My sister looks a little more ethnic than me, and sometimes gets asked “Where are you from?” to which she replies “Melbourne”. This often doesn’t satisfy the interrogator, who will often be reluctant to say it, but really wants to know what the ethnic mix is. Maybe you blue-eyed blonds reading don’t realise this, but ... [More]
On Sunday afternoon a few weeks ago I was digging through the old video tapes and found the Bargearse compilation. (For non-gen-Xers and those outside Australia, Bargearse was a version of the 70s cop show “Bluey”, starring Leo “Lucky” Grills, dubbed-over in the early 90s by the D-Generation Late Show). I thought I’d give the ... [More]
Promotions at Parliament Station: 3. Monday: Free fortune cookie advertising Mt Franklin water’s “Well of Positivity“; Tuesday: free sample of Ocean Spray Cranberries; Wednesday: Amnesty International Beggars who have asked for money: 1 in Swanston Street who sounded very scripted “Excuse me sir, we are homeless for a few days”, and as soon as being ... [More]
The trains have problems, but at least most people can figure out where they go. (Uhh, well, apart from the whole City Loop reversal thing.) But try the buses. I reckon the 627 bus has Melbourne’s most confusing route. It goes from Elsternwick to East Brighton, but via Chadstone. (And if you don’t know your ... [More]
Trying to navigate school holidays and come up with affordable holidays in the wake of the monthly mortgage payments isn’t particularly easy. Last year was Hobart (piggybacking on Marita being there for a conference) and Sydney over the Cup Day weekend with the kids. The latter worked really well, so I’ve decided to do it ... [More]
Getting a haircut in the middle of winter is never a good idea (especially just before a snow trip), but it had to be done. The cold weather leaves me tempted to stay in bed all day, to not get up at all. But it had to be done. Oh well, it may not be ... [More]
The Mobile Blood Bank is back in my neck of the woods this week, and because it’s so inconvenient to get to their Southbank outlet (inlet?) I try to make a point of going as often as I can. So I planned to go along on this afternoon after picking up the kids from school ... [More]
We went up to the snow on the weekend. Myself, the kids, cousin Leo, and cousin Leo’s dad Adrian. Five blokes on a snow trip. The great thing about going to Mt Donna Buang yesterday was there was plenty of snow. The bad thing about going to Mt Donna Buang yesterday was that lots of ... [More]
Manchester Lane, four years later. She looked about the same. Some bloke on her arm. Both smiling. Don’t know if she noticed me noticing her as we passed. Didn’t say anything, just kept walking. Glad she seems happy. Me too. PS. It was an ex, not the ex.
On Saturday I went up on the roof of my house for the first time. Not for anything in particular, but just to see if I could, and to admire the view. The kids stood by, Isaac in particular making worried noises about the steadiness of the ladder, and the strength of the polycarbonate verandah ... [More]
It’s been a while since I’ve been to church, but on Sunday I found myself at an Anglican service, for a christening. I think if you had to sum it up briefly, that kind of mild suburban Christianity could be best described as a 2000 year old advertising campaign to try and get people to ... [More]
Bob Geldof on Live Earth: “I hope they’re a success. But why is Gore actually organizing them? To make us aware of the greenhouse effect? Everybody’s known about that problem for years.” But some don’t. I keep hearing about people who routinely use their clothes dryers for everything. Or people who leave lots of lights ... [More]