super yummy snacks. probably a flourless chocolate cake...

i will start to develop the database for the adelaiderockladies website. last night i wandered around the grace emily selling raffle tickets and we managed to raise about $150!

i will complete my tax return before uni goes back (that would be three months early for me. i've been known to post the tax pack back on the final day.)

i'll send off my order to diggers seeds and prune the roses.

i'll assist next weekend at the sonic synergies conference.

and hopefully i'll complete 26 things (i may borrow my dad's digital camera).

pipstar @ 03:47 PM | link | Comments:

july 11, 2003

movin' on up

yesterday at yoga i met a girl who's going to be my yoga buddy as we'll both be going to our first level two class on tuesday.

which is lucky. i'm super motivated about yoga, but karah is going less and less so i needed to find someone who i could complain about the yoga hangover with.

"when i first started i used to hurt for three days after a class, now i only hurt for one!"

that girl knows what she's talking about.

pipstar @ 04:06 PM | link | Comments:

july 11, 2003

tick slash cross

inevitably i left the marking of assignments until the last minute and now i'm madly collating marks on bits of paper, scribbling on reports and covering the floor with papers.

i thought that i'd lost an entire class' marks for the first assignment... and my hand started shaking...

luckily i found the attendance sheet with the appropriate records on it.

and i'm only missing one mark so far.

wish me luck as I mark 60+ assignments by midday tomorrow!

pipstar @ 12:39 AM | link | Comments:

july 07, 2003

bound

up in bandages at the first aid course

by family duty to talk to my selfish grandfather

pipstar @ 11:13 PM | link | Comments:

july 06, 2003

:) +

if i go into shock at the first aid training session, at least the other students will be able to practise on me.

pipstar @ 01:37 AM | link | Comments:

july 06, 2003

slip slidin' away

for various reasons i haven't been able to go to yoga at all this week, which means that i'm desparate to begin a home practice routine.

insanity must be kicking in because i'm missing the pain of an extended dose of adho muka svanasana (downward dog). while i'm able to go into downward dog and standing poses, the carpeted floor is making my feet slip around so that holding a pose is difficult.

today's big jobs were meant to be visiting the stall at the orange lane market where i might be working and heading off to kmart to buy a yoga mat (and bricks and belt... all i need is a bolster, but rolled up blankets will have to do for a while). but i woke up late (again) so i could only go to the market.

and tomorrow i have to be up early for a morning of getting to know the product (handmade candles) and selling stuff, and then i'm meeting tim for a photo taking expedition in the botanic gardens.

after which i'll have to miss out the leigh stardust show at rhino room so that i can finish off the report, mark a bunch of assignments (i plan on getting all the journals marked) and get some sleep for first aid training the next day.

8.30am until 6.00pm. my body will go into shock.

and then again on tuesday... after which it's ellie's actual birthday funtime.

wednesday i want to finish off the marking (but i'll get the yoga mat as well)... then an interview for another job on thursday morning.

suddenly, i get busy

pipstar @ 01:07 AM | link | Comments:

july 04, 2003

lock in

so i switch off the computer to get ready to go to yoga. pick up my shopping bag so that i can go past the market on the way home.

at this point i pick up something bright and sparkly and put it somewhere. i dimly register that the aforementioned object is my bunch of keys, but i don't quite remember where i put them.

i go into my bedroom to grab my jacket, mobile and book from my bed. at this point i start consciously to look for my keys... brigh sparkly things... where have i seen them?

the hunt turns panicked as paranoia kicks in and i consider that maybe i left them in the door last night and maybe someone sneakily came past, grabbed them and made off with my car. quick car check... still there.

that means that crazy key stealing person is going to break-in tonight, rape me, steal my cds and computer harddrive and leave for mexico.

i think about that theory a little, scrap the bit about mexico and begin to wonder how i'm going to get anywhere for the rest of my life. i could ride my bike or catch a bus, but then realise that my dad accidentally took the spare set of house keys with him on tuesday.

realising that i'm going to have to spend the rest of my life guarding the house because there are no keys to lock it, i think about how i may starve so i eat a muffin with cheese and vegemite and put a photograph of mint into a frame.

i decide that since i'd better do some work before i clean up the house to find my keys, i switch on my computer, consider reading the book, realise i have hiccups, stand up to get the book, hiccup, involuntarily grab at my stomach, feel something in my sweater pocket and realise it's my keys.

pipstar @ 06:02 PM | link | Comments: **

july 04, 2003

books

i think that i need a new journal.

i've still got 4/5 of the leather bound travel journal which i bought in florence, but i want to use that when i next go travelling. i've also got a lovely journal in the style of ex libris anonymous with a panther on it which karah made for me. i use that one to write about gardening in.

but right now i want a journal to write about yoga in. and maybe i'll also use it to write about the books that i'm reading. and say that i ever decide i want to have a crush on someone, i'll write about it in that journal too.

pipstar @ 02:50 AM | link | Comments:

july 03, 2003

dough

i went to the supermarket only needing one significant purchase which was bread. ten minutes later i walked out with super seeded rye bread, english muffins, crumpets and some raspberry jam.

i must have entered into some bizarre toast wanting state that i wasn't aware of.

there is some potential dough related goodness in the air. yesterday i received a callback about a casual design position i applied for about a month ago and i have an interview next thursday. and i got a txt from a friend whose dad needs someone to run a stall on the weekends and so i'm going to investigate that lead further on saturday.

and ratbag and statravel are hiring. but they would be full time jobs, and as my mother tells me almost every time i go home "you have to finish your degree!".

i also seem to be lucky with regards to the data i need for my final assignment. i needed stats for my local area and i stumbled onto bureau of statistics data for unley.

paydirt. now i just need to write the report. (hums... thinks about redesigning the site...)

pipstar @ 12:02 AM | link | Comments: *

  

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