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Monday, July 26, 2010
Spunkeymonkey in Melbourne
Due to mistiming-spent 5 hours sadly trying to find a place to sleep. In the end, an exercise in futility. Aussie airports are singularly uncomfortable transit hubs. How i miss the sleep areas in Changi, the small rented cubicles with a shower and bed in Narita and the sheer breadth of food choices in Kuala Lumpur. Instead, you get a hard cold seat, very few power outlets and expensive wi-fi.
The Hilton across the road was full-up. Bleary-eyed and quite lethargic from blood loss,i stumbled back and started reading the Guardian. Huge mistake. Wikileaks had just released via the Guardian, NYT and Der Spiegel the Afghanistan War Logs. The next few hours were spent reading in horrfied silence the atrocities covered up by the coalition forces. Some i spent silently crying, just overwhelmed by what i read.
I've reposted links to incident reports on my Facebook:i hope Aussies reading this will back off their xenophobic war against refugees trying to come to their country.Banning/limiting refugees based on their race and religion is racism.
The Hilton across the road was full-up. Bleary-eyed and quite lethargic from blood loss,i stumbled back and started reading the Guardian. Huge mistake. Wikileaks had just released via the Guardian, NYT and Der Spiegel the Afghanistan War Logs. The next few hours were spent reading in horrfied silence the atrocities covered up by the coalition forces. Some i spent silently crying, just overwhelmed by what i read.
I've reposted links to incident reports on my Facebook:i hope Aussies reading this will back off their xenophobic war against refugees trying to come to their country.Banning/limiting refugees based on their race and religion is racism.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Spunkeymonkey learns why a non-techie should never mess with .itl files
After 2 frustrating days, numerous attempts and basically trying every single suggestion made available to me, i have to admit defeat. My playlists and extensively compiled mix-tapes are in some techno limbo/heaven and i have no clue how to recover any of them.
It is rather amusing and ironic that if i analyze the cause, it was mainly because i wanted to publish the playlists as an iMix. However, whenever i wanted to publish, it kept coming up as insufficient memory. So, i deleted everything, changed from my D: drive to I:external HDD drive that has 1TB worth of memory with >500GB of free space. That should be enough right?. Nope,same prob. So i repeat the process with incoming uploads also into the EHDD so that there will be more than enough operating memory in my laptop (freeing up 72GB of space in the D:drive itself). Still no success.
Luckily, artist dude (who has emailed a few times most helpfully) emailed a few links that led me to mac users forums. Sadly, after trying a few of the different suggestions and losing my playlists,i have to admit defeat.
Also, it has taught me that i really do have to spend a few hours sorting and organizing my music!. There's too much overlap and some albums have been broken up even though when i check their properties all the labels are correct. I guess i really do have to start dating someone with computer skills. I have massive skills, but IT savviness is not it!
It is rather amusing and ironic that if i analyze the cause, it was mainly because i wanted to publish the playlists as an iMix. However, whenever i wanted to publish, it kept coming up as insufficient memory. So, i deleted everything, changed from my D: drive to I:external HDD drive that has 1TB worth of memory with >500GB of free space. That should be enough right?. Nope,same prob. So i repeat the process with incoming uploads also into the EHDD so that there will be more than enough operating memory in my laptop (freeing up 72GB of space in the D:drive itself). Still no success.
Luckily, artist dude (who has emailed a few times most helpfully) emailed a few links that led me to mac users forums. Sadly, after trying a few of the different suggestions and losing my playlists,i have to admit defeat.
Also, it has taught me that i really do have to spend a few hours sorting and organizing my music!. There's too much overlap and some albums have been broken up even though when i check their properties all the labels are correct. I guess i really do have to start dating someone with computer skills. I have massive skills, but IT savviness is not it!
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Spunkeymonkey does Broome in winter
It's my 3rd time out to Broome in the past 18 months or so. I've been pretty lucky in experiencing the Wet and Dry seasons here. Broome time is a different beast altogether and i do not think i can get used to that!.
An example: clients never arrive on-time. If their appointment is at 1400, they'll get there exactly 1405 or later. Of course, if they have to wait..then all hell breaks loose. Realistically, if everyone came in 5-10 minutes late, one session taking 15 minutes or more, then by the 4th person you can easily face wait periods of more than 30 minutes. So, do people bother showing up early?. Do they call beforehand if late?. Nope. I hate Broome-time. I am given to understand it is because it is relaxed and laidback and dreamy here but No. It is rudeness.
Broome in winter though,ah it is so nice (for me). The last few days have been cool in the mornings, enough for a light sweater and then heating up nicely to 30 degrees celcius and then at night cold enough that snuggling under a duvet is heavenly.
Today has been wonderful. I had stayed up late after a "house-warming" party at this new residence. All the key players showed up and it was fun and loud and lots of laughter. After all the rest left to watch Paul Kelly, i cleaned up, had a nap in preparation for footy. Dazed and delirious, saw that Germany won, tried to watch the Tour de France (at this point it was 0130h) and then conked out. Received text from Festival Virgin who was at Hop Farm fest in the UK, at that point it was 3 in the morning and i was still awake because i was bloody hungry but too lazy to get up.Finally got up and received rather cryptic message "Good advice about the wet wipes". Let us not ponder deeply about situations at music festivals requiring wet wipes. I put a mental block each time after a festival.
Knowing that i had sea-kayaking planned later at 250p.m, rather groggily and looking like a rock band groupie after a Hard Night with the band, i started walking on Cable Beach. It was ideal. Strong winds to drown out me singing-along to Goldfrapp's Supernature, cold enough to prevent my muscles overheating and full of life at 7a.m. By the time i finished Supernature and got on to Basement Jaxx it was nearly 9a.m and i had bloody well nearly walked all the way to Gantheaume Point!. A bit too much fun there yowling like a kitty cat but i climbed back into bed after doing all the exercises and stretches the physio taught me for my back.
Ah, my back. I have a torn QL, likely small tears in its attachments to T12-L1, a "divot" in my erectus spinae along T9-T12 and of course some minor disc compression L5-S1. For all that, i thank god for mental strength and general stubborness because i believe that's why i've still managed to get back to work full-on and recovering adequately just 2 weeks after the incident. I am still extremely pissed at DR CJ from DoctorCall at 121, Harley Street who basically said "It's just soft tissue and i won't examine further because you are just too sore". Right, thanks mate. I can't get registered as a GP in your country but i think that's just bloody crap. I have to say this is why i still trust Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors and other allied health like Chiropractors and Physios because they do listen to you and they do trust you. I'm a GP myself and i would never let someone leave after falling down a flight of stairs without checking them out. Or at least give the number and address of some allied health professionals so that early therapy can be started. Big breath out....
Sadly, kayaking has been cancelled as it's a bit choppy out there in the bay with all this gusty winds. I think another walk is called for but i'll make it reasonable, maybe 40 minutes instead of 2 hours plus.
It is wonderful up here at this time of year.
An example: clients never arrive on-time. If their appointment is at 1400, they'll get there exactly 1405 or later. Of course, if they have to wait..then all hell breaks loose. Realistically, if everyone came in 5-10 minutes late, one session taking 15 minutes or more, then by the 4th person you can easily face wait periods of more than 30 minutes. So, do people bother showing up early?. Do they call beforehand if late?. Nope. I hate Broome-time. I am given to understand it is because it is relaxed and laidback and dreamy here but No. It is rudeness.
Broome in winter though,ah it is so nice (for me). The last few days have been cool in the mornings, enough for a light sweater and then heating up nicely to 30 degrees celcius and then at night cold enough that snuggling under a duvet is heavenly.
Today has been wonderful. I had stayed up late after a "house-warming" party at this new residence. All the key players showed up and it was fun and loud and lots of laughter. After all the rest left to watch Paul Kelly, i cleaned up, had a nap in preparation for footy. Dazed and delirious, saw that Germany won, tried to watch the Tour de France (at this point it was 0130h) and then conked out. Received text from Festival Virgin who was at Hop Farm fest in the UK, at that point it was 3 in the morning and i was still awake because i was bloody hungry but too lazy to get up.Finally got up and received rather cryptic message "Good advice about the wet wipes". Let us not ponder deeply about situations at music festivals requiring wet wipes. I put a mental block each time after a festival.
Knowing that i had sea-kayaking planned later at 250p.m, rather groggily and looking like a rock band groupie after a Hard Night with the band, i started walking on Cable Beach. It was ideal. Strong winds to drown out me singing-along to Goldfrapp's Supernature, cold enough to prevent my muscles overheating and full of life at 7a.m. By the time i finished Supernature and got on to Basement Jaxx it was nearly 9a.m and i had bloody well nearly walked all the way to Gantheaume Point!. A bit too much fun there yowling like a kitty cat but i climbed back into bed after doing all the exercises and stretches the physio taught me for my back.
Ah, my back. I have a torn QL, likely small tears in its attachments to T12-L1, a "divot" in my erectus spinae along T9-T12 and of course some minor disc compression L5-S1. For all that, i thank god for mental strength and general stubborness because i believe that's why i've still managed to get back to work full-on and recovering adequately just 2 weeks after the incident. I am still extremely pissed at DR CJ from DoctorCall at 121, Harley Street who basically said "It's just soft tissue and i won't examine further because you are just too sore". Right, thanks mate. I can't get registered as a GP in your country but i think that's just bloody crap. I have to say this is why i still trust Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors and other allied health like Chiropractors and Physios because they do listen to you and they do trust you. I'm a GP myself and i would never let someone leave after falling down a flight of stairs without checking them out. Or at least give the number and address of some allied health professionals so that early therapy can be started. Big breath out....
Sadly, kayaking has been cancelled as it's a bit choppy out there in the bay with all this gusty winds. I think another walk is called for but i'll make it reasonable, maybe 40 minutes instead of 2 hours plus.
It is wonderful up here at this time of year.
Thursday, July 01, 2010
Pretty In Pink
After a rather horrendous day at work;i needed no more complex thinking and very superficial emotional engagements. Most people say, get in touch with your feelings. No thanks mate, mine are way too much in touch. Be more self-aware.
What does being self-aware mean?. I always thought it meant knowing your limitations, your strengths,weaknesses and when to give yourself a break. Obviously, i am no psychotherapist but i know how to get people to calm down and chill. Received a call today from a lady associated with the Hoffman Institute about pre-course preparation.
I am going for an 8 Day Hoffman Quadrinity Process course. Apparently, according to this very nice lady from Melbourne: "It is a massive psychic clean out" and will force you to face very difficult issues. I am actually scared and nervous but i have nothing left to lose. If it does turn out to be typical Caucasian-namby pamby touchy feely bullshit, hey i can still claim it under my taxes. No loss there.
There's a certain neuroticism i associate with people who do not have to really worry whether someone's going to bash in their door and arrest them based on their religion, persecute them in the name of politics or just when they do not have to worry about basic things like food, shelter, clothing. However, i realize i am being unfair.
I thought it was amusing when i had to describe why i wanted to go on the course. Mainly it was because i am losing the battle to stand up for myself against enmeshed family unit. Having someone describe what i am and have been going through as horrific seems a bit too much for me. However, i've had a relationship breakdown, another guy i hardly know and just met describing me as co-dependent and enabling with my parents and just too focused on serving and helping people that i was neglecting myself. It was even harsher to hear that i do not feel enough nor am kind to myself.
In the spirit of starting over and having lost everything that really was important to me: a future, future children, caring partner why not try this as a last resort?. Hey,if i still can not be "All i can be" or "feel more space" in myself then i know it confirms my basic belief that some people are meant to be happy, some with loved ones and some solitary. It is a bit tough sometimes, a bit relaxing at others, mostly lonely, but no big deal.
Watching Pretty In Pink made me feel more than i wanted to anyway. I was hoping for fun teen 80s style romance comedy. Now viewed through my jaded eyes,it is actually pretty deep for a teen movie. talking abandonment, fitting in, rejection of love, self worth and status anxiety. I feel like Andie.
It is surprising though that Andie's style is actually so fashion forward with her vintage and op-shop gear. In the movie, Iona's outfits too are amazing. I'm dressing more like myself these days, more vintage and classic gear.Less utilitarian gear as i do not have to dress down anymore, i can dress whatever the hell the way i like without some guy saying, your waistline should be lower. Well, honey, i'm a 38-31-42 kinda girl so my waist is my waist and that's not somewhere near the pubic bone. It is nice feeling gorgeous again and in a sense i had let myself go after being with someone who you just could not please. A silent protest when i could have just argued more!.
Although the magazines are touting the 1940s to 60s as the current style guide, realistically our society is way too buy and trash it in mentality. I think we need to stop following fashions too much and like Andie, piece together pre-worn gear, make your embellishments or alterations and have your own style.
Berty and Gerty at the Camden Market locks is a great bargain vintage store. I scored 3 dresses all from early to mid 1970s. One may actually be a late 1960s housewife dress with sweetheart neckline which i will wear to work tomorrow with a fitted belt from another dress i scored at Witchery-classic tiered ruffles that are soft and fitted and accentuate your curves. Although i do cringe a bit at all the excess cleavage girls seem to like showing here, they've got the nipped in the waist look to perfection.
Camden is also good for Allsaints- great store layout, simplistic yet timeless style, excellent material but pity the silhouttes can only work for the uber skinny.
Going back to Pretty In Pink: i hated that it made me cry, i hated that it reminded me in very quick succession 2 blokes have hurt me badly though unintentionally but i loved the dialogue, humour, style and heart of the movie.
Time for bed, not that i will sleep much, just random sad thoughts waking me up at intervals.
What does being self-aware mean?. I always thought it meant knowing your limitations, your strengths,weaknesses and when to give yourself a break. Obviously, i am no psychotherapist but i know how to get people to calm down and chill. Received a call today from a lady associated with the Hoffman Institute about pre-course preparation.
I am going for an 8 Day Hoffman Quadrinity Process course. Apparently, according to this very nice lady from Melbourne: "It is a massive psychic clean out" and will force you to face very difficult issues. I am actually scared and nervous but i have nothing left to lose. If it does turn out to be typical Caucasian-namby pamby touchy feely bullshit, hey i can still claim it under my taxes. No loss there.
There's a certain neuroticism i associate with people who do not have to really worry whether someone's going to bash in their door and arrest them based on their religion, persecute them in the name of politics or just when they do not have to worry about basic things like food, shelter, clothing. However, i realize i am being unfair.
I thought it was amusing when i had to describe why i wanted to go on the course. Mainly it was because i am losing the battle to stand up for myself against enmeshed family unit. Having someone describe what i am and have been going through as horrific seems a bit too much for me. However, i've had a relationship breakdown, another guy i hardly know and just met describing me as co-dependent and enabling with my parents and just too focused on serving and helping people that i was neglecting myself. It was even harsher to hear that i do not feel enough nor am kind to myself.
In the spirit of starting over and having lost everything that really was important to me: a future, future children, caring partner why not try this as a last resort?. Hey,if i still can not be "All i can be" or "feel more space" in myself then i know it confirms my basic belief that some people are meant to be happy, some with loved ones and some solitary. It is a bit tough sometimes, a bit relaxing at others, mostly lonely, but no big deal.
Watching Pretty In Pink made me feel more than i wanted to anyway. I was hoping for fun teen 80s style romance comedy. Now viewed through my jaded eyes,it is actually pretty deep for a teen movie. talking abandonment, fitting in, rejection of love, self worth and status anxiety. I feel like Andie.
It is surprising though that Andie's style is actually so fashion forward with her vintage and op-shop gear. In the movie, Iona's outfits too are amazing. I'm dressing more like myself these days, more vintage and classic gear.Less utilitarian gear as i do not have to dress down anymore, i can dress whatever the hell the way i like without some guy saying, your waistline should be lower. Well, honey, i'm a 38-31-42 kinda girl so my waist is my waist and that's not somewhere near the pubic bone. It is nice feeling gorgeous again and in a sense i had let myself go after being with someone who you just could not please. A silent protest when i could have just argued more!.
Although the magazines are touting the 1940s to 60s as the current style guide, realistically our society is way too buy and trash it in mentality. I think we need to stop following fashions too much and like Andie, piece together pre-worn gear, make your embellishments or alterations and have your own style.
Berty and Gerty at the Camden Market locks is a great bargain vintage store. I scored 3 dresses all from early to mid 1970s. One may actually be a late 1960s housewife dress with sweetheart neckline which i will wear to work tomorrow with a fitted belt from another dress i scored at Witchery-classic tiered ruffles that are soft and fitted and accentuate your curves. Although i do cringe a bit at all the excess cleavage girls seem to like showing here, they've got the nipped in the waist look to perfection.
Camden is also good for Allsaints- great store layout, simplistic yet timeless style, excellent material but pity the silhouttes can only work for the uber skinny.
Going back to Pretty In Pink: i hated that it made me cry, i hated that it reminded me in very quick succession 2 blokes have hurt me badly though unintentionally but i loved the dialogue, humour, style and heart of the movie.
Time for bed, not that i will sleep much, just random sad thoughts waking me up at intervals.
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