wood, trees, too much of one, can’t see the other
you know when you’ve got so much to do that you can’t get anything done at all? i’ve got 5 contract, 4 freelance and 3 personal projects on the go all needing desperate attention. adding to that, i’m moving house next week in order to move to melbourne in 3 weeks, so i’m madly planning removalists, selling stuff, packing boxes, cleaning, sorting, throwing away. argh. then there’s the going away parties, the social activities, the friends i won’t see for so long. trying to fit this all in seems impossible in just 3 weeks.
trying to exercise, eating right and sleep well is all well and good for relaxed people, but right now i’m junked up on coffee, avoiding eye contact with my bike and lunch today consisted of a multivitamin. i got to bed at 2am, after a hard night finishing off a freelance website. why is it that my inspiration comes after 1am?
Drowning, waving.
Drifting off to sea.
Copic Markers and Pantone swatches are all I can see.
The sea turns Lettuce Green, then Neutral Gray, then Pantone 113
First daze
It’s great to hear of Melissa’s exploits in her first days back at school. For me at the moment there’s this parallel universe thing going on as I watch, and try to support, my younger daughter’s entrance into primary school. As much as you think you can help them prepare for it, it’s really difficult to comprehend just how big and new everything is. Big kids. Big playground. Big buildings. New spaces. New routines. And this even in a school environment that sets out to shelter the kids a bit and let them explore the world rather than bringing the world to them and shoving it down their throats. She’s doing really well but still having moments of uncertainty and anxiety- we try not to overreact to these and help her find ways to cope. Also lots of extra ‘incidental’ cuddles, kisses and encouragement. It’s pretty gut-wrenching when you pick up your kid from school and she says “I didn’t cry today”. Often as a parent you’ve got absolutely no idea what you’re doing (Should she have a day at home to rest? Should we spend more time with her in the classroom?) So you follow your heart and hope for the best and somehow or other you muddle your way through…
I’m off to TAFE - Day 2: St Valentine’s Day and an egg and bacon roll
Day Two.
I thought that my fellow Textile students would dazzle me with their creativity and witty repartee. At the O Week breakfast this morning a couple of classmates debated if was more healthy to eat no breakfast or fried eggs and bacon everyday. *sigh*
The cafe went ‘all-out’ to acknowledge the most romantic of days with watermelon pink donuts. Couple one with a fairly dire coffee and you know you are back in the education system…
Went to my first class - Design Elements & Principles, which tested all my adult inhibitions and high professional standards. The exercise - draw a pile of op shop shoes and find an interesting pattern in a section of the resulting work. The poor perspective and disfigured result will be coaxed into a repeat pattern design. You’re no doubt waiting with bated breath to see the result. I know I am.
Playground observation: The commercial printer guys don’t mix with the girls and boys studying fashion, footwear, textiles etc. They prefer to clump outside their (butch) blue building and chuck stuff at each other.
I’m off to TAFE - the story of a girl who decides to give up desk dwelling and try the student lifestyle. Again.
Day One.
Cool kids everywhere in tight clothes. And hair. Sticky outy, layered, multi-coloured, tied back bits of hair. Behind me a gang of girls talk through the intro-session-for-new-kids and miss the important bits and then ask “What’d she say? What was that?”. And kick my chair. The mobile phone ban in class is for those girls. Who gasp at the devastating news that footwear must be covered in labs (no regulation thongs). I remember when people sniggered about going to TAFE (maybe they still do) because it was rolling in resources, over-funded and a bit of a dawdle. Lots of guys in overalls. As a new Studio Textiles student I face 25 hours of classes and have been promised much homework. Maybe fulltime work wasn’t so bad after all. I am friendless, clueless and happy as a pig in mud.
Cheese
White trousers?
I had a snack of grilled cheese on toast today but unfortunately the vintage tasty I employed left the most horrible excretion all over the grill, plate and through the bread. Now I’ve got that crappy, culinary equivalent to coconut tanning oil feeling and when I puckered up for a drink I noticed some kind of faint old dairy aroma on my top lip.
steer madness
I’ve just seen this on the acmi website. Steer Madness is, “A 3D action-adventure game with a veggie agenda”. As far as I can tell you play a cow and you have to do stuff like rescue animals from a cosmetics lab. No shooting or killing and you get bonus points for using environmentally friendly transport, etc. I’m definitely getting a copy.
boys inside girls
Guy 1:
boys inside girls

Guy 2:
thats sick

Guy 1:
saw it on a billposter

Guy 1:
wonder if they’re a band

Guy 1:
good name i reckon

Guy 2:
its a line from that Blur song aint it?

Guy 1:
nah that’s boys who love girls?

Guy 1:
who love boys who love girls…

Guy 2:
yeah, i thought maybe there might be some variations, maybe not tho

Guy 1:
Sperm and an egg can meet when a boy and a girl have sexual intercourse. Sexual intercourse is when a boy’s hard penis goes inside a girl’s vagina, and he then ejaculates sperm through his penis.

Guy 2:
well well

Guy 2:
that explains a few things

Guy 1:
yep

Guy 2:
thats why the girls are so keen on all that messing about when all ur trying to do is get a good nights sleep

Guy 1:
exactly
authors name in posts
Ben- can we set it up so that the author’s name appears below the title of the post (ala team-cobra)?
Hi all / Shoes
Hi all and thanks Ben for getting us up and running.
I was getting ready to leave last night when I logged on to set up account details etc. Now that school’s started again I’m back to catching public transport so I can drop the girls off on my way in to work. This is a really lovely time for Meg, Lena and I but I am missing the bike ride in along the river. It’s only a short term because of the Commonwealth Games so I guess I’ll be able to ride in again during the next lot of school holidays.
Anyway here’s the thing. You know how you see lots of women who go into work wearing comfortable shoes (runners, etc) and change into their work shoes at the office? I’m giving it a go. Felt a bit weird and awkward at first but I tell you what once you get into it it’s great. An early taste of the freedom and release of getting out of the suit and into comfy clothes when I get home.