roll up, roll up

This post is a little late. Weeks late. It's a photo thing (and a lazy thing).

However, a couple of Mondays ago, something pretty sad happened. On his way to work some poor chap had a heart attack in the car, veered across three lanes of traffic, onto the other side of the road, and plowed into a stobbie pole. Luckily he didn't take anyone with him, and from all accounts died quickly.

And took out the power on most of the south ridge of the university.

Now, universities are strange places. Very caught up on things like.... dunno OHS&W, and not so caught up on things like.... dunno, quality assuring assessment*.

But maybe that's just me.

Anyway, at about 9.30 when the emergency lighting was about to go it was decided that it was an EMERGENCY as we had to survive on natural light and this was obviously going to lead to an ACCIDENT.

So the alarms were sounded and we were ordered out of the building. NOW. Because it was an EMERGENCY.

Heaven help us.

Anyway, it was a Monday, the sun was unusually sunny in the sky for this time of the year and we were foot loose and fancy free. So, of course Dr Space Junk and I decided to go to the Royal Adelaide Show. I love the show - how excitement. It's less excitement for DSJ, as she is a farm girl, and grew up around all of the things I get such a kick out of. But she was a very good friend and followed me to the pigs (my favourite) and the cows and the milking shed. I love watching the milking, I think it just brings back of memories of cold, early starts for her.

But it was show time, so we also checked out:

The cheese and wine pavilions

Bad interpretation. Dreadful. All tourism experiences have been ruined for me, forever, I fear.

the food halls

I made a remark about a guy with a huge salami. DSJ thought I was saying something quite different until she saw these.. tsk tsk.

The piggies!

I love the piggies. They're cute. And delicious. What more could you ask?

And also the wood chopping.

Everyone likes the wood chopping, must be something in our genes. the same guy has been competing here since I was a wee one, and I still get excited when I see him wield the axe.

... ... and we saw a marching band while we were having dinner (it's a dark photo I know). They were quite good, only a few bum notes, and much to the horror of DSJ, I got up and danced.

We also saw the textiles, the cakes and preserves, other baked goods, walked around the show bag hall, ate some curry, visited the CWA, bought a fairy on a stick.


We also visited the main arena, where the show was being stage directed by friend Brown Steve. Again DSJ proved her self a good friend by sitting through the pipe band with me. It's my lifelong dream to play the pipes in a pipe band.

And exhausted we went home, stopping at the train station to watch the fireworks. Until next year...


* this is not to say that we don't have quality assessment, but there's resistance to actually quantifying and recording it.

more freaking things

We've had blue fuzzy things recently - the cat-boy and the cookie monster.

When commenting on how hilarious it was that the cookie monster should be given fruit I was made aware of something I had hitherto be unaware of. It would seem that these days the cookie monster does indeed eat fruit. Apparently cookies are 'bad' and as such the good people at the Sesame Street Warehouse decided that the old blue shaggy guy was making kids fat, not their parents, or their peers, or their schools, or their community. No, it's the poor old cookie monster. Shame on him. So now he's reformed, and does eat fruit. WTF indeed.

As for the blue cat guy he was in the refectory yesterday as I was ordering my laksa, dressed in a full body suit like the one pictured above, only black. He was coming up and tapping people on the shoulder. Scared the shit out me.

blue fuzzy things

Yesterday it was a fruit-burdened cookie monster, today it's this fellow. Frankly I find him a little bit frightening. Costumes where you can't see people's faces freak me out a bit. If he sat in a theatre next to me, I'd have to move I think.

This is one of our first years. He comes into classes regularly dressed in costumes. The other day he was Zorro. Today he was this blue catish thing. In another class all the guys came in wearing tuxedos recently.

This is funny. I mean quite funny. And it shows the power of facebook, because that's how they organise it.

But then again, when I was a student, there wasn't facebook. And we didn't all come in dressed as cartoon characters. We organised sit-ins in the union building. Using flyers, god damn it. Yes, we stood in the cloisters and handed out pieces of paper. Which we had written on (some even had individual paintings on them, like Underground Lovers limited releases). And we changed the world.

Oh, hang on. No we didn't actually. Although we did save the Women's Room from closing. I wonder if there is still a Women's Room?

Maybe we should have all just come in dressed as cats.....

WTF

I should be writing something witty and insightful about the (non) election results - the whole of the nation should be sent to the chalk board to write 100 times "I will elect a majority government".

However I just found this photo that made me laugh so hard it scared the cats, so I thought I'd share. It relates to nothing in particular.

sausages

mmmm... sausages. Could there be anything better in the world than fatty meat (pork preferably) seasoned and stuffed inside intestines. I'm doing my bit - toad in the hole for breakfast this morning, cheese kranskis tomorrow.

Maybe I should start a sausage blog. Or have sausage month. At least I'd keep in theme as I'd probably look like one by the end.

On an unrelated topic, this time next week, we'll know which dim witted soul will be representing us to the world. It's a tough call, but if push comes to shove - and it will - I'm hoping for this particular dim witted soul. Not that I'd vote for her as such....

the most boring post in the world

Not that proof was needed, but here is the proof: I am a damned procrastinator. Again. I know.

Today
5.30am
Feed and medicated animals

6.10am
Fell back asleep. Soundly

11.45am
Woke. Shite. Didn't realise that I was that tired

11.45am-2.30pm
Ate dumplings, took a couple of phone calls, lay on the bed with the animals, brought the laundry (still soaking wet) in from the line. Did today's sodoku, checked my email accounts, generally fucked around

2.30pm
Drove to University. Killed sometime visiting colleagues working at the Open Day. Sold the benefits of an archaeology degree, practiced my French with Monsieur.

3pm
Hit the library. Got more work done that I have all week, including finding new references, photocopying chapters from books that were almost due back, and then even reading those photocopies

6pm
Library closed, so returned home

6.15pm to present
Heated and ate soup. Kissed the kittens. Emailed friends. Broke up cat fight outdoors.

the horrible reality is, I will have to start going to the library on the weekend.

oh my lord, the outrage

This weekend has turned into quite a slack affair. Friday was spent either largely in the markets or watching a selection of rented DVDs – not something I do very often, I'm notorious for my ADD-esque lack of attention. I have to get up three of four times during a movie to go and do something else for a bit. Hell, I've already got up to make a cuppa while writing this post....

As Friday is now my food shopping day, Saturday has officially become my 'sleep until you're done day', and today was no exception. I rose at 10.30. Poached eggs and made tea. I've streamed a television show I missed during the week, and changed the kitty litter. And that's about it. Almost.

One of the reasons that I'm feeling a bit slack is the study monster. It's getting nailed down, and although I'm yet to negotiate it, most of the data collection will probably happen in late October, early November. Which means between then and now what I have to do has been minimised. So I'm allowing myself to take this weekend off from study, mostly. However in a fortnight I've got to spend the day in Melbourne scoping out one of my venues.

Now, last time I went to Melbourne, it was a disaster. Actually it rates as one of the worst days of my life (which shows just how jammy my life is). But I'm giving one of my favourite Australian places another go, and have booked to be there the whole day. Decisions: pho in China town or Greek in Lygon Street? Or maybe a cafe in Brunswick Street. What to do after I've left the Immigration Museum. I could train it out to the Scienceworks Museum. Or the Melbourne Zoo to see the baby elephant. And then someone reminded me of the Titanic Exhibition.

I'd really like to see the Titanic Exhibition. It's got some great reviews and uses some interesting interpretive techniques (which I suspect they nicked holus bolus from Port Arthur). After the Great Pompeii Disaster of 2009 I decided to pre-purchase my ticket. It's expensive, but the costs of the show must be huge. I was happy to shell out extra for the audio tour. But then!

Then!

There's a collection fee. Yes, I'm going to be charged $5 to walk up to the counter, tell them my name and get my ticket. No options. No postal version. No 'print your own'. Jeezus. With this it would mean the exhibition would cost me nearly as much as the flight there.

So now I have to make the decision. How much to I want to see this exhibition? I could get the tram to the Zoo and get in for free with my Adelaide Zoo Members card, and goo a the baby elephant. I likes elephants.

What do you think? Would you pay $5 for the honour of collecting a ticket. If you really wanted to go?