february 29, 2004
it's a leap year..
to all the boys out there...
will you marry me?
pipstar @ 02:35 PM | link | Comments: **
february 29, 2004
basecamp
Over the last day or so I briefly flirted with the thought of living in a share house in Bellingen.
It's a lovely little town, full of hippies and humidity. And there's an Iyengar Yoga teacher there.
I even checked out an available room today. The time spent driving to work from Bellingen would be equivalent to driving from Unley to Technology Park. Not so bad by Adelaide standards, but however small a city Adelaide is, it's still a city and so a 35 minute drive to work isn't such an issue.
Coffs Harbour isn't a city. Technically I'd be hesitant to call Bellingen a town as a village would be a more appropriate description.
So I reconsidered. I'd get really, really tired and drowsy with all that driving. And the road is really, really twisty. And once I got home each night I'd only have time to fall straight asleep.
I'll just drive up for yoga on Tuesday nights and hippy markets on the weekend.
Now I just need to find somewhere to live in Coffs Harbour!
:::...
I have gone up to the two girls running the door at the (interesting) gig I went to last night. I walked straight up to them and said "Hi! I'm new in town and I don't know anyone apart from the people I work with and the person I'm meant to be meeting isn't here yet."
Now I know two more people.
At lunchtime the other day I walked around the Jetty area checking out a couple of apartments with one of the guys from work. And at one of the inspections I met a girl with her mum.
The girl wore the look that I wore last week, the look of the relocating graduate. So I introduced myself, found out that she came from Adelaide and in under a minute I found out that she'd studied with one of my good friends Nick.
Two degrees of separation and we meet in Coffs Harbour. And it looks like I may move into her flat. Sweet.
Make that three people I've introduced myself to.
pipstar @ 02:29 PM | link | Comments:
february 29, 2004
b.c.i.s., b.a. (multimedia)
At the end of final semester last year I considered freaking out a little.
What would happen if I was missing out a required subject for my degree? I'd have to be an undergraduate for another year.
I put in my application to graduate anyway, crossed my fingers and pretty much forgot about it. Well, i forgot about it until the multiple times Mum asked me whether I was going to graduate.
And then I got so busy in the preparation for moving to Coffs Harbour that I forgot about it once more.
Until Mum rang up to say that my academic transcripts had arrived in the mail...
I'm finally going to graduate!
(after 7 years of study, 3 different degree enrolments, 2 different universities and 6 months of travel.)
pipstar @ 11:52 AM | link | Comments: *
february 22, 2004
wings and legs
When I was a little girl, I was deathly afraid of moths. Other crawly / fluttery things were less creepy. I even raced millipedes and collected furry caterpillars... They could be contained and controlled.
But moths, particularly the way that they flitted around your head and had the creepy furry stuff on their wings, were really, really scary.
I would scream and cry, even when I was twelve.
And I have what I think of as a healthy, distanced regard for potentially dangerous insects such as leeches and ticks and spiders.
So the decision to move to Coffs Harbour is an odd choice... When I was walking back from the beach yesterday I saw a power pole completely covered with spider webs... Big F*ck Off Spider Webs!
Apparently there are Big F*ck Off Spiders! There are scary bugs but there are lots of pretty butterflies (a yellow, white and black one landed on my leg yesterday!) and temperature telling crickets and grasshoppers.
So I'm okay about most of the insects, as long as they stay away from me. But I've reacted terribly to the mosquito bites I've received so far... They've blistered and are really swollen and are incredibly itchy.
However, Coffs Harbour is excellent, despite the insects.
pipstar @ 08:53 AM | link | Comments: ***
february 17, 2004
scatterbrain
I'm getting my shit together fairly well, and I'll be on the road to Coffs Harbour from tomorrow morning. But I've still got stuff to organise, so this is a rambling entry...
I discovered extra clothes which were good and weren't on my list. And I even used the votes as a guide as to what shouldn't be packed, but some things with more Nos than Yes got in.
And the other day, because it was so hot and I went out wearing jeans, I bought myself a superdooper, fancy, cute skirt which makes me feel like some hot ballet dancer. Ten minutes before the shops shut, I said to Aliese "I need a skirt", and ten minutes later I walked out wearing a very cute embroidered piece from FCUK.
:::...
just to remind you about the dangers of bitching about your work life in your blog... missjenjen's been dooced...
pipstar @ 09:34 PM | link | Comments:
february 13, 2004
shabby chick
I went to the Exeter for the third night in a row. And I'm going again tonight. I pretty much end up seeing everyone I know there, so it's a good way of advising people of my impending departure. And I get to consume large amounts of beer with lovely people.
So, if I was looking for a word to describe my current physical and mental state, shabby would be apt.
Luckily i'm not hungover, because I'd have been super pissed off when at 8 this morning, chainsaws were fired up in the garden across the road. 8am is early for me... i'm "unemployed" for one more week.
I am tired. And shabby.
Though it was lucky that I woke up then, because I had to go and rescue my car from Rundle St where I left it last night. And I went into Big Star and bought Bryter Layter and Her Majesty, The Decembrists, both secondhand and both on my list of cds to buy!
And when I went to pick up the photos I got enlarged, I found that they'd misprinted them at the super-large size and I didn't have to pay for the superness.
Ace!
:::...
Seeing that I leave for sub-tropical environments on Wednesday, I've got a bunch of stuff to do. As you can guess the stuff to do comes under the headings of Organise, Pack and Clean.
I'll also be performing a one-off show with Sarah and Aliese in Hot300 at a party tomorrow. [note: I don't have to play an instrument, but I may wear my hair in a mohican inspired style.]
Forgive me if I don't post for a while.
pipstar @ 02:21 PM | link | Comments:
february 10, 2004
the great clothing decision, 2004
I love clothes and I love drawing.
It's possible that I love too many clothes. I don't want to leave anything behind when I go up to Coffs Harbour.
Obviously the major winter apparel is staying behind... but I've got an awfully large number of lovely warm weather clothes.
At the moment, space for clothes isn't a problem. The clothes fit into the two boxes designated with room to spare for underwear and sleepwear. It's just that I feel a little bit guilty...
Not only do I love clothes and drawing, but I'm also a bonafide geek. So I databased the pictures of clothes and set it up so that you can vote for certain items to stay in the box or for them to be left behind in Adelaide.*
Ladies, Gentlemen, Boys and Girls... The Great Clothing Decision, 2004!
- Oh, you have until February 16 to decide.
pipstar @ 12:22 AM | link | Comments: ********
february 09, 2004
the big banana and other fruit
The other day I decided to move to Coffs Harbour. And so I'll be leaving Adelaide in a couple of weeks.
Now before you say "Coffs Harbour! Why on earth is she moving to Coffs Harbour?", let me say my piece.
On Monday I had three serious life paths available to me:
- Unemployment in Adelaide
- A depressing, non-programming, long term "Career" in Melbourne working for The Man, but I'd get a free mobile and a laptop.*
- Moving to Coffs Harbour to do Flash programming for an educational software company. And initially it's a 3 month contract which means I can leave if I'm not happy.
As much as I love Adelaide I felt that the time to embrace opportunities in Other Places had come. I'm not running away I'm running to something. But I don't know what it is.
I've always wanted to live in Melbourne, but not enough to sacrifice my happiness. And I've been wanting to learn how to surf for a while.
So I've accepted the position in Coffs Harbour because I am a geek and I like programming computers and I've programmed educational software before and I like the people offering me the job. And as I mentioned before I am free to leave if I'm unhappy. (Or if hip games development companies / visual effects companies / national broadcasters offer me a cooler job).
A couple of people have gone "Coffs Harbour, where on earth is that?" In fact, only minutes after accepting the job did I say the very same thing to myself. Considering that given a pin and a map of Australia I wouldn't have been able to find Sydney, I was in serious need of a map.
You might be confused too.
[i didn't make the map. so the misspelling of Adelaide is not my fault]
With every day that passes, I'm happier and more confident that the decision I've made is the best one. I don't know what The Ultimate Thing To Do With My Life Is, but sleeping in all day in Adelaide isn't it, and wearing a suit and being locked in a server room all day isn't it either. Making stuff, and finding solutions to problems and helping people learn and being happy about my life is closer to that Ultimate Thing. Even if I have to leave my friends for a while to work out what that Thing is.
pipstar @ 01:14 PM | link | Comments: *
february 08, 2004
food and farewells
as i'll be moving in a couple of weeks, i've neglected to buy myself food.
and my cupboards and fridge are getting bare.
so when i woke up today and made myself some tea, i was faced with the decision between black tea or tea with chocolate soy milk?
luckily, commonsense prevailed.
it's also lucky that i've been eating with other people lately, otherwise i might turn into a peanut butter on toast girl. actually, i've run out of peanut butter, so i'd just turn into a toast girl.
last night i ate at hélène's house as part of her going away to study in ballarat festivities. and hello minnesota played the last show that i'll see them play in a while.
boo hoo :(
hopefully some smart person with loads of cash will pay for HM to go on national tours including places like Coffs Harbour.
pipstar @ 03:28 PM | link | Comments:
february 06, 2004
i'm back (from outer space)
sorry about that, i'd forgotten that the battlecat.net domain needed to be renewed so my site disappeared for a couple of days.
and battlecat will keep on going, even though i'm not going to be in adelaide for much longer.
i'm going to make a full time career selling souvenirs at the big banana in coffs harbour.
that's partially a lie. but i am going to coffs harbour.
in about a fortnight.
and i will be having a party, so get in contact with me if you want to come along.
pipstar @ 11:55 AM | link | Comments: ******
february 02, 2004
yesterday
today
I thought about moving interstate to a big city for a Long Term Career with no long term happiness, just fixing stuff and sitting in a server room without really using my degree, brain or heart.
and then I thought about moving to another state and a smaller town for a job where I'd be making stuff which people would interact with. a job which is more flexible, which won't stifle my creativity and i smiled and made a phone call.
tomorrow
© 2002 - 2007 Pippa Buchanan