The Trip - The Trip

Just a couple more days and I am off on a jet plane - note that I will not 'break into song'. I really need the break and it will be good to be out of town for a while.

Really enjoying Bioshock and Rapture. There are very few games that I enjoy but this one is pretty smart - having extraordinary powers are also very cool. It is a game for big kids I guess. Deep down inside I am not the sadistic maniac everyone thinks I am just a little bipolar.






Also listenting to Diana Krall's latest album Quiet Nights. Predictable but the arrangements are refreshing.

I turn a year older this Saturday and I am blessed for many things. Some of my new found friends Kevin, Andrew and Keiran whom I believe are honest people that I can connect with. Indra who is still holding out especially after his 2nd remission. My other half - for putting up with my crap and I am still alive after all these years.

I wish I could wave my wand - I want my friends to be happy and I truly hope that they are. You can have some of my joy, the little that I have to give if you like. I should be in Sydney soon so will be able to catch up with Andrew and Keiran for YUM CHA! Kevin October is already set in stone and I will see you in NY.

I obviously am desperate for some R&R, you think?!

PS. Keiran thank you for my birthday wish. For that you get the obligatory hugs and kisses!

Huh?

My day has been awful a visit to the dentist included...the pump is hard at work so that I can exhale, the headache is getting more unbearable and then there is the neverending office move that no one told me about causing me to go into respiratory attack. Wonder who invented dust?
I definitely need to get well before I leave for my vacation - the mouth trauma is also getting unbearable.

I am still listening to the Killers which is growing on me. Sadly I have also bought Taylor Swift out of ignorance but Madeline Peyroux Bare Bones is still not convincing me to leave it on my iPod?

As for American Idol, I am voting for Danny Gokey - he will be in the top 2. I am also biased...

I am also enjoying Bioshock - surprisingly no bizarre headaches. Maybe because it is so macabre i.e. Little Sisters, Big Daddies etc.





We see how we go this week. I have the Festival tomorrow night - hopefully Adam Hill is going to be funny or I want my money back.

I need to lie down.

Doing it right!

My whinge today relate to 3 words Corporate Governance, Centralisation and Free Enterprise. I guess we shall not dwell on the details.

Nonetheless it is 3 weeks to the holidays and I am looking forward to getting away and unwinding. People test my patience and maybe I am turning into a grump...dishonest people even more.

To keep me sane, I am listening to these:


Same old Madeline...


not so new Killers.

Oh well - this week I predict is going to be very trying indeed.

What I've been up to...

The China trip is all organised and the many stopover hotels are now booked. We are being a little more adventurous this time - so the trip will see us on an overnight sleeper train and cycle through old city walls away from the hustle and bustle of Beijing with a side trip to the Venice of China.

It will be different this time around and I am hard at work brushing up on my Mandarin. Nicholas can do the reading and I can do the talking. This arrangement seems to have worked the last time so I am crossing my fingers - some parts of the countryside will speak no English at all and not being around native speakers will take some time to get used to the lingo.

The Adelaide Festival is in full swing though and I have gone to a couple including sitting through VESPERS @ St Peters, FRENTE, the Mad and Ugly show yesterday - but this weekend will be in Melbourne for work and some retail therapy. The fringe can draw some real mediocre stuff but that's the beauty of it all -keeping it real.

I miss my bed desperately tonight - the comfort of the hotel room has never been attractive and I am never keen on travelling for work but the people today was exceptional and training them felt more didactic than mere indulgence. It's good to know that you can make a difference no matter how small your contribution is. At least the linen is Egyptian and I get to choose the hardness of my pillow, wagyu beef, oysters and Cabernet Sauvignon to ease the separation anxiety.

This year's other goal is to be less judgemental but alas it is hard to trust anyone especially when what they say is never what they mean or seeing them become the person that they detest so detest as they get older. If you really love someone move, make a change - it is not a compromise but a commitment. That's the trouble with Asians - we are so gullible and westerners are just too selfish - so who's going to make the 1st move in the end?