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Not happy, Jan.
Here I am, doped up on cold medicine, and all I wanted to do tonight was curl up on the couch with my Dawson’s Creek Series 3 DVDs I brought back from the States. So I popped in the disc and hit Play All. (I’d skip right to the Pacey-and-Joey-smooching episodes, but I won’t feel like I’ve really earned it unless I watch all the shite ones that come before.) Imagine my surprise when, instead of Paula Cole’s familiar warbling of the title song, they played some other random crap! WHAT. THE. HELL. There’s random crap music all through it! Turns out that the original music cost too much. THAT SUCKS. One of the best only pleasures of the Creek was its savvy usage of 90’s pop songs. AND I AM DENIED. I am most seriously put out.

Despite a sudden misery-inducing head cold, I bundled up last night and headed out with the Snook to see Play! A Videogame Symphony. The Sydney Opera House was filled to the rafters with geeks of all ages, races, and genders. For me, the highlight was the first ten minutes when the Sydney Symphony Orchestra played a medley of themes from Super Mario Brothers. How can you not like that? The crowd was actually cheering as each familiar tune came up. (I’ve always liked the carousel-sounding “swimming” theme, myself.) The rest of it was a bit meh for me. Sonic, Zelda, Halo, World of Warcraft, whatever. Sure, they were kinda epic sounding, but hearing one after another just emphasized how John-Williams-knockoff they all sounded. The only notable exception was Silent Hill, where the composer (a supercool Japanese rock star from the future) actually came out and accompanied the orchestra on the electric guitar. That was pretty cool. Other than that – and this may well be the decongestants talking – it was pretty much a snoozer.

My sister informs me that the Philadelphia Phillies (her husband’s favorite baseball team) are hosting their first ever Stitch and Pitch night. “Needlearts enthusiasts” are invited to come to the game and knit, crochet, or embroider as the Phillies take on the Reds. What a great idea! As someone who has knitted at the cricket over here, I give it a big thumbs-up.

Baby Viking Hat. Now that’s cute!

Cyclonic winds to batter Sydney. This is probably the closest I’m gonna get to being in a hurricane!

Well, I couldn’t manage to get him on the phone, but Happy Father’s Day, Dad!

Baby Chucks = CUTEST THING EVER.

YOU’RE WELCOME
Not to toot my own horn, but the people of this town really ought to give me a big thank you today. I successfully fended off a supplier who was giving me the hard sell on “a system for applying rhinestones to garments.” Yes, he wanted us to sell BEDAZZLERS. And I told him that I really couldn’t be a party to the fashion crimes that would ensue.

Sideways Sock. That is utterly BRILLIANT. I’m so going to make those.

Stuffed.
We had a bit of a foodie weekend. Saturday we were invited to a barbecue at my co-worker Bridget’s house in Malabar, a suburb in Sydney’s southeast. We borrowed the GoGet car and I successfully piloted us all the way down Anzac Parade. (Google told us to take the Tunnel, but no way. Baby steps.) I arrived with resolve to stick to my healthy eating plan, resolve that melted away in the face of sparkling Merlot and wedges of Brie. The rain started pelting down again, and I tell you it felt amazing to eat wonderful food with good friends while watching the waves crash into the Malabar headland. This is such a beautiful city. We made it home in one piece and spent twelve hours digesting… before heading out to meet up with Leanne and Brendan at the Good Food Show. We tried a little bit of everything. The highlights were the Korean stall where I bought some kimchi (and successfully greeted the chick with “Annyong haseyo!”); sampling the always delicious brews from Redoak; and getting a whiskey tasting lesson at the Jack Daniel’s booth. But really, what else are you going to do on a cold, gray winter weekend?