Wellington is green, windy, hilly and lovely. We stayed in the Intercontinental Hotel, which advertises itself as ‘the only internationally 5-star rated hotel in Wellington’, which I found sort of amusing, but I’m not even sure why.

We were pretty close to a lot of things. The harbour was only a couple of streets away, as was the Cable Car, and Te Papa was just down the road as well.

The construction of Wellington is something I can’t even fathom. Houses cling to the sides of the incredibly steep hills that surround the harbour; in the city centre, buildings tower over others simply because of the dramatic incline the further you get from the water.

Also, I got to try feijoa for the first time in my life. Like chinchillas, I was not even aware this thing existed. They’ve got a strange, medicine-y flavour that’s not at all unpleasant. And the other day, I found that Delicurious has feijoa lemonade, and it was good. I tried to find a reasonable-sized picture of the lemonade, but apparently, Charlie and his Honest Thirst Quenchers don’t like cooperating with me or my blog.

And so we’re now at the point where I humour those who are inclined to say, “Pics or it didn’t happen!” Though why they’d say that to me is anyone’s guess. It’s not like I’ve made outlandish claims of my crazy adventures.

Here’s my own picture of the cable car (this is a stock standard tourist photo, apparently)

Aaaand here it what you’d be seeing if you were in that cable car

Here’s a zoomy looky device with a face

And here’s a more disturbing face, in a playground.

The puppets in NZ have attitude (from the ‘kid’s store’ in the Te Papa Museum)

I think this lion statue looks really awkward and uncomfortable

Well, I’m sold!

I’m discovering that more and more, as I used to blog much more prolifically than I do now, and I think not writing may be affecting not only my ongoing ability to write at all, but also the way I process information and my understanding of my own feelings.

That is, I’m far more capable of coping with things when I’ve written about them. I understand things better when I’ve put my thoughts into words.

I like writing, and the longer I leave between posts, the harder it is to start up again. Anyway.

I’ve recorded the tv miniseries version of ‘Pillars of the Earth’ by Ken Follett. I’ve held off watching it so far, because I’ve found when Tim and I start watching a series without having the whole thing to watch at our leisure, it’s too irritating. The Pillars of the Earth thing is being shown over four nights, but I don’t think I would be watching the whole four eps at once.

Tim and I have been watching ‘Game of Thrones’, which is by an author Tim calls Fat Man Martin. The tv series is pretty good. I haven’t read the books, but Tim gives me a running commentary, and that makes the show better because I get a lot of subtext and knowledge of what’s going to happen, the underlying reasons and background for characters and situations, and more details than the show reveals.

For example, one of the characters, Daenerys Targaryen, is married off to Khal Drogo, who is the leader of a crazy tribe called the Dothraki. In the tv show, Daenerys looks like she could be around 20. In the book, she’s about 13 when she gets married off to the Drogo guy (they don’t let you in on that in the tv show). There are a lot of other creepy things going on in the story – incest seems to be a common theme, as does mental illness and regicide.

Daenerys and her lovely new family

Another show we’ve been watching lately is ‘Boardwalk Empire’. I’m really enjoying that, as well. It’s about time Steve Buscemi got his very own tv show. He’s awesome. The show is set in prohibition-era America, mostly in Atlantic City. Surprisingly, Marky Mark (read: Mark Wahlberg) is an executive producer, as is Martin Scorcese. I think that’s a pretty weird combination, but it seems to be working (though, as Tim says, do executive producers actually do anything?). In any case, I recommend it.

There are a lot of pictures. When I’m on the web, StumbleUponing or whatever, and I find a picture I find aesthetically pleasing in some way, I save it. Consequently, I’ve got a whole heap of various folders full of pictures that I rarely get a chance to revisit.

Now that I’m deciding what to transfer to my MacBook Pro, so as to hopefully have a more logical file architecture than my previous computer, I get to go through all these images again. It’s fun! And here are some pretty CGI pics I’ve found over the last couple of years or so.

All images are copyright (c) their respective owners. If you own any of these images, or know who does, feel free to email me  at copyright at casbot dot com dot au.

Chris and I went to Chinatown today and had yum cha at our favourite, Hingara. Then we went to one of my favourite shops, and I don’t even know the name of it. It’s near the Momo shop in one of those arcades that come off Dixon Street. I bought a thing that is sort of like a mask, but also not really. I’m not entirely sure what it’s meant to be, but I think it might be a fan.

I’m tired, so I’m not able to be all that successful in conveying my thoughts into words that are interesting and readable.

It’s Mary’s last week next week, which I’m quite sad about. Also next week is my bday, and we will be in Wellington. I’m looking forward to the cabley car.

I’m surprised that Tim could go up this cabley car at all, considering his debilitating fear of heights. Here is a bridge that made his face completely white:

This bridge is in Canada, close to Vancouver. Tim and I started walking across, and he started getting scared a few steps out, and so he turned and went back to solid land. I continued on, and got to play in the treetops over the other side (they had lots of platforms and ladders and rope bridges and everything a person could want to play on). Whenever we talk about it, Tim increases the distance he says he got out to on the bridge, until it’s almost to the point where he crossed the bridge, and walked through the woods on the other side.

Just now I showed him the picture, and he said, ‘oh yeah, that’s the bridge I went 15 metres out on!’. And then, ‘What are you writing about? How I walked out 25 metres?’

The bridge is called the Capilano Suspension Bridge, and it’s pretty fun. When we were walking across it, there were some dumb kids jumping up and down and running back & forth, and making the bridge sway, which might have contributed to Tim’s reluctance to continue on it. It was still good.

Tim didn’t believe me that n was an actual thing. I like to relate this back to the saying ‘the nth degree’, is the furthest possible point to take something. Coming from a mathematical point of view, I’d relate that back to polynomials (i.e. from Wikipedia: “The degree of a polynomial is the highest degree for a term with non-zero coefficient in a polynomial expressed in canonical form…“). Tim didn’t believe that ‘n’ stood for anything other than just an unknown number. ‘N’ is used to refer to the set of all natural numbers, which is infinite, but countable (countably infinite).

In any case, I’m going to make the connection between the saying and the definition of ‘n’.

Tim and I are going to Wellington next weekend. That also means that next weekend is my birthday! I’m happy about it. Also, it’s Easter, so it’s fun. I don’t know what I want for my birthday (other than a MacBook Pro, which I know I won’t get), but I know what I don’t want:

* tickets to that Justin Bieber movie
* John Howard’s book
* polyester pyjamas
* capsicum
* ennui

Actually, I was keen on the idea of getting a new tattoo for my birthday, as a present to myself, but I am so far without any clue as to who is a decent artist here in Sydney. I have done a little bit of research, but so far all the ones I like the look of seem to be booked out for at least 18 months. I know it’s good to think about tattoos and be sure of it and everything, but I feel like I’ve been thinking about this now for years. I want a new tattoo! I think I want a koi. But I’m not sure where, so I guess I would still have to think about that. It’d be good to have the tattoo artist to discuss it with, because I think they’d have good suggestions as well.

I’d like to post some pictures, but I can’t seem to create paths on the server (for image files). I’m not sure what the problem is, but I also don’t have the time or inclination to do further research into it right now, especially when I can just use photobucket.

Also, I did this thing called the Pierley/Redford Dissociative Affect Diagnostic (found through Stumbleupon) and here’s what it came up with for me:

Fond of tradition, but attached more to the joy of human interaction, you are often a beacon of hope to those members of society who have lost faith or who are in need of succor. You are often emotional, and this emotionality is rarely held in check. Kind and helping by nature, when affronted you will explode, and just as suddenly when the pain has passed return to normalcy again. On occasion this quick and vibrant emotionality is translated into a life on the stage or screen. You have a strong sense of right and wrong, but can sometimes be left confused and uncertain in times of stress or when tough decisions must be made. You avoid conflict, tending to stay out of trouble in hopes that the group will benefit most from this behavior. Because you have trouble putting your own needs first, you will be put in much stress if you find yourself in an unequal relationship, one in which your partner is not as giving as you are.

So, in some ways it’s scarily accurate. But countering that is the fact that I did this test a few days ago (on the weekend, I think) and it said something different (I can’t remember the answers I gave that time) which was also quite accurate, but in different ways. I’m not saying that it’s not a clever program, because it’s got more insight than any online test I could make, but maybe it’s only relevant for the mood that you’re in at that point in time. Make up your own mind on it here.

Here are some things you might see in Sydney:

Man in tree in Wentworth Park

Myer at Chatswood
Targeting mutant children for their latest formalwear collection


Outside Myer, corner of Market & George Sts
Who is this woman? It’s a mystery. And that’s why, so is mankind.

In a shop that’s part of the same building as the Four Seasons Hotel, Sydney
This doll wants to steal your soul and drag it into the depths of hell.

In Haymarket (Chinatown)
A happy, ursine mannequin (Rilakkuma!)

At Taronga Zoo
‘I wonder what  happens when I put my hand here?’

Lastly, you should read A Small Free Kiss in the Dark by Glenda Millard. I know it’s technically young adult fiction, but it’s just a good book. The writing flows easily; Glenda Millard is a pro story-teller.

<3

The resolution isn’t high enough for me to tell what his expression actually is, but I’d like to think he’s delighted.

And why wouldn’t he be? Living in a country where things like what’s pictured below are just an everyday occurrence…

Some friends of mine

Watching the Amazing Race the other night, and seeing the teams in Japan, in Tokyo, rushing through Shibuya… all these things that Tim and I will be doing in just over a month’s time…

Well. I can’t get ahead of myself. There’s still a few weeks to go yet, and Tim and I also have to concentrate on selling the house.

Still, it’s exciting!!!!

Don’t get me wrong. I, personally, do not hate sandcastles. I quite like them. I also like this kid. The thing I find funny about it is that, after I laughed at his expression, I then noticed that it looks like he’s been eating sand. I don’t think he really hates sandcastles, I think he loves them, but in a culinary sense. Perhaps his hatred is a front, an excuse for the destruction, then afterwards he’s like, “well, it’s ruined, you won’t mind if I take a piece. Nomnomnom.”

So anyway, on with what I actually meant to say… Tim is on his way home as I type this! YAY! I think he won’t be in the best of moods when he gets in, because his plane from LA to Sydney was delayed by about two hours, so he’s going to miss his connecting flight from Sydney to Brisbane. He had caught an earlier flight from New York to LA, because he was worried about making his LA to Sydney flight. LAX can be a real bitch for connections, because they’re so pedantic and annoying. Plus it’s just a stupid airport (so I’ve heard, from several different people). So I know he’ll be tired and fed up, but I’m just going to be so happy to have him home.

A slight deviation – If you are doing an image search, check out this site: Flickr Related Tag Browser

So, this has been Tim’s journey:

Brisbane -> Tokyo -> Singapore ->London -> Frankfurt -> Paris -> London -> Boston -> New Hampshire -> Boston -> New York -> Philadelphia -> New York -> LA -> Sydney -> Brisbane

All that in three weeks. I think that list is right… It’s just the side trips I’m not 100% sure of.

Chris came over this afternoon and hung out for a while. We watched Little People, Big World (there was a weekend marathon of LPBW on) and talked about things. Then, Noelle arrived and we had to stop talking about her and talk about something else. Just kidding. We still talked about her. Not. Ok. I’m going to stop that doubletalk now. It was a lot of fun hanging out with Chris and Noelle, and Po. We watched the Pilot episode of “Dead Like Me”, and then Chris went home to his Doon but Noelle and I kept watching episode after episode of Dead Like Me. I really like it. The girl looks like she’s about 15, but she has weird, grown-up hands. They’re creepy, but it really fits in with the whole grim reaper theme. It reminds me of one of the radio shows of Ricky, Karl and Steve when they were talking about how they had watched that interview with Michael Jackson, where that guy followed him around and you got to see what his life consisted of. When they asked Karl’s opinion on Michael Jackson, he said, “‘e’s got big ‘ands, ain’t ‘e?” (substitute the extra apostrophes for ‘h’ in case you’re not familiar with his accent). Ricky and Steve laughed at Karl, just one more in a long line of extreme non-sequiturs. I can’t listen to the podcasts without laughing out loud. Sometimes I have to stop what I’m doing so that I can concentrate on not laughing too loud, because when I’m listening to the shows I am at work. It’s my escape from the daily grind (like Gloria Jeans wants to be, but we have a coffee machine in the lunch room at work so why would I go all the way to Gloria Jeans to escape the daily grind, there’s not even one near my work.)

I’m really tired. Here is another funny picture (I find it funny. Actually, I find it hilarious. I’m not sure why. Don’t get mad at me if you don’t find it as amusing as I did):

I think I really like that the thing behind it is so ugly, and the text is small and plain, and you could sort of imagine that kitten saying that. If you’re great at anthropomorphising like I am. Not as great as Karl Pilkington, who apparently saw a bee have a heart attack (because London is so stressful and all). Karl also said that ginger cats are always fat (you never see a skinny ginger cat, according to Karl) because life’s more stressful for them than other cats, because they would get picked on for being ginger. He also said they always look ‘fed up’.

Lauren and Nathan are coming over tomorrow morning to hang out before we go get Tim from the airport. Yay!