Melbourne

The man brought home kebabs today and when the dude behind the counter called out "Muhammed" about 4 people answered.

Cheers little elves 🍺

Did my semi compulsory 30mins attendance at my company Christmas party tonight. Had a cry on the drive home because I'd like to be able to stay and have a nice time and a few drinks but I just get too stressed out by the idea of the whole thing leave 🙃

Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.

However, I am very overheated and tired. I am glad I've had a decent break from the phone, between ferrying people around for 3 hrs each way in 38C heat, clearing overgrowth on steep terrain, cutting and spraying evil prickly thistle in full sun, and random fever dreams in hot wooden cabins with no electricity or reception.

Today is fuckoff friday.

2 things for me.

1. Just got told by my aunt (bit of a matriarch) what to do for befores for xmas at cousins' place. Salami, cheese, crackers dips usual spread fare. Fuck off I'm doing gyoza and dumplings.

2. Just got told by the old man that the rest of the watering system I've been building for them he doesn't want to do because he's going to redo the fence in march next yr. It's 85% of the way there. It's just another 50m of drip line on top.

Every summer he calls up me and bro frantically trying to get us to go over and water. the whole point of the system is that the p's can go away for 2 months over summer and stress less (without having to drive back every 2nd day). But if the rest isn't done, then they'll still be stressing even though 85% is already in.

That can fuck off too.

So, I don't know whether it's Taylor Swift who is super smart, or she surrounds herself with smart people. I guess that still makes her smart. Lots of people want her concert video for Christmas. Only they can't have it. You can rent it for $25. That'll give you the show for 48 hours.

Then in January, she is releasing the concert on Blu Ray.

So here we are, contemplating giving a damn video rental code as Christmas Presents. But she still gets that Blu Ray money as well, because of course all those fans are going to buy it when it comes out. This is on top the 🇺🇸 $250Million she's already made in cinema ticket sales that she isn't sharing with Hollywood studios because she produced the show herself.

Honestly, I'm impressed. I can't fault her logic at all. Millions of people are going to spend most of $100 (cinema, rental and then blu ray) and not even get real tickets to her live.

Please stop with the fucking angle grinder.

Controversial opinion but the sun has no business being so bright at 7am. Who is that for? Madness. Someone should write a letter.

Or maybe I should just look into a way to block light better in my bedroom.

Received my first Christmas gift this year. A slab of Crown lager. Perfect for offering to houseguests lol.

Haven't seen @[email protected] around these parts for a bit. Did they melt in NSW?

I have had my senses of taste and smell stolen from me, just in time for Christmas. I have booked an expensive lunch for Christmas day and need to decide today to cancel if I want a refund.

I am making banoffee pie for friend Xmas tomorrow. I’m very excited to eat it. Cream whipped, caramel is on the stove, then it’s just an assemble job. Hopefully it’s a hit.

I spent the last day at work today pulling apart Lego and chatting with coworkers all day.

Many of my co workers at lunch today trying to convince me that I should make the effort to spend Christmas with family and as much as I’m resisting but I know they mean well and do they it out of love.

I’m glad work ended on a chilled note today instead of being all hands on deck dealing with last minute dumplings of things. Meant I could do things at my own pace and not be stressed before going on leave till next year.

Now I have a homemade coffee. Yay!

I brought some doughnuts. Help yo self.

🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩

And ants came marching one by one. Hurrah. This seems to be the weather where every bug wants to be inside

I know I'm late for Hot Take Thursday, but: prawns don't have much flavour and they're too much work to bother with. Genuinely wouldn't be bothered if I never ate one again.

Gimme all the oysters instead.

Holy shit Potato Gratin for prime minister. Every frozen thing I've tried from Aldi (I admit that isn't many things) has been severely underwhelming but these thickened cream & cheese potato gratin things are actually incredible. Like little personal potato bakes.

38 minutes until annual leave commences.....

Pakige arrived! My rolls of stain ribbon are here, ready to start their new lives in the horticultural industry, where they will be serving as drawstrings in my fruit protection bags (or does that make them part of the security industry?)

How come the lyrics on Spotify are synced on my phone but yet when mirrored onto the telly they are not? It makes karaoke hard because I gotta make my own words up. Lucky I know all the words to Tubthumping. I should send an email.

*mirrored may not be the correct terminology.

I'm just reading through Pornhub's 2023 Year in Review (I probably shouldn't link to PH here, but you can find it) and it's actually fascinating data.. and they have a lot of it!

Spoiler: Australia's PH viewing drops 17.2% on Australia Day. I think that says a lot about people getting together with friends and family rather than spending the day alone and it's actually quite nice. Also Australia loves lesbians.

Anybody else have this irrational fear when flying that one of the engines / wings is just gonna fall off?

The hot air balloons were so close, just 200 metres away and loomed so large. On camera they look like tiny dots.

stares longingly

Pakige

Meat pies made with left over curries for dinner tonight.

no meteorites from my patch of the sky
sky pretty though

Has anyone used any of the UV bug zappers from Bunnings? Apparently they get flies and some claim to do mozzies as well (thinking ahead)

Edit: Hopefully the legion of flies drops down to a dull roar soon so I got a cheap little attractant trap for those, and a $30-40 mozzie zapper that had slightly better reviews. A few packs of moth traps because why not.

Whinge warning..

Ugh. Toothache. I think it's going to have to come out. I'd like to have all my teeth ripped out and replaced. I haven't had nice looking unproblematic teeth since I was in primary school.

Speaking of school, I had to order Elder Minipeeler's books for next year by today, and they must be paid for in advance, no option for payment plans or anything. I've managed to get some pre-owned ones but you still need to purchase a reorder code for access to the digital component at a cost of $25 a pop. Even though I spent some time sourcing the stationary from elsewhere at a substantial saving, I was still up for half a grand. This time of year! I feel pretty Grinchy ATM.

Still, elder's primary school graduation was last night and was genuinely entertaining.

Day's tasks have gone well. Hair done, mani pedi done, lots of tidying and cleaning done. Watched a foreign language movie. 👍

this day is dragging something fierce!

Pakistan are giving the Aussies a run for their money. 🏏

Ok Dan, If you insist, I’ll get on the beers.🍻

I've started stressing out a lot about art now that I'm trying to learn it 'properly'. I am picking up basic rules that were never bothered with before I guess, but really having to force myself and feeling a lot of self pressure and even anxiety. Cmon brain! Stop blocking me! This is what I'm currently able to do (kind of) but it's becoming yet another stressor.

Also while using a cheap manga book broke through the intimidation with baby steps and provided some learning structure it feels like being forced to play Hot Cross Buns on the recorder. It is not the style I ultimately want to pursue. The idea was to learn generic skills and burn through cheap supplies/train my hands on things I cared less about ruining in the awkward stage.

I think I'm just going to cut to the figure drawing which is a more widely applicable skill and once that's close enough start looking about how to do gesture drawing and studies. One day it would be really cool to make my own compositions and smoothly combine different elements using the references just to nail the details.

Edit: Lol those brushtail possums outside move like elephants. Jeez they're huge