JamesX

It’s hard to believe we’re already over 80% through the year. They just seem to go faster with each passing one. Of course, at work, the year rolls over in October so there’s a really hectic period approaching.

It’s not all about work though. Last night I headed off to Sophie’s place for drinks. There was no real occasion (which is what makes the best gatherings if you ask me), although it was meant to be a Barbie and Ken party but that was scrapped somewhere along the line. It’s probably a good thing because I never go to dress up parties but Ken isn’t perhaps all that difficult to dress up as. The night was a lot of fun and when the next door neighbour turned up uninvited, completely wasted, helped herself to drinks from the fridge, collapsed in the lounge and spilt beer everywhere, it was certainly an entertaining one! If only someone had a camera… oh wait, they did. :)

There’s been a lot happening these past few months and as I’m going through my post-uni phase, there’s a lot more to come. I suppose the scarier fact is that I’m probably about 25% through my life already. The old saying, “Life’s too short,” is starting to seem true.

When there’s snow and there’s sun it can mean only one thing - it’s Spring. Seeing as though the Perisher Trip was cancelled this year, I found myself with a week off work with nowhere to go. So we rallied up the troops and Richard, Dean, Brent, Jarrod and I took to the countryside for a week of, well, whatever really. You see one thing that Perisher has over Hotham is that it has snow at this time of year and, well, you kinda need the snow if you want to go skiing. That being said, there was still plenty of things to keep us occupied around the town. We even watched Rich try to rip the bumper off his Forrester towing a log up the hill.

I somehow managed to mention Geocaching to Dean in passing and it turns out he was more excited by it than I am so we spent the whole next day trekking around the parkland surrounding the town looking for caches. Maybe it wasn’t the thrill of the hunt, but more the thrill of the drive when we’re going rally style in the WRX. I’m pleased to say we found five in one day - a record! The guys were so keen, we even decided to hide our own cache up on the hill behind the house. It’s full of surprises so you should go find it one day if you’re in the area. :)

On the last night we ended up in the pub (I know, how typical) and it was there that I was introduced into Buck Hunter (at least I think that’s what it’s called). What a random game. I suppose it’s a very pub game. The whole object is to shoot at a specific animal on the screen while all these other ones run around. It’s kinda the modern Duck Hunt, only it’s more fun. I’m hoping Dean decides to get one in the office at work. That way he can practice up so that I don’t kick his arse so badly next time. ;)

That being said, it was a fun week. Except maybe the cops on the way home… but hey, that’s another story.

… only this time with much smaller kegs and one very drunk Vandy!

Yes it seemed only fitting that Richie’s keg party would make a miraculous return this year (I can’t believe it’s gone that quickly either) and there’s really no better way to spend it that throwing a heap of food on the barbie and drinking the night away! That being said, most people drank responsibly - but when Vandy was on the roof of the house, we all knew he had a bit too much. But in between rescuing him after he jumped off the deck or wrestling a keg from his firm grasp, there was plenty of catching up to do. It was great to see Liv and Aim again after such a long time. It’s really hard to keep up with that Toorak group as they seem to be all over the place nowadays. Anyway, the party was a good end to the week and a good way to put the feet up for a while. The thing on everyone’s minds now is will the party make an appearance next year? I say yes. :)

Oh and for the record, I was drinking scotch. None of this beer crap for me!

Okay, so I like finally have something new and exciting to talk about! Today Chris released (and more importantly, finally gave me a copy of) his debut CD. For some reason I ended up with the task of cleaning/rewriting the site for the CD but after a little while there were no less than four people working on various aspects! The result is that you can now purchase your own copy of the album for the low price of $15. And for those playing along at home, that’s less per track than the iTunes Store! While you’re there, you can also preview one of the tracks from the CD (so go there now!).

Track Listing:
Ice Cold (2:48)
Rose Coloured Glasses (3:33)
One Sided (4:37)
Everything’s OK (3:36)
With You (5:01)
One Dream Short (5:02)
You Tell Me (3:14)
Just Cant Wait (3:52)
How About It (3:57)
Fade Away (5:52)
Too Late (3:09)

I expect you to buy one… but if you have friends, you should buy some for them too! Who knows what will happen if you don’t.

In case you’re wondering why it’s been so quiet around here, it’s because I’ve been on holiday! As I mentioned in my previous post, I headed up to Bright (with 12 or so of my closest friends!) for eight days of skiing and fresh country air. It was a great trip and everyone had an awesome time. The snow was really good, which was made better by the fact that last year was so terrible. The best skiing was down the Blue Ribbon chair, and most of us spent a lot of time there. It was also the closest to The General (that’s the pub) which was where we spent most of our time when we weren’t carving up the slopes! Thanks to Richie for the house (again), even though he was otherwise detained by RMIT for the majority of the trip and Penelope for letting me drive her tank (that’s the Prado for those who don’t know). And of course, thanks to everyone else for coming up and making it such a memorable trip - that’s Stuart C, Stuart M, Chris, Owen, Scotty, Brenton, Candice, Liv, Amy. It’s almost a shame to be back - I was enjoying it so much! I took a few photos so I’ll put them up in the gallery shortly.

Naturally, while you’re away for a week, life goes on, and there’s a few things to report. Firstly, last Monday my final uni results were in and, perhaps unexpectedly, they were very good. I got a High Distinction for the Capstone Project and a Distinction for Flash animation. The Flash one was especially surprising though, I was expecting to only Pass that one. And so the degree finally over and I don’t have to worry about late night treks to and from the city anymore. I still don’t officially graduate until the end of the year. I haven’t worked out if I actually want to attend the ceremony - I might sleep on it for a while.

Also during the week, my brother went for his driving test. I’m excited to report that he passed with flying colours and is now free to drive solo on the roads. All he needs now is a car - ‘cos he isn’t driving mine anytime soon!

Yesterday, after the drive back from Bright, I headed out to work for “Chris’ 30th Birthday Party.” I say that with inverted commas because it turns out that Chris and Mel had a little surprise in store. It turns out that during the day yesterday they snuck off to the city to get married and so the party took on a dual meaning. Congratulations to you both and Happy Birthday Chris - at least you’ll never forget your wedding anniversary (well at least I hope not)! I also discovered a whole new segment of my blog audience so I should say hello to you all, and apologise in advance to Mel’s mum for the slowness of the page. :) All in all, it was a great night for everyone involved.

And so that’s where I’m at for now. I enjoyed a very long sleep in this morning after such a big week (you have to wake up early every morning when you want to hit the mountain!) and I’m begrudgingly looking forward to being back at work on Monday morning.

And so another week has passed us by and we find ourselves in another long weekend. It’s pretty much the last long weekend for a while, the only other one left is in November (I think). It’s weird how they all fall in the first half of the year really, but I’ve been trying to make the most of it by doing nothing. It’s a change from all the work I’ve been having to do lately which will hopefully come to an end very soon! Speaking of which, we’re down to only 12 days of uni remaining. Pretty exciting stuff and by my count, that’s only two assignments left to complete. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong in the results department - I’d be gutted if I failed one of them and had to repeat!!

For a bit of a recap, in other news this weekend, it was time to hit the town for Penelope’s 22nd birthday. It was a great night and we spent it at Borsch, Vodka and Tears drinking every kind of vodka you can possibly imagine. I’d never been there before, and believe me, when the drinks menu is like three times longer than the food menu, you’re going to have a good time. A group of us chipped in and got Pen a digital camera (the Canon Ixus 75 to be precise). It’s long overdue so it’s good to have her in the digital age - no more wasting money on prints!

My vodka detox consisted mainly of watching back-to-back episodes of 24 season 6 - of which I’m now 17 episodes into. I have to say (and Chris did warn me) that for something that got off to such a good start, it’s really slipped back to the typical 24 “let’s make everything that’s happening so totally unrealistic it’s not funny” routine. But I suppose it’s still entertaining, if not completely frustrating. Maybe the last 7 hours will change that, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve got some more uni work to do tomorrow so my relaxing weekend is going to come to an abrubt halt rather quickly. Ah well…