Category: Life and Associated Annoyances

Damned Impertinence!

Hrumph!

This morning at work I got a call from a client wanting an update on his project. As might be expected on a Monday morning he asked if I’d had a good weekend. I answered in the non-committal affirmative. He then asked “Do anything interesting?”

Well. Call me a socially inept Aspie but to me that’s stepping over the line. We’re not friends, we’re business associates. As I see it, he has no right (social or otherwise) to request information about my personal life, and to do so was frankly impertinent.

What was I going to do? Fill him in on all the details of my weekend? Tell him how I went to an old friend’s wedding lunch at the Rose in Crown at Guildford? And how it wasn’t the actual wedding because the actual wedding was in Japan and Switzerland, and explain how that was actually possible? And say that I had the barramundi but wished I’d had the steak because although the barramundi was fantastic the steak the other people were having looked even better and came with chips? And that a good time was had by all and then on the way home I saw a house flying the state flag of Wyoming for some reason? That information is mine, not to be handed out over the phone to someone I barely know.

I mean I didn’t want to know what he’d done over the weekend. Why would I? He’s a client – one among many. As far as I’m concerned he could have spent his weekend morris dancing, pin collecting or hunting the most dangerous prey of all. It makes no difference. He could be the goddamn Batman as long as he gets information to me in a timely manner so I can get his work done.

My clients are not my friends. And’s that the way it should be.

Hrumph!

(Yes, I understand the irony of saying I don’t want a client knowing details about my weekend and then posting all about it on a publicly accessible blog, but if you’re reading this then you’re either a personal friend of mine, or a complete stranger I’ll probably never meet, so it’s not the same thing :P)

Back to the Drawing Board

The Week of the Wyrm!

I’m having a particularly busy week, which is kind of strange since I’ve actually taken it off from work.

On Saturday it was up to Fabes’ place to catch up with Matt, who’s recently (and briefly) returned from the mysterious country of the Helvetians (Switzerland to those whose classical education is lacking). We hung around, played some Munchkin and ran through a highly derivative dungeon hack adventure I’ve been mulling over for a while. Everyone seemed to have a good time, with the possible exception of Ryan who went out on his bike to get food and subsequently got lost. We actually sent out a search party to look for him (he had his phone switched off), which returned in under two minutes since he’d actually recovered his bearings and was only a few streets away.

Then on Monday I went and got my tax for the last two years done. I have to admit I’m usually fairly slack with tax. I justify this by noting that I always receive a pretty big tax return, so if I’m late getting it in the Government is at an advantage, since they’re earning interest on money that’s rightfully mine (I somehow doubt they’d see it that way though). In fact while I was getting my papers together for my accountant (I like saying “my accountant”, it makes me feel all grown up despite the fact that the only time I have anything to do with them is when I get my tax done) I discovered a letter from the tax department asking where the hell my tax was and threatening fines and jail time. But it’s all sorted now so I’m good. I hope.

Then last night I went and saw Carrie Fisher’s show Wishful Drinking with Justin, who was the only one of my mates interested in going. I could write up a lengthy review but I’d basically just be repeating what every other review has said, which is it’s an absolute riot (did you know that George Lucas founded ILM solely so they could change his facial expressions? True!).

(By which of course I mean not true :))

While waiting for Justin to arrive I ran into Katie, who was also attending the show (before anyone invokes the previous paragraph to infer that I don’t consider Katie a mate, I would like to point out that I pretty much consider her a sister). She was hoping to get Ms Fisher to sign some of her books, but unfortunately it’s not something that she generally does, having been hounded by hordes of lonely Leia fanboys for decades (believe me, there were a bunch of them hanging around the stage door). This didn’t stop Katie shouting out “Please sign my book!” at the start of the performance, which seemed to throw Ms Fisher off for a few seconds – which is an achievement at least 😀

After the show we (that is to say Justin, Katie and Myself) adjourned to the Subiaco Hotel for dinner, which we finished up at about midnight.

To continue the trend tonight I’m going to a midnight screening of The Deathly Hallows Part One with Paula and her friend Bec. Then on Friday I’ve got a dentist’s appointment. I’m probably also going to have to fit in a trip to the doctor’s to get some prescriptions refilled. I tell you it’s all go go go at the Wyrmcave!

There was also a rather interesting development last night. While waiting for the show to start Katie introduced me to a couple of friends of hers who were also attending. I instantly recognised one of them as the redhead on the train who I’ve been crushing on for ages.

Subsequent conversation revealed that she’s a big geek, we’re around the same age, she’s an artist (always a plus) and that in addition to knowing Katie she also knows my brother. Sounds good no? Well the conversation also revealed that she’s in a committed relationship with the other of Katie’s friends attending, who also happens to be a girl.

Bah! 😀

Oh well, back to the old drawing board 🙂

Wokka Wokka

Halloween, Cruises and Golf

It was Halloween last week wasn’t it? I didn’t do anything, or at least didn’t do anything Halloweeny. I actually went up to the Maze in Bullsbrook with Fabes and Paula and (among other things) played mini-golf (I came last :)). There are photos up on my Flickr stream if anyone’s interested (not of the golf though).

We actually did a fair bit of other stuff as well.  We had lunch at an excellent kebab place, looked at a whole lot of Fabe’s photos from his trip to Switzerland, and had dinner at the newly opened Kingsway Tavern. I had the garlic prawns which were astonishingly good. Outstandingly good in fact. I think I could live on that sauce.

Then I got stuck at Stirling railway station on the way home, having got off the train with the expectation that the circle route buses would still be running – which they weren’t, meaning I had to wait half an hour for the next train. While waiting I did help out a couple of Danish tourists though, who borrowed my phone to call a taxi. They wanted to pay me, but I refused, so instead they made me promise to visit the Roskilde festival.

Did I mention that I’m going on a cruise? I’ve booked for a 14 night (I think it’s 14 night… I’ll have to check) cruise to New Zealand early in 2012, on the basis that I should at least try and have some fun before the world ends *grin*. I’ll be travelling steerage in the bowels of the Diamond Princess from Sydney to Auckland, taking in Melbourne, Hobart, the South Island and points in between. Should be a laugh. I’ll book in some time to do some sight seeing at both ends.

Finally, I’ve made another update to the FreakAngels Google Earth map. Enjoy!

Coinage

Silver coin allergy – am I a werewolf?

(Note: As will become clear in this post I am perfectly aware that Australian ‘silver’ coins contain absolutely no silver, instead being made of a cupronickle alloy. I shall nonetheless refer to them as such, as is standard colloquial usage…)

Over the last week or so I’ve started on my yearly change clean out.This is where I gather up all the silver coins I’ve been hoarding, sort and count them and run them down to the bank. Yesterday I deposited $150 in fifty cent pieces, today I’ve sorted a further $100 in fifties and twenties, and there’s still at least another $100 in tens and fives to go.

“How do I accumulate so much change?” you may well ask. Well it comes down to one of my many strange habits, that of never actually spending any silver. Every morning before heading out into the world I grab a handful of notes I judge sufficient to cover any expenses  I may run into, and throw in a few one and two dollar coins as backup (I do not carry a wallet, another of my strange habits). At the end of the day I empty my pockets of all cash, before repeating the process the following morning.

The quick witted reader will realise that this system will inevitably bring in silver coins while never taking them out, with the result that after a year or so I have several hundred dollars in silver change clogging up the place. So I put some time aside to gather it all together (it ends up in various places around the apartment), count, sort and deposit it, giving my bank account a nice jab in the arm in the process.

The down side of this system (apart from having piles of change all around the place, and the lost ‘opportunity cost’ of not earning interest on it all) is that I have to handle all the coins. And that triggers my own unique variation of nickle allery.

The standard symptom of nickle allergy is contact dermatitis – an itchy or even blistering rash where the metal has touched the skin. I don’t get this. I can handle nickle all day without my skin so much as turning even a slight shade of red. What I do get however is a burning sensation in my finger tips, a headache, and nausea, which means I have to limit my sorting to about ten minutes at a time, several hours apart.

Or I suppose I could use gloves. But then another one of my weird habits is a severe dislike of wearing gloves. You can see how doubly screwed I am here 😀

So I shall continue my coin sorting for the next few weeks, and end up a little the richer, and a little the sicker for it.

Oo! The mail is here!

Boxes boxes boxes!

In the last few days I have taken delivery of two packets of mixed Lego, three boxes of books from Amazon including one (for some reason) in a gigantic US mail bag, a box of three flamingo stools (stools that you sit on), a big wad of cruise brochures and a collectors edition of Fallout: New Vegas.

If it wasn’t for the fact that this place always looks like an explosion in a post office, I’d say it looks like an explosion in a post office.

Down at the Docks

Children are occasionally good for amusement I suppose

I was down at Fremantle this afternoon, and while wandering around the harbour noticed that Sea Shepherd’s Steve Irwin was in town. I was taking a photo when a family with a couple of small children wandered up behind me, and I heard the following exchange.

Small Child 1: Look! That’s Bindi’s Dad’s boat!
Small Child 2 (excited): Is he on it?
Small Child 1 (with relish): No! He’s dead!

Ah kids!

Burgers

Caught up with Rebecca after work yesterday. We ended up at the new branch of burger joint Grill’d at Subiaco railway station.

Now, for a while the place for burgers in Subi has been Jus Burgers. Well I’m sorry to say it, but as far as I’m concerned Grill’d has blown them out of the water. I had the mustard and pickle burger on a panini bun and it was one of the best things I’ve ever put in my mouth. And who knew you could make chips with rosemary? (Shepherd Book was right!)

After Grill’d we went to Chocolateria San Churro for desert. I’ve never tried churros before – I can see why they’re so popular, although I wouldn’t want to eat them regularly (I’d probably keel over dead from the sugar rush).

Um yeah. Nothing else to say really.

Ow! My Brain!

Super-Pump of Doom

Woke up this morning feeling like half my brain was missing (is this how the average IQ people feel all the time!? How can they stand it!?). This may have something to so with pushing my bike for 7 km through Midland in the blazing (well, warm anyway) sun yesterday looking for a cycle shop after Ryan insisted on pumping up my tyres with his fancy super-pump of doom, causing the rear one to explode.

(To be fair it wasn’t his fault. The jokers at the bike shop put the tube in at a funny angle the last time I got it replaced, resulting in the valve pressing against the rim in such a way that when it was properly inflated, it ruptured.)

Needless to say, it being Sunday and Midland, not one of the cycle shops we walked to was open, and my plans for visiting various Midland sites for Abandoned in Perth were pretty much scuppered.

Oh well, another weekend then.

Collingwood won the Grand Final. Boo, I suppose.

Close Bitnami banner
Bitnami