On Thursday night I went to Isaac’s school concert. It’s easy to think that primary school concerts might be drab affairs, a bit like the non-dream-sequence bit of the old Simpsons "Bartman" music video, and with nobody really interested in any of the acts except the ones their children were in.

This wasn’t really like that. It was the opening act that grabbed my attention - a performance by some of the kids of… wait for it… AC/DC’s
"It’s A Long Way To The Top (If You Want To Rock’n'Roll)", featuring three of them dressed as Angus Young, and all of them doing mild head banging and air-guitar as part of the dancing. It was utterly bizarre, and very entertaining.

I think Jeremy enjoyed the snow just a little bit.

Yesterday I took the kids to the snow at Mount Donna Buang, which was a heckuva lot of fun. Toboggan rides, building a snowman, throwing snowballs… great stuff. We all got wet of course, but great fun.

Today I turned 31. Most of my recent birthdays, the prospect of being another year older has worried me somewhat. Was I looking older? Was I wasting my life? Was I enjoying myself? Was I happy? Was I getting fatter? Balder? Greyer? More wrinkly? Was I getting old and boring and losing my ability to be outraged when someone dared to ring me at 7:30 on a Sunday morning?

I’ve been so busy recently that I haven’t had time to even think about worrying these things. I’ve thought about them briefly now, and the answers are: Maybe, No, Yes, Yes, Not noticeably, Perhaps, I don’t think so, and No - definitely not. (I don’t think my Grandad has quite mastered this whole time zones thing.)

What I did think about this morning was how happy I am with life at the moment. Life is definitely good, and I probably had something of a spring in my step and a big smile on my face as I walked to the station on the way to work.

So, what presents have I got? A bunch of good ones as a matter of fact. Two Black Adder DVDs and a delicious dinner last night from my mum. A book about the nearby wilderness from my sister, which should encourage me to do what I’ve been saying I’ll do for ages now: to get out and explore the wilderness nearby. Plus I am led to believe that two more DVDs are on the way from her - the entire series of Ultraviolet, which I’m currently hooked on. Onya Sis! A chocolate cake from the ex. And today I got shouted lunch, and surprised by being given the missing book from my Bill Bryson collection, from the girl I’ve been out with a few times recently.

Okay, so it’s not an enormous haul of presents, but it’s all quality stuff that I’ll enjoy using. I’ll take quality over quantity any time. Of course, finding the time to watch all the DVDs (as well as the ones Josh has been lending me) could be tricky.

But the best presents were the card Isaac made at school for me, and knowing that so many people in my life - the ones who contributed tangible presents and those who didn’t - cared enough to wish me a happy birthday.

Went to see the keynote address of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival last night, given by Bill Bryson. The man is hilarious. It made a great end to the working week to laugh my arse off at his speech. I’m getting an urge to read all his books again, and to check my collection to make absolutely sure I haven’t missed any. Of course, having said that, I have no idea where I’ll find the time to do so.

Meanwhile, a few people I know have now seen my video destruction clip. A few people have suggested I send it into Australia’s Funniest Home videos - not a show I usually watch, but I think I’ll take a look tonight to note down the address for tape submissions!

I’ve been keeping an eye on the snow reports. I’m hoping to take the kids for a day trip to the snow at Mt Donna Buang tomorrow. It’s been cold all week, so it should be good. Chuck a few snowballs around, maybe make a snowman, go tobogganing - all good fun.

6:15am. I don’t normally get up this early, but today I have to be into work early. I don’t think the newspaper has even hit the driveway yet. Chowing down Weetbix. Is it natural to be up this early? Doesn’t seem like it.

6:38am. Better go take a shower I suppose. It’s still dark outside. Looks cold too - brrr.

7:09am. Showered, dressed, got the newspaper in. Not dark anymore, but still cold out there. Time to go to work in a mo’ - the 7:24 express waits for noone.

7:25am. Get on the train. Surprised at the number of masochists going into work this early, though many of them seem to be partially or fully asleep. There aren’t any seats left, unless I feel like squeezing up between two burly businessmen. I decide that standing will be more enjoyable, even if it means no chance of getting any more sleep. I use the time to SMS my sister, and do a little attempted FriendSpotting, to see if anybody I know gets on the train.

7:54am. Here it is, 7:54am, the new version of the system goes live at 8am, and I’m the only one who has turned up!

9:00am. People drifted in eventually. Surprisingly everything seems to be going smoothly.

12:15pm. Hungry. Need food. I already have a ham, tomato and cheese roll that I brought in with me, but I venture out to the 7-11 across the street for a drink. It’s absolutely bloody freezing outside. Howling wind, even a little rain.

12:17pm. Cold. Need hot food. Go and get some hot chips from the handily placed (if marginally over-priced) food court on the ground floor of the building, take them back to the office and guzzle them and the roll down.

2:13pm. A few more minor crises are helping me to stay awake. I’d be fast asleep otherwise. Ponder if I should go buy a Coke and/or a Viking bar.

3:59pm. One more minor crisis and I decide I’ve had enough. Further crises can be handled by the others. Time to head home.

4:07pm. At the station, remember I need to get an Australian, to enter the Paul Kelly competition. Struggle trying to get $1.10 out of an inconveniently deep pocket, but manage it eventually, and descend into the bowels of the station to platform 2.

4:09pm. Glare at woman smoking in station. Has she never heard of Kings Cross? Obviously not. Relieved when someone else asks her to put it out.

4:11pm. Train arrives, whisks me towards home. No seat again, but I manage to thumb my way through MX.

4:16pm. Someone gets off the train at South Yarra, leaving a handily placed available seat which nobody leaps into, so I take it. Continue looking through MX.

4:23pm. Get bored with MX just past Caulfield. That’s not bad actually - it doesn’t usually hold my interest for that long.

4:37pm. Get home to discover tickets to Bill Bryson this Friday are in the mailbox. Also in the envelope are someone else’s tickets, for something next Thursday week. I’m busy that night, so I mail them on to her.

5:09pm. Jump in the car and collect the kids.

5:35pm. Back after much running around. Cook dinner. It’s only noodles and fish fingers, but at least they’ll eat it without any fuss.

6:23pm. After dinner we eat dessert in the livingroom, watching a Goodies
tape.

8:05pm. Kids tucked up in bed. It’s Monday night, so I check my e-mail and start compiling this week’s Toxic Custard e-mail. This week centres around the first bit of footage of the destruction of my VCR. It still makes me laugh, weeks after the event.

9:26pm. Do the dishes, oh what fun!

9:41pm. Back to the computer… damn video thing, why doesn’t it work properly?

11:38pm. All working, uploading to web site. Bedtime. Definitely bedtime.

Ahhh… cooking a beef steak, piled over with capsicum and mushrooms and tomatoes and stuff… and boogying in the kitchen to Moby… does life get better than this?

I had one of my all time great weekends. So good I was smiling to myself, and practically dancing into work on Monday morning. That’s a worrying prospect, isn’t it, being that happy on a Monday morning.

On Thursday night the boss shouted us to wine and pizza, saving me bothering to do any cooking. On Friday night I was out for drinks and dinner and a lot of laughs. Saturday was the big VCR killing day with Josh and Cathy, which was probably the most fun I’ve ever had in a public park. Then out Saturday night with them and some of their friends, who seemed bewildered and startled to hear that we’d spent the afternoon destroying consumer electronics.

Thanks to a VCR that works properly, I got to watch Saturday night’s viewing, including the repeat of a show I wanted to see in full ever since I happened to see a mere snippet of it a few years ago: Ultraviolet. Mucked around with the kids on Sunday, and by the time the evening rolled around, I realised I hadn’t had to cook (or wash up) since Wednesday!

Then on Monday morning, I managed to do my good deed for the week, by offering a seat on the train to a woman who, it turned out, didn’t feel very well. Train seat karma then kicked in, as at the next station, the seat next to her was vacated, and nobody else wanted it, so I got to sit down.

And now of course, tonight is Census
night.

I thought for a while about this, and decided to go with it, especially since it turns out the Jedi Creed is closer to my own beliefs than any other organised religion that I know of.

The final moments

Well, today it happened. Today, with the help of my lovely assistants Josh and Cathy, I disposed of my Sharp VCR that has given me so much grief over the years.

The camera was present at the event, so check out this report of the festivities!